The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

Seeing Wu You's somewhat bewildered expression, Ji Lingzuo's smile deepened: "That's right, Comrade Wu You."

"Aside from your rank in Jiuli, you do not currently hold any position in the Investigation Bureau."

"Hmm, your highest position on your resume is... Deputy Director of the Executive Department of the Lanhe City Investigation Bureau?"

At this point, Ji Lingzuo paused, "With your current abilities, Comrade Wu You, you are already capable of handling most positions in the Investigation Bureau."

"I wonder if Comrade Wu You has any thoughts about taking on a position in the Investigation Bureau?"

After listening to Ji Lingzuo's description, Wu You understood what he meant.

Generally speaking, once a torchbearer of Jiuli reaches the tenth rank, they are required to serve as the director of a provincial bureau in the real world, or as the person in charge of guarding a stronghold in a deep dark domain.

However, apart from his internal rank within Jiuli, he does not currently hold any position in the real world or the deep dark domain.

Wu You himself knew that this was also the reason why his strength had improved so quickly.

When he first revealed his tenth-tier strength, it was during the time of the great upheaval in the deep dark domain and the outbreak of the Great Void event.

After the upheaval ended, he had already become a level 15 powerhouse.

It skipped five major levels in one go!

At this speed, the personnel department within the Investigation Bureau simply couldn't react, let alone assign him any specific position.

After a moment's thought, Wu You shook his head, controlling his three clones.

He had no interest in what position he held.

Seeing the three figures shake their heads in unison, Ji Lingzuo sighed almost imperceptibly, and added unwillingly, "Comrade Wu You, combat personnel like us from the Jiuli tribe only hold key positions like bureau chiefs, and are generally only used as the highest combat force to guard a region."

"We only need to step in when there are unsolvable problems; otherwise, there's not much else to do."

"Specific matters are handled by dedicated departments; we just need to stamp the document when making the final decision."

"All things considered, you're actually quite free."

Although he knew that Ji Lingzuo's words were basically correct, Wu You's three clones still shook their heads: "I'm sorry, Director General, I really don't have any plans to take on any position at the moment."

Upon hearing Wu You's definite reply, Ji Lingzuo knew that his plan was completely doomed, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes: It seems that he won't be able to enjoy fighting for a while.

Whether it's the Municipal Bureau of Investigation, the Provincial Bureau of Investigation, or the Headquarters of Investigation, each department has a clear division of labor. As the main person in charge, you only need to make the final decision. There's not much to do on a regular basis. Compared to the Deep Dark Domain, working in the real world is indeed quite leisurely.

But Wu You has never forgotten how he acquired this strength!

Besides his own efforts, he couldn't do without the support of those enthusiastic zombies!

He already doesn't have enough clones!

Besides protecting his family and the two clones responsible for continuing to develop the new swordsmanship, only one clone can venture into the deep dark realm to kill zombies and earn experience points!

Under such circumstances, how could he waste a part of himself taking on the position of bureau chief?

The directors of provincial and municipal bureaus may not be that busy, and may even be quite idle, but as the highest combat force and pillar of stability in a province or city, they still need to be stationed at the Investigation Bureau building even if nothing happens!

I have a lot of free time, but I'm not that free.

Moreover, Wu You already possesses the Jiuli rank, which comes with corresponding privileges, so there's absolutely no need to worry about privilege issues.

Therefore, there is even less need for him to hold any real-world position.

At his level of ability, he no longer needs any prestigious positions or titles to enhance his resume.

His very existence is the most powerful passport.

But then, Wu You seemed to remember something and looked at the ordinary-looking figure on the screen: "By the way, Director-General, has my current rank been updated?"

The rank he was referring to was naturally his rank within the Jiuli tribe.

He's quite curious now about where his own level 15 strength stands within the Jiuli system.

Upon hearing this, Ji Lingzuo nodded: "It has already been updated; I was the one who submitted it."

"Excuse me, Director General, what is my current rank?"

"Since we are both at the fifteenth rank, we are naturally the same as each other, both being 'Li Yu' rank."

Upon hearing this, Wu You's three clones all showed a hint of surprise: "Li Yu" rank? The highest rank below Li Zhu?

