I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Thirty miles east of Kolde, in the Ash Forest.

This withered forest was once called the Emerald Whisper Forest, where a thousand years ago, elves and humans made a pact, and all the trees sang together.

But three hundred years ago, a raiding squad of the Demon King's army, lacking any sense of martial ethics, used a forbidden spell to ambush the hero from that time.

The hero's team was wiped out on the spot. The forbidden fire burned everything to ashes, and even after three hundred years, the place still has not recovered.

The retaliation from the human kingdoms, the papacy, and the elven court came swiftly, with a legendary mage, a sage, and a high priest being dispatched to raze the Demon King's city to the ground using forbidden spells.

After that, "not using forbidden spells" seemed to become a tacit rule when the demon race waged war against other races.

Today, those remaining tree trunks stand under the moonlight, like countless bone fingers protruding from the ground, twisted, cracked, and pointing to the sky.

This is the "starter village" for adventurers of ranks F to D. Goblins, kobolds, rotten wood spiders, and the occasional lone orc scout.

Higher-level adventurers wouldn't even glance at this place when passing by.

But for Ji Tian, ​​this forgotten ruin was the first step in refining his new magic weapon.

He stepped into the Ash Forest, withered branches cracking and debris flying beneath his feet. In the distance came the low growls of wild beasts, sounds that seemed to be squeezed from the depths of their throats, carrying the stench of decay.

The smell of damp earth, rotten wood, and blood mingled together, trying to penetrate one's mind.

Ji Tian's right hand rested on the Emperor's Banner at his waist.

The banner was now rolled up and hung there quietly, looking like a tattered piece of black cloth.

But Ji Tian could feel it trembling slightly at his fingertips, clearly indicating that the weapon spirit was overjoyed!

Less than a minute later, the first monster appeared.

A goblin darted out from behind a dead tree, ready to launch a shameless sneak attack.

Its three-foot-tall, grayish-green body, tattered leather armor, and a rusty dagger clutched in its hand, along with its eerie green eyes that gleamed in the darkness and hissing sounds, were accompanied by a hissing sound.

The goblin raised its dagger, pushed off the ground, and lunged at his throat.

Ji Tian simply pointed his fingers like a knife and flicked them lightly.

A flash of white light appeared, and the goblin's body continued to charge forward, its head already flying off.

At the same time, the black banner at her waist unfurled automatically. The banner surface surged like dark clouds, moving without wind, emitting a low, fluttering sound.

A pale green light emanated from where the goblin had fallen, drawn by an invisible force, and silently disappeared into the banner.

The runes on the banner lit up for a moment, then returned to normal.

Ji Tian counted silently in his mind.

One.

He continued walking forward.

The nights in the Ash Forest are a carnival for monsters.

Goblins, kobolds, giant spiders, mutated gray wolves, and rotting corpses tainted by demonic energy—these creatures, which hide in caves during the day, emerge in droves after nightfall.

They roared and howled, turning the entire forest into a hunting ground.

However, tonight, the roles of hunter and prey have been completely reversed.

Ji Tian walked through the forest at a steady pace, each step measured as if it had been measured with a ruler.

His expression was as calm as if he were strolling in his own backyard, rather than walking through a dead land teeming with monsters.

Wherever he passed, black banners were unfurled again and again.

Each time it unfolds, a soul is drawn into it.

two.

three.

Four.

five.

Ji Tian's divine sense spread out like an invisible net in the darkness, covering a radius of a hundred feet.

The location and strength of each monster were clearly imprinted in his mind.

A lone orc scout burst out of the bushes.

A two-meter-tall green body, bulging muscles, protruding fangs, and a blood-stained iron axe in its right hand.

It roared deafeningly, stomped its feet, and charged towards Ji Tian like a runaway chariot.

Ji Tian turned to the side.

Using his left foot as a pivot, he stepped back half a step with his right foot, turned his body to the side, and casually tossed his hair like in a certain Indian AAA game. The axe blade grazed his clothes and chopped down, striking the ground beside him.

The ground was split open, and rubble flew everywhere.

The moment the iron axe sank into the ground, Ji Tian's right hand landed on the orc's wrist. With a gentle press of his five fingers, the orc's wrist bones cracked, and the iron axe flew out of his hand.

With his left hand, fingers held together like a knife, he pierced the orc's throat, sealing his throat with four fingers.

The black banner unfolds.

