A Luomu had never seen a Great Master of Sorcery.
This realm was merely something the Great Sorcerers of past generations had speculated about and looked up to.
Whether it even existed was another question.
However,
after faintly sensing Su Yuan's vast, ocean-like mental power,
A Luomu instinctively felt that if a Great Master of Sorcery truly existed,
then he ought to be like Su Yuan.
"Don't worry. As long as you obey my orders, you won't die."
Su Yuan spoke in an even tone.
Among the many details the Grey Mirror had revealed about A Luomu,
the greatest weakness of this Great Sorcerer who had shaken the Nanyang Nations was his fear of death.
If he hadn't been so afraid of dying, A Luomu wouldn't have hidden in Magic City for thirty years, living as a street vendor.
Therefore,
there was no need to go through anything as complicated as with Tang Zhien to make A Luomu serve him. He just had to control whether he lived or died.
Of course, even a True Dan Celestial couldn't completely control a Great Sorcerer's life and death.
A True Dan Celestial could kill A Luomu, but had no means of controlling whether he lived or died.
The sliver of mental power Su Yuan had split off seemed simple enough.
But its mysteries and understanding of the soul and mind far surpassed those of Blue Star's cultivation world.
Hearing this, A Luomu looked utterly crestfallen.
"Yes."
A Luomu quickly adapted to his new identity and addressed Su Yuan respectfully.
First, his life and death were indeed in Su Yuan's hands now, so naturally, he had to show his submission.
Second, in A Luomu's eyes, Su Yuan was probably a True Dan Celestial from the Xia Kingdom. Submitting to such a powerful figure was nothing to be ashamed of.
In truth, Su Yuan wasn't a True Dan Celestial.
But in some respects, even a True Dan Celestial couldn't compare to him.
"The essence of a sorcerer's cultivation lies in the soul. But relying on the soul alone is far too limiting, and the odds of breaking through to become a Great Master of Sorcery are nearly zero. To become a Great Master of Sorcery, you must also cultivate the body..."
Su Yuan slowly explained some of the flaws in the sorcerer cultivation system, along with ways to address them.
Naturally, he had learned all this from the Grey Mirror. In truth, the sorcerer cultivation system was extremely primitive and backward. In the universe, it was an utterly second-rate cultivation method.
The greatest hidden danger of this method was the period of weakness that came once every ten years.
Every Great Sorcerer would fall into a half-day period of weakness once every ten years.
During this period, the Great Sorcerer's soul and mental power would decline to the level of an ordinary person.
Therefore, a Great Sorcerer's period of weakness was an absolute secret. Anyone who found out would die.
The sorcerer cultivation system was ruthless toward enemies, but just as ruthless toward its practitioners. Its hidden dangers and weaknesses were simply too great.
But A Luomu had already progressed quite far along this cultivation path.
Su Yuan could have switched him to another method of cultivation midway, but it would have been rather troublesome.
So he decided to let A Luomu keep practicing as he was.
"This is..."
At first, A Luomu listened with a thoughtful expression. But the more he heard, the deeper his understanding became. Even the mental power deep within his sea of consciousness began to slowly transform.
"So that's how it is! So that's how it is!"
"This is the true Great Descending Head Technique!"
It was as if A Luomu had been enlightened in an instant. The aura of his soul and mind grew stronger.
"Thank you for imparting your teachings, sir."
A Luomu bowed deeply to Su Yuan. Unlike earlier, when he had obeyed because his life was under threat, this time his bow came entirely from the heart.
Without Su Yuan's guidance, he might never have understood this in his entire life.
"It's nothing."
Su Yuan smiled.
Now that A Luomu had completely submitted to him, Su Yuan didn't mind helping him improve his strength.
After all, if A Luomu was too weak, he wouldn't be able to serve Su Yuan well.
And improving A Luomu's strength cost Su Yuan nothing. A few words of guidance were enough.
"Next, I want you to return to Nanyang and, while you're there, kill Kun Long."
Su Yuan spoke.
He had already said this once before.
