“Are you telling the truth?” Captain Lyu grabbed her arm, while the others looked at her excitedly.
“It’s true… I think?” Su Xi wasn’t entirely sure herself, so she explained what had happened during the meditation class—how she had been able to see the Consciousness Sea of several people. “I’m not certain if it will work completely, but it should help with your awakening.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Jamie was the first to step forward. “Me, me, me… try awakening me first, set an example for everyone.”
With that, he sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and tried hard to enter a meditative state. But perhaps due to overexcitement, he couldn’t manage it no matter what.
“Don’t waste your energy. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to enter.” Gu Mingjie patted his shoulder. “I’ve asked around. To enter the state we were in during class, you need to clear your mind completely and achieve a state of selflessness. That day, we were able to enter so quickly because of the Magic Array. Teacher Lin used her own power to forcibly pull us into meditation.”
“That’s right, that’s right.” Aunt Wang nodded in agreement. “I’ve tried many times these past few days, but I haven’t been able to recapture that feeling from class.”
“It seems to be a benefit only at the start of each school year,” Niuniu added softly. “I checked the school regulations. Only the first class uses a Magic Array for guidance. After that, you have to enter that state on your own.”
“Then what do we do? Without entering meditation, we can’t awaken as Transcendents, but it’s too hard to enter on our own. How many times have any of you managed it these past few days?” Jamie scratched his head anxiously.
Gu Mingjie, Aunt Wang, and Captain Lyu all shook their heads—clearly, none of them had succeeded.
Only Niuniu timidly held up one finger. “Once.”
Captain Lyu sighed and turned to her. “Su Xi, do you have any way to help us re-enter that meditative state from before?”
Su Xi: “…” Wait, isn’t the Consciousness Sea a place you can enter just by wanting to? Why would you need help?
The thing was… she actually could help!
Almost instinctively, she raised her hand and tapped Jamie’s forehead. She faintly felt something stir within her, and the next moment, the previously lively Jamie closed his eyes and instantly entered a deep meditative state.
Su Xi also sat cross-legged and closed her eyes. Sure enough, she appeared in his Consciousness Sea the very next moment—still that same boundless ocean. She tried to sense her surroundings and, as expected, saw the same barrier around the Consciousness Sea. However, compared to Niuniu’s, Jamie’s barrier was noticeably thicker.
This barrier was likely what was preventing him from awakening as a Transcendent. Although Su Xi felt she could easily shatter it, she decided to play it safe. Just like last time, she sensed Jamie’s aura and then tapped a specific point in the air.
Crack! Sure enough, the sound of shattering echoed all around. The calm sea surface began to churn, as if infused with vitality.
She tapped several more times, and the cracks grew larger and larger, eventually spreading across the entire sky. The ocean below began to roil and surge, and only then did she stop.
“Success!” Opening her eyes, she saw the excited expressions of the other four.
Turning to look, sure enough, faint blue water mist suddenly began rising around Jamie, with some kind of energy radiating from him—a clear sign of awakening.
Jamie also opened his eyes in surprise, staring excitedly at the changes happening to him. “I feel so full of power now. Oh, Mibao, thank you! I think I can enter meditation anytime now, and it won’t be long before I fully awaken my Transcendent Ability.”
The others also looked at her with a mix of shock and delight. “So you really can help us awaken. It seems your Transcendent Ability must be related to the mind.”
“Let me try too,” Gu Mingjie eagerly raised his hand.
“And me!” Aunt Wang also raised her hand.
“Student Su Xi,” Captain Lyu scratched his head sheepishly, “could you trouble you a bit?”
“No problem, leave it to me!” Su Xi confidently patted her chest. Since they were all from Blue Star, the sooner they awakened, the better.
Su Xi closed her eyes again and began helping them awaken one by one, shattering the barrier in their Consciousness Sea. However, she didn’t completely break it—only created enough cracks. She felt the final step was crucial and had to be done by them on their own.
During this process, she also noticed that the thickness of each person’s barrier varied. Niuniu’s was the thinnest, followed by Aunt Wang’s. Jamie and Captain Lyu’s barriers were about the same, while Gu Mingjie’s was exceptionally sturdy, as thick as a city wall. It took the longest time to crack his barrier.
The most surprising was Niuniu. Her barrier was already the thinnest, and since it had been shattered once before in class, Su Xi didn’t intervene directly this time. Instead, she focused her thoughts, connected with Niuniu’s mental energy, and guided her to strike the cracks in the Consciousness Sea barrier.
Sure enough, in just a short while, the entire Consciousness Sea barrier shattered and dissipated completely. The flames within the Consciousness Sea, as if finally freed from their restraints, began dancing and burning wildly. The surroundings turned fiery red, the temperature rising higher and higher, becoming increasingly scorching, with a faint smell of something burning…
Wait!
Burning?
She abruptly opened her eyes and saw flames inexplicably erupting around Niuniu, engulfing her like a human torch. Strangely, Niuniu herself remained completely unaffected, her clothes intact, while everything around her caught fire—the carpet, coffee table, sofa, and… the four people sitting cross-legged on the sofa with their eyes closed.
“Holy crap! It’s on fire!” Su Xi sprang up, patting the flames on the four while vigorously shaking them awake.
The four groggily opened their eyes, startled by the fire around them. Jamie, who was closest, had his clothes already ignited. He hopped around, frantically slapping at the flames on his body.
“Put out the fire, water… water!” Aunt Wang anxiously grabbed a nearby pot, ready to pour it on Jamie.
“Wait! That’s hot pot!” Fortunately, Captain Lyu stopped her just in time. Seeing the entire room ablaze, he shouted, “Let’s get out first!”
They scrambled out of the dorm, covered in soot and ash. Luckily, the dorm had an automatic fire suppression system, and the flames soon died down.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Niuniu’s Intellect-Brain terminal beeped, displaying a message reminding her to report to the Elemental System as soon as possible.
So… she had truly awakened her Transcendent Ability?!
That’s fantastic!
“Hahahaha… Though it was a bit messy, it’s worth it to awaken! Hehe!” The group was all excited.
Until—
Beep, the Intellect-Brain popped up another message, presenting a list before their eyes. On it were written several large characters:
—Dormitory Damage Compensation List!
The six penniless individuals: “…” No more hehe!