Mental Attack

The atmosphere in the VIP room grew increasingly tense.

Ning Ze's eyes remained calm. He had fought Mid-level Lord monsters before and would not be intimidated by the other man's aura, revealing no weakness whatsoever.

The members of the Warfire Squad beside him also grew tense, ready to make a move at any moment.

Of course, their targets would be the surrounding Warlords, or they would flee to call for help. If two War God Level experts fought, a single move could kill them instantly.

In truth, Ning Ze was nowhere near as relaxed as he appeared. Since he had confirmed that the man before him was a Mid-level War God, the other man's strength was several times his own—perhaps even ten times greater!

If they fought, his chances were not high.

Starting a fight in the Base City would definitely bring severe punishment, perhaps even punishment he could not afford.

The situation had reached this point entirely because of Wang Xing'an.

Even without Wang Xing'an forcing his hand, Ning Ze had already considered fighting from the beginning. The worst possibility was that there was an Intermediate Warlord here.

Ning Ze did not know how far the Wang Family had gone or how long they had been at it, but as long as he kept Wang Xing'an here, there would always be a way out. If things truly reached the point where there was no other option, he could only take this man hostage and escape.

Ning Ze's expression did not change as he silently entered his cultivation state. Strands of Cosmic Energy surged into his body. Under such tense pressure, the energy flowed in at a speed far beyond normal, even faster than the rate at which his physical strength increased during battle.

As a War God, Wild Wolf was extremely sensitive to Cosmic Energy and immediately noticed the change. His brows furrowed slightly.

Especially when he looked into Ning Ze's eyes, he saw streaks of Sword Light within their depths. Countless of them seemed to form a howling gale, exerting even a faint pressure upon his mind.

At that point, he was completely certain that Ning Ze was a Mental Master. He had merely concealed it well before.

Wild Wolf would certainly be no match for a Mental Master of the same level, but his expression relaxed instead.

He had figured it out. Even if he owed the Wang Family a favor, he would not stir up trouble in the Base City, especially against a Mental Master. If things went wrong, he might end up dragged down with them.

Fortunately, this was the Base City. Neither of them dared to strike first.

Since the Wang Family wanted to force Ning Ze into making a move, they must have been planning this for quite some time. Something unexpected might happen, and all he needed to do was keep Ning Ze here until then.

Once he repaid this favor, whatever chaos followed would have nothing to do with him.

As it happened, Ning Ze did not seem to want to leave either—or rather, he did not want to leave so easily. That had nothing to do with Wild Wolf as well.

Three minutes passed.

Everyone else in the room was holding up well enough, but Wang Xing'an was nearly at his limit. The moment he heard that Ning Ze was a Mental Master, his mind had fallen into chaos.

Combined with the oppressive tension in the room, every second was torture. It felt like years were passing with every day!

He wanted Ning Ze to leave, but the thought of having a War God Level Mental Master as an enemy filled him with terror. Ning Ze was far too young. A War God might not be able to do much to him now, but once he became a Beyond War God, Wang Xing'an would have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

The situation had completely slipped beyond his control.

Wang Xing'an lowered his head, his legs trembling. He wanted to lift his feet and leave. He felt that there was no longer any way to deal with Ning Ze this time. He wanted to flee far away and let his family handle this enormous problem.

Ning Ze keenly noticed Wang Xing'an's discomfort, and suddenly, an idea surfaced in his mind.

Mental Masters were divided into "remote object control" and "mental attacks."

His Mental Power had been cultivated while practicing One Sword Sealing Heaven. At first, it had only possessed a few dozen kilograms of force, and even now it was only ten thousand kilograms.

He had always treated Mental Power as an auxiliary tool and had never thought to study mental attacks.

But now, he was interested. He wanted to try and see whether he could launch a mental attack.

Ning Ze found himself at a loss for a moment. He had never attempted it before.

Wild Wolf had not attacked at the start, so he was even less likely to attack now.

Ning Ze therefore focused on thinking it through. After considering it for a while, he finally decided to proceed according to the method he used during cultivation.

Suddenly, Ning Ze turned to look at Wang Xing'an.

Wild Wolf's heart tightened as an ominous feeling rose within him.

The next second, that feeling came true.

Looking into Ning Ze's eyes, he saw what seemed to be a figure appear within those starry pupils. It was hazy, vaguely resembling Wang Xing'an, while a fierce gale formed from endless sword light raged around it.

The next instant, a shrill scream erupted from beside him.

"Ah—"

The cry was heart-rending!

Wang Xing'an screamed in agony. He felt as though his soul were being carved apart alive!

Pain unlike anything he had ever experienced shattered both his physical and mental defenses in an instant.

In that moment, his body completely lost all resistance. His legs gave out, and he collapsed limply to the floor, convulsing and howling, "Ah!!"

