Although Zombie Bears were slightly more sluggish than regular Skeleton Warhorses, this was inevitable. After all, with such immense weight and strength, it is an unchangeable rule that larger creatures are more sluggish than smaller ones. However, being slightly sluggish wasn’t a major drawback, as the bear’s size and strength were undeniable.

After successfully capturing the first Zombie Bear, Fang Zhou continued using the same method, quickly capturing all the Zombie Bears in sight. This batch of Zombie Bears was merely an appetizer.

Next, Fang Zhou led Sain and the Corpse Guards deeper into the Chiguo Plain, enslaving all visible Undead Mounts that could be synthesized into Corpse Knights. If not for the faint aura of powerful Bronze Upper Rank Undead Beasts detectable further ahead, Fang Zhou might have ventured even deeper. Even so, despite not pressing forward, Fang Zhou still swept back and forth across a vast area.

Unconsciously, he had strayed far from the territory where he had manifested the Corpse Tomb. It was only when he felt his connection with the Corpse Tomb weaken that Fang Zhou snapped out of the joy of his great harvest. He looked up at the blood-red moonlight, sighed, and felt a pang of nostalgia for the convenience of a portable Corpse Tomb.

However, with loss comes gain.

Now that he had manifested the Corpse Tomb from his Soul Fire into this shard of the Undead Realm known as the Wasteland of Strife, he could no longer move it at will. In exchange, however, his affinity with the Blood Moon’s Will in the Wasteland of Strife had been greatly enhanced. This was reflected in the functions of the Corpse Tomb, where the production speed of various resources had seen explosive growth.

Once this growth rate reached its threshold, Fang Zhou could sit in the Lord’s Hall, wield the authority of the corpse, and begin to analyze and devour this realm’s Blood Moon’s Will. This was the source of his confidence, the reason he believed he could use the Corpse Tomb to devour heaven and earth and conquer one fragment of the Undead Realm after another.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Zhou restrained his desire for further conquest. Looking back at his ever-growing army, this sweep across the Chiguo Plain had allowed him to collect over a thousand Undead Mounts, ranging from Black Iron Lower Rank to Bronze Middle Rank.

There were Skeleton Warhorses, Zombie Bears, Zombie Horses, Skeleton Leopards, Bone Spiders, and Zombie Wolves. This also meant that Fang Zhou could now synthesize over a thousand Corpse Knights. Although his quota for Bronze Middle Rank Corpse Guards was nearly 500, the remaining hundreds of Corpse Knights could be advanced to Bronze Lower Rank.

This undoubtedly increased the forces under his command, rekindling the long-dormant ambition in his heart to conquer the other Undead Lords in the vicinity. It wasn’t that he was previously uninterested in the Blood Moon Blessings carried by the surrounding Undead Lords. Rather, he had just arrived in the Wasteland of Strife and was unfamiliar with the land and its people. Not only had his own forces not reached their limit for expansion, but he also had no understanding of the surrounding enemies or terrain.

However, things were different now.

Once he returned and digested this harvest, he would assemble the Corpse Knights, Corpse Warriors, and Corrupt Hatreds—the three major Bronze-level Undead units. Supplemented by the perfected Undead Commander system personally trained by Olaf, the strength of Fang Zhou’s Undead Army would surely experience a qualitative leap. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Fantasizing about the bright future, Fang Zhou turned his steed around, leading his great army back toward the Corpse Tomb. Based on past experience, the Blood Moon Tide was about to descend.

I have to return to my territory and organize its defenses before the Blood Moon Tide arrives. he thought. Once I’ve digested this batch of loot, I’ll return to the Chiguo Plain.

Of course, there was an even more crucial reason for his immediate return. During this period of attribute feedback, his main body’s Spirit Attribute had finally reached 100 points. This also meant he could officially break through the bottleneck and advance to a Bronze Lower Rank Undead Mage. Such a critical moment naturally required his full concentration and effort.

Just as Fang Zhou had anticipated, when his consciousness returned to his body, the light on his attribute panel was particularly dazzling. The Spirit Attribute column, in particular, showed a value of a stunning 100 points, indicating he had reached the threshold between the Black Iron and Bronze Tiers.

Fang Zhou sat cross-legged in the portable Concentration Meditation Array in his room at the Beast Fighting City inn, taking a deep breath.

This is the perfect time to break through.

During this period of cultivation, the experience he gained from Instructor Lu Hu, combined with the knowledge imparted by Instructor Su Xinyan and Master Sandro, had fully prepared him for the process of breaking through the bottleneck and advancing to the Bronze Tier. Therefore, when this moment truly arrived, he was exceptionally calm, as if everything was under his control.

Moonlight poured through the window, its soft silver glow enveloping him as if bestowing a crown. He began the last Meditation of his Black Iron career.

Mana converged like droplets of clear water into the Invisible Energy Core within his body, finally forming a powerful current. A sense of Perfection began to fill Fang Zhou’s heart. His Mana began to boil like magma before a volcanic eruption. It surged and split within his body, then rapidly swelled until it finally broke through the barrier as thin as a cicada’s wings.

A soft pop, almost imperceptible, sounded in Fang Zhou’s mind. After the benefits granted by Heavenly and Earthly Treasures with Undead Attributes like the Bone-Eroding Blood Spring and the Breath of Decay, the barrier that once stood before him now seemed ethereal, easily penetrated by his Mana.

Next was the most crucial step: condensing a Bronze-tier Gaseous Core. This was not only the key moment for a Magic Professional’s invisible Mana to transform into Gaseous Mana, but it would also determine whether Fang Zhou could successfully solidify a unique skill into a Talent during this breakthrough to a new Great Realm.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes, focusing all his attention deep within his mind. Under his guidance, the invisible Undead Mana gradually gathered into a spinning vortex, like the most dazzling galaxy in the night sky, continuously drawing in surrounding points of light. Following Su Xinyan’s teachings, he carefully recalled his previous simulated experiences, ensuring every step was precise.

As the invisible Mana continued to converge, the density at the vortex’s center grew higher and higher. Finally, the Mana vortex gradually solidified in the center of his mind, transforming into a Gaseous Energy Core.

At the same time, the previously abundant and full invisible Mana began to undergo a qualitative change. It fused with the Undead Attribute energy drawn in from the outside world, forming the Gaseous Mana unique to Undead Mages.

Throughout this entire process, the skill Skeleton Armor, which he had long since trained to an instinctual level of proficiency, also began to metamorphose. Under his guidance, the skill was successfully fixed within the Gaseous Mana Core, becoming a central part of his future combat style.

Moreover, through his own understanding and analysis, Skeleton Armor evolved. It expanded from a simple Skeleton Series defensive skill into the more broadly defined skill, Death Protection. This meant that in the process of solidifying his talent, Fang Zhou had widened the boundaries of Death Protection, leaving an ’opening’ to embed other defensive skills within it in the future.

As Fang Zhou continued to advance, whether to the Silver or Gold Tiers, this talent skill engraved in his Mana core could be modified and perfected at any time. After all, Skeleton Series defensive skills were just a small fraction of an Undead Mage’s power. In the future, Fang Zhou would surely be able to analyze and extract powerful abilities from higher-level Undead Creatures, such as those from the Soul Series, Flesh and Blood Series, Curse Series, and Decay Series.

By expanding from a simple armor skill into a Death Protection that could fuse with other powers, its utility had undoubtedly increased significantly.