Chapter 1: Nine Aperture Openings

Linjiang First High School, Martial Training Ground.

“After the human body reaches its limit, there is a certain probability of breaking the physical shackles, leaping to become an Aperture Opening individual comparable to those with Talent.”

“Although this is already my ninth attempt at Aperture Opening… it’s still not enough!”

Jiang Yan’s muscles bulged all over his body as he forcefully pushed open the gravity machine in front of him with a powerful thrust from his feet.

Boom!

A sharp, explosive sound echoed through the Martial Training Ground as the gravity machine crashed heavily to the ground, startling all the students into halting their exercises and turning their gazes toward the commotion.

Dust filled the air, and a figure lay vaguely on the ground.

“It’s Jiang Yan! Could it be that he’s finally opened his Apertures?”

“Holy crap, is the hardest-working person in the whole school finally going to succeed?”

“Open his Apertures, my ass! He’s fucking passed out from overexertion. Quick, call a teacher!”

…

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jiang Yan was carried out.

In the school infirmary, Jiang Yan lay unconscious, breathing weakly, his face pale, looking as if he were on the brink of death.

When Wang Zhong, the homeroom teacher of Class Three at Linjiang First High School, heard the news, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in frustration, cursing loudly in the office.

“How many times is it this month? I’ve told that kid to know his limits, and now he’s gone and caused such a huge mess again!”

Wang Zhong muttered under his breath, “With the College Entrance Exam approaching, you better not get yourself killed, kid~”

Teachers from other classes, having clearly heard of Jiang Yan’s exploits, tried to persuade Wang Zhong to calm down.

“Calm down? How can I calm down? Whether he opens his Apertures or not doesn’t matter—what if someone dies?”

“No, I have to go check on that kid.”

Wang Zhong hurried out of the office and rushed toward the infirmary.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Yan lying on the sickbed, barely alive, his condition unknown.

“Jiang, if you’re not dead, make a sound.”

“Squeak…”

A weak voice came in response, finally allowing Wang Zhong to breathe a sigh of relief.

He strode to the bedside and kicked the bed frame in annoyance. “Do you know how dangerous this is?”

“Cough, cough… Teacher Wang, I want to be alone.”

“It doesn’t matter who you want to be with. From now on, you must get my permission before going to the Martial Training Ground, understand?”

With that, Wang Zhong took out a bottle of green medicinal liquid from his pocket and forced Jiang Yan to drink it.

Gulp, gulp—

After drinking the liquid, Jiang Yan’s complexion improved significantly, and his voice sounded less feeble.

“Thanks, Uncle Wang.”

“Address me by my title while at school,” Wang Zhong replied sternly.

“Thanks, Plant Wang.”

Wang Zhong couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. “You little rascal.”

He sighed heavily, his tone growing somber.

“Sigh! If you died trying to open your Apertures, how could I face your parents? I promised them I’d take care of you.”

Jiang Yan’s expression turned complicated as he sank into reminiscence.

His name was Jiang Yan, and it had been eighteen years since he transmigrated to Blue Star as an infant.

This world was vastly different from his original one, featuring a Transcendent system that existed only in fantasies.

Fierce Beasts, Martial Artists, and races from the Starry Sky Universe—these terms had brought immense shock to Jiang Yan when he first encountered this world.

Unfortunately, Jiang Yan’s parents had sacrificed their lives when he was young during a Fierce Beast clearing operation outside the city.

Wang Zhong had once fought side by side with Jiang Yan’s parents as comrades-in-arms. After being injured and retiring, he came to teach at Linjiang First High School.

After Jiang Yan’s parents died in battle, Wang Zhong took on the responsibility of raising him alone.

“Xiao Jiang, don’t believe those rumors about so-called Acquired Aperture Opening. Look at our ordinary class at Linjiang First High School—out of forty students, if even one manages to open their apertures successfully, it would be considered a stroke of incredible luck. Such a low-probability event isn’t something you can force through sheer effort.”

Wang Zhong earnestly advised.

The Martial Way is divided into nine ranks: Body Tempering, Blood Coagulation, Innate, Internal Qi, Comprehending the Mysteries, Dust-Severing, True Mystery, Celestial Phenomenon, and Peak Martial Saint.