But although Su Yuan's words were the same, A Luomu felt completely differently about them now.
When Su Yuan had said it the first time, A Luomu hadn't taken him seriously at all, and hadn't intended to actually do it.
But now, A Luomu was considering whether he could carry out this order.
First, returning to Nanyang wouldn't be difficult. The flight from Magic City Airport to Nanyang only took seven or eight hours.
The key was killing Kun Long.
A Luomu knew Kun Long well. They were fellow disciples.
Thirty years ago, Kun Long had already been several steps stronger than him. After thirty years, Kun Long could only have grown stronger.
Still, A Luomu wasn't entirely without a chance.
After Su Yuan's guidance, A Luomu's understanding of the essence of the Great Descending Head Technique had broken through.
Even if he still wasn't as strong as Kun Long, the gap shouldn't be too great. He had a chance of winning.
"Good!"
A Luomu said solemnly. "I'll return to Nanyang and kill Kun Long right now."
He wanted to kill this great enemy too. He'd dreamed of it. But before, the Mind Cage had suppressed him, leaving him with no chance of victory.
"Go now. Take flight DF23..." Su Yuan said.
"Yes!" A Luomu immediately stood up, left the shop, and headed to the airport as Su Yuan had instructed.
Before he left, Su Yuan took out a Miniature Earpiece and had A Luomu put it on so they could communicate.
After watching A Luomu leave, Su Yuan also got up and walked out of the shop.
It was already getting late in the afternoon. More and more people were gathering on the food street, as nearby office workers and students began to make their way there.
Su Yuan walked along the lively street, his gaze passing over one pedestrian after another.
Meanwhile,
the Grey Mirror in the depths of his sea of consciousness began to rapidly roil with a hazy glow.
[Zhou Zhaoyi, 28 years old, unemployed, married at 33, had a son at 34... died at 64...]
[Lu Qingqing, 22 years old, ... a senior in college, interning at ... company, married at 26... died at 73...]
[Sun Jianguo, 53 years old, ... a roujiamo vendor, fell into a river and drowned at 61...]
Whenever he saw someone, Su Yuan asked about that person's life, the major events they would experience in the future, and the age at which they would die.
The Grey Mirror quickly gave him the answers.
"These... are the fates of all living beings..."
Su Yuan's expression was calm. After becoming a Level 1 Lifeform, he had stored the Grey Mirror in his sea of consciousness and could consult it at any time.
Every time Su Yuan saw someone, he would ask about that person's life and their exact time of death.
"It's as if everything were written in a program in advance. What each person will experience and face in the future has already been fixed. It's all fated..."
Su Yuan shook his head slightly, then suddenly paused. "But it can be changed."
Su Yuan glanced at a young woman not far away.
She had a round, baby-fat face. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was exceptionally cute. At that moment, she was hurrying along at a jog, seemingly in a rush.
Su Yuan walked over and said, "Excuse me, I lost my phone. Could I borrow yours to make a call?"
The young woman was taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, she took out her phone and handed it to Su Yuan. "Go ahead."
"Thanks." Su Yuan took the phone and dialed a number at random.
He dialed halfway, hung up, then tried again.
A full five minutes passed like this.
The young woman who had lent him her phone was clearly in a hurry. Being held up like this made her eyes redden, but she didn't dare hurry Su Yuan along. She looked as if she were about to cry.
At last, Su Yuan handed the phone back. "Sorry, I forgot the number..."
"It's okay, it's okay." The young woman took her phone and immediately hurried off at a jog.
Su Yuan watched her retreating figure.
Deep in his sea of consciousness, the Grey Mirror gave him the information about the young woman.
Originally, it had read—
[Ruan Sisi, 20 years old, ... a sophomore in college, would die in a car accident in two minutes...]
After Su Yuan intervened, the text the Grey Mirror had shown blurred rapidly, and a new answer appeared.
[Ruan Sisi, 20 years old, ... a sophomore in college, would graduate at 23, go abroad at 25... die at 78...]
So it can be changed after all... Su Yuan thought.
Before you continue