Ability: Devour

Before him, a massive, pitch-black vortex spread out. The surrounding space collapsed and twisted within the ceaselessly rotating whirlpool!

A black hole!

These two words instantly surfaced in Yang Chen's mind.

The black hole was pitch-black, a darkness so profound it seemed bottomless.

Faintly, one could see the reflections of ten thousand stars projected upon the surface of the void!

Yang Chen's mind was shaken, yet for some reason, a strange sense of familiarity emanated from that dark abyss!

It felt as if the black hole were a part of his own body that had been severed, and now, he had finally found it again.

Only then did Yang Chen realize that the pulling force that had drawn him here was emanating directly from the mouth of the vortex.

"Are you the one pulling me?"

Yang Chen spoke softly.

The surroundings remained deathly silent, save for the black hole, which began to tremble.

A faint smile curled the corners of Yang Chen's mouth. He lifted his arm slowly and gradually placed it near the black hole.

It was strange; the space around the black hole could barely withstand the pressure it radiated, and Yang Chen's physical body was only at the Grandmaster realm.

Compared to the space itself, Yang Chen's physical body was far weaker.

Yet, where Yang Chen placed his arm, he felt not the slightest disturbance. Even the space around his limb grew quiet.

It felt empty, appearing strangely abrupt in the surroundings.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Yang Chen walked slowly toward the black hole. The closer he got, the more he could feel the attraction pulling at him!

It grew increasingly intense!

Joy filled Yang Chen's heart, and he quickened his pace.

Gradually, the distance between Yang Chen and the black hole closed until he stood directly before it.

Only then did Yang Chen notice that jet-black rays of light were constantly radiating and twisting from the surface of the black hole.

These rays were the primary reason the space around the black hole was warping!

Yang Chen took a deep breath and thrust his hand directly into the pitch-black void.

He had expected to experience pain, but the moment his arm entered, he was stunned to find it felt warm and comfortable.

A soothing sensation erupted across his arm.

Immediately after, he saw the energy from within the black hole pouring into his body. It flowed along his meridians, completed a cycle through his torso, and finally drifted into his dantian.

The spiritual energy that had originally entered Yang Chen's body began to transform within that dark radiance.

Droplets of liquid spiritual energy were enveloped by the black light, gradually shifting toward that same dark luster.

Soon, all the spiritual energy in Yang Chen's dantian was shrouded in black light, and a formidable power began to emanate from within those dark shells.

At this moment, Yang Chen's spiritual cultivation had already successfully broken through to the A-rank esper level during the A-rank spiritual energy infusion, but with the shroud of black light, things changed.

While his spiritual cultivation level did not see a massive increase, Yang Chen could clearly feel the quality of his energy undergoing a subtle shift under the influence of that dark light.

An upgrade!

If the A-rank spiritual infusion was merely pumping the world's spiritual energy into one's body—which was, at best, of average quality—then why could some espers defeat opponents of a higher rank?

It was entirely due to the quality of their energy!

Someone might have just reached A-rank, but if their energy quality was far superior to yours, even if you had been stuck at A-rank for a long time, you might not be a match for that newly promoted powerhouse.

This was the difference in energy quality!

And now, with the help of the black hole's light, Yang Chen was elevating his own energy quality.

As time passed, the spiritual energy shrouded in the black light gradually turned as dark and abyssal as the light itself.

Not only did the color change, but the intensity of the spiritual energy also increased significantly.

Yang Chen felt that even if he relied solely on his spiritual cultivation, he could defeat Wild Wolf!

Although Wild Wolf had been stuck at the A-rank for quite some time, he had paid little attention to the quality of his energy.

As for how Wild Wolf had managed to escape from an S-rank esper, it was entirely because his ability was defensive in nature, and a decent one at that.

Otherwise, given Wild Wolf's true strength, it would have been quite difficult!

Of course, this was something even Wild Wolf himself had failed to notice.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unable to take even a single strike from Yang Chen.

Following this, a faint black light emerged from Yang Chen's body, and waves of subtle pressure erupted from him.

While this pressure was not strong enough to warp space like the black hole, it still caused the air to ripple.

The black hole trembled as if it possessed human-like sentience. Its massive form suddenly began to rotate violently, and under Yang Chen's gaze, it gradually shrank.

It transformed into a streak of black light, tore through space, and dove straight into Yang Chen's dantian.

Upon sensing the arrival of the black hole, the black spiritual energy in Yang Chen's dantian seemed to recognize its sovereign; it scrambled to make room, curling itself into the corners of his dantian.

The black hole seemed to feel entitled to this privilege, drifting toward the center of Yang Chen's dantian with an air of arrogance before settling down.

It transformed into a pitch-black bead, floating silently above his dantian.

Watching this scene, Yang Chen couldn't help but find it amusing.

Has this thing gained sentience? It's so full of itself!

A moment later, as if suddenly remembering something, Yang Chen looked suspiciously at the black hole in his dantian and muttered to himself, "But what is the ability it's supposed to have given me?"

He had seen many stars carrying abilities before reaching this black hole, and none of them had been as terrifying as this one.

Yet, even though he had refined the black hole, he didn't feel anything at all!

So, what exactly was his ability?

Yang Chen was completely baffled.

As if sensing Yang Chen's confusion, the black hole reacted.

The black bead, which had been floating quietly in his dantian, suddenly began to tremble violently. Then, its dark light surged, and a terrifying pulling force erupted instantly.

Streaks of pitch-black radiance manifested in the blink of an eye.

Like black chains, they pierced through Yang Chen's body and shot toward a point in the starry sky.

Before Yang Chen could react, he saw a fiery red star instantly wrapped in dense black light and dragged toward him.

It hurtled toward him at extreme speed.

"What the hell is going on!"

Yang Chen was stunned and wanted to dodge, but he realized it was too late!

That was a star! Given its sheer size, even with his Grandmaster-level physique, he wouldn't remain unscathed after a collision with a star!

Yang Chen watched helplessly as the flame-filled star crashed toward him.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

But a moment later, Yang Chen didn't feel any physical pain; instead, his body was filled with a warm sensation.

What was happening?

Yang Chen was taken aback and hurriedly turned his focus inward to inspect his body.

To his surprise, he discovered a small, fiery red patch had appeared on the surface of the black bead.

A scorching wave of energy radiated from that red area.

"Could it be..."

Yang Chen swallowed hard; he seemed to have realized what his ability was!

However, if it was truly what he thought, it was almost too monstrous!

With a racing heart, Yang Chen opened his palm and focused his mind. Suddenly, a flame erupted from his hand.

As Yang Chen channeled his spiritual energy into the flame, it spread rapidly, instantly engulfing his entire body.

The aura of this flame was exactly the same as the one from the star that had just collided with him!

"Devour?"

Yang Chen looked at the raging fire, yet he felt no burning sensation at all.

Suddenly, a screen popped up in his field of vision.

It was roughly the same as before, except for an extra "Ability" section at the bottom!

Character: Yang Chen (Grandmaster!)

Physique: Mortal Grade

Title: None!

Level: A-Rank!

Permissions: Sign-in! (On cooldown, 14 days remaining!)

Shop: Locked!

Ability: Devour!

At this moment, the level on the screen had changed, and an ability section had been added to his attributes.

A wave of joy washed over Yang Chen.

So, he did have an ability after all!

Immediately afterward, Yang Chen felt the world spin before his eyes. When he regained his senses, he was already back in his home.

To be continued!