Thus, creating a true puppet had become necessary.
Gu Hang had obtained the ability “[Mind Manipulation]” in a past upgrade.
He had always restrained himself from using this ability, but now, it was time to employ it.
However, the ability of [Mind Manipulation] was not as invincible as one might imagine.
It had time limitations; if the content altered significantly from the subject’s true nature, the likelihood of breaking free became high; those whose minds had been altered showed deviations in character, making them easy to detect; intelligence and subjective initiative were greatly impacted, and in the absence of orders, one might become foolish, relying only on instinct…
These were all problems.
In combat, using it to influence enemies was fine, but cultivating a qualified political puppet posed bigger issues.
But if it were just these technical difficulties, there were still ways to compensate. At worst, Gu Hang would need to visit Heijian Star more frequently, occasionally reinforcing Nes Luman with a boost of Spiritual Energy.
The other core issue, though, was more significant: faced with masters of Spiritual Energy, or Judges, or senior clergy of the state religion, Nes Luman’s mind-manipulated state would be very easy to expose.
And Gu Hang needed this man to serve as the Planetary Governor of Heijian Star for a long time to come.
A Planetary Governor whose mind had been altered was no small matter; once exposed, the ensuing investigation would create significant trouble.
To be cautious, Gu Hang decided to undertake a major operation.
He pulled Nes Luman’s soul into his Divine Realm and meticulously reconstructed it from the ground up.
The difficulty of the major reconstruction far exceeded Gu Hang’s initial estimates and required more than just the talent for Mind Manipulation; it also called for harnessing the True Realm Origin Power.
Fortunately, with the home-field advantage in the Divine Realm, he managed to complete the task.
Even more, in the process of executing this surgery, he gained some additional insight: could he apply the corresponding technology to his own soldiers?
Leaving out the Mind Manipulation part, emphasizing the implantation of Subspace Origin, adding physical remodeling and enhancement not involved this time…
What would that create?
Storm Chosen?
They would certainly be very strong!
However, that was just wishful thinking for now. Reforming a mind, creating a puppet, was already exhausting enough; he was nearly worn out, let alone making Storm Chosen.
Yet, the considerable effort Gu Hang put into creating such a super-covert puppet was very valuable.
Today, he could ensure that unless someone with far greater mastery in the realms of the soul and Spiritual Energy inspected Nes Luman closely, conventional detection methods would certainly not reveal the Planetary Governor of Heijian Star had been mind-controlled.
Nes Luman retained his personality, his intelligence, only now he would guarantee absolute loyalty to Gu Hang.
Even, if necessary, Gu Hang could at any moment project his own consciousness into Nes Luman’s body.
This was much more secure.
He had expended a great deal of mental energy in creating such a super-stealth puppet, and the number he could maintain at any given time was extremely limited.
Paying such a great price, Gu Hang achieved the best possible outcome he could and there should be no mishaps.
If he were to be unlucky enough to encounter a mind master far superior to him who decided on a whim to conduct a thorough examination of Nes Luman, then he would have to accept his fate.
However, the probability of such an occurrence should be infinitely small. Gu Hang felt he could be quite at ease.
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