Involuntary crying was also a form of mind control.
Wang Sheng knew that things might be much more serious than he had imagined.
The last time he cried, his strength was insufficient, and it could even be said that he was somewhat weak, without the presence of Divine Thought, so although he felt it was strange, he didn’t think too much about it.
This time, an unintentional investigation revealed that the so-called crying was indeed controlled.
It should be noted that when the Master of Destiny died, the entire people of the Great Zhou were crying.
Martial artists of Grandmaster Level could suppress it, but still felt it.
Even the Great Grandmasters might have been affected.
Before, he had not felt anything, but now that this crying was controlled, the matter seemed much more severe.
This meant that all the people of the Great Zhou were being controlled.
Perhaps only he was somewhat normal.
The previous time the Master of Destiny died, he had not felt anything at all.
Thinking of this, Wang Sheng’s heart relaxed a little.
At least he was not affected.
“If that’s the case, does the Master of Destiny indeed have some inseparable connection with the ’Heavenly Father’?”
The mind control methods of the Heavenly Sect, although somewhat different from this, had similar aspects.
It could very well come from the same source.
This time, Wang Sheng felt that he had discovered something incredible, and even he found the secrets hidden behind these things extremely terrifying.
Even thinking this way, there was a reason some people had made the old Scholar’s memory forgotten.
If they could control crying, erasing some memories was not much at all.
“What exactly did he discover that he had to be erased from existence, if it wasn’t for me, perhaps after some time, even the old Scholar might be forgotten by everyone.”
Wang Sheng thought of Qingshan Village.
The old Scholar had a significant influence and help in Qingshan Village, and if it weren’t for him, what Qingshan Village would have become was really hard to say.
Yet such an influential person was remembered in the village by one sentence only.
“Old Scholar is just the old Scholar!”
Even the original body thought the same.
He had been wondering how this was achieved, and now it seemed he had caught a tail.
The method to erase memory was simple—all their spirits were compromised.
Wang Sheng wanted to further investigate the core of this mind control, but unfortunately, he could only suppress it.
So, he let go of the suppression, allowing the imperial ruler and Clan Elders to continue crying.
And he continued to observe with his Divine Thought.
This time, the crying did not last as long as the last time the commoners cried; however, it still lasted almost two hours, and the Clan Elders almost got taken away, Wang Sheng, seeking to ask questions, kept them from leaving.
After the crying stopped, Wang Sheng found that the strange mental fluctuations seemed to have disappeared into thin air, without a trace.
“It’s gone, what kind of method is it?”
He could still detect something about the Heavenly Sect’s control methods, but here, he couldn’t find anything, just a normal mental state.
Wang Sheng’s brows furrowed, then quickly smoothed out.
“Never mind, let’s ask the questions first!”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pursue it, but after observing for so long, he truly hadn’t discovered any clues.
Both their mental states were incredibly normal.
Since that was the case, he might as well first investigate the matter of the old Scholar.
Both had stopped crying, which was a good opportunity to ask.
He first asked about the library and the place where the Martial Arts Secret Manuals were stored.
The imperial ruler answered this question.
“The Imperial Family has two libraries; one is a normal library that collects books from all over the world, including various rare and unique editions, many of which are interesting secret manuals.
The highest floor contains some banned books, accessible to only a few people, not permitted to any others.
The other is a public Martial Arts Secret Manual library, storing most of the Martial Arts Secret Manuals, many of which include annotated versions, extremely valuable, representing the essence of the Imperial Family.”
The controlled imperial ruler naturally revealed all these things to Wang Sheng completely.
Of course, Wang Sheng didn’t fully trust him.
Even Jiangyuan City’s Gao Family had a secret room; he didn’t believe the Imperial Family didn’t have one.
However, this imperial ruler apparently did not know.
Wang Sheng directly asked this high-ranking Clan Elder, and ultimately did indeed make some discoveries.
But—
“Indeed, the Imperial Family has a secret chamber storing the rarest resources, but all the secret manuals and elixirs inside have been destroyed, basically leaving nothing.”
Wang Sheng: “?”
“What happened?”
“Zhou Qingjiang burned them all, the reason unknown.”
When the Clan Elder spoke these words, his tone carried some resentment; if those things had not been destroyed, even if they fled, they would not have been without hope of rising again.
Unfortunately, the young imperial ruler was even more ruthless than expected.
Wang Sheng, knowing the truth, was somewhat flabbergasted.
“So this is how you repay me?”
Wang Sheng also knew that this matter couldn’t be blamed on the young emperor, and he even guessed why the young emperor would do such a thing.
But with so many secret manuals destroyed, the loss was not trivial, and ultimately he could only console himself.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, what I want to look at are those research-oriented items, and they are from obscure branches, their value might not be that great, perhaps they weren’t stored in the vault.”
Of course, that’s what he said, but his heart still ached.
