Another World: When a Necromancer Possesses the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls

Li Xingyue, the older sister, still possessed a beautiful face, but a lingering weariness clung to her brows—a mark left by years of tireless work. She wore a dark blue loungewear set, and the background appeared to be a rest pod at a base. Li Xingyang, the older brother, was dressed in a sharp black combat uniform, sitting casually in a chair. The background seemed to be a dormitory. He wore his usual cheerful smile, his eyes bright, clearly having just finished a round of training.

"Xiao Yao!" Li Xingyue's voice was filled with surprise, and her fatigue seemed to have dissipated a bit. "Finally, I can communicate with you! Tell me quickly, how did the awakening ceremony go? Did Uncle Zhao come to chat with you after the awakening?" Her concern was evident in her words.

"Yeah, kid! So secretive, you didn't even report the details right away after the awakening was successful! Are you disappointed that you didn't awaken the warrior class? I remember you wanted to awaken the 'knight' class, right?" Li Xingyang smiled mischievously, but he deliberately kept a straight face, though he couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes.

Looking at the two concerned faces on the screen, the tension that had built up over the past week of intense training strangely eased at this moment. He revealed a relaxed smile, tinged with youthful pride: "Sister, brother, I'm sorry to have worried you. The awakening was a success, nothing unexpected happened, it just caused a bit of a stir because of the high level of star energy."

He paused deliberately, observing their expressions.

"100 is indeed quite high." Li Xingyang's voice was tinged with envy, and his eyes revealed a hint of envy, but his excitement was palpable, completely lacking the jealousy that his classmates showed.

Li Xingyue smiled, then a more gratified smile bloomed on her face, with a hint of barely perceptible pride in her eyes: "Xiao Yao, that's great! A-level potential, 100 star energy points, our Xiao Yao is really amazing." Her voice was soft, full of sincere joy and affirmation.

There was no hesitation as expected, no exploration of the "good" or "bad" nature of the profession, and none of the joking rumors circulating among classmates about "whose good family member will awaken a necromancer." There was only pure, heartfelt joy and pride for him.

A warm feeling instantly washed away Li Xingyao's fatigue. This was family. His smile deepened, tinged with a hint of teasing: "Brother, what's with that expression? When we meet, I'll summon a skeleton warrior to beat you up."

"Tch! What haven't I seen?" Li Xingyang waved his hand dramatically, then winked. "But I'm telling you, summon some high-level undead next time! Don't just summon skeletons or ghosts, give me a bone dragon to ride."

"Xingyang!" Li Xingyue glared at her younger brother reproachfully, then couldn't help but laugh, turning to Li Xingyao, "Don't listen to his nonsense. Xiaoyao, you have great potential, but I heard your summoned creatures aren't very powerful in the early stages, so you still need to level up. If you have any difficulties with resources while you're at school, be sure to tell me; I still have some savings..."

"Right, right, right!" Li Xingyang also stopped joking and said seriously, "I just finished a B-level mission, and the reward was pretty good. Need any potions, equipment, or materials? Just say the word! I'll get them for you!"

His family's support was like the strongest backing. Touched, Li Xingyao shook his head: "Sister, brother, not for now. The school resources are enough for me. Director Zhao also said that with my potential, there will be plenty of resources from universities and companies later on. Besides, I'm confident about my exams this semester. Don't worry about me; you two should be careful at work."

The three chatted for a while longer about everyday things. Li Xingyue carefully reminded Li Xingyao to take care of his health and to balance work and rest during cultivation. Li Xingyang, on the other hand, patted his chest again and promised to take him out for a good meal next time he came back. They only reluctantly ended the call when Li Xingyue seemed to have a message urging her to come back.

The virtual screen went dark, and the training room returned to silence. Li Xingyao stood there, a warm smile still lingering on his face. He could almost hear his brother's exaggerated laughter and his sister's gentle admonitions echoing in his ears.

"This is the right way to congratulate someone," he muttered to himself, but the images of those curious, jealous, and even subtly contemptuous glances he had received at school over the past few days flashed before his eyes—"Necromancer? What's the use of high star power? All he can do is summon skeletons..." The whispers of his classmates seemed to echo in his ears again.

Home is the only haven.

He took a deep breath, his gaze returning to its calm and sharp focus. His turbulent emotions were suppressed, replaced by an intense desire to become stronger. His family's support gave him confidence, but more importantly, it was his own starting point—far beyond that of ordinary people—the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls and the Space of the Dead!

He needs to understand them more deeply and take control of them!

Upon arriving at the training room, Li Xingyao stopped. He closed his eyes, and his mental energy, like invisible tentacles, instantly sank into the depths of his consciousness, communicating with the space of death.

"Buzz..."

