Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 518 - 371: Naraku Meditation Method, Explosive Power Boost!_2
As a practitioner of the rare Undead Mage Profession, excluding the enhancement of equipment and Marvels, her actual combat power was probably only comparable to an ordinary Black Iron Lower-Tier Professional.
Silvanas’s predicament was a microcosm of the challenges faced by other Undead Mages. In the traditional Cultivation System, Undead Mages faced various limitations and challenges. They not only had to overcome the instability of their Mana, but also enhance their Skills and combat power with limited resources.
However, with the advent of the Skeleton King Meditation Method and the Corpse Commander Meditation Method deduced by Fang Zhou, everything had changed dramatically. At least in the Apprentice and Black Iron Stages, this series of Meditation Methods provided enough of a boost to an Undead Mage’s Skill enhancements and Cultivation efficiency to cause a rapid increase in their combat power.
Take Silvanas as an example: when she practiced the Zombie Meditation Method, exhausting all her Mana could only summon twenty Black Iron Lower-Tier Zombies. That may sound like a lot, but the combat methods of Black Iron-Tier Professionals were a great leap beyond those of the Apprentice Tier. If forced into a head-on confrontation, a typical Black Iron-Tier Professional would certainly be no match for twenty Zombies. But no one was that foolish. In a battle against an Undead Mage, beheading the incredibly fragile Summoner was a guaranteed path to victory. Therefore, Silvanas still needed to reserve a significant portion of her Mana to cast self-preservation Skills to ensure her own safety. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Now, with the boost from the Corpse Commander Meditation Method, the situation had fundamentally changed. If Silvanas exhausted all her Mana, thanks to the new Meditation Method’s reduction in Skill consumption and enhancement in Skill Effects, she could summon thirty-five Zombies of the same level at once. The difference between twenty and thirty-five was nearly double. The increase in Silvanas’s combat power was self-evident.
The elite Undead Mages present naturally understood the profound significance of the Corpse Commander Meditation Method, as deduced by Fang Zhou, for their Profession. Silvanas’s improvement in combat power was just the tip of the iceberg. The revolution brought by Fang Zhou’s Meditation Method would impact the development of the entire Undead Mage Profession. This unprecedented breakthrough not only gave every Undead Mage present a glimmer of hope but also filled them with infinite anticipation for Fang Zhou’s future.
Master Sandro took a deep breath, his ancient face seeming to brim once more with a long-lost passion and vitality. He gently raised his right hand, feeling the Undead Attribute Energy Fluctuations from Silvanas’s casting, and sighed, "Fang Zhou, with you here, we Undead Mages finally have a chance to redeem ourselves. Looking back at the decades of blood and fire since Blue Star entered the Era of Myth, every Profession needs its pioneers. It is precisely because of the arduous paths paved by these pioneers that humanity now possesses such a rich and diverse system of Professions, each with its unique traits. Only then can we resist the onslaught of the Abyssal Demons, despite being inferior in both numbers and quality.
"Unfortunately, we Undead Mages have never had such a pioneer. Everyone says I am the strongest Undead Mage, but I know in my heart that my contributions to the Profession have been meager at best. Without solving the natural life-and-death barrier that exists between the living and the cusp of death, the problems of slow Cultivation and feeble combat power among Undead Mages can never be truly resolved.
"By combining the wisdom and strength of many people, I was only able to refine our Undead Mage Meditation Methods to the level of the previous Skeleton Meditation Method and Zombie Meditation Method. Although this was much better than when we first started Awakening, it didn’t touch upon the essence of the life-and-death barrier. After all, by contemplating images of ordinary Undead Creatures like Skeletons, Zombies, and Ghosts, we Undead Mages can forge a fragile connection with the Undead Realm, thereby enhancing our power. But these common Undead Creatures, while plentiful, are far too weak and ordinary. They can only solve the problem of getting us from zero to one, but not from one to a hundred, let alone a thousand or ten thousand."
Master Sandro paused for a moment. It seemed he hadn’t spoken at such length to anyone in a long time, nor had he vented the bitterness and helplessness he’d felt while exploring the Undead Mage Profession alone all these years. Once the floodgates opened, he found it difficult to stop.
"I have previously investigated the ruins of the Naraku Civilization on multiple occasions, trying to see how they, as living beings like us from Blue Star, mastered the power of Death. My conclusion is that the Naraku Civilization relied on their race’s Guardian Gods to claim a vast expanse in the Undead Realm. They built numerous Altars of Death there, greatly enhancing the connection between their Undead Mages and the Undead Realm, thereby diminishing the barrier between life and death."
A hint of regret flashed in Master Sandro’s eyes. "Unfortunately, after extensive research, I discovered that all of the Naraku Civilization’s Guardian Gods fell in the bloody war against the Abyssal Demon army. After their fall, all the Altars of Death they had built in the Undead Realm lost their function for contemplation and connection. Let’s not even mention that I still haven’t found a concrete method for building Altars of Death or establishing a contemplation-based connection in the Undead Realm. Even if I had, I would lack the power to replicate what the Naraku Civilization did. At least at this stage, their methods are not applicable to us humans on Blue Star. And as long as the problem with our foundational Meditation Methods remains unsolved, we Undead Mages will never be able to rise."
Neither Fang Zhou nor Silvanas, both novice Undead Mages, had ever heard the secrets of the Naraku Civilization that Master Sandro had just shared.
What are a race’s Guardian Gods? What are Altars of Death in the Undead Realm?
These were profound pieces of undead lore that Fang Zhou had never encountered before. Judging by Instructor Su Xinyan’s expression, she might have heard of them, but she certainly didn’t possess Master Sandro’s detailed understanding.
Having been Awakened for half a year, Fang Zhou had met many powerful figures during his Cultivation. These included Instructor Lu Hu, Major General Ning Danxin, and even Headmaster Su Tiankuo—experts who had reached the Golden Tier, Glory Champion, and even Legendary Crown levels. At General Ning Feihu’s funeral, he had even observed from afar the projections of several Human Saints on the high observation platform. Although his own strength was currently just at the Black Iron Lower Tier, he had already developed a comprehensive understanding of the Mythical World’s ranking system.
Starting from the Apprentice Stage, Professionals honed their Four-dimensional Attributes through Meditation Methods or Breathing Techniques. After condensing an Invisible Energy Core, they could break through the bottleneck and advance to the Black Iron Tier. At this time, a Professional’s Mana or Battle Qi would take on a deep, iron-black hue, its power naturally showing a massive increase compared to the Apprentice Stage. Following the typical cultivation path, Professionals could attempt to solidify their Talent Skills during a breakthrough. They could also learn various profession-specific specialties, inscribing them into their Invisible Energy Core.
As their accumulated Energy continued to increase, Black Iron-Tier Professionals would also encounter a firm bottleneck. Only human Professionals with sufficient talent had the chance to break through it, condense a Gaseous Energy Core, and ascend to the Bronze Tier. At this stage, the Mana or Battle Qi within their bodies would also evolve, taking on a dense, bronze hue, its quality naturally higher than that of the Black Iron Stage.
Subsequently, Professionals would continue to refine themselves.
Condensing a Liquid Energy Core allowed one to advance to the Silver Tier and possess Silver Mana or Battle Qi.
Condensing a Solid Energy Core allowed one to advance to the Golden Tier and possess Golden Mana or Battle Qi.
Among the entire Blue Star human race, those who could break through the numerous bottlenecks to advance to the Golden Tier were few and far between—truly one in ten thousand.
