Awakening of Insects

"Transcendent beings... appeared a long time ago.

To maintain order, the council chose to conceal the truth from the public, but as times change, concealment becomes increasingly difficult."

"After the Deep Sea connected the world, the East Continent officially established the Tribunal. The authorities began to incorporate unaffiliated Transcendent beings... Due to authorization reasons, I won't go into detail about this part."

"Senior Sister???"

"It's best if you don't know some things right now. You only need to know that the Tribunal has only two tasks. One is to imprison 'Transcendent Out-of-Control Individuals,' and the other is to collect 'Transcendent Sealed Objects.'"

Luo Er extended a hand.

Above her palm, invisible air currents swirled, transforming into scattered energy. This repeated, and the whistling sound, like tearing paper, was quite pleasant.

"To this day, we still can't explain what Transcendent power is... Nature has its iron laws and rules, but it is a kind of 'destruction,' 'disregard,' and 'usurpation' of disorderly power."

"Because of the existence of this power, many truths are no longer truths."

"For example... a broken mirror cannot be rejoined."

Luo Er looked to the side.

"Whirr——"

A huge glass mirror at the end of the training ground shattered instantly, like mercury spilling onto the ground. But the moment Senior Sister's voice landed, thousands of fragments flowed back together, neatly piecing the huge mirror back together.

"Or for example... spilled water cannot be gathered up."

A water pipe suddenly burst, and water gushed from the ground like a fountain.

The next moment.

Time seemed to flow backward. Water droplets scattered everywhere gathered into a water column, then compressed inch by inch. Finally, the burst pipe was restored to its original state, swallowing all the splashing water. All the noise disappeared, leaving only the quiet and surging sound of water underground.

A miracle.

This was already a supernatural phenomenon that ordinary people could not understand.

And the instigator simply moved her fingers, said a few words, casually, as if drinking tea.

Everything happened.

Everything seemed to not have happened.

"According to current data, anyone, at any age, can experience 'Transcendent Awakening.' Awakened individuals will possess powerful power, but they will also face the risk of 'losing control'... This is also the greatest crisis you will face in this audit." Senior Apprentice Sister Luo paused. "Because of the Fire Disaster Case, your danger rating is extremely high. The council will not allow a monster like you to have the possibility of losing control."

Out-of-control individuals...

Gu Shen suddenly thought of his initial encounter.

A-009 was an out-of-control individual. According to Mr. Shu's information, many years ago, she was a normal employee of the Ancient Text Society.

Because of contact with A-009, plus the Fire Disaster Case, I am considered likely to lose control?

"So the first lesson you need to learn is control."

Control Transcendent power?!

But he was just an ordinary person, how could he control this nonexistent power!

Hearing this, Gu Shen became deeply worried... The Tribunal didn't know that his Transcendent awakening was actually created by the Truth Ruler. According to Senior Apprentice Sister Luo, that should be a Transcendent sealed item.

The Tribunal was responsible for imprisoning those who lost control and containing sealed items... They must be wary of the destruction that both could cause if they fell into the wrong hands. If the Truth Ruler fell into the hands of bad people, it could very likely lead to a disaster.

"Mr. Gu Changzhi of the highest council once said that the relationship between the spirit and the body is the foundation of all cultivation. The two are like water and a bowl. If one side grows stronger, the other side needs to keep up at the same time, and neither can be missing. Those who lost control did so because the two were out of balance, leading to their collapse. If we want to fundamentally prevent this... we need to start by working on the body."

Gu Changzhi... a name that still resounds like thunder today.

He was a hero admired and worshiped by many people in East Continent twenty years ago, who became famous all over the world at a young age and achieved great feats, but he hasn't been seen in public for a long time.

Gu Shen asked, "Is he also related to the Tribunal?"

"Of course. The establishment of the Tribunal was greatly related to Mr. Gu Changzhi." Senior Apprentice Sister Luo said softly, "The teacher received a lot of support from him, including a very important... thing, that can help you control Transcendent power."

She seemed to be thinking about what to describe it as.

The word 'thing' was actually not very appropriate.

But there was no more appropriate adjective than it.

"Is it... a sealed item?" Gu Shen asked curiously.

"No." Senior Apprentice Sister Luo shook her head.

"You'll know when you see it." She stretched out a finger and touched the center of Gu Shen's brow.

Buzz—

The entire training ground fell silent in an instant.

The sound of the wind, the sound of water, the sound of insects flapping their wings, were amplified infinitely. The whole world was in a contradictory opposition between extreme silence and extreme noise, and Gu Shen only felt an overwhelming sense of sleepiness coming over him. In an instant, his eyelids felt as if they were filled with lead, carrying the weight of thousands of pounds, and his whole body fell downwards, but fell into soft clouds.

