Chapter 141: Silver Mountain Ridge
Flame God carried them through the air, his crimson-gold light streaking across the sky, passing over mountains and rivers, and before long, they arrived at a desolate yet monster-infested Wilderness Area.
This place was called Silver Mountain Ridge.
The core reason for choosing this as a leveling spot was that it was far from Shanhai City, its location remote, and very few Class Holders came here to level up on a daily basis.
Precisely because of this, the monsters in the area had not been over-hunted, and their numbers were vast enough to support them in grinding levels for a long time.
More importantly, the level range of the monsters here was generally between 60 and 120.
After arriving above Silver Mountain Ridge, Flame Godwaved his hand, and the soft light screen enveloping the group slowly dissipated, setting Jiang Yuan, Zhao Biao, and the others down steadily onto a relatively flat open space.
Subsequently, before the group could even thank him, the crimson-gold flames around Flame God surged again, turning into a streak of light that shot straight into the sky and vanished into the clouds in an instant, without him saying a single extra word from start to finish.
Zhao Biao and the others looked at the departed Flame God with complex expressions.
If Tang Qiyuan was a tool, then in reality, 'Flame God' was even more of a qualified tool!
He came when called and left when dismissed, handling things very cleanly and efficiently.
Regarding this, Jiang Yuan couldn't be bothered to explain too much to the others, only saying that his master 'Flame God' had such a personality and did not like dealing with strangers.
"Are we going to level up here?"
Zhao Biao's gaze swept over the dark and oppressive wilderness environment; the air was permeated with a thick, beastly stench, and the faint roars of monsters could be heard in the distance, making him unable to help but feel a bit uneasy, his voice even trembling slightly.
The few of them were just Class Holders who had just completed their Second-Rank, and the highest level among them, Luo Hang, was only level 33.
Yet the monsters in this Wilderness Area were at least level 60, and a level 120 monster BOSS could crawl out at any moment.
This level gap was simply heaven and earth; rashly leveling up here was no different from seeking death!
"Don't worry, aren't I still here?"
"Furthermore, with my master secretly escorting us, what do you have to be afraid of?"
"Since he dared to leave us here, he certainly won't let anything happen to us."
Seeing everyone's nervous expressions, Jiang Yuan smiled and reassured them.
"That's right, we believe in you!"
Zhao Biao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
The others also tacitly agreed, and the unease in their hearts eased slightly.
After all, it was impossible for Jiang Yuan to harm them.
If he really wanted to harm them, why would he have gone through the trouble of rescuing them from the Zhou Familydungeon in the first place? Wouldn't that be redundant?
"Let's form a party first!"
Jiang Yuan didn't say anything more and directly opened the party interface, sending party invitations to Zhao Biao, Luo Hang, Jiao Yuefeng, and the others one by one.
"Ding!"
The notification sound for a successful party formation had just faded when Zhao Biao was the first to check the party information.
Immediately after, he widened his eyes abruptly and couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
"Jiang Yuan, you're already level sixty!"
Hearing this, the others also hurriedly checked the party details, and they saw that Jiang Yuan's level was clearly displayed as level 60, with the Profession column marked with the four characters "Instant Cast Mage".
Although an Instant Cast Mage was an Elite-grade Profession, it was an extremely rare special heritage, far more powerful than their ordinary Elite-grade Professions.
Moreover, in Shanhai City and the surrounding areas, there had never been a record of an Instant Cast Mageprofession heritage.
However, thinking that Jiang Yuan's master was a top-tier Saint Mage like Flame God, everyone felt it was only natural.
With the help of such a powerful Saint Mage master, it didn't seem strange at all that Jiang Yuan could undergo Class Advancement into a rare Instant Cast Mage.
"You're already level sixty; logically, you should be able to undergo a Third-Rank, right?"
Zhao Biao asked again, his eyes full of envy.
The gap between a Third-Rank Class Holder and a Second-Rank was another huge chasm.
"I am indeed preparing for the Third-Rank, but I haven't obtained the profession heritage needed for the Third-Rank yet."
Jiang Yuan responded casually, his tone flat, as if level sixty was just a small matter to him, "Enough talk, let's start leveling up!"
Everyone knew clearly that there was a huge level gap between them and Jiang Yuan!
It was over twenty-five levels.
For every five-level difference between Class Holders, the experience points gained from killing monsters would be reduced by 10%.
A twenty-five-level difference meant they could only obtain 50% of the base experience.
Fortunately, they had all completed their Second-Rank; if anyone was still stuck at the First Transfer, the experience points would be reduced by an additional 30%, and in that case, the leveling efficiency would be greatly discounted.
The one thing Silver Mountain Ridge didn't lack was monsters.
Not long after Jiang Yuan and the others stood still on the open ground, the surrounding grass began to shake violently, and dozens of ghostly green eyes lit up in the dim light, locking onto them tightly.
It was precisely the most common monster in this area.
The Silver Moon Demon Wolf!
These Silver Moon Demon Wolves were extremely robust, with adult individuals having a shoulder height of over two meters and a body length of nearly four meters, their bodies covered in fine, silver-gray fur that shimmered with a faint silver light in the dim environment, as if covered by a layer of moonlight.
Their limbs were thick and powerful, and the sharp claws under their paws were as sharp as knives, flashing with a chilling light; just by stepping casually, they could leave deep claw marks on the ground.
The Silver Moon Demon Wolf's head was streamlined, and when its mouth opened, it revealed two rows of sharp fangs, with crystalline drool hanging from them, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.
The most eye-catching feature was their tails, which were fluffy and long, with a tuft of pure white fur at the tip; that was the key part for them to release Skills.
As level 60-80 monsters, Silver Moon Demon Wolves not only possessed extremely fast speed but were also adept at releasing two Skills: "Moonlight Slash" and "Silver Mist Lost Tracking".
Moonlight Slash could gather moonlight energy, slashing out a silver energy strike from their claws, with power sufficient to easily tear through the defenses of Second-Rank Class Holders.
Silver Mist Lost Tracking could release a mass of silver-white mist; the mist could not only block vision but also carried a slight paralysis effect, and once caught in it, movement speed would drop significantly.
Even more terrifying was that Silver Moon Demon Wolves always acted in groups and were adept at surrounding their prey; once targeted by them, very few prey could escape.
Awoo!
The leading Silver Moon Demon Wolf raised its head and let out a deafening roar, its voice filled with violence and greed.
Immediately after, dozens of Silver Moon Demon Wolves moved simultaneously, turning into streaks of sharp silver light, carrying a whistling wind as they lunged fiercely at Jiang Yuan and the others from all directions, their claws tearing through the air and making sharp, piercing sounds.
Seeing this, Zhao Biao and the others' faces instantly turned pale, their muscles tensed, and they subconsciously gripped their weapons, their heartbeats sounding like beating drums.
The most powerful monster they had encountered while adventuring before was only level thirty or forty.
Yet the Silver Moon Demon Wolves before them were at least level sixty, their levels a full double that of theirs, and the disparity in strength was so vast that it almost made them lose the courage to even resist.
Chapter 142 Building the Undead Army
"Don't be nervous, I'm here!"
Unlike Zhao Biao and the others who were flustered, Jiang Yuan's expression remained calm.
He had even slain an Abyssal Demon Race BOSS over rank 200, and this group of Silver Moon Demon Wolves around rank 60 right in front of him was simply nothing in his eyes.
He raised his head slightly, lifted his right hand casually, and rich flame energy instantly gathered in his palm, quickly forming a crimson-gold fireball.
Furthermore, it continued to expand, growing to several meters in size within just a few breaths.
Blazing flames danced on the surface of the fireball, emitting a terrifying high temperature that scorched and distorted the surrounding air.
The next instant, Jiang Yuan flicked his wrist slightly, and that huge fireball carried the momentum of destroying heaven and earth, fiercely smashing toward the pouncing group of Silver Moon Demon Wolves!
Rumble!
A deafening explosion rang out, and the huge fireball exploded fiercely amidst the wolf pack, the crimson-gold flames sweeping outward like a tsunami, forming a huge sea of fire.
The first few Silver Moon Demon Wolves charging at the very front were instantly swallowed by the flames; they didn't even have time to let out a scream before their silver-gray fur was completely burned away, their flesh quickly carbonized and blackened under the high temperature, and their bones emitting cracking sounds of "crack".
The Silver Moon Demon Wolves in the back were not spared either; the flames instantly spread to them, and the excruciating pain caused by the burning made them roar and roll wildly, yet they were completely unable to extinguish the flames on their bodies, only struggling in pain within the sea of fire for a moment before completely losing their breath and turning into a pile of charred corpses.
In just a fleeting instant, dozens of Silver Moon Demon Wolves were completely wiped out by Jiang Yuan's single spell fireball, without a single live one left behind.
The ground was covered with charred wolf corpses, and the air was filled with a thick smell of burning and blood, mixed with the previous animal stench, making one nauseous.
Zhao Biao and the others had not yet recovered from the shock just now when a series of System notification sounds rang out in their ears one after another.
