My career has infinite upgrades.

Chapter 72 adds new effects: Undying King's Seal, Skill Book Undead Frenzy, Undead Twins!

The Crown of the Dead shone brightly, and a dense necromantic power emanated from it, causing the surrounding temperature to drop slightly.

The next moment, the cracks on the surface of the Necromancer's Crown began to slowly heal, several broken sharp corners emerged, and dark gold patterns began to flow on the black surface.

Gu Qing's eyes flickered. He could clearly sense that the aura emanating from the Death King's Crown was much stronger than before.

A moment later, the Necromancer's Crown was repaired, about one-third of the way from its previous state.

Although it is still incomplete, it is much more complete than before.

Gu Qing couldn't wait to check the attributes of the repaired Necromancer's Crown.

The Crown of the Dead (Fragmented)

[Rank: Rare Item]

[Domination Aura: All dominated undead units receive a 20% increase in all attributes.]

[Soul Absorption: Increases the natural recovery speed of mental energy by 100%.]

[The Undying Crown: The soul essence of all under its rule will be protected by the crown. After suffering fatal damage, the soul essence can automatically return to the undead realm, consuming undead power to reshape its body. This can only be triggered once per undead unit within seven days.]

[Current repair progress: Phase 2.]

[Next stage repair material: One piece of Netherworld Star Marrow.]

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow. After the repair, the Necromancer's Crown had a brand new effect: the Immortal King's Seal!

This Undying King Seal looks pretty good. After an undead unit is destroyed, it can return to the undead space and reshape its body.

However, once his undead guards die, he can simply summon them by consuming mental energy.

Somewhat useless.

But then Gu Qing thought of the level 30 Desert Undead Dragon, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

Previously, Gu Qing used that level 30 desert undead dragon as a strategic resource.

After all, it has a high level and strong combat power, but once it dies, it cannot be summoned again.

But now that we have the Undying King's Seal, we can use that level 30 Desert Undead Dragon quite often.

Even if one dies unexpectedly, one can be restored through the Immortal King Seal.

Gu Qing looked at the Crown of the Dead and nodded in satisfaction.

This special artifact has not been fully restored yet. If it is fully repaired, Gu Qing estimates that it will be at least equivalent to SS-rank equipment.

Afterwards, Gu Qing quickly checked the materials for the next stage of repair.

Netherworld Star Essence.

He had never heard of this material before.

Gu Qing took out his student card, directly connected to the Jinling Academy's treasure vault, and entered the four characters "Netherworld Star Essence".

The interface rotates for two seconds, and the results pop up quickly.

No relevant inventory was found.

Gu Qing went into the materials database again and this time found the relevant information.

The Netherworld Star Marrow is born at the intersection of death energy and stellar power, and requires a long period of settling before it can solidify underground.

This material can not only repair undead artifacts, but also enhance the soul strength of undead creatures.

However, the conditions for their formation are demanding, and their locations are unpredictable.

The school's treasury has no stock, and it would be even harder to buy it from external exchanges.

Gu Qing put away the Necromancer's Crown, thought for a moment, and then opened the school forum, entering "Netherworld Star Essence" into the search bar.

First, check if there's any information about this material on the forum.

The first few pop-ups are all material introductions, along with a few posts offering high prices for acquisition.

The highest acquisition price has reached 30 million energy crystals.

Even so, no one was selling them.

Gu Qing continued scrolling down, and soon a post caught his attention.

It's a group-up post.

[Exploration Mission: Abandoned mining area in the northwest of the Black Mist Jungle. We are one member short. Requirements: second-year university student or a freshman ranked in the top ten.]

This post lists the resources that may be found in the exploration area.

Soul-guiding herb, Poria cocos essence, bone-corroding insect eggs...

Gu Qing finally saw the words "Netherworld Star Marrow".

Although the post said there was only a possibility of obtaining Netherworld Star Marrow, Gu Qing still wanted to give it a try.