The ranks of the Jiuli are: Firebearer, Traveler, Impermanent, Guardian, Ten Seats, Heavenly Commander, Li Yu, and Li Lord.

He thought that the strength of the fifteenth level was at most similar to that of the Heavenly Division, but now Ji Lingzuo directly told him that his current rank had reached the highest rank below the Lord of Li—Li Yu.

But then Wu You realized a problem: the fifteenth rank is already the Li Yu rank? Then what are the specific ranks of the Li Lords? Are they only the sixteenth or seventeenth rank?

It's important to know that the God of Beasts previously stated that the level of the Lords of Li was infinitely close to that of gods! In fact, their combat power had almost reached the level of gods!

If the Lords of Li are only at the sixteenth or seventeenth rank, wouldn't that mean that the corresponding rank of the gods is only around the eighteenth rank?

If even the level of a god is only eighteen, wouldn't that mean that his current strength is only three major levels away from that of a so-called god?

Seeing the identical expressions of surprise on the three identical faces, Ji Lingzuo seemed to have guessed what Wu You was thinking. He shook his head and said, "Although we have reached the level of Li Yu, who seems to be only a little bit away from Lord Li."

"But in reality, we are still far from the level that Lord Li is at."

"This little bit is almost like an insurmountable chasm."

Upon hearing this, Wu You looked at Ji Lingzuo in the light screen and made a gesture of wanting to hear more.

But Ji Lingzuo didn't explain directly. Instead, he asked Wu You a question: "Comrade Wu You, do you know how many level 15 ability users there are in our department, or rather, in the entire human camp?"

Upon hearing this question, all three clones frowned and then shook their heads.

He's only reached the fifteenth level, how could he possibly know how many high-level experts there are at the fifteenth level?

But judging from Ji Lingzuo's serious expression, there obviously won't be many.

Even though Wu You had somewhat anticipated this, Lingzuo's next words still took him by surprise: "In the entire human camp, those with abilities at level fifteen and above, including the nine Lords of Li—"

"In total, there are less than a thousand!"

The entire human faction, including all its top-tier combatants at level fifteen and above, actually has less than a thousand members!

This also means that if the entire human camp were ranked according to strength, Wu You would be in the top 1,000 at this point!

However, this also shows how scarce high-level combat power is on the human side!

It should be noted that even a slightly stronger projection of the Corpse God possesses the strength of a fifteenth-tier being!

And with this projection, no one knows how many paths they can simultaneously create!

This doesn't even include those powerful Corpse Races whose strength is second only to the Corpse Race Gods!

This clearly shows that the overall strength of the zombies is indeed far greater than that of the humans!

Whether it's basic combat power at a low level or top-tier combat power at a high level!

Ji Lingzuo continued, "You heard me right, less than a thousand!"

"If it weren't for the strength of the nine Lords of Li, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold on long ago, and this mortal realm would have long since become the backyard of the corpse race."

Wu You couldn't help but ask, "Just what level have the Lords of Li reached?"

Upon hearing this question, Ji Lingzuo shook his head: "I don't know."

Countless question marks appeared above the heads of the three clones: ? ? ? ? ? ?

After all that talk, Ji Lingzuo, the director of the Investigation Bureau, said he didn't know?

However, Ji Lingzuo hadn't finished speaking. He looked at Wu You's three clones and said, "Although I really don't know what level the Lords of Li have reached."

"But I asked the same question, and it was to the Third Lord Le.

Upon hearing this, even Wu You, who was sitting on the Blazing Gold Throne, couldn't help but open his eyes, revealing a look of anticipation.

Under the identical expectant gazes of his three clones, Ji Lingzuo continued unhurriedly:

"Currently, the highest level a power user can reach is the sixteenth level, and the strongest power user is also a sixteenth-level power user."

"As for the Lords of Li, they have far surpassed the sixteenth rank! It can be said that their existence has completely exceeded the scope of ability users!"

"As for what level the Li rulers actually are?"

"The Third Lord simply smiled and then replied—"

"When you are completely yourself, but not just yourself, you can reach our level."

"As for what level this is and what rank it corresponds to, the Third Master did not elaborate further."

