After being defeated by Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi immediately activated his mental talent. To him, skills like music, chess, and painting were mere decorations. What truly mattered were the abilities to govern a nation and bring peace to the world. The pinnacle of a strategist's capabilities was their mental talent. Chess masters and artists paled in comparison to true statesmanship. Sima Yi's frustration triggered the full release of his talent, and within Fenggao, other mental talents within a radius of hundreds of miles were almost completely suppressed.
Zhuge Liang was the first to be affected. His strategic-level, incomplete mental talent, named "Unification," was directly sealed by Sima Yi. The overwhelming mental energy that Zhuge Liang could no longer suppress spilled out, forcefully repelling everything around him, including Sima Yi, who had just unleashed his talent.
Had Sima Yi's own mental energy not been substantial, the sudden, unguarded impact could have left him mentally incapacitated.
Cold sweat dripping from his forehead, Sima Yi stared at Zhuge Liang in shock. He realized that the youth before him was a monster. If an ordinary adult strategist had a mental energy level of one, then Zhuge Liang's current display had already surpassed that. And Zhuge Liang still had half of his mental growth ahead of him!
"I didn't expect you, Sima Yi, to possess a mental talent that could nullify mine," Zhuge Liang remarked, his eyes gleaming with interest as he observed Sima Yi.
"You also have a mental talent!" Sima Yi exclaimed, horrified. He had thought himself an extraordinary genius, only to encounter someone younger and even more terrifying. However, instead of despair, Sima Yi felt a surge of fighting spirit. The emptiness and loneliness he had once felt vanished—life needed rivals to be truly fulfilling.
"You are impressive as well, sealing my mental talent. But it's just as well. My talent is so vast that even when it's not active, I struggle to handle the excess mental energy. I have to spend a lot of time asleep because of it. In this sense, your sealing my talent might be a good thing," Zhuge Liang said calmly.
Zhuge Liang's mental energy had been constantly supporting his talent, and with that talent now sealed, the energy overflowed. Fortunately, Zhuge Liang quickly regained control, reining in the excess energy, and sat down, his brilliance concealed.
Sima Yi adjusted his posture and knelt respectfully before Zhuge Liang. "Sima Yi of Henei greets Zhuge Kongming," he said with newfound humility. "Shall we play another game?"
"Very well!" Zhuge Liang replied serenely. He had won the previous two games with some clever tricks, but now that both of them were fully engaged, it was time for a true test of skill.
An hour later, Zhuge Liang, smiling, bowed to Sima Yi and then slowly walked out.
"Crack!" Zhuge Liang smiled and bowed to Sima Lang and Zhuge Jin, who were standing by the door, before following Zhuge Jin out.
"Zhongda! Why did you activate your talent again, and for such a long time and on such a large scale?" Sima Lang asked angrily after Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang had left. But when he saw Sima Yi, he noticed that the previous arrogance and emptiness had vanished, replaced by a burning determination.
"Brother, the world truly needs rivals to keep things interesting. I will remember Zhuge Kongming," Sima Yi said as he placed the final piece on the chessboard, decisively ending the once evenly-matched game.
"What happened, Zhongda?" Sima Lang asked curiously.
Sima Yi calmly recounted the events to Sima Lang. "That's how it went. I have a feeling that one day, I will meet him again on the battlefield. Only then will life no longer be lonely!"
Following behind Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang remained silent. After only a few steps, he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion and cursed Sima Yi for being a sore loser, shutting down his talent after losing.
As for the moment when Sima Yi unleashed his full mental talent, it caused a ripple effect that startled many in Taishan.
When Sima Yi activated his talent, Sima Lang, who had been walking with Zhuge Jin, felt his "Spring Breeze" talent suddenly vanish. His once-trustworthy presence disappeared, returning him to normal. Similarly, Zhuge Jin lost the eloquence that had made him so persuasive. The two exchanged glances, instantly realizing that both had been using their mental talents—though Sima Lang knew exactly what had caused this.
Meanwhile, Jia Xu, who was analyzing the situation in Xiliang, suddenly paused and looked up, while Liu Ye, who had been modeling the thought processes of Xiliang's generals, stared blankly at Jia Xu.
"Can you still use your mental talent?" Liu Ye asked anxiously.
Jia Xu frowned but remained calm. "It seems there's someone out there whose talent counteracts ours."
"How could such an overpowered talent exist? And how long can it last?" Liu Ye muttered, frowning. "Without our mental talents, things just got a lot more complicated."
"It's not a big deal," Jia Xu said nonchalantly, picking up the intelligence reports and continuing his analysis. Although his mental talent was gone, he was still the incomparable Jia Wenhe. It would just take a little longer.
Elsewhere, Lu Su, who had been working in the administrative office, suddenly jumped to his feet.
"Zijing, what's wrong with you? Why the fuss?" Chen Xi asked in confusion.
Lu Su quickly performed a few hand gestures, and a cloud appeared in the sky, followed by a sudden rain shower over the office.
"Hey, why are you making it rain all of a sudden?" Chen Xi asked, perplexed.
"I was trying to make it snow! My mental talent has disappeared! Just now, a wave of mental energy swept through, and my talent vanished," Lu Su said, a bit panicked. "Zichuan, didn't you feel anything?"
Chen Xi scratched his head. "Not really. My talent is still the same. It just felt like someone was tickling me a bit."
"..." Lu Su stared at Chen Xi in disbelief, then calmly sat back down to continue his work. Since Chen Xi wasn't affected, it meant that the talent nullifying others' talents had its limits. Whether or not his talent returned didn't really matter to Lu Su, who had never relied on it much anyway.
"Hey, Zijing, how can you stay here working when your talent disappearing is such a big deal? We need to find out what's going on!" Chen Xi, clearly more worried than Lu Su, exclaimed.
On the other side, Fa Zheng was practically losing his mind. He had just awakened his talent and hadn't even had time to fully enjoy it before it was gone. He anxiously paced around Li You. "What's going on? My mental talent suddenly disappeared!"
"Mine too," Li You replied calmly, glancing at Fa Zheng. Although he remained composed, Li You had also stopped working. Compared to others, Sima Yi's talent affected him the most. It was enough to knock a peak-level strategist down to merely competent, a significant drop indeed.