That night, Mo Tian attended the Grand Alchemist Banquet.
He was networking, buying ingredients for his army, and bribing officials.
Suddenly, the room went quiet.
A woman walked in. She was breathtaking. She wore robes of shimmering translucent silk that looked like glass. Her hair was silver, and her eyes were like mirrors.
Fairy Liuli. The Holy Daughter.
She walked through the crowd, ignoring the sycophants. Her mirror-eyes scanned the room.
She stopped.
She looked directly at "Young Master Nether" in the corner.
She walked over. The crowd parted.
"You," Liuli said. Her voice was like wind chimes.
Mo Tian sipped his wine. "Fairy Liuli. Can I offer you a drink?"
"You are wearing a mask," she said.
"We all wear masks, Fairy," Mo Tian smiled charmingly.
"No," she narrowed her eyes. "I mean literally. Your face... it is made of bone art. Your aura is suppressed. And your soul..."
She leaned in closer. Her mirror eyes reflected his purple pupil.
"...your soul is a black hole."
Mo Tian didn't flinch.
"You have good eyes," Mo Tian whispered. "Too bad they will be the last thing you lose."
"You are Mo Tian," she stated. She raised her hand to summon her weapon.
"Scream, and I detonate the Soul Puppet Thread I planted in the waiter behind you," Mo Tian said casually. "And the guard at the door. And the mayor's son over there."
Liuli froze. She scanned the room. She saw the faint, invisible threads connecting Mo Tian's fingers to twenty people in the hall.
"You... you monster," she hissed. "These are innocents."
"They are hostages," Mo Tian corrected. "Sit down. Drink the wine. Smile."
Liuli sat. She was shaking with rage.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"I want the Metal Pearl," Mo Tian said. "I know the Heavenly Dao Sect is guarding it for the Sword Saint. Tell me where the vault is."
"Never."
"Then the mayor's son dies." Mo Tian twitched a finger.
At the buffet table, the mayor's son suddenly choked. He turned blue.
"Stop!" Liuli grabbed Mo Tian's hand. Her skin was cold as ice. "Stop! I'll tell you!"
Mo Tian relaxed his finger. The boy gasped for air, recovering.
"Good," Mo Tian smiled, pouring her a glass. "See? We can be friends."
Liuli glared at him. "The Heavens will punish you."
"The Heavens are on the menu, darling," Mo Tian clinked his glass against hers.
[System Notification] [Target Identified: Fairy Liuli (Holy Daughter)] [Physique: Glass Heart (Immune to Lies, Vulnerable to Truth)] [Harem Potential: S-Rank (The Mirror that reflects the Darkness)]
Mo Tian looked at her reflection in her own eyes.
"You see the truth, Liuli. That is your curse. Because once you see the truth of the world... you will realize I am the only honest man in it."
He stood up.
"Meet me at the Midnight Bridge in one hour with the map. Or the boy dies for real."
He walked away, leaving the Holy Daughter trembling in the middle of the party.
The hunt for the Four Pearls had begun.