A deep, resonant spiritual energy emanated from the space in front of him, causing it to ripple like water.

Li Xingyao stirred his mind and summoned!

There were no complicated incantations, no lengthy instructions. With a thought, 4 points of star energy were instantly consumed!

Swish!Swish!Swish!Swish!

Four streaks of gray-white light flashed by almost simultaneously! Four sword-wielding skeleton warriors, like the most loyal guards, instantly appeared on the cold floor of the training room, forming a neat line!

The entire process was breathtakingly fast! It was as if they were already in place in the blink of an eye! This speed far exceeded the summoning process described in textbooks, which typically takes several seconds or even longer for an ordinary necromancer!

"Very little consumption! Just like last time, summoning the creature from the undead realm only used 1 point of star energy." And...

"Instant cast!" A glint flashed in Li Xingyao's eyes. This overturned the normal summoning speed! This was a huge advantage in actual combat!

He carefully sensed the clear spiritual connection between himself and the four skeleton warriors. It was as if he could "see" deep within their eye sockets, where the eerie blue sparks belonging to the core of their souls were burning steadily, radiating a cold and faint presence.

"Soul Nourishment..." The prompt flashed through Li Xingyao's mind. With a slight thought, he controlled one of the skeleton warriors, raising its rusty iron sword and slashing it fiercely at the detection machine next to it!

Click!

The detection machine lit up instantly! A tremendous force rebounded, and a clear feedback appeared on the skeleton warrior's arm bone where he gripped the sword! In the mental connection, Li Xingyao clearly felt the eerie blue sparks at the skeleton warrior's soul core flicker, transmitting a sense of "received" and "completed" instructions.

"Return!" Li Xingyao immediately issued the order.

The skeleton warrior transformed into a streak of light and vanished instantly, returning to the realm of the dead.

Li Xingyao's consciousness immediately sank into that hazy gray space. There, the skeleton warrior stood silently in the undead space, the hazy mist slowly swirling around it as if it were alive.

A bolder idea came to mind. He locked his thoughts onto another intact skeleton warrior.

"Attack it! Until it's destroyed!"

The cold command was given. Without hesitation, the two skeleton warriors raised their rusty swords and slashed fiercely at their locked-on comrade!

The ear-piercing sound of bones shattering echoed through the training room! The attacked skeleton warrior remained motionless under the onslaught, its arms, ribs, and leg bones breaking and shattering one after another! Finally, a rusty sword cleaved down on its skull!

Click!

The skull shattered! The faint blue spark in the eye socket instantly extinguished and vanished!

The mental connection was completely severed! The shattered skeleton turned into a lifeless pile of broken bones, scattered on the ground, and then slowly disappeared.

"Death." Li Xingyao looked on calmly.

He then sensed a sudden appearance of a pile of broken bones in the Netherworld. Li Xingyao was slightly taken aback. How did the "corpse" that had just disappeared return to the Netherworld? Shouldn't it return to the world of the dead? Shouldn't a necromancer's summoned creature or an elemental summoned creature return to its original world after it dies?

Suddenly, Li Xingyao had a flash of inspiration. He concentrated his mind and communicated with the Myriad Soul Banner! A pure and cold soul power flowed out from the banner, following his will, and surged towards the pile of shattered skeletons on the ground!

"Infuse soul power! Reshape the soul!" These words flashed through Li Xingyao's mind like a system message.

hum...

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls trembled slightly, releasing soul power that acted like an adhesive or an invisible carving knife, precisely targeting the pile of shattered bones. The scattered bone fragments began to tremble, drawn together by an invisible force, piecing themselves back together! More importantly, deep within the pieced-together skull, a tiny, eerie blue spark, like a candle flickering in the wind, was forcibly ignited and condensed!

It lit up again!

"As expected, the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls can connect to the realm of the dead."

"Summon!" Li Xingyao gave the order again.

Then, the newly assembled skeleton warrior appeared before Li Xingyao. It stood silently, just as it had before.

"Repair! Revive!" Li Xingyao's heart pounded! As long as the soul core wasn't completely annihilated and could be re-condensed using the soul power of the Myriad Soul Banner, he could repair his dead summons in the Netherworld! What did this mean? It meant that his theoretically summoned creatures... were immortal! As long as the soul power was sufficient!

He could have summoned the undead from the world of the dead to the undead realm, and the skeleton warriors summoned from the undead realm could be cast instantly, without him needing to consume star energy of the summon level each time to communicate with the world of the dead for the summon. This saved him a lot of time and resources, greatly increasing his combat power.

After the immense surprise came deeper reflection. Soul power was the key to all of this!

Li Xingyao's consciousness sank deeper into the Myriad Souls Banner. He carefully touched the banner, sensing its state. A strong, hunger-like desire to "devour" was clearly transmitted to him.