Chapter 14: Mind Interference
The next day, Spirit City, a certain quiet room.
Bibi Dong, having returned after handling certain matters, was instructing Xia Tianling in his cultivation. She had previously witnessed Xia Tianling's two skills and spirit ring ages, supplemented by Chrysanthemum Douluo's descriptions, and had praised them greatly.
The pressure from Bibi Dong's aura feels even stronger than before, Xia Tianling, familiar with the original story, deduced that her three-month disappearance was likely spent completing one of the Rakshasa Inheritance trials. However, the early parts of the original story have very little information about Bibi Dong; timelines and such can only be vaguely guessed.
"...Twin spirits are no different from ordinary spirits; they are both parts of our body. Therefore, provided the body can withstand it, it's entirely possible for both to appear simultaneously. So, we just need to..." Bibi Dong was explaining the greatest advantage, and also the greatest difficulty, of twin spirits – how to use both simultaneously.
"...In summary, that is the secret to using twin spirits together. Do you understand?" Bibi Dong asked lightly.
"Disciple understands," Xia Tianling quickly replied.
This usage technique was both difficult and easy, boiling down to two points. First, extremely skillful application and deep understanding of both one's spirits, enabling them to complement and assist each other. Second, a powerful physique capable of withstanding the force of both spirits appearing simultaneously.
Coincidentally, the Two-Piece Set spirit had extremely high compatibility and also possessed the Fusion characteristic. As for physique, that went without saying: the enhancement from the True Dragon spirit, the transformation from two spirit rings, plus the body tempering from the Foundation Establishment stage, were enough to make Xia Tianling's physique comparable to a Spirit Ancestor's.
"Alright then. Circulate your spirit power and try it."
Xia Tianling did as instructed, easily releasing both spirits simultaneously. In this state, although his combat capability increased further, maintaining it required more spirit power. If he were to use the Storm Battle Axe for combat now, he might only be able to be a "three-minute true man," just like the fearless original Ultraman.
"Hold it. Release your lightning power and completely exhaust your spirit power," Bibi Dong's voice remained cool, but simultaneously, she enveloped her disciple with her spiritual power.
As time passed, Xia Tianling's spirit power was depleted. The Dao Sutra circulated naturally, the Golden Core hummed softly, and his spirit power began recovering at an extremely fast rate.
"You didn't use the spirit power circulation route I gave you for meditation? Where did this method of yours come from?" Bibi Dong frowned. Before leaving on her business, Bibi Dong had naturally given Xia Tianling the meditation method compiled by the Spirit Hall, a circulation path far superior to the haphazard self-cultivation of unorthodox Spirit Masters. However, compared to the Dao Sutra, it was like comparing a firefly to the moon – incredibly crude. With Bibi Dong's insight, she could naturally see the superiority of the Dao Sutra's method of circulating the major and minor Zhou Tian cycles.
"Replying to Teacher, this cultivation method automatically appeared in my mind," Xia Tianling blinked, speaking with a straight face. "Sometimes I can see strange fragments of events, possibly from the future, or perhaps from unknown times. Because of this, I also had the nickname 'Prophet' in the village when I was young."
Bibi Dong stared intently at Xia Tianling, lost in thought. She had secretly investigated Xia Tianling's background: an unknown orphan, found on the back hill and adopted by Old Jack, never left Holy Soul Village in six years, nor had contact with outsiders. And Old Jack's family history for eighteen generations was poor peasant stock, a background cleaner than clean, unlikely to cause problems. This spirit power circulation route was simply unheard of; even that fellow Tang Hao couldn't possibly have mastered it. Could he truly be born with this knowledge? Do such people really exist in the world?
Yes, actually, Bibi Dong had always known Tang Hao was hiding in Holy Soul Village. After Xia Tianling's awakening, she also knew Tang San was Tang Hao's son. With the Spirit Hall's influence spanning the continent, finding someone isn't difficult. She hadn't moved against Tang Hao and his son simply because it wasn't necessary; her ability to backstab Qian Xunji was thanks to Tang Hao.
So... perhaps such uniquely talented people really do exist. Possessing such peculiar spirits, having this strange talent doesn't seem too odd.
"Alright, then continue cultivating like this. This meditation method is very advanced," Bibi Dong sighed inwardly, deciding not to dwell on the issue.
