"Whew... Good thing I have the AI core. Otherwise, even if I could control it, there'd definitely be some chaos."
Wu Tong couldn't help but feel relieved at the sight before him.
After all, his recent power growth had been too rapid, and without enough time to fully master it, his control over his own strength had weakened somewhat.
But this wasn't a big issue. Wu Tong was a martial arts grandmaster whose skills had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
All he needed was some time to practice a few more times, and with the martial arts' absolute control over the body, he would naturally regain full command of his power.
Right now, however, that wasn't the main concern. After stabilizing the Pure Yang True Flame, Wu Tong began crafting the Human Emperor Banner.
With a wave of his hand, all the metal scattered on the ground was lifted by an invisible force, floating into the air.
Then, the metal was guided into the Pure Yang True Flame.
The moment the metal entered, it was tempered by the flames, burning away all impurities before melting into pools of liquid metal suspended within the fire.
Once all the metal had been refined into liquid orbs of varying sizes, Wu Tong activated the Heavenly Crafts Creation Art, ready to begin forging.
He manipulated the liquid metal, merging them in a specific sequence.
At the same time, Taoist talismans, celestial runes, and magical engravings—all meticulously outlined by the AI core—were fused into the molten metal.
When all the liquid metal had coalesced into a single massive sphere, Wu Tong summoned his spirit rings.
Nine spirit rings materialized behind him once more.
Wu Tong bypassed the first ring—the already transformed Earth Storage Soul Ring—and grasped the second one, tossing it into the Pure Yang True Flame.
In moments, the spirit ring fully merged with the metal sphere.
Then, as if resonating with the Dao itself, the fused materials began to reshape autonomously, gradually forming the structure of a grand banner.
...
An hour later, the Ten Thousand Souls... Human Emperor Banner was complete.
Wu Tong reached out, gripping the banner wreathed in violet mist, and gave it a light swing.
Instantly, the purple energy swirling around it gathered with the motion, condensing into a dense, near-black fog that enveloped the banner, exuding an aura of solemn majesty.
"Done. The Human Emperor Banner—capable of infinite evolution. With the amplification of seven billion zombie souls, it should at least reach the sixth-rank treasure level, right?"
"If it really hits sixth-rank, then in this world—even including the God Realm—I'd be truly invincible."
Wu Tong declared with triumphant confidence before releasing the banner.
Whoosh—
A streak of violet-black light flashed, and in the banner's place appeared a two-headed loli, identical in style to the Earth Storage Soul's spirit.
Clad in ancient-style robes of dark purple, her expressionless face hovered silently in the air.
"From now on, your name will be... Netherghost."
"As the artifact spirit of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, commanding endless vengeful souls, the name suits you well."
"As you command, Master."
A voice as cold and clear as polar ice rang out from Netherghost's lips.
...
Dimensional Chat Group
Leisurely Wanderer: Objectively speaking, zombies are rather illogical creatures.
No-Shamelessness: C'mon, old man, now's not the time to worry about that!
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: Yeah, yeah, let's hurry up! I can't wait any longer!
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: My Simmons mattress, free toilet paper, smartphones, drinks...
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: Ahahaha... Time for some zero-dollar shopping!!!
Everyone: ...
Six ellipses perfectly captured their collective sentiment.
This guy...
Just what kind of life has he been living all these years?
A drop of cold sweat slid down everyone's foreheads as they read Xiao Yan's messages.
While others were thinking about gathering resources, this guy was fantasizing about unrestrained looting. Truly... unique.
No-Shamelessness: Honestly, I'm getting impatient too. Perfect chance to test my current strength. All I've done lately is train, train, train...
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: Isn't that good? Getting stronger through training is great, no?
No-Shamelessness: The problem is, my sparring partners are those old masters. They knock me down with a flick of their fingers. Sure, they say I'm improving, but it feels like I'm getting nowhere.
No-Shamelessness: At this point, even I'm starting to doubt myself.
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: ... Six.
Dragon King Spits Water: Alright, if everyone's eager, let's head out.
Truth-Seeker: Then let's go. But everyone, be careful.
Truth-Seeker: Based on my deductions, since there's no group member acting as an anchor in that world, our arrival points might be scattered.
Truth-Seeker: Stay safe. If possible, try to regroup with others.
Wu Tong, having just entered the chat, saw everyone preparing to leave and quickly reminded them.
He'd noticed long ago that every teleportation landed them near a group member. Combined with the chat assistant's mention of members serving as anchors, Wu Tong theorized that cross-world travel relied on them for coordinates. Without an anchor in this instance world, everyone might end up separated.
No-Shamelessness: Huh? Seriously? So I can't even cling to someone's coattails?
Zhang Chulan, reading Wu Tong's warning, felt a pang of frustration—but he had no choice but to accept it.
Don't Mock the Young and Poor: Kid, stop looking for shortcuts. Have some faith in yourself.
No-Shamelessness: Says the guy who literally carries his cheat around.
...
Wu Tong exited the chat and turned Netherghost (the Human Emperor Banner) back into a spirit ring, absorbing it into his body.
Next, he recalled Rayquaza, who had been nuzzling him playfully.
"Should I bring anyone else along?"
Standing on the treehouse balcony, Wu Tong gazed down at the academy below.
The place was brightly lit, bustling with life, the sounds of laughter and chatter faintly audible.
"...Never mind. I'll go alone this time. The instance isn't hard anyway—better to finish it quickly."
Shaking his head, Wu Tong decided to proceed solo.
With his mind made up, he wasted no time.
Opening the chat group, he navigated to the instance panel.
A new screen appeared before him, displaying nothing but a lone vortex.
Beneath it, bold letters spelled out:
[Group Instance: Highschool of the Dead]
"Tch. Barebones, huh? Well, not my problem. It'll fill up eventually."
"Looks like everyone else is ready to go. Might as well head out too."
...
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(End of Chapter)