Chapter 173: Heart of Steel and Endless Demonic Sound

"Mr. Su, you..." She stared in dumbfounded shock, her cherry-pink lips slightly parted. She could not fathom why Su Mu, a suspected Gold Transcendent, would swallow a Bronze Potion at a time like this.

Su Mu swallowed the potion and slowly closed his eyes. A massive, world-spanning web of stars appeared in his vision. Stars of every color, radiating distinct auras, shone brilliantly across the giant network.

Suddenly, his consciousness felt as if it had drifted above the grand web, coming to rest on a star like solid steel.

Hum!

The steel star trembled. A shaft of brilliant light descended from the heavens, washing over Su Mu and linking with his soul.

In an instant, a metallic hue identical to Yang Dongqing's began spreading across his skin!

His physical attributes skyrocketed. Unlike Great Force Bombardment Punch, this growth skewed heavily toward defense. His skin grew as hard as steel, and his bones quickly followed suit.

A wave of relief washed over Su Mu. His massive spiritual strength no longer placed the slightest burden on his body. If his previous physique had been a wooden bucket brimming with water, it was now a forged iron bucket—one with an even greater capacity than before!

The deeper the metallic tint on his skin grew, the more distinct the sensation became. Just as the metallic color reached its peak, the long-digested Immaculate Heart suddenly radiated a faint, lustrous white light.

The white light surged through his limbs and bones, merging with the metallic hue. Su Mu abruptly realized the metallic color was starting to fade. It was like a crude block of iron being forged hundreds of times in a blazing fire, its impurities completely purged until it transformed into refined iron.

He smiled silently. Immaculate Heart was the first Bronze Law he had obtained, and it could easily be considered his weakest. Its enhancements were minuscule across the board, and it offered zero offensive capabilities. It was a purely passive ability.

But after his recent experiences, he finally understood: passives were the strongest of all!

Immaculate Heart purified his spirit, causing his total volume of spiritual energy to plummet while its quality skyrocketed. Back when he had consumed the Great Force Bombardment Punch potion and turned into a mountain of muscle, it was also Immaculate Heart that expelled the impurities from his body, ensuring that the power unleashed by Great Force Bombardment Punch was infinitely purer.

The current Heart of Steel was exactly the same. It turned crude iron into refined iron, drastically boosting his defensive power.

The changes in Su Mu's body persisted for a few moments. Soon after, the metallic hue on his skin vanished entirely, ultimately settling back into a white-jade complexion!

He clenched his fist, feeling the sheer physical power contained within his body, and smiled faintly. He was highly satisfied.

Yet a second later, a look of surprise crossed his face, and his hand drifted unconsciously to his throat...

His throat was itching!

Not his physical throat, but his soul!

He could sense the throat of his soul undergoing some kind of mysterious transformation. In a flash, the crystalline blue light in his eyes flared up, glowing so intensely that even his Tinted Glasses could not conceal it.

It took a full minute for the transformation to quietly subside. By then, another Law had manifested deep within Su Mu's soul. It was the second Law to appear out of thin air after Myriad Phenomena, and its name was Endless Demonic Sound!

"I see." The crystalline blue in Su Mu's eyes faded, replaced by a flash of enlightenment. He finally grasped the exact origins of Myriad Phenomena and Endless Demonic Sound.

They were like independent Laws that had already existed within his soul all along. Whenever his spiritual strength reached a sufficient threshold, it acted as a catalyst, triggering their emergence into the world.

The appearance of Myriad Phenomena had been caused by the surge in spiritual strength after he connected with Immaculate Heart.

And this Endless Demonic Sound was the direct result of Heart of Steel boosting his spiritual strength.

Back when he had hypnotized Yang Dongqing, he discovered that Heart of Steel provided a certain degree of mental resistance. Furthermore, whenever his emotions ran high or his convictions strengthened, its defensive capabilities would rise accordingly. All of this proved that Heart of Steel provided enhancements to his spiritual strength.

It made perfect sense when he thought about it. If the three Bronze Laws—Heart of Steel, Great Force Bombardment Punch, and Ceaseless Recovery—only enhanced the flesh and not the mind, then a Transcendent possessing the Silver Law Follower of Strength would inevitably become a muscle-brained idiot.

Their soul would be too weak to control their powerful body. If that were the case, any random spiritual-type Transcendent—even a mere Bronze 1—could make a fool out of a Follower of Strength.

Taking all of this into account, Su Mu concluded that his own unique Laws would naturally manifest once his spiritual strength hit a certain level. Even if he didn't consume any other Transcendent Potions, he would immediately gain them once the time came.

Consuming a Transcendent Potion merely shortened the time required for this process.

As for why his soul harbored these Laws in the first place, it was likely tied to that peculiar dream—the dream that even a God coveted.

"Mu Qing, close your eyes," Su Mu said, suddenly turning his head toward her. His tone seemed to have undergone a subtle change. It was still the same voice, but it had grown deeper, richer, and highly magnetic. The moment he spoke, one could not help but want to quietly listen.

Mu Qing looked confused, but she obediently closed her eyes. "Mr. Su, why do you want me to close my eyes?"

Su Mu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he didn't answer. Naturally, he was testing Endless Demonic Sound. Unlike Myriad Phenomena's visual illusions, Endless Demonic Sound was an auditory illusion. It could control others through sound, manipulate emotions, enhance persuasiveness, mimic all kinds of voices, and even launch sonic attacks.

Working in tandem with Myriad Phenomena, the illusions he created would be far more realistic. Every movement would have its own lifelike sound, and the illusions could speak autonomously. The effect was even more pronounced than that of the Artifact, Soundless Heavenly Melody.

After all, Soundless Heavenly Melody could only mimic sounds, but the voice produced by Endless Demonic Sound carried innate illusory properties. When used against ordinary people, his words would be practically akin to absolute law.

Right now, a single sentence from him could make a normal person commit suicide on the spot.

Mu Qing was his first test subject.

However, merely having her close her eyes wouldn't prove much. Mu Qing already trusted him; even without Endless Demonic Sound, she most likely would have closed her eyes anyway.

Therefore, if he wanted to test its true power, he had to make her do something she fiercely resisted deep down.

So Su Mu continued, "Take off your top."

A look of resistance surfaced on Mu Qing's face, her eyes still shut tight. Yet her body seemed to move entirely out of her control. She reached down, grabbed the hem of her shirt, and began to pull it up.

A slender, snow-white waist; a pink, lace-patterned...

The scene came to a screeching halt. Mu Qing yanked her shirt back down, her fair little face flushing beet red. Her large eyes glared angrily at Su Mu, her small fists clenched tight.

"You!"

"Shut up."

"Mmph..."

Those cherry-pink lips snapped shut, pressing together tightly as if pinched by an invisible hand.

Su Mu looked thoughtful. It seemed Endless Demonic Sound could exert a slight influence on a Silver Transcendent. The prerequisite was that the target had a degree of trust in him. Otherwise, if they were mentally guarded, the effect would depend entirely on their own willpower.

A minor action like closing her eyes went smoothly, but once a command violated her true inner intentions, the greater the violation, the stronger the resistance he would face.

To give the simplest example: if he ordered Mu Qing to kill herself right now, she probably wouldn't even lift a finger.