Although there was an experience penalty brought by the huge rank gap, and Jiang Yuan, as the main damage dealer, obtained most of the experience points while the remaining experience was shared equally among the five of them, even so, the experience points gained by each person were extremely considerable.
After all, the ranks of the Silver Moon Demon Wolves were much higher than theirs, and the base experience points were already very generous.
Boom, boom, boom!
In the following time, deafening explosions constantly came from around Silver Mountain Ridge, and streaks of crimson-gold firelight soared into the sky, illuminating the dim wilderness.
Jiang Yuan was like someone using cheats, leading Zhao Biao and the others deep into Silver Mountain Ridge all the way to level up; whenever they encountered a group of monsters, he would casually release a powerful spell, instantly wiping out the monsters with astonishingly high efficiency.
Zhao Biao and the others hardly needed to make a move; they only needed to follow behind Jiang Yuan to continuously obtain massive amounts of experience points, and their ranks began to rise rapidly.
"Jiang Yuan, could this rank 60 of yours be a rank 60 of the Third-Rank!"
Zhao Biao sighed repeatedly.
Jiang Yuan's spell damage was simply too heaven-defying!
Even those Tier-3 monsters with ranks higher than 60 were easily killed by Jiang Yuan.
To say Jiang Yuan was a Third-Rank mage was not an exaggeration at all.
Relying on Jiang Yuan's terrifying output capability, their leveling efficiency was astonishingly high; in less than half a day, the ranks of Zhao Biao and the others soared rapidly like riding a rocket.
Jiang Yuan was not limited to the initial leveling area either, instead leading them deeper step by step and occasionally venturing into some more Advanced monster zones to let them experience stronger pressure.
"Jiang Yuan, we want to tell you something."
When Jiang Yuan had brought Zhao Biao and the others' ranks all up to rank 50, Zhao Biao took the initiative to find Jiang Yuan and said with a solemn expression.
"What is it?"
Jiang Yuan looked at him doubtfully.
"We plan to go out alone to kill monsters and no longer grind levels with you."
Zhao Biao took a deep breath and stated their decision, "Depending on you during this time, we leveled up too fast, but always reaping without sowing like this means our practical combat experience simply cannot keep up with the speed of our rank increases, and... we can't rely on you for a lifetime."
"Yeah, Jiang Yuan, your strength is too great; following you gives us no chance to make a move at all, and in the long run, we will only become flowers in a greenhouse."
"Only by personally going into battle can we truly master the skills of our new class, adapt to the power brought by leveling up, and thereby enhance our practical combat experience and combat power."
Luo Hang, Jiao Yuefeng, and the others on the side also nodded in agreement one after another.
"You guys have only just reached rank 50; I might as well bring you up to rank 60."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan slightly knitted his brows and tried to persuade them.
"No need, Jiang Yuan, we have already decided."
Zhao Biao said in a firm tone, "You have already helped us too much, saving us from the dungeon and leading us to level up quickly; this kindness is engraved in our hearts. But the road of leveling up must ultimately be walked by ourselves, and even if we encounter danger, it is a growth we must experience."
Seeing that Zhao Biao and the others had a resolute attitude and were not shaken in the slightest despite repeated persuasion, Jiang Yuan also understood their intentions.
He knew that they didn't want to live under his protection forever and wanted to grow by their own strength; this aspiration was most commendable.
Jiang Yuan could lead them to level up once or twice, but it was impossible to keep leading them to level up forever.
Even if both parties were friends with an exceptionally good emotional relationship.
Yet the more it was like this, the more Zhao Biao cherished this friendship.
Furthermore, Zhao Biao knew very well that the distance between himself and Jiang Yuan would probably grow further and further apart; retaining some emotional ties now would allow him to ask Jiang Yuan for a helping hand if some critical life-or-death matter truly arose in the future.
If he wasted this remaining goodwill right now, he wouldn't even be able to find Jiang Yuan for help in the future!
"Alright, I respect your decision."
Helplessly, Jiang Yuan had no choice but to nod and agree.
Afterwards, Jiang Yuan had the tool person 'Flame God' personally escort Zhao Biao and the others to a monster zone of ranks 50 to 60.
The strength of the monsters in this area was moderate, which happened to be suitable for them who had just reached rank 50 to temper themselves; moreover, it wasn't too far from the previous leveling spot, so once they encountered danger, he could rush over to support them in time.
"The monsters here are mainly Rock-Spike Wildboars and Green-Wind Wolves. Rock-Spike Wildboars have high defense, and Green-Wind Wolves are fast. Pay attention to cooperation when you fight."
'Flame God' earnestly instructed.
"Thank you, Lord Flame God!"
Zhao Biao and the others nodded hard.
They cupped their fists toward Flame God, turned around, and resolutely walked into the monster zone, their figures quickly disappearing into the dense grass.
Watching the receding backs of the few, Jiang Yuan shook his head gently, and then a trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes.
Parting ways with Zhao Biao and the others was also a good thing for him.
This way, he could completely untie his hands and feet, display his skills to the fullest, and didn't need to deliberately control his output to deal with the monsters.
At this moment, Jiang Yuan looked at the large area of monster corpses around him, a smile curving the corner of his mouth.
He raised his hand toward one of the Silver Moon Demon Wolf corpses and released the Undead Summoning skill.
In a split second, a ghastly white light carrying a thick aura of death surged out from his palm, landing precisely on the Silver Moon Demon Wolf's corpse.
Chapter 143: Undead Authority · Skull of the Skeleton God
Under the shroud of light, the demon wolf corpse began to surge violently, its bones emitting "crack, crack" sounds, flesh rapidly melting away, and in the end, only a complete skeleton remained.
Immediately following that, the skeleton abruptly stood up, two clusters of silver-white soul fires igniting within its eye sockets, precisely an Undead Skeleton Soldier with a body entirely stark white.
This Undead Skeleton Soldier had distinct differences from the Undead Skeleton Soldier with dark purple bones that Jiang Yuan had previously summoned in the dungeon.
After all, Undead Summoning used corpses as core materials, and the summoned undead would inherit a portion of the original characteristics of the corpse.
The skeleton soldier summoned from the Silver Moon Demon Wolf corpse had relatively slender bones, but it was extremely agile, obviously still carrying a hint of the agility characteristics of the Silver Moon Demon Wolf.
However, although it was merely a most basic Undead Skeleton Soldier brought forth through Undead Summoning.
But under the blessing of Jiang Yuan's high enhancement multiplier of one hundred thousand times, the moment this Undead Skeleton Soldier formed, it exuded a terrifying and powerful aura.
Even when facing those monsters over level 100, it was not inferior in the slightest.
Jiang Yuan nodded with satisfaction and successively released the Undead Summoning skill toward the surrounding monster corpses.
Pale lights lit up one after another, and Undead Skeleton Soldiers stood up from the corpses one by one, the deep blue soul fires in their eye sockets flickering, neatly arrayed behind Jiang Yuan. In just a short moment, they converged into a massive Undead Army.
"Advance, annihilate the monsters of Silver Mountain Ridge!"
Jiang Yuan issued battle orders to the Undead Skeleton Soldiers behind him.
The Undead Army emitted a neat roar, holding bone blades and stepping in uniform strides, marching mightily toward the depths of Silver Mountain Ridge.
Upon encountering groups of monsters, the Undead Skeleton Soldiers would swarm forward, their bone blades waving as they chopped precisely toward the vital points of the monsters.
The undead themselves knew no pain, no fatigue, and even feared no death, matched with the terrifying strength brought by the one hundred thousand times enhancement, ordinary high-rank monsters were completely vulnerable before them.
Even some super-strong BOSS-grade monsters, facing the terrifyingly numerous Undead Army, met no other fate than a dead end.
As a result, the undead were responsible for killing monsters in the front.
While Jiang Yuan only needed to follow behind the formation, continuously releasing Undead Summoningskills at the monster corpses to convert new corpses into his own undead soldiers.
Compared to previously leveling up by using the Fireball Spell, even if the enhancement multiplier bonus was controlled for the Fireball Spell, the burning and high temperature would more or less cause damage to the monster corpses, affecting the effect of Undead Summoning.
On the other hand, the Undead Army waving bone blades to kill monsters mostly caused physical damage, and most of the monster corpses could be completely preserved, greatly enhancing the efficiency of Undead Summoning.
As the Undead Army continuously advanced, the monsters along the way were killed endlessly.
The Undead Army was also continuously growing, gradually expanding from the initial few hundred Undead Skeleton Soldiers to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, forming a terrifying torrent that swept across Silver Mountain Ridge and turned heaven and earth upside down.
In the past, numerous monsters would always form beast tides to impact human settlements.
Nowadays, however, it was the Undead Army launching a massive offensive into the monsters' territory.
Jiang Yuan, like the emperor of this Undead Army, calmly followed behind.
On one hand, he directed the advancement of the undead.
On the other hand, he continuously summoned undead.
