Zan Zichen clearly had done it before; he waved his hands just seconds away from the ground, summoning a row of swords to block the demon’s path.

Great job! After landing, they headed directly to the front of the demon.

The captured beast seemed rather intelligent, pausing slightly before taking a cautious hop to the side. Using its big coppery eyes, it seized them up, growling threateningly.

Its growl sounded much sharper than before when he was in a crowd. With each growl it made, a familiar energy rippled through the air, heading toward them.

Excitement bubbled through Yao Si as she felt the ripples of energy for the first time. She tapped her mental strength, exerting it outward. It was an unusual experience, as though everything was in her sight: she could even see Zan Zichen’s expression when he was standing behind her. Her mental strength spread out like a huge web, blanketing the beast.

When the web was inches away from its antlers, the beast seemed to caught wind of something and fell backward abruptly with a loud squeal. A layer of shiny scales shot out from its black body, and the next second, its whole body went aflame. It reflected everything, including Yao Si’s mental strength, back.

Eh, so these cloud-swallowing beasts have fire series abilities? 

“That’s bad!” Zan Zichen paled. “This isn’t a cloud-swallowing beast, but a soul-devouring beast! The group of cloud-swallowing beasts were trying to escape from him just now.”

“Escape? Then…”

“Rank seven!”

F*ck! Why didn’t you mention it before? 

It made sense then that it was able to reflect her mental strength. What was she going to do, though? She was confident about level five beasts, but level seven…

Is it too late to escape?

The beast seemed to have sensed her intention and suddenly widened its mouth, directing a scorching fireball toward her.

“Be careful!” Zan Zichen warned, summoning a wall made from earth to shield them from the attack. The fireball spread across the wall, sending the ground ablaze. It was becoming a sea of flames.

“Senior!” Zan Zichen summoned a transparent barrier. “The soul-devouring beast’s innate skill is camouflage. It is able to change into any form it desires, that’s why I-I couldn’t recognize it previously. Are-are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Yao Si released a water ability to extinguish the flames. The beast they’ve met wasn’t simple at all; in such a short time, it was able to retaliate and force out her mental strength. The short second she hadn’t been paying attention resulted in a throbbing headache.

Was that how mental strength was used for attacks? It had to be coagulated and given form before it could attack? Yao Si immediately recalled her mental strength. “Zan Zichen, stop him from attacking for a while.”

“Yes, Senior.” He dashed out. With a quick manoeuvre, several swords headed for the creature.

The soul-devouring beast stumbled backward from the force, then with a howl, it went straight for Zan Zichen.

Yao Si calmed herself and started to morph the mental strength she released into physical form. Mu Xuan had mentioned that mental strength was a representation of one’s consciousness. Since everyone underwent different experiences, the physical form their mental strength took on would differ and would only be seen during an attack.

Yao Si quickened her pace, following the instructions in the guidebook—concentrate, compress the released mental strength, and it will congregate into the physical form. Yao Si was slightly emotional as she wasn’t sure how her mental strength looked. With a deep breath, the gigantic web started to come together, and when it finally condensed into a line, it slowly morphed into… two dots!

“…”

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Why is the physical form of my mental strength a mahjong tile?! Even if it’s random, it can’t be this odd! 

Was it perhaps because she was playing mahjong when her mental strength began to form? It couldn’t be so absurd, right?! Blue Ball, you better watch out!

Howl!

The beast roared once more, swinging its tail at Zan Zichen. He barely dodged it, almost at his wit’s end.

Yao Si clenched her teeth—she had to persist! She consolidated all her mental strength and directed it at the beast’s conscience.

Still! Her mental strength couldn’t be a mahjong tile!

With a loud thud, the beast’s conscience exploded, and its massive body burst into a ball of flames. On closer inspection, a tiny sign started to form in the middle of the beast’s forehead, but it wasn’t two dots… it was two bamboos!

○|￣|_

“Senior, you are amazing! That was a level 7 beast!” Zan Zichen exclaimed, his face filled with joy. “But, I wonder what sorcery you used…”

“Don’t ask me… I don’t wish to divulge much!” If I said I used a mahjong tile, would you believe me?

Zan Zichen stopped, not persisting any further. He released the sword in his hand and directed it at the beast’s head. He reached his hand in and pulled out a red bead.

“Senior, this is the beast’s organ.”

