Xia Qiming didn't have much to say about Chen Xu's crazy idea.
Anyway, with Chen Xu's strength, in a small place like the South Realm, he wouldn't just be walking unrivaled. Even a minor display of his power would likely be more than most could handle.
Specifically, those absurdly buffed skeleton soldiers of his would be legitimate world bosses in the South Realm. And Chen Xu had tens of millions of them.
Since safety wasn't a concern, Xia Qiming could only remind Chen Xu to keep things clean and not leave any loose ends.
Although Daxia's current status meant it didn't need to care about the opinions of other countries, it was still better not to leave any leverage for others to use.
To this, Chen Xu replied that he was a smart man and knew what to do.
For this trip to the South Realm, his identity would be the Great Compassionate White Bone Arhat, Savior of the Suffering, coming to bring salvation to the people.
Look at the commoners of the South Realm. Even if they undergo a Class Change, they suffer from a lack of dungeons to level up and increase their strength.
Dungeons were monopolized by the aristocratic clans.
To enter a dungeon and level up, one either had to travel far from home or become a dog for the clans.
But being a dog was only slightly better than being an ordinary person. The aristocratic clans remained high and mighty, keeping the people suppressed forever.
As the saying goes, until Hell is empty, I shall not become a Buddha. The chaos in the South Realm was not Hell, but it might as well be.
Chen Xu decided to don the guise of a Buddhist practitioner to stir up trouble in the South Realm.
Before heading there, he had to clear the four dungeons Xia Qiming had sent. Even small gains were still gains.
To clear the dungeons, he first had to check on Xuan Chu and the others.
As the only two capable commanders under Chen Xu, Xuan Chu and Bone Guard One were currently dedicating their afterlives to the construction site. Xuan Chu was the chief commander, and Bone Guard One served as the heavy engineering machinery. Both were indispensable.
Having grown accustomed to being a hands-off boss, Chen Xu preferred not to exert his mental energy on commanding unless absolutely necessary, especially since his previous experience only involved hundreds or thousands of skeleton soldiers.
Now that his army numbered in the tens of millions, Chen Xu felt he simply wasn't cut out for it.
So, he had to wait for Xuan Chu and the others to finish the Wonder before starting the next phase of his plan.
However, he wouldn't have to wait long. The skeleton construction crew was incredibly efficient and trustworthy.
Xuan Chu told Chen Xu directly that the Wonder, the 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】, was nearly complete and would be finished by tonight at the latest.
Chen Xu took out his smart terminal and checked the time, finding it was only noon.
He decided to head to the cafeteria for lunch first.
...
That evening, Chen Xu arrived at the Yin-attribute secret realm, accompanied by Qi Xuanheng.
The two had run into each other at the entrance of the Dungeon Hall. Upon hearing that Chen Xu's Wonder was about to be completed, Qi Xuanheng insisted on coming along to see it for himself.
As soon as they entered the secret realm, they were struck by the sight of the tall, magnificent structure in the distance.
The 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】 consisted of one main body and four sub-bodies.
The central main body was an inverted pyramid built from the bones of various creatures, topped with a giant brazier emitting a grayish-white bone fire.
In front of the main pyramid stood four bone limb pillars. One was composed entirely of left arm bones, and another entirely of right arm bones.
The remaining two were made of left and right leg bones respectively.
The main inverted pyramid stood a full sixty meters high, while the four pillars were thirty meters tall.
In the middle of the four bone pillars was a leveled plaza containing ninety-nine Bone Lotus Seats for followers to kneel and worship.
"Little friend Chen, this Wonder of yours looks truly intimidating. It is both spectacular and terrifying. If I look at it for too long, I feel as if my soul might be snatched away."
"Is that so?"
Chen Xu didn't share Qi Xuanheng's feeling. He just thought the 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】 looked quite good, living up to its name as a Wonder. It was big and flashy enough.
"My Lord!"
Xuan Chu immediately rushed to Chen Xu's side upon his arrival.
"How much longer?"
"My Lord, the Wonder is complete. Only one last step remains. My Lord must perform the Spirit Ignition for the Wonder to grant it supreme power."
"Spirit Ignition. All right then."
Spirit Ignition was essentially the Lord of the Undead using his authority to activate the Wonder's spiritual nature, allowing it to function.
In theory, the Black Knights could do this as well, provided Chen Xu shared that part of his authority with them.
But since this was the first time, Chen Xu had to do it himself.
Chen Xu walked straight to the front of the 【Bone Soul-Exalting Altar】, raised his hands toward the sky, and shouted.