Soon, mountains and plains were filled with the figures of undead, the silver-gray bones casting a chilling luster in the dim Wilderness Area, countless ghostly white soulfires flickering in the eye sockets, and the uniform footsteps sounded like beating drums, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Wherever they passed, whether it was the fierce Silver Moon Demon Wolf or the thick-skinned Rock Armor Giant Bear, they were instantly torn to pieces, transforming into new undead materials before they even had time to emit a wail.
Furthermore, the region attacked by the Undead Armyshifted from the originally Level 60 to Level 120 Silver Moon Ridge to Giant Peak Valley, where monster ranks all exceeded Level 120.
This Wilderness Area, which was once only extremely dangerous, completely degenerated into a paradise for the undead at this moment, and the extremely terrifying Undead Scourge had already taken shape, beginning to ravage the area from Silver Moon Ridge to Giant Peak Valley.
Just as Jiang Yuan continuously summoned undead and felt the scale of the Undead Army steadily growing, a series of crisp System notification sounds echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Used Undead Summoning once, skill power increased by onefold; current enhancement multiplier: 999,999 times!]
[Ding! Used Undead Summoning once, skill power increased by onefold; current enhancement multiplier: 1,000,000 times!]
[Ding, the enhancement multiplier of Undead Summoning reached 1,000,000 times, obtaining the special effect: Undead Authority · Skull of the Skeleton God]
The instant the System prompt sound fell, Jiang Yuan only felt a massive flood of information pouring into his mind.
At the same time, within the palm of his hand, a purplish-black light suddenly lit up.
After the light dissipated, a palm-sized skull quietly floated in his palm, precisely that "Undead Authority · Skull of the Skeleton God".
This skull was completely different from ordinary undead bones, not being stark white or dark purple, but rather presenting a deep purplish-black, with countless fine golden runes engraved on its surface, and as the runes circulated, they exuded a rich power of undead rules.
Around the skull lingered faint purplish-black Death Qi of the deceased, this Death Qi not being ordinary chilling Qi, but rather carrying a heart-palpitating coercion, as if it could freeze the soul.
Even more shockingly, the bony body was covered with dense, mottled marks.
Looking closely, those marks unexpectedly looked like traces left behind by hundreds of millions of departed souls kowtowing, every single mark containing a hint of pious reverence, converging together to form a majesty comparable to that of gods.
Jiang Yuan instantly knew the origin and function of this Skull of the Skeleton God through the System information.
It was not a mortal object, but rather crafted from the skull of the deity "Skeleton God" of the Undead Realm, serving as a symbol of authority in the Undead Realm.
Jiang Yuan could bestow this Undead Authority upon any undead.
Once bestowed, that undead would immediately forge an exclusive Undead Master contract with the Undead Realm, directly promoting to become an Undead Sovereign.
And this Undead Sovereign would inherit the power, status, and strength of the God of Bones.
Capable of ruling over all creatures of the Undead Realm, ranging from the highest-tier liches, Bone Dragons, and Undead Monarchs down to the lowest-level skeleton soldiers and specters, all would bow down in allegiance to it and obey absolutely.
There were a total of three core abilities of the Undead Sovereign, every single one of which could be called heaven-defying.
First, Undead soul Power.
The combat power of the Undead Sovereign was not fixed, but rather directly linked to the strength of the undead under its command.
The greater the number, higher the rank, and better the quality of the undead under its command, the stronger the combat power of the Undead Sovereign would be.
What was even more terrifying was that the Undead Sovereign could also directly borrow the skills and power of all undead under its command, mastering them instantly without needing to learn, equivalent to possessing all the abilities of an Undead Army.
Chapter 144: Birth of the Undead Sovereign
The second is Life Sharing.
The Undead Sovereign will establish an absolute life link with all Undead under its command. Its health points will no longer be its own base health points, but the sum of its own base health points and the health points of all Undead under its command.
Even if the main body of the Undead Sovereign suffers fatal damage, as long as there is still one Undead surviving under its command, it will not truly die. Its residual soul will automatically inhabit the body of that surviving Undead, and by consuming Death Qi energy, it can reshape its physical body in a short time.
In addition, the Undead Sovereign can also actively share the damage it receives among any number of Undead.
For example, when enduring a Forbidden Spell capable of destroying heaven and earth, it can evenly distribute the damage to one million Undead, bearing only one-ten-thousandth of the impact itself. Even if those Undead that shared the damage disintegrate on the spot, the Sovereigncan consume Death Qi to quickly resurrect them.
Third, Infinite Resurrection.
As long as the Skull of the Skeleton God is not destroyed, all Undead under the command of the Undead Sovereignpossess the ability of infinite resurrection.
Even if an Undead is smashed to pieces, as long as the Skull of the Skeleton God remains, the Sovereign can consume Death Qi to instantly resurrect it, and the strength of the resurrected Undead will not suffer any loss.
However, this does not mean that the Undead Sovereignachieves true immortality and infinite resurrection in the real sense.
What is truly immortal and possesses the ability of infinite resurrection is this Skull of the Skeleton God itself.
Whoever wields the Skull of the Skeleton God is the Undead Sovereign.
Once the Skull of the Skeleton God changes hands, the former sovereign will lose all privileges and be reduced to an ordinary Undead.
Furthermore, when the Undead Sovereign has hundreds of millions of Undead under its command and its strength reaches a certain threshold, it can also use the power of the Skull of the Skeleton God to ascend into a true God of Bones and become the true Sovereign of the Undead Realm!
"This Undead Authority is truly amazing!"
Feeling the heavy authority emanating from the Skull of the Skeleton God in his palm, a flash of shock crossed Jiang Yuan's eyes, which was immediately replaced by intense excitement.
He never expected that after the amplification multiplier of the Undead Summoning skill reached one million times, it could unlock such a heaven-defying special effect.
With this Skull of the Skeleton God, his Undead Army will truly become an unsolvable existence. Let alone Seventh Rank Saint-level experts, even emperor-grade or imperial-grade experts, he would still have the strength to fight them!
Jiang Yuan tightly gripped the Skull of the Skeleton God in his palm, his eyes radiating a burning brilliance, and his tone was full of amazement.
He was well aware that the special effects unlocked after his other skills reached million-level amplification, even if possessing Law-level power, ultimately had certain limits, and the room for improvement had clear boundaries.
But this Undead Authority was different; it was equivalent to a path of growth that could extend infinitely, with no upper limit to speak of.
The more Undead under its command, the higher their rank, and the better their quality, the stronger the Undead Sovereign would infinitely become!
Even if Jiang Yuan's own strength stopped improving, as long as the Undead Army continued to expand, the Undead Sovereign could continuously break through the bottleneck, climbing all the way from its current rank to reach the eighth, ninth, tenth tiers, or even step into the Divine Realm that countless Class Holders dreamed of!
At this moment, a strong palpitation stirred in Jiang Yuan's heart, making him wish he could immediately transform into the Undead race and personally wield this Undead Authority.
To be honest, if he were to achieve godhood through the shortcut of the Undead Authority, it would be much simpler and faster than relying on his own cultivation and slowly leveling up to step into the Divine Realm.
"What a pity, this Undead Authority is restricted to the Undead!"
Jiang Yuan let out a soft sigh, his tone carrying a hint of regret. "The Undead are good, but I still want to be a human!"
He always acted according to his heart. Becoming an Undead could indeed quickly lead to godhood, but losing the warmth and emotions of being a "human," such a Divine Realm was completely meaningless to him.
But upon a second thought, he felt relieved!
Although he could not become the God of Bones, the God of Bones would ultimately be his subordinate!
Thinking of this, the regret in Jiang Yuan's heart instantly vanished, replaced by a full sense of accomplishment.
The Undead Sovereign, just like the Spirit Ruins Azure Phoenix, was a core combat force under his command, but the nature of the two was completely different.
The Spirit Ruins Azure Phoenix was an equal combat partner with an extremely high degree of freedom, and Jiang Yuan could not forcibly command her to do anything.
As for the Undead Sovereign and him, it was more like a solid master-servant contract, absolutely obeying any of his instructions.
After all, the power of the Undead Sovereign originated from the Undead Authority, and the Undead Authority itself was Jiang Yuan's skill special effect.
Jiang Yuan could not strip away the combat power of the Spirit Ruins Azure Phoenix, but he could easily control the life, death, glory, and disgrace of the Undead Sovereign!
As long as his thought stirred, he could instantly strip away all authority and power of the Undead Sovereign, turning it back into a completely ordinary Undead with no power to resist.
"This Undead Authority, I will give it to you!"
Jiang Yuan no longer hesitated. His gaze swept past the Undead Army before him, precisely locking onto a figure at the very front of the procession.
That was an Undead dressed in a black imperial robe, embroidered with intricate death patterns that slowly flowed and shifted with its breathing.
Its entire body was permeated with dense Death Qicondensed from hundreds of millions of resentful souls. Within the Death Qi, it was also wrapped in a layer of grayish-white light several zhang thick, which was a symbol of extreme Death Qi condensed to its apex.
It stood proudly above countless Undead Skeleton Soldiers, its figure a head taller than ordinary Undead, naturally carrying an imperial coercion that looked down upon the world, filled with immense oppression!