The orc's soul was a dense, deep green light that struggled violently on the banner. The black banner simply shook its head slightly and dragged the soul into it.

Ji Tian withdrew his hand and continued walking forward.

When the moon reached its highest point, Ji Tian stood by a dried-up stream.

The streambed was completely cracked and dry, and the dead branches of the trees along the stream were intertwined. Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the branches, casting mottled white spots of light on the ground.

Ji Tian untied the black banner from his waist and held it in his palm.

The banners were no longer the lifeless sight they had been when they set off.

On the black fabric, faint green light patterns flowed, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, pulsating with a slow and regular rhythm, as if the banner had its own heartbeat.

The runes on the banner became clearer, moving and intertwining on the banner like living things.

Ji Tian sat down cross-legged, laid the black banner flat on his lap, and probed it with his divine sense.

boom--

One hundred and thirty-seven souls wandered, collided, and struggled within the banner. Sensing the intrusion of external divine consciousness, they instinctively gathered together, forming a chaotic stream of souls.

The shrieks of goblins, the howls of kobolds, the whimpers of gray wolves, the roars of orcs... all the sounds mingled together, like 137 thunderclaps exploding simultaneously, resounding in Ji Tian's mind.

The impact was enough to cause an ordinary C-rank adventurer to have a mental breakdown on the spot.

Ji Tian remained expressionless.

The howls of those souls echoed in his sea of ​​consciousness, but they could not shake his divine sense in the slightest. He even found it a bit noisy, frowned, and his divine sense trembled slightly.

"You audacious demon, to enter my Emperor's Banner and become part of my magic weapon is an immense fortune. Don't be ungrateful; you'll only get what you deserve."

All the souls fell silent instantly.

not enough.

Ji Tian withdrew his divine sense, stood up, and hung the black banner back on his waist. He glanced at the moon's position—just past its zenith, at least four hours before dawn.

He continued deeper into the forest.

One hundred and fifty-three.

189.

two hundred.

Two hundred and thirty-one.

Two hundred and eighty-nine.

three hundred.

357.

Four hundred.

Ji Tian no longer hunted them one by one. Instead, he locked onto a specific area with his divine sense and moved through the darkness, his feet never stopping as his hands alternately swung out.

One after another, flashes of white light streaked across the sky, like lightning in the dark night. The roars of the monsters rose and fell, but each roar was abruptly cut short by a crisp cracking sound of bone breaking.

The black banner was almost never closed. Like a black flag, it fluttered around Ji Tian's waist, constantly unfolding and closing.

Each time it unfolds, several or even a dozen souls are simultaneously drawn into it.

The green light patterns on the banner grew brighter and brighter, transforming from a faint firefly glow into flowing liquid jade, emitting a faint light in the darkness.

The light illuminated Ji Tian's face. His expression remained calm, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned—he felt a long-lost sense of familiarity.

Killing and slaughter.

This is the cultivation world he is familiar with.

As dawn broke, Ji Tian emerged from the Ash Forest.

His gray coat was clean, his steps were steady, and his breathing was even; he seemed even more energetic than before he went in.

The guard at the city gate glanced at him, then looked in the direction he came from. His lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Ji Tian's calm, almost indifferent expression, he swallowed his words.

Those who could emerge alive from that forest alone were either incredibly lucky novices or ruthless individuals who pretended to be weak while actually being strong. The young man before them, however, did not seem to be the former at all.

Back at the inn, Ji Tian closed the door, took off the black banner, sat cross-legged on the bed, and spread the banner on his lap.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness probed in again.

This time, he encountered no resistance.

Four hundred and thirty-one souls floated within the banner, as quiet as if they were asleep. They had been suppressed and refined by the runes within the banner, turning into docile energy bodies.

They floated silently in the space within the banner, waiting to be transformed into power.

Ji Tian's lips curled up slightly.

One night, 431 souls.

He opened his eyes and looked calmly at the black banner on his lap.

The green light patterns on the banner had stabilized, no longer pulsating wildly as before, but flickering slightly at a constant frequency, like some kind of ancient timer.

He folded the black banner and hung it back on his waist.

"No rush." ​​He closed his eyes and began to circulate his energy, guiding the refined soul power from the banner into his body bit by bit. The feeling of that soul power entering his body was like a warm spring flowing through his meridians, nourishing a long-dry riverbed.

"The road ahead is still long."