Colin

"Sharp eyes!"

A faint smile appeared on the face of the figure in the black robe. The smile seemed devoid of any hostility, but paired with his skin-and-bones appearance, it instead gave off a hair-raising sensation.

At this moment, Leian did not relax in the slightest; instead, his heart grew even more vigilant.

Leian knew exactly what a Saint-level Necromancer represented. He had not only his memories of the descriptions from the original work but also the records he had specifically inquired about regarding Saint-level Necromancers in this world.

This was a terrifying existence capable of becoming an army all by himself!

A powerhouse who practiced Necromancy could not only summon tens or hundreds of thousands of undead to fight but could also control corpses to launch attacks.

Just the thought of fighting an opponent where your side dwindled while theirs grew with every kill was enough to induce despair!

Beyond that, Necromancers possessed many bizarre and terrifying methods, such as "plagues," "curses," "enslavement," and more.

It was precisely because of the horror of Necromancy that those who practiced it were like rats crossing the street, hiding themselves extremely deeply; ordinary people rarely knew of their tracks.

Leian had once asked Derrick about the three major Rule magics, but the Byron royal family, with its eight-thousand-year heritage, only had records of the "Great Prophecy" and "Life Magic," while knowing very little about "Necromancy."

The occasional sporadic record was nothing more than trivial information, such as traces of a battle where a suspected Necromancer had appeared.

With such rare Necromancers, Leian never expected to encounter one so easily, let alone a Saint-level one.

And a Saint-level Necromancer would certainly not lack Saint-level undead in their arsenal. While Leian considered his own strength to be decent, he dared not guarantee he could block the attack of a Saint-level Necromancer.

Seeing Leian's undisguised defense, the black-robed man laughed instead:

"No need to be nervous, I have no ill intent. Your name is Leian, right? My name is Colin Berg; you may call me Colin."

Leian narrowed his eyes. Although he didn't know what the black-robed man was up to, since the other party had taken the initiative to show goodwill, he couldn't keep him at arm's length. He apologized for his previous actions:

"Mr. Colin, I did not know this was your place of cultivation. Please forgive my earlier offense."

After Colin Berg appeared, the Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor had been respectfully coiled behind him, clearly his magical beast companion. Coming over to fight someone else's companion, even if done in ignorance, was somewhat improper.

Colin waved his hand and laughed:

"That is a small matter. If I am not mistaken, what you practice should be the Destruction Rule, which is quite rare.

"Furthermore, looking at the combat power you just displayed, you should have reached the limit of the Saint Realm. I consider myself to have a thorough understanding of the Saint-level powerhouses on the Youquan Continent, yet I have never heard the name 'Leian.' Could it be that you are from another continent?"

Leian smiled without answering directly, instead asking: "It seems Mr. Colin, you must have been in seclusion here for quite some time, right?"

Although Colin was a bit puzzled, he still replied: "I have indeed been here for over a hundred years."

As he said this, his eyes sharpened, as if he had thought of something, and he said in disbelief: "Could it be that you..."

Seeing that the other party had realized, Leian nodded and replied: "I became a Saint seventeen years ago; I am forty-seven this year."

"What, you are only forty-seven?"

Colin was shocked, seemingly unable to believe his ears. After a long while, he sighed:

"A genius. Leian, you are a genius beyond reproach. A Saint-level limit powerhouse at forty-seven—as far as I know, in the last hundred thousand years, Leian, you are the first!"

Leian smiled. Although being praised felt good, in his eyes, the title of "genius" was quite watered down.

On the Youquan Continent, becoming a Saint within fifty years was considered genius, but in the vast planes, this was nothing. Beirut from the original work had said that true geniuses become Gods in ten years, Median Gods in a hundred, and Highgods in a thousand.

Compared to those people, other so-called "geniuses" would die of shame.

However, Colin's tone was full of sincerity. Although Leian could not discern the other party's intentions for the moment, his internal vigilance did not diminish. He humbly replied:

"Mr. Colin, you overpraise me. In front of a Saint-level Necromancer, Leian would not dare call himself a genius."

Upon hearing this, Colin shook his head:

"Leian, you are being modest. Although I am a Necromancer, it took me over six hundred years to become a Saint-level mage. Compared to you, I am far behind.

"Moreover, if I am not mistaken, your spiritual energy is likely far stronger than that of an average Saint-level warrior."

Having said this, he paused and continued:

"Under normal circumstances, after a warrior reaches the Saint Realm, their spiritual energy is only comparable to an eighth-rank mage, but your spiritual energy, Leian, is likely not inferior to a peak ninth-rank Great Mage."

Hearing this, Leian felt a chill in his heart. He had never told anyone outside his family that he also cultivated his spiritual energy. He did not expect this Colin to see it at a glance.

Should one say, as expected of a Saint-level mage who practices the Necromancy Rule?

While pondering, Leian nodded openly and praised: "Mr. Colin has sharp eyes!"

Colin smiled and did not probe further into this matter, instead asking: "I wonder what your opinion is on Necromancy, Leian?"

Leian's heart stirred, and he had a vague guess. He subconsciously glanced at the other party, and after a moment of thought, he said:

"Although Necromancy is viewed negatively by the world, as one of the four major Rules, I do not believe there is a hierarchy between them. Good and evil lie in human actions, not in the rules. Practitioners of Necromancy should not be suppressed as long as they do not slaughter the innocent."

Upon hearing this, Colin chuckled, "Leian, I can see that these words come from your heart. In fact, many people understand the logic you speak of, but do you know why they still reject and disparage Necromancy?"

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

"Naturally, because this power is not under their control," Colin said with a darkened expression and a cold sneer.

"Those people don't reject Necromancy; they are angry that those who practice it are not for their use. Once a Necromancer is willing to defect to them, they will never be stingy with their goodwill."

Looking at Colin's mocking expression, Leian thought to himself, this guy wouldn't be like Sesler, having been captured by some major power, would he?

In fact, Leian was not wrong. More than a hundred years ago, Colin had been living in seclusion in a small town by the sea in the east of the Youquan Continent.

Later, he didn't know how his tracks were discovered by the Dark Church of the Nansen Continent. Because god-level powerhouses had a rule against invading other continents at will, the Dark Pope did not come himself, but secretly dispatched over a dozen peak Saint Realm powerhouses to capture Colin.

Although that battle was very brief, the Saint Realm undead in Colin's possession were reduced to only one, and he himself suffered non-trivial injuries.

To be on the safe side, Colin chose to go into seclusion in the Youquan Mountain Range after the battle. Later, by coincidence, he discovered a Nine-Headed Serpent Emperor with a talent for death and took it as his magical pet.

As for whether the Goddess of Dark Night confronted the Dark Pope after that battle, Colin was not clear. Although among the controllers behind the five continents, only the Goddess of Dark Night held a casual attitude toward necromancers, Colin did not dare to show his face to inquire personally.

Over these past hundred years, Colin had dedicated himself to restoring his strength and re-subjugating undead in the Undead Realm, remaining in a state of isolation from the outside world.

At this moment, after venting his frustrations, Colin suddenly chuckled and asked Leian, who was facing him:

"If you, Leian, had the aptitude to practice Necromancy, would you accept an undead inheritance?"

My fever finally broke, but the headache hasn't eased much. Plus, I have a sore throat and a runny nose; it's miserable. I spent several hours grinding away at the computer just to squeeze out this chapter.

Also, do you guys have this symptom—insomnia? I haven't slept for two nights. Logically, I should be exhausted, but instead, I feel quite energetic right now and don't feel like sleeping at all...