Mo Fan at his best – Versatile Mage

Of course, here is the continuation with Zhang Xiaohou awakening the Undead Element, realizing he has inherited the Calamity Undead, and tying the throne, the armor robe, the Nether Radiance, and the spiritual awakening together in the same packed style:

The moment Zhang Xiaohou sat upon the Blood Throne of the Dark Abyss, the entire altar let out a low and ancient hum.

The black gold armored robe that had already attached itself to his body suddenly released an even more terrifying surge of Nether Radiance. It poured into him like a boundless black sea, drowning his body, drowning his soul, and drowning even his spiritual world.

Zhang Xiaohou’s breathing turned heavy.

He felt as if countless icy hands were grabbing his limbs and dragging him down into the deepest part of the abyss. The aura of death was too dense. It was not simply cold. It was a kind of absolute stillness, the kind that belonged only to graves, ancient tombs, and things that should have long since vanished from the living world.

His spiritual world darkened at once.

The starlight of his Wind Element dimmed.

The newly formed Earth Galaxy also seemed to sink under the pressure of the endless Nether Radiance.

Everything became black.

Completely black.

Zhang Xiaohou felt as if he were roaming in his own spiritual world. There was no throne here, no altar, no bloodfalls, no dragons, only a vast and silent darkness. Even the stars of his elements seemed to have fallen asleep.

He did not like this feeling.

Instinctively, he began searching through the darkness.

If Wind and Earth could no longer shine, then there had to be another source of light somewhere in this silent universe. As long as there was still a trace of light, there was still a path forward.

He searched for what felt like a very long time.

Finally, in the endless darkness, he saw a faint glimmer.

It was not silver.

It was not gold.

It was not the green of Wind, nor the orange brown of Earth.

It was a pale and eerie light blue.

The glow was extremely faint, yet it carried a strange attraction. It was cold, quiet, ancient, and filled with the feeling of death. Yet for some reason, it did not reject him. It was as if it had already been waiting for him in the depths of his spiritual world.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately moved toward it.

No matter how far away it seemed, he continued to chase it.

At last, he arrived before the source of the light.

It was a tiny light blue Star, drifting slowly through the darkness.

A threadlike trail of pale radiance flowed behind it like ghostly fire.

Zhang Xiaohou reached out his hand.

The tiny Star avoided him at first, circling around in the darkness with a cautious and unfamiliar movement. Yet after a brief hesitation, it slowly floated back and landed in his palm.

The instant the light blue Star touched him, Zhang Xiaohou’s entire spiritual world shook violently.

Buzz!

The darkness split apart.

He was back inside his spiritual world.

His Wind Element was there.

His Earth Element was there.

And now, in a quiet corner of that world, a brand new light blue Stardust had appeared.

It was small.

It was weak.

It had only just been born.

Yet it existed clearly and undeniably.

Within the Stardust floated seven tiny light blue Stars, each one carrying a deathly chill and a strange ancient aura.

Zhang Xiaohou stared at it blankly.

A new Element.

He had awakened a new Element!

The moment that thought appeared in his mind, a flood of ancient and fragmented knowledge poured down from the Blood Throne and the armored robe.

Undead Element.

Black Magic.

Stardust color, light blue.

Novice level, Summon Skeletons.

Intermediate level, Summon Undead.

Advanced level, Undead Horde.

Super level, Gate of the Undead.

Forbidden Curse, Heroic Spirits Tower or Evil Spirit Abyss.

Those ancient pieces of information struck Zhang Xiaohou one after another, like inscriptions that had always existed in the throne and were only now being opened to him.

His breathing quickened.

This was no ordinary awakening.

This was not just a third Element granted to him because he had stepped into the Advanced level.

The moment his Earth Element completed its breakthrough and stabilized as an Advanced Galaxy, the inheritance of the Ancient King had immediately pulled open the door for his next awakening.

And what stood behind that door was the Undead Element.

But even among Undead Elements, his was different.

Although the Stardust was light blue like a normal Undead Element, deep within that pale radiance were threads of black red calamity aura, flowing like hidden blood inside ice.

