Chapter 3

Just after the nine thousandth soul disappeared, Wang Yan suddenly discovered that there was a black ten-sided object in his mind. Each of its ten sides was carved with a sinister black lotus, and each lotus had nine petals.

"Is it really this?"

Wang Yan couldn't help but widen his eyes. He had once found a ten-sided carving of unknown material in his deceased father's pocket. At the time, he felt it was somewhat different and kept it, partly out of respect for his father. Now, the ten-sided object in his mind was exactly the same as that carving.

"What is this?" Wang Yan couldn't help but mutter.

"This is the All-Powerful Rebirth System, designed in the shape of the Hell Black Lotus Seed." The voice of the Skeleton Mentor timely resonated in Wang Yan's consciousness, and at the same time, its flamboyant figure appeared in his mind.

"The Hell Black Lotus Seed has ten sides, representing ten dimensions or ten major levels. Each side has a raised lotus with nine petals, representing nine minor levels. They will gradually open as your points increase. As for the benefits, you will gradually discover them as you reach higher levels. Even if you ask me now, I won't tell you. Your level is too low, and knowing too much will be detrimental to your future development." The Skeleton Mentor was indeed a competent mentor, answering all of Wang Yan's doubts.

"Damn! I didn't expect all of this to be real! The pace of defying heaven has arrived! If I, Wang Yan, don't dominate this world, even heaven would be displeased." Wang Yan now had no objections and didn't continue to ask questions. Instead, he declared with great ambition.

Although the Skeleton had always promoted the All-Powerful Rebirth System, Wang Yan hadn't seen any changes or gained any substantial benefits, so he was in a state of half-belief. However, now he truly believed.

Regarding Wang Yan's narcissism, the Skeleton Mentor shook its large skull in a very human-like manner, knowing that Wang Yan had fully accepted it. This was a good omen. As long as Wang Yan didn't encounter any accidents, he would surely stand at the pinnacle of the world.

"First, congratulations on becoming a First-Class Beginner Controller. From now on, every time you help a Second-Class soul to be reborn, you will receive one-thousandth of their mental energy and soul strength. What are you waiting for? Get moving."

Wang Yan rolled his eyes, admitting that the Skeleton Mentor had a strong ability to stir emotions, and he couldn't resist it.

Wang Yan didn't rest because he wanted to know what would be different after becoming a Beginner Controller. Soon, he found the nearest target. With a thought, the Second-Class soul was absorbed into the All-Powerful Rebirth System.

At the same time, Wang Yan noticed that one of the petals on the outermost side of the ten-sided object in his mind lit up, about one-thousandth of its area. Apart from this, there were no other changes.

In less than two days, Wang Yan had dealt with 1,000 Second-Class souls. Although he wasn't sure if these 1,000 souls had truly been reborn, one of the petals on the black lotus had completely lit up. However, Wang Yan didn't pay much attention. The Skeleton Mentor didn't appear again during this process, and Wang Yan didn't stop because he still needed to complete the task of 8,000 souls to upgrade.

After another thirteen days, Wang Yan had obtained 4,360 Second-Class souls. It was difficult to find more free-roaming Second-Class souls in this city's ruins. Even the H-level beast soldiers in the Green City ruins had been mostly eliminated by Wang Yan, and he had given them the option to be reborn. Although Wang Yan was highly skeptical of the concept of rebirth, it didn't matter to him whether the souls were reborn or not. What mattered was whether he could gain more benefits from them to nourish himself. He had already tasted the sweetness and was showing a trend of being unable to stop.

Of course, it was also true that it was now difficult to find free-roaming souls. First-Class souls had already been eliminated by him, including the low-level beasts. Previously, Wang Yan had looked down on them, but now their souls were very useful to him, and he wouldn't let them go. There were other higher-level souls, but they were much rarer compared to First-Class and Second-Class souls. In so many days, he had only encountered a few, and even then, he could only observe them but not absorb them, as he was only a Beginner Controller.