"Yes, Teacher." While replying, Xia Tianling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, breaking out in a cold sweat. Given Bibi Dong's personality in the original story, he had genuinely feared she might just slap this unstable factor dead or imprison him to prevent future trouble.
Fortunately, another system function – Mind Interference – had worked.
Mind Interference sounds fancy, but in reality, it just passively makes others more inclined to believe your words and less likely to be suspicious. Moreover, what you say must at least be reasonable and logical. If you activated Mind Interference and jumped out telling Bibi Dong "Actually, you're my wife," or similar nonsense, you'd be guaranteed a clean, swift death. This is Mind Interference, not Mind Modification; it doesn't have such bug-like power.
Of course, when not actively used, Mind Interference's effect is extremely weak, basically negligible. To actively use this function, one also needs to make a wish using Fate Power; the larger the amount, the better the effect. Active use greatly enhances the credibility of one's words while reducing the listener's suspicion, but if the listener is extremely firm in their willpower regarding a certain matter, disbelief is still possible. Just like with Tang San's behavioral patterns based on the
Just now, he had wished to the system, investing half of his remaining Fate Power to activate Mind Interference. Using only half wasn't because Xia Tianling was stingy, but mainly because he had other plans later; if he used it all here and the subsequent plans failed, he'd be equally screwed.
Changing the life trajectories of Su Yuntao, Tang San, Grandmaster, and Bibi Dong had yielded a massive amount of Fate Power. Although the system didn't give exact values, if the total Fate Power harvested was compared to a large bottle of cola, then activating Mind Interference once only required the standard amount equivalent to a small can of cola.
That evening, after finishing his daytime cultivation, it was Xia Tianling's free time. Unlike previous days spent reading in the library, today he went to the Records Room.
The Records Room, as the name suggests, was the place where the Spirit Hall's annual records were stored, similar to an archive. His purpose today was to check the spirit awakening records from the past two years. Thanks to the Spirit Hall's year-after-year service to the people, any Spirit Master awakened by the Spirit Hall who possessed spirit power would be recorded by the responsible person, and the record sent back to Spirit City for archiving.
Amidst the sea of records, Xia Tianling first opened the awakening records for Nuoding City and its surrounding villages from this year.
"Wang Sheng, Male, Nuoding City, Fasinuo Province, Heaven Dou Empire. Commoner family. Beast Spirit: Battle Tiger. Innate Spirit Power: Level 2. Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy Work-Study Student."
Is this the foolish kid who fought Tang San in the original story? Wonder if he's fought Tang San yet here. Ignoring the miscellaneous details recorded below, he opened another scroll.
"Tang San, Male, Holy Soul Village affiliated with Nuoding City, Fasinuo Province, Heaven Dou Empire. (Crossed out)(Smudged) Farmer family. Plant Spirit: Blue Silver Grass. Innate Full Spirit Power. Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy Work-Study Student."
Hm? Little San's file has been altered? Xia Tianling scratched his head, held the parchment scroll close to the nearby spirit tool lamp, and examined it carefully. The first crossed-out section easily revealed: "Father is a blacksmith, single-parent family." The second smudged area faintly showed: "xxx Luo xxxx zi."
"Could the original text have been 'Son of Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao'?" Xia Tianling broke out in a cold sweat. Could the Spirit Hall have known Little San's identity all along? Thinking carefully, it's not impossible. At the same time, a wave of fear washed over him. Luckily, I invested a large amount of Fate Power back then to activate Mind Interference. Otherwise, Bibi Dong, who knows my background inside out, would definitely have become suspicious of such an absurd explanation. It seems I need to re-evaluate the Spirit Hall's grassroots information gathering capabilities in the future.
Regarding Tang San's matter, it's likely someone modified the original content because they didn't want too many people to know. If not for his familiarity with the original plot, it would be impossible to deduce the original content just from those few characters.
Xia Tianling shook his head and continued flipping through the records. My teacher is Bibi Dong now; the stronger the Spirit Hall, the better.
"Is there no record of my own file? The information was probably sealed."
As he finished looking through numerous records, Xia Tianling got closer to what he was looking for. Finally, a familiar name caught his eye.
"Ma Hongjun, Male, Sichen Village affiliated with Soto City, Balak Kingdom. Farmer family. Beast Spirit: Mutated Fowl. Innate Spirit Power: Level 9."
Found you, Fatty!
(End of Chapter)