Mage Sandro has the strength and realm of the Golden Upper Rank, making him the strongest known human Undead Mage.
At this moment, Su Xinyan put her high heels back on. She stood, straightened her skirt, and resumed her previous demeanor as the Iceberg Goddess.
As she rose and headed for the Alchemy Workshop behind the reception room, Su Xinyan said, "Mage Sandro is undoubtedly the pioneer of our Undead Mage Profession. You could say that Mage Sandro is the one who arduously pioneered most of the Cultivation path and skill framework for the Undead Mage Profession. If not for the enormous limitation imposed by the life-and-death barrier inherent to the Undead Mage Profession, a pioneer with his extraordinary Talent would never have been trapped at the Golden Tier for so many years without a breakthrough."
Seeing Fang Zhou still slumped motionlessly on the sofa, Su Xinyan turned and beckoned for him to follow.
Fang Zhou stood up and asked curiously, "Instructor Xinyan, why would a great figure like Mage Sandro be interested in an unknown little Apprentice like me?"
Su Xinyan scoffed. "Playing dumb? Itâs your Talent, obviously! But let me tell you, being noticed by Mage Sandro isnât necessarily a good thing. Heâs not gentle, kind, and exceedingly patient with you like I am. I havenât had much contact with him, but I have heard a rumor. They say he has repeatedly tried to abandon his physical body during Meditation, attempting to send his soul to find the true Undead Realm. To do so, he hasnât hesitated to put his life on the line, severely damaging his strength in the process!"
Hearing this, Fang Zhouâs previously relaxed expression immediately turned serious. He followed Su Xinyan into the Alchemy Workshop and asked, "Isnât that just a form of suicide?"
Su Xinyan sighed softly. "From what I understand, Mage Sandro has no parents or children. Heâs all alone. Apart from his hatred for Demons and his relentless desire to explore the Undead Mage Profession, giving up his own life seems to mean very little to him. Unfortunately, the Death God refuses to take him.
"Mage Sandro failed in his Meditation on the Undead Realm many times. He suffered from the backlash repeatedly, causing his realm to plummet. After retraining multiple times, he finally returned to the peak of the Golden Upper Rank. Although he has never managed to condense the Championâs Will and become a Glory Champion, his Spiritual Power is highly refined. As a result, his combat strength and affinity with Undead Attribute Energy are far superior to those of other Undead Mages, making him hardly inferior even when compared to ordinary Golden Tier Professionals."
As she recounted Mage Sandroâs story, Su Xinyan began to operate a series of alchemical devices in the workshop. She glanced at Fang Zhou. "The news that you independently deduced the Skeleton Series Skill Tree has already spread within the small circle of Undead Mages. Even the reclusive Mage Sandro, all the way across the ocean in the Purple Iris Alliance, has heard your name. During that short time you were in the No. 1 Cave for the hunting trial, he had someone contact me. He wanted to connect with you directly to jointly explore the mysteries of being an Undead Mage."
At this, a hint of indignation appeared on Su Xinyanâs face. She looked at the surprised Fang Zhou, wrinkled her nose in jealousy, and said sourly, "Hmph! In a time of no heroes, a brat like you gets to be famous! My Talent isnât bad either, so why hasnât Mage Sandro contacted me?"
Fang Zhou blinked innocently, wisely choosing not to pursue the topic with Instructor Su. He simply asked, "Then why didnât you mention this to me before, Instructor?"
WHOOSH!
Su Xinyan turned and ignited an Alchemy Flame furnace beside her. Amid the roar of the flames, she replied, "Iâve discussed it with my dad over the last couple of days. We considered that while Mage Sandro is part of the Human Alliance and has killed many high-tier Demons on the Human-Demon Battlefield, he is not a soldier of our Longxia Federation. Moreover, his temperament is famously eccentric and paranoid. To prevent him from taking any extreme measures against you, the military academy decided that I will interface with him for now, acting as a firewall between you two. Of course, if we observe him for a while and determine he has no malicious intent, and if you are still willing to communicate with him, the academy wonât stand in your way."
Fang Zhou nodded, understanding what Instructor Su meant.
Compared to instructors like Lu Hu, Su Xinyan, Shen Hongyu, and Huang Qiuyue at the Sea City Military Academy, Mage Sandroâs trustworthiness was still a question mark. Preventing him from having premature contact with this pioneer of the Undead Mage Profession was a necessary form of protection from the academy.
Fang Zhou had no objections.
Although he aspired to bring all Undead Mages under his command as apostles for his Skeleton Clone, consolidating their power to deduce Undead Series Skills for him, he also deeply understood a certain principle. To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. To wield great power, one must bear great responsibility.
With his current strength as a mere Middle-Rank Apprentice, even with his series of achievements that proved he was the most talented Undead Mage in history, he was not yet powerful enough to make all Undead Mages serve him.
But the road ahead was long, and he was determined to explore its every turn.
Fang Zhou held absolute confidence. Given time, as his main body continued to nurture the Clones and the Clones continued to empower him in return, his strength and realm were bound to improve by leaps and bounds. In the near future, the entire community of human Undead Mages on Blue Star would naturally rally to his side.
By then, it wouldnât matter if they were Sandro or Lu Deshan; they would all become obedient research assistants, just like Bai Xiaochan and Meng Hongzhuang. As for now, there was no rush.
Seeing that Fang Zhou had no objections, Su Xinyan waved her hand. "Alright, you donât have to worry about a thing. He mentioned that if our Undead Mage research group at Sea City Military Academy needs any materials or resources, he can provide them free of charge. Consider it his early sponsorship and a gesture of goodwill toward you, the monstrous genius of the Undead Mage Profession. Since heâs made his intentions so clear, I wonât be shy about taking him up on it. So, Fang Zhou, just you wait! The Living Troll and Life Crystal you want? Shen Hongyu and I will handle it."
Fang Zhou looked touched. "Instructor Xinyan, thank you so much! I donât know how I can ever repay you."
Su Xinyan puffed out her chest, shot him a charming glance, and said playfully, "Want to repay me? Thatâs simple. Stop flirting with your little assistants! Focus more on increasing your strength, raising your realm, and on Skill Deduction for the Undead Mage Profession. Just deduce a few more practical, powerful Skills, and that will be repayment enough."
Fang Zhou smiled, his expression relaxing as well. "Skill Deduction always requires a massive amount of foundational knowledge and a little bit of luck. Besides, Instructor Xinyan, didnât I just share two new Skills with you yesterdayâ[Soul Realm] and [Mental Shock]? Arenât those two enough to keep you busy?"
As the alchemy vessels sizzled, Su Xinyan lowered her head to operate them, creating a ball of searing Alchemy Flame. "Youâre rushing me again," she said. "Iâm not a monster like you. I already have some ideas for enhancing the [Soul Realm] and [Mental Shock] Skills, but it will still take time to develop a solid deductive approach. Donât be so impatient."
At that moment, Su Xinyan finally finished her preparations for the Enchantment. She looked up at Fang Zhou, extended her right hand, and said, "Whereâs the Star Dew you received from the logistics department? Give me both the Star Dew and the No. 1 Seed Medal. Iâll perform the Enchantment for you."