Anbaixiu's goal was to create an undead body immune to the Holy Light, and Dahei and Erha were both his test subjects.
When conducting experiments, of course one couldn't test on oneself.
All those movies he had watched in his past life—this doctor, that scientist—every single one who experimented on themselves came to a bad end. They either went crazy or turned into idiots; people who started out brilliant all ended up as brainless muscleheads after their experiments.
Back then, Anbaixiu had always marveled: when they said going dark made you ten times stronger, did they mean ten times more muscular?
Once you threw away your brain, no matter how many times your strength multiplied, the outcome was always miserable.
Therefore, Anbaixiu had absorbed the lessons of these "predecessors": never make a guinea pig out of yourself before the experimental results were in.
Dahei and Erha had been entrusted with this glorious yet arduous task, but Anbaixiu was not so cruel as to force them to throw their lives away in the Ryan Empire. As high-ranking undead, their strength was formidable. Even if these new bodies lacked resistance to the Holy Light, they wouldn't be slain just by any random paladin's Divine Smite.
Before Headless Bro achieved legendary status, he had charged back and forth through pursuing paladin legions seven times. If the two of them were lucky enough to run into a lone paladin, they should still be able to escape in one piece after taking a single Divine Smite.
Anbaixiu didn't even need to remind them. Both were veteran adventurers and naturally had their own ways.
And Anbaixiu had mercifully prepared two magic items for them: a ring of teleportation and a ring of warding. As the names implied, one allowed small-scale long-distance teleportation, while the other could cast Shield—both life-saving assets in critical moments.
And so, without batting an eye, Dahei and Erha accepted the mission and headed for the surface.
War was still raging in the desert right now. If luck was on their side, they would complete the mission and return safely in no time.
Having seen the two off, Anbaixiu plunged into another round of busywork.
First was the arrangement for excavating the underground city. A lich would never haul bricks himself, so Anbaixiu had no choice but to redesign a new aberrant skeleton specifically for digging out the city.
This skeleton, dubbed "Gravedigger," possessed limbs specialized in clawing dirt and chiseling stone. Paired with skeletons dedicated to hauling, working day and night would yield high efficiency—at least far more useful than human slaves.
Having produced over two hundred Gravediggers overnight, the underground city began echoing with continuous clinks and clangs of excavation.
These sounds, like gold coins pouring in, brought Anbaixiu immense comfort. Every strike represented fruitful exploitation. But Catherine couldn't stand it and had to set up a long-lasting soundproofing barrier in her room to block out the annoying racket.
After handing the excavation work over to the skeletons, Anbaixiu didn't stay idle either.
Next, he had another important task to complete.
Anbaixiu needed to master his newly acquired legendary power as soon as possible.
Previously, Anbaixiu had been a pure wizard; whether in necromancy or the School of Divination, he was purely a spellcaster. But after receiving Catherine's Selfless Sharing, he had gained the powers of a legendary ranger and part of the power of a School of Transmutation wizard.
It was just a pity that the legendary boon "Selfless Sharing" could not itself be shared with others, or else legendary power could have split and spread continuously like a virus.
Catherine's legendary ranger ability allowed the synthesis of ranger-specific anti-magic weapons, including arrows, shortswords, and more. Beyond that, Anbaixiu also possessed a ranger's agility and other related abilities.
Anbaixiu had acquired the ranger's power, but he knew nothing about how to apply it.
Therefore, Anbaixiu sought out Catherine, hoping she could instruct him on becoming a true ranger.
Upon hearing Anbaixiu's purpose, Catherine showed an intrigued expression.
"You know nothing about rangers at all?" Catherine asked.
Anbaixiu nodded and explained, "I haven't touched a bow and arrow more than ten times in my entire life."
This was no exaggeration. Back when Anbaixiu was an adventurer, he had been a wizard; the times he touched a bow in this life could be counted on one hand, not to mention wielding swords or blades, which he knew nothing about.
The reason was simple: he feared pain.
Whether archery or blade techniques, any cold weapon inevitably required massive amounts of practice, which meant injuries were unavoidable.
Anbaixiu was the kind of person who would hiss and wince for half a day over a cut on his finger. Martial artists always had to break a few bones; for him, magic offered far better value.
Now, however, he was a lich. Unless struck by a Divine Smite, Anbaixiu felt no pain at all, making this the ideal time to train.
Hearing this, Catherine showed an excited expression, like a little girl who had found a toy. Among elves, finding someone who had never touched a bow and arrow was impossible; they began practicing archery as soon as they learned to speak. The constitution of elves was nothing like humans'.
"I've never taught a student either, especially one like you who knows nothing at all. Let me think." Catherine recalled her childhood and said to Anbaixiu, "I remember my teacher didn't teach me archery back then. As a ranger's first lesson, I learned how to summon a beast companion."
Anbaixiu said doubtfully, "I recall that's not an ability an apprentice can master. Are you sure your teacher didn't make a mistake?"
