In Jiang Fei’s impression, there didn’t seem to be any “Hypnotic Skill” in the “Nine Yin Manual.” Just the name sounded too far-fetched to him.
How could a martial arts novel include something like the Hypnotic Skill? No matter how profound one’s inner energy or how powerful one’s strength, even someone as terrifying as his cheap master Xuanjizi, who had reached the final inner Gang stage of the Innate Gang Realm, could only defeat a person with overwhelming force—never hypnotize them!
This kind of skill only seemed possible in xianxia or fantasy novels.
So Jiang Fei was shocked, thinking the system had made another mistake. It wasn’t based on Mr. Jin Yong’s original novels but on some ridiculous TV drama adaptation.
After all, modern TV dramas have too many absurd plot twists. Even if Jiang Fei hadn’t watched them closely, he’d heard about them. Mr. Jin Yong’s classic works have been distorted beyond recognition. For example, in Yu Zheng’s version of “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer,” Dongfang Bubai, who practiced the Sunflower Manual, was portrayed as a woman—a stunning beauty at that—and her romantic tension with Linghu Chong was even deeper than his relationship with Ren Yingying!
These melodramatic, ridiculous adaptations speak for themselves.
But on this matter, Jiang Fei was actually mistaken.
The “Nine Yin Manual,” as a Taoist mystical martial arts text, contains not only famous techniques like the Nine Yin White Bone Claw but also the Hypnotic Skill.
The Hypnotic Skill uses the power of the mind to overcome enemies.
In “The Legend of the Condor Heroes,” at the Beggar’s Sect conference on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake, Huang Rong used this technique to counter Elder Peng’s mind-control “Soul-Stealing Art.”
Later, in “The Return of the Condor Heroes,” at the hero conference in Xiangyang to elect a martial arts alliance leader, Yang Guo, guided by Huang Rong, used the Hypnotic Skill to defeat Dalba, a disciple of the Golden Wheel Monk.
So the system wasn’t being a ridiculous TV drama fan; it was faithfully following Jin Yong’s works. The “Nine Yin Manual” indeed contains this mystical skill.
In reality, the Hypnotic Skill isn’t as bizarre or unbelievable as Jiang Fei imagined. It’s a genuine Taoist cultivation method, a form of mind-control technique. To perform it, one must focus all their energy, gaze intently at the target, achieve a state of single-mindedness without distractions, and combine it with the mystical methods in the “Nine Yin Manual.”
To put it more simply and understandably, modern hypnotists can somewhat represent a basic form of soul-stealing techniques.
Of course, the levels are incomparable. The soul-stealing technique in the “Nine Yin Manual” is leagues above ordinary hypnotism. Especially when performed by someone like Jiang Fei, whose inner energy cultivation has reached a considerable depth, its effects become even more extraordinary.
“I’ll learn it first and see what makes this Hypnotic Skill so special.”
Though Jiang Fei was a bit annoyed—unaware that the “Nine Yin Manual” contained this skill and that he’d drawn it from the level-up gift pack—he had no choice but to accept it.
Even if this Hypnotic Skill wasn’t as miraculous as the Four Great Marvelous Books he’d imagined, it was still impressive. Just the name suggested it was a flashy martial arts skill. Since it came from the “Nine Yin Manual,” it couldn’t be too weak—at least on par with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, right?
For Jiang Fei, skills like this were far more useful than ordinary sword, blade, or fist techniques. At his current stage, aside from top-tier martial arts manuals, he didn’t need much else.
Soon, Jiang Fei “consumed” the skill book for “Hypnotic Skill of the Nine Yin Manual.” Sitting in the car, his body trembled as his mind flooded with new knowledge, like being enlightened, understanding many things he hadn’t grasped before.
After a while, Jiang Fei opened his eyes, which sparkled with excitement. “So that’s how it is. The Hypnotic Skill is actually pretty amazing! No wonder it’s from the ‘Nine Yin Manual’—everything in it is remarkable. This Hypnotic Skill is worth learning!”
Jiang Fei thought happily.
