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

Li Xingyao slowly shook his head, a faint, slightly reluctant smile on his face: "Thank you for your invitation. However, I am very interested in the Blood Crystal itself. I came here to obtain it, not to earn Star Coins. So, I still want to try it myself first."

"Of course, if the situation becomes really unfavorable later on, or if I change my mind, I can consider selling my kill contribution points to your team."

The smile on the swordsman's face gradually faded, replaced by an undisguised disappointment and displeasure. He looked Li Xingyao up and down, his eyes filled with contempt and mockery, as if he were looking at a reckless and impulsive young man who didn't know the rules.

He curled his lip and said, "Tsk, alright. To each their own. Young man, you'd better be careful. There are many dangers on this battlefield that one person can't handle alone." After saying that, he didn't say anything more, turned around and walked towards another group of people who looked like his teammates, and put on that warm smile again.

Li Xingyao watched his retreating figure, his gaze deep. He was well aware of the intricacies of this situation. This team model was essentially a form of "exploitation" by the team leader, who used information asymmetry and organizational skills to exchange relatively low-cost star coins for scarce and special resources that team members risked their lives for, thereby profiting from the price difference and some hidden gains.

For some people with limited abilities, such a team might be a good choice or opportunity. But for Li Xingyao, who has absolute confidence in his own abilities, it is undoubtedly a huge loss.

Moreover, Blood Crystals can directly enhance one's comprehension of laws, which is a crucial resource for his advancement. Their value far exceeds that of Star Coins. He is determined to obtain Blood Crystals and will absolutely not sell them at this stage.

Subsequently, a smaller team and a small squad came to extend invitations, all with similar conditions, which Li Xingyao politely declined for similar reasons.

After several encounters, the way the people in the human team looked at Li Xingyao subtly changed. What began as curiosity and scrutiny gradually turned into obvious unfriendliness, rejection, and even a hint of hostility.

He was alone, yet possessed remarkable abilities; he rejected offers from all teams, signifying his unwillingness to integrate into their profit-sharing system, becoming an individual independent of the crowd. Such an individual who does not abide by existing rules will naturally be rejected by the group that operates within those rules.

Capable people may have similar thoughts, affecting the team atmosphere. Incapable people may be jealous of his achievements, potentially causing unnecessary trouble.

"Hmph, what are you pretending to be, a lone wolf? You won't even know how you died."

"Think you're something special just because you have a little skill? Those who are arrogant and overconfident are often the ones who die the fastest on the battlefield!"

"Just watch and see how long he can hold out. Once the intensity of the barbarian war escalates, he'll be in for a rough time."

Some hushed whispers could be faintly heard, carrying undisguised malice.

Li Xingyao ignored all of this, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips. He had considered these consequences when he refused, and he was well aware that his pursuits were completely different from those of these people.

To expect him to pander to these people for a false sense of security and withheld benefits? It was laughable. Their kindness or approval meant nothing to him. He composed himself and followed the returning crowd back to the vast and chaotic makeshift camp.

Returning to his assigned simple tent, and after arranging for the Skeleton Sword Saint to keep watch, Li Xingyao sat cross-legged and once again immersed his consciousness into his mental space.

His current Soul Purification Power balance has reached an astonishing 120,800 units!

This number made Li Xingyao's heart beat slightly faster. Such a massive gain in soul power far exceeded his expectations. This meant that he could not only immediately unlock the next stage of the Myriad Soul Banner, but also have enough soul power to evolve his undead, adjust his team configuration, and achieve more kills in later battles.

His gaze fell upon the ancient, black soul banner in the center of his spiritual space. At this moment, it trembled slightly, its dark surface moving without wind, its surface flowing with dark red patterns like veins of blood, like a long-dormant heart about to awaken, radiating an intensely yearning pulse. It had reached the critical point of advancement.

"Promote him." Without the slightest hesitation, Li Xingyao immediately issued the command to the Myriad Soul Banner.

The moment the command was given, immense soul power began to vibrate like a torrent about to burst through a dam, flowing wildly within the Myriad Soul Banner. The banner surface suddenly trembled violently, and the dark red patterns on it suddenly lit up, becoming dazzling, intertwining into countless complex and eerie runes.

The entire mental space trembled, and it seemed as if the screams and wails of billions of souls echoed in his ears. A vast and chaotic collection of fragmented memories crashed against Li Xingyao's mental barrier like a tidal wave, filled with pain, anger, resentment, and a desire for destruction.

