Lu Yi's words stirred Huo Yuhao's competitive spirit.
Once the sting of the mental backlash faded, Huo Yuhao tried several more times, deliberately gathering his mental power to defend against any backlash that might follow.
After three or four attempts, Lu Yi was almost certain his Occlumency could completely neutralize Huo Yuhao's Soul Shock at eighty percent power. Huo Yuhao refused to try anything stronger, no matter what Lu Yi said.
Even so, Lu Yi was satisfied.
After the Gold of Life had strengthened his body, his mental power had grown no less than Huo Yuhao's had after absorbing a Head Soul Bone. And when it came to future growth, Lu Yi had the edge.
While activating Occlumency, Lu Yi also used One Mind, Two Uses to attempt Legilimency on Huo Yuhao.
Legilimency generally had two methods.
One involved making eye contact to read stray thoughts near the surface of the target's mind.
This method was silent and almost impossible to detect, though it was another matter against someone with powerful mental strength.
Legilimency was also unlikely to work against someone who had prepared a mental defense, such as Occlumency.
The other method used a Wand to forcibly dig into the target's deeper memories. Its effects resembled searching someone's soul, and it provoked a strong reaction from the target.
Lu Yi was using the shallow form of Legilimency. Seeing that Huo Yuhao appeared entirely unaware, he relaxed a little.
He could not read any actual information, though. He could only sense the emotions Huo Yuhao let slip from time to time.
But from those fleeting shifts in emotion alone, Lu Yi began to discern a pattern between Huo Yuhao's feelings and his attacks.
Following that pattern, Lu Yi asked Huo Yuhao to weaken his Soul Shock further. Only then did