After all, he also needs to go out into the wild to hunt and level up, and try to raise his level to level 20 before the freshman competition.

This is a perfect opportunity to explore and hunt monsters at the same time.

Gu Qing looked at the post again and found that the monsters in the abandoned mine were around level 15, so there was no great danger.

Upon seeing this, Gu Qing immediately sent a private message to the poster.

The other party was obviously also on the forum and replied quickly.

"Gu Qing? The freshman ranked first?"

Gu Qing replied, "That's right, it's me."

The other party quickly replied: "Okay, we'll leave tomorrow. We'll meet at the library at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Please leave your contact information."

Other freshmen might hesitate before posting, but Gu Qing's posts get approved instantly.

After all, everyone knows that Gu Qing has a level 30 Desert Undead Dragon. Joining the team is not a burden, but a powerful asset.

Gu Qing quickly sent the contact information to the other party and then closed the forum.

Gu Qing glanced at her student ID card.

After exchanging for Soul-Eating Wood and Abyss Bone Powder, he still had 8,000 school points left.

One school point is equivalent to one hundred energy crystals.

Eight thousand points equals eight hundred thousand energy crystals.

More importantly, many of the items in the school's treasure trove are simply unavailable for purchase outside the school.

Points won't increase if you just keep them; they only have value if you convert them into real strength.

Gu Qing went straight out and headed to the school's treasure vault again to see if there was anything he needed.

If you have it, you can redeem it directly. If it's not on the control panel, you can only check it, not redeem items.

Upon arriving at the silver-gray circular building, he found an empty counter and inserted his student card.

The treasure vault interface unfolded rapidly.

Gu Qing first searched for undead equipment.

There are quite a few pieces of equipment suitable for level 15.

Among them is a Dark Gold-grade Undead Robe, which can increase Spirit attribute and Undead skill power, priced at 6,000 points.

But Gu Qing already had the hidden inner armor.

Although the effects of the two can be combined, the improvement to his current combat power is not significant.

As for undead weapons, he already has the Black Bone Scythe and the Nether Soul Scythe, so there's no need to change them.

Gu Qing then searched for rare items, rune materials, and secret recipes for spiritual cuisine.

The things that truly appealed to him were all priced at over 10,000 points.

Eight thousand points may seem like a lot, but once they reach the school's treasure trove, they're barely enough.

As for low-priced resources, Gu Qing was somewhat dismissive of them.

After searching for a while, he still didn't exchange anything.

Looks like I'll have to keep accumulating points.

Gu Qing pulled out her student card, turned around, and left the treasure vault.

After leaving the treasure vault, he did not return directly to his dormitory, but headed towards the school library.

The library of Jinling Academy is located in the center of the academy.

The building is divided into several areas, which contain not only classic texts such as occupational theories, information on alien races, and maps of secret realms, but also a large number of skill books.

Students can access skills information in the library and then gain learning access through points.

Gu Qing entered the necromancy skill area and placed her student card on the recognition platform.

He came to the library to see if there were any skill books that suited him.

A row of skill information quickly appeared in front of me.

Summoning magic, curse magic, bone magic, soul attacks, undead enhancement —

There are at least a thousand varieties.

Gu Qing quickly scanned the area.

Ordinary summoning skills are useless against him.

His Undead Ruler is now able to summon a hundred Undead Guards, as well as a level 30 Desert Undead Dragon.

Offensively, he has the Bone Spear, the Nether Soul Scythe, and the Netherworld Corpse Explosion.

In terms of defense, there are bone armor, bone shield, and SS-rank Netherworld Soul Armor.

What he truly lacks now is the ability to further enhance the undead army.

Gu Qing filtered out the skill books that did not meet the requirements, and the remaining number quickly decreased.

His gaze swept over a row of skill names, finally settling on a dark red skill book.

Undead Rampage!

[Undead Rage]

[Rank: B]

[Effect: Consumes 20% of Spirit Power to apply a Berserk Mark to all undead under your control, increasing all attributes by 50% for five minutes.]

