We've already hit 100 votes today — is 120 really that far away?
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"None of your business!" Leng Shan angrily brushed away Zi Mo's hand.
"Just this once!" Yang Kai said flatly. Only after hearing those words did Leng Shan let out an involuntary breath of relief, knowing she'd never have to endure that unbearable torment again.
"How did you do it?" Leng Shan hesitated for a long time before finally summoning the courage to ask what had been weighing on her mind.
Before, she had simply launched a Ghost King Seal at Yang Kai. But once the seal returned to her body, something new had appeared inside her head. Since she hadn't cultivated Divine Sense yet, Leng Shan had no idea what it was. What she did know was that the man standing before her was using this very thing to control her life and death.
"I'm curious about that too. Would you mind explaining, if it's convenient?" Zi Mo flashed a charming smile, her glistening eyes fixed on Yang Kai. Her rosy lips puckered slightly in a pout that radiated defiance — altogether irresistible.
"It's simple. I just plant an imprint on your Divine Sense," Yang Kai answered with an amused look.
Both women's faces went pale upon hearing this.
Simple? Even though neither of them had cultivated Divine Sense yet, they both knew how impossibly difficult it was to plant an imprint inside someone else's mind. Forget the fact that Yang Kai was merely a Separation-Union Realm martial artist — even if he were at the Shenyou Realm, it would take considerable effort, and he'd have to worry about damaging the other person's soul. One wrong move could turn someone into an idiot.
Yet from his mouth, those three words — "it's simple" — just rolled out like it was nothing?
When she thought about what had happened to the two of them, though, it really could be called simple.
For Leng Shan, the Ghost King Seal went out, came back, and in less than three breaths her life was no longer her own.
Zi Mo had merely withdrawn a tiny wisp of soul thread attached to the Soul-Manipulating Insect, and she'd suffered the exact same fate.
Thinking back now, this young man hadn't left after killing Jin Hao. He'd clearly been prepared all along, just waiting for Zi Mo to take the bait.
And foolish Zi Mo had come running right over. She'd fallen for his trap, lost every advantage, and been reduced to his servant! At the thought, Zi Mo's heart went cold with bitter regret.
When he'd said he was going to burn and refine the Soul-Manipulating Insect, he'd been forcing her to pull that wisp of soul thread back.
It was a wisp of soul thread that had been tampered with in advance!
Zi Mo stared blankly at Yang Kai and took a deep breath. "Are you really only at the seventh level of the Separation-Union Realm?"
Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
Zi Mo patted her heaving chest in relief and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I thought so. How could a seventh-level Separation-Union Realm cultivator possibly pull something like that off? So how strong are you really?"
Yang Kai chuckled softly. His whole body trembled slightly as an invisible aura radiated outward. The Yuan Qi inside him surged briefly, then quickly settled down again.
"Breakthrough..." Zi Mo and Leng Shan stared blankly at Yang Kai. What they'd just witnessed was unmistakably the sign of a minor realm breakthrough.
But... the fluctuation hadn't been that strong. It hadn't even reached the level of the Zhenyuan Realm.
"I'm now at the eighth level of the Separation-Union Realm!" Yang Kai raised his eyebrows at the two women.
Both Zi Mo and Leng Shan silently groaned. So... he really was just a Separation-Union Realm martial artist! Everything he'd said before hadn't been a lie after all.
They exchanged glances, and both women flushed with embarrassment.
The two of them — one at the sixth level of the Zhenyuan Realm, the other at the fourth — were each considered genius disciples in their own sects. Yet in their clash with Yang Kai, they'd been instantly subdued and had their lives and deaths controlled. Naturally, they felt quite humiliated.
They could only smile bitterly, neither knowing what to say.
"Go about your business. I may control your lives, but as long as you behave and don't try any little tricks, I won't make things too difficult for you. So if you want to hunt down anyone or any demon beasts, feel free. When I need you, I'll call for you." With that, Yang Kai closed his eyes once more.
Leng Shan and Zi Mo slowly backed away, retreating several dozen zhang before stopping. They didn't want to get too close and give him the wrong idea.
"That man is really something else," Zi Mo murmured, gazing at Yang Kai in the distance.
"Hmph!" Leng Shan snorted softly. Remembering how she'd just submitted, she felt deeply ashamed and gritted her teeth. "Someday, I'll make him pay for this."
Zi Mo glanced at her and suppressed a smile. "Why don't you try breaking free of his control first?"
"And you!" Leng Shan's beautiful eyes turned sharp with murderous intent as she looked at Zi Mo. "I haven't forgotten the humiliation I suffered at your side not long ago."
Zi Mo let out a lilting laugh. "What's with all the hostility? I didn't do anything to you. Besides, weren't you enjoying it? Your reactions certainly didn't lie to me!"
"Slut!" Leng Shan flared with rage, her face reddening. "If you dare bring that up again, I won't let it go."
Zi Mo smiled with contempt. "Our lives and deaths are no longer in our own hands, so you'd better not hold so much hostility toward me. You should be figuring out how to survive under his control — that's the real priority. You saw how he treats us. He won't show the slightest mercy. If we really upset him, he'll kill us without a second thought."
"Hah..." Leng Shan laughed coldly, taking petty pleasure in Zi Mo's predicament. "So now you know how it feels. How does it taste, being controlled by someone?"