Mo Fan at his best – Versatile Mage

The city was suddenly immersed in cheers. The dawnlight was fairly bright, but the gray clouds and rain remained, yet none of it mattered now. As long as the undead army was gone, the city would be safe, as they had all survived the calamity!

The Magicians on the wall fell to the ground feebly. The calamity had drained all their energy. They had all prepared to sacrifice their lives in the battle, yet they never thought they would actually survive until the end and witness the undead tide falling away!

It was unbelievable, even they found it hard to believe what they had seen.

It felt like the tide brought by a great storm was about to devour them, and it was obvious that the rain would continue to fall still, but the black tide suddenly fell away. The water level quickly dropped to their feet and withdrew from the little island they were on...

Many people were lying on the ground looking up into the sky. The raindrops fell on their face felt rather hot, as they could not extinguish the excitement and joy in their hearts!

The people were hugging one another. Cries of relief after surviving the calamity echoed in the city, regardless if they knew one another...

The Magicians outside the city were returning. Some stood still on the spacious ground covered in debris. It took them a while to collect their thoughts.

Mo Fan was still standing on the slanting signal tower. His eyes were staring into the north.

The runes covering his body had disappeared. The silver hair returned to his usual black. The wild lightning and fire were withdrawn deep into his soul.

On the other side, Zhang Xiaohou quickly issued a command to the million undead under the Undead Monarchs, ordering them to lie dormant and recover, strictly forbidding any invasion of human territory. Only after the command had spread through the entire undead empire did he return to the Blood Throne deep within the Dark Abyss to digest what he had inherited.

He sat cross legged on the altar.

The black gold armor on his body gradually receded, and the overwhelming emperor-like state slowly faded. The endless power of the Ancient King retreated, and the familiar feeling of his own mortal body returned.

With it came a heavy wave of weakness.

The sensation was deeply unpleasant.

A moment ago, he had stood high above the battlefield and made monarchs kneel with a single thought. Now, as that boundless Nether Radiance retreated, Zhang Xiaohou clearly felt the frailty of his present body. The difference was so sharp it made his chest tighten.

At the same time, within his spiritual world, the newly awakened Undead Element continued to pulse with pale blue radiance.

The inheritance had not disappeared.

It had only quieted.

The Ancient King’s black gold armored robe was no longer raging wildly inside him, but it had left behind a deep mark. Vast death energy continued to linger within his body and spiritual world, slowly being absorbed and digested.

This power did not simply leave him stronger.

It also changed the way his magic responded.

Soon, Zhang Xiaohou emerged from the first wave of weakness and immediately began examining every part of his body for any further aftereffects.

The first thing he checked was his three elements.

Wind.

Earth.

Undead.

The Wind Nebula was still there, but under the influence of the Nether Radiance, the green stars now seemed deeper and heavier than before, as if the wind he controlled had gained a colder and more deathly temperament.

The Earth Galaxy remained stable as well. However, compared to before, it no longer felt like ordinary stone and soil alone. It felt older. More oppressive. Like a burial continent sleeping under a dead empire.

And the Undead Element...

That pale blue Stardust was the most shocking of all.

Although it had only just awakened, it was unusually steady, as though it had existed within him for a very long time.

It was no ordinary Undead Element.

It was the inheritance of the Calamity Undead.

Zhang Xiaohou sat there quietly, letting the realization settle.

This was not some bonus.

This was not some lucky extra reward.

This was a complete new road.

If he continued down this road, then the novice level would be Summon Skeletons, the intermediate level would be Summon Undead, the advanced level would become Undead Horde, the super level Gate of the Undead, and at the end of it all, Forbidden Curse would become either Heroic Spirits Tower or Evil Spirit Abyss.

That was the chain now laid before him.

He did not feel excitement in the same way Mo Fan might have.

What he felt was seriousness.

Weight.

Responsibility.

He knew too clearly that power like this did not come without cost.

The Ancient King’s armored robe was still a true Death Treasure. Even though it had acknowledged him, the Nether Radiance within it would continue corroding him little by little. If he failed to become strong enough in time, then one day he too might be swallowed by the death power he now carried.

But Zhang Xiaohou had already made up his mind.

If this power could protect Brother Fan.

If it could protect the city.

If it could keep the undead from ever freely massacring humans again.

Then he would bear it.

No matter how heavy the price was.

After stabilizing himself a little further, Zhang Xiaohou suddenly spoke into the darkness.