[Note: During the Berserk period, all undead units are immune to some control effects. After the Berserk ends, Soulfire enters a ten-minute weakened state.]

Price: 3000 school points

Gu Qing nodded in satisfaction as he observed the effects of the Undead Berserk.

This skill suits me well.

Increased damage to the undead population!

Gu Qing's current undead force isn't large, but it's not small either.

One hundred undead guards, and a level 30 desert undead dragon.

Entering a berserk state significantly boosts combat power.

The Desert Undead Dragon, in particular, has a terrifying 50% increase in combat power.

As for the negative effects of being in a weakened state for several minutes, they are basically negligible.

After all, if you can't even defeat the opponent with five minutes of full-scale berserk mode, you might as well just run away.

Three thousand points can be exchanged for a group enhancement skill.

Not expensive.

However, Gu Qing did not rush to exchange for the skill books, but continued to review the selected skill books.

The items in the school's treasure vault that tempted him were worth tens of thousands of points.

However, the skill learning access in the library is much cheaper, and I can also check if there are any other skill books that suit me.

Gu Qing continued to slide his finger down, skipping over curse-type skills.

What he needs now is not flashy nerfs, but skills that can synergize with the undead army.

Soon, another grayish-white skill book came into Gu Qing's view.

The skill book cover features two identical skull figures.

[Undead Twins]

[Rank: A]

[Effect: Select an existing undead unit and construct a copy of it using its Soul Mark as the core, consuming undead power.]

[The clone inherits 60% of the original's base combat power and skill effects, but does not have independent growth capabilities; only one clone can be maintained at a time.]

[Note: The duration of the clone is affected by the Spirit attribute; the higher the Spirit, the longer the duration. The cooldown time for a single undead clone is one hour.]

[Points required for learning: 5000 points.]

Gu Qing's fingers stopped.

Duplicate existing undead!

It possesses 60% of the original's combat power!

If it's just about copying an undead guard, this skill is at best decent.

But the strongest undead under his command is not the Undead Guard.

It's a level 30 Platinum-grade Desert Undead Dragon!

Even if the clone only has 60% of the original's combat power, it is still a clone of a level 30 platinum-grade undead.

Looking at basic attributes alone, it's still enough to crush most of the current freshmen.

More importantly, the Desert Undead Dragon has been protected by the Undead King's Immortal Seal.

After the physical body dies, the soul can return to the Netherworld to reshape its body.

The undead dragons created by the undead twins can take on more dangerous tasks.

Two desert undead dragons entered the arena simultaneously.

Combined with Undead Frenzy —

Images of battle quickly flashed through Gu Qing's mind.

One hundred undead guards formed a frontal line, while two desert undead dragons charged from both sides.

Cecilia and Melissand are in charge of control and support.

Stand at the rear and use Bone Spear and Underworld Corpse Explosion.

If there are enough corpses, the enemy won't even have a chance to get close to him.

"This skill suits me very well."

Gu Qing glanced at the price.

Five thousand points.

The Undead Rampage has 3,000 points.

Five thousand points for the Undead Twins.

That adds up to exactly eight thousand.

He had exactly eight thousand points left on his student card.

This is probably what they mean by "the points haven't even been used up yet, and the school has already arranged a place for him."

Without hesitation, Gu Qing clicked the exchange button next to Undead Rage.

[Would you like to spend 3000 school points to gain access to the B-tier skill "Undead Frenzy"?]

"confirm."

The student card points instantly decreased by three thousand.

A dark red light shone from below the control panel.

The metal partition unfolded to both sides, and the dark red skill book slowly rose and stopped in front of Gu Qing.

Gu Qing placed his palm on the skill book.

Dark red light surged into his body along his arm, transforming into necromancy runes that quickly imprinted themselves into his spiritual sea.

A flood of methods for casting Undead Frenzy came to mind.

How to condense the mark of rage.

How to use Soul Link to cover all undead units at once.

How to control the burst intensity of undead power.

