591: Chapter 591 The Difference Between Leaders and Old Gods, The Special Effects of "Heart Steel"

Chapter 591: Difference Between Leader and Old Gods, Effects of "Heartsteel"

Above the dome, stars were scattered like chess pieces, vast and boundless.

Countless points of light floated within, slowly burning their own energy and releasing unique mental fluctuations.

Fang Cheng did not rush to leave, sitting alone upon the high throne.

His gaze calmly swept across the top of the entire grand hall, like a monarch inspecting his own territory.

As the cross-dimensional clash just now came to an end, this starry sky constructed by Mental Energy seemed to undergo some subtle changes once again.

The originally pitch-black curtain was pulled even deeper and broader, making the entire dome appear more magnificent and grand, resembling a truly miniature Universe.

Although the number of stars spread across it did not increase, the order of their arrangement became much stricter and more regular, clearly reflecting his daily-increasing control.

It was like a star map operating completely in accordance with the Law of "universal gravitation".

Every single star represented the consciousness coordinates of believers who had established a mental connection with him, serving as indispensable nodes woven into the entire Sun Heart Network.

As for the very center of the dome, the blazing sun symbolizing his own will was blooming with brilliant light and heat in a supreme posture.

Golden torrents radiated layer upon layer from the core to the surroundings, like rising and falling tides spreading across the Void Realm.

In the surrounding area close to the Great Sun, a huge halo of light so dense it was nearly liquid had impressively formed.

Here was the "absolute core zone" of the Sun Heart Network.

Within this range, many tiny yet exceptionally bright points of light were densely distributed.

Most of them were ordinary people in reality without special abilities, so their light points appeared relatively small.

Many people were unaware of the otherworldly beings' world hidden in the darkness, simply treating Fang Cheng as a legendary deity descended to the world and worshiping him.

Precisely because they were not disturbed by other high-dimensional powers, their Souls were pure without Impurities, and their compatibility with the Sun Heart Network was instead even higher.

At the same time, their faith in Fang Cheng was also the purest, and one could even say it was close to fanaticism.

Like faithful satellites and planets firmly captured by the sun's terrifying gravity, they operated steadily within this halo, providing the most basic energy support for the entire heart network.

Crossing this halo, the light emitted by the sun began to be gradually swallowed and diluted by the darkness.

That was the vast and cold outer space.

The stars scattered in this area were slightly larger in volume, but their light appeared relatively dim, and their orbits were not very stable.

They represented two types of people.

One type consisted of otherworldly beings with special abilities like Lin Chuqiao and the professor.

Even though they had established a mental connection, barriers still existed deep within their Souls, constantly resisting the sun's gravitational pull and lingering outside the core System.

The other type consisted of other ordinary citizens who were influenced by Fang Cheng but did not form a devout faith.

When reaching the outermost edge, the stars became increasingly sparse, their light flickered uncertainly, and their orbits became thoroughly chaotic.

Except for these swaying and scattered stars, Fang Cheng could basically establish smooth contact with the consciousness coordinates distributed in the outer space.

Although incomparable to the frantic believers in the core area, it was sufficient to form a relatively stable mental bond.

Fang Cheng's pupils shifted, landing once again on the starlight point representing Shanks's consciousness.

Just a few minutes ago, this star, like other new members, flickered uncertainly at the edge of the starry sky, on the verge of extinguishing at any moment.

At this moment, however, it had completed an astonishing transition.

It was like a comet forcibly dragged across the long Void Realm, plunging headfirst into the central region and barely touching the edge of the halo.

Its current position was even further ahead than the stars representing Lin Chuqiao and the professor.

It ranked only behind Xu Hao and Xiaosa, who had been brainwashed by the "Great Sun Burning Body Art".

Looking at this new star steadily emitting bright light, a sharp glint flashed across the depths of Fang Cheng's eyes.

This of course did not mean that Shanks's feelings for him were deeper than Lin Chuqiao's.

It was purely the result brought by brutal cracking.

The experiment just now, akin to snatching food from the jaws of a tiger, proved that his conjecture was entirely feasible.

Erasing the Old God mark directly from the mental source and then forcibly branding it with his own.

Although this method was crude, it could most efficiently produce loyal retainers with off-the-charts loyalty.

It saved the long process of cultivating trust in reality, directly establishing a master-servant relationship at the Soul level.

As long as Fang Cheng's mind stirred, he could instantly shoot golden light arrows into the other party's Sea of Consciousness through a wide and stable passage, and then pull their consciousness into this Inner Scene World.

Even if an accident occurred in the future and the other party developed a rebellious heart, he could immediately inflict "Divine Punishment" upon them through the Sun Heart Network.

