Colin

"Sharp eyes!"

A faint smile appeared on the black-robed man's face. There was no hostility in it, but paired with his skin-and-bones appearance, it instead sent chills down one's spine.

At this moment, Leian did not relax in the slightest. Instead, he became even more vigilant.

Leian understood all too well what an Undead Saint Archmage represented. Not only did he remember the descriptions from the original work, but he had also specifically gathered information about Undead Saint Archmages in this world.

Such beings were terrifying existences capable of forming an army alone!

Powerhouses who cultivated Necromancy could not only summon hundreds of thousands, even millions, of undead to fight, but could also control corpses to attack.

Just imagining one's own side losing more and more people with every battle while the enemy gained more and more was enough to inspire despair!

Besides that, necromancers possessed many bizarre methods that struck fear into people's hearts, such as "plague," "curse," "enslavement," and so on.

It was precisely because Necromancy was so terrifying that those who cultivated it were like rats crossing the street. Every one of them hid themselves extremely well, and ordinary people rarely knew their whereabouts.

Leian had once asked Derrick about the three great rule magics, but even the Byron royal family, with its inheritance of more than eight thousand years, only had records of Fate Law and Life Magic. They knew very little about Necromancy.

The occasional scattered record merely mentioned traces of battles that were suspected to involve necromancers somewhere—information that was of little consequence.

With necromancers being so rare, Leian had never expected to encounter one so easily—and a Saint Archmage at that.

Moreover, an Undead Saint Archmage would certainly not lack Saint Realm undead. Leian considered himself quite strong, but he did not dare guarantee that he could withstand an Undead Saint Archmage's attack.

Seeing Leian's undisguised wariness, the black-robed man laughed instead.

"Don't be nervous. I mean you no harm. Your name is Leian, correct? My name is Colin Berg. You may call me Colin."

Leian narrowed his eyes. Though he did not know what the black-robed man was plotting, since the other party had taken the initiative to show goodwill, he could not exactly reject him outright. He therefore apologized for his earlier actions.

"Mr. Colin, I did not know this was your place of cultivation. I offended you just now. Please forgive me."

After Colin Berg appeared, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor had remained coiled respectfully behind him. It was clearly his magical beast. Leian had come to fight someone else's magical beast; although he had done so unknowingly, it was still somewhat inappropriate.

Colin waved his hand and smiled.

"It is a small matter. If I am not mistaken, Leian, you cultivate the Destruction Rule, correct? That is quite rare.

"Moreover, judging by the strength you displayed just now, you should have reached the limit of the Saint Realm. I consider myself thoroughly familiar with the Saint Realm powerhouses of the Youquan Continent, yet I have never heard the name 'Leian.' Could it be that you are from another continent?"

Leian smiled. Rather than answer directly, he asked, "It seems, Mr. Colin, that you have been cultivating in seclusion here for quite some time?"

Though Colin was somewhat puzzled, he still answered, "I have indeed stayed here for over a hundred years."

As he spoke, his gaze sharpened. Seemingly thinking of something, he said in disbelief, "Could it be that you...?"

Seeing that Colin had already realized something, Leian nodded. "I entered the Saint Realm seventeen years ago. This year, I am forty-seven."

"What? You are only forty-seven?"

Colin's face was filled with shock, as though he could not believe his own ears. After a long while, he finally sighed.

"A genius. Leian, you are unquestionably a genius. A forty-seven-year-old Saint Realm limit powerhouse—among everything I know, in the past hundred thousand years, Leian, you are the first!"

Leian smiled. While being praised felt good, in his eyes, the title of "genius" had far too much exaggeration in it.

On the Youquan Continent, reaching the Saint Realm within fifty years made one a genius. But among countless planes, that was nothing at all. Beirut had said in the original work that a true genius became a god in ten years, a Midgod in a hundred, and a Highgod in a thousand.

Compared to such people, would all those other "geniuses" not die of shame?