Sensing the familiar plot, Li Xingyao was well-prepared this time. He immediately activated meditation to stabilize his mind and decisively blocked out most of the mental pollution and memory fragments. He didn't want to understand this complex information now; he only needed the result—to understand the effects of the Myriad Soul Banner's advancement.

The transformation of the soul banner lasted for about fifteen minutes. Once the last surge of soul power had completely subsided, the tremors gradually ceased. The soul banner seemed to have become more profound and solid, and its size had slightly increased.

The originally blurry patterns on the banner became much clearer, gradually revealing twisted and struggling souls and ferocious demons. These patterns exuded a chilling majesty and cruel pain.

A message was relayed from within the Soul Banner to Li Xingyao's consciousness: the Myriad Soul Banner had successfully unlocked to a new stage.

Similar to the last promotion, the effects of all existing skills have been significantly enhanced, with these abilities increased by 50%:

Soul Devourer: Higher absorption efficiency, wider range, and stronger binding force on powerful souls.

Soul Impact: More powerful, with more pronounced mental shock and confusion effects.

Wraith Attack: More wraiths can be summoned, their individual maximum strength is increased, and the attack is more threatening.

Soul-Sealing Chains: Condensation speed is faster, and penetration and binding force are enhanced.

Death Erosion: The corrosion effect is stronger, the pain of corrosion is intensified, and the probability of the target dying is directly increased.

In addition, this promotion unlocked an extremely powerful yet dangerous new skill: [Soul Chains]

Description: The primal power of the Myriad Soul Banner condenses into an invisible and intangible chain that strikes directly at the very essence of the soul. This skill contains some of the mysteries of the laws of the soul; its power is immense, but the price is equally high.

effect:

Soul Imprisonment (Primary Control Effect): Upon successful hit, the target's soul is bound by invisible chains, isolating their soul from their body and rendering them unable to move or use any skills or actions, although they usually retain some consciousness. The duration of the imprisonment increases with the skill's cost.

Soul Stripping (Advanced Attack Effect): When facing a target with a soul strength far lower than one's own, an unstable life state, or a state of mental confusion, the Soul Chains have a very high probability of completely pulling the target's soul out of their body, causing physical death, and can absorb their soul into the Soul Banner. This effect has a lower success rate against powerful targets who are conscious and have intact souls.

Interrogation and intelligence gathering (auxiliary function): It can be used for interrogation to obtain deep, tamper-proof true memories by torturing or interrogating the imprisoned soul (or part of the soul).

Consumption and Limitations:

Consumption: Using this skill consumes a huge amount of mental energy and even life force, which is also a burden on the Myriad Soul Banner itself, making it unusable frequently.

Resistance: The target's willpower, soul strength, or specific skill resistance can resist or weaken the effects of imprisonment and stripping.

Restriction: Ineffective against targets without souls, such as clones and constructs.

Interruption: If the skill is interrupted or attacked during its channeling or duration, the chains may break, causing the skill to fail or even suffer a backlash.

Feeling the details and explanation of the [Soul Chains] skill, Li Xingyao slowly took a deep breath. The power of this skill was undeniable; it was a divine technique combining control, instant kill, and interrogation, and it even involved direct manipulation of the soul—bizarre and deadly.

However, it also consumes a great deal of energy, including mental and even life force. This is undoubtedly a typical manifestation of the magical weapon style, where power and risk coexist.

"As expected of the Myriad Souls Banner..." Li Xingyao muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with a complex light. This demonic artifact that had accompanied him through his transmigration, its power and malevolence, filled him with both joy and vigilance with each advancement.

This [Soul Chain] is undoubtedly another powerful ability, adding another killing move to his repertoire, and it also has other ingenious uses, not just a simple combat skill.

Suppressing the joy of the advancement of the Myriad Souls Banner and the shock of the new skill for the time being, Li Xingyao's thoughts touched another ball of light in his mental space—it was the skill model of [Lich Transformation], a forbidden knowledge he had obtained from the lich Alex.

This is a complex, inactive spiritual imprint, radiating a cold and deathly aura.

This skill was his last resort. If one day he truly reached a dead end, with his physical body on the verge of collapse, perhaps... transforming into a lich and pursuing eternity and power in another form would be a good option.

Of course, this is the ultimate means, at the cost of losing many experiences as a living being, and there may be some strange consequences due to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.