Night lay as still as a pool of water.
"Crackle!"
The bonfire burned.
Kolan sat cross-legged on the ground, his greatsword resting across his knees.
Around him, peak ninth-rank undead lifeforms and Saint-level undead lifeforms stood guard, ensuring that nothing could go wrong.
Kolan's heart resonated perfectly with life.
Even without using his soul power, even from several hundred meters away, he could sense it clearly.
A flash of inspiration passed through his mind.
A smile appeared on Kolan's calm, placid face.
He opened his eyes and rose to his feet. The greatsword left its sheath, and the instant it did, an astonishing aura burst forth. It was as though the surrounding space had frozen solid.
A peak ninth-rank Old Corpse Demon tried to dodge, but at that moment, it felt as though it had sunk into an endless swamp. Even its voice disappeared.
"Pfft!"
The greatsword struck the Old Corpse Demon, and its body turned to mush in an instant, from head to toe.
Kolan's lips curled slightly.
At last, he had accumulated enough. Reaching the realm of Momentum had come naturally.
He could overwhelm others with Momentum—this Momentum was the force of heaven and earth. A single strike could affect the space around him.
"But the next step is the level of laws and rules. That's the hard part!" Kolan murmured.
He knew of the different Mysteries within the Seven Elemental Laws.
But the Four Rules had no clearly defined Mysteries. He would have to comprehend them on his own.
Once he reached the required level, he would become a god.
Before that, no one could say how much of the Rules he had comprehended—not even he knew himself.
There was no direction, and he had no way of knowing the depth or breadth of the ocean of rules.
He cultivated the Life Law and the Death Rules. Now, no one could help or guide him. He had to rely on himself.
No—that wasn't entirely true. Perhaps the High Priest, who had become a god by cultivating the Life Law, could guide him in that regard.
But the High Priest was the guardian deity of the Yulan Empire, a lofty figure who looked down upon the mortal world. Kolan didn't know him, and they had neither family ties nor any friendship. Why would he guide Kolan?
"Next, I'll head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Reading ten thousand books is no match for traveling ten thousand miles. If I fight and train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, perhaps I'll find my own path!" Determination filled Kolan's eyes.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range was the largest mountain range on the Yulan Continent, stretching almost from north to south across the continent. It ran for more than ten thousand miles and was home to countless magical beasts, including Saint-level magical beasts with the power to "destroy heaven and earth." The mountain range had even shaped the continent's political landscape.
East of the Magical Beast Mountain Range lay the Four Great Empires: the Yulan Empire in the center, the Rhine Empire in the southeast, the Luo'ao Empire in the east, and the O'Brien Empire in the north. Besides the Four Great Empires, there were several kingdoms and numerous duchies. East of the mountain range alone were more than a dozen kingdoms and dozens of duchies. These kingdoms and duchies were divided into two factions: the Holy Union, led by the Radiant Church, and the Dark Alliance, led by the Dark Church.
The lands now held by the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance had once belonged to an empire called the Pu'ang Empire. It had been founded in Yulan Calendar Year 1500, only to fall in Yulan Calendar Year 4400.
The reason for its fall was simple: Doehring Cowart, the Pu'ang Empire's chief magus, had died. Without a powerful expert to protect it, the imperial family could no longer control such a vast empire. One kingdom and one duchy after another broke away.
Of course, the Radiant Church and the Dark Church had a hand in it.
The current pope of the Radiant Church was Ernst, who had founded the church himself.
Besides Ernst, a peak Saint-level expert, the Radiant Church also had another peak Saint-level expert: Desri.
Not long after the Pu'ang Empire fell, the Radiant Church and the Dark Church stepped in to bring the kingdoms and duchies together, forming the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance.
Kolan headed north without flying, traveling on foot.
One day, he stood at the northern edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Looking north, he could see the boundless blue North Sea.
"The North Sea really is vast." This was Kolan's first time seeing the ocean, and the endless blue sea left him awestruck.
Thinking of the things he'd heard along the way, Kolan marveled to himself, "Baruch really is powerful. He actually killed the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor!"
The Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor had been terrifyingly powerful. During that beast tide, it had led two other Saint-level magical beasts and an army of hundreds of thousands of magical beasts.
That day, tidal waves raged and cities crumbled.
Kolan had happened to be passing by and had resolutely joined the army to hold back the magical beasts.
Baruch was the first Dragonblood Warrior on the Yulan Continent!
At the time, Kolan had held off the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, while Baruch fought two Saint-level magical beasts by himself.
Kolan hadn't expected Baruch not only to kill those two Saint-level magical beasts, but also to slay the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor after Kolan had fallen into the Yulan River and Baruch had fought it for a full day and night.
"My strength now should be no weaker than Baruch's!" Kolan thought to himself. He had not only powerful spiritual force, but a powerful body as well.
Magic was no longer his greatest strength. His strength as a warrior had surpassed it.
That was because the power of his fused Battle Qi was far greater than that of ordinary Battle Qi.
Fusing his magical power hadn't helped him cast fused spells or even cast magic, and it had barely enhanced his magic at all.
Fused Battle Qi was different. It made his Battle Qi ten times more powerful!
With his powerful spiritual force and formidable body, Kolan was undeniably strong.
"This time, I'll cross the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range and fight the magical beasts!" Determination flashed in Kolan's eyes.
Although he could summon undead lifeforms to fight for him, undead lifeforms were weaker than magical beasts of the same rank. And since they obeyed his orders, they could never truly hurt him. They were nowhere near as useful for gaining real combat experience as magical beasts.
Kolan stepped forward into the Magical Beast Mountain Range and began his arduous journey of cultivation.
The Yulan Continent had three great perilous places: the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the Forest of Darkness, and the Sunset Forest.
Kolan had been to all three.
He had plenty of experience.
Back when Kolan had sought out a necromancer to learn Necromancy, he had been on the outskirts of the Forest of Darkness, near the edge of the Chaotic Territory.
Now Kolan was rather glad his original body hadn't caused trouble in the Forest of Darkness. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have known how he'd died.
That "King of the Forest of Darkness," Beirut, wasn't merely a god-level expert. He was a Sovereign—and a Sovereign who liked to play the fool to catch his opponents off guard.
And that was without even mentioning Beirut. His three sons, the Harvey brothers, could kill Kolan a million times over with a single breath.
Kolan didn't believe that, as Beirut's sons, the Harvey brothers were merely Saint-level magical beasts. They were probably just like their father, Beirut, fond of playing the fool to catch others off guard, using their Saint-level magical beast forms to ambush and kill other powerful experts.
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