Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You really can't break this terrible habit of yours!"

"If you aren't tormenting the flesh, you switch to tormenting the mind, is that it?"

Fu Qian's proposed plan unsurprisingly drew a strong reaction.

Lu Yi, the target of his pointing finger, was left completely speechless; the two women also hesitated, looking as though they wanted to say something but deciding against it.

"I see your point. You believe the corruption accumulated from the crying is not the same thing as mental torment?"

Old Man Li stepped in at the critical moment to steady the team, watching Fu Qian thoughtfully.

"Of course. Whether you turn someone into an idiot or a lunatic, in my view, that destroys the will rather than building it."

"But the corruption we are suffering right now is essentially shoving a lifeform straight into our will—a lifeform strong enough to manifest on the physical body."

Fu Qian offered his perspective with perfect composure, even casually brushing a hand over those tender green shoots, full of admiration for life.

"No matter how you look at it, this is a delicate carving crafted from a person's will. And as we all know, the more delicate something is, the more fragile it becomes."

Fu Qian made a toppling gesture, his eyes shifting toward Ji Ning.

"I assume Excellency Ji Ning is quite skilled in this area?"

...

"My abilities do primarily involve the mind... and your theory just now actually holds some merit."

Despite being called out directly, Excellency Ji Ning's expression remained perfectly still; she neither backed down nor deflected, simply evaluating his point head-on.

"But there is a problem. I actually already used the psychic piercing technique I specialize in just a moment ago, and it provoked no reaction. It seems either your theory is incorrect, or my specific abilities are simply not suited for this—"

"That is fine. I have a method that fits perfectly."

Fu Qian spoke without a second of hesitation, cutting in almost the moment she finished.

Hmm...

This time, even Old Man Li could not hide his surprise.

"Did you not claim to specialize in flesh and blood abilities?"

Standing to the side, Excellency Aike finally could not help but voice her doubts.

"I do. That is why this is not my own ability, but one derived from a transcendent item."

Fu Qian raised his hand, openly displaying the Tyrant's Fist on his finger.

The dark red, lustrous ring—which looked like it was twisted together from fine blood vessels—blended in quite well with their current surroundings.

He wasn't making it up. Every strike from the Tyrant's Fist caused its target to lose their sanity, making it undeniably perfect for the situation.

However, the act itself could hardly be considered cautious.

Up until now, when wandering the jianghu, he had grown used to burying the ring in his flesh to hide it. Showing it off in front of several well-connected high-tier transcendents naturally brought an added risk of exposure.

At the same time, Fu Qian did not entirely buy Excellency Ji Ning's claim.

Her reasoning sounded perfectly sound, but given her status as a Psychic Type demigod, Fu Qian refused to believe she was truly out of options.

The reason was simple. Even a flesh-and-blood brute like himself could rely on an item to make up for lacking the right abilities.

She had admitted powerlessness far too decisively; no matter how he looked at it, she was using the situation to probe him in return.

...

It was completely understandable.

From the very beginning, his origins had been suspicious, and everything he had done to push the team's progress forward had been far too sharp and high-profile in their eyes.

Trapped in a predicament fraught with endless mysteries, no matter how composed they were, they couldn't help but keep their guard up.

Under these circumstances, it seemed the smartest move would be to keep a low profile and wait for Old Man Li to pressure Excellency Ji Ning into finding another solution—something he was practically guaranteed to do.

Or so it seemed.

As the gurus of success always said: a crisis was merely an opportunity in disguise.

The vigilance of distinguished veterans like Old Man Li carried its own inherent value.

Back in the Sacred Night Capital, one of the reasons he had chosen the Divine Skin was because of its aura, which felt similar to the Tyrant's Fist.

For this reason, Fu Qian had never given up investigating this early-acquired item and the true nature of the power it represented.

Now he had the top experts of the academic circle standing right in front of him, their eyes wide as they conducted a comprehensive evaluation of him. How could he easily waste such a perfect opportunity?

If he could actually glean some information related to the 'Tyrant' from this, taking a little risk was nothing.

By pushing the boat along with the current and volunteering himself, putting this power on display would not only be perfectly natural, but it would also conveniently fake the normal human desire for survival while he was at it—achieving multiple benefits with one move.

"Its aura does feel quite unique. What exactly does it do?"

Presented with it, Excellency Ji Ning wore a visibly strange expression, instinctively exchanging a glance with Old Man Li.

The latter looked back at the dark red ring and finally nodded in appraisal.

"It can conjure an illusory whip," Fu Qian explained. "Every strike drains the target of their sanity. The process is cumulative, which in my view is perfectly suited to our current situation."

Despite the candid posture of his explanation, Fu Qian made absolutely no move to demonstrate it.

Scarcity marketing was all the rage these days. Teasing their appetites might just ensure Old Man Li and the others watched much more closely when he actually used it.

"The only issue is that its Rank is not very high, so the process might not be very fast. For the sake of efficiency, does Your Excellency have a method to weaken mental resistance?"

He aimed that last question directly at Ji Ning.

...

"If that is all you need... then it will not be an issue."

Although Fu Qian's actions had repeatedly defied expectations, as a seasoned veteran of the jianghu, Excellency Ji Ning was not about to lose her composure over it.

Without any further excuses, she nodded with perfect poise, fully embodying the grace of a high-tier transcendent.

"Then let us begin."

Fu Qian took this in stride and immediately turned around.

"This loss of sanity... are you sure it can be reversed?"

His movement made Excellency Lu Yi jolt as if struck by lightning.

After slowly calming down, he had listened to their entire exchange, and it was obvious he didn't think he could escape this ordeal.

The team was full of experts, true, but they first had to exclude the person wielding the item and the person amplifying its effects.

And as the member with the sharpest perception, Li He was obviously the best candidate to observe whether there were any changes.

That left a very small pool of candidates available to get whipped—

"I'll do it."

However, before Fu Qian could even answer him, someone else suddenly spoke up.

Ah?

Staring at Aike in disbelief, Lu Yi could hardly fathom that he had just escaped disaster, and he couldn't figure out why she was doing this.

"This was my duty to begin with... Will it work on a demigod?"

Aike, however, did not even bother to glance at him. She simply stared at Fu Qian, her tone firm.

"It should."

Since it was still the unupgraded Tyrant's Fist, Fu Qian gave a rather conservative answer.

"Then what are you wait—"

The next second, amidst Excellency Aike's urging, a scarlet shadow whipped out, choking the rest of her words straight back down her throat.

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