Was he being hypnotized? He couldn't just fall asleep like this!

In a flash of lightning, Gu Shen struggled, trying to wake himself up.

But... it was useless.

The power that was pulling him into the dream was too strong to resist.

"He's in the dream."

At the critical moment, Nan Jin reached out a hand and steadily supported the boy who was falling straight to the ground, helping him to the chair at the edge of the training ground. Gu Shen lowered his head and fell into a deep sleep, his breathing long and steady.

"Not simple at all, he even struggled a bit."

Senior Apprentice Sister Luo smiled, "Looks like he's a boy with secrets, but... I'm not interested in his little secrets."

"Remember, when I first joined the Tribunal, I only got an A-Rank rating."

Luo Er fell into memories and chuckled, "As a consolation, the teacher showed me Awakening of Insects, and I actually slept for a full eight hours in that Mental Dreamscape... The fastest person that year only took two and a half hours."

"Senior Sister..."

"You're talking about Han Dang, right? He can't compare to you—"

Zhong Wei's tone was solemn. "In that Mental Dreamscape, you not only finished reading 'Awakening of Insects,' but you also completely copied it. In the entire Tribunal, so far, no one else has been able to do such a thing."

The Mental Dreamscape that carries "Awakening of Insects" cannot be described in words, nor can it be replicated by technical means.

To comprehend it, one can only borrow the original rubbing left by Gu Changzhi in the Tribunal, and applying to view it requires certain permissions, qualifications, and contributions.

But there are always exceptions.

"So... our 'Awakening of Insects' was taught by Senior Apprentice Sister Shi Meng. The teacher hasn't used the original rubbing from the Tribunal since."

Nan Jin revealed a look of realization.

Senior Apprentice Sister actually completely replicated the Awakening of Insects Dreamscape.

She frowned and said, "Han Dang... that name sounds familiar. I seem to have heard it somewhere."

"Zhu Wang's prized student, known as the 'Smiling Tiger,' with a perverse and volatile personality. His teacher, Zhu Wang, has always been eyeing the teacher's position as Grand Arbiter." Zhong Wei said unhappily, "The meeting to impeach the teacher this time was initiated by them. Only if the teacher steps down can Zhu Wang take over as a replacement. Because they seized upon the matter of using the Amnesty Decree... if nothing else happens, they will keep a close eye on Gu Shen's review."

Nan Jin was thoughtful.

In terms of qualifications, reputation, and strength, Zhu Wang is one of the very few big figures within the Tribunal who can stand up to the teacher, but the two have always been at odds, never meeting, let alone cooperating, and their disciples also have a vaguely confrontational and divided meaning.

Mr. Shu's lineage has Senior Apprentice Sister Luo as its face.

And the leader of Zhu Wang's lineage is Han Dang.

"Last night's online meeting was intense."

"Gu Shen's matter has attracted too much attention. Some people are full of bad intentions, just worrying about not having a place to vent." Zhong Wei sighed, "Last night's meeting decided to conduct the review of Gu Shen in Da Teng City. I don't know if Han Dang will cause trouble."

"When soldiers come, we will block them; when water comes, we will dam it."

Senior Apprentice Sister Luo waved her hand and said, "Han Dang is nothing. It's better not to tell Gu Shen about his affairs, so as not to put too much pressure on him."

"Yeah..."

Both of them nodded, expressing their agreement.

"By the way," Nan Jin asked curiously, "How long did Senior Brother take to finish reading 'Awakening of Insects' back then?"

"Four hours and nine minutes, ten minutes slower than you." Zhong Wei said with a smile, "Those in the Tribunal who are qualified to read 'Awakening of Insects' can be called geniuses. For non-spiritual Transcendent, it is considered a success as long as they can finish reading and leave the Dreamscape within twelve hours."

"For you, four hours is already a very good result."

Senior Apprentice Sister Luo fell into memories, sighed softly, and said, "Later I learned that the reading time of 'Awakening of Insects' is related to mental potential. At that time, reading 'Awakening of Insects' was also considered a test. If you could finish reading it within 2 hours, the teacher would have the Tribunal add an A-Rank evaluation... if I hadn't chosen to copy it, I would have completed it."

"Senior Apprentice Sister has always been a formidable person comparable to A-Rank in my heart." Zhong Wei said with a smile, "I'm not flattering you, I'm serious!"

"A-Rank or not... these evaluations are not important now."

Luo Er smiled, looked at the young man slumped on the long chair, and asked, "How long do you think it will take Gu Shen to finish reading 'Awakening of Insects'?"