Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time-Chapter 305: Testing The Limits Of Soul Skills: Emotion Severing Slash

Han Yu stood in front of the glowing barrier talisman he’d just activated.

The shimmering dome of spiritual light glowed faintly blue, humming with energy. The defensive talisman, though not top-tier, was still something an average cultivator would rely on during a critical moment. It was enough to simulate a moderate-level formation or protective barrier, the perfect candidate for his next test.

Han Yu’s eyes narrowed.

The Soul Needle, though subtle and piercing, was too limited in utility. It couldn’t disrupt formations or interfere with talisman constructs. Worse still, its lack of visible manifestation made it hard to use for intimidation or battlefield control.

But the Emotion Severing Slash? That was a different beast entirely.

He exhaled and extended his palm, fingers curling slightly as he drew upon the still-swirling reservoir of Eight Emotions Energy within him. The abundance of energy he had gained from Murong Xie’s courtyard explosion still flowed freely in his Soul Space. Almost thirty percent more Soul Qi than before—he could feel the strength brimming beneath his skin.

With practiced ease, Han Yu poured the qi into the technique.

A ghostly blade formed in the air, rippling with the translucent color of human emotion—faint hues of blue, red, and black coiled within its edge all mixing into an iridiscent white. It buzzed softly, as if echoing the suppressed grief and fury that it had been birthed from.

"Emotion Severing Slash," Han Yu whispered, and the spectral blade soared forward.

It struck the barrier with a visible impact, like a blade of wind slamming into a bubble of water. The talisman barrier wobbled, rippled... but held. A few sparks of fragmented Soul Qi crackled at the point of contact before dissipating harmlessly.

Han Yu’s brows twitched. Not enough power.

He pushed more Soul Qi into the next cast, increasing the intensity. This time, when the Emotion Severing Slash struck, the barrier shuddered more violently. Veins of spiritual instability spread across it like cracks in glass, and a high-pitched whine filled the courtyard as the talisman struggled to hold.

Moments later, the barrier flickered—and failed.

With a snap of sound and a puff of spiritual mist, the talisman overloaded and crumbled into fragments of ash.

Han Yu stood still, watching the embers settle.

"That’s more like it," he murmured.

The Emotion Severing Slash had more than just cutting power—it worked on the spiritual architecture of things. It didn’t need to be overwhelmingly destructive in a physical sense. Instead, it weakened the emotional or mental connection embedded into constructs, such as the will of the talisman’s maker or the intent embedded in formations.

And that made it a terrifying weapon against cultivators who used spiritual tools or relied on mental stability.

Han Yu walked over to a second talisman—a sturdier one, a more expensive high-grade version that created a reinforced defense formation rather than a simple energy barrier. The glowing script on the talisman shimmered with a gold hue as it formed a hexagonal panel of runes in the air. It was meant to withstand attacks from Core Condensation Realm cultivators at the very least. A rather expensive buy for Han Yu.

He activated the Emotion Severing Slash again, this time charging it with significantly more Soul Qi.

The spectral blade buzzed louder now. It wasn’t just a slice—it was a scream. A cry of anguish formed of energy, driven by grief and severed bonds. When it collided with the golden formation, the impact was no longer gentle.

The defensive array flared violently. The runes trembled. One by one, they began to flicker out, like candles in a storm.

The talisman held—for a moment—before it crumbled in a burst of golden sparks.

Han Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the throb in his chest from the Soul Qi expenditure.

"That... was worth the cost," he said to himself.

It had taken a significant portion of his Soul Qi to break through the high-grade talisman, but the results were undeniable. The Emotion Severing Slash wasn’t a precision tool like Soul Needle. It was a warhammer for the soul. Anything embedded with will, emotion, or mental imprint could be fractured—shattered—so long as Han Yu had enough energy to fuel it.

He leaned against the wall, feeling the fluctuation of Soul Qi within him. The vast reserve had shrunk slightly, but not alarmingly so. He still had more than enough for several heavy uses.

There was more to learn.

He moved to another talisman, this one not defensive but reactive—an auto-countermeasure designed to blast attackers with a thunder pulse when triggered.

He activated the talisman and waited for it to stabilize. Then, with focus, Han Yu conjured another Emotion Severing Slash.

This time, however, he intentionally weakened it. Just enough to test if partial exposure could disrupt function without destroying the whole.

The blade struck.

The reactive talisman’s response flared—runes blinking rapidly as it prepared to launch—but then dimmed.

No thunder pulse.

Han Yu’s eyes widened slightly.

He approached and examined the talisman’s remnants. The script hadn’t broken, but the embedded activation will had been... silenced. The mechanism still worked, but the impulse to act, to respond—it had been suppressed.

"So it can dull reactions," he said softly. "Not just destroy, but mute them. Like blunting a sword without breaking it."

He began writing mental notes, constructing theoretical applications.

—Using it to sever a beast’s fighting spirit. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

—Disabling the will embedded in puppet constructs.

—Disrupting low-grade mind control techniques.

The tactical potential was immense.

But all power came at a cost.

He rubbed his temples lightly. The more Soul Qi he channeled at once, the more mental strain he felt. Though it didn’t hurt exactly, it taxed his focus and endurance. Prolonged combat with heavy usage might leave him spiritually exhausted if he wasn’t careful.

Still, the gains far outweighed the drawbacks.

He glanced at the final talisman on his testing table—an escape talisman meant to propel the user with a burst of wind.

Just for fun, he aimed a weak Emotion Severing Slash at it.