Chapter 41: The Next Plan!
In a quiet, secluded courtyard outside Nuoding City, Fu Shiyan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed in meditation.
Suddenly, his brow twitched slightly. He opened his eyes, and a faint glimmer of light flashed through his pupils.
The vegetation avatar he had left near Nuoding Academy's courtyard had just dissipated, bringing back a segment of memory.
"They really moved..." Fu Shiyan murmured.
Over the past two days, he had already sensed hidden, spying gazes. There was more than one. Aside from those watching Tang San, some had even faintly swept past his own courtyard.
Tang Hao probably thought his son's twin martial souls or background had been exposed, drawing the covetous eyes of the Spirit Hall.
At first, Fu Shiyan was somewhat puzzled. Although Tang San's current performance was eye-catching, it shouldn't have immediately drawn such precise assassination and surveillance, unless--
The recent commotion at the gates of Nuoding Academy, his own merciless refutation of Yu Xiaogang, and the deeply secretive relationship between Yu Xiaogang and the Supreme Pontiff quickly connected in his mind.
"Could it be that crazy woman Bibi Dong found out about Tang San's failed assassination attempt on Yu Xiaogang, became enraged, and ordered him to be silenced?"
Fu Shiyan's face darkened instantly. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
"Tsk, not even letting go of a potential threat from a six-year-old child, choosing to kill wrongly rather than miss... That really sounds like something that crazed woman would do!"
Although he had manifested a peak Rank 69 Spirit Emperor cultivation, possessed soul rings and self-created soul skills that defied common sense, and had the system backing him, his threat level was limited as long as a Title Douluo-level powerhouse didn't personally make a move.
However, he would never be naive enough to gamble his life against Bibi Dong's incomprehensible mental state and the immense power of the Spirit Hall.
"I must speed up the process." Fu Shiyan's gaze grew solemn.
Relying solely on Tang San as a source of faith energy, while stable and possessing immense potential, was limited in the short term. Tang San was still young, growth required time, and the faith energy he could provide had an upper limit for now.
Furthermore, fighting a lone battle was not a long-term solution.
His shocking soul ring configuration and rapid rise would sooner or later cause an even greater stir if he didn't have a reasonable background or faction to act as a cover.
"It's time to look for new sources of faith energy," Fu Shiyan's thoughts raced. "At the same time, I should build a plausible background for myself."
His first thought landed on Qian Renxue.
As the inheritor of the Seraphim and the true young master of the Spirit Hall, her providence was undoubtedly immense. If he could bind with her, the returns would surely be staggering.
But after a moment of deliberation, he abandoned the idea.
Qian Renxue's identity was far too sensitive. She was plotting something massive while lurking in the Heaven Dou Empire, her mind was deep, and more troubleshootly, her entire family's logic operated abnormally. They were extremely difficult to control, and a single misstep could bring ruin.
"Then, settling for the next best thing, starting with the future children of providence like the Shrek Seven Devils is undoubtedly a safer choice."
Fu Shiyan locked his targets onto the original Shrek Seven Devils members: "Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai... and Xiao Wu."
He quickly eliminated Dai Mubai. A prince of the Star Luo Empire involved too many complications.
Zhu Zhuqing was bound to Dai Mubai, so she was also unsuitable.
Ning Rongrong was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, surrounded by experts, not to mention that old fox Ning Fengzhi and those two unreasonable old fellows.
Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, a magnet for trouble. Besides, since Tang San was already under his control, there was no need to waste extra effort on Xiao Wu.
Finally, his gaze fell upon Oscar, who was the easiest to approach and had a relatively simple background.
"A food-system soul master, born with full soul power. He has exceptional talent but lacks self-preservation capabilities in the early stages due to the unique nature of his martial soul, and his heart longs for strength and recognition... There are many entry points."
Fu Shiyan formed a preliminary plan in his mind.
However, directly using a simulator to fool Oscar the way he did with Tang San would be too inefficient and prone to errors.
He needed a more efficient, covert method that could simultaneously influence multiple people.
His consciousness sank into the system, pulling up the special arrangement regarding the "Second Simulation."
This second simulation was the most unique among all simulations. It was not meant to create an immersive simulation plot solely for Tang San, but was the key to Fu Shiyan's plan to implant "fragmented memories" into multiple candidates of providence!
He intended to take the story that occurred in the second simulation--the script he had meticulously fabricated regarding the future interaction, guidance, and side-by-side battles between himself and the Shrek crowd.
He would implant it directly into the deep recesses of the minds of target figures like Qian Renxue and the Shrek Seven Devils in the form of "memory fragments."
This implantation was not a complete, coherent infusion of memories, but rather fragmented memories that carried a strong sense of déjà vu.
It was like how people in daily life occasionally felt that a certain scene or person was familiar, yet couldn't recall exactly where they had seen it.
What Fu Shiyan wanted to implant was precisely this "moment of recollection."
Because all the content in the second simulation was an intelligent deduction performed by the system based on the original plot he provided!
The virtual reality generated from this ensured that everyone's reactions and choices in the simulation would highly conform to their own inherent logic.
Therefore, these memory fragments would possess an extremely high fit with the target characters' actual personalities and thinking, allowing them to merge almost without any rejection or abruptness. Instead, it would make them feel, "This seems to be something I have experienced or thought about before."
Of course, this act of directly altering memories and invading consciousness involved the level of the soul and mind. The faith points it consumed were far from what a simulator made for Tang San to watch and experience could compare to.
The latter was more like an immersive movie, while the former was about branding movie clips into the opponent's memory.
"Currently, the growth of faith energy provided by Tang San has entered a stable period."
"Looking at the current faith reserves, if I have a complete persona, the current reserves are entirely enough to manifest an ordinary Title Douluo," Fu Shiyan calculated. "Furthermore, after Tang San acknowledged me as his master and obtained his first soul ring, according to the system rules, he can unlock the opportunity for the third simulation."
"Take it step by step."
Fu Shiyan sorted out his thoughts. "First, ensure that the third simulation on Tang San's side opens smoothly to continuously harvest faith energy. At the same time, look for a suitable opportunity to contact Oscar. Once the faith reserves are sufficient, I will begin preparing for that memory fragment implantation plan aimed at multiple people--
As for the spying from the Spirit Hall, with Tang Hao handling a portion of it in the dark, I just need to be more careful myself. The urgent matter at hand is to accumulate power and build a faction of my own."
Finally, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. After this, it was time to make a trip there.
Meanwhile, inside Nuoding Academy, Tang San, who had just finished a round of soul power control practice, heard the system notification sound in his mind right on schedule:
[Detected that the host has broken through to a one-ring Soul Master, rewarding one simulation attempt.]