This was the Undead Monarch!
When Jiang Yuan's Undead Summoning skill reached a hundred-thousand-fold amplification, the unlocked special effect was the "Undead Scourge."
When the number of Undead under his command broke through the one-million level, an Undead Monarch would automatically transform.
The Undead Monarch before him had impressively reached the Seventh Rank. Compared to the one he had previously encountered in the Lone City of the Eastern Palace Dungeon, its strength was not inferior in the slightest, and because it was born from an even more massive Undead Army, its foundation was even slightly deeper.
Having such a Seventh Rank Undead Monarch wield the Undead Authority was undoubtedly the most suitable choice!
"Come, Undead Sovereign who rules over the Undead Realm!"
As soon as Jiang Yuan's thought fell, his intent had already been transmitted out.
The Undead Monarch below seemed to sense something instantly, slowly raising its head to look in the direction where Jiang Yuan was located. Two dark, dim beams of light suddenly shot out from its hollow eye sockets, carrying inquiry and awe.
The next instant, the Skull of the Skeleton God, the Undead Authority in Jiang Yuan's palm, transformed into a purple-black stream of light, crossing the Void in a split second and precisely landing in the hand of the Undead Monarch.
The Undead Monarch instinctively gripped the skull. The moment its fingertips touched the deep purple-black bone body, a majestic force of the Undead Law surged into its body like a tidal wave!
Roar!
The Undead Monarch let out a roar that shook heaven and earth. This roar was no longer the brutality of ordinary Undead, but contained the majesty of the Awakening of authority.
Chapter 145: Three Principles
The black imperial robe around the Undead Sovereignfluttered without wind, snapping loudly. The hundreds of millions of resentful spirits and grayish-white Death Qioriginally surrounding its body rolled and converged frantically, as if guided by an invisible force, pouring wildly into its body.
Then, the Undead Sovereign's figure began to expand violently, and its originally pale bones gradually stained with a layer of deep purple-black, echoing the color of the Skull of the Skeleton God from afar.
On the surface of its bones, those previously blurry death patterns became clear, resonating with the golden runes on the Skull of the Skeleton God, slowly circulating, and emitting a rich power of rules.
In the hollow eye sockets of the Undead Sovereign, the deep blue soul fire suddenly surged, transforming into two burning deep purple flames. Within the flames, the entire Undead Realm was faintly reflected, and the phantom images of hundreds of millions of dead souls kowtowing could be seen.
A terrifying aura far exceeding before erupted from the body of the Undead Sovereign, spreading around with it as the center. Wherever it passed, the air was frozen, the ground cracked with dense cracks, and even the space rippled slightly.
This was the process of metamorphosis!
With the continuous integration of the Undead's power of rules, the aura of the Undead Monarch rapidly climbed, rushing all the way from rank 7 to the rank 7 Peak, then breaking through all the way, easily crossing the threshold of rank 8, and it was still continuing to rise!
More importantly, with the Fusion of the Skull of the Skeleton God, its identity had undergone an essential transformation!
From the original rank 7 Undead Monarch, it officially promoted to the Undead Sovereign!
The moment the promotion was completed, the Undead Sovereign slowly opened its eyes, the beating of the deep purple flames carrying the majesty of controlling everything.
"Greetings, Master!"
Holding the Skull of the Skeleton God, the Undead Sovereign slowly knelt on one knee towards the direction where Jiang Yuan was, saluting respectfully, its voice carrying absolute submission.
Originally it was already at rank 7 strength. After being promoted to the Undead Sovereign, its strength not only far exceeded rank 7, reaching the rank 8 Peak, but it could also perfectly control the power of all the undead under its command.
As long as it was willing, it could borrow all the skills and combat power of these millions of undead at any time, and its comprehensive strength was enough to rival a rank 9 powerhouse!
Meanwhile, the undead all over the mountains and plains felt the coercion originating from bloodline and rules on the Undead Sovereign, stopped their movements one after another, turned around neatly, knelt on both knees towards the direction where the Undead Sovereign and Jiang Yuanwere, and emitted a neat and uniform roar.
There was no violence in this roar, only pure awe and submission, like hundreds of millions of subjects worshiping their emperor.
The dense undead covered every inch of land in Jufeng Valley, and the neat kowtowing sound made the earth tremble slightly.
The monsters living in this Wilderness Area, regardless of their rank, were so frightened by the soaring Undead Qi that they lost their Divine Souls, their bodies trembled, and they prostrated on the ground.
From now on, these millions of undead soldiers would have a true Undead Sovereign!
And Jiang Yuan was the absolute controller behind this Undead Sovereign!
"Very good, from now on, this Undead Army will be left to you to manage!"
Jiang Yuan smiled with gratification.
The Undead Sovereign belonged to a high-tier creature and possessed a certain degree of intelligence itself.
After fusing with the Undead authority, it possessed a high degree of intelligence, combat experience and consciousness, as well as the ability to act independently.
Therefore, Jiang Yuan did not need to repeatedly issue orders like before when dominating the Undead Army.
Even when the number of the Undead Army exceeded a certain level, it was already close to a state of being out of control, unable to precisely command every single undead.
But with the Undead Sovereign wielding the Undead authority, this problem would no longer exist.
The Undead Sovereign had absolute control over the Undead Army, and the communication method between the two belonged to the mind transmission unique to the undead, which was simple, direct, and effective.
As for Jiang Yuan, he only needed to issue orders to the Undead Sovereign.
Even without Jiang Yuan's orders, the Undead Sovereigncould make decisions through thinking when facing certain matters.
"First, you will continue to clear out the monsters in the Wilderness Area, continue to transform monster corpses into undead, and continuously increase the number of the Undead Army." (Both the Undead Monarch and the Undead Sovereign possessed the skill of undead transformation)
"Second, if you encounter Human Race Class Holders, mainly drive them away and warn them. Unless it is an absolute last resort, you must not actively kill people!"
"Third, you are only allowed to move within the Wilderness Area, and you must not enter the gathering places of the Human Race, including villages, towns, strongholds, cities, and so on!"
"If you encounter the human army, try to avoid them and do not engage in battle with them... You can also try to negotiate with the Human Race and maintain the principle of peaceful coexistence!"
Jiang Yuan said to the Undead Sovereign.
It was naturally impossible for Jiang Yuan to keep this million-level Undead Army by his side all the time.
Therefore, it must be given a certain right to act independently.
Especially when Jiang Yuan was not around.
However, no matter how the Undead Sovereign made decisions, it must abide by these three principles.
Furthermore, as the scale of the Undead Army continued to expand, it probably wouldn't be long before it was discovered by the surrounding base cities.
To avoid a fight between the two sides, Jiang Yuan had to restrain the Undead Army in advance.
Generally speaking, as long as the Undead Army did not invade human territory and threaten human safety, it would not arouse the hostility of the Federation.
After all, the area of the real world had expanded by more than a hundred times after thousands of years of development.
And the territory occupied by humans was only a very small part of it.
Most areas were instead the territory of monsters.
Therefore, whether the Wilderness Area was dominated by monsters or occupied by the Undead Army was actually about the same to humans and the Federation.
Of course, the premise was not to let humans perceive the threat of the Undead Army!
Otherwise, there was a high probability that an army of Class Holders or powerhouses would be dispatched to solve it.
"You continue to expand the number of the Undead Armyin the Wilderness Area and build a powerful Undead Empire!"
Jiang Yuan decided to let the Undead Sovereign and the Undead Army roam free.
As for bringing them by his side, it was naturally impossible.
If he brought the million-strong Undead Army to Shanhai City, it would probably cause a huge sensation.
Although there was the profession of Necromancer in this world, Necromancers who could control a million-strong Undead Army were few and far between.
Furthermore, Jiang Yuan temporarily did not want to expose this powerful trump card of his.
"As you command, Master!"
The Undead Sovereign's tone was extremely reverent.
It was very clear about its own positioning.
Its strength, power, and everything else were given by its master, Jiang Yuan.
Even, Jiang Yuan could take back all of this at any time and turn it back into an ordinary undead.
"That's it!"
Jiang Yuan glanced at the Undead Sovereign and stared at the Undead authority in its hand for a while.
Even though the Undead authority was in the hands of the Undead Sovereign.
As long as Jiang Yuan's mind moved, he could take it back at any time.
In this way, the Undead Army and the Undead Sovereignwere completely under his control, and there was no need to worry about losing control or rebelling at all.
Even if they were not undead personally transformed and summoned by Jiang Yuan, the undead transformed by the Undead Sovereign would also be controlled by Jiang Yuan.
Chapter 146 Heart Commands Myriad Spirits
[Ding, using Soul Suppression Technique once, skill power doubles; current amplification multiplier: 10,000 times]
[Ding, Soul Suppression Technique amplification multiplier reaches 10,000 times, acquired special effect: Heart Commands Myriad Spirits]
The special effect ability of Heart Commands Myriad Spirits can passively immunize against all impacts, controls, marks, etc., on the mental and soul level below the High tier, and even for High-tier mental and soul skills, there is still a high probability of immunity without being affected.
