"Now, you will become my puppets!"
"Divine Talent—Heavenly Illusion."
Everyone felt a thunderous explosion in their minds.
A powerful mental force pierced into their sea of consciousness.
They wanted to resist, to struggle, to cry out—but their bodies no longer obeyed them.
All they could do was watch helplessly as their bodies, like puppets on strings, came completely under Yan Lingji's control.
Worse still, countless unfamiliar commands were forcibly planted in their minds—be loyal, obey, never resist.
But they weren't like the puppets she had made of the people in the Duke's Mansion or the Black Cloud Chamber of Commerce—
They had no self-awareness, only implanted memories, and obediently followed orders.
These people still retained their own consciousness. Their bodies simply acted against their will, forcibly controlled.
Yan Lingji thought that stripping them of consciousness and turning them into puppets would be the greatest reward she could give them.
She wanted them to keep their own minds while their bodies were forcibly controlled.
They would watch as she forcibly seized Heaven Dou Imperial City and ascended the throne.
The remorse, frustration, hatred, and venomous resentment in their hearts would give her even greater pleasure.
Of course, for the sake of her extremely possessive master, she had also added a special condition to their minds—
If they dared to ogle her or the others, or entertain lewd, lustful thoughts, they would savagely strike their own Demon Pills.
After all, they were their master's prized possessions, his property. All their beauty belonged to him alone.
As for the trash who coveted them, they might as well stop being men.
Hehehehe.
The moment Yan Lingji finished setting the conditions with her divine talent, several nobles venomously cursed her as a "witch" in their hearts.
The instant the thought arose—
"Smack!"
Their hands rose against their will and slapped themselves hard across the face.
"Ah—!"
Another man had a wicked thought, and both hands suddenly flew up to strike his own face.
And when it came to having impure thoughts about beautiful women, these nobles were hardly strangers to such urges.
Especially when it came to a peerlessly alluring beauty like Yan Lingji.
What was more, the person before them was so terrifying that they couldn't put up any effective resistance.
All they could do was think vicious, wicked thoughts in their hearts.
But the moment those thoughts arose, their hands struck their own Demon Pills against their will.
"Thud!"
"Ah—! My... my balls!"
Screams rang out one after another.
Their hands pounded their lower bodies frantically, every blow landing solidly. Their faces twisted with pain, but their hands wouldn't stop.
"Stop! Stop! I don't want to hit them anymore! Help!"
Another Earl tried to clamp his mouth shut, but it opened against his will, and his teeth bit down hard on his own tongue.
Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
The others in the hall watched, faces deathly pale and bodies trembling.
They had no idea what was happening, but after seeing the others' plight, they no longer dared harbor any thoughts of resisting.
"Hehe. You pieces of trash actually dared to covet me? You were frogs dreaming of swallowing swans."
"If you were bold enough to think it, then it's only right that you lose those things."
At those words, all the nobles, ministers, and even the Heaven Dou Emperor understood what those men had been thinking to make them strike their own Demon Pills so savagely.
For a moment, everyone reined in their thoughts.
They were terrified of ending up like those men and having to pound their own Demon Pills.
If a man's Demon Pills were struck like that, what would be the difference between him and a corpse?
The devil before them was terrifying.
Yet before long, someone began slapping himself hard across the face again—
Clearly, he had thought of something else to curse Yan Lingji for.
Then the commands planted in his mind made his hand rise against his will, slapping his face again and again.
Yan Lingji gave the hall a satisfied glance.
"Good."
She withdrew her gaze and slowly walked from the center of the hall toward the throne.
Her black-and-red gown trailed across the red carpet, while nine snowy-white fox tails swayed gently behind her.
Her heels clicked against the stone floor, each crisp tap landing like a knock on everyone's heart.
The golden armrests of the throne gleamed coldly in the candlelight.
It was the seat the Heaven Dou Emperor had occupied for decades.
Yan Lingji stood before the throne and raised her hand. A ball of flame gathered in her palm.
"Whoosh—"
She flung the fire onto the throne.
The seat, armrests, and back were instantly engulfed in ghostly blue flames.
The tongues of fire licked at the gold with a sizzling hiss.
Everyone in the hall stared, unable to figure out what she was doing.
A moment later, the flames went out.
The throne remained golden.
"Just disinfecting it."
Yan Lingji gave a soft laugh, turned around, and lounged against the throne.
Her black-and-red gown spread around her, and her nine snowy-white fox tails fanned out behind her, making her look like a Calamity Enchantress.
She crossed her legs, tapped a finger against the armrest, and swept her peach-blossom eyes over the people in the hall.
"Why aren't you kneeling?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.
Everyone in the hall fell to their knees on the red carpet below the throne—
Not willingly. Their bodies were no longer under their control.
The nobles' faces twisted. The ministers pressed their foreheads to the floor, while the guards knelt on one knee.
The Heaven Dou Emperor knelt at the very front, trembling all over, his old face flushed bright red.
Humiliation, resentment, and fury surged in his chest.
But his body simply refused to obey him. He remained rigidly on his knees, unable even to raise his head.
As the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, he had sat on the throne for decades. Now, he was being forced to kneel and bow before a woman.
Damn it.
His heart twisted with fury and hatred.
But soon, the commands planted in his mind made him slap himself hard across the face.
His gaze cleared somewhat.
There were many others in the same predicament.
So now, a bizarre scene played out:
Everyone knelt before Yan Lingji, but some people were strangely slapping themselves hard across the face, alternating between their hands.
Some were even pounding their Demon Pills, screaming miserably.
After all, some people never learned their lesson.
But seeing someone strike their Demon Pills again made everyone else tremble from head to toe.
Remembering Yan Lingji's earlier words, they no longer dared entertain that sort of thought.
A slap to the face wasn't so bad, but if they struck their Demon Pills—they wouldn't even be men anymore.
What was more, some of them were already seventy or eighty years old. Even they couldn't accept having their Demon Pills struck at their age, especially when they were the ones doing the hitting.
Xiaomeng saw this and curled her lip.
There was no doubt that this was Yan Lingji indulging in her perverse sense of fun.
No, it could even be said that the man inside her was the one behind it.
And that man was possessive to the extreme.
All this time, Na'er had stood in a corner, curiously watching what was happening around her.
The grand spectacle before her was simply beyond words.
"Come on, Na'er. Go sit beside your big sister Lingji."
At Jiang Ce's instruction, Na'er slowly made her way up from below.
As she walked, she watched the bizarre scene unfolding in the palace.
Then she reached the throne, where Yan Lingji pulled her into an embrace and seated her beside herself.
"Na'er, how do you feel now?"
"Big sister, Na'er doesn't know."
Na'er was still a little shy and didn't know how to react to the situation.
"Na'er only needs to be a good Protector Princess."
Yan Lingji gave a charming laugh, then turned her gaze toward the many nobles, ministers, and the Heaven Dou Emperor below.
By now, with their thoughts somewhat subdued, they had stopped moving.
Aside from those who had entertained wicked thoughts and pounded their Demon Pills until blood ran down their legs, before being knocked unconscious by the pain,
the others had struck themselves so hard that their faces were swollen like pig heads.
"What are you waiting for?"
Yan Lingji looked lazily at the nobles below.
"Long live the Empress!"
Whether controlled or acting of his own will, one guard was the first to shout.
His voice echoed through the vast hall.
One after another, more people joined in.
"Long live the Empress!"
"Long live the Empress!"
"Long live the Empress!"
Before you continue