Kuyi Tulan's confidence came from the narratives of the Shadow Ghost.
He gleaned a lot from these narratives, things that might be insignificant to the Shadow Ghost but were just some of his experiences. However, for Kuyi Tulan, these were crucial; through them, he could slowly deduce what kind of weaknesses this Shadow Ghost had. He was good at this sort of thing, so the things the Shadow Ghost mentioned were very valuable to him.
When people are proud, they tend to disclose a lot about themselves. In moments of pride, one's thoughts are relaxed and scattered, eager to share everything about themselves, much like when one's strength is superior, they mock others. It was only then that Kuyi Tulan realized flattery could lead someone to expose their weaknesses because most people are vulnerable to flattery. Just like the Shadow Ghost in front of him, who was nearly floating, clearly fallen under the spell of such fawning words.
