Weight as Light as a Feather

"Crackle!"

The bonfire burned.

The desolate wilderness stretched around him, empty of people.

The Yulan Continent was vast. Even the O'Brien Empire covered an immense territory. Its population was concentrated mainly in cities, and compared to its enormous landmass, its several hundred million inhabitants made it a truly sparsely populated country.

The O'Brien Empire had a population density of 8.8 people per square kilometer. That gave some idea of just how sparsely populated it was.

Kolan had been here for five months and hadn't seen a single person.

Two Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombies appeared out of nowhere, followed by a humanoid creature in a black robe.

All three were peak ninth-level undead lifeforms Kolan had summoned from the Undead Realm. The humanoid in the black robe was an Old Corpse Demon, one of the undead.

Necromancers inspired fear not only because of their reclusive natures and strange, frightening clothes, but also because they could summon undead lifeforms from the Undead Realm: skeletons, zombies, and Old Corpse Demons.

A Saint-level necromancer like Kolan could summon three Saint-level undead lifeforms, thirty ninth-level undead lifeforms, three hundred eighth-level undead lifeforms, three thousand seventh-level undead lifeforms, thirty thousand sixth-level undead lifeforms, three hundred thousand fifth-level undead lifeforms, and three million fourth-level undead lifeforms at the same time.

It was no exaggeration to say that one could easily wipe out an entire kingdom, leaving nothing alive.

Because of how terrifying necromancers were, they were regarded as taboo.

Any necromancer whose identity became known would be hunted down.

As a result, powerful necromancers were rarely seen.

Necromancers were already scarce, and fewer still could survive and grow strong in such a hostile environment.

Not a single Magic Academy anywhere on the continent taught Necromancy.

For Kolan to have become a Saint-level necromancer was already a miracle.

Only after learning Life Magic had he dared to travel openly across the Yulan Continent.

Kolan then began sparring with the two Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombies and the Old Corpse Demon.

As a necromancer, he could summon undead lifeforms from the Undead Realm without end. He didn't need to go to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to find magical beasts to hone his warrior skills; he could simply spar with undead lifeforms.

Of course, undead lifeforms were still undead lifeforms. They were considerably weaker than magical beasts of the same level.

Otherwise, Kolan wouldn't have been gravely wounded and sent tumbling into the Yulan River while defending against the beast tide.

Kolan wielded a heavy sword. It was the only one in his Space Ring, taken as spoils after he killed a Saint Warrior.

During this time, he had started by honing his combat skills, then gradually adapted to the warrior cultivation system.

Battle Qi and magic were the two main cultivation paths in the Coiling Dragon World.

The two systems differed considerably.

Mages refined the elements of heaven and earth into mana through meditation, trained their spiritual force, studied incantations, and learned to wield magic. In ranged attacks, they far surpassed warriors, and their spiritual force was also much stronger than that of warriors at the same level.

Warriors cultivated Battle Qi manuals to refine the elements of heaven and earth into Battle Qi. They tempered their bodies and learned combat techniques, excelling in close-quarters fighting. Their bodies were much stronger than those of mages at the same level. Once a warrior got close to a mage, it was the mage's end.

His predecessor hadn't understood this. He had dutifully studied magic, sharing the common failing of mages on the Yulan Continent: he believed himself superior and looked down on warriors as crude.

But Kolan understood the truth. By the Saint Realm, mages and warriors were essentially the same. To become truly powerful, one had to comprehend laws and rules. The deeper one's understanding, and the better one's ability to apply them, the stronger one became.

A so-called peak Saint was simply a Saint who had grasped the barest traces of laws and rules.

At the Saint level, the amount of Battle Qi or mana one possessed no longer had much impact on one's strength.

Ultimately, everything came down to comprehending laws and rules!

He was cultivating Battle Qi now only to shore up his weaknesses and familiarize himself with a warrior's combat techniques.

Cultivating both magic and Battle Qi would let him go further along the path of cultivation.

After cultivating for some time, Kolan had already reached the peak of the ninth level as a warrior.

He could fight three peak ninth-level undead lifeforms without giving any ground.

Dawn was breaking, and the chill of early morning lingered in the air.

As if he had suddenly grasped something, Kolan swung his sword. The heavy sword, light in his hand, had just touched the Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie.

The instant it made contact, however, a terrifying force burst forth.

Like a dam giving way, that astonishing force erupted in an instant. With a crack of breaking bones, the Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie collapsed, its body paralyzed.

"Weight as Light as a Feather!"

The corner of Kolan's mouth lifted slightly.

As far as he knew, warrior cultivation had several stages. For those who wielded heavy weapons, the first was to combine Battle Qi with the weapon and coordinate physical strength and Battle Qi almost perfectly. This was the stage of strength and Battle Qi. The second was the realm of Weight as Light as a Feather: wielding a weapon as naturally as one's own arm, wasting not the slightest bit of strength or energy, and using limited strength and Battle Qi to bring out the weapon's full power. The third was the realm of Momentum. Human strength had its limits, but the power of heaven and earth was endless. A single move could draw upon the momentum of heaven and earth and unleash tremendous power. Once one reached this stage, one could cultivate to become a Saint Warrior without any bottlenecks. Many Saint Warriors were at the realm of Momentum. The fourth was to comprehend laws and rules and learn to apply them. A peak Saint was someone who had grasped at least the barest traces of laws and rules.

At last, after all his cultivation, he had comprehended Weight as Light as a Feather. The heavy sword felt weightless in his hands, yet could unleash tremendous power.

Kolan didn't feel the slightest regret over destroying a peak ninth-level Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie.

After all, the Undead Realm was full of undead lifeforms. As long as he was powerful enough, he could even summon undead lifeforms at the Saint-level limit.

He sent a Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie to hunt a magical beast, then roasted it for breakfast.

After eating his fill and resting well, Kolan summoned yet more peak ninth-level undead lifeforms.

This time, he summoned a full thirty of them: Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombies, Old Corpse Demons, and Bone Dragons.

Anyone who saw this would have been left dumbfounded.

Kolan trained in the warrior system this way, and his techniques grew more powerful with each session.

As for this place, fragments of bone littered the ground in ever-growing numbers, all from undead lifeforms Kolan had killed.

Practicing Necromancy had given Kolan tremendous spiritual force. His Soul Mutation made it more powerful still, to an almost unbelievable degree.

Practicing Life Magic had given Kolan an astonishing ability to recover, as if he never tired. Even when an undead lifeform injured him, he often recovered completely in an instant.

One trait of Life Magic was its powerful vitality. Its ability to restore the body was almost absurd, making it terrifying in a battle of attrition. When Kolan had defended against the beast tide, he had still exhausted both his physical stamina and spiritual force. That showed just how terrifying that battle had been.