Catherine said with immense pride, "It was different. My talent was extraordinarily good."
Anbaixiu found no grounds to refute her. An ignorant girl who stayed shut inside her home for years could advance to legendary status—her talent was indeed beyond extraordinary. Anbaixiu himself had cheated death countless times before advancing, and he was still a knockoff.
"Don't worry. You've also acquired the abilities of a legendary ranger directly. What you lack is experience, just like I did back then. So basic practice can be skipped entirely. If you don't believe me, you can test it."
Catherine took out an elegantly crafted longbow, handed it to Anbaixiu, and tossed a dagger out of the room.
With a swoosh, the dagger flew into the darkness to who knew how far, until only a faint clink could be heard—likely embedding into some wall.
Catherine said, "Try hitting the dagger I just threw."
"Are you serious?" Anbaixiu couldn't quite believe it. That dagger had flown beyond the range of his soul perception. How was he supposed to shoot it?
"You should have heard the sound just now... Er, I don't know if a lich's hearing is any good, but if you focus your attention, you should be able to sense where the dagger is. Give it a try."
Catherine sounded somewhat unsure, but Anbaixiu still followed her instructions to test it out.
A lich had no ears and could not hear sound, but he could perceive vibrations.
The world was like an overly complicated instruction manual, describing the sound from moments ago in a complex and redundant manner.
When Anbaixiu recalled it carefully, the description seemed to contain vast amounts of previously unnoticed information.
The direction of the sound, its volume, the subtle currents of air... These details were originally beyond Anbaixiu's sensory scope, but now, merely by focusing his mind, he seemed to grasp every relevant nuance.
Anbaixiu raised the longbow, nocked an arrow, and drew the bow in one fluid motion, releasing an arrow into the unseen darkness.
With a crisp clink, the arrow actually struck the dagger Catherine had thrown.
Anbaixiu was astonished. He had actually hit it!
Was this the power of a legendary ranger? No wonder people said a legendary ranger could neuter a fly from hundreds of meters away—it wasn't an exaggeration at all.
Delighted, Catherine said, "See? I told you that you don't need basic practice at all."
Anbaixiu nodded and said, "You're right. There really is no need to waste time. So next is summoning a beast companion?"
Catherine said in a very serious tone, "That's right. I lean toward a beast master style as a ranger, and since you inherited my power, a beast companion is especially important for you."
"How should I choose a beast companion? Are there any special requirements?" Anbaixiu asked humbly. He had always maintained the utmost respect for knowledge, even if the elven girl before him was a naive and sheltered homebody.
"The only requirement is good synergy with you. A beast companion doesn't necessarily have to be powerful. A ranger's power can be shared with their beast companion, so even if it's a butterfly, if it were my beast companion, it could still possess formidable combat strength. What truly matters is the rapport between you and the companion—that is crucial.
"Back then, contracting my first beast companion took me a full year, mostly spent searching for the right candidate. So you'd best be mentally prepared. A beast companion that aligns with your soul isn't easy to come by."
Catherine's first beast companion was a premature black panther cub. The cub's mother had been severely injured while hunting and happened to cross paths with Catherine. Catherine had delivered the cub with her own hands and thereby gained her first companion.
At the time, the tiny black panther was only the size of a palm, too weak to survive on its own. It was Catherine sharing her power with it that allowed the little panther to live, and now it had grown as massive as an elephant. Because of this bond, the black panther was closest to Catherine, and their coordination was the most harmonious.
However, such an encounter could only be stumbled upon by luck, not sought out. Catherine could only offer guidance, not solve the problem for Anbaixiu directly.
"It doesn't need to be powerful, just spiritually aligned... Then 'beast companion' actually covers a very broad range. It doesn't have to be beasts like lions, tigers, or bears, right?" Anbaixiu asked.
Catherine said, "Yes. Birds, insects, and fish all work. You could even contract a dryad—many among the elves choose dryads as contracted companions."
Anbaixiu immediately thought of the mercury soul puppet he had created. That was a living being too, a child of his own creation. Wouldn't contracting it be perfect?
Anbaixiu at once scooped up the mercury soul puppet that had been bouncing around since moving into their new home, brought it over, and asked Catherine, "Would this work? I created it."
Anbaixiu explained the origins of the mercury soul puppet to Catherine so she could judge.
Catherine examined the peculiar creature closely. She had been curious what species this mercury slime was before, and hearing Anbaixiu's explanation now filled her with astonishment.
An undead, creating a whole new species—and a living one at that.
This was a momentous achievement worthy of the history books, and Anbaixiu had shared such a secret with her, giving Catherine a sense of being trusted.
However, after listening to Anbaixiu's description, Catherine shook her head. "It's not suitable. This little guy is a child created by you. If it truly aligned with your soul, a contract should have formed automatically the moment you picked it up."
Chapter 146