Beast’s organ? What’s that?  Yao Si glanced at the blood soaked bead. Before she could ask anything, a sudden ray of light skittered past Zan Zichen’s hand, and the bead that he had been clutching onto flew out, lending in another person’s palm.

“Heh, you’re just two rogue cultivators and you dare eye my beast organ?!”

Several men had made their way over, and they were dressed in white robes with blue bases. The leader of the group held the red bead Yao Si had just been examining.

Did he… come to snatch their bead?

“We’ve been chasing this soul-devouring beast for days only to be interrupted by you two lucky fellows.” The leader pinched the bead in his hands with a smirk as he continued, “Since it’s your first offense, we, the Hundred Cultivation Clan will not make a fuss over it. I’ll keep the level seven beast organ.”

“Hundred Cultivation Clan?” Yao Si asked.

“Senior, the Hundred Cultivation Clan is now the top clan in the celestial world.”

“Top? What are they top at? Having the thickest skin?” Yao Si glanced at the person before them. She hated people who took her things. “To be honest, even though I’ve met people who didn’t care about their face, this is the first time I’ve seen anyone who would take it to such extremes.”

“What did you say?!” The man glared at her, his whole body emitting a murderous aura.

“I mean, why are you dragging in your clan when it’s clearly your own stuff? How could you defame your clan like this? Do your parents know about your behavior?”

“You- you-” The man stuttered before flicking his sleeves back aggressively. “How dare you humiliate my clan! I’ll make sure to give you a good lesson!”

“Come on, who’s afraid! Didn’t you want to snatch other people’s belongings? Who the f*ck is afraid?”

Her mental strength could defeat beasts, but she had yet to try it out on people. However, since the man offered himself so willingly, it would be rude to decline.

“Senior and Juniors, let’s punish this maniac who humiliated our clan!” the man shouted out. The crowd behind him brought out their weapons, directing all kinds of spells at the two ‘rogue cultivators’.

Yao Si inhaled deeply, releasing all her mental strength at once. It morphed into a gigantic web that trapped the whole crowd. She felt her surroundings magnify instantly, to the point that even a strand of hair was crystal clear. She could even sense the unusual energy around her.

Was this… their thoughts?

She was aware that mental strength could affect people’s thoughts, since Mu Xuan had done it many times before by preventing others from making out his features. But it was the first time she experienced someone else’s thoughts. Even though it wasn’t a very distinct feeling, it was still a huge step forward.

Joy spread through Yao Si, and she used her mental strength to infiltrate the group’s thoughts. Everyone froze at that moment, as though they had been faced with a huge immovable force. Even the spells that were half-released fizzled out.

“You-you… What is this sorcery?” The leader paled. He started to struggle, but he couldn’t move at all. “Wha-what are you trying to do?”

“What am I trying to do?” Yao Si chucked. “Of course I’m… going to do you!” She turned toward Zan Zichen and said, “Walk around and strike their butts!”

“Yes, Senior!” Zan Zichen nodded. He then walked around them with the sword in his hand and struck one of them straight on their butt.

An endless stream of cries pierced the air.

Eh… he really is doing it! What an obedient child. 

Yao Si gradually released her mental strength from each person after Zan Zichen had dealt with them. Zan Zichen had controlled his strength, ensuring that the men’s lives weren’t at risk and only their butts were targeted. Blood had still splashed everywhere, though.

“Junior! You-you demonic girl…” The leader trembled with fury. He somehow managed to muster up some energy even though he was still being controlled by Yao Si’s mental strength and jumped upright. He headed toward her with his sword. “I’m going to kill you!”

F*ck! Did he perhaps have some spinach?

“Senior!” Zan Zichen exclaimed. He wanted to rush to her side, but it was too late.

The sword with an eerie aura was approaching rapidly, ready to split Yao Si into two. She felt her heart sink, and instinctively, her control loosened. The mental strength linking her to the enemy exploded within him.

Just as she was about to escape, the murderous man collapsed. The sword lightly grazed her sleeve, falling on the ground along with its owner.

“…”

What’s with this situation?

“You…” The man was also a face of confusion. He struggled to stand but was restrained by an invisible force. His head went downward the moment he lifted it slightly.

Gradually, a faint reddish-green marking of a bird started to appear over him. And it seemed rather familiar…

F*ck, isn’t that the young bird marking on mahjong tiles? The legendary bird with feathers on it’s head!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

An inauspicious aura came flooding over!