Without good Talent and Opportunity, one is destined to have no connection to the Martial Way.

Those with Talent are the type of individuals most suited for cultivating the Martial Way, as everyone says.

Those with Talent often awaken some incredible supernatural abilities before the age of eighteen.

For example, becoming stronger just by eating, inexplicably breaking through after sleeping, or having a natural affinity with elemental energy, enabling them to release lightning or fire to defend against enemies, with their combat power increasing exponentially.

Those with Talent are the elite among Martial Artists, standing above the masses. They are among the most valued talents by the Blue Star government, enjoying privileges in many areas that ordinary people cannot.

Below those with Talent are the Aperture Openers, who often awaken their Talent after the age of eighteen.

To open apertures, one must exhaust all means to stimulate the body’s potential and unlock its hidden secrets.

For the poor, the method is like Jiang Yan’s—practicing to the point of exhaustion, honing oneself, walking the line between life and death, perhaps with a slim chance of opening apertures.

For the rich, the method is much simpler. They can use expensive potions as aids, leveraging the powerful medicinal effects to assist in opening their Aperture Points.

On Blue Star, the hierarchy among Martial Artists is clear: those with Talent > Aperture Openers > ordinary people.

Jiang Yan’s ordinary class consisted entirely of ordinary people, with no one possessing Talent or having successfully opened apertures through Acquired Aperture Opening.

It goes without saying how difficult aperture opening is.

Those with Talent are already placed in a separate class by the school, enjoying the best educational and cultivation resources the school has to offer, while ordinary classes can only pick up the scraps they leave behind.

With unwillingness in his eyes, Jiang Yan looked seriously at Wang Zhong: “Uncle Wang, there’s still a month until the College Entrance Exam. I still have a chance.”

He refused to accept it. As a transmigrator, if he couldn’t experience the Transcendent power of this world, what was the point of transmigrating here?

“Uncle Wang, I don’t want to give up.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Resisting Fierce Beasts is also dangerous, but back then, you all chose that path, didn’t you?”

Wang Zhong was slightly moved by Jiang Yan’s words. His thoughts swirled as he recalled the days of fighting Fierce Beasts in the past. His lips trembled, but he remained silent.

A heart full of passion? A belly full of fervor? He, too, had risked his life multiple times like Jiang Yan for the chance to open his apertures.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t stand in the way of this child’s dream… even if that dream is so slim.”

In the afternoon, Jiang Yan attended class as usual. From time to time, several probing gazes fell on him from around the classroom.

They were the same type of people as Jiang Yan—those at the very bottom of the Martial Artist hierarchy, destined to have no connection to the Martial Way in their lifetime, their achievements likely forever stuck at the first rank, Body Tempering.

Yet they were also different from Jiang Yan. They had already given in, submitting to their fate. After experiencing one or two failures, they had become content with the status quo.

Aperture Opening? To hell with it. I just want to lie flat.

Mockery? Contempt? Let them look down on me—I’m just a worthless piece of trash anyway.

Being a workhorse isn’t so bad. At least you don’t have to exhaust yourself fighting for a slim chance.

After witnessing Jiang Yan’s failure, they became even more convinced that ordinary people would always remain ordinary. The kind of miracles you read about in novels would never happen in real life.

If even Jiang Yan, who worked so hard, had failed, how could they possibly succeed?

By the end of the class, the entire classroom was filled with a suffocating and lifeless atmosphere.

Jiang Yan, still recovering from his injuries, slept with his head on the desk all afternoon, completely ignoring the strange looks from his classmates.

Suddenly, a wave of commotion erupted.

“Chu Ming has opened his aperture! Chu Ming has opened his aperture!”

“What? Our class’s Chu Ming?”

“Yes, check the class group chat!”

The whole class erupted into chaos. In an ordinary class, Aperture Opening was like a bombshell—whoever achieved it first would instantly become the center of everyone’s attention.

No one was discussing Jiang Yan’s failure anymore. Everyone pulled out their phones and scrolled through the class group chat.

In an unnoticed corner, a mechanical, electronic voice echoed in Jiang Yan’s muddled mind.

[Loading Divine Martial Space…]