Inheritance of Necromancy

The body of the Black-Robed Man lay at the cave entrance, his gray-white face still bearing a look of shock and unwillingness from the moment of his death. Dark green blood seeped from his seven orifices, casting an eerie sheen under the moonlight. Lin Yun stood beside the corpse, silent for a moment.

An eighth-rank Necromancer who had lived for hundreds of years had just died before his eyes.

If Morton had not been injured, if his eighth-rank Corpse Demon had still been active, or if his Magic Artifact had been successfully forged—had any one of these conditions been met, Lin Yun would not have been his match. But there are no "ifs" in this world. Dead is dead; no matter how powerful one was in life, one is nothing more than a cold corpse after death.

Lin Yun crouched down and began to inspect Morton's belongings.

The first thing that caught his attention was a ring on the ring finger of Morton's left hand. The ring was dark silver, its surface engraved with intricate magic patterns that glowed with a faint, ghostly light in the moonlight. Lin Yun's heart skipped a beat—he had seen something similar in the stories told by Delin.

A Space Ring.

This was an extremely rare magic item, containing an independent space created within it, used for storing objects. The method for crafting Space Rings had long been lost; across the entire Yulan Continent, the number of such rings could be counted on one hand, and each one was worth a fortune.

Lin Yun carefully removed the ring from Morton's finger. It felt slightly cool to the touch and as light as a feather. He attempted to probe it with his spiritual energy—there was no resistance. Morton was dead, and the spiritual imprint on the ring had dissipated along with him; it was now an ownerless object.

As his spiritual energy passed through the magic patterns on the surface, Lin Yun "saw" a space roughly one hundred meters in length, width, and height.

His breathing suddenly quickened. With this Space Ring, traveling in the future would be much more convenient!

The space was packed with items—gold coins, magic cores, magic books, various magic materials, several changes of black robes, and some bottles and jars whose purposes he could not identify. The number of gold coins was staggering; a rough estimate suggested at least nearly a million, piled together like a small hill. There were also many magic cores, ranging from third-rank to eighth-rank, with dozens of eighth-rank cores among them, emitting light of various colors.

But what truly caught Lin Yun's attention were the magic books.

He used his spiritual energy to "retrieve" the books one by one to examine them closely. Most of the books were theoretical works on necromancy—Foundations of Necromancy, Refining and Controlling Corpse Demons, Advanced Soul Power, Undead Realm Summoning... The mere titles of these books made Lin Yun's heart palpitate. This knowledge was forbidden in any nation; once discovered in one's possession, it would lead to a hunt by the Radiant Church.

However, among these necromancy books, Lin Yun discovered several others that made his heart race even faster.

Complete Collection of Dark Magic Spells (Sixth to Ninth Rank).

Lin Yun could hardly believe his eyes. He carefully opened the book and browsed through it page by page. Earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, dark—among the seven elemental magics, what he lacked most were spells beyond the sixth rank. Delin only knew earth magic, Ernst Institute only taught up to the sixth rank, and he had never been able to obtain spells for the other elements. But now, this book contained all dark-element spells from the sixth to the ninth rank.

It wasn't just dark magic. Lin Yun continued to search and found several other magic books in the Space Ring—Wind Magic Spells (Seventh to Eighth Rank), Thunder Magic Spells (Seventh to Eighth Rank), and Light Magic Spells (Seventh Rank).

Although not complete, each one was a priceless treasure. Wind, thunder, and light—the seventh and eighth-rank spells of these three elements were exactly what he needed most. With these, he would not be left without magic to use after breaking through to higher realms.

"These... are enough for me to study for a long time," Lin Yun muttered, a genuine smile appearing on his face.

He carefully returned the books to the Space Ring and put the ring on his own finger. The dark silver ring was slightly large for the boy's slender finger, but it fit well enough.

Just as he was about to stand up, an object deep within the Space Ring caught his attention.

It was a black stone stele the size of a palm, lying quietly in a corner of the ring. The surface of the stele was rough and uneven, engraved with dense, tiny runes. Those runes did not resemble any known language; they looked more like some kind of ancient mark. The entire stele emitted a faint black light, but this black was not the gloomy black of dark magic; it was a profound black that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

Lin Yun took the stele out.

The moment it touched his hand, he felt a strange power surge from the stele into his consciousness. That power was not as cold as necromancy, nor as scorching as light magic; it was a... neutral, pure power that seemed to come from another dimension.

"What is this?" Lin Yun murmured.

He examined the surface of the stele closely and finally discovered a line of small characters at the very bottom—written in an ancient script, he could barely make them out.

"Necromancy Inheritance Stele."

Lin Yun's pupils contracted sharply.

Delin had once mentioned while explaining the magic system that the magic systems on the Yulan Continent were not equal. The seven elemental magics—earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, and dark—though powerful, were essentially in the category of "laws." And above the laws, there were higher existences.

Rules.

There were three types of rules: the Law of Death, the Life Rule, and the Fate Rule.

