The Interrupted Awakening and the Void Realm’s Summons

“To what extent have you come to understand your own ability?” Professor Yuan inquired seriously within the training room.

“My blood seems to accelerate plant growth, and my regenerative capabilities have also strengthened,” Huang Xiu swiftly replied.

“Accelerates plant growth? How fascinating.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Yuan turned to instruct Yun Ning, “Go find some plants outside.”

This training room, specially prepared for the Bureau of Anomalous Individuals, was equipped with every conceivable training apparatus.

Yet, plants were one item conspicuously absent.

Yun Ning nodded, pushing off with a foot as he turned.

A terrifying, muffled thud echoed, and the young man vanished from his spot, transforming into a mere black blur.

Only an indentation remained on the concrete floor.

‘So fast!’

Huang Xiu’s pupils contracted sharply, having witnessed the entire spectacle.

Even though she had previously known Yun Ning’s speed could reach approximately 80 km/h,

It was only now, seeing it with her own eyes, that she truly understood.

Just how terrifying it was for a person to achieve such a speed using only their physical body.

“Yun Ning’s ability enhances his physical body,”

Professor Yuan explained, seemingly sensing Huang Xiu’s astonishment, though he offered no further elaboration.

“You’ll understand once you join Tiandu University.”

Huang Xiu nodded slightly; abilities, no matter how one considered them, were inherently secretive matters.

She had not yet resolved to join Tiandu University.

The fact that Professor Yuan had offered even a brief explanation already filled her with gratitude.

“Regarding your situation, I’ve just been thinking, and I already have a few hypotheses in mind.”

Professor Yuan’s voice echoed through the empty training grounds.

For some reason, despite the vastness of the Bureau, no one seemed to be using the training ground during the daytime on a regular workday.

‘Were they all slacking off?’

Touching her chin, Huang Xiu then heard the middle-aged man before her continue, “Based on my conjectures, it’s highly probable that your initial awakening was incomplete, forcibly interrupted.”

“Interrupted?” She paused, momentarily stunned. “Then what should I do? Am I to awaken again?”

“That would be a last resort. There’s no rush; let me examine your blood first. It’s not too late to make a judgment afterward.”

Professor Yuan spread his hand, and in the next instant, a pot of succulents suddenly materialized in his palm.

Simultaneously, a black blur solidified beside Huang Xiu.

Although Yun Ning appeared un-sweaty, his slightly heavier breathing betrayed the effort.

Unleashing such blistering speed must undoubtedly be a considerable strain on him.

“Do you have a knife?” Huang Xiu asked, rubbing her head, a faint blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “Biting it directly would be a bit painful.”

‘To clarify, it wasn’t that she feared pain; she simply worried she wouldn’t draw blood by biting.’

“It’s fine; we have something far more effective than a knife here. Just extend your hand.”

“Oh!”

Huang Xiu, obediently, extended her right hand, her fair, delicate palm appearing almost translucent under the incandescent light.

“Yun Ning!” Professor Yuan suddenly shouted, turning his head, and Huang Xiu instinctively followed the sound, turning as well.

Yet, in the very next second, a black blur streaked past her eyes, and a faint prickling sensation abruptly blossomed on her fingertip.

Drip…

A crimson, perfectly round drop of blood slid from her fingertip, plummeting into the plump body of the succulent.

But gazing at Yun Ning, who had suddenly appeared before her, a smear of fresh crimson still clinging to the nail of his right index finger,

Huang Xiu tilted her head, only then belatedly realizing what had transpired.

“Eh?”

‘Just now, had Yun Ning instantly sliced open the flesh of her right fingertip with his nail?’

‘So fast!’

‘She couldn’t react at all.’

‘If Yun Ning had wished, he could have severed her neck in an instant.’

‘Was this the true power of an anomalous individual?’

In that moment, Huang Xiu suddenly understood why official organizations prohibited anomalous individuals from existing within school campuses.

Such immense power, if an anomalous individual were to lose control, could indeed lead to irreversible tragedies.

*Snap!*

The succulent, its body a vibrant emerald green like jade, swelled uncontrollably, reaching the size of a watermelon in the blink of an eye, shattering its purple clay pot into countless fragments strewn across the ground.

A flicker of shock crossed Professor Yuan’s eyes as he dropped the succulent, now too large to hold in one hand, onto the floor.

‘What potent latent energy, what vigorous life force! Truly worthy of being designated an S-rank potential anomalous individual by the supercomputer.’

“Your blood contains an immense life force, capable of accelerating plant growth, but this isn’t the core of your ability; rather, it’s a byproduct of it.”

The experienced Professor Yuan had already roughly discerned the true nature of Huang Xiu’s ability, though further tests would be required for confirmation.

“This also indicates that the strength of your ability is considerable.”

“Really?” Huang Xiu was momentarily startled. ‘Could it be that she was actually a genius?’

“My ability isn’t related to my blood? Then what is it?”

“My previous hypothesis was correct; your awakening was somehow interrupted. Currently, there is only one method, and that is……”

Professor Yuan looked at Huang Xiu, stating gravely, “You must go to the Void Realm and reawaken through its intense stimulation.”

“Go to the Void Realm?”

Upon hearing this, Yun Ning, who stood nearby, suddenly widened his eyes. He had been a student at Tiandu University for nearly a year,

Yet he had never truly visited the Void Realm.

“Professor Yuan, I want to go too!”

He promptly raised his hand, waving it excitedly before Professor Yuan’s face like a child.

“Stop messing around.” Professor Yuan gently patted Yun Ning’s head, nudging him away.

Huang Xiu glanced at Yun Ning, who stood pouting to the side, a faint smile gracing her lips.

“Professor Yuan, how does one go to the Void Realm? Isn’t it a world constructed from consciousness?”

With a strange adventure looming, she felt both curious and excited.

“Are we meant to travel there through astral projection?”

“The Void Realm possesses no physically tangible channels, but it does have abstract pathways that lead to it.”

Professor Yuan turned, “Follow me.”

Huang Xiu and Yun Ning walked shoulder-to-shoulder behind Professor Yuan, heading towards the training ground’s entrance.

Before long, an elevator appeared before them.

This was the sole passage connecting the underground training facility to the world above.

“The Void Realm is full of wonders and strangeness, governed by all sorts of bizarre rules, and it also harbors immense risks.”

Professor Yuan pressed the up arrow, and once the elevator doors slid open, he led the two inside.

“The Void Realm I’m taking you to is called the Myriad Worlds Transfer Station.” He flipped his right hand, and a black card suddenly appeared between his fingers.

Huang Xiu noticed that Yun Ning’s breathing grew heavier when Professor Yuan uttered the name “Myriad Worlds Transfer Station.”

Clearly, this Void Realm was no ordinary place.

Her thoughts shifted, and she turned her head, carefully examining the black card held between the middle-aged man’s fingertips.

The black card was a pure, absolute black, absorbing all nearby light like a black hole.

In the upper left corner of the card, a series of characters read—NO.321.

Huang Xiu’s gaze was firmly fixed upon it; for some inexplicable reason, the card imparted a very peculiar sensation, a feeling of being utterly out of sync with the world.

Her conscious eyes could clearly see it, yet her subconscious mind insisted that the card simply did not exist.