The Hypnotic Skill essentially involved mental resonance, a form of soul-stealing technique.
However, this skill was often useless in most situations, making it somewhat impractical.
For instance, if the opponent’s mind was focused and unwavering, the technique would fail. Moreover, if the opponent’s inner energy was stronger, it could backfire, leaving the user vulnerable.
In a duel, if the user of the Hypnotic Skill was stronger, they could simply win with fists or weapons. Why bother with something as troublesome as the Hypnotic Skill?
But if the user was weaker, they couldn’t use it either, as it would be ineffective and might even allow the opponent to turn the tables.
The Hypnotic Skill in the “Nine Yin Manual” had only appeared twice: Huang Rong used it to counter Elder Peng, and Yang Guo succeeded under unique circumstances. Normally, it wasn’t feasible to use this technique in combat.
However, Jiang Fei quickly realized its truly invaluable application: interrogating prisoners or subduing those who were weaker but stubbornly resisted capture, refusing to yield even under torture. In such cases, the Hypnotic Skill was perfect!
For example, the two leaders of the Skyweb organization he’d captured earlier were tight-lipped, determined to die rather than talk. No amount of torture would make them speak, as they’d likely been trained to withstand interrogation or were held hostage by the organization through some unbearable leverage.
In these situations, Jiang Fei’s Hypnotic Skill would come in handy.
In real life, while there were plenty of experts—like his cheap master Xuanjizi or the Wild Grass Taoist of Lushan, who were Innate masters far stronger than Jiang Fei—aside from such rare individuals, Jiang Fei could suppress most people and use the Hypnotic Skill on them without issue.
“Let’s see how many skill points the first level of Hypnotic Skill needs.” Jiang Fei focused on the martial arts skills section.
Martial Arts Skills: Lightness Skill—Three Layers Cloud, Level 1 (0/100); Incomplete Tai Chi Fist, Level 1 (0/200); Divination and Escape Arts, Level 2 (0/450); Dugu Nine Swords, Level 3 (Maxed); Northern Dark Divine Art (13.9/15); Ti Yun Zong (Cloud Ladder), Level 1 (0/460); Hypnotic Skill of the Nine Yin Manual, Level 0 (0/260); Available Skill Points: 250
“The first level needs 260 skill points? That seems a bit high, doesn’t it? Dugu Nine Swords only needed 350 for the first level, and Ti Yun Zong needed just 300. This Hypnotic Skill is just one technique from the ‘Nine Yin Manual,’ not even the most powerful one, yet it needs 260 skill points…” Jiang Fei was speechless, feeling ripped off.
He currently had only 250 skill points, not enough to upgrade to the first level. He’d wanted to test the Hypnotic Skill’s power after upgrading.
“Ten skill points short—just 100 experience points. At the current rate, I can level up tomorrow. If it works well, I can ask the Seven Kills group if those two assassins are still alive. If they are, I can put it to use immediately…” Jiang Fei thought.
“Now that I have this mystical skill and plan to learn it, I should add some points to Spirit.”
The Hypnotic Skill relied not only on inner energy but also heavily on Spirit.
Since Jiang Fei wasn’t in a rush to focus on any single basic attribute, adhering to the principle of balanced development, he could temporarily pause Agility and invest in Constitution, Strength, and Spirit.
In the end, Jiang Fei allocated the two available attribute points to Spirit and Strength.
Thus, Jiang Fei’s character stats changed again.
Character: Jiang Fei
Level: 6
Experience: 2/11000
Constitution: 4.2
Spirit: 5.3
Agility: 6.2
Strength: 5.4
Unallocated Points: 0
Martial Arts Skills: Lightness Skill—Three Layers Cloud, Level 1 (0/100); Incomplete Tai Chi Fist, Level 1 (0/200); Divination and Escape Arts, Level 2 (0/450); Dugu Nine Swords, Level 3 (Maxed); Northern Dark Divine Art (13.9/15); Ti Yun Zong (Cloud Ladder), Level 1 (0/460); Hypnotic Skill of the Nine Yin Manual, Level 0 (0/260); Available Skill Points: 250.3
Side Professions: Weapon Forging (Level 9), Plant Cultivation (Level 9), Culinary Arts (Level 9), Gardening (Level 9), Music (Level 9), Brewing (Level 9), Taming (Level 9), Medical Skills (Level 8 +99.9%)…
Browsing through his stats, Jiang Fei suddenly had a random thought.