The magics corresponding to these three rules were, respectively, necromancy, the High Priest's Life Magic, and the Radiant Church's Great Fate Art. These three magics were known as the three supreme magics of the Yulan Continent, standing above the other seven elemental magics.

When Delin spoke of these, his tone carried a deep sense of awe. "Necromancy corresponds to the Law of Death. When cultivated to the extreme, one can control life and death, communicate with the Underworld, and summon armies of the dead. The High Priest's Life Magic corresponds to the Life Rule; it can bestow life, heal all wounds, and even bring the dead back to life. And the Great Fate Art... that is an existence that even Saint Realm powerhouses are unwilling to mention. Legend says it can see the trajectory of fate and even change it."

Lin Yun had asked Delin at the time, "If necromancy is so powerful, why are there so few who cultivate it?"

Delin was silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Because there are two harsh conditions for cultivating necromancy. First, the soul must be extremely pure. Necromancy acts directly upon the soul and the power of death; if the soul is not pure enough, it is easily eroded by the power of death, turning one into a mindless undead creature. Second, the cultivator must be able to perceive the existence of the Law of Death. The Law of Death is not as intuitive as elemental laws; it requires extremely high comprehension and a special soul talent."

"Across the entire Yulan Continent, the number of people who can satisfy both conditions can be counted on one hand. Moreover, necromancy is regarded as heresy by the Radiant Church; once a cultivator is discovered, they are hunted down. Therefore, necromancers have become fewer and fewer, and by now, they have almost gone extinct."

Lin Yun looked at the black stone stele in his hand, complex emotions churning in his heart.

An extremely pure soul.

His soul had experienced the accumulation of three lifetimes and had been repeatedly tempered by the Small Cauldron; both its strength and purity far exceeded that of ordinary people. As for perceiving the Law of Death... he did not know if his comprehension was sufficient, but at the very least, he was willing to try.

Necromancy, one of the three supreme magics, corresponding to the Law of Death.

If he could learn necromancy, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap. Seven elemental magics plus necromancy—cultivating eight types—no, not eight types; necromancy was a power at the level of rules, not on the same level as elemental magic. Mastering necromancy was equivalent to mastering a path leading to a higher realm.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and made his decision.

"I want to try."

Bebe crouched on his shoulder, tilting its head to look at the black stone stele. Its little nose twitched a few times, and then it let out two "chi-chi" sounds, as if saying, "This thing is a bit strange."

Lin Yun patted its little head and put the stele back into the Space Ring.

Now was not the time to study necromancy. He was still in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and new dangers could appear at any time. It would not be too late to study this stele slowly once he returned to the academy, to a safe place.

Lin Yun stood up and took one last look at Morton's corpse.

An eighth-rank Necromancer, once a powerhouse who had dominated the scene, was now nothing more than a cold corpse. His Magic Artifact had not been forged, his revenge had not been realized, and his necromancy inheritance had fallen into the hands of a twelve-year-old boy.

Fate, at times, is truly ironic.

Lin Yun turned and walked into the cave, arriving before the altar deep within.

The altar was constructed from black rock and covered in dense, intricate magic runes. Suspended in the very center was a semi-finished dark green crystal, radiating a potent aura of necromancy. This was the Magic Artifact that Morton had refused to give up even in death—his hope, his obsession, and his final gamble to turn the tables.

Lin Yun looked at the crystal and fell silent for a moment.

Then, he raised his right hand, condensing a beam of light-elemental purifying energy.

"Holy Light: Purification."

White radiance enveloped the entire altar. The dark green crystal trembled violently within the light, the necromantic aura hissing and dissipating rapidly like ice scorched by fire. Cracks began to appear on the surface of the crystal, growing larger and denser until, finally, it shattered with a loud crash.

Dark green shards scattered across the floor, and the necromantic aura vanished completely. The runes on the altar lost their luster, leaving behind nothing more than a block of ordinary black rock.

Morton's final obsession had vanished at this very moment.

Lin Yun withdrew his hand and let out a long breath.

"It's over."

He turned and walked out of the cave. Moonlight spilled into the valley, coating everything in a layer of silver radiance. The distant forest rustled in the night breeze, sounding like the whispers of countless spirits.

Bebe was perched on his shoulder, its little head bobbing as it seemed to doze off. It had been exhausted these past few days, secretly guarding Lin Yun through every battle and ready to strike at any moment.

Lin Yun reached out to stroke its little head, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

"Let's go, let's head home."

He quickened his pace, walking out along the valley.

The Space Ring on his finger glowed faintly, filled with gold coins, magic cores, spellbooks, and that Necromancy Inheritance Stele. The gains from this trial far exceeded his expectations.

But he knew that these were not his greatest rewards.

The true rewards were the combat experience honed through life-and-death struggles, the breakthrough in his magic realm achieved in desperate straits, and the mental energy that had become more solid and pure after being tempered by the Small Cauldron.

These were the things that truly belonged to him.

Moonlight spilled onto the forest path, stretching his shadow out long.

Bebe was curled up on his shoulder, already fast asleep, its small body rising and falling gently with his footsteps.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and quickened his pace.

Ernst Institute, he was coming back.