However, what’s done was done, and he couldn’t turn back time, so he had to accept it, especially since it wasn’t as if he had gained nothing.
After calming himself, Wang Sheng finally asked about the old Scholar.
“In the court, has there ever been someone named Zhou Tongwen?”
Wu Yuancheng remembered, this Clan Elder might know more.
“Zhou Tongwen?”
The emperor surely wouldn’t know, so Wang Sheng looked at the Clan Elders.
But the Clan Elders had no answer either.
“It shouldn’t be… Could it be because of mind control?”
Wang Sheng recalled Wu Yuancheng’s state.
Wu Yuancheng initially didn’t remember anything either, only gradually awakening his memory after being prompted.
It seemed those kinds of memories needed self-recovery.
The Clan Elder, being controlled, couldn’t recover his memory.
He thought about it and used the Golden Light Divine Ability to directly conceal himself, then released the Clan Elder from his control.
Initially, the Clan Elder didn’t react, but soon recovered.
It could only be said that those who can become the backbone are truly not comparable to ordinary people, even in old age, such composure was unmatched.
He saw Wang Sheng, emanating golden light and with an indistinct face, showing no panic, recalling all the information he knew.
“Presumably you are the mysterious powerful figure reputed to have obtained the treasure in the outside world?”
“Your news is quite well-informed,” Wang Sheng readily acknowledged.
“Do you have any business with me?” The Clan Elder was very clear about his own situation, in the presence of such a powerful figure, there was no chance of escape regardless of the man’s intentions, it was best to just cooperate passively.
Some people live to old age and see through life and death, while some, the closer they are to death, the less they want to die.
The Clan Elder was the latter.
Wang Sheng always liked talking with such people.
“I just have a few questions, do you know a person named Zhou Tongwen, who topped all six exams?”
Like Wu Yuancheng, after being asked by Wang Sheng, the Clan Elder fell into deep thought, and after a while, he suddenly remembered.
“Zhou Tongwen, there was such a person, indeed topped all six exams, but why is my memory not clear…” After a moment of silence, he seemed to recall something, his expression turning to one of panic, “If you are looking into this person, I suggest you give up.”
“Why?”
Wang Sheng felt a surge of excitement internally, finding such an old man truly was correct; it seemed he knew a lot.
“Zhou Tongwen, a heaven-sent genius, but he was personally targeted for termination by our ancestor, all his doctrines were collected and destroyed, according to the ancestor, this person came across something terrifying, if not handled properly, the entire Zhou could be destroyed.”
The ancestor naturally referred to the Master of Destiny.
The Clan Elder clearly remembered the ancestor’s expression at that time.
“A terror that could destroy the entire Zhou? Then why not directly kill Zhou Tongwen?”
Death was the most efficient and permanent solution.
“No idea, but the final result indeed was Zhou Tongwen leaving the court, everyone’s memory of him faded…”
The Clan Elder’s face turned to one of fear.
He realized something was amiss; memories fading, and it was everyone’s, that represented something horrifying!
Now his and Wu Yuancheng’s thoughts were the same, rather than awakening memories, better to be oblivious.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Wang Sheng paid him no heed and asked, “So all of Zhou Tongwen’s books were destroyed, how come I heard there’s still a set preserved?”
Wu Yuancheng had said there was the last set preserved.
“That was actually to placate the scholars of the world, given Zhou Tongwen’s influence back then was significant, he founded scholarly schools… Of course, strictly speaking, it’s not nonexistent, possibly preserved at the highest location in the Book Collection Pavilion.”
“Didn’t you say there were none?” Wang Sheng was somewhat puzzled.
“Originally they were all destroyed, but I heard some royalty at the time thought it a pity, so they copied them under another name and stored them in the library, though the truth of the matter is hard to verify and needs searching.”
The Clan Elder didn’t have a choice, the matters of the Imperial Family were exceedingly complex.
Wang Sheng felt a headache coming on.
The clues mustn’t break here!
He hadn’t anticipated that the matter involving Zhou Tongwen was so serious, even causing the Imperial Family to go to such lengths to deal with it.
“So there are definitely no administrative records of Zhou Tongwen’s time in office, right?”
The Clan Elder nodded.
Wang Sheng’s headache intensified, and he directly knocked out the emperor and the Clan Elders, then headed to the library, hoping the items were still there.
With his speed, naturally, it didn’t take long to reach the library of the Imperial Family.
He went directly to the top floor of the library.
This area was sealed off by special means, but for Wang Sheng, that was hardly an issue, he simply teleported in.
After entering, Wang Sheng thought he might have to spend a significant effort, possibly even returning empty-handed.
But as soon as he expanded his Divine Thought, he knew this time wouldn’t be fruitless.
Amongst the books, one stood out under the observation of Divine Thought, as conspicuous as a bright lamp in the night…