After active use, it can purify all mental and soul-type control skills of High tier and below, and it also has a certain blocking and immunity effect on skills above the High tier, and the purification effect will last for a very long time.
If during this period, it successfully resists or immunizes against the mental and soul control skill, it will immediately launch a counterattack on the soul level against the caster, causing massive mental damage and backlash.
Every time he actively or passively blocks and immunizes against mental and soul-type control skills, he can permanently increase his own Mental attribute value!
"Damn, the special effect of Heart Commands Myriad Spirits is great!"
Jiang Yuan's eyes flickered with a sharp light.
The development path of Heart Commands Myriad Spiritswas still walking further and further down the road of resisting control in terms of mind and soul.
Even some High-tier mental and soul control skills could do nothing to Jiang Yuan.
But this was not the most important thing.
The important thing was that Heart Commands Myriad Spirits had the effect of permanently increasing Mental Strength!
Every time he blocked and immunized against mental and soul-type control skills, he could permanently increase his own Mental attribute value!
The higher the Mental attribute, the higher the magic and mental resistance, and the less affected he would be by mental and soul skills.
Just like Lightning Tribulation Body Refining, it could continuously enhance his own strength!
However, what Lightning Tribulation Body Refiningincreased was the Physique attribute.
The Physique attribute was more useful for melee classes, and the bonus to mages was not large.
Jiang Yuan was a mage, and as a mage, he possessed a high amount of mental bonuses.
The higher the Mental attribute value, the stronger his own strength would be.
To put it simply.
Right now, one point of Jiang Yuan's Mental attribute could be converted into twenty points of mana value, not to mention the damage and enhancement effects on skills.
However, one point of Physique could only be converted into five points of health value, unlike some tank classes where one point of Physique was equivalent to ten or twenty points of health!
The difference between the two was a full four times.
Even later, as Jiang Yuan's tier and Class Holder rankincreased, this gap would become larger and larger.
This was also the reason why Jiang Yuan added all his free attribute points to Mental every time he obtained them.
Because the mental bonus was high and the cost-effectiveness was high.
If a mage did not add to the Mental attribute and instead added everything to Physique, Strength, and Agility, that would truly be turning the world upside down!
Even if you added one hundred points of attributes to Physique, the little health and defense it added...
were far inferior to the effects brought by using skills with a single point of Mental attribute.
Not to mention anything else, when Jiang Yuan used Thunder Shield Technique, that thick shield and high defensive power were much more effective than adding one hundred thousand or even one million points of Physique.
"Today is the day when the Federal Unified Examinationbegins!"
"It is time to return to the city!"
Jiang Yuan glanced at the figures of the undead everywhere, and issued an order to the Undead Sovereignnot to actively harass human towns.
Afterwards, he did not stay any longer, turned around and sprinted toward the direction of Shanhai City.
On the way back, he conveniently bundled up Zhao Biaoand the others and took them away together.
...
Shanhai City!
Today was the day of the Federal Unified Examination, which was a critical node even more important than the Awakening day.
Just as the sky was dawning, the large playground of Shanhai No. 1 High School was already packed with people, and the clamoring voices rose one after another, converging into a lively ocean.
Looking into the distance, dense figures of students were spread across every corner of the playground. The teenage boys and girls were all in high spirits, and their eyes flickered with a light intertwined with anticipation and tension.
On the previous Awakening day, the participants were only students from Shanhai No. 1 High School.
However, the Federal Unified Examination was different. Within the entire Shanhai City, all combat-class and support-class Class Holder students, including students from other schools, would gather here to participate in the assessment.
As for lifestyle Class Holders, although they also had exclusive Federal assessments, the content and time of the assessments were completely different from the combat classes, so they will not be mentioned further here.
Even after subtracting the lifestyle students who accounted for nearly half, the combat-class and support-class students participating in this Unified Examination still reached over fifteen thousand.
Compared to when they had just undergone Awakeningtheir professions a month ago, the changes in these students could be described as earth-shaking.
Today, each of them was clad in tailor-made Class Holderequipment, with weapons hanging at their waists and armor emitting a cold luster. Their bodies emanated a powerful aura inconsistent with their age, and they had long shaken off the greenness of ordinary students, becoming true Class Holders.
On the high platform on the north side of the playground, figures with dignified expressions were already sitting upright; they were all high-ranking figures of Shanhai City.
Principal Xiao Heng of Shanhai No. 1 High School, as a fourth-transition Class Holder, had considerable prestige in the education circles of the city.
Yet in the viewing stands at this moment, he could only sit at the very edge position, respectfully waiting with a respectful expression.
Right in the central position sat Federal Inspector Tang Qiyuan.
Since the destruction of the Zhou Family, he had not left Shanhai City immediately.
For one thing, he needed to handle the lingering aftermath of the Zhou Family.
Although the core members of the Zhou Family had all been annihilated by Flame God, there were still many collateral relatives, domestic slaves, and remnants of attached forces wandering outside. All these people needed him to take the lead in capturing and bringing them to justice for trial according to law.
Though called capture, the process was actually extremely straightforward. Whenever they encountered remnants of the Zhou Family who put up stubborn resistance, they were basically executed on the spot to eliminate future troubles.
Of course, this work could not be accomplished by him alone; it also required the full cooperation of the City Lord's Mansion to mobilize the forces of the official army and the City Guard, and then unite various major forces in the city to act in coordination.
Secondly, as the Federal Unified Examination was drawing closer day by day, Tang Qiyuan simply decided to stay behind to preside over this Unified Examination.
As an inspector dispatched by the Federation to various localities, supervising local Unified Examinations and ensuring the fairness and justice of assessments was inherently one of his duties.
Besides this, there was also a covert reason why he lingered and had not left yet.
In the Wilderness Area in the northern part of Shanhai City, especially around the Giant Peak Valley of Silver Mountain Ridge, a large-scale undead tribe suddenly appeared.
Although these Undead Army currently had not actively harassed Shanhai City and the surrounding base cities, towns, and villages, seemingly posing no direct threat, the appearance of a large-scale undead was itself a huge unstable factor and could not be ignored in the slightest.
What made Tang Qiyuan even more uneasy in his heart was his vague guess that these undead might be related to Flame God.
After all, Flame God had just stirred up a storm in Shanhai City, and immediately afterwards an Undead Armyappeared, which was simply too coincidental.
Yet even with heavy doubts in his heart, Tang Qiyuan did not dare to investigate deeply, and not even dare to get close.
Previously, he had tried to investigate the background of the Undead Army, but as soon as he approached the edge of Silver Mountain Ridge, he encountered an Undead Monarch whose strength reached at least the seventh rank.
That terrifying death pressure instantly enveloped the entire scene, scaring him so much that he hurriedly rode the Dark Prison Heavenly Lion to flee in a panic, never daring to have any thoughts of getting close again.
Chapter 147: Federal Unified Examination
On the left and right sides of Tang Qiyuan sat City Lordand Class Holder Guild President Song Jingran.
Both of them were high-level Fifth-Tier Class Holders, representing the pinnacle of surface combat power in Shanhai City.
As for Shanhai City's other surface-level Fifth-Tier Class Holder...
Gao Jun, commander of the City Guard, did not appear on the high platform.
At this moment, he was leading elite City Guard soldiers to set up tight cordon defense lines around the playground and key sections of the city.
During the annual Federal Unified Examination, hostile factions such as the Demon God Hall loved to stir up trouble, often sending assassins or spies mixed into the crowds to create riots and assassinate Genius students, thereby weakening the Federation's reserve strength.
Gao Jun's task was to maintain exam hall order with all his might, guard against all potential dangers, and ensure the safety of every student participating in the Unified Examination.
For the people in the spectator stands, besides guarding against sabotage by hostile factions, what they cared about most was the students' grades in this Unified Examination.
In the Federation's resource allocation system, the Unified Examination scores of local students were directly linked to the amount of resources allocated by the Federation the following year.
The more excellent the scores and the more Geniusstudents there were, the more generous the treasure resources, Legacies, and financial subsidies given by the Federation would be.
This not only concerned every student's future, but also directly affected Shanhai City's development potential for the coming years, so they could not afford to take it lightly.
At this moment, they were talking in low voices, occasionally sweeping their gazes over the student group below, their expressions solemn yet carrying a hint of expectation.
"This year, our Shanhai No. 1 High School awakened an epic-grade Class Holder. Based on this alone, we are guaranteed a baseline!"
City Lord withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at Song Jingran beside him, his tone much lighter, clearly placing high hopes on this epic-grade Class Holder.
With such a Genius holding down the fort, Shanhai City's Unified Examination scores this year would at least not be too bad, and the resources allocated by the Federation would also have a basic guarantee.
"It is the Lin Clan's daughter, Lin Muxue, right!"
Song Jingran nodded upon hearing this, already clear-headed in his heart.
Epic-grade Class Holders were extremely rare. In the entire Shanhai City recently, only Lin Muxue of the Lin Clan had awakened an Epic Class, which was long no secret in the city.
