Snake Swallows Elephant, We're Rich!

When Wu Sheng activated his innate secret technique "Mind Control," he wasn't particularly worried. Though the process strained him somewhat, there was ultimately no risk involved.

Moreover, the "Mind Control" brand was overbearing—similar to a soul attack in that success was success, and failure was failure.

But once the "Mind Control" brand took hold, his soul and Leo's soul would be tightly linked through that brand. If Leo's soul proved too powerful, Wu Sheng would suffer backlash from his own innate secret technique.

In the worst case, their roles could reverse, and he would instantly be "Mind Controlled" by Leo instead.

"Damn, this guy's Life Core also has some effect in resisting soul techniques!"

Wu Sheng's face changed drastically. Before the backlash he'd feared could even occur, he'd already run into a roadblock.

Kadi's soul defense had been so fragile—not only because his will was weak, but mainly because he was just an ordinary Prison Clan member. His soul was essentially exposed, protected only by a Soul Suppressing Bell formed from soul power through soul secret techniques.

But the Thunder Wing Giant race possessed an Innate Life Core, and their souls hid within that core. This meant they inherently had an extra powerful barrier in soul defense compared to Kadi and his kind.

With that soul defense barrier further reinforced by soul secret techniques, even Wu Sheng found it extremely troublesome.

"Damn it, how did I overlook this?! The Thunder Wing Giant's Innate Life Core might not compare to the Golden-Horned Giant Beast's Original Core, but it's still a massive obstacle!"

Mind Confusion, Wind Sound Disturbance!

Wu Sheng gritted his teeth, continuously layering other Combined Illusions onto the Thunder Wing Giant to keep him from waking up.

With these Combined Illusions disrupting him, at least Leo couldn't activate his Thunder Domain for now. This gave Wu Sheng some confidence.

The others simply stared dumbfounded at what was happening. From their perspective, Leo stood frozen in place, repeatedly swept by beams of bloodlight from Wu Sheng's eyes, unable even to activate his Thunder Domain.

"Li Long, hurry up! I can only hold this big guy for a few more seconds at most before I can't take it anymore. He's too strong—not only is his soul power immense, but I can't even get close to his Innate Life Core. I can only influence him at best!"

Every time Wu Sheng applied another Combined Illusion, he shouted loudly, as if afraid no one would realize how difficult things were for him.

Hearing this, the others finally showed a hint of understanding.

The Thunder Wing Giant race's innate talent was universally acknowledged as formidable, and a mere Earth Grade Level 9 being able to temporarily trap Leo was already something to be proud of.

But inwardly, Wu Sheng had a completely different thought.

"Heh, if I didn't say that and just stood here calmly waiting for Leo to be controlled under everyone's watch, even Li Long and the others—let alone the other trial participants—would probably see through it!"

Under normal circumstances, most of these trial participants didn't yet know about Body Possession or Soul Slavery. But to Li Long and Cang Ge, these were hardly secrets.

However, if Body Possession were used before the soul and body were fully compatible, the body would move very awkwardly and be easily spotted.

As for Soul Slavery, setting aside whether a lower-realm Wu Sheng could even use it on a higher-realm Leo, the entire process required complete focus and considerable preparation time. The lower the realm, the longer that preparation. It wasn't something where you could shout and yell while casting a single soul illusion like Wu Sheng was doing.

So Li Long and Cang Ge fought while closely monitoring Wu Sheng's situation.

Nothing else—even if they didn't believe Wu Sheng had the strength to kill Leo, any soul-related confrontation demanded their attention.

Only when they saw that Wu Sheng was genuinely just casting soul illusions to trap Leo did the two breathe a sigh of relief and intensify their attacks by another degree.

But they still missed one thing: a Special Lifeform named Wu Sheng had secretly slipped into this Blood Trial.

And this Special Lifeform's innate secret technique was "Mind Control"—a rare technique somewhere between Body Possession and Soul Slavery, even more sophisticated than most Soul Slavery methods in terms of secret technique grade.

"Mm, the brand succeeded!" Wu Sheng's eyes lit up.

His innate secret technique was ultimately far superior to ordinary soul secret techniques. It had broken through the obstacle of Leo's Innate Life Core and successfully branded his soul.

But immediately after—

"Hiss, such powerful backlash!"

Wu Sheng clutched his head, feeling a massive surge of soul power welling up from within his mind (this is an analogy to make it easier to visualize—don't take it too literally; Wu Sheng's true soul was also inside his own Innate Life Core), trying to merge with his soul and take control of him.

"Hmph, Ninefold Heavenly Splendor, Innate Life Core, guard!"

"Mind, will, reinforce!"

"Psychic Amplification, explode!"

Wu Sheng strained to mobilize all his power, forcibly resisting the backlash, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, this guy's domain wasn't activated, and his only Thunder Domain was temporarily disrupted by my soul illusions."

"Otherwise, with the Thunder Domain's boost, not only would I never have succeeded in branding him, but even if I had, under the brand's backlash, who would end up controlling whom is still uncertain!"

"A Thunder Wing Giant is still a Thunder Wing Giant after all!"

Wu Sheng shook his head in admiration, but excitement filled his heart.

This time, he'd truly swallowed an elephant whole. With such a powerful enforcer under his command, who couldn't he kill if he wanted?

"Mm, how did that song from A Chinese Odyssey go?"

Only you—don't blame your master for muttering. Put on the headband, don't fear death, don't tremble...

Wahaha, I take the rewards, you take the blame. Fight with all your might for all beings—sacrifice is worth it!

The more Wu Sheng thought about it, the more it fit. His "Mind Control" brand was far more fearsome than Sun Wukong's headband. From now on, whenever something was inconvenient for him to handle personally, he'd just send Leo.

A natural favorite of the Wind and Thunder Source Laws, fourfold life gene, such a towering body, plus an Innate Life Core and three innate secret techniques!

And with the backing of Thunder Star Mountain's power, he could at least reach Realm Lord—far better conditions than Wu Sheng's own.

"Too bad Leo still can't use his Thunder Domain right now."

Wu Sheng frowned, feeling somewhat helpless.

Given Leo's current strength, Wu Sheng was not having an easy time suppressing his backlash.

If he were to activate the Thunder Domain and gain its boost, then Leo on the other end of the Mind Control brand might instantly turn the tables and devour him.

"Looks like I need to find a chance to comprehend the Wind Domain myself. Other guys can grasp a domain at Planet Grade; as a Special Lifeform, I should be even more capable of it."

Wu Sheng's willpower was unlikely to make major strides in a short time, but whether it was the Trial Ground matters or fully controlling Leo, he had to further strengthen his strength.

Since the Time-Space Shop remained inaccessible for now, he couldn't advance to Star Grade early, so he had to put in hard work elsewhere.

The Wind Domain was his best choice.

"Hmm, let's first see what's in Leo's spatial ring!"

Thinking this, Wu Sheng used his control over Leo to open the spatial ring hidden inside his body.

"This, this, this... Haha, I'm rich!"