A few seconds later, the light on the skill book completely disappeared.

[Successfully mastered the B-rank skill: Undead Frenzy.]

Gu Qing flexed his hands and then turned his gaze back to the control panel.

"Continue to exchange for Undead Twins."

[Would you like to spend 5000 school points to gain access to the A-rank skill "Undead Twins"?]

"confirm."

The points on the student card have been reset to zero.

The grayish-white skill book rose up from below the partition.

Gu Qing infused his spiritual power into it.

This time, the skill book did not turn into light directly, but instead appeared as two overlapping undead phantoms.

The two illusory figures moved in perfect unison, one in front of the other.

The next moment, the phantom behind him turned into grayish-white energy and directly entered Gu Qing's brow.

A gray-white twin mark appeared in Gu Qing's spiritual sea of ​​consciousness.

Once a target of the undead is selected, and enough undead power is injected into the Twin Mark, a replica can be constructed.

The stronger the target, the greater the cost of constructing it.

However, once the clone is formed, it can maintain its existence without continuously consuming Gu Qing's mental energy.

[Successfully mastered the Rank A skill: Undead Twins.]

Gu Qing slowly opened her eyes.

Eight thousand points.

Not a single penny was left.

However, the two skills gained in exchange can directly enhance the overall combat power of the undead army.

Especially the undead twins.

This is no longer just about adding another summoned creature.

Instead, he directly copied his strongest undead force!

If you first construct a replica of the Desert Undead Dragon, and then simultaneously apply Undead Frenzy to both Undead Dragons, the power that can be unleashed in a short period of time is something even Gu Qing himself wants to try.

However, this is a library, which is obviously not a suitable place to summon the Desert Undead Dragon.

Just as Gu Qing was about to leave, a notification sound rang in her ear.

[Ding~ Because your class rank is B, the A-rank skill Undead Twins has been automatically downgraded to a B-rank effect.]

Gu Qing paused, having forgotten about this mechanism.

Lower-tier professions cannot learn higher-tier profession skills; otherwise, the skill level will be reduced to the same tier.

This is also a major reason why high-tier professions can crush low-tier professions.

Of course, skills learned on one's own are not included.

If someone has exceptional comprehension, even an F-rank class won't be downgraded when learning an SSS-rank skill.

But that hope is slim.

Gu Qing quickly checked the undead twins.

[Undead Twins]

[Rank: B]

[Effect: Select an existing undead unit and construct a copy of it using its Soul Mark as the core, consuming undead power.]

[The clone inherits 50% of the original's base combat power and skill effects, but does not have independent growth capabilities; only one clone can be maintained at a time.]

[Note: The duration of the clone is affected by the Spirit attribute; the higher the Spirit, the longer the duration. The cooldown time for a single undead clone is 1.5 hours.]

Gu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it only reduced her combat power by 10% and increased her cooldown time by half an hour.

Although it has an impact, it is not significant.

Gu Qing pulled out her student card and turned to leave the skills area.

It was nearly noon when I left the library.

He made his way back to his private dormitory.

As soon as she opened the door, Gu Qing touched her stomach.

I was busy checking the Crown of the Dead this morning, and also went to the school vault and library twice. I haven't eaten anything yet.

"Let's go have lunch first, then we'll try the Undead Twins when we get back."

Just as Gu Qing was about to turn around, her student ID card suddenly vibrated.

[School Notice: The first-month ranking bonus for new students has been distributed.]

[You are currently ranked first among the new students.]

[Detection indicates that you have completed a notarized betting agreement with new student Zhao Tian. Zhao Tian's first month's ranking reward has been transferred to you according to the contract.]

A few seconds later, a notification sound came from outside the dormitory door.

Gu Qing opened the door.

Two tightly sealed resource boxes were neatly arranged at the entrance.

One of them was marked: "[Resource reward for the first-place new student in the ranking.]"

The other one is labeled: [Resource reward for sixth place in the freshman ranking, transfer recipient for the arena bet: Gu Qing]

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