He swept his gaze downward along City Lord's line of sight, then turned to the side where Lin Muying, the head of the Lin Clan, was sitting, and asked, "Clan Head Lin, didn't your daughter come back?"
"No, she applied to take the remote assessment in Nanjiang City!"
Hearing someone mention his daughter, Lin Muying finally snapped out of his deep thoughts, looked up at Song Jingran, his tone plain yet unable to hide a trace of absent-mindedness.
"Oh? Remote assessment?"
"Although it is a remote assessment, her scores are still counted toward Shanhai City!"
"With her around, our Shanhai City's resource share for next year is secure."
City Lord raised his eyebrows slightly, then smiled and said, "If more excellent students appear in the assessment, they will also receive strong support from the Federation."
"Mm."
Lin Muying gave a perfunctory response, his thoughts drifting away once again.
Logically speaking, since Lin Muxue did not return to Shanhai City to participate in the Unified Examination, there was no need for him, as the Clan Head, to attend in person.
But the core reason why he bit the bullet and came was only one.
Jiang Yuan!
It had to be said that after Jiang Yuan climbed up to the Saint Mage Master Flame God, his status simply rose with the tide.
What frightened him even more was that in order to vent Jiang Yuan's anger, Flame God had directly wiped out the Zhou Family, which had entrenched itself in Shanhai Cityfor many years. That thunderous method still made his spine chill when he thought about it to this day.
These past few days, Lin Muying could hardly eat or sleep well, his mind filled entirely with the previous matter of breaking up Jiang Yuan and Lin Muxue.
He was terrified that Flame God would remember this matter one day, and in a fit of rage, wipe out the Lin Clanalong with it.
Although the Lin Clan's style of conduct was not as arrogant and domineering as the Zhou Family's, and the crimes they committed were not so countless...
But on this land, whose background was truly clean?
It was merely a matter of whether the Federation investigated or whether strong experts were willing to look into it deeply.
For an existence like Flame God, if he really wanted to find trouble with the Lin Clan, just casually picking out a bit of old accounts would completely crush the Lin Clan.
Actually, Lin Muying had also thought about letting Lin Muxue come back once.
Firstly, to let her personally participate in the Unified Examination to boost the Lin Clan's momentum and influence.
Secondly, he hoped to ease the relationship with Jiang Yuan through Lin Muxue. Even if it was just letting the two meet and exchange a few words, it might dispel Flame God's hostility.
But as soon as this proposal was transmitted to Southern Border, it was directly rejected by Lin Muxue's mentor.
That mentor's reason was very sufficient.
Lin Muxue was in a critical period of strength enhancement, racing against every second. Traveling back and forth would not only waste time and energy, but also disrupt her rhythm, seriously affecting her rank and strength improvement.
Lin Muying naturally did not dare to refute the decision of a Saint-level expert, and could only helplessly abandon this idea.
Speaking of this, Lin Muying's heart was filled with a complex mixture of feelings.
Although Lin Muxue had also entered under the tutelage of a Saint Mage-level mentor at Nanjiang Academy,
but that person was a mentor at Nanjiang Academy with numerous students and disciples. Lin Muxue was just one of them and might not receive too much key cultivation.
But Jiang Yuan was different; he was Flame God's only Direct Disciple.
From Flame God's action of wiping out the Zhou Family for him, it could be seen that the degree of importance attached to him was by no means ordinary.
The weight between the two was simply incomparable!
Thinking of this, Lin Muying couldn't help but quietly raise his eyes, searching for Jiang Yuan's figure among the student group below.
He had to confirm whether Jiang Yuan was present, and even more so, wanted to see Jiang Yuan's current state.
But after scanning a circle, he failed to find that familiar figure in the dense crowd, and the anxiety in his heart increased a bit more.
Song Jingran saw Lin Muying's expression changes in his eyes, already guessing some of the reasons in his heart, but did not point it out.
"Clan Head Lin can rest assured. Although Your ExcellencyFlame God acts ruthlessly, he is not unreasonable."
"As long as the Lin Clan does not actively provoke Jiang Yuan, presumably nothing will happen."
He gently patted Lin Muying's shoulder and comforted him in a low voice.
Song Jingran didn't have much contact with Flame God.
But that time, Flame God took the initiative to visit, asked for the Water Healing Spell, but also left behind a green jade feather.
From this point of view, Flame God was definitely not a person who seized things by force and acted unreasonably.
As for wiping out the Zhou Family, it was also what the Zhou Family deserved.
Even he found the Zhou Family's actions over the years extremely displeasing to the eye.
If not for the Zhou Family having backers, Song Jingranwould have planned to unite the forces of the City Lord's Mansion to deal with the Zhou Family!
Hearing Song Jingran's words, Lin Muying only smiled reluctantly and did not reply.
He understood all the reasoning, but in front of an absolute gap in strength, the so-called "not provoking" provided no guarantee whatsoever.
Unless the conflict with Jiang Yuan could be completely resolved, this stone in his heart would never fall.
As time passed, the morning sun on the horizon gradually rose, and golden sunlight sprinkled over the playground, lengthening the figures of the young boys and girls.
The hustle and bustle on the playground gradually subsided. All students had lined up neatly according to their respective schools and classes, quietly waiting for the formal start of the Unified Examination.
On the high platform, City Lord slowly stood up, swept his gaze across the orderly student group below, cleared his throat, and his robust voice spread across the entire playground through amplification magic.
"The one thousand and sixth Federal Unified Examination, the five hundred and twenty-first local Unified Examination of Shanhai City, officially begins!"
Chapter 148 Assessment in Progress
On the high platform, ten smart machines capable of detecting the rank information of a Class Holder were prominently placed, emitting rays of red light that swept across the students who had come for the test.
"Cao Weiran!"
The cold synthesized electronic voice echoed emotionlessly above the high platform, piercing through the whispers of the crowd.
After lingering briefly on the young man named Cao Weiran, the red light suddenly withdrew, and the test results were announced immediately.
"rank: Level 19 (First Transition), Class: Archer (Common), Result: Fail (Eliminated)!"
The young man's face instantly turned as pale as paper, his hands clenching unconsciously until his knuckles turned white.
He staggered back two steps, the light in his eyes slowly extinguishing bit by bit, and finally dragged his heavy steps out of the test area, his back filled with despair.
Even though he had long known that his rank would definitely not allow him to pass the assessment.
Yet as the first student tested, and the first to be eliminated, his emotions were inevitably a bit low.
The surrounding students subconsciously held their breaths, their gazes looking toward the high platform carrying a bit more dread.
"Lu Zhe!"
Another red light swept past, the electronic voice sounded once again, and the information was synchronously displayed on the screen beside it.
"rank: Level 25 (First Transition), Class: Warrior (Common), Result: Pass (Promoted, Class Holder university assigned based on score)"
The young man named Lu Zhe abruptly clenched his fists, his tense shoulders instantly relaxing, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably, while relief and excitement churned in the depths of his eyes.
He straightened his spine, bowed in salute toward the high platform, and walked lightly down the stage.
"Liu Manni!"
This time, the red light lingered on the young girl for a slightly longer time, and the hum of the machine seemed to fluctuate slightly as well.
When the results were announced, a low exclamation couldn't help but rise from the crowd.
"rank: Level 30 (First Transition), Class: Frost Mage (Elite Grade), Result: Excellent (Promoted, Gained qualification to enter the third stage assessment)"
Liu Manni nodded slightly, her face lacking overly exaggerated expressions, holding only a touch of just-right composure.
A faint chill seemed to linger around her body, complementing her Frost Mage class, making her exceptionally eye-catching among the students.
The invigilator at the edge of the high platform also looked at her with a bit more approval, signaling her to proceed to the exclusive area to wait.
"Li Qian..."
The electronic voice rang out continuously, the testing speed shockingly fast; every time a name fell, it was accompanied by a verdict of fate.
Some wept tears of joy, some felt deeply saddened, and some forced themselves to stay calm. The crowd beneath the high platform was like the strings of emotion plucked by an invisible hand, and every announcement of results was a heavy blow to the heartbeat.
Every result here directly finalized the future life trajectory of these young students, leaving no room for any luck.
Anyone whose rank was lower than Level 20 would be directly judged as eliminated, completely losing the qualification to enter a Class Holder university for further studies.
Their path ahead instantly narrowed.
Either they became helpless lone rangers, struggling to survive in the cracks between the wilderness and the city.
Or they joined those mixed guilds and Gangs, living under others' mercy.
Or else they attached themselves to massive consortium corporations, becoming tool figures bound by capital.
Of course, they could also choose to enlist in the military!
But this was undoubtedly the hardest and most dangerous path. Military Class Holders year-round had to venture deep into unexplored Wilderness Areas to participate in encircling and suppressing fierce monster populations, and every mission could be a brush with death.
As for students whose rank reached or exceeded Level 20, their fate was relatively brighter.
The System would comprehensively calculate their score rating based on their rank height and class rarity, and then incorporate them into the student ranking System of the entire Federation.
