Chapter 18: Lord of the Shadow Army
Teasing Nangong Ya every day brought Yang Xie both physical and mental joy.
The wealthy woman was generous, and it was also a treat to enjoy the scenic beauty of the mountains more often.
As Yang Xie carefully opened the gift box from Nangong Ya, he was met with the sight of a finely crafted sword.
The blade was approximately 90 cm long, 5 cm wide, and less than 1 cm thick, while the handle was about 30 cm in length. A crystal was embedded between the handle and the blade.
Yang Xie, who had studied weapons, immediately recognized the crystal as a strange beast crystal, a rare item produced only by beasts above the second level. Each strange beast's crystal had unique attributes, and when embedded in weapons, it enhanced their power.
Nangong Ya had truly shown her affection with this gift!
The box also contained a scabbard decorated with black and gold patterns and equipped with two straps. It was likely to look very stylish when the sword was carried in this scabbard.
Putting the sword box aside, Yang Xie sat cross-legged and began to focus on his real gains.
Inside his spirit space, after advancing to the warrior level, Yang Xie received feedback from the spirit information. Instead of the 100 shadow soldiers he had before, he now commanded 1001.
The 1001 shadow soldiers were all warriors, with the leader being the Shadow Army Master. This special entity appeared every time Yang Xie broke through a major realm.
In addition to being absolutely obedient to Yang Xie, the Shadow Army Master also possessed an independent consciousness.
This entity's strength was far superior to the shadow soldiers, and under Yang Xie's command, the Shadow Army Master could lead the shadow soldiers into battle. It also had a unique skill called "Fusion Shadow."
As the army commander, the Shadow Army Master could temporarily merge countless shadow soldiers into itself, significantly increasing its strength.
As the Lord of the Shadows, Yang Xie could also absorb the Shadow Army Master into himself, boosting his own power, or allow the Shadow Army Master to continue merging into his body, becoming a permanent source of strength.
The shadow army could fight both as a group or with a strategy focused on individual soldiers.
The number of shadow soldiers would increase again once Yang Xie broke through another major realm.
This incredible power left Yang Xie astonished!
"Do I want to fight? I am an army unto myself."
"Group battles? Fine, just look at my overwhelming shadow soldiers."
"Single duels? Sure, just look at my overwhelming shadow soldiers."
Yang Xie, imagining himself on the battlefield, was elated.
Under the careful training of the 1001 shadow soldiers, Yang Xie noticed that his spiritual seeds were growing visibly.
It felt exhilarating!
Previously, when Yang Xie had only 100 shadow soldiers and had not yet reached the warrior level, he had no strong desire to hunt exotic beasts in the wild. But now, with 1001 shadow soldiers and his warrior-level abilities, his desire to hunt exotic beasts had intensified.
Exotic beasts in the wild were not only resources for strengthening his power but also a source of delicious food.
Furthermore, Yang Xie had cultivated three different skills—the Eternal Night Demonic Code, the Buddha Mysterious Skill, and the Shadow Killing Secret Code—which enhanced his overall strength. The Shadow Killing Secret Code also provided him with various techniques for hiding and escaping, meaning that if he encountered an overwhelming beast, he could still escape.
However, before venturing into the wild, Yang Xie needed to test the strength of his shadow soldiers. He immediately summoned a shadow soldier for a quick evaluation.
The shadow soldier punched the force tester with a clang.
"3000kg!"
"Wow," Yang Xie thought. "Although it's not as strong as my own strength, this is still quite impressive. A first-level warrior's shadow soldier is as strong as the peak of the ninth level in the great Zhoutian warrior realm."
And Yang Xie had 1000 such shadow soldiers.
Impressive, indeed.
Next, he recalled the shadow soldier to the martial soul space and summoned the Shadow Army Master.
"Master!"
Upon being summoned, the Shadow Army Master knelt before Yang Xie and saluted him.
This was a stark difference from the shadow soldiers, who silently obeyed Yang Xie's orders without showing any personal initiative. The Shadow Army Master, however, saluted him voluntarily, indicating their different ranks.
Yang Xie, wanting to break the ice, asked, "Do you have a name?"
"Master," the Shadow Army Master responded, "Everything I have belongs to you. Please, give me a name."
Yang Xie paused. Naming wasn't something he was particularly good at.
"Well," he began, "since you're the first Shadow Army Master, and you don't have a name yet, you can take my surname. From now on, you'll be called Yang Yi."
"Thank you, Master," the Shadow Army Master said, bowing. "Yang Yi is honored to have this name."
"Now," Yang Xie continued, "test your strength against this device."
"Bang!"
"5000kg!"
It seemed that the Shadow Army Master's strength was nearly on par with Yang Xie's own.
Yang Xie then decided to test the Fusion Shadow skill.
"Yang Yi," he instructed, "try the Fusion of Shadows. I'll be the main body, and you enter my shadow."
"Yes, Master."
Yang Yi obeyed, transforming into a shadow and entering Yang Xie's form.
Yang Xie didn't feel much of a difference at first, but then he noticed a portion of his own energy returning to him.
"Clang!"
"7600kg!"
The power increased by 2500kg, which was half the strength of the Shadow Army Master.
Very impressive. Yang Xie was pleased with this boost.
"Let's see how much more power we can gain," he said. "Yang Yi, summon the 1000 shadow soldiers and merge them into your form. Then, merge with me."
Feeling himself growing stronger with each passing moment, Yang Xie could sense his power escalating.
"Clang!"
"Crack!"
The force tester shattered into pieces.
"Uh-oh!" Yang Xie exclaimed. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
At that moment, Nangong Ya entered with two cups of milk tea.
"Yang Xie, what did you do?" she asked, looking at the destroyed force tester and Yang Xie, who was standing there with a fist raised in surprise.
"Uh, Yaya, do you believe me when I say I didn't mean it?" Yang Xie responded sheepishly. "Really, I was just testing my strength. I don't know how it ended up like this."
Nangong Ya stared at him in disbelief.
"My father once told me that this tester can handle a maximum of 100,000 pounds of force. I believe my eyes, but I still can't believe what I just saw."
"..."
Unbelievable! Yang Xie had actually exerted more than 100,000 pounds of force—something no one had expected.
Nangong Ya, looking at her father, couldn't help but doubt the quality of the equipment.
"Dad, something's wrong with the machine! You need to change it! I still need to test it!" she said, looking at Nangong Batian.
Nangong Batian, realizing his daughter's disbelief, shook his head. He had bought the tester himself and knew that it could never withstand more than 100,000 pounds of force.
Despite his reluctance to accept it, this was clearly the truth.
With a puzzled look, Nangong Batian turned his gaze toward Yang Xie.
How had this kid managed to exert so much power?
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