Chapter 2: Gathering the Shadows

This wave...
A golden legend?
Yet, after two lifetimes of accumulated effort, there were still four others who, like him, had such damnably good luck!
The Lord of Ten Thousand Realms' Shades—that seemed to be a summoner-type talent. He could already imagine the spectacular scene of summoning billions of spectral followers one day.
Yang Dai was overjoyed. Immediately after, he felt a strange warmth coursing through his body, and at the same time, a surge of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind, wondrous and uncanny.
He tried calling out to the system, wanting to see if there was a chat channel, to see how other players were praising him.
Unfortunately, no matter how he called, the game system did not appear.
So it wasn't truly an online game!
Once that mysterious heat faded, Yang Dai felt invigorated, his whole body bursting with energy, more spirited than ever before.
Excellent, excellent!
Yang Dai smiled in satisfaction. He did not let it go to his head but cautiously observed his surroundings. With such a starting point, to die on the very first day would be nothing short of disgraceful.
He had to be careful!
He was surrounded by a typical desolate wilderness, devoid of people, eerily gloomy. The forest seemed to loom like a host of demons baring their fangs, waiting to devour him, and from afar, the occasional cries of birds added to the terror of the night.
Since this was the wild, there was surely danger lurking.
Yang Dai searched the area with great care for a long time and finally found a wooden stick, left behind by someone, its surface clearly whittled by a blade.
From his experience in games, he knew it was best to linger around the starting area for a while.
Unfortunately, apart from the stick, he found no treasure chests, packages, or equipment.
"I need to find a place to hide, wait until dawn, get online and observe, and only act boldly once I've understood the situation..."
Yang Dai thought to himself. Having a plan, he became even more cautious.
He was halfway up a mountain, with a broad view and many large rocks. He picked a boulder at random and hid behind it, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings.
There was no way he could sleep tonight.
Fortunately, he was young—staying up all night was almost routine.
Not long after, Yang Dai suddenly noticed a few pairs of green-glowing eyes in the wilds to his left. They were small, but he was sure he hadn't seen wrong.
To his left was a mountain, separated from his own by a cliff more than ten meters wide. Those green eyes vanished abruptly.
Not good!
Could they be wolves or jackals?
Yang Dai estimated that if the owners of those eyes made their way down and then up the mountainside, they'd reach him in just a few minutes.
He immediately got up and ran up the mountain, preparing to cross over and escape from this place.
"No wonder there's a prompt to survive until dawn—this is clearly a beginner's quest. Even if I don't act, danger will come to me."
Yang Dai pondered as he ran.
Aside from the stick in his hand, the only thing he could rely on was his SS-level talent.

He had to find a way to locate a soul and turn it into his own follower.
Crossing the summit, Yang Dai ran down the slope. Fortunately, the terrain was not too steep, and he managed not to fall.
After running for over ten minutes, he was finally exhausted and stopped, hiding behind a large rock and gasping for breath. The forest here was sparse, with rocks of various sizes scattered everywhere, offering plenty of places to hide.
"Help me..."
Suddenly, a voice came from not far away, making Yang Dai shudder.
It couldn't be helped—the setting was like a horror film, and after wandering so long without seeing a soul, who wouldn't be startled by a sudden cry?
He gripped his stick tightly and carefully peeked out.
He saw a person lying in front of a boulder twenty meters away. In the dim light, Yang Dai couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Help me..."
The person kept calling, the voice weak—if not for the silence, Yang Dai might not have heard it.
Should he approach or not?
Yang Dai hesitated.
He thought of the wild beasts that might be following him. If he let this person keep shouting, it would surely attract predators.
Summoning his courage, he edged closer, gripping his stick with both hands.
Once near, he saw clearly—it was a burly man, dressed in garments reminiscent of ancient China. His hair was disheveled, and his right leg was twisted at an alarming angle—clearly broken.
"Help me..."
The strong man said tremulously, his voice even weaker than before.
Yang Dai asked in a low voice, "How can I help?"
The man seemed momentarily stunned and said nothing.
Yang Dai knew nothing of medicine and was at a loss.
"In... the pouch... on my chest... there's medicine..." the man murmured.
Yang Dai fell silent.
Would reaching out get him caught?
Could medicine really save someone so gravely injured?
He compared their builds—he couldn't rule out the possibility.
This was no game. The man might be grateful, but if he meant him harm, there would be no second chance.
"I..."
The strong man tried to speak again, but suddenly his head lolled to the side and he died.
Yang Dai did not trust it; he remained vigilant, staring at the body.
After several minutes, the man still did not move. Yang Dai used his stick to prod him lightly.
No response.

He continued to test, poking several spots—including vital areas—and only when there was no reaction did Yang Dai believe he was truly dead.
"Sorry, even if I'd grabbed your medicine, it would have been too late. You died too fast. Besides, I don't know if you're like me, from Earth, or a native of the Deep Domain..."
Yang Dai mused silently. He approached the corpse, pressed his right hand to the man's head, and began to draw upon the strange warmth within his body.
Lord of Ten Thousand Realms' Shades!
He couldn't waste his talent on the first corpse he encountered!
This man was sturdy. If he could make him a follower, he would surely be of use.
Black wisps appeared on Yang Dai's right hand. He vaguely felt something under his palm, and instinctively withdrew his hand—he had actually drawn out the man's soul.
The soul looked exactly like the body, except it glowed faint green and was semi-transparent.
The man's soul began to struggle, sending a sharp pain through Yang Dai's head.
As expected, it wasn't easy—but he could endure this level of pain.
Soon, the soul separated from the body and shot into the center of Yang Dai's brow, vanishing. The headache disappeared as well, replaced by an indescribable freshness, and the stamina lost from running was instantly restored.
This sensation...
How marvelous!
Yang Dai quickly searched the man's body, found a cloth pouch in his chest pocket, and picked up a knife by the man's foot. He tossed away the stick and left at once.
Less than two minutes after he departed, several pairs of green eyes appeared in the distance, closing in on the corpse.

Yang Dai followed a small stream, sitting a few meters from its bank, not daring to drink carelessly.
He drew the knife from its sheath; the blade gleamed, dazzling even in the darkness of the wild.
He had unsheathed it on the way, but hadn't had time to examine it. Now, he saw—it was indeed extraordinary, with a broad, thick blade and a razor-sharp edge.
Yang Dai began to attempt summoning his first follower.
He already possessed the knowledge of how to do this from the memories he had gained with his talent.
A black mark appeared at the center of his brow, and a soul shot out from the mark, landing before him.
It was the strong man from earlier, looking much as he had in life, except for the faint green glow about him, like a wandering ghost.
"Shi Long greets his master!"
The man knelt on one knee before Yang Dai, cupping his fists in respect.
Yang Dai could clearly sense his connection to Shi Long; with a single thought, he could obliterate Shi Long's soul. The sensation was uncanny, and everywhere in the Deep Domain brimmed with the incredible.
Moreover, after absorbing Shi Long's soul, Yang Dai felt himself grow noticeably stronger—it was a distinct, powerful feeling.