Looking at the newly revitalized consciousness light point of Shanks, Fang Cheng curved the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

This advanced application method of the Sun Heart Network allowed him to control the entire organization even more firmly.

In the future, it could completely be generalized and used on other Illuminati members, thoroughly resolving the trouble of mutual probing and suspicion.

"Hmm?"

While indulging in his imagination, Fang Cheng's pupils suddenly shrank slightly, keenly capturing a trace of abnormality.

That star representing Shanks's consciousness was quietly changing its coordinate position.

Although the magnitude was so subtle that the naked eye could barely distinguish it, as the Dominator of this world, Fang Cheng still clearly perceived the deviation of its orbit.

It seemed to be trembling and struggling.

It was as if an invisible pulling force was dragging it, trying to make it break free from the sun's gravitational range and plunge back into the dark and boundless abyss.

Not just Shanks.

Fang Cheng shifted his gaze to look at the other two stars in the distance.

The consciousness coordinates of Lin Chuqiao and the professor.

They were similarly undergoing an extremely slow centrifugal movement, as if ready at any moment to escape out of the outer region controlled by the sun's light halo.

Fang Cheng leaned his back against the throne, his gaze turning deep.

It seemed that the means of erasing the source mark was not truly a once-and-for-all solution.

The source of power for these otherworldly beings ultimately came from those mysterious entities entrenched in high-dimensional space-time.

Bloodline was that unbreakable umbilical cord connecting them to the old gods.

As long as Shanks was still using flame abilities, and as long as Lin Chuqiao was still exercising her precognition talent, they had to constantly draw power from the source at all times.

This extraction was bidirectional.

While gaining power, their subconsciousness would also inevitably be influenced and eroded by the other party.

"So, is this a tug-of-war?"

Fang Cheng muttered to himself in a low voice, his voice echoing leisurely within the grand hall.

Whether it was Shanks or Lin Chuqiao, two mental marks now coexisted deep within their Souls.

One was the "leader mark" belonging to Fang Cheng, and the other was the "old god mark" belonging to an unknown existence.

Both sides were just like playing tug-of-war.

Fang Cheng wanting to completely snatch the control of these Souls from the mouths of those unspeakable existences was by no means a task that could be accomplished overnight.

This was destined to be a protracted, subtle, and ultimate contest.

Until one day, the brilliance of the sun could completely overshadow those shadows, thoroughly illuminating their minds and integrating them into the Sun Heart Network.

Only then might these otherworldly beings become devout believers truly belonging solely to him.

As for when that time came, after cutting off the connection with the old gods, would they lose their original Bloodline abilities?

Or would they awaken new abilities within the System of the Sun Heart Network and transform into entirely new existences?

These were all unknown variables.

Fang Cheng slowly stood up, standing tall in front of the throne.

He took one last look at the dome, watching those stars struggling to balance between gravity and repulsion, and the corners of his mouth curved into a calm arc.

At least for now, he had already reached his hand into the chessboard named "Fate" and dropped his very first chess piece.

As for the rest, let time verify it.

Fang Cheng reined in his mind and heart, no longer lingering on this divine Realm.

In the real world, there was still a boring exam waiting for him tomorrow.

With a slight shift of his mind, the surrounding magnificent golden grand hall and the brilliant starry Universe overhead all rapidly dissipated like a receding tide.

When he opened his eyes once again, his vision was once more occupied by the dimness of his bedroom.

Outside the half-closed glass window, the early summer night breeze carried a hint of chill, pouring into the house through the gap.

In the distance, Yulong Lake was immersed in a hazy mist.

Occasionally, a few sporadic barks crossed the alleys of the small town, sounding empty and distant.

In the guest room separated by a single wall, grandfather's long and low snoring passed through the bricks and stones, rhythmically reaching his ears.

This familiar feeling of returning to the mortal world thoroughly washed away the high-dimensional lingering sounds remaining in his mind.

Fang Cheng reached out his hand and grabbed the phone discarded beside the pillow.

His thumb pressed the side button, the screen lit up, and a dazzling white light flashed across his eyes in the darkness.

10:25.

Unconsciously, nearly two hours had passed since this experiment of subduing Shanks, and it was actually almost midnight.

Just as he was about to put down the phone, a dim dark blue glow suddenly lit up before his eyes, and a translucent System panel quietly emerged in the air.

[Focus Experience + 60]

[Focus Lv2 (479/500)]

[Visualization Experience + 30]

[Visualization Lv3 (258/1000)]

Looking at these slightly unexpected prompt messages, a smile appeared at the corners of Fang Cheng's mouth.

Unexpectedly, this cross-dimensional mental game allowed him to directly reap nearly a hundred points of experience value.

