"Ring, ring, ring..."


    The school bell rang.


    "Class dismissed," Yang Jun put away his teaching materials, looked at the students below, and said with a smile, "Happy winter break!"


    The students in the classroom immediately cheered.


    "Yay, winter break is here!"


    "Vacation, vacation!"


    "Xiao Fang, how about we go out for dinner tonight and then play some murder mystery games?"


    "..."@@@@


    What followed was a month-long winter vacation, so the students were quite excited.


    Seeing the students so excited, Yang Jun couldn''t help but remind them, "Vacation is fine, but don''t slack on your cultivation. There''s only one semester left before the college entrance exams.


    Also, don''t forget about the joint trial with other schools at the beginning of next semester. Prepare well and practice your skills."


    The joint trial for middle schools was a trial for all the Star Apprentice class students in Guangchuan City. All students with awakened Soul Cards from Guangchuan First Middle School to Guangchuan Twelfth Middle School would participate, with an expected number of nearly a thousand.


    Good performance in the trial could earn rewards from the Guangchuan Municipal Education Bureau.


    "Don''t worry, Teacher Yang, we won''t slack on our cultivation!"


    "Exactly, we''ll show the other schools what we''re made of!"


    ...


    Seeing the students still a bit excited and expectant, Yang Jun was not so optimistic.


    On average, First and Second Middle Schools were strong and steadily outperformed the other schools, so the highest rewards from the Guangchuan Municipal Education Bureau in previous years only went to First and Second Middle Schools.


    Additionally, the trial would be conducted in the Secret Realm, which contained many genuine Bronze-level Star Beasts. There could be casualties, making it not so simple.


    Yang Jun shook his head slightly and turned to leave.


    Most of the students in the classroom did not leave immediately, gathering in small groups to discuss winter vacation dinner parties and outings.


    However, one person decisively walked through the crowd and quickly followed Yang Jun out of the classroom.


    It was Su Yuan.


    Su Yuan was excited because just at the moment the school bell rang at six o''clock, the amount of Star Dust on his system panel increased to 10 points!


    Unable to contain himself, Su Yuan quickly left the school and took the light rail home.


    Su Yuan lived in an ordinary residential area in the northern suburb of the city, named Four Seasons Garden, with the tallest building being only six stories high.


    As the Star Power was infused, the Soul Awakening Card shone brightly. A substantial beam of dazzling starlight shot out from the card and entered Su Yuan''s chest, reaching the depths of his soul.


    A peculiar sensation surged in his heart, making Su Yuan involuntarily close his eyes.


    Under the influence of the Soul Awakening Card, strands of pure white light shot out from the depths of his soul, gradually forming a cocoon of light through dense interweaving, as if something was about to be born.


    Sweat beads formed densely on Su Yuan''s forehead, and his lips turned slightly pale. It felt as if he was undergoing extremely high-intensity training, with rapid consumption of both physical and spiritual power.


    "The awakening process usually lasts for three minutes. It''ll be over soon..."


    This had been mentioned in class and was common knowledge among all Star Apprentice Class students.


    During the awakening process, the power of the Soul Awakening Card would guide the Star Apprentice to explore their soul''s nature, potential, and limits, step by step, nurturing the Soul Card within the light cocoon. It consumed both spiritual and physical power greatly.


    However, the longer this process lasted, the more potential was unearthed, and usually, the stronger the Soul Card obtained from the awakening.


    Most people took three to four minutes; those with higher talent could take five minutes, while it was rare to find anyone in Guangchuan City who took six minutes.


    As for above seven minutes, not just in Guangchuan City, but in the entire Great Flame, it was like a needle in a haystack.


    One minute,


    Three minutes,


    Five minutes,


    ...


    Su Yuan, feeling his consciousness was about to blur, realized the awakening was not yet complete. He could only grit his teeth and persist.


    "Crossing into such a transcendent world, if I can''t master extraordinary power, how could I be content?"


    "Hold on a bit longer, I absolutely can''t fall down here!"


    "Persevere!"


    "Persevere!"


    ...


    "Crack, crack..."


    At the eight-minute six-second mark, a silver crack suddenly appeared on the light cocoon, which had been accumulating soul power continuously. Following this, countless cracks appeared.


    Moments later, accompanied by dazzling silver-white light, a blue bird with indifferent silver eyes and a body seemingly carved from blue Liu Li broke out of the cocoon with a gentle chirp and transformed into a non-physical small card embedded in the Star Power Vortex at Su Yuan''s chest.


    "It''s done!" Su Yuan''s tense nerves suddenly relaxed.


    At this moment, the system''s somewhat mechanical voice echoed in Su Yuan''s mind:


    "Detected successful awakening of Soul Card by host. Now activating the subdiv..."


    However, at this moment, Su Yuan''s consciousness had reached its limit. He barely heard the system''s indistinct voice before his vision went black, and he fell onto the bed...