Necromancer Of The Shadows

Evan stood on the 9,857th step, his eyes closed as beads of sweat continued to trickle down from the top of his forehead.

After standing still for nearly three minutes, he finally destroyed the soul fragment that was trying to invade his mind.

However, even after destroying the soul fragment, he didn't open his eyes. His mind entirely focused on the small wisps of white energy that were slowly disintegrating inside his body.

The small white wisps were the destroyed remnants of the soul fragment he had just crushed. Because the fragment had been annihilated, the individual parts couldn't sustain themselves and were now disappearing.

Evan's mind was running at full speed, and the Primordial Shadow Energy within his core churned violently as if it were on the verge of transformation.

Suddenly, guided by an invisible force, he subconsciously used his spiritual power, wrapping it around the white wisps of the soul fragment that were slowly disappearing, and pulled them toward his core.

The moment the white wisps reached his core, a white energy that looked somewhat similar to the wisps of the soul fragment—but was hundreds of times more powerful—emerged from his core and merged with them.

The instant the white energy and the soul wisps fused together, a flood of insights related to the soul exploded in Evan's mind.

He stood there without moving, processing the vast number of insights that had just erupted within him.

Around two hours later, Evan finally opened his eyes and exhaled lightly, a look of excitement appearing on his face.

"After observing nearly nine thousand soul fragments, I have finally reached the starting point," He muttered in a soft voice, his eyes locked on the notification that had just appeared in front of him.

(You have gained insights into the concept of the soul.)

---) Current understanding of the conceptual energy of the Soul: 0.1%

Evan closed his eyes and turned his focus toward the Primordial Shadow Energy within his core.

Previously, he had known that different kinds of energies were mixed within his shadow energy, but he had been unable to sense them distinctly.

Now, after finally reaching the starting point for the conceptual energy of the soul, he could vaguely feel its presence within his shadow energy.

"Anastasia told me that if I want to integrate the Primordial Shadow Realm with my core, I will need to increase my core's rank. She wasn't sure what rank I would need to achieve for integration since the level of the Primordial Shadow Realm is so extraordinarily high," He muttered in a low voice, his attention drawn to the connection between his Primordial Monarch Core and the Primordial Shadow Realm.

"I don't fully understand why..." He continued, "But I can clearly feel that the moment I started on the path of the conceptual energy of the soul, my connection to the Shadow Realm strengthened and in the future, I will be able to integrate it with my core more easily."

Evan thought for a few seconds, and another possibility surfaced in his mind.

"Maybe if I can comprehend the other energies mixed within the Primordial Shadow Energy, the requirements for integrating the Shadow Realm will be loosened greatly, and I'll be able to integrate it after reaching Rank Four."

Evan's mind was filled with different ideas, and he felt confident that he could accomplish this.

He had already begun comprehending the conceptual energy of the soul. The other energies mixed within the shadow energy were the conceptual energy of life and the conceptual energy of death.

For the conceptual energy of death, Evan had no doubt that if he could settle down for a period of time, he could comprehend a portion of it without much trouble.

His confidence stemmed because of the Racial Weapon Utharic had used in the Azragoth World to curse him. After resisting the curse—thanks to his title, The Creator of the Primordial Shadow Realm, which made him immune to all curses below the Origin level and reduced the effects of Origin-level curses by 50%—he had gained many insights into the conceptual energy of death. (Chap—1128)

However, due to the sheer number of things he had to deal with, he hadn't been able to properly digest those insights.

"The conceptual energy of the soul and the conceptual energy of death are not major problems," Evan muttered with narrowed eyes, his thoughts shifting to the conceptual energy of life.

"I have no clue how to approach the conceptual energy of life, but..." He thought of the phantom of the Tree of Life that Elysia had summoned, and his eyes gleamed. "Maybe I can use the Tree of Life to get started."

Evan looked at the Primordial Shadow Energy within his core one more time and with a thought, it covered his soul once again.

However, compared to before, anyone observing closely would notice that within the pitch-black energy, there were small wisps of white energy specifically clinging to his soul, as if trying to protect it.

"Now that I have a vague understanding of the conceptual energy of the soul, I'll be able to handle the attacks of soul fragments far more easily."

Without any further delay, Evan raised his foot and took a step forward, stepping onto the 9,858th step. The moment he stepped onto the step, a powerful soul fragment invaded his mind. However, before the soul fragment could launch its attack—

Swish!

The small white wisps surrounding his soul reacted immediately and along with his spiritual power, they launched a counterattack against the soul fragment.

"Arghhhh!"

A miserable scream echoed in Evan's head as the soul fragment was destroyed instantly.

(You have successfully absorbed a small portion of the blood of the Vulkarn Race.)

Evan looked at the notification in front of him with a wide grin spreading across his face and his pace of climbing the stairs increased significantly.

In less than three minutes after comprehending the conceptual energy of the soul, Evan reached the 9,999th step and was now just one step away from the 10,000th.

"Just two more steps, and I will be able to initiate the first level of Blood Assimilation," He muttered with a look of anticipation on his face and raised his foot, finally stepping onto the 10,000th step.