The Path to the Virtual Realm

“How well do you understand your own ability?” Professor Yuan asked seriously in the training room.

“My blood seems to make plants grow quickly, and my recovery ability has also gotten stronger,” Huang Xiu replied hastily.

“Makes plants grow quickly? Interesting.”

Hearing this, Professor Yuan turned to Yun Ning and said, “Go find some plants outside.”

The training room, specially prepared for ability users, had all sorts of training equipment.

But it didn’t have any plants.

Yun Ning nodded, and as he turned, he pushed off the ground with his foot.

A thunderous boom echoed through the room, and the boy turned into a black blur, vanishing from his spot.

All that remained was a dent in the concrete floor.

So fast!

Seeing this, Huang Xiu’s pupils contracted sharply.

Even though he knew Yun Ning could probably run at about 80 km/h, only now did he truly understand how terrifying it was for a person to reach such speed using just their physical body.

“Yun Ning’s ability enhances his physical body,” Professor Yuan explained, noticing Huang Xiu’s shock, but didn’t elaborate.

“Once you join Tiantu University, you’ll understand.”

Huang Xiu nodded slightly. Abilities were an extremely private matter no matter how you thought about it.

He hadn’t decided to join Tiantu University yet.

He was grateful that Professor Yuan had explained even a little.

“Regarding your situation, I just thought it over and have a few guesses,” Professor Yuan’s voice echoed in the empty training ground.

For some reason, in such a large Administration Bureau, no one had come to the training ground during the daytime on a normal workday.

Were they all slacking off?

Scratching his chin, Huang Xiu heard the middle-aged man continue, “According to my guess, your initial awakening was most likely incomplete—forcibly interrupted.”

“Interrupted?” He was stunned. “Then what should I do? Awaken again?”

“That’s a last resort. Don’t rush. Let me first examine your blood, then we’ll decide.”

Professor Yuan opened his hand, and the next moment, a potted succulent suddenly appeared in his palm.

At the same time, a black shadow stopped beside Huang Xiu.

Although Yun Ning didn’t appear to be sweating, his slightly heavier breathing gave him away.

Bursting into such high speed was clearly a considerable burden for him.

“Do you have a knife?” Huang Xiu rubbed his head, a slight blush of embarrassment rising on his face. “Biting it directly hurts a bit.”

Let it be clear: he wasn’t afraid of pain, just worried he wouldn’t draw blood by biting.

“It’s fine. I have something better than a knife. Just hold out your hand.”

“Oh!”

Huang Xiu obediently extended his right hand. His fair, delicate palm looked as if it might break at the slightest touch under the fluorescent light.

“Yun Ning!” Professor Yuan suddenly turned and shouted. Huang Xiu instinctively followed the sound.

But the next second, a black blur flashed before his eyes, and a faint sting came from his fingertip.

Drip…

Bright red blood dripped from his fingertip onto the succulent’s plump body.

Looking at Yun Ning, who had suddenly appeared in front of him with a trace of red on his right fingernail, Huang Xiu tilted his head, only now realizing what had happened.

“Huh?”

Had Yun Ning just used his fingernail to slice open the flesh of his right fingertip in an instant?

So fast!

He couldn’t react at all.

If Yun Ning wanted, he could have slit his throat in that same instant.

Was this the power of an ability user?

At that moment, Huang Xiu suddenly understood why official institutions didn’t allow ability users to remain in schools.

With such immense power, if an ability user lost control, it could indeed lead to irreversible tragedy.

Smack!

The jade-green succulent swelled wildly, growing to the size of a watermelon in the blink of an eye, shattering the purple clay pot into pieces.

A flash of shock crossed Professor Yuan’s eyes. He dropped the succulent, now too large to hold in one hand, onto the ground.

Such strong psionic energy! Such vigorous vitality! No wonder the intelligent system had rated him as an S-level potential ability user.

“Your blood contains immense vitality that can spur plant growth, but that is not the core of your ability—it is a derivative product,” Professor Yuan, seasoned and experienced, had roughly discerned the essence of Huang Xiu’s power, but more tests were needed to confirm.

“This also means your ability is quite powerful.”

“Really?” Huang Xiu was taken aback. Could he actually be a genius?

“My ability has nothing to do with blood? Then what is it?”

“My earlier guess was correct. Your awakening was interrupted for some unknown reason. Right now, there’s only one option…”

Professor Yuan looked at Huang Xiu seriously. “Go to the Virtual Realm. Through the intense stimulation there, you can awaken again.”

“The Virtual Realm?”

Hearing this, Yun Ning’s eyes widened. He had joined Tiantu University almost a year ago but had never truly been to the Virtual Realm.

“Professor Yuan, I want to go too!” He quickly raised his hand, waving it in front of Professor Yuan like a child.

“Don’t cause trouble.” Professor Yuan patted Yun Ning’s head and pushed him aside.

Huang Xiu glanced at Yun Ning, who was pouting off to the side, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Professor Yuan, how do we get to the Virtual Realm? Isn’t it a world built from the mind?”

An extraordinary adventure lay before him, filling him with both curiosity and excitement.

“Are we going to project our souls there?”

“The Virtual Realm has no physical passage, but it does have an abstract passage,” Professor Yuan said, turning around. “Follow me.”

Huang Xiu and Yun Ning walked side by side behind Professor Yuan toward the training ground’s entrance.

Soon, an elevator appeared before them.

This was the only passage connecting this underground training facility to the surface world.

“The Virtual Realm is full of wonders, with all sorts of bizarre rules, and it also carries great risks.” Professor Yuan pressed the up button, and when the elevator doors opened, he led the two inside.

“The Virtual Realm I’m taking you to is called the Myriad Realms Transit Hub.” He flipped his right hand, and a black card suddenly appeared between his fingers.

Huang Xiu noticed that when Professor Yuan said the name “Myriad Realms Transit Hub,” Yun Ning’s breathing grew heavier.

Clearly, this Virtual Realm was not simple.

His mind racing, he turned his gaze to the black card in the middle-aged man’s fingertips.

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

In the upper left corner was a serial number—NO.321.

Huang Xiu’s eyes were locked on it. For some reason, the card gave him a very strange feeling, a sense of not belonging to this world.

Though his eyes could see it, his subconscious told him the card didn’t exist at all.