“Since you’re here, then come out.”

The darkness at the edge of the altar stirred.

A graceful woman in a pale gown slowly emerged, her presence elegant yet filled with an ancient underworld nobility. Her eyes were deep and unreadable, and her smile carried a teasing, almost amused meaning.

“As you wish... my king.”

Zhang Xiaohou looked at her steadily.

He did not feel arrogance.

He did not feel the need to show off.

But he also did not retreat.

He had already inherited the throne.

That meant there were certain things he had to say clearly.

“I’m still me,” Zhang Xiaohou said. “I may have inherited the Ancient King’s throne, but I’m not here to become some mindless ruler of corpses.”

The woman’s smile deepened slightly, but she did not interrupt.

Zhang Xiaohou continued, his tone calm and direct.

“There’s one thing that is not negotiable. When I’m not here, the undead must be kept in check. They are not allowed to randomly invade human lands or slaughter living people.”

The Queen of the Netherworlds listened quietly.

Then she said, “That is not impossible. But you must understand, slaughter is deeply rooted in the nature of many undead. Absolute suppression is not something that can be maintained without strength.”

Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

He already knew that.

The throne gave him authority.

But authority alone was not enough.

If he wanted this command to hold in the long run, he would have to continue growing stronger, until not even the Undead Monarchs dared to resist his will.

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I’ll become strong enough that they won’t dare disobey.”

The woman looked at him for a moment longer.

Compared to the Ancient King of old, this new ruler was too different.

He had less cruelty.

Less ambition.

Less desire to dominate everything.

But there was something else in him.

Steadiness.

Loyalty.

A kind of quiet determination that made his words harder to dismiss than any loud declaration.

Finally, she inclined her head slightly.

“As you command, my king.”

Zhang Xiaohou remained silent for a moment.

Then he asked the question that mattered most to him.

“If I’m not in the Dark Abyss, can the undead still be controlled?”

The Queen of the Netherworlds answered honestly.

“They can be restrained, but not perfectly. Your authority is absolute only when you truly don the armored robe and stand as the Ancient King. When you are absent, your will can still suppress them, but over time, there will always be unrest.”

Zhang Xiaohou frowned slightly.

That was troublesome.

It meant that for now, the undead empire was not something he could completely leave unattended forever.

Still, it was already far better than before.

He could stabilize it.

He could keep it from becoming an immediate disaster.

That alone was enough for now.

The queen then looked at him meaningfully and said, “If you fully merged with the source of death, remained here, and completely embraced the role of Nether King, then all of this would become much simpler.”

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head almost immediately.

“No.”

There was no hesitation in his voice.

“I’m not giving up being human.”

The Queen of the Netherworlds watched him quietly.

She seemed neither surprised nor disappointed.

Zhang Xiaohou lowered his gaze slightly.

Maybe for other people, eternal life as a death ruler might sound tempting.

But to him, what was the point of a life stripped of warmth, of loyalty, of emotion, of the people he wanted to protect?

What was the point of ruling death if it meant losing everything that made him Zhang Xiaohou in the first place?

He had no interest in that kind of eternity.

The Queen of the Netherworlds eventually smiled faintly.

Although she spoke indirectly, her attitude had already changed.

She had accepted him.

Not just as the inheritor of the throne.

But as its true master.

And Zhang Xiaohou, sitting once more upon the Blood Throne in the depths of the Dark Abyss, slowly closed his eyes again.

He still had much to digest.

Much to understand.

And far, far more power to grow into.

Because from this day onward, he was no longer only Mo Fan’s loyal brother.

He was also the new Ancient King.

At the same time, Zhang Xiaohou also remembered the violent black wind outside the Nine Bridges.

That was not ordinary death wind.

That was a Wind Element Heaven Seed.

Back then, Brother Fan had already recognized it and told him not to touch it yet. With his current cultivation, he could not possibly subdue something so violent. Only after reaching the Super level would he truly have the qualifications to absorb it.

Now, after inheriting the Ancient King’s throne, Zhang Xiaohou understood that point even more clearly.

The Dark Abyss was no longer just a place of inheritance.

It had become his domain.

And the Wind Element Heaven Seed hidden within it would remain there, waiting for the day he reached the Super level.

When that time came, his Wind Element would undergo another complete transformation.

And in the future, the owner of the Wind Element Heaven Seed.

That would be the path of Zhang Xiaohou.