Regardless of whether their ranking was good or bad, they could at least steadily secure an admission ticket to a Class Holder university. The only regret was that they could not independently choose their institution and could only accept the Federation's unified allocation, heading to designated universities for further studies.
Only those true geniuses could touch the higher threshold!
Students whose rank reached Level 30, and whose class rarity was no lower than green elite quality, or who had already completed the second-transition breakthrough, were qualified to obtain the assessment quota for the third stage "Genius Hegemony".
Once they stepped into this stage, the students' right of choice would greatly increase.
They could independently apply for the universities they favored, no longer bound by the allocation System.
If they could achieve a top ranking in the GeniusTournament, they would have an even greater opportunity to knock open the doors of the Federation's top Five Great Academies, which was the palace dreamed of by all Class Holders.
However, what was being held in Shanhai City at this moment was only a local-level assessment, covering only the assessment tests of the first and second stages.
As for the third-stage assessment that determined the belonging of geniuses, students who obtained the qualification must personally travel to Nanjiang City to participate.
The red light continued to sweep past, the electronic voice kept echoing, and the verdict of fate upon the high platform continued...
Within the student queue, Jiang Yuan directed his gaze toward the high platform ahead.
Unlike the apprehensive mood of waiting for the Awakening a month ago.
At this moment, he was exceptionally relaxed.
Without a shred of nervousness.
After all, given his current strength, wanting to enter any top institution of higher learning was an effortless matter.
Even if he didn't take the route of the Unified Examination, finding a few big shots to help him secure a recommended admission quota was as easy as turning over one's hand.
Even, if Jiang Yuan didn't want to be a student, directly exposing his true strength and entering a top institution to become a mentor or professor was not an impossible matter.
You must know that he (Flame God) was now an honorary professor of Dong Que Academy.
Although Dong Que Academy was not among the Five Great Academies, it was still quite high up in the top 100 rankings.
Within the student queue, Jiang Yuan looked calmly toward the high platform ahead.
Completely different from the apprehensive mood while waiting for class Awakening a month ago, at this moment, a sense of relaxation that others could hardly perceive lingered around him, completely unaffected by the surrounding tense atmosphere.
To him, with his current strength, wanting to enter any top academy was as easy as taking things out of a bag.
Even if he didn't take the conventional route of the Unified Examination, having a few big shots help operate a recommended admission quota was also as easy as turning over one's hand.
Furthermore, if he no longer wanted to move forward with the identity of a student, as long as he exposed his true strength and directly entered a top academy to serve as a mentor or professor, it was not entirely impossible.
You must know that as the "Flame God", he was long ago an honorary professor of Dong Que Academy.
Although Dong Que Academy had not ranked among the Five Great Academies, it steadily held a front-row position in the Federation's top 100 school rankings, possessing considerable prestige.
Zhao Biao and the others stood closely by Jiang Yuan's side, their faces filled with undisguised anticipation, their gazes occasionally glancing toward the high platform and then subconsciously looking at Jiang Yuan beside them.
Jiang Yuan's appearance, even though extremely low-profile, failed to escape the gazes of the surrounding students.
Fragmented sounds of discussion quietly spread, carrying a bit of curiosity and awe.
Chapter 149: An Zhiyi! Another epic-grade class!
"Is he Jiang Yuan?"
"I heard he used to be the top student of Shanhai No. 1 High School!"
"Being a top student is a thing of the past. Now he is the Saint Mage's Direct Disciple!"
"That's right! The previously arrogant Zhou Family met their doom precisely because they offended him!"
"I still remember when people said he only awakened a Common class. Who would have thought he'd catch the eye of the Saint Mage? You really can't judge a book by its cover!"
On the grounds of Shanhai No. 1 High School, Jiang Yuanwas already dazzling enough, especially after the news of the Zhou Family's destruction spread across Shanhai City. His fame skyrocketed, reaching a point where almost everyone knew of him.
Amidst the crowd, quite a few female students who considered themselves attractive didn't hide their feelings at all, frequently casting seductive glances toward Jiang Yuan, their adoration direct and passionate.
"I didn't expect so many people to fail to reach rank 20!"
Zhao Biao watched the students continuously being pronounced eliminated and couldn't help sighing.
He, Luo Hang, and the others still stood closely beside Jiang Yuan, the anticipation in their eyes growing more intense.
If not for Jiang Yuan and joining Luo Hang's team, Zhao Biao would very likely have been one of the eliminated members at this moment.
"Indeed, leveling up is not that easy, especially in the early stages. Without a qualified team, I'm afraid you can't even clear the beginner dungeon!"
Luo Hang at the side nodded deeply in agreement, his tone carrying the emotional sigh of someone who had been through it.
For a Class Holder, leveling up was exceptionally difficult to begin with, requiring massive amounts of experience points piled up for each rank gained.
According to the Federation's universal rank experience conversion standards, one often needed to kill over a hundred monsters equivalent to one's own rank just to accumulate enough experience to rise by one rank.
Even just to rise to rank 30, the cumulative total required hunting down at least several thousand monsters.
Based on this point alone, it was enough to make students without strength, background, or talent flinch and retreat.
There were even some students who, despite Awakening a combat-type class, didn't plan to take the combat route; instead, they preferred to be ordinary people and find a stable job in the city to live out their days in peace.
"I still haven't seen anyone advance to the second Class Advancement yet!"
Zhao Biao's gaze closely stared at the testing platform ahead, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.
"This has only just begun!"
Jiang Yuan's voice remained calm, as if all the surrounding hustle and bustle had nothing to do with him, and those frequently cast seductive glances failed to stir even the slightest ripple in his heart.
He calmly watched the students' test results, having a rough idea in his mind!
Students whose rank failed to reach rank 20 actually exceeded half.
Jiang Yuan calculated inwardly.
Shanhai City had roughly thirty thousand students participating in the class Awakening every year. Subtracting half of the students who awakened lifestyle-type classes, the remaining combat-type Class Holders were only around fifteen thousand.
And among these fifteen thousand people, subtracting another half whose ranks didn't meet the standard, those who could ultimately obtain an admission ticket to a Class Holder university were only seven or eight thousand people.
As for the students qualified to enter the third-stage examination, judging from the current testing situation, the ratio didn't even reach fifty to one.
Right at this moment, the cold synthesized electronic voice suddenly rose a bit, clearly spreading across the entire square.
"Luo Shuo, rank: 38 (Second Advancement), Class: Mountain-Shattering Berserker (Rare), Score: Excellent (Promoted, obtained eligibility to enter the third-stage examination)"
Uproar!
The crowd, which had still been quite calm, instantly stirred up a wave of enthusiastic commotion, with discussions and exclamations rising one after another.
Having waited for so long, the first second-advancement Class Holder had finally appeared!
Moreover, not only was his rank as high as 38, but his class was also the blue Rare-grade Mountain-Shattering Berserker!
"Not bad, not bad! This kind of talent can be considered top-tier among this year's examinees!"
"This is a student from Experimental Middle School, right!"
"According to previous years' ranking standards, he can at least rank in the top ten in Shanhai City, and even has hopes of rushing into the top five!"
On the observation seating to the side of the high platform, the high-level powerhouses responsible for supervising the examination all wore expressions of joy.
The students' examination scores were directly linked to their performance metrics for the year, so naturally, they hoped the students would be as excellent as possible.
More importantly, if the students walking out of Shanhai City could grow into top powerhouses in the future, they could in turn bring numerous benefits such as resources and connections back to Shanhai City, forming a virtuous cycle.
With the appearance of the first second-advancement Class Holder, it was as if the horn of charge had been sounded.
In the subsequent tests, more second-advancement Class Holders sprang up like bamboo shoots after a rain.
"Gu Beiyu, rank 33 (Second Advancement), Class: Soul-Pursuing Archer (Elite), Score: Good (Promoted, obtained eligibility to enter the third-stage examination)"
"Liu Jinwei, rank 36 (Second Advancement), Class: Mechanical Warlock (Rare), Score: Excellent (Promoted, obtained eligibility to enter the third-stage examination)"
"Zhang Chongshan, rank 39 (Second Advancement), Class: Dragon Blood Knight (Rare), Score: Excellent (Promoted, obtained eligibility to enter the third-stage examination)"
Every time a name fell, it was accompanied by quite a commotion, until a more impactful voice sounded.
"An Zhiyi, rank 48 (Second Advancement), Class: Elemental Controller (Epic Class), Score: Excellent (Promoted, obtained eligibility to enter the third-stage examination)"
The entire playground was instantly turned upside down, and a huge uproar surged once again.
Immediately, everyone uniformly looked toward the tall young girl on the stage wearing a moon-white magic robe, her temperament detached and cold yet carrying a hint of coquetting charm. The faint elemental aura lingering around her body was like a newly bloomed Tianshan snow lotus.
This was not only the first student in this examination to break through rank 40, but she also awakened the epic-grade Elemental Controller class!
"An Zhiyi? Could she be a person from the An Family, one of the four great families?"
"She is indeed a member of the An Family, but now there are only three great families in Shanhai City; the Zhou Family is already gone."
