"First is storage. As a king, I naturally need soldiers and generals under my command. Any being that has reached the Titled Sage level in reality will be captured and stored within the Throne if they die within a certain range of me. When I need them, I can release them to fight for me."
Sitting on the throne, Wu Ling described an ability that would make every Titled Sage on the continent shudder.
If this had appeared in the era of Soul Land 2, this sort of soul-tampering skill would absolutely have been treated as the mark of an evil Spirit Master.
"Mm, mm. It applies to Titled Sage-level beings, so it does not distinguish between friend and enemy. That is important." Rose recorded while analyzing. "Looking at it from another angle, if one of our own Titled Sages is dying, entering the Throne could also serve as a way to extend life. They would lose freedom, but life would continue. To certain people, that might still be a profit."
"And if you capture an enemy who refuses to cooperate, I assume the main body has some compulsory method?"
Wu Ling nodded. "Correct. But that follows in order. After storage comes the second ability: absorption."
"I can absorb the power of everyone stored within the Throne. In other words, the more people I store, the stronger I become."
"Is there an upper limit?" Rose asked.
"At present, I cannot sense one."
"Good. Continue."
Without realizing it, Wu Ling straightened his posture. Rose noticed the change in his expression.
"So the first two were only appetizers. The most important part is coming," she thought.
"The third and most important ability is summoning."
Wu Ling continued, "Through the Throne, I can summon Heroic Spirits from my memory. As for the medium, I can use either a Soul Beast's Spirit Ring or a Titled Sage stored inside the Throne."
"I see. That can solve the problem of disloyal Titled Sages while increasing our fighting strength." Rose tapped her pen against her notebook. "But the key word is memory, correct? That means Heroic Spirits who appeared after you left cannot be summoned. That is a bit unfortunate."
"In that case, if you slaughtered your way through Star Soul Forest, could you not build a Heroic Spirit army directly?"
"Theoretically, yes. In practice, there are problems," Wu Ling explained. "Summoning requires Spirit Power, and after they are summoned, manifestation and combat still require me to provide energy personally. I can summon them in advance and store them inside the Throne, but whether they can manifest or fight depends on my total Spirit Power. So a Heroic Spirit army is impossible unless someone gives me a dozen or so Holy Grails."
"Understood. Then I will continue researching Holy Grail-type energy crystals." Rose closed her notebook. "Anything else? If not, who did the seventh Spirit Ring summon? Other Spirit Masters can only gain Martial Soul True Form from their seventh ring, but according to what you said about the Throne, you should also have summoned a Heroic Spirit when you gained it."
At that, Wu Ling immediately grew excited.
"Yes. I did summon someone, and he is quite the incredible one. No need for more words. I will show you directly."
Wu Ling waved his hand forward. A complex crimson Magecraft array appeared on the ground before him and Rose.
As Wu Ling poured Spirit Power into it, the red array grew brighter and brighter. At last, light flashed, and a gleam of gold appeared within the formation.
"Come forth, Hero of Charity: Karna!"
When the smoke cleared, a Heroic Spirit with pale skin, white hair, a black bodysuit, and golden armor stood within the array.
"Servant, Lancer. My True Name is Karna. I look forward to serving you."
Karna glanced at Wu Ling on the throne. The contract rooted in his soul identified Wu Ling as his Master, so he knelt on one knee at once.
"Hm. This place is... another world?" Karna asked in a calm voice. He had not received knowledge from the Holy Grail. Instead, the information about this world had come from his Master.
Yet even if it was another world, that did not matter. He needed only to serve his Master.
"Rose, prepare the field. Karna, come with me. Let us have a fight."
Rose understood Wu Ling's battle-loving personality, so she hurried off to prepare the training ground.
After receiving information from Wu Ling, Karna also understood that this world possessed Spirit Masters. He accepted Wu Ling's desire to fight him readily.
During that time, the servants of Wu Ling's residence gradually woke up and received four congratulatory gifts.
"Ghost and Chrysanthemum I can understand, but what is going on with Theron Albion and Goran Tremor?" Wu Ling asked.
The awakened steward hurriedly explained. Because of the cultivation method Wu Ling had distributed, Theron Albion had reached Titled Sage several years earlier than expected. Goran Tremor had also relied on the cultivation method Wu Ling provided, then spent heavily to purchase an earth-element spiritual herb from Spirit Hall, allowing him to break through to Titled Sage in one push. Both breakthroughs were deeply connected to Wu Ling, so once they sensed his aura, they had gifts sent over.
"My influence has already begun. Once I finish sorting through these gains, it is time to meet our protagonist, Tang San."
Wu Ling planned the next few days and casually told the steward to throw the gifts into the storage room.
Just then, Rose's voice reached him. "Main body, the training ground is ready."
Wu Ling's eyes brightened. After dismissing the steward, he headed toward the training ground. As he walked, he kept thinking through Karna's information.
"Karna, son of the sun god Surya from the Indian epic Mahabharata. The Hero of Charity."
"Base parameters: Strength B, Endurance C, Agility A, Mana B, Luck D, Noble Phantasm EX."
"But for Karna and the other members of the golden trio, base values are only for reference. What makes them Gil-level Servants is their Noble Phantasms."
"Karna has the divine armor that even gods cannot easily breach and the god-slaying spear that destroys in a single strike. On defense, there is Kavacha and Kundala, O Sun, Become Armor, which reduces all damage to one-tenth. On offense, there is the single-target Brahmastra, the wide-area Brahmastra Kundala, and the anti-divine, or rather anti-outside-the-world, Vasavi Shakti, O Sun, Abide to Death."
"On top of those Noble Phantasms, his martial skill is also excellent. With Mana Burst (Flame), he fears no one in close combat. All-around offense, flawless defense, and A-rank Agility. He truly is a top-class Servant. I am getting excited just thinking about it."
As those thoughts passed through Wu Ling's mind, seven Spirit Rings rose around him. The seventh crimson ring lit up. Golden armor gradually covered his body as he walked.