The throne knew him.

The armored robe knew him.

The entire Dark Abyss knew him.

This was the Calamity talent Undead element!

Zhang Xiaohou’s heart pounded fiercely.

He could feel it clearly now.

This Element was not simply the power to control ordinary undead.

It carried the calamity of the ancient undead empire itself.

It was the inheritance of the Ancient King.

It was the authority to command death, to awaken the fallen, to suppress the undead, and, when fully grown, to release a true undead calamity upon the world!

At that same moment, the Nether Radiance flooding his body no longer felt like an enemy trying to devour him.

It was still dangerous.

Still overbearing.

Still cold enough to freeze life itself.

But it was no longer chaotic.

It had found its place.

Part of it merged into the armored robe on his body.

Part of it sank into the Blood Throne beneath him.

And another part entered the brand new light blue Stardust of the Undead Element, becoming its nourishment, its root, and its source of imperial authority.

Zhang Xiaohou suddenly understood why the inheritance had chosen him.

It was not because he was the strongest.

It was not because he was the most talented.

It was because he had come here without greed.

Because even when facing the throne of the Ancient King, what he thought of first was not himself, but Mo Fan still fighting in the Space of Death, and the millions of people in the city waiting to be saved.

That intention had allowed him to sit on the throne.

That will had allowed him to suppress the remnant soul in the armor.

And now that same unshakable heart was allowing him to inherit the Calamity Undead without immediately turning into a puppet of death.

Still, Zhang Xiaohou could also feel the danger very clearly.

The armored robe was a true Death Treasure.

The Nether Radiance inside it was far too immense.

If he failed to refine it in the future, if his cultivation could not keep up, if he used this power recklessly again and again, then one day he could still be eroded by death and become something no longer fully human.

That was the price.

That was the shadow beneath the throne.

But Zhang Xiaohou did not retreat.

Instead, he slowly raised his head while sitting on the Blood Throne.

His eyes were no longer only carrying the clear and steady look of before. In their depths now was a pale blue radiance, ancient and cold, like ghost fire burning in a king’s tomb.

He could feel the countless undead below the Dark Abyss.

He could feel the commanders, the generals, the officials, and the endless corpse tide.

He could even feel that among those dark presences, there was a deeper and more violent pulse, like a great calamity waiting to answer his call.

Calamity talent Undead.

That was not just the name of the inheritance.

It was also a bloodline like authority.

A kingship over the undead disaster itself.

Zhang Xiaohou slowly clenched his hand.

The newly awakened light blue Stardust trembled gently in his spiritual world, still weak, still only at the level of a novice awakening. Yet because it had been born inside the inheritance of the Ancient King, it carried a frightening nobility from the very beginning.

He could not yet open the Gate of the Undead.

He could not yet command an Undead Horde.

He could not yet manifest Heroic Spirits Tower or Evil Spirit Abyss.

But he knew now that those paths already existed within him.

They were waiting for him to grow into them.

Waiting for the new Ancient King to truly rise.

At that thought, Zhang Xiaohou could not help but remember Mo Fan’s usual shameless way of speaking.

If Brother Fan were here, he would probably laugh and say, my day one really is going to be an emperor.

The corner of Zhang Xiaohou’s mouth lifted slightly.

Then his expression turned serious again.

He slowly stood up from the Blood Throne.

The moment he rose, the black gold armored robe released a low metallic cry, and the whole altar trembled once more. The bloodfalls became louder. The dragons at the corners of the altar seemed to come alive. The darkness below churned violently.

And in Zhang Xiaohou’s spiritual world, the Wind Nebula, the Earth Galaxy, and the brand new light blue Undead Stardust shone together.

Wind.

Earth.

Undead.

His three Elements had finally taken shape.

The moment he took his first step down from the throne, the countless undead in the Dark Abyss seemed to feel the birth of their new ruler.

The new Ancient King had awakened.

And along with him, the Calamity Undead-talent had opened its eyes for the first time.

In the outside world, Zhang Xiaohou radiated a domineering yet sinister aura. The moment the Ancient King’s Armor Robe fully settled onto his body, the inheritance of the Dark Abyss no longer rejected him. Instead, it acknowledged him completely.