"That's not right! During the previous class Awakening, wasn't it only Lin Muxue from No. 1 High School who awakened an epic-grade class? How did another one pop up?"
"You guys probably didn't know, right? When An Zhiyiawakened, her class was only a purple Rare-grade Elemental Curse Master. This must have been after completing the second advancement that she changed classes into an epic-grade class!"
"I have insider information! I heard that in order to help her complete her Class Advancement, the An Family spent nearly twenty million gold coins just to obtain the Elemental Controller class credential. Afterwards, to help her complete the Class Advancement ritual, who knows how much time, energy, and resources were consumed!"
"Are they even going to let people live? Having a strong awakened class is one thing, but to actually have a Clanprovide massive amounts of resources for support!"
After the shock, the crowd completely exploded, and discussions about An Zhiyi were overwhelming.
After all, Shanhai City's Class Holder circle was only this big, especially when it involved news of the four great families; it had always received extra attention.
Even the Zhou Family, which had been destroyed by Jiang Yuan previously, had originally planned to spend a heavy price to help Zhou Luochen complete his Class Advancement and promote to an epic-grade class, but unfortunately, they couldn't get their wish in the end.
This was the foundation of a great Clan. Even with just a Common class, one could still grow into a powerful Class Holder under the Clan's assistance.
Chapter 150: An All-Clear of Level 52 Elite-grade Professionals
"An Zhiyi is truly soaring to great heights this time! With the blessing of an Epic Class and the resources of the An Family, getting into the top five elite academies should be an absolute certainty!"
"Looking at it this way, No. 1 Middle School is going to be overshadowed by Experimental Middle School this year? Experimental Middle School has produced top Geniuses like Luo Shuo and An Zhiyi back-to-back. Aside from Lin Muxue and Jiang Yuan, No. 1 Middle School doesn't seem to have anyone else worth showing off."
"How is that possible! Don't you forget about Lin Muxuefrom No. 1 Middle School; she also has an Epic Class, only I heard she didn't come back to participate in the assessment this time."
"Even without Lin Muxue, isn't there still Jiang Yuan? He is the Direct Disciple of the Saint Mage!"
"Speaking of Jiang Yuan, where is he? Why hasn't it been his turn to be tested yet?"
"Look, the one up ahead is Jiang Yuan! It'll be his turn very soon. I wonder what rank and Cultivation Realm he has reached now."
"With the Saint Mage as his Master, could he have undergone a Class Advancement into an Epic Class as well?"
"Hard to say. It shouldn't be difficult for the Saint Mage to get his hands on the Inheritance of an Epic Class, but Jiang Yuan only Awakened a Common Class Holder class! Even if he completes one Class Advancement, he will at most be promoted to an Elite-grade Profession. To undergo a Class Advancement into an Epic Class, he needs at least two more Class Advancements, and that difficulty is extraordinarily high!"
"That being said, is he perhaps still inferior to An Zhiyi?"
Hearing this, someone couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
Ever since the news of Jiang Yuan being taken in as a Direct Disciple by the Saint Mage spread, quite a few people were envious, jealous, and resentful of him, naturally hoping to see him fall short of others.
"It's almost Jiang Yuan's turn!"
Right at this moment, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted loudly.
The previously buzzing plaza instantly turned exceptionally quiet, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
After all, the current Jiang Yuan was already a prominent figure whose reputation shook Shanhai City.
Whether it was the students or the upper echelons, everyone wanted to see what the actual strength of this Direct Disciple of the Saint Mage was like nowadays.
Not only were the students below eagerly waiting, but even the high-level powerhouses on the elevated viewing stands, such as Tang Qiyuan, City Lord, and Song Jingran, put away their casual expressions one after another, locking their gazes tightly onto the handsome youth walking towards the testing platform.
At this time, Zhao Biao and the others also walked towards the high platform alongside Jiang Yuan.
"How about we go up first!"
Zhao Biao suddenly stopped in his footsteps, walked in front of Jiang Yuan, and said with a firm tone, "The ones showing off before were all those people from Experimental Middle School. Next, it's time to let them see the prowess of our No. 1 Middle School!"
Luo Shuo and An Zhiyi, who had caused a sensation earlier, were both students of Experimental Middle Schooland not people from No. 1 Middle School.
And with Lin Muxue absent from this assessment, Jiang Yuan was the most watched existence in No. 1 Middle School.
"Whatever."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan slightly slowed his pace, his expression remaining calm as ever.
"Hehe!"
Zhao Biao flashed a crafty smile.
He had it all figured out in his heart: if Jiang Yuan were to go up on stage for testing first, given Jiang Yuan's status and strength, he would inevitably steal all the spotlight directly. No matter how high their ranks were, those of them testing behind him would only end up reduced to background props.
It would be better for them to go up first and win back some face for No. 1 Middle School.
Soon, Zhao Biao stood in front of the testing machine. A scarlet red light swept across his figure first.
Immediately after, a loud synthesized electronic voice spread across the entire venue, and the big screen simultaneously displayed Zhao Biao's Class Holder rankinformation.
"Zhao Biao, rank: Level 52 (Second Class Advancement), Profession: Holy Shield Pastor Knight (Elite-grade Profession), Score: Excellent (Promoted, obtained qualification to enter the third stage assessment)"
"What?"
"Level 52? There's no way the machine malfunctioned, right!"
"As an Elite-grade Profession, and a Pastor Knight at that, how could he level up so fast?"
"That's right, An Zhiyi has an Epic Class and the backing of the An Family, and she is only Level 48!"
"Could he have cheated?"
"Cheated? Try cheating and let me see! Didn't you see that the City Lord and the inspector adults are both watching from above?"
As soon as Zhao Biao's profession and rank appeared, it was like a meteorite crashing into a calm lake, instantly causing a huge uproar.
This was even more shocking than An Zhiyi's testing results.
First of all, An Zhiyi was originally a Rare-grade profession, and her fame in Experimental Middle School was not a bit smaller than Lin Muxue of No. 1 Middle School. Furthermore, in terms of family background, An Zhiyi was likewise not inferior to Lin Muxue.
Even though she was a little inferior to Lin Muxue at the time of Awakening.
But now she had managed to catch up anyway.
It was completely within reason that An Zhiyi could lead ahead of others and reach Level 45.
But how on earth could an unknown nobody like Zhao Biaoreach Level 52?
You must know that the highest rank among the preceding Elite-grade Professionals was only Level 33.
Those above Level 33 were all without exception Rare-grade or Epic Classes.
And they had all already made a bit of a name for themselves within the student circles.
As for Zhao Biao, where did this passerby come from!
Did they really think everyone was Jiang Yuan?
"It's him!"
"You know him?"
"I don't know him, but did you guys notice? On the day the Zhou Family was destroyed, besides Jiang Yuan, there were a few other people standing beside that Saint Mage. Thinking back carefully, this Zhao Biao was one of those people!"
"That's right, Zhao Biao is Jiang Yuan's good buddy, and the two of them grew up in the same orphanage!"
"So that's how it is. No wonder he could rise to Level 52; I'm afraid the Saint Mage helped them level up!"
"I have a bold guess. Look at those people behind Zhao Biao, do they look familiar?"
"Could they be...?"
Everyone was incomparably shocked, but no matter how shocked they were, they had to accept this fact.
And following Zhao Biao's completion of the rank test, Luo Hang and the others behind him took the stage one after another.
Luo Hang Level 52!
Liu Yu Level 52!
Jiao Yuefeng Level 52!
Lv Xiwen Level 52!
An all-clear of Level 52.
At the same time, they were all Elite-grade Professions!
Furthermore, they were all members of the same team.
At this moment, even An Zhiyi, who had an Epic Classearlier, appeared utterly eclipsed.
Originally, everyone was looking forward to Jiang Yuan's appearance on stage.
To see if he could crush the outstanding Geniuses of Experimental Middle School headed by An Zhiyi.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Yuan didn't even need to take the stage personally. Merely by sending out a few follower 'minions', he completely overshadowed the radiance of the numerous talented students from Experimental Middle School ahead.
This further proved one thing.
With the Saint Mage around, even Jiang Yuan, who had a Common Class Holder class, was bound to have a bright future.
It could truly be said that when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
Even a random passerby by Jiang Yuan's side would soar to great heights right along with him.
On the viewing stands, the upper echelons who had been quite composed were startled by this series of Level 52 testing results to the point they couldn't sit still, whispering among themselves with tones full of astonishment and probing.
City Lord frowned slightly, his gaze landing on Jiang Yuan, Zhao Biao, and the others, before turning to the inspectorTang Qiyuan beside him.
"Lord inspector, what do you think?"
"An all-clear of Level 52 Elite-grade Professions, and they're all people by Jiang Yuan's side—this is altogether too suspicious."
City Lord feigned shock and suspicion, his gaze slowly turning towards Tang Qiyuan on the side.
Having governed Shanhai City for many years and witnessed numerous Geniuses in past Class Holderassessments, he had never seen such a uniform high rank, especially from Elite-grade Professionals with ordinary backgrounds.