Saint Magus

"Ninth-level undead!"

Leian carefully examined the high-level undead that had ambushed him, genuinely surprised.

Normally, high-level undead controlled an army of undead beneath them. Yet for some reason, this one was alone.

Moreover, compared to the shabby appearance of the pale skeleton he currently possessed, this ninth-level undead looked far more imposing. Its bones were golden, and rather than seeming sinister, it looked almost sacred.

"This should be a Golden Skeleton Archer from the Undead Realm. Unless something unexpected happens, its golden bones should be far stronger than the white skeleton I possessed. If it comes to close combat, I definitely won't gain any advantage!"

Under normal circumstances, the stronger the soul fire, the stronger the undead body should be. However, Leian had only arrived as a projection. He was not truly undead, and the bones he possessed could not grow stronger along with his soul.

With that thought, Leian completely abandoned any intention of fighting. Following the instincts he had gained upon entering the Undead Realm, he shifted his consciousness slightly. The soul fire within the skull abruptly transformed into a streak of spiritual light and shot toward the Golden Skeleton Archer opposite him.

As Leian's soul power left, the pale skeleton instantly lost the force supporting it and scattered across the ground with a clatter.

The Golden Skeleton Archer had probably never encountered such a situation before. Its soul fire trembled violently in shock.

The next moment, as Leian's mental power attached itself to it, the Golden Skeleton Archer's soul fire surged with a whoosh.

Within the tiny golden skeleton, a battle of consciousness officially began.

From the moment he had possessed the white bones, Leian had instinctively comprehended the enslaving ability of the Death Rule. Now that he had entered the Golden Skeleton Archer's body, he intended to enslave it.

Although this Golden Skeleton Archer was a ninth-level undead, its spiritual power was still much weaker than Leian's peak ninth-level mental power.

At first, the two sides could remain locked in a stalemate. But as time passed, Leian's consciousness gradually gained the upper hand. Then, at a certain moment, Leian felt himself break through some kind of restriction and completely took control of the golden skeleton.

"So this is what it feels like to enslave an undead? It seems somewhat different from contracting a magical beast."

Within the Golden Skeleton Archer, Leian's consciousness slowly flowed.

At that moment, although he was merely possessing the golden skeleton, he could both directly control its body to move and indirectly control its actions by enslaving its soul.

Furthermore, because he had directly enslaved its soul, the Golden Skeleton Archer's memories were laid completely bare before Leian. After reviewing them, he learned that the undead was named Delsen and had just led his army in a great battle against another ninth-level Black Knight.

Unfortunately, Delsen had been defeated. To avoid being Devoured, he had fought desperately to break free from the Black Knight's grasp, which was why he was now alone.

"Let's go. We'll return to the battlefield and take a look!"

Leian was somewhat interested in battles between undead, so he immediately controlled Delsen and headed toward the battlefield.

The vast sky was covered by dark clouds that blanketed the earth. Streaks of white light flashed through gaps in the clouds from time to time, accompanied by rolling thunder, as though countless flood dragons were churning within them.

Along the way, Leian encountered several lone low-level undead. Like magical beasts, these undead had strict hierarchies among themselves. As a ninth-level Golden Skeleton, Delsen easily brought those low-level undead under his command.

"It seems that as long as I successfully enslave one or two high-level undead, I can gain an endless army of undead. This is much easier than I imagined."

Watching the undead ranks behind him steadily grow, Leian could not help but sigh.

By the time he reached the battlefield, Leian discovered that the Black Knight had already left. All that remained were scattered limbs and severed arms, along with disorderly wisps of gray mist drifting through the air.

When a mass of gray mist floated past him, Leian subconsciously controlled the Golden Skeleton to reach out and grab it, examining the mist in his hand.

"This is... Plague Aura!"

Leian's heart stirred. At that moment, he finally understood the significance of undead inheritance. No wonder Colin had said that the key to undead inheritance lay in sensing the Undead Realm.

Indeed, every method of a Necromancy mage came from the Undead Realm. There were plagues here, deadly poisons, curses, and much more.

As long as one thoroughly studied these things, one would naturally gain the corresponding means. There was no need to record them, nor was there any need for someone else to teach them.

Having truly understood the meaning of undead inheritance, Leian began controlling Delsen to wander through the Undead Realm and broaden his knowledge.

He did not know how much time passed. Only when a wave of exhaustion struck did Leian remember to withdraw his consciousness and return to reality.

Stone chamber in the canyon

Feeling his nearly depleted mental power, Leian laughed at himself. It was his first time entering the Undead Realm, and the novelty of it had made him forget the time.

He suppressed the urge to summon undead and began meditating to recover his mental power.

Time slowly passed. At a certain moment, just as Leian felt his mental power was about to recover, a sudden palpitation rose from his soul.

"Hm? This is... I'm about to break through?" Delight appeared on Leian's face.

At that moment, the sea of souls in his mind suddenly roared. The soul crystal glowing with seven-colored light was trembling violently, as though some change was about to occur.

"Rumble—"

As the frequency of its trembling reached its peak, the entire sea of souls suddenly shuddered. His near-tangible mental power finally began to transform.

Leian could clearly feel that his mental power was undergoing a qualitative change. Although its quantity was decreasing, it had become far more refined.

At the same time, the soul crystal began to change as well.

When another palpitation entered his heart, Leian quickly directed his consciousness into the sea of souls. Above the vast ocean, a seven-colored orb hung high in the sky.

"A spherical soul?"

Seeing the form of his soul, Leian was truly startled. Ever since he had become able to cultivate the Destruction Rule, he had guessed that he was most likely a sword-shaped soul. He had never expected it to be a sphere.

This sphere probably counted as a weapon too, right?

Or perhaps it was a Sword Pellet?

Leian guessed wildly. Although he did not understand it, he did not dwell too much on the form of his soul. Once he confirmed that it did not affect his cultivation of the Destruction Rule, he turned his attention to his mental power.

After reaching the realm of a Saint Magus, Leian felt that his entire being had undergone an essential transformation, as though his life itself had evolved to another level.

"The next qualitative transformation will probably only come when I become a god!"

He thought silently.

In the days that followed, Leian continued cultivating Necromancy. Having reached the level of a Saint Magus, he already counted among the most powerful beings in the Undead Realm.

However, he did not deliberately seek out powerful Saint Realm undead to enslave and control. Instead, he devoted himself to studying things such as plagues and poisonous gases.

After all, in the Panlong Universe, plagues and poisonous gases were also part of the Death Rule. Studying them was equivalent to studying the Death Rule.