Eight skulls encircled Chen Yu, burning with faint purple flames that seemed eerie and dangerous.
The pale purple flames stretched and danced around the circle of skulls, enveloping Chen Yu as if he were encased in a cocoon.
The symