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

The initial novelty and excitement surged through his body like an electric current. Riding a giant dragon and soaring through the skies—this was an experience many dreamed of but could never attain. Li Xingyao was extremely excited. Although he wasn't a warrior and couldn't be a dragon knight, being a "dragon mage" would be pretty good too.

But as time went on, the long flights gradually became monotonous and tedious. Due to Flamel's rank and Dragon's Might, no flying star beasts came to cause them trouble.

Looking down at the endless, monotonous forests and trees, with the occasional winding river shimmering like a silver ribbon, and the rolling hills rising and falling, the world is vast, yet carries a primal desolation and silence.

Looking down at this unfamiliar and vast land, Li Xingyao couldn't help but marvel once again at the immensity of Zhongzhou, which was beyond his imagination. According to the records, the combined territory of the seven known empires was said to be more than a thousand times the surface area of ​​Earth.

Human civilization has fought for a century, sacrificing countless lives, yet its activities haven't even fully covered the entire territory of the Heavenly Dragon Empire. At this moment, its own flight path is nothing more than an insignificant line segment on this vast map.

He opened his personal terminal and compared the offline map with the real-time environment. The planned destination was the edge of the Carlando Plateau, about 8,000 kilometers away as the crow flies. Even at Flamel's cruising speed, full-speed flight would take more than a day. This was already an astonishing speed; relying on that motorcycle, under ideal conditions without considering terrain, alien beasts, energy, etc., traveling day and night would probably take more than half a month.

"Barbarian regions...frequent wars, tribal fragmentation..." Li Xingyao searched through the data, his finger tracing the map marking the territories of different tribes, planning his next move in his mind.

Upon arrival, the best way to integrate and acquire resources might be to temporarily join a tribe that is either on the rise or facing pressure, quickly gaining resources, and most importantly—soul power, by fighting for them. He needs to re-examine and adjust his psychological expectations and moral bottom line.

Here, the law of the jungle is naked and direct. In order to quickly improve his strength, some necessary and efficient "harvesting" seems unavoidable. The needs of the Myriad Soul Banner and his current situation highly overlap at this moment.

"My strength is still not enough." He calmly assessed himself. His level as a high-level professional might be considered good among human explorers in Central Continent, making him a backbone of elite teams, but on the entire Central Continent stage, especially in the eyes of other races, he seemed somewhat inadequate.

According to available information, many native races in Zhongzhou possess extraordinary talents, with adult individuals often naturally possessing the strength of intermediate or even advanced professionals. With a little training or after a few battles, they can easily advance to higher levels. While legendary status isn't commonplace, it's certainly not as rare as it is on Earth.

His consciousness sank back into the undead realm, gazing at his summoned creatures. His gaze swept over the evolved skeleton swordsmen, whose strength had stabilized at the mid-advanced level. He prepared to select some of them and begin guiding his soul power for a second infusion.

Even after evolving into a bone dragon, Li Xingyao still had 23800 soul power, which seemed plentiful but was still insufficient. However, Li Xingyao now needed a more elite and powerful undead team as his "face" when he was active in Zhongzhou.

Three hundred units of soul power flowed like a stream into the skeleton swordsman's body. The familiar evolutionary light shone again, completely enveloping him like a cocoon of light.

In the soft light, Li Xingyao could clearly "see" the remarkable and wondrous changes taking place in its skeletal structure: the originally slender skeleton was growing thicker and thicker as if absorbing nutrients; its height was increasing steadily until it was nearly two meters tall; the gaps between the ribs were filled and extended by the newly grown dense bones, as if a set of close-fitting, smooth-lined light bone armor was naturally formed, with a clever protective structure at the joints.

The white bone sword in its hand also underwent a transformation. The blade stretched and straightened, the material became more lustrous, and its length was nearly 1.7 meters, the same as its own body. Many patterns appeared on the blade, the shape became more fierce, and a faint cold light flowed from the edge.

As the light faded, a completely transformed undead stood in a corner of the undead realm. It was no longer a thin, fragile skeleton, but rather resembled a silent warrior clad in natural bone armor.

The soul fire in his eye sockets was condensed and sharpened, burning even more fiercely, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure far exceeding that of before. Its energy level had clearly reached the peak of the advanced stage!

"Continue!" Without the slightest hesitation, Li Xingyao mobilized his soul power once more, sending out nine hundred units of soul power and injecting it into the body of the "skull" that had just completed its evolution.

The light of the second evolution erupted instantly, more intense and more concentrated than before, almost turning into a tangible liquid of energy, which surged wildly into every inch of the skeleton warrior's bones and every wisp of soul fire.