However, Colin's tone was filled with sincerity. Although Leian could not yet determine his intentions, his vigilance did not lessen in the slightest. He modestly said, "Mr. Colin, you flatter me. Before an Undead Saint Archmage, Leian would not dare call himself a genius."

Hearing this, Colin shook his head.

"You are being modest, Leian. Though I am a necromancer, it still took me more than six hundred years to become a Saint Archmage. Compared to you, I fall far short.

"Moreover, if I am not mistaken, your spiritual force is likely far stronger than that of an ordinary Saint Realm warrior."

At this point, he paused before continuing.

"Under normal circumstances, when a warrior practitioner enters the Saint Realm, their spiritual force is merely comparable to that of an eighth-rank Archmage. But Leian, your spiritual force is likely no weaker than that of a peak ninth-rank Grand Magus."

Leian's heart immediately tightened. Aside from his family, he had never told outsiders that he cultivated spiritual force as well. Yet this Colin had seen through it at a glance.

As expected of a Saint Archmage who cultivated the rule of the undead?

As he pondered, Leian nodded openly and praised him. "Mr. Colin, you have sharp eyes!"

Colin smiled and did not probe further into the matter. Instead, he asked, "May I know what you think of Necromancy, Leian?"

Leian's heart stirred, and he vaguely guessed something. He instinctively glanced at Colin, considered it briefly, then said, "Although Necromancy is viewed negatively by the public, as one of the four great rules, I do not believe there is any distinction of superiority between them. Good and evil lie in a person's actions, not in the rules themselves. As long as practitioners of Necromancy do not slaughter innocents indiscriminately, they should not be suppressed."

Hearing this, Colin chuckled. "Leian, I can tell that you truly mean those words. In fact, many people understand this principle. But do you know why they still reject and disparage Necromancy?"

"Why?" Though Leian did not know what Colin was trying to say, he still cooperatively asked.

"Naturally, because that power is not under their control." Colin's expression darkened slightly as he sneered.

"Those people do not reject Necromancy. They are angry that those who cultivate it cannot be used by them. If a necromancer is willing to submit to them, they would certainly not be stingy with their goodwill."

Looking at the mocking expression on Colin's face, Leian thought, Could this guy, like Sesler, have been captured by some major power?

In truth, Leian had guessed correctly. More than a hundred years ago, Colin had lived in seclusion in a small coastal town on the eastern side of the Youquan Continent.

Later, for some unknown reason, the Dark Church of the Nansen Continent discovered his whereabouts. Since god-level powerhouses had rules forbidding them from casually invading other continents, the Dark Pope did not come personally. However, he secretly dispatched more than a dozen peak Saint Realm powerhouses to capture Colin.

Though that battle had been brief, of the Saint Realm undead under Colin's command, only one remained alive. Colin himself had also suffered serious injuries.

To be safe, Colin chose to cultivate in seclusion within the Youquan Mountain Range after the battle. Later, by chance, he discovered the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor, which possessed a death affinity, and took it as his magical beast.

As for whether the Goddess of Dark Night had confronted the Dark Pope after that battle, Colin did not know. Although among the controllers behind the five continents, only the Goddess of Dark Night had an indifferent attitude toward necromancers, Colin still did not dare show himself personally to inquire.

Over the past hundred years, Colin had devoted himself to recovering his strength and subduing undead anew in the Undead Realm, remaining isolated from the outside world the entire time.

At this moment, after venting his frustrations, Colin suddenly chuckled and asked Leian, "If you possessed the talent to cultivate Necromancy, would you accept an undead inheritance?"

My fever had finally gone down, but my headache had not eased much. On top of that, my throat hurt and I had a lot of runny nose. I felt awful. I sat in front of the computer for several hours before finally grinding out a chapter.

Also, do any of you have this symptom—insomnia? I had not slept for two nights already. By rights, I should have been exhausted, but instead I felt strangely alert, without the slightest desire to sleep...