Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

1118 The Secrets of the Mind

The Fist Saint Emperor blushed in shame as she was correct. As a core Eternal Emperor of the Commerce Hub, they trust him immensely, and he was placed on the list of people to be trained at all costs - especially after seeing Wang Wei's threat level.

As such, he was chosen as one of the two people to be granted a [Potential Mirror], a one-time-use Chaos Treasure that can bring out a person's potential in advance. It's very rare; throughout the Commerce's history, they've only had five. They used the remaining two in this war.

The mirror is why he achieved 5-fold strength in such a short period and how he created many of his most powerful techniques, including the Heaven Fist.

"Let's not mention this," said Saint Fist, coughing lightly. "How about we stop this fight? I think you should know this is pointless. You guys cannot win this war without him on your side."

"We can stop this fight if you surrender and let yourself be captured," Yan Liling replied calmly. "I promise you, in the name of this world's guardian, that you will be treated fairly as a prisoner, and your life will be guaranteed until we've passed judgment on your fate."

'World's Guardian?' he thought, deciding that she used this particular phrase because it was crucial. "Why should I surrender since we have the advantage?"

"And how would you know that?" Yan Liling rebutted. "You've been stuck in this place, cut off from the outside world."

"Did Wang Wei show up?"

"Who knows."

Saint Fist snorted coldly. "Your mind game won't work on me. If he did, I would have been notified. At the very least, I would sense a shift in the world."

"If he doesn't want to be detected, what can you people do?" sneered Yan Liling, making Saint Fist quiet. He exhaled to calm down. "Is there no room for discussion?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Very well."

[Heaven Fist]

All he could think was to end this battlefield as swiftly as possible, so he used one of his most powerful techniques to end things. Yan Liling was calmed as she suddenly swallowed a pill.

[Illusory Pill - Grand Dao Source Pill - Heaven Dao]

Her body's aur changed, becoming more vast and grand. Her eyes turned cold and indifferent. 'This feeling is fascinating,' thought Yan Liling. She felt she knew all the secrets, knowledge, taboos, and truths about Heaven. It took her a moment to rein her mind to prevent this sensation from influencing her spirit and personality.

[Heaven Fist]

Saint Fist's face did not hide his horror, as his opponent used the same technique. Their clash released a shockwave that reached the other Immortal Tier Powerhouses fighting on this battlefield. Yan Liling took a few steps backward in the void as she was pushed back a few thousand kilometers.

"Again," she declared as she teleported before him and used the same technique. Saint Fist reacted on instinct and used his Heaven Fist. She took this opportunity to activate her [Mind Reflection Technique] to read his mind and get all the data on this technique.

Bang!

Yan Liling was only pushed a dozen meters backward, and she went for a third attack. Saint Fist was not stupid and wanted to use another technique to prevent her from copying it, but it was too late-her third fist was on par with his. A golden shield appeared around, and it perfectly blocked the attack.

"Huh?" muttered Yan Liling. "A defensive technique? I see. You used your resonance with Heaven Dao to deduce a defensive method of your Heaven Fist Technique. However, this should be your limit, right?"

She was correct. The [Mirror of Potential] is based on a person's talent and potential; he could only create these two brilliant techniques. "Alright, let's end this pointless fight," Yan Liling declared before using the Heaven Fist for the fourth time.

Boom!

The Fist Saint Emperor's protection broke, forcing him to display his horror. He could not understand how her attack could surpass him in just a few seconds of conversation.

"The answer to your question is very complicated and involves sensitive information, so I can't tell you," said Yan Liling with a gentle smile. She used the Heaven Dao, the previous data, and her [Future Buddha Self] to deduce a higher level of this technique, but as she said, she could not reveal such information.

Saint Fist's body trembled. Her voice might appear sweet to the outside, but to him, she sounded like a devil who enjoyed tormenting people's minds. Yan Liling did not hesitate to attack with the same technique; she wanted to destroy him physically and spiritually, and killing him with his own technique would help.

Saint Fist's body and soul disintegrated into particles smaller than quarks. Yan Liling experienced everything and even checked with her divine sense, but she could not help but frown. Whenever an Eternal dies, even if it's not true death, there is a unique aura in the atmosphere. Not to mention that an Eternal like Saint Fist would have his own vision for his death since he did not die on one of the battlefields where there were too many deaths for Heaven and Earth to count.

She suddenly turned to her right before sighing. A new and intact Saint Fist had materialized in the position near her. "A Longevity Technique? No, this felt familiar." The Heaven Dao's effect was still on, so she immediately realized the source of the familiarity ⌜€“ one of the spies, Yu Zhou.

"You're [Immortal]," she declared.

"That's right," he nodded. "My life is linked to our headquarters, so until it is destroyed, I'm Immortal." Yan Liling grunted before waving her hand to release a purple poison cloud. Saint Fist tried to defend himself, but the cloud corrupted his golden shield before turning his body into stone. However, the stone body disintegrated before another body materialized.

"Let's stop this pointless battle," said Saint Fist. "Although you're stronger than me, I will outlast you."

'Big brother,' called out Yan Liling in her mind.

'I know what you want to ask,' responded Wang Wei. 'His link is delicate, and I cannot do anything until I have full control of the headquarters, so seal him until then to prevent any trouble.'

'Alright.'

Yan Liling waved her hand to summon a cauldron that swallowed the Saint Fist Emperor despite his resistance. "I've never refined a [Immortal] before," commented Yan Liling. Meanwhile, Saint Fist tried to kill himself to be revived elsewhere on the battlefield, but his plan failed despite a few efforts.

"Hmm?" muttered Yan Liling as she noticed something. "He escaped? Did he revive himself in his homeworld? This guy is becoming a cockroach," she grunted. "Big brother, he escaped."

"I see. It's fine. I'll teleport him back to you if he shows up again," replied Wang Wei.

"By the way, your conjecture was correct."

"Which one?"

"The one about mind-reading-techniques." Yan Liling awakened her ability a few days after proving the Dao due to her soul's mutation. She tried it on others, and it worked even on Wang Wei. The only exception was when he used the Illusory Pill to achieve Taboo strength. So, Wang Wei was already developing techniques to protect his mind, not from ordinary mind-reading ability but from talented people like Yan Liling.

"Did you find something in his mind?"

"Yes. The Commerce Hub had the same suspicions as you and conducted experiments. So, they also believed True Heavenly Dao has severely restricted mind-reading-methods."

"Good to know."

Wang Wei had noticed this anomaly very early on in his cultivation journey, and he had deduced many truths from that observation. For example, the world does not function on any absolute, so how is the power of fate limited? Its counterpart - Free Will. But how is free will manifested? The answer should be the ability to make choices, but the true root of this answer is the mind - the thing that makes these choices.

As early as when Wang Wei first created his Fate Puppeteer Physique, when he first encountered the River of Fate, he was almost swallowed by its all-encompassing power. He only survived because he realized that the river could not read his mind and used this fact to survive.

Since then, he has known how important the mind would be for him to one day achieve his goal of absolute freedom, and he has also understood the importance of true mind-reading techniques.

"You reminded me of the importance of the Commerce Hub's database," said Wang Wei. This institution has existed for so long that it must have gathered much-lost knowledge and secrets.

"Don't forget to keep their pill recipe and knowledge on runes for me."

"No problem," nodded Wang Wei. "By the way, you can also study the Disruption Rune before I gift it." A portal appeared before Yan Liling to drop Emperor Jia's book, and she caught it with a smile. She immediately read it and became lost in thought, forgetting she would see her husband after this match. Meanwhile, Li Jun was clicking his tongue while shaking his head in the Samsara Court.