Undead Mage: I Have a Skeleton Clone-Chapter 521 - 373: Proof of Mastery, the Gift of the Bone-Eroding Blood Spring! (Part 2)

"Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you."

Fang Zhou had never expected that one of the two Heavenly and Earthly Treasures he had been pining for, the Bone-Eroding Blood Spring, would fall into his hands so effortlessly. For him, this was undoubtedly a godsend. Unfortunately, the other treasure, the Breath of Decay, remains elusive, as if it had vanished into thin air.

Master Sandro thought for a moment and continued, "Fang Zhou, I have a group of old friends who have also heard of your reputation. They’ve spoken to me several times, expressing their desire to join your Undead Mage research at the Sea City Military Academy. I told them that I would bring my apprentice to visit and assess the situation first. If you truly live up to your name and possess extraordinary talent in the Undead Mage Profession, then I’ll invite these old friends to come over. Although we’ve only just met, the Corpse Commander Meditation Method and Summon Skeleton Bat Skill you’ve shown me are enough to prove that your talent far surpasses that of any other Undead Mage. If you need them, I can call my old friends to the Sea City Military Academy at any time."

Fang Zhou’s eyebrows rose, his interest instantly piqued.

Master Sandro’s so-called old friends were surely veteran Undead Mages. While they might not have heaven-defying talent like him, their accumulated knowledge and understanding of the Undead Mage Profession would undoubtedly be an immense help. He couldn’t ask for more. Not to mention, if these well-trained and knowledgeable Undead Mages were to cultivate the Meditation Method he deduced and become Apostles of his Corpse Clones, they could provide a significant income of Soul Power during their Meditation. Their research experience and knowledge alone would greatly enhance his own efficiency in Skill Deduction and refinement. This was absolutely fantastic news.

Having figured this out, Fang Zhou immediately said to Master Sandro, "No problem, Master Sandro. We would be thrilled to have fellow Undead Mages join us. To be honest, Instructor Su Xinyan and I have many research projects that need to be developed, but our limited manpower means progress is incredibly slow. If these veteran Undead Mages are willing to participate in our research, we couldn’t ask for anything more."

Su Xinyan chimed in to support him. "That’s right, Master Sandro. Here at the Sea City Military Academy, there are many association branches for various Professions. When Professionals of the same type gather to discuss, research, and exchange knowledge, it fosters great progress for everyone. Fang Zhou and I have always been envious of this model. Unfortunately, the Undead Mage Profession is so rare that the two of us are the only ones at the entire academy. If you are willing to invite those senior Undead Mages to our research group as you suggested, it would be a massive boost to the development of our Profession."

As the head of the Undead Mage research group at the Sea City Military Academy, Instructor Su Xinyan decisively extended an invitation to Master Sandro. The two of them naturally hit it off, and they soon began to discuss the next steps for negotiation and coordination.

Instructor Su Xinyan said, "Master Sandro, regarding the invitation for other Undead Mages to join the team, I can handle the official application to the Sea City Military Academy. I’ll make sure the group has enough resources and space to support the new members. This way, Fang Zhou won’t have to worry about any of the administrative work."

Master Sandro nodded in agreement. "That would be best, Instructor Su Xinyan. I trust you can handle it. If needed, I can also provide some support, like coordinating with Undead Mage resources from other countries."

Fang Zhou then said, "In that case, Instructor Su Xinyan, I’ll focus on preparing the research plans. I’ll outline our research directions in advance and assign specific tasks to ensure every Undead Mage who joins can play to their strengths."

Master Sandro nodded. "Fang Zhou, you just need to focus on the research. Instructor Su Xinyan and I will handle the administrative matters. We hope to see new progress from the research group soon."

After all, before Fang Zhou appeared, the development of the Undead Mage Profession had all but stalled. For a long time, innovation in Skills and Meditation Methods had stagnated, leaving many problems unsolved. Now, however, every fresh development in the field was being single-handedly driven by Fang Zhou. Despite being merely a Lower Black Iron Tier Undead Mage with no advantage in power or seniority, even the strongest of their kind, Master Sandro, was completely convinced by his abilities in academic research. The other Undead Mages would naturally have no objections.

The Moon Elf Silvanas, who stood before Fang Zhou gazing at him with admiration, was the perfect example of this. Noticing her gaze, Fang Zhou thought for a moment before speaking to her. "I just broke through my bottleneck and advanced to the Black Iron Tier. I actually have several projects that need a research assistant. I’ve already scouted one person at the Sea City Military Academy. With you joining as well, we should be able to work even faster."

Silvanas nodded eagerly. "I’m ready whenever you are, Fang Zhou. I’ll give my all to whatever you need me to do."

Fang Zhou then activated his personal terminal, projecting a research plan he had prepared onto the screen. "Please take a look," he said. "I’ve just finished the Skill Deduction for the Black Iron Stage Undead Mage Meditation Method. The next phase of our work will focus on the following areas."

He pointed to the plan on the screen and explained in detail, "First is the deduction and refinement of Summoning Skills. My goal is to start with a foundation of Black Iron Tier Skeleton Warriors and Zombies. From there, I’ll attempt to capture the soul fluctuations of Mutated Undead Creatures to deduce Skills that can reliably summon them. The Summon Skeleton Bat Skill I deduced earlier is one such example. We now have the Skeleton Bat as a flying reconnaissance Unit, so we have a basic framework. I also hope to summon mobile, cavalry-like Units.

"Imagine it: Zombies as frontline tanks, Skeleton Archers for ranged damage, Skeleton Bats as flying scouts, and a troop of Undead Cavalry as an assault force. This way, the roster of Undead Creatures an Undead Mage can summon at the Black Iron Stage will be more comprehensive, allowing us to adapt to any battlefield environment."

Silvanas’s eyes filled with longing as she listened. Fang Zhou was painting a magnificent picture, a scenario she had never dared to imagine. To become an army of one, to unleash a Calamity with a wave of the hand... she couldn’t even dream that an Undead Mage could possess such might. However, with the Corpse Commander Meditation Method she had just successfully switched to as her foundation, she had complete faith in Fang Zhou. He wouldn’t make such audacious claims without some confidence in his ability to achieve them.

She nodded vigorously and declared, "No problem, Fang Zhou. I will do my best to contribute my own knowledge and effort. Oh, and the senior Undead Mages have also compiled a new Undead Creatures Atlas. I’ll help you categorize the traits and soul fluctuations of these Mutated Undead Creatures to better assist your research into summoning them to Blue Star."

Fang Zhou nodded and continued, "Next up are Enhancement Skills for Undead Creatures. If you’ve looked at the new Skills we uploaded to the Human Alliance Skill Library, you’ll have noticed that during the Apprentice Stage, I developed various types of enhancement Skills like Brutal Aura, Iron Wall Aura, Domination Skeleton, and Crowned with Death. These Skills could significantly strengthen my summoned Skeleton Army during the Apprentice Stage. Now that I’ve advanced to the Black Iron Tier, however, these Apprentice-level Skills are a bit outdated. If we can deduce and upgrade them to the Black Iron Tier, it would provide a huge boost in combat power for us."

Silvanas agreed wholeheartedly. "You’re right, Fang Zhou. Plus, at the Black Iron Tier, we Undead Mages already have Beneficial Skills like Dead Officer. If we can integrate these with the others, our Undead Army will become even more disciplined and unstoppable."