Illusionist Talent

Walking along the weed-covered path in the wilderness, tangled grass and towering trees stood scattered, presenting a scene of pristine wilderness.

Yin Congyang briefly oriented himself and headed toward County 0316.

After all, this was his first time venturing into the wilderness alone since arriving in this world, so he decided to pick a place he remembered well from his memories to start adapting.

Before setting out, Yin Congyang spent time every evening searching online for survival tips and precautions in the wilderness. Though his original body's memories contained some information, and the novel had partial descriptions, it was far from comprehensive.

Even after reading countless posts about wilderness hunting and survival online, the saying "What you get from books is shallow; true understanding comes from practice" held true—theory must be combined with practice to become one's own knowledge.

After walking less than three kilometers, he encountered several low-level Beast Soldiers. Yin Congyang ignored them, first because the materials from low-level Beast Soldiers weren't worth much, and second, because he wanted to test his Spiritual Force's Illusionist talent. This spot was too close to the Supply Base, with other martial artists nearby, making it unsuitable.

He continued along the dilapidated highway toward County 0316, casually killing some reckless low-level Beast Soldiers along the way. With limited backpack space, he couldn't be bothered to collect materials from these worthless monsters. In less than two hours, he neared the edge of the county.

Yin Congyang deliberately chose a direction he remembered as having fewer martial artists. Just as he turned into a street, he came face to face with three Elephant Mastiffs.

Elephant Mastiffs were a canine variant, larger than ordinary dogs. All three were high-level Beast Soldiers. Yin Congyang's eyes lit up—he decided to use these three Elephant Mastiffs as his test subjects.

The three Elephant Mastiffs snarled at Yin Congyang, then lunged forward with all four paws, charging at him. From their fang-filled mouths, foul saliva dripped and splattered onto the ground as they ran.

As the three Elephant Mastiffs closed in, Yin Congyang stepped forward instead of retreating. Shifting his footing, he twisted his upper body slightly, swinging the Heaven-Opening Axe in his hands left and right. One Elephant Mastiff's head was struck by the axe's blunt side, its skull caving in as it collapsed to the side, its breath fading. Another Mastiff was sliced through behind the ear by the axe blade, stumbling a few steps before falling dead.

The remaining Elephant Mastiff, seeing its two companions die in an instant, showed terror in its eyes and turned to flee. Yin Congyang caught up in a few strides, swinging the Heaven-Opening Axe several times to sever the tendons in its limbs without causing heavy bleeding, ensuring the last one wouldn't die from blood loss.

Watching the struggling Elephant Mastiff on the ground, Yin Congyang summoned his Spiritual Force from his sea of consciousness, enveloping the beast. His Spiritual Force swept over the Mastiff's head, easily locating its soul.

The Elephant Mastiff's soul appeared as a faint mist. Under the Spiritual Force's perception, it radiated a wave of fear. Yin Congyang focused his mind, wrapping the Mastiff's soul in invisible Spiritual Force and transmitting a feeling of joy. Instantly, the Mastiff's fear dissipated, replaced by a wave of happiness. The terror in its eyes vanished, and its canine face displayed a joyful expression.

Yin Congyang was stunned. Was it really this easy? It seemed his Illusionist talent might be decent? Let's try more!

He transmitted emotions of anger, sorrow, grief, joy, and calm one by one. The Mastiff's soul and body cooperated perfectly, displaying corresponding emotions and expressions.

After simple emotional guidance, Yin Congyang imagined his Spiritual Force transforming into an Iron-Toothed Tiger, fiercely chasing the Mastiff. The Mastiff's fur instantly bristled, letting out terrified whimpers as it trembled, frozen in place...

After testing every idea he could think of on this Mastiff, Yin Congyang let out a soft breath. Though his Controller talent as a Spiritual Force master seemed unremarkable, confirming his Illusionist talent undoubtedly made him happier.

Besides, his Controller talent wasn't completely weak—it just fell short in weight, speed, and precision compared to genuine Controllers. But the most important ability, flight, was still there. And since he had no cultivation manuals for these abilities, once he obtained some and practiced diligently, their intensity might improve significantly.

Thinking this, looking at the nearly broken Mastiff, Yin Congyang decided to make the most of it and conduct one final test.

His Spiritual Force transformed into an axe within the Mastiff's sea of consciousness, gently slicing off a tiny piece of its soul.

"Oww..."

The Mastiff let out a piercing scream, trembling violently. In his spiritual perception, the Mastiff's soul slowly dissipated from its sea of consciousness, like smoke scattered by the wind...

Staring at the Mastiff's corpse, Yin Congyang was stunned. Killing its soul so easily felt almost unreal.

Compared to humans, the Mastiff's body was strong, but with a missing piece of its soul, it vanished like a wisp of smoke blown away by a single breath. This ease made Yin Congyang marvel at the fragility of life—if other monsters' souls were this fragile, killing them would be much easier...

He cleaned up the three Mastiff corpses, taking the most valuable parts and stowing them in his backpack. With light steps, he continued cheerfully into the county.

This Mastiff had already been crippled, completely unable to resist, so the experiments had to continue. He needed to find some lower-level low or mid-level Beast Soldiers to test further.

As he walked, Yin Congyang kept experimenting with his Spiritual Force's control—wrapping it around his body to see if he could mask his scent and the sound of his footsteps.

Amid the occasional beast roars, Yin Congyang moved calmly through the ruined city, his Spiritual Force constantly scanning the surroundings for suitable targets.

Suddenly, Yin Congyang halted, his figure flashing as he darted into the side door of a nearby supermarket. A "whoosh" sounded overhead as a massive black bird streaked past. Its turning eyes held cruelty and a hint of disdain, then with a sharp cry, it flapped its wings and flew off.

"Damn, I got looked down on by a bird," Yin Congyang shook his head. "Judging by its size and the pressure it gave off, it's at least a high-level Beast General. Yeah, can't take that on yet..."

Feeling slighted, Yin Congyang decided to rest in a room on the second floor of the supermarket. His Spiritual Force swept through—the supermarket seemed to be occupied by a group of monsters, but they were likely out hunting and not present.

After resting a bit and replenishing water and food, Yin Congyang continued to carefully study and practice his Spiritual Force techniques.

Suddenly, his brow twitched. His Spiritual Force detected a massive Iron-Horned Bull leading over a dozen slightly smaller ones back into the supermarket.

Yin Congyang wrapped part of his Spiritual Force around himself to mask his scent, preventing the Iron-Horned Bulls from detecting him. Then he extended his Spiritual Force toward the herd.

When his Spiritual Force touched a bull lagging slightly behind, it suddenly let out a "moo," shook its head, and looked around in confusion, clearly uncomfortable.

Yin Congyang instantly withdrew his Spiritual Force, shaking his head lightly. "The way I contacted it was wrong—too direct. If the target can't resist, it doesn't matter, but normally, this kind of contact makes them uncomfortable, which is bad for casting illusions... Let's try again..."

Fortunately, this herd wasn't strong—the leader was a low-level Beast General, and the rest were at most high-level Beast Soldiers. Yin Congyang varied his methods, testing each one individually, slowly exploring the different feedback and effects of Spiritual Force contacting souls under various approaches.