Su Mu fell into deep thought. It seed that when Yang Dongqing had been paralyzed earlier, yet still burst forth with strength upon hearing “Jasmine is very soft,” it was indeed related to this.
Iron Will? “Iron” referred to the steel-like body, while “Will” referred to how one’s willpower and emotions enhanced that steel body. Simply put, the more intense the emotion, or the firr the will, the stronger the Iron Body beca.
“The Bronze Law contains all things, and the types of Transcendent powers it grants are incredibly diverse. But I don’t know the full extent. I only know what I learned from a Nightmare Apostle who ca from the Upper District. He told
this during our last venture into the Nightmare World together.”
“Nightmare Apostle? Is that what people like you are called?”
Yang Dongqing nodded. “Anyone who’s entered the Nightmare World—whether they beca a Transcendent or not—is called a Nightmare Apostle. It’s an ominous na, because all Nightmare Apostles will eventually die to the nightmare.”
“Why?”
“That man from the Upper District said that every day, unlucky people around the world beco Nightmare Apostles in their dreams. There’s no pattern—anyone can beco one. And once you’ve entered the Nightmare World once, it’s like a curse—you’ll return again and again, each ti facing nightmare after nightmare… until death.”
“If I want to enter the Nightmare World, is there a way?”
Yang Dongqing shook his head again. “No. No one knows how to enter it, just like no one knows how to escape from it. Becoming a Nightmare Apostle is completely random.”
Su Mu’s face darkened. “Is it possible to beco a Transcendent without entering the Nightmare World?”
“Yes. That man from the Upper District ntioned that there are Transcendents hidden in this world who aren’t Nightmare Apostles.”
“Then how did they beco Transcendents?”
“I only know part of it. The man was killed by a Nightmare Creature before he could explain fully. But his exact words were—those Transcendents in the real world are all cowardly freeloaders. They grew stronger by feeding off the blood of Nightmare Apostles!”
Yang Dongqing paused to think. “He sounded angry at the ti, like he deeply resented the title of Nightmare Apostle. And it wasn’t just about facing Nightmare Creatures—it seed like even people in the real world were hostile toward Nightmare Apostles.”
Su Mu’s eyes flashed. Feed off their blood? Was that ant literally, or…?
“Give
so of your blood.”
“Yes, Chief!” Without hesitation, Yang Dongqing extended a finger and slashed his wrist with nails sharp as blades.
…
…
In a room filled with dical equipnt and experintal devices, a man in a white lab coat held a test tube full of blood, carefully conducting various experints with a dropper.
“Well?” Su Mu leaned casually against the wall.
“Chief, this blood isn’t much different from that of a normal human. At most, it’s just a bit healthier.”
“Drink it.”
“Yes, Chief.” The white-coated man drank the blood in one gulp.
Su Mu waited an hour. Nothing changed.
It seed the “feeding on blood” wasn’t literal.
Now, two paths lay before him. One: go to the Upper District, gather intel on Transcendents, and try to beco one through their thods. Two: find a way to enter the Nightmare World and beco a Transcendent there.
He barely hesitated before choosing the second.
There’s a natural divide between the Upper and Lower Districts. It’s not just about money—you also need connections, resources, and channels to get a residency permit in the Upper District.
Of course, that wouldn’t be a real obstacle for him. It would just take ti. But once inside, he’d still need ti to gather information. And ti was exactly what he didn’t have.
Just capturing Yang Dongqing had cost him three days. Now, he only had four left to live.
But truthfully, none of those were the real reason for his decision.
The real reason was… who could resist the lure of a mysterious, terrifying, and thrilling Nightmare World where death could co at any mont?
When he heard Yang Dongqing describe it, his long-numb heart finally started to stir again.
But how could he enter the Nightmare World?
Or rather… had he already entered it?
For a mont, Su Mu thought of the dream he had every night. It felt so real, it no longer seed like a dream at all. But it was nothing like the Nightmare World Yang Dongqing described.
His dream had no dangers. Everything he wanted existed within it.
According to Yang Dongqing, entering the Nightmare World depended on luck. If your luck was bad enough, you’d enter the Nightmare World in your sleep.
But Su Mu always entered that all-powerful dream the mont he slept. In a sense, it was like being permanently shielded from the Nightmare World.
He pondered for a while. An idea slowly began to take shape in his mind…
…
…
Su Mu returned to the dungeon once more.
But when he saw Yang Dongqing, he was shocked—Yang Dongqing had broken free from hypnosis!
And it had only been one hour.
“You bastard! What the hell did you do to ?!” Yang Dongqing roared in both fury and panic. Clearly, the hypnosis had left him deeply shaken.
That feeling of completely losing yourself—of becoming soone else—was even more terrifying than death.
Su Mu stared at him. Such strong ntal resistance. Was this common for all Transcendents, or was it specific to Yang Dongqing’s [Iron Will]?
Forget it. It didn’t matter.
He had never planned to keep Yang Dongqing as a puppet forever. To him, there were few interesting people in the world—but it was precisely those people who made the world vivid and colorful. He had grown tired of controlling everything. That’s why he never fully controlled Nan Mo either. And now, he wouldn’t completely dominate Yang Dongqing’s mind either.
However, not wanting to control didn’t an he’d let Yang Dongqing off the hook.
They were already enemies. Letting your enemy go was just plain stupid.
So, Su Mu decided to take a different approach—psychological suggestion.
Unlike the brute force of hypnosis, psychological suggestion was subtle, hard to detect, and could bypass ntal resistance altogether.
Simply put, hypnosis was like forcibly seizing soone’s mind, which often triggered resistance.
But psychological suggestion was a form of quiet brainwashing. It twisted your thoughts until you naturally accepted the idea without realizing it.
It was like in the workplace: when your boss assigns you work outside your job description, you resist. The boss then has two choices—either pressure you with authority (“Do it or you’re fired”), or emotionally manipulate you (“This will help you grow… prove yourself worthy of a promotion”).
Which approach causes less resistance is obvious.
So now, Su Mu planned to PUA—no, to subtly influence Yang Dongqing.
He sat on a chair nearby, hands folded over his snake-patterned cane, gazing calmly at Yang Dongqing.
Then he spoke slowly, “Yang Dongqing, you wouldn’t want anything to happen to Miss Jasmine… would you?”
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