Shen Bai came back to his senses. He looked at the brain-shaped aberration and narrowed his eyes. "I think I understand."

Zhao Sheng was also affected, but his strength allowed him to resist.

Hearing Shen Bai’s words, Zhao Sheng asked.

"Lord Shen, what have you figured out?"

Shen Bai stroked his chin and said, "This brain-shaped aberration seems capable of controlling others, including other aberrations. And perhaps because it’s shaped like a brain, its instincts retain some memories from its former life—though they’re limited to just that, instincts."

This was Shen Bai’s idea, but it was also just a guess.

This guess was based on information Shen Bai had read before. After all, he was no longer the rookie who had just left Shengyun County.

Zhao Sheng thought Shen Bai’s guess made sense.

After all, it seemed to be the only explanation that could clearly account for everything happening before them.

Just then, the first to show a problem wasn’t the brain-shaped aberration.

"AHHH! I can’t take it anymore!"

"What is this? Get out of my head!"

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Half of the soldiers Zhao Sheng had brought suddenly changed.

They clutched their heads, letting out agonized screams. Some even began rolling on the ground.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng urgently said, "Be careful! They’re being controlled by the aberration. Don’t hurt them!"

These were the men on the expedition against Marquis Fengjiang. Though they were being controlled by the aberration, they weren’t beyond saving—at least not yet—and Zhao Sheng didn’t want to give up on them.

Shen Bai said, "To catch the bandits, capture their leader."

As he spoke, Blood Red Sword Qi bloomed from Cold Moon in Shen Bai’s hand, like a flower of death, and he thrust it swiftly toward the brain aberration.

But at that very moment, the half-mad soldiers suddenly recovered. Their eyes turned blood-red as they raised their weapons in unison, striking at Shen Bai’s Blood Red Sword Qi. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The next moment, the weapons in many soldiers’ hands shattered, but the Blood Red Sword Qi continued its attack toward the brain-shaped aberration.

These soldiers were not strong individually; their only advantage was their numbers.

But to Shen Bai, numbers were just a number, utterly meaningless.

Just as the Blood Red Sword Qi was about to reach the brain-shaped aberration, something unexpected happened.

Zhou Qing, who had been perfectly normal until now, suddenly appeared with red eyes, blocking the way with his long saber.

Shen Bai frowned. With a thought, the Blood Red Sword Qi swiftly dissipated.

The situation on the field had taken an unpredictable turn.

Except for Zhao Sheng, who was sweating as he resisted the brain aberration’s attack, all the other soldiers, including Zhou Qing, were now completely under its control, standing in opposition to Shen Bai.

"Lord Shen, this doesn’t look good," Zhao Sheng said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

He was resisting the erosion in his mind and felt as if he had reached his limit. His combat strength was drastically reduced.

Zhao Sheng was bewildered. ’Why is Shen Bai completely unaffected?’

Shen Bai didn’t answer. Instead, his gaze went past the brain-shaped aberration to a spot not far away.

In that spot, a phantom image appeared, gradually solidifying into a young man wearing a white robe.

Between the young man’s eyebrows was a flame-shaped mark, shimmering with red light.

The moment this young man appeared, Shen Bai raised his sword and thrust.

He had the Mystic Heart Spell; he wouldn’t be disturbed by such tricks.

With a man suddenly appearing near the brain aberration, Shen Bai naturally wouldn’t show any mercy.

But unexpectedly, the Blood Red Sword Qi passed right through the man, piercing him without effect.

’An illusion?’ Shen Bai lowered Cold Moon.

The white-robed man looked down at the Blood Red Sword Qi passing through his chest and smiled. "To think Fenglin State has a genius like you. It’s truly an eye-opener. You’re Shen Bai, correct?"

Shen Bai said coolly, "And who might you be?"

The white-robed man didn’t respond to the question; instead, Zhao Sheng provided the answer.

"He’s from the Xinhua Academy!" A look of apprehension appeared in Zhao Sheng’s eyes.

Shen Bai looked back and asked, "What is the Xinhua Academy?"

Zhao Sheng explained, "They’re a faction of lunatics. They believe they can solve the aberration problem in this chaotic world, that they are the eternal flame passed down through the ages. They conduct all sorts of research, not just on aberrations, but on humans as well."

"Decades ago, they committed a monstrous atrocity. They used the people of an entire city, merging them with aberrations in a deluded attempt to find a way to control them. In the end, the entire city’s population died."

"In their eyes, ordinary people are no different from livestock."

Shen Bai raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he’d heard of such a thing.

The white-robed man chuckled. "I’m surprised you recognize the Xinhua insignia on my head. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wang Tianxing, and I’m a Copper Token member of the Xinhua Academy. Everything here is my masterpiece. But there’s one thing I must correct you on."

"We don’t just ’believe’ we can do it; we are *confident*. Furthermore, we do see ordinary people as human. It’s just that if they want to live in a golden age, they must make a sacrifice."

"Once we succeed, all the honor will be theirs as well. We remember the name of every single person who dies for this cause."

"Xinhua has a heart, too."

Zhao Sheng cursed, "A heart? My ass!"

"Your so-called ’heart’ is nothing but forcibly sacrificing the lives of innocent people!"

Wang Tianxing sighed. "When you walk a dark path alone, there will always be those who don’t understand. Since it’s come to this, allow me to introduce you to my masterpiece."

As he spoke, Wang Tianxing pointed toward the brain-shaped aberration, a sharp glint in his eyes.