"Supreme White Bone Sovereign, legend of the undead, immortal divinity, awaken from the long river of time!"
As Chen Xu's voice fell, a beam of light containing his authority shot from his hand, striking the brazier atop the inverted pyramid and causing it to ignite instantly.
Countless sparks of bone fire flew out, lighting the four bone pillars and the ninety-nine Bone Lotus Seats.
Once the bone fire settled, the Spirit Ignition concluded.
Seeing that Chen Xu had lowered his hands and made no further moves, Qi Xuanheng walked over.
"Little friend Chen, is that it?"
"Yes, it is finished. This Wonder is officially complete."
Qi Xuanheng touched and inspected things here and there but couldn't make sense of it, so he asked.
"Little friend Chen, I remember you mentioned this Wonder could grant blessings to skeleton creatures and increase their potential?"
"Yes, that is what the Wonder's records say."
In truth, Chen Xu only knew about the Wonder's functions from his inherited knowledge. He wasn't entirely sure of the specific effects himself.
"Then should I find a few undead creatures to test it out?"
"Sure, Elder Qi, test it however you like. If Heavenly Crafts Academy or the academy wants to conduct any research on this Wonder, they are more than welcome."
After receiving Chen Xu's permission, Qi Xuanheng used his Fuxi sub-system to contact his student, telling him to bring over some skeleton creatures.
Once the message was sent, a student in the Heavenly Crafts Academy dorms hurriedly left his room, not even dressing properly as he rushed toward the small biosphere jointly built by Heavenly Crafts Academy and the academy.
About an hour later, Qi Xuanheng's student arrived in the secret realm with two staff members and dozens of skeleton creatures.
"Teacher Qi, I have brought the skeleton creatures you requested."
"Elder Qi." The two staff members saluted Qi Xuanheng.
"Yes, thank you for your hard work tonight. There is something we need to verify."
"It is no trouble at all. Please give us your instructions, Elder Qi. How should we cooperate?"
Qi Xuanheng raised his hand and pointed toward the distant Bone Lotus Seats.
"Have these skeletons go to those lotus seats, face that structure, and kneel in worship."
The two staff members followed Qi Xuanheng's instructions, using tools to control the skeleton creatures behind them as they walked toward the Bone Lotus Seats.
After reaching the plaza, one of the staff members suddenly turned back and asked.
"Elder Qi, can they sit on any lotus seat? Are there any special rules?"
Qi Xuanheng looked at Chen Xu, who shook his head. "No special rules, they can sit anywhere."
Thus, over a dozen skeleton creatures were directed to take their seats one by one. Then, they knelt in worship.
The moment their heads touched the ground, several streaks of white light leaped from the brazier and landed on the Bone Lotus Seats, slowly spreading from the seats into the bodies of the skeleton creatures.
After about ten breaths, the transformation was complete.
"Is that it?" Qi Xuanheng looked at Chen Xu.
"Probably. The records say that kneeling in worship on the Bone Lotus Seats is all it takes. There shouldn't be any other steps."
"All right." Qi Xuanheng nodded and said to the staff members, "Please inspect these skeleton creatures."
"Yes, sir."
The two staff members then used various instruments to examine the skeleton creatures.
"Elder Qi, the bone strength of these skeletons has increased significantly, by about thirty to fifty percent. Furthermore, their growth limits have been broken. They can now reach a higher level."
"How high can they grow? If I recall correctly, ordinary skeletons can grow to the Transcendent rank. How far can they go now?"
"Elder Qi, according to the analysis from the instruments, they now have a chance to break through to the epic-tier."
"A chance?" As a researcher, Elder Qi immediately caught the keyword.
"Yes, it is not a guaranteed percentage."
"Well, that is fine. It is quite good already."
Simply kneeling in worship allowed the creatures to increase their strength and break through their growth limits. In terms of effort versus reward, it lived up to the reputation of a Wonder.
Qi Xuanheng walked to a skeleton creature and reached out to touch its pristine white bones.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Qi Xuanheng's mind.
"Little friend Chen, is this buff applied to the skeleton creatures or to the bones themselves? Do you think it would work on humans?"
"Huh? On humans? I have no idea."
In his inherited knowledge, the targets for the Wonder were essentially undead creatures. After all, a human Lord of the Undead was a first in history.
Using a Wonder for the living was truly beyond his scope of knowledge.
"Should we... give it a try?" Chen Xu asked cautiously.
"Yes, let's try it."
Rate on N.U.