Through the All-Powerful Rebirth System, Wang Yan could see that his points had reached 53.6. Four petals of the black lotus in the first area had completely lit up, and the fifth petal was one-third lit. Most notably, his mental energy index had reached 5.16, and his soul strength was as high as 5.26. According to the Skeleton Mentor, the mental energy index and soul strength of ordinary humans on Earth were around 1. The soul strength of warriors was relatively higher, and the higher the warrior level, the higher the soul strength. Some mysterious mentalists also had high mental energy. The mental energy and soul strength of weak or injured humans were relatively lower, like the previous Wang Yan.

To achieve a soul strength of 5.26, one should at least be a High-Class War General, while Wang Yan was only a Mid-Class Warrior. If this were known, he would undoubtedly be turned into a lab rat.

A mental energy index of 5.16 also reached the level of a High-Class Mentalist, a rare species on Earth. However, Wang Yan, despite having such a high mental energy index, did not know how to use it.

"There are too few souls in this vast area. It seems I need to change my location." Wang Yan couldn't find any more souls to absorb and had to choose a new place.

"But that doesn't make sense. Every year, so many people die on Earth. Not to mention, just two hundred years ago, during the Great Destruction Era, Green City became a ruin, and the population, even if we estimate conservatively, was nearly a million. Why are there so few residual souls now? Is something wrong?" Wang Yan's mind raced, and he couldn't help but mutter.

"You have a valid point, but you've overlooked one issue. Ordinary souls can only exist in a free state for three to five years. After that, they will dissipate and return to the elements of the universe. The higher the soul level, the longer it can exist, but even the soul of a War God can't last more than ten years after death." The Skeleton's voice resonated in Wang Yan's mind.

"Ah... I see." Wang Yan immediately understood. If what the Skeleton Mentor said was true, it made sense.

"You indeed need to change your location, but not just to deal with free-roaming souls..." The Skeleton Mentor's cool figure appeared, correcting Wang Yan.

"Then what should I do?"

"You have truly undergone a perfect transformation in the past half month, at least in terms of mental energy. However, your control over mental energy is still very poor. Although you will receive a significant reward related to mental energy when your mental energy index reaches 10, you need to learn how to control it first. At least, you should have the ability to protect yourself before your mental energy index reaches 10. What do you think?" The Skeleton Mentor's tone now sounded somewhat earnest.

"You are my mentor, I will follow your guidance." Wang Yan showed a respectful demeanor.

"Good. I have already tailored a training plan for you over the past few days." The Skeleton Mentor was very satisfied with Wang Yan's attitude and continued.

"What plan?" Wang Yan was very curious.

"What is the most basic and low-end thermal weapon you have? Preferably a firearm." The Skeleton didn't directly answer Wang Yan but asked a question.

"This question isn't difficult. If you ask me about the most advanced, I might not know, but the most basic firearms are the **, Eagle Eye, and Step Carver. These are all old models from about a hundred years ago, but they are all improved versions." Wang Yan spoke confidently, as his greatest aspiration had always been to become an excellent warrior. Unfortunately, his physical condition was too poor, and the military academy required high school graduates to have the combat strength of a High-Class Warrior, while Wang Yan was only a Mid-Class Warrior.

However, Wang Yan never gave up on applying to the military academy. His liberal arts scores were good enough to get into any of the four major military academies, so he decided to apply to the Zhuque Military Academy's Military Command Department. This department had less stringent physical requirements compared to the Combat Department, as the students didn't need to engage in direct combat. They spent more time on strategy.

He chose the Zhuque Military Academy mainly because his two best friends had already been specially recruited by the academy. As their best friend, he had no choice but to follow them.

"Which model has the highest magazine capacity?" The Skeleton Mentor nodded and continued.

"They are all similar, but the ** has a slightly higher capacity, holding about forty rounds, while the others hold more than thirty."

"Then let's go with the **." The Skeleton Mentor didn't ask any more questions and nodded. "You have three days to return to the supply base, purchase more than ten ** and at least ten thousand rounds of ammunition."

"Uh?" Wang Yan was taken aback, unsure what the Skeleton Mentor was planning.

Although these thermal weapons had considerable lethality before the Great Destruction Era, after the Great Destruction, all species evolved rapidly. Thermal weapons posed little threat to monsters, especially those at the Beast General level and above. Even high-end thermal weapons had limited effects, let alone these old-style rifles used for basic training.

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**End of Chapter**