NOVPUBChapter 756: 182. Investigation Yield: The second Mortality-Shedding tier master!
Half an hour later.
When Sima Liu woke up from unconsciousness, he immediately realized that something was wrong with his soul. It felt as if it was being bound by something and was constantly being infiltrated.
He was startled.
Although he had been seriously injured before and had endured a lot of mental trauma later, both his body and mind had experienced significant shocks, he was still a master in the Mortality-Shedding level, protected by a Demigod. How could he be suddenly controlled by someone?
What is going on?
Just as he was filled with confusion, that emotionless voice suddenly sounded next to him, “You are awake?”
Hearing that voice, Sima Liu snapped back to reality. At first, he didn’t pay attention, but then he realized that upon hearing that voice, he unexpectedly had the urge to submit and worship, as if he had met the god to whom he would be eternally loyal.
He was stunned and desperately tried to suppress the deep-rooted desire from his soul. But that desire was too strong, making it impossible for him to resist. Moreover, it was not forcefully pushing his head down but subtly changing his thoughts in an almost imperceptible way. This filled him with fear.
So he asked in a trembling voice, “Who, who exactly are you?”
At this time, Fang Ze, who was hiding nearby, also noticed Sima Liu’s condition.
To be honest, he was also startled.
He had always thought that his ability took effect immediately and was directly coercive. But who knew it would vary with the strength and willpower of the target?
However, judging from Sima Liu’s current situation, a Mortality-Shedding level should not be able to resist his ability; it just takes a bit longer.
Thinking this, Fang Ze decided to bide his time. He slowly said, “I already told you, a name is just a code. You can call me Lord Devil, or you can call me Master.”
Hearing Fang Ze’s words, Sima Liu wanted to resist, but the words stuck in his throat. He stammered, “Master.”
This feeling of being forcibly controlled made Sima Liu feel immense fear. He struggled harder inside, trying not to be brainwashed by this terrifying ability.
At this moment, Fang Ze, hiding in the shadows, did not disturb him. Instead, he used him as a good observation subject, quietly monitoring Sima Liu’s inner activities.
Perhaps because Fang Ze stopped stimulating him vocally, Sima Liu’s resistance gradually weakened. His thoughts started to wander uncontrollably, speculating about Fang Ze’s identity and assessing the current situation.
If he couldn’t figure out that he had fallen into this mysterious person’s trap by now, he would be a fool.
And as Fang Ze had turned off the Emotion Snake’s emotional guidance, Sima Liu’s mind became more rational, allowing him to notice more details that he had previously overlooked.
For instance…
Even though the other party said he had no ulterior motives, it was evident that he had been plotting against him from the start.
For example…
In retrospect, his previous emotions were incredibly abnormal. Although he had been severely injured and mentally tortured, it wasn’t to the extent that he would trust a random person so easily.
For instance…
That game must have issues. He was not someone with an iron will, but he wouldn’t become addicted to a game just by seeing it.
Moreover, that game was clearly tampered with: it appeared perfectly normal during gameplay, but it always failed at critical moments. It made him see hope, but he could never truly grasp it.
Analyzing this, he gradually confirmed that he had indeed been manipulated by this mysterious person. The person in front of him was likely a master of mental manipulation, capable of guiding and controlling him silently.
This led to a significant problem: he was a Vassal of a Demigod, protected by a Demigod. Demigods were the highest beings in the world, and theoretically, nothing could affect their vassals except spells from beings of equal rank.
So the identity of the person before him was apparent: he must be a top-tier Demigod.
The only uncertainty was whether he was a human Demigod or an Outer Realm Demigod.
After pondering for a moment, Sima Liu leaned towards the latter.
Realizing this brought a wave of despair: once he understood this fact, he found it nearly impossible to escape the control of this mysterious Demigod.
Firstly, he was being rapidly assimilated, gradually beginning to obey this mysterious Demigod. Afterward, the mysterious Demigod would undoubtedly order him to keep his identity secret, preventing him from ever revealing himself to the Federation and the Sima family.
Secondly, as he had previously mentioned, being protected by a Demigod made one impervious to all spells. So, without voluntarily disclosing his identity, regular methods used by the Federation and the Sima family wouldn’t detect his control.
Finally, the Federation didn’t seem to have a method to remove Demigod-level mental control. Even if he exposed his control, he would likely be imprisoned or even humanely destroyed…
Thinking this, he suddenly realized that if he wanted to live, he really had no choice but to follow this dark path…
Thinking this, Sima Liu’s loyalty to Fang Ze soared. His head gradually lowered, and his back slowly bent…
Meanwhile, Fang Ze, reading Sima Liu’s mind the entire time, blinked, his eyes filled with deep thought.
Because he was very curious: were these truly Sima Liu’s thoughts, or were they ideas birthed under the influence of Personal Deprivation?
From Fang Ze’s perspective, it seemed as if Sima Liu had strangely transitioned from resistance to gradually accepting him, and even becoming increasingly loyal…
This change was simply fascinating!
After closely observing for a while, Sima Liu finally made up his mind and knelt on one knee, lowering his proud head towards the void, “Sima Liu pays respects to Master.”
Fang Ze remained silent for a long time, and Sima Liu just continued to kneel on one knee.
About two or three minutes later, Fang Ze finally spoke slowly, “Rise.”
“Don’t worry, as long as you follow me well, I will not treat you unfairly.”
After casually making a big promise, Fang Ze withdrew from his earlier reflections and decided to get down to business. He asked slowly, “Tell me about the intelligence on the Sima family.”
Hearing Fang Ze’s words, Sima Liu stood up and bowed, “Yes, Master.”
With absolute loyalty, Sima Liu didn’t hide anything and detailed the Sima family’s situation.
The information was similar to the official intelligence on the Sima family that Fang Ze knew. The Sima family was one of the two giants in Yunlan State. Their Demigod was a Heaven-Ascending Demigod.
Aside from this Heaven-Ascending Demigod, the Sima family also possessed two Heaven-Ascending level and twelve Mortality-Shedding level members.
Among Heaven-Ascending members, one was a bloodline of the Sima family, the heir expected to inherit the Demigod mantle. The other was a vassal of the Sima family, once a warrior companion of the Demigod.
Of the twelve Mortality-Shedding members, only four were of Sima bloodline, while the remaining eight were vassals.
According to Sima Liu, the Sima family’s Demigod seemed to have always believed that too many descendants would dilute their fortune and weaken their collective strength, so they deliberately controlled the number of descendants.
This led to fewer people in the Sima family, yet a considerable number of talents.
However, despite this, the Sima family showed signs of decline by Sima Jin’s generation. Sima Jin, the strongest of his generation, was over thirty years old and only at the Solar Condensation level. There was hope for him to reach Mortality-Shedding, but reaching Heaven-Ascending seemed nearly impossible.