His hair instantly turned pale, almost silver white, fluttering freely in the vast underworld wind. Dark ancient patterns spread from his forehead down across his body, complementing the black gold armor and making him resemble a ruler who had slept beneath death for countless ages. One of his eyes still retained the clear steadiness that belonged to Zhang Xiaohou, but the other had turned into a cold ghostly blue, as if it reflected the pale fire of the undead.

His physique expanded slightly, not to a monstrous degree, but enough to make the entire suit of armor look complete upon him. Behind him, a crimson cloak billowed violently, and the endless Nether Radiance pouring from the throne continued to coil around his body like ancient streams of deathly mist.

At the same time, the armored robe’s power continued to deepen within him. The authority of the Ancient King had not merely placed armor onto his body. It had branded itself into his spirit, fused with his blood, and become a second nature. It was no longer just an external treasure. It had become part of Zhang Xiaohou’s existence.

Within his spiritual world, the three powers now shone together.

The green of Wind.

The orange brown of Earth.

And the eerie light blue of the newly awakened Undead Element.

Under the nourishment of the Nether Radiance, the three elements all became more majestic and profound than before. His Wind carried a chilling death aura. His Earth felt as heavy and ancient as a burial continent. And the pale blue Undead Stardust, though newly awakened, already emitted an authority that ordinary undead mages could never possess.

This was not merely an Undead Element.

This was the inheritance of the Calamity Undead.

Zhang Xiaohou could clearly sense it. Once worn, the Ancient King’s Armor Robe would transform everything it touched. No matter if it was Wind, Earth, or any other power he cultivated in the future, once it passed through the Nether Radiance, it would take on the essence of death.

The throne beneath him, the robe on his body, the altar around him, and the countless undead in the abyss below were all linked as one.

He could feel the undead kingdom.

He could feel the generals, the officials, the commanders, and the endless corpse tide.

He could feel that if he wished it, the whole Dark Abyss would answer him.

Of course, Zhang Xiaohou also understood one thing very clearly.

This power was not free.

The Ancient King’s Armor Robe was a true Death Treasure. Even though he had inherited it, even though the throne had chosen him, the endless Nether Radiance inside it would continue to erode anyone too weak to bear it. If he ever fell behind, if his cultivation ever failed to keep up, then one day even he might be devoured by the death power he now controlled.

But Zhang Xiaohou did not fear it.

He had never walked this far for himself alone.

He had followed Mo Fan into the Dark Abyss.

He had crossed the Nine Bridges.

He had sat upon the Blood Throne.

If there was a price to protecting the city, then he would bear it.

The next instant, the entire grand altar shook violently.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

A pitch black pillar of light mixed with Nether Radiance erupted from Zhang Xiaohou’s body and soared upward, piercing through the darkness of the Dark Abyss like a divine punishment from the underworld. The tremor spread through the whole tomb, through the abyss below, and through the undead kingdom itself.

At the very edge of the altar, two figures were still climbing upward with great difficulty.

The moment the pillar of light exploded into the sky, they froze and lifted their heads in shock.

Then they reached the top.

And what they saw there became a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Upon the supreme Blood Throne sat a majestic emperor.

The black gold armor covered his body completely. A crimson cloak billowed behind him. Endless Nether Radiance poured from him like an ocean, illuminating half the dark sky. The terrifying pillar of black light still surged upward behind him, making him appear less like a human and more like an ancient ruler of death reborn.

“This... this is the Ancient King?” one of them said in a trembling voice.

Zhang Xiaohou slowly rose from the throne.

The simple movement alone was enough to send a suffocating pressure across the altar. The air seemed to freeze. The souls of those present felt as though they had fallen into a nightmare. It was as if the being before them could erase even a Commander level existence with a single glance.

But Zhang Xiaohou himself knew the truth.

He was not dead.

He was not a corpse.

He was not a puppet.

He was still Zhang Xiaohou.

Only now, Zhang Xiaohou had also become something else.

The new Ancient King of the Dark Abyss.