"You want to self-detonate? You're not capable of that," Zhou Hong scoffed dismissively.
"Spare me, please spare my life," seeing that he couldn't threaten with self-detonation, Yang Changbai began to beg for mercy.
"You still have the nerve to beg for mercy? You disgust me," Zhou Hong said, full of anger. He had possessed Zhou Hong's second brother, yet he still had the gall to beg.
"Brother Jin Wu, enough with the nonsense, let's get started," Zhou Hong said in his mind.
"Alright."
The next second, Yang Changbai screamed. After about five to six seconds, Yang Changbai's eyes suddenly became vacant.
"Zhou Hong, now, Yang Changbai's Nascent Soul has had its consciousness completely erased. This body will remain in this dazed state from now on."
Zhou Hong nodded.
"So, my second brother's body has become a puppet?" Zhou Hong asked.
"It's not that easy. This is just the first step. Next, he will be refined into a puppet. Once the refinement is successful, you can drip blood to recognize him as your master, and he will be like your artifact."
"Then, after my second brother is refined into a puppet, how strong will he be?" Zhou Hong asked, suppressing his heartache.
"He is currently at the late Nascent Soul stage. After being refined into a puppet, he will still have the strength of the late Nascent Soul stage. For you, it means an additional late Nascent Soul dead servant."
"Mm," Zhou Hong nodded, looking at his second brother's vacant face, feeling an unspeakable sorrow in his heart. However, giving his second brother a grand burial would be meaningless. It was better to keep him by his side so he could see him often.
"In the future, you can continue to upgrade him, allowing this puppet's strength to also increase," Jin Wu added.
Zhou Hong asked doubtfully, "You mean, puppets can also cultivate?"
"Of course not. Don't think of him as a puppet; think of him as an artifact. Artifacts can be continuously nurtured and tempered, thus becoming stronger. You understand this principle, don't you?"
"I understand."
"Then quickly put him away. I will help you refine him into a puppet. By the way, I will be sleeping for the next month. Every time I control your body, all my energy is drained, and it takes a month to recover."
"Mm-hmm," Zhou Hong nodded. It had been over a month since the Dark Jin Wu had controlled Zhou Hong's body in the palace and made the Emperor his servant.
"But I'm a bit worried. You're about to go to Taigu Academy for the assessment. If you encounter danger this month, even I might perish with you," the Dark Jin Wu said worriedly.
"Heh, it's not that easy. Even if I encounter a strong opponent I can't defeat, I can hide in my sub-world. Killing me isn't that simple," Zhou Hong chuckled.
"You must not be so careless. Having a sub-world doesn't mean you're invincible. If you encounter someone very powerful, even with your sub-world, they can sense your existence and collapse the entire space where you're hidden. Even if you hide in your sub-world, you'll surely die."
"Ah," Zhou Hong's face turned pale.
"I'm not trying to scare you. For example, if you hide in your sub-world in this room, your sub-world will be located within this room. Others may not see it, but if someone can sense it and collapse this entire space, your sub-world will be torn apart as well."
"Oh, oh, it seems there is indeed a risk," Zhou Hong said with a wry smile.
"If you weren't so impatient, you wouldn't have had to deal with Yang Changbai first. But now that it's done, there's nothing more to say. I'll help you refine your second brother's body into a puppet weapon first. With this puppet weapon, even without my help for the next month, you'll have a late Nascent Soul expert by your side, which can offer some defense."
"Mm-hmm."
The Dark Jin Wu stopped talking and immediately helped Zhou Hong refine his second brother into a puppet.
With the Dark Jin Wu's experience, refining him into a puppet didn't require too much effort.
In about an hour, it was done.
"Zhou Hong, your second brother is no longer human. He is now a puppet artifact with a human body. You can now drip blood to recognize him as your master."
"Alright." Zhou Hong immediately bit his finger, and a drop of blood fell on his second brother's forehead. A red light immediately appeared on his second brother's body.
Zhou Hong also immediately sensed the presence of the artifact, as if it were his own sword.
"Second Brother, regardless of whether you are a puppet artifact or not, I will still call you Second Brother from now on," Zhou Hong said, looking at the puppet artifact before him.
"Alright, Zhou Hong, time is urgent, and I don't have any extra time. Your second brother's body is still flesh and blood for now. You'll have to temper his body yourself later. If you temper his body until it's as hard as an iron wall, this puppet artifact's strength will be even greater. I'm going to sleep now."
"Okay." Zhou Hong nodded.
The Dark Jin Wu instantly disappeared without a trace. Every time he had to control Zhou Hong's body, it felt like losing a life. Moreover, there was a time limit for him to control Zhou Hong's body; at present, he could only control it for about half an hour at most.
This was also a form of protection for Zhou Hong. If he could control Zhou Hong's body freely, wouldn't Zhou Hong be in danger?
After Zhou Hong put away his second brother's body, he quietly left the family and continued on his way to Taigu Academy.
However, the next day, a servant from Zhou Hong's family came to serve his second brother, Zhou Hong, who had gone missing. He immediately reported it to the family patriarch, and after searching the entire family, they couldn't find him.
They had no idea where Zhou Hong's second brother had gone, and they began searching the entire city, but he was never found. Of course, that's another story.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hong had already left the capital of the Zi Xiao Empire far behind and arrived at the Zi Xiao Empire's dock. He had to cross the sea to reach the Tian Yang Continent to participate in the Taigu Academy assessment. The journey by sea would take about ten days, so he had to take a ship.
Soon, Zhou Hong boarded a ship heading to the Tian Yang Continent. This ship was operated by a very powerful family from the Tian Yang Continent, providing relative safety for weaker cultivators. Moreover, the ship itself was an artifact, and it was not slow when sailing at sea. Zhou Hong naturally had no reason to spend time and effort crossing the sea alone.
"Eh, Zhou Hong," as Zhou Hong boarded the ship, a surprised voice immediately came from the ship's cabin, as if someone recognized him.
Zhou Hong turned his head and saw four or five young men and women sitting on one side of the cabin.
Zhou Hong naturally recognized these four or five young men and women. They were all among the top ten figures on the Youth Genius Ranking of the Zi Xiao Continent. Furthermore, one of them had had some unpleasant encounters with Zhou Hong not long ago; he was the eighteenth prince of the Zi Xiao Empire.