The Power of the Mind

The hunchbacked man heard this, and the movement he had just begun to make—a desperate retreat to flee—came to an abrupt halt.

Su Yuan was right; he truly did not want his real identity to be exposed.

In the long term, if his arch-enemy, Kun Long, learned he was still alive, he would undoubtedly launch a pursuit without a moment's hesitation.

In the short term, if the authorities of the Great Xia Kingdom discovered that such a powerful sorcerer was hiding within Magic City, they would certainly place him under close surveillance or even attempt to contain him.

Internationally, the reputation of a great sorcerer was far from good; they were essentially considered human-shaped natural disasters.

Their various bizarre and unpredictable sorcery techniques could inflict massive damage on ordinary people and even possessed "contagious" properties.

To put it simply, the sorcerer cultivation system performed normally when dealing with peers of the same level, but it was devastatingly effective against those of lower levels.

It could be called a "newbie-crushing" artifact.

"Sit down, let's talk."

Su Yuan said with a smile.

The hunchbacked man, A Luomu, remained silent for several breaths before walking over to sit down in front of Su Yuan.

At this point, he had no choice; since Su Yuan knew his true identity, he had no option but to listen to the other party.

As for trying to silence him? The hunchbacked man, A Luomu, didn't even entertain the thought.

Since Su Yuan dared to approach him knowing his true identity, he clearly had absolute confidence in his ability to deal with him.

Furthermore, he had no idea if Su Yuan had any hidden cards up his sleeve.

"Rest assured, I am not one of Kun Long's men. I have no interest in the grudges between you and your fellow disciple," Su Yuan said casually, seeing the extreme vigilance in A Luomu's expression.

"Who, who exactly are you?" A Luomu asked, filled with shock and suspicion.

The first half of Su Yuan's statement was fine; if he knew his true identity, he would naturally know of Kun Long.

But the second half... how could Su Yuan possibly know the true relationship between him and Kun Long?

That's right, while the world knew A Luomu and Kun Long were mortal enemies, in reality, they were fellow disciples.

A Luomu and Kun Long both hailed from a secretive sect in the Nanyang Nations, a sect whose core tenet was the raising of Gu.

In other words, only one person could survive from the entire sect to inherit the final legacy and glimpse the legendary realm of the Great Sorcerer Master.

A Great Sorcerer Master was equivalent to a True Dan Heavenly Human of the Great Xia Kingdom, a Level 2 life form.

To date, the sorcerer cultivation system of the Nanyang Nations had never produced a Level 2 life form; the so-called Great Sorcerer Master was merely a speculation and a vision held by predecessors for a higher realm.

"You fought with Kun Long and were struck by his Mind Cage sorcery, which suppressed your spiritual power and left you with less than a tenth of your original strength..."

Su Yuan said slowly.

A storm raged in A Luomu's heart. He almost suspected that the man before him was actually Kun Long himself; otherwise, how could he know so many secrets?

Not only did he know the relationship between him and Kun Long, but he was also perfectly clear about the hidden injuries and ailments plaguing his own body.

"What do you want me to do?"

A Luomu's voice was hoarse. Since Su Yuan had investigated him so thoroughly, it was clear he intended to have his way with him.

"Return to the Nanyang Nations," Su Yuan said.

A Luomu's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.

Because he and Kun Long shared the same lineage, they could sense each other if they were within a certain range.

This was the very reason he had hidden in Magic City for so many years, not daring to return to the Nanyang Nations.

Returning to the Nanyang Nations was essentially a death sentence; he would be detected by Kun Long.

"And while you're at it, kill Kun Long."

Su Yuan continued.

This wasn't because Su Yuan held any animosity toward Kun Long—he didn't even know the man.

It was simply that, according to the answer provided by the Grey Mirror, if this "Kun Long" were not killed, he would pose many obstacles to Su Yuan's future extraction of "Lu-Wu Black Gold" in the Nanyang Nations.

Under such circumstances, it was better to kill him in advance.

