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

"The Skull of Gris... the Military Sky Eye System... the Ruins of Chen Tang Town..." Li Xingyao murmured to himself, his eyes gradually gleaming, a hint of fighting spirit igniting within them. "Very well. The efficiency of wilderness hunting can never compare to 'treasure hunting' in ruins. High risk, high reward."

He turned his gaze back to the undead realm, looking at the three undead that had just completed their evolution. The feeling of depletion of soul power surged into his heart again like a tide, but this time, it was accompanied by an intense sense of urgency and a thirst for power.

"It seems the original plan cannot be abandoned. We must increase our strength as much as possible before then! Every bit of strength is a guarantee of survival!"

Li Xingyao took a deep breath, suppressing his chaotic thoughts and the slight excitement brought on by the huge reward. He knew that the road ahead would certainly not be smooth sailing. He not only had to complete this exploration mission, but also use this opportunity to significantly improve his strength, laying a more solid foundation for a broader stage in the future.

It was late at night, and Li Xingyao prepared to rest for a while before heading to the factory he had planned during the day to absorb soul power. He needed to make the most of every second.

The sky was still pitch black, filled with starlight, and Tianjing City was shrouded in tranquility at four in the morning. Li Xingyao was already standing on the electric bus stop platform in the North Suburb Industrial Park. The night wind carried a chill, ruffling his slightly disheveled black hair; he had only slept for less than four hours.

Li Xingyao prepared to harvest today's soul power according to the route planned yesterday. According to the processing plant's production schedule, this time period was the peak season for poultry slaughter. Every morning, a batch of processed products would be delivered to various corners of the city. Therefore, this time was his best choice.

With a soft buzzing sound, an electric shuttle bus accelerated and started moving. It was the one he had just rented from the logistics area and was currently the most suitable means of transportation for him.

Li Xingyao began to wander through the streets of the North Suburb Industrial Park, absorbing the slaughtering soul power of each factory one by one.

As the eastern horizon transformed from a thin white line to the sun high in the sky, and the lights in the industrial park went from bright to dim, Li Xingyao stopped his vehicle and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. His consciousness sank into his sea of ​​awareness.

[Soul Power: 5434.5 → 8452.8]

In nearly six hours, Li Xingyao absorbed 3018 points of soul power. The efficiency was slightly higher than during the day. "That's about enough," he muttered to himself, turning to head towards the public transportation hub outside the industrial park. Because he had other things to do, he prepared to end his absorption work for the day.

At 10:20 a.m., in the core area of ​​the Tianjing City administrative district.

Li Xingyao walked out of the transportation hub's passageway and into the lobby of the Federal Professionals Service Center.

The career center here, being located in the administrative district, is larger than the one he visited before. Compared to the official "Tianjing City Vocational Level Certification Center" across the street, the career service center has a more functional and commercial atmosphere.

The buildings in this area are all connected underground, which is why Li Xingyao chose to cultivate here so that he could complete the level certification as soon as he leveled up.

Guided by the smart terminal at the front desk, Li Xingyao quickly completed the formalities, paid 1000 credits, and obtained the right to use a room for one day. Led by uniformed staff with standardized smiles, he took the elevator to the middle and upper floors of the building.

"Beep—" Identity verification passed, and the alloy door to the room slid open silently.

The interior is a spacious suite, including a bedroom for rest, a private bathroom, and a living room that occupies most of the space. The entire room is carpeted with sound-absorbing materials, the walls are covered with textured wallpaper and sound-absorbing coating, and the air circulation system outputs fresh air with a light herbal scent. The temperature and humidity are maintained at a constant level, ideal for meditation.

"1000 credits a day, this environment is definitely worth the price," Li Xingyao thought to himself as he looked around. Without delay, he took a cushion from the cabinet, took off his coat, and walked directly to the center of the living room, where he sat cross-legged on the soft yet supportive cushion.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and cleared his mind of all distractions. Soon, Li Xingyao entered a deep meditative state.

The "circulation method" is operating at full capacity!

The stellar energy within the body began to slowly accelerate, subtly guided along the already widened and resilient meridians, starting a continuous cycle. Each cycle was like a stream washing over a riverbed, carrying away minute impurities and drawing in and integrating new stellar energy from the void.

As always, whenever his star energy was fully restored, Li Xingyao would consume it to devour soul power.

Star Energy 1998… Soul Power 9112.8…

Star Energy 1999… Soul Power 9772.8…

The star energy value clearly fluctuated in my inner vision, increasing slowly but steadily. Every cell in my body seemed to be cheering and greedily absorbing this surging energy, and a feeling of power filling my entire body, almost to the point of saturation, became increasingly obvious.

2000!

When the stellar energy finally broke through that invisible barrier representing a leap in life level, Li Xingyao felt a sudden jolt! It was as if a tough membrane had been pierced, and his body seemed to have broken through some kind of limitation, as if his life level had evolved. A more vast and magnificent space to contain stellar energy appeared in his limbs and bones, and his meridians were widened, able to hold even more stellar energy!