His entire body spasmed. His trembling hands clutched his head, his mouth hung wide open, and his whole face twisted grotesquely, as though he were enduring the cruelest torture imaginable.

His mind was being ravaged by endless sword light.

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly rose and stepped in front of Ning Ze.

Wild Wolf tried to block Ning Ze's mental attack this way, but he found that it had no effect. Frowning, he shouted, "Enough. The Base City has rules. Even Mental Masters cannot attack people at will."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ning Ze's lips. He had not expected it to actually work. His Mental Power had improved greatly now, allowing him to imagine a person for a long time, even imagine himself practicing swordsmanship.

Ning Ze could not help but find it both amusing and absurd. Back then, he had tried to cultivate it but failed, only able to hold the image together for a few seconds. Yet now, Wang Xing'an had been trapped inside it for so long.

He raised his eyes.

Wild Wolf's brows were tightly furrowed, but he only offered a verbal warning and showed no intention of attacking.

Ning Ze did not want to leave behind too much evidence either. With a flash of sword light in his mind, he directly scattered Wang Xing'an's image.

"Ah!"

With a groan of extreme pain, Wang Xing'an lay limp on the floor and stopped moving.

Wild Wolf's brows tightened further, but he did not say anything. He could sense that Wang Xing'an was still breathing.

As long as he was not dead, it was fine.

Wild Wolf was only here to keep Ning Ze from leaving. Who had told this brat to come here?

He could not block a Mental Master's methods. If he made a move, it would become a real fight, which did not suit the Wang Family's demands. As long as Ning Ze did not leave, he could watch with a clear conscience.

Wang Xing'an could only be blamed for bringing this upon himself.

The room became even quieter, though the tense atmosphere had dissipated.

The people from the Underground Alliance now looked at Ning Ze as though he were a demon. A mental attack that they could not even perceive—how could they not find that terrifying?

Especially after hearing the previous conversation, they realized that he might even possess War God Level strength!

That made it even more horrifying. One glance from him might kill them!

They only wished Ning Ze would leave as soon as possible!

The stiff-faced middle-aged man who had stopped the Warfire Squad earlier lowered his head and did not dare look in that direction.

He had offended a Mental Master, and a genius Mental Master at that. If he had known this would happen today, he would never have come to work.

Not only them—even the members of the Warfire Squad stared at Ning Ze with strange expressions. This kid had such a method? They had never seen it before!

Ning Ze paid no attention to their fearful gazes. Did they expect him to use gentle methods against his enemies? If the sword in his hand could not strike, then the sword in his mind would show no mercy!

Now that he had the upper hand, he felt even more confident about escaping. The hostage was lying on the ground, waiting to be taken captive. There was no better hostage to threaten them with.

Time slowly passed.

A little after nine in the evening, the previously closed door was kicked open with a bang. In the same pose as the stiff-faced middle-aged man earlier, Ning Hua rushed inside anxiously and shouted, "Son, are you okay?"

Ning Ze glanced at his father, then looked at the person beside him.

It was a young man with gentle eyes, dressed in a luxurious black outfit. He looked young, yet carried a faint air of weathered maturity.

Ning Ze nodded to Ning Hua. "Dad, I'm fine." Then he respectfully called out, "Director."

"Director."

Everyone in the room greeted Director Dongfang respectfully, including the martial artists from the Underground Alliance. Such was the pressure wielded by the Limitless Martial Arts School.

Director Dongfang smiled warmly. "I have been following your information for some time, but this is the first time I have seen you in person. If your father had not hidden you away, perhaps we would have noticed your talent when you first became a martial artist."

Ning Ze looked slightly awkward. Everyone thought they had been concealing things, but they truly had not hidden anything before. The first time he absorbed Cosmic Energy, his strength had only increased by 1,200 kilograms.

"Thank you, Director, for coming to rescue us. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for us to get away this time."

Wild Wolf's expression turned somewhat strange. He was indeed an Intermediate Warlord, but this kid was a Mental Master of no low level. Did Ning Ze really need to fear him?

Director Dongfang's face darkened at those words. He said seriously, "As a member of my Limitless Martial Arts School, of course I will not allow you to suffer such injustice."

Ning Ze was somewhat moved, and much of the hostility in his heart faded. He thanked him sincerely once more. "Thank you, Director."

Director Dongfang nodded slightly. Then he glanced at Wang Xing'an on the floor and frowned. "What happened here?"

Ning Ze looked a little awkward as he answered honestly, "I did it. This man is Wang Xing'an, the mastermind behind keeping us here. He also wanted to embezzle our materials. I was afraid my father would discover it too late, and then we would be at their mercy with no way to turn things around, so I thought of keeping a hostage."

Director Dongfang nodded with a smile. "Bold indeed. You directly knocked him unconscious. It seems you would have been perfectly safe even if I had not come."