"Me? Kill Kun Long?"

A Luomu fell into silence once more.

He wanted to kill Kun Long more than anyone else, but was it even possible?

Hadn't he spent the last thirty years hiding in Magic City specifically to avoid Kun Long?

"Don't worry, I have a way to help you break the Mind Cage and restore your strength," Su Yuan said.

This was a part of the plan. A Luomu's soul and mind were constantly suppressed by the Mind Cage, causing his strength to plummet until he was only slightly stronger than a Transformation-level master.

With such combat power, he could do nothing for Su Yuan, nor could he handle the complex situation in the Nanyang Nations.

"Is this true?"

A Luomu's heart began to race.

If anyone else had said this, he certainly wouldn't have believed them, but Su Yuan was different. He knew too many of his secrets, and there was no need for him to lie about this.

"Do not resist." Su Yuan looked at A Luomu, raised his right hand, and slowly pressed it toward the center of the other man's brow.

"What is this?"

A sense of alarm surged in A Luomu's heart.

In the eyes of practitioners who focused on the dimension of the soul, such as sorcerers and onmyoji, the sea of consciousness at the center of the brow was the most vital place.

Even if his limbs were severed, it would not have much impact on a great sorcerer like A Luomu.

But if his sea of consciousness were to suffer any injury, A Luomu would find it absolutely unacceptable.

That was the foundation of his existence.

Yet, thinking of Su Yuan's words, "Do not resist," along with the fact that the man knew him like the back of his hand and was capable of shattering his Mind Cage, A Luomu forcibly suppressed his instinct to fight back.

He allowed Su Yuan to press his hand against his brow.

Whoosh. In a trance, A Luomu felt as if he were seeing an ocean composed entirely of mental energy.

A single wave, merely rippling, easily pulverized the Mind Cage that had suppressed him for thirty years into dust.

"It is done."

Su Yuan withdrew his right hand.

"What have I...?"

A Luomu finally snapped back to reality. The Mind Cage was broken, and his full strength had been restored; he was once again the invincible great sorcerer of his prime.

"Hmm?"

A Luomu carefully examined himself and vaguely discovered that deep within his sea of consciousness, where his soul resided, there was a faint, additional weight.

"You?"

A Luomu looked at Su Yuan.

"While breaking the Mind Cage, I took the liberty of integrating a sliver of mental energy into your soul."

Su Yuan smiled faintly.

How could he possibly help A Luomu recover his strength without leaving a contingency plan?

For A Luomu to break the Mind Cage, he had to drop all defenses and allow Su Yuan to touch his soul.

In such a situation, Su Yuan naturally would not leave empty-handed; he had left a safeguard behind.

A sliver of mental energy was now rooted deep within A Luomu's soul. With just a single thought from Su Yuan, it could detonate, causing enough damage to cripple or even destroy A Luomu's soul entirely.

This method of integrating one's own mental energy into the depths of another living being's soul was a secret technique provided by the Grey Mirror, originating from the great powers in the depths of the universe.

There was absolutely no way for A Luomu to unravel or escape it.

"What kind of technique is this..."

A Luomu could not believe it. He had dropped all resistance and allowed Su Yuan's power to penetrate his sea of consciousness, already prepared for the possibility that a trap might be left behind.

However, A Luomu had been quite confident; a great sorcerer was an expert at playing with souls and minds. Even if Su Yuan left some kind of trick, he believed he might be able to undo it.

Yet, at this moment, A Luomu had no idea where the sliver of mental energy Su Yuan had left was located. If not for the faint sense of abnormality and Su Yuan's reminder, he likely wouldn't have even known it existed.

"And also..."

A Luomu looked at Su Yuan again, his expression filled with shock.

When Su Yuan helped him break the Mind Cage, A Luomu had vaguely sensed the other man's mental energy—it was an ocean of the mind, vast and mighty.

Even the legendary Great Sorcerer Gods could not possess mental energy greater than this, could they...

A Luomu's scalp tingled.