Weightless as a Feather

"Snap!"

The campfire crackled.

The desolate wilderness was devoid of human presence.

The Yulan Continent was vast; even the O'Brien Empire possessed an immense territory. With the population primarily concentrated in cities, the hundreds of millions of inhabitants were spread thin across the sprawling landscape, making it truly sparsely populated.

The population density of the O'Brien Empire was 8.8 people per square kilometer, which gives one an idea of just how vast and empty the land was.

Kolan had been here for five months and had not seen a single soul.

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

All three were peak level-nine undead lifeforms that Kolan had summoned from the Undead Realm; the black-robed humanoid was an Old Corpse Demon among the undead.

Necromancers were feared not only for their reclusive personalities and strange, unsettling attire, but also because they could summon undead lifeforms—skeletons, zombies, and Old Corpse Demons—from the Undead Realm.

A Saint-level Necromancer like Kolan could simultaneously summon three Saint-level undead lifeforms, thirty level-nine, three hundred level-eight, three thousand level-seven, thirty thousand level-six, three hundred thousand level-five, and three million level-four undead lifeforms.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could easily wipe out a kingdom, leaving not a blade of grass growing in his wake.

It was precisely because of this terrifying power that Necromancers were considered taboo.

Once a Necromancer's identity was exposed, they would be hunted down.

Therefore, powerful Necromancers rarely appeared.

Necromancers were already rare to begin with, and those who could survive and grow in such a hostile environment were even fewer.

Not a single magic academy on the entire continent taught Necromancy.

That Kolan could grow into a Saint-level Necromancer was already a miracle.

It was only after he learned Life Magic that he dared to walk openly across the Yulan Continent.

Subsequently, Kolan began to spar with the two Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombies and the Old Corpse Demon.

As a Necromancer, he could continuously summon undead lifeforms from the Undead Realm, so he didn't need to go to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hone his combat skills; he could simply train against his summoned creatures.

Of course, undead lifeforms were still undead lifeforms; they were significantly weaker than magical beasts of the same level.

Otherwise, Kolan would not have been severely wounded and fallen into the Yulan River while defending against the beast tide back then.

Kolan held a heavy sword; it was the only weapon in his spatial ring, a trophy he had kept after killing a Saint-level warrior.

During this time, he had been honing his combat techniques from the very beginning, step by step, adapting to the warrior cultivation system.

Battle-qi and magic were the mainstream paths of cultivation in the Coiling Dragon World.

There were considerable differences between the two cultivation systems.

Mages meditated to refine the elements of heaven and earth into magical power, trained their spiritual energy, learned incantations, and mastered the application of magic. In terms of long-range attacks, mages far surpassed warriors, and their spiritual energy was also much stronger than that of warriors at the same level.

Warriors cultivated battle-qi manuals, refining the elements of heaven and earth into battle-qi to temper their bodies and learn combat techniques. They excelled in close-quarters combat and possessed bodies far stronger than mages of the same level; once a warrior closed the distance, it was the end for a mage.

His predecessor had been ignorant, focusing solely on magic and suffering from the common prejudice of Yulan Continent mages, who viewed themselves as noble and looked down upon warriors as crude.

But Kolan, who understood the essence of things, knew that once one reached the Saint-level, whether a mage or a warrior, they were essentially the same. True strength lay in comprehending the Laws and Rules; the deeper one's comprehension and the better one's application, the stronger one became.

The so-called peak Saint-level was simply a Saint-level expert who had grasped a few scraps of the Laws and Rules.

At the Saint-level, the sheer quantity of battle-qi or magical power no longer had much impact on one's strength.

Ultimately, it was all about comprehending the Laws and Rules!

He was currently practicing the battle-qi system only to shore up his weaknesses and familiarize himself with warrior combat techniques.

Dual cultivation of magic and martial arts would allow him to go further on the path of cultivation.

Through this period of training, Kolan's warrior cultivation had already reached the peak of level-nine.

He fought against the three peak level-nine undead lifeforms without falling behind in the slightest.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, carrying the faint chill of early morning.

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

But at the moment of contact, a terrifying force erupted.

It was like a dam bursting; the astonishing power surged forth in an instant, and with the sound of shattering bones, the Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie collapsed, completely paralyzed.

"Handling the heavy as if it were light!"

The corners of Kolan's mouth curled up slightly.

According to what he knew, the first step in warrior cultivation for those using heavy weapons was to combine battle-qi with the weapon, coordinating strength and battle-qi to a near-perfect degree; this belonged to the level of raw strength and battle-qi. The second step was the realm of "handling the heavy as if it were light," using the weapon as an extension of one's own arm, wasting not a single ounce of strength or battle-qi, and maximizing the power of the heavy weapon with limited resources. The third step was the realm of "momentum." Human strength has its limits, but the power of heaven and earth is infinite; a single strike could draw upon the momentum of the world, possessing immense power. Once one reached this stage, they could advance to a Saint-level warrior without any bottlenecks, and many Saint-level warriors were at this "momentum" stage. The fourth step was to comprehend the Laws and Rules and apply them; the so-called peak Saint-level was at least having grasped some scraps of these Laws and Rules.

Having practiced until now, he had finally grasped "handling the heavy as if it were light." He could use this heavy sword as if it were weightless, yet it could unleash immense power.

Having scrapped one peak level-nine Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie, Kolan felt no heartache at all.

After all, the Undead Realm contained countless undead lifeforms; as long as his strength was sufficient, he could even summon Saint-level limit undead lifeforms.

He ordered a Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombie to hunt a magical beast to roast for breakfast.

After a hearty meal and a good rest, Kolan summoned even more peak level-nine undead lifeforms.

This time, he summoned a full thirty peak level-nine undead lifeforms, including Golden-haired Blue-eyed Zombies, Old Corpse Demons, and Bone Dragons.

If anyone were to see this scene, their jaws would absolutely drop in shock.

Kolan continued to cultivate his warrior system in this manner, and the power of his techniques grew stronger with every session of practice.

As for this place, the fragments of bone were piling up more and more; they were all remains of the undead creatures Kolan had slain.

Practicing Necromancy had made Kolan's mental power formidable, and his soul mutation, in particular, had pushed his mental strength to an incredible degree.

Practicing Life Magic gave Kolan a terrifying ability to recover, making him seem as if he never grew tired; even when wounded by undead creatures, he would often recover as good as new in an instant.

One characteristic of Life Magic was its immense vitality, granting a recovery ability that could only be described as monstrous, making it most terrifying in prolonged battles. Back when Kolan resisted the beast tide, he had still managed to exhaust both his physical stamina and mental power, which went to show just how horrific that battle had been.