This was much higher in efficiency than his usual step-by-step calm Cultivate.

Especially the Focus Skill, it was only left with the final insignificant hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm of Lv3.

While feeling pleased, Fang Cheng threw the phone back to the bedside, though a trace of dread still remained in the depths of his eyes.

The extraordinary-level clash just now seemed like he successfully resisted the other party's mental offensive with a home-court advantage, but in reality, it was extremely perilous.

If it weren't for the fact that at the final critical moment, he decisively activated the Focus Skill.

Under the blessing of the "Heartsteel" skill effect, he forcibly raised his willpower by 200%, forcefully materializing that steel barrier isolating the dimensions.

I'm afraid this experiment of snatching food from the jaws of a tiger would have ended in failure with Shanks's Soul collapsing and his own mental state suffering trauma.

Fang Cheng stretched his crossed legs, took the momentum to roll out of bed, and stepped barefoot onto the slightly cool wooden floor.

Speaking of which, the "Heartsteel" skill effect usually seemed rather useless.

Because as a passive effect of the Focus Skill, once activated, while increasing willpower, the mental consumption would also double accordingly.

This style of fighting that killed a thousand enemies while self-inflicting eight hundred resulted in Fang Cheng rarely actively triggering it during his usual exercise and study.

Precisely because of this, the progress bar of the Focus Skill had always crawled as slowly as a snail, failing to break through to the Grandmaster Realm of Lv3 for a long time.

Feeling the exhaustion coming from his brain, Fang Cheng slowly walked over to the window.

Looking at the few dim yellow street lamps outside, his gaze flickered slightly.

However, today's battle allowed him to thoroughly see the true value of this effect.

If he confronted those high-dimensional consciousnesses again in the future, besides stealing people, using it in an instantaneous burst of contest would simply be an irreplaceable divine skill!

It was equivalent to allowing Fang Cheng to complete an incredible leap in his overall mental power in a short period of time.

On the basis of the current 70 points of mental attributes, it directly elevated to a terrifying defense level equivalent to 140 points of mental attributes.

It was sufficient to reverse the situation at a critical moment.

The night breeze blew the hem of the curtain, making a soft "rustling" sound.

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze, raised his hand to pinch the edge of the curtain, and gave it a hard pull, completely blocking the street lamp halo outside the window.

Tomorrow was the written test of the Special Investigation Team.

Although it was just a formality, he still needed to maintain a good state to cope with this exam.

This was Fang Cheng's consistent principle in life and work.

He turned around and walked back to the bed, lying down with the momentum, pulling a thin quilt over his chest.

His hands were naturally crossed and placed on his abdomen, his eyes slightly closed, slowing down his breathing.

The rich True Qi within his body circulated methodically on its own.

His thoughts were completely emptied accordingly, letting sleep gradually take over this over-consumed mental shell.

...

Drip, drip.

Turbid medical liquid flowed drop by drop into the veins along the infusion tube.

The pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with the unique moldy smell of the basement drilled straight into his nasal cavity.

Shanks abruptly opened his eyes.

His vision blurred for a split second.

Immediately after, he heard the old fluorescent lamp overhead flicker twice, making a buzzing current sound.

"Hoo—ho—"

He gasped violently, his chest rising and falling drastically, and the muscles all over his body were as sore as if dehydrated.

Moving his vision forward, he saw the heavy bandages wrapped all over his body.

In the air, besides the smell of disinfectant and mold, there was also a distinct burnt smell.

Shanks propped up his elbows and turned his head with difficulty.

The edges of the white bed sheet beneath him had seriously carbonized, presenting a scorched yellow color baked by high temperature.

With a slight touch, it turned into black ash and fell down patteringly.

Even the outermost few turns of gauze on his chest carried obvious scorch marks.

The surface of his skin even exuded a burning, stinging pain.

This was not a dream!

Shanks's Adam's apple moved, dry-swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

That magnificent and sacred golden grand hall, that boundless starry sky, and the man sitting upon the golden throne like a deity descended to the world.

They were all real!

The moment he thought of Fang Cheng turning into a blazing Great Sun and forcibly driving back that terrifying demonic shadow entrenched deep within his subconsciousness for fifteen years.

Shanks's breathing became increasingly heavy.

Over these fifteen years, he had been like a stray dog lingering on its last breath in a sewer.

Relying solely on a bellyful of hatred, he attempted to bite to death a leviathan hidden in the deep sea.

Desperation, depression, and seeing not a shred of hope of winning.

But now, everything was different.

He had found a true backing.

A peerless powerhouse capable of forcibly driving back high-dimensional demon gods!

"Illuminati..."

Shanks's dry lips moved slightly, whispering these three words.