At that moment, a hoarse voice sounded from beside them. "He was not knocked unconscious. It was a mental attack."

Hearing that, Director Dongfang exclaimed, "A mental attack? You are a Mental Master?"

Ning Ze nodded lightly. "I am a Mental Master, but I awakened later. I'm a bit weak, so I generally use it as support."

Director Dongfang was speechless for a moment. There was no need to think about it—this father and son had definitely been hiding things again.

He turned and glanced at Ning Hua, realizing he had misjudged the man. This burly fellow was not as honest as he had seemed.

Wild Wolf's mouth twitched slightly. Hearing Ning Ze's words, how could he not realize that he had been deceived?

With a casual glance, Director Dongfang finally noticed the ordinary-looking middle-aged man nearby. This man's presence had been so faint that Director Dongfang had not examined him closely before. But upon looking carefully now, his brows furrowed and he cried out, "Wild Wolf, you were involved in this matter too?"

"A favor. I was told not to let this kid leave." Wild Wolf's voice was somewhat sullen.

"Go to the War God Palace and plead guilty yourself."

Director Dongfang frowned slightly. Wild Wolf was a War God, and since he had not attacked, there was not much Director Dongfang could say.

As the backbone of humanity, a War God would not receive much punishment for such a mistake.

"Director, they are still holding my materials. They said they were under review before, but I do not know what has happened to them now," Ning Ze said.

Director Dongfang's eyes lit up at this. Instead of answering, he asked, "How much strength do you have now? Have you cultivated Gale Sword Master to the third level?"

Ning Ze answered honestly, "My strength has exceeded twenty thousand kilograms. I have indeed cultivated Gale Sword Master to the third level."

Director Dongfang's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Twenty thousand kilograms? An Intermediate Warlord already? So fast? Didn't your physical fitness only reach Warlord level at the start of September? You gained twelve thousand kilograms in two and a half months? You did not use Gene Evolution Fluid, did you?"

Ning Ze quickly shook his head. "Of course not. Once Gene Evolution Fluid is used, strength can no longer improve. How could I use something like that?"

Director Dongfang clicked his tongue in amazement. This was becoming more and more outrageous. Then he laughed heartily. "A nineteen-year-old Intermediate Warlord, with Gale Sword Master cultivated to the third level. You will definitely enter the Elite Training Camp this time. I almost wonder whether you will become a War God in a few more months. Then you would miss this excellent opportunity. Even many War Gods covet the resources within the Elite Training Camp."

Ning Ze grew even more curious. Would someone regret it even after becoming a War God?

"Thank you again for the recommendation, Director. Could you help me check on those materials?"

Hearing Ning Ze mention the materials again, Director Dongfang became curious.

When Ning Hua had called him earlier, he had only said that Ning Ze had gone to sell materials and could not be contacted, and that he had a grudge with the Wang Family. He had not mentioned the materials.

"They are still holding your materials? How much are they holding?"

Ning Ze pondered briefly before answering uncertainly, "According to our squad's estimates, this batch of materials should be worth over fifty billion."

The room instantly fell silent. The Warlords stared blankly in their direction. What kind of monster had they offended? A martial artist squad earning fifty billion!

Even Wild Wolf was deeply shocked. As a Mid-level War God, he did not have that much money in hand either.

At most, he could kill Beginner Lords. They could be killed, but in many cases, he did not dare kill too many, or he would be hunted by King-level Monsters.

The materials from a Beginner Lord were worth only five hundred million to three billion. War Gods like them also earned money by killing Beast Warlord-level monsters. Moreover, they did not dare act too arrogantly in the wilderness, or their powerful life-force fluctuations would be discovered by Lord-level monsters, and they would be surrounded and attacked.

Their stamina was limited, and they also feared Beast Tides.

Even though they killed monsters more efficiently than martial artist squads, their expenses were equally great. A set of top-grade equipment, weapons, and a Combat Suit cost seventy-five billion. Even War Gods had to pay fifty billion at the best price.

A Warlord squad could earn fifty billion?

It could only be said that Mental Masters truly deserved their reputation.

Director Dongfang stared blankly at Ning Ze, unable to speak.

He knew this youngster would not lie to him, but fifty billion! His entire fortune was not even worth fifty billion!

His younger brother was a War God and could barely possess fifty billion. How could Ning Ze possibly have it?

Mental Masters were rare, but the Limitless Martial Arts School still had quite a few.

Mental Masters killed monsters faster and earned more money, but no Mental Master had ever sold fifty billion worth of materials in one go!

For a moment, he could not make sense of it at all.

This was not something a martial artist could do!

An ordinary martial artist could not do it, and neither could a Mental Master among martial artists.

There was a slight possibility if he possessed High-level War God strength, but Ning Ze had just said that he had only twenty thousand kilograms of strength, and his Mental Power was even weaker.

It defied all logic.