Zhang Yuanqing jolted awake instantly. He tried to move, but his muscles were weak and limp, as though his entire body had been anesthetized.
Queen and Jiang Jingwei beside him were in much the same state, their faces pale as they twisted their bodies in feeble resistance. They looked weaker than three-year-old children.
"Don't struggle. You've been hit by the Azure Dragon Gang's Muscle-Softening Powder. Even a first-rate martial artist would be left weak for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea," Wang Beiwang said flatly.
"C-cousin, what are you doing?" Zhang Yuanqing forced a smile. "I'm your cousin, Li Erdan."
Wang Beiwang sneered repeatedly. "Let's not beat around the bush. I've already broken free of your mind control."
Hypnosis was the modern term. In ancient times, it was called "mind control."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. He discarded that last sliver of unrealistic hope, racking his brains for a solution while stalling for time. "How did you do it?"
Wang Beiwang patted the hilt of his sword. "A Swordsman tempers his mind. Mere mind control can only affect me for a while. Before bed last night, I spoke with my parents about you. I vaguely sensed that something was wrong then. I woke naturally halfway through the night and discovered that I'd fallen under your mind control. You've got some nerve, staying in my home."
"Didn't you say you only knew some rudimentary martial arts?"
"Why would I reveal my true capabilities to an enemy?"
Zhang Yuanqing was dumbstruck—not because Wang Beiwang had deceived him, since that was not the point. The crucial words were "a Swordsman tempers his mind." From a Spirit Realm Walker's perspective, that was a Swordsman's passive skill: Steel Will.
Steel Will was a passive skill only a level-four Swordsman could master. In