You are completely yourself, but you are more than just yourself?

After listening, Wu You was also completely confused.

Why is this Third Lord of Le still a riddle-maker?

He hates riddle people!

However, Ji Lingzuo's words were not entirely devoid of useful information. At least now he knew that the Li Lords were all at least at the seventeenth rank or above.

Then, as if he had thought of something, Ji Lingzu added, "However, the level that Lord Li is at is not entirely unattainable."

"At the Investigation Bureau headquarters, there is a special artifact called the 'Torchstone,' which can give ability users a slight chance to break through the sixteenth-tier limit!"

A look of curiosity flashed in Wu You's eyes: "A special artifact—the Torch Tablet?"

Ji Lingzuo, visible within the light screen, nodded: "Not bad, Torchstone."

"The Torchstone is the only artifact we currently possess that can help those with abilities break through their limits and embark on the path to ultimate power."

"As for the origin of the torch monument—"

At this point, the figure in the light screen paused and didn't continue, but instead changed the subject:

"Speaking of which, we noticed you during the Lanhe Divine Descent incident last time—a young man who, after only a few months of awakening, was able to defy the Thousand-Faced God's Divine Descent Body."

"In view of your talent and outstanding contributions, we previously held a vote and unanimously approved your 'inscription ceremony'."

"I just didn't expect that in such a short time, you would already be an ability user on the same level as me."

"To be honest, even Lord Li doesn't advance this fast! If we didn't all know you were definitely human, we'd suspect you were some kind of corpse-god avatar who smuggled himself into the real world!"

At this point, Ji Lingzuo couldn't help but smile.

Wu You, however, noticed a phrase in Ji Lingzuo's words: "a monument-carving ceremony?"

Ji Lingzuo nodded: "It's a special ritual that can add fuel to the fire for you after you reach the sixteenth level limit."

"The monument-carving ceremony essentially still relies on the power of the torch."

"And the nine Lords of Li also relied on the power of the Torch Stele to break through the sixteenth level limit and enter another level."

"However, the inscription ceremony is very complicated and requires the preparation of many special materials. Although we started preparing two months ago, it will probably take about another month to fully prepare all the conditions for the inscription ceremony."

At this point, the figure in the light screen also recalled Wu You's current situation and sighed, "It's a pity, plans can't keep up with changes."

"The inscription ceremony requires the person to be present in person; it cannot be done by using an avatar or something similar. For now, we can only wait until your main body is freed before we can proceed with the inscription ceremony."

"Of course, we will find a way to help your main body escape, or at least allow your main body to temporarily leave that passage, as soon as possible."

"After all, compared to you, using the power of the Torchstone on mediocre people like us is a waste!"

"With your talent, if you were to receive the blessing of the Torchstone's power, you would probably reach the level of Lord Li and the others very soon."

"At that time, humanity will have another supreme powerhouse!"

The mysterious torch-shaped stele... The inscription ceremony... Can help those with special abilities break through the sixteenth-tier limit...

Wu You didn't feel anything about the monument-carving ceremony that could help those with abilities break through their limits.

After all, he wasn't a power user; his power came entirely from the Sword Codex.

As long as you gain enough experience points, forget about breaking through the sixteenth-tier limit. Even those corpse-type gods are nothing more than roadside creatures that you can kick to death!

If that doesn't work, it means you don't have enough experience points!

Therefore, the most urgent task is to earn as many experience points as possible.

Moreover, Wu You was more interested in the origin of the mysterious torch stele than the stele-carving ceremony. However, judging from Ji Lingzuo's attitude, the other party did not seem to want to mention the origin of the torch stele, so he did not ask any further questions.

After completing the registration and obtaining the information he needed, Wu You also communicated with Ji Lingzuo about the arrangements for the talisman swords and confirmed the specific time for handing over the first batch of talisman swords tomorrow: 9:00 AM.

From now on, follow this schedule every day.

After doing all this, Wu You ended the video call.

Then, the three clones walked out of the office of the director of the Dongjiang Provincial Bureau together, then took off into the air, transformed into three black streams of light and flowed in three different directions, eventually disappearing into the horizon.