This time, its size did not continue to increase, but its bone armor became thicker and more solid, with finer and more complex patterns. Some kind of natural runes were faintly formed on the surface. Although it did not reach the level of heavy armor, it gave people a feeling of being indestructible and as stable as a rock.

The most significant change was to the sword. The previously blurred patterns on the blade now clearly revealed complex and profound runes. Within the grooves of the runes flowed a ghostly blue, liquid-like energy, moving slowly as if imbued with powerful magic, emanating a deathly aura that sent shivers down one's spine. An incomparably sharp sword intent naturally spread outwards.

As the light completely faded, Li Xingyao's mental connection instantly read its new status:

[Summoned Item: Skeleton Swordsman]

[Status: Stable (Contractual Slavery)]

[Star Energy Rank: Super (Mid-Stage)]

[Star Energy: Approximately 6800]

【属性：1星能=4力量+2敏捷+0.5精神】（推测力量约27200，敏捷约13600，精神约3400）

[Talent Skills: Master-level Swordsmanship (Proficient in various sword combat techniques), Sword Aura Slash (Mid-range energy attack, capable of tearing through most armor), Soul Harvest (Attacks inflict massive mental damage, directly eroding the target's soul), Death Strike (Ignores some physical defense, dealing additional true damage to living beings), Undead Resilience (Passive, greatly increases physical and magical resistance), (Unawakened)]

"Skeleton Sword Saint... Super Mid-Tier, that's enough." Li Xingyao's eyes flashed with undisguised joy. This attribute is already comparable to or even surpasses some races' Super Mid-Tier warriors, especially the 'Soul Harvest' skill, which, combined with its terrifying physical attack power, is a fatal attack on any living thing.

He glanced at his soul power reserves and found he had about 22600 units remaining. Without hesitation, he selected four more skeleton swordsmen and, following the same procedure, poured a massive amount of soul power into them.

Soul power decreased by 4800 units!

In a short time, five skeletal sword saints, radiating the unique aura of super undead, stood silently, like statues, in a corner of the undead space. His remaining soul power was 17800, a reserve he had set aside for emergencies.

Having completed all this, Li Xingyao withdrew his consciousness from the Netherworld, letting out a long sigh of relief and feeling an unprecedented sense of peace. At this moment, Flamel was maintaining a steady cruising speed, flying high above the thin clouds.

The landscape below is undergoing a subtle but significant change. The flat forests and hills are gradually being replaced by increasingly dense and towering undulating hills. On the distant horizon, a huge, blurry, dark blue wall that seems to connect heaven and earth can be vaguely seen—that is the edge of the Carando Plateau, like the starting point of a roof!

Li Xingyao felt the subtle yet powerful vibrations of the bone dragon beneath him as it flew, and the biting, knife-like wind high in the sky. He adjusted his posture, gazing into the distance at the gradually rising plateau ahead. The highland winds seemed to have arrived early, whipping the hair on his forehead.

With five mid-stage Super Skeleton Sword Saints as his representatives, plus the legendary bone dragon Flamel as his trump card, his increasingly proficient telekinesis, and the skills of the Myriad Soul Banner, he felt more and more confident about stepping into the high plateau.

Beneath the vast, boundless sky, the legendary bone dragon, carrying its master, pierces the heavens like a grey arrow, heading towards the wild, opportune, and perilous Carando Plateau. A new journey has begun beneath their feet.

Carando Plateau.

In his previous life, Li Xingyao had seen pictures of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. Those winding roads through towering mountains were enough to make one marvel at the wonders of nature and the indomitable spirit of humankind. But the plateau before him now completely overturned his understanding of the word "plateau."

This is not a series of continuous mountain peaks, but a single, unimaginably vast plateau, like an ancient giant, arching its incredibly broad spine, covered with mottled greenery and exposed rock layers, out of the earth and into the sky. Its edges are steep cliffs stretching for thousands of kilometers with astonishing drops, as if the continent had been forcibly torn apart and lifted here.

At the current height and speed of the bone dragon, the outline of the plateau in the field of vision only moved slowly and steadily upwards, as if there was no end in sight.

According to information obtained from the Tianlong Empire's public database and offline map markings, this plateau is so vast that it is equivalent to nearly one-fifth of the entire surface area of ​​Earth!

This is a truly enormous landmass beyond imagination, complete with mountains, rivers, forests, and deserts, forming its own world.

"Zhongzhou... is indeed vast and boundless." Li Xingyao murmured to himself. The strong winds above the plateau blew against his mental barrier, bringing a wild, primitive and restless atmosphere.

The concentration of stellar energy here is significantly higher than in the plains, and even the air seems to carry a wild quality, completely different from the energy environment around his familiar Blue Star and Tianjing City. This environment is perfect for nurturing powerful star beasts and... warlike races.