Awakening the Flora

Outside the elevator was a vast plain. Countless strange flowers were in bloom, their colors and postures defying any single description.

A gentle breeze swept through. The flowers bent their heads shyly, and restless petals danced into the air.

A sunflower with seven-colored petals spun in place, as if searching for the best patch of sunlight.

Its thick leaves pressed down the surrounding flowers. A chrysanthemum suddenly extended two thin green arms from beneath its petals and punched the sunflower hard.

Stunned by the blow, the rainbow sunflower wobbled dizzily and then wilted, flopping to the ground.

The surrounding flowers all bent over with laughter, sending ripples in concentric circles across the field.

“Whoa!”

Huang Xiu’s mouth hung open, eyes fixed on the scene. It was the first time she had seen such a beautiful, surreal sight.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Professor Yuan laughed heartily, pulling his disciple closer with one arm.

Yun Ning, choked by the arm around his neck, barely struggled. He was too stunned by what lay before him.

His eyes widened, as if trying to imprint every detail in his memory forever.

“This is the kingdom of flowers,” Professor Yuan said, gazing nostalgically at the scene. It had been a long time since he last visited.

“Try using your ability here!”

“Here?” Huang Xiu pointed into the distance, where a rose bush was leaning down, comforting the sad sunflower.

“But… these flowers seem to have life.”

“They’re only virtual realm creatures,” Professor Yuan said carelessly. “Virtual realm creatures aren’t real life.”

He paused, then turned to look at Huang Xiu, who was biting her lower lip, her small face full of conflict. “But since you care, then come with me.”

Professor Yuan led the two of them through the sea of flowers. Soon they arrived at another clearing.

This place also had a sea of flowers, but these flowers were deathly still compared to the previous ones.

Moreover, besides the flowers, there wasn’t a single blade of grass on the ground. Even the breeze refused to linger here.

“This is the flower graveyard.” Professor Yuan narrowed his eyes. “When flowers in this virtual realm are about to die, they plant themselves here.”

“These flowers have no life. They’re no different from ordinary flowers in the real world. This should be easier for you to accept.”

“Okay.” Huang Xiu nodded softly and walked into the dead sea of flowers.

She recalled how to use her ability, a hint of nervousness hidden beneath her calm expression.

“First, water with blood…”

She raised her left hand, palm up, and gently drew her right index finger across the center.

Her sharp, pale pink fingernail easily cut through the flesh.

Since transforming into a woman, Huang Xiu could feel her body had become much stronger.

An operation like slicing open her palm with a fingernail, something she never dared imagine before, was now easy to accomplish.

But even with mental preparation, the sharp pain of the cut still made her grunt.

Blood seeped from the wound, dyeing her palm lines clearly visible.

She clenched her left fist, and blood spilled from between her fingers.

Huang Xiu scanned her surroundings, took a deep breath, and then suddenly flung her left hand forward.

Pomegranate-red blood scattered like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, drenching a large patch of flowers in front of her.

The blood slid down the petals, but before it could fall, the petals absorbed it completely.

A faint red light, barely visible to the naked eye, glowed on those flowers.

At that moment, Huang Xiu felt a connection form between her and the flowers stained with her blood.

A flood of ecstatic emotions, like a newborn animal seeing its mother for the first time, came from those flowers.

“I… gave them life?”

A faint white light flickered deep in Huang Xiu’s eyes, a sign of the virtual energy churning inside her.

“First, water with blood… next… control!”

She suddenly clenched her fist. The flowers before her instantly swelled and grew rapidly, turning into giant, grotesque green plants several meters tall.

The giant sunflower bent over, its petals drooping backward, presenting its huge flower disc to the front.

The disc began to spin on its own.

Huang Xiu understood instantly. The thrill of unrestricted control made the corners of her mouth curl up.

“Fire!” she said softly.

The next second, countless brown beams shot out from the spinning disc like a rainstorm.

Bang bang bang!

The yellow ground not far away looked like it had been bombarded by mortars. The flying brown beams punched hole after hole into it, each the size of a fist.

In just a few seconds, the ground had an irregular pit several meters wide.

Such destructive power surprised even the girl herself.

If this were used on a person…

Aside from a transcendence-level sports student, it wouldn’t just leave bruises. It would leave holes, here one chunk, there another!

But it wasn’t over yet.

The sunflower wasn’t the only one hit by the blood.

The white light in Huang Xiu’s eyes intensified. The powerful fluctuation of her virtual energy emanated from her without restraint.

Her long hair began to float, though there was no wind.

This sight made Professor Yuan and Yun Ning, watching from behind, tremble inwardly.

“Her virtual energy is so vast without any forging training. No wonder she’s rated an S-class genius.”

Forging was a method special ability users used to strengthen their virtual energy.

But more than her powerful virtual energy, Professor Yuan was stunned by Huang Xiu’s ability itself.

“This ability can control the life form of plants. That’s not something ordinary abilities can do.”

A hint of gravity flickered in his eyes. She was already this strong now. He dared not imagine how far she could go as she advanced in rank and her ability evolved.

Compared to the experienced Professor Yuan, Yun Ning’s focus was simply on the virtual energy.

After all, for a special ability user, the main measure of strength was virtual energy.

Under the crushing weight of virtual energy level and rank, many human-targeting abilities could not even take effect.

“Huang’s virtual energy is so strong! No wonder the teacher flew all the way from Cloud Province Capital,” the boy murmured to himself.

He wasn’t shrewd enough, or perhaps he was simply too candid. His surprise was written plainly on his face, but there was not a trace of jealousy.

Not paying attention to the two, Huang Xiu was fully focused on controlling the giant flowers in the sea.

She waved her right hand gently. The morning glory on the vine in front of her swelled rapidly.

Thick green vines, as thick as a fist, rose up like long snakes and slowly revolved around the girl.

They were like guards surrounding an emperor.

“Go!” Huang Xiu thought.

The vines shot out like lightning, instantly crossing tens of meters to bind a stone in the pit.

The morning glory vines, transformed by her blood, were not only as tough as iron cables but also very flexible.

With creaking sounds, the watermelon-sized rock was crushed into pieces by the vines.

“So strong! My ability!” Huang Xiu was ecstatic.

Using her ability for the first time, the immense power and the feeling of total control made her whole body tremble slightly.

As for the girl’s ability, it was simple: using blood as a medium to connect with plants.

Then, through virtual energy, she could control the plants she had bonded with remotely.

Under the effect of virtual energy and her blood, the life forms of these plants were greatly enhanced and altered.

She called this change “aberration.”

Moreover, the direction of the plant’s aberration was entirely controlled by her.

That meant, if she wanted, she could turn a sunflower into a machine gun or a giant shield.

****