In martial arts novels, womanizers usually had incredible lightness skills, like “Lone Wanderer” Tian Boguang or Yun Zhonghe, the fourth of the Four Evils.
But in Jiang Fei’s view, the Hypnotic Skill was the ultimate skill for such purposes.
With this skill, what young woman could escape? Even Chu Liuxiang couldn’t steal hearts as effectively!
“Too bad I’m a gentleman.” Jiang Fei thought regretfully, without a hint of embarrassment.
Sighing and shaking his head, Jiang Fei restarted the car and drove toward the Jiang’s Pharmaceutical Company office building.
Jiang’s Pharmaceutical Company had now become a key provincial private enterprise, and Lin Moli had represented the company at several provincial entrepreneur events.
This wasn’t just due to Jiang Fei’s reputation or influence; the company had genuinely earned this recognition through its own strength.
So the company’s headquarters now housed more departments and a growing workforce. Entry required ID cards or registration, with security checks.
Except for Jiang Fei.
He was one of the few people who could rely on his face to get in.
As he entered the company’s floor, the security guard and receptionist immediately straightened up. The guard almost saluted, while the pretty receptionist flashed a charming smile.
Jiang Fei nodded and headed straight for the general manager’s office, unchallenged. Though he often slacked off and rarely visited, he’d been there a few times and held meetings. Everyone in the company, whether they’d met him or not, had seen his photo.
After all, Jiang Fei was somewhat famous.
Not only had his rumored relationship with the heavenly queen and pure girl Qiao YiYi been buzzing for over half a year, occasionally resurfacing in the media, but he’d also appeared in newspapers and even on TV countless times. Anyone slightly interested could find his photo online.
“Hello, Chairman.” As Jiang Fei walked in, Lin Moli’s assistant, the bespectacled Xu Yue, greeted him.
Jiang Fei smiled and asked, “Where’s Manager Lin?”
“She heard you were coming and just returned to the office. She’s waiting for you there,” Xu Yue replied.
Jiang Fei nodded and approached the general manager’s office. Before pushing the door open, he heard arguing inside—Lin Moli seemed to be on the phone, her tone unusually intense.
After knocking, he entered.
Lin Moli wore a sharp, well-tailored OL outfit, exuding the aura of a professional woman. Her already outstanding temperament and figure were accentuated, making her stunningly beautiful.
She wasn’t sitting at her desk but standing by the window, phone in hand, her expression unpleasant as she spoke.
Jiang Fei was slightly surprised. While Jiang’s Pharmaceutical Company was growing and required constant attention—along with inevitable disputes with partners and frustrations—Lin Moli had always remained composed in his memory, rarely angered. What troublesome issue could provoke such anger?
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Fei smiled at her, waiting for her to finish the call.
But Lin Moli didn’t say much more. Seeing Jiang Fei enter, she simply stated, “Fine. I know how to handle my own matters. No one can interfere or dictate what I do.”
With that, she hung up.
Her expression remained troubled. Unlike her usual excitement at seeing Jiang Fei, her delicately made-up face showed fatigue.
Sighing softly, she sat beside Jiang Fei on the sofa, shedding her professional demeanor and leaning limply into his arms.
Jiang Fei froze, sensing something unusual about Lin Moli today.
But he gently held her, inhaling her faint fragrance, and asked softly, “What happened? That call wasn’t about work, was it?”
“Don’t talk. Let me rest a while,” Lin Moli murmured, closing her eyes. Her arms wrapped around Jiang Fei, her head buried in his chest.
At this moment, she was no longer the domineering female CEO she usually was; she had become the obedient little woman she used to be.