2001… 2002!

Finally, the Star Energy reached 2002 points, making him an advanced professional!

Moreover, the soul power of the Myriad Soul Banner also reached 11752.8, breaking through in both aspects. Li Xingyao temporarily put the information fed back by the Myriad Soul Banner aside in his mind.

He suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in his dark pupils like lightning streaking across the darkness. An indescribable aura of power involuntarily emanated from him, only to be quickly suppressed. An uncontrollable upward curve appeared at the corners of his mouth, forming a sharp and joyful arc.

He succeeded! At the age of eighteen, less than five months after awakening, he had already broken through!

A complex mix of pride, relief, and a sense of peace welled up inside me. The ordinariness and stagnation of my past life, and the anxiety and entanglement at the beginning of this life, all seemed to be purified at this moment.

"Haha..." Li Xingyao couldn't help but chuckle softly. His laughter was exceptionally clear in the absolutely quiet training room, filled with heartfelt joy and confidence. He increasingly felt that perhaps he was born to walk this extraordinary path full of challenges and opportunities.

After venting his emotions, he gradually calmed down. "There are still important things to do." The joy of promotion was exciting, but more important were the tangible benefits and future plans that followed.

Li Xingyao stood up and stretched his limbs, which were slightly stiff from sitting cross-legged for a long time; his bones cracked and popped. The fatigue from the past two days of running around was lessened considerably by the excitement of his successful promotion.

Leaving the training room, he took the elevator to the dining floor of the Career Center building. Here, a variety of restaurants offered everything from simple synthetic nutritional meals to expensive delicacies prepared with ingredients from star beasts.

Li Xingyao's gaze swept across the area, finally settling on a shop with a sign that read "Old Brand Huaxia Noodle Shop" in an old-fashioned font. He suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for that warm, comforting aroma of grains.

A steaming bowl of their signature beef noodles was quickly served. It featured a rich broth, tender and flavorful beef chunks, vibrant green scallions and cilantro, and chewy handmade noodles.

A slight rumble came from Li Xingyao's stomach. The food in front of him whetted his appetite, and he ate quickly, savoring each bite carefully.

He didn't linger. After finishing his meal, he went straight downstairs and, following clear signs, entered the underground passage connecting the career center and the certification building.

The corridor was brightly lit and softly lit, and was covered with high-quality sound-absorbing material, making footsteps almost silent. Occasionally, people in formal attire or professional gear would hurry by, most of them focused and oblivious to everything else.

The certification center's process was similar to that of intermediate certification, but more rigorous and thorough. There were also two more staff members accompanying me, who were both gentle and professional.

Inside the energy testing room, when the readings on the testing equipment finally stabilized at "2002," the smile on the face of the middle-aged male tester accompanying him seemed to widen slightly.

"Congratulations, Mr. Li Xingyao! Certification passed! You have officially been promoted to Senior Necromancer!" He extended his hand, his tone full of admiration. "An eighteen-year-old senior professional... that's extremely rare even in the records of Tianjing City! You are truly outstanding!"

"Thank you." Li Xingyao shook his hand, his tone calm, but his heart was also surging with emotion. This certification represented a mature system and society's assessment of his value.

After completing the basic certification, two elegant female staff members, dressed in well-tailored dark blue business suits, greeted me with smiles.

"Mr. Li Xingyao, congratulations on your promotion. Next, we will explain in detail the changes in authority, social benefits, and related precautions for senior professionals. Please follow us." One of them said in a pleasant voice, with clear pronunciation and a gentle and friendly attitude.

They led Li Xingyao to a small conference room. The heavy alloy door slid open and closed silently, revealing a simple yet bright interior. In the center was a streamlined smart conference table, and in front of the table was a huge screen that slowly rotated the government emblem.

"Please have a seat," another staff member gestured.

Li Xingyao sat down at one side of the conference table as instructed. Two staff members sat opposite him, one of whom lightly tapped the table with his fingertip, instantly projecting a huge virtual screen with pale gold edges that displayed several detailed categories.

"Before we begin, in accordance with Chapter 3, Section 12 of the Federal Advanced Professionals Information Protection Act, we require you to reaffirm and authorize that all the content explained here, especially the parts concerning benefits details and resource allocation, is for your personal use only, and we promise not to disclose the contents of the terms to any third party without federal authorization."

One of the staff members became serious and stared directly at Li Xingyao.

Li Xingyao nodded and calmly replied, "I understand. I confirm and authorize."

"Okay." The two staff members nodded to each other, then each took out their encrypted personal terminals and scanned them against the composite identification area in the center of the conference table, performing dual verification of iris and voiceprint. "Our access control and confidentiality agreements have also been activated. Now, let's begin."