The atmosphere in the square before the hall was strange.
The dozens of Hunyuan Infinite experts rose from the ground one after another.
They looked at each other with complicated expressions—bewildered, humiliated, and, more than anything, dazed by their narrow escape.
Not long ago, they had been exalted cultivators of the Ten Great Dao Realms, an elite force sent to purge rebels on the orders of an envoy from the Divine Luo Domain.
Now the envoy had been casually erased, while they had become prisoners. A restriction they could not resist had been planted in each of their True Spirits.
The change in their fortunes had been too sudden, too drastic.
Liu Yuan watched their stunned faces and knew exactly what they were thinking.
He had once been no different.
Going from a realm lord to the senior's subordinate had not been easy.
But he said none of that. He simply spoke in an even voice.
"I know what you're thinking. You resent this. You feel humiliated."
"You think you'll spend the rest of your days slaving away for the senior, with no end in sight."
No one answered, but their faces said enough.
Liu Yuan gave a soft chuckle, tinged with self-mockery born of experience and a faint, barely perceptible sense of superiority.
"You can think about it all you like. It won't change anything."
"The senior has placed a restriction in your True Spirits. Whether you live or die rests on a single thought of his."
"I doubt I need to repeat that."
Their faces went paler still.
A Hunyuan Infinite Late Stage expert forced himself to speak. "We... understand."
Liu Yuan took in their expressions. Rather than explain further, he went on.
"I'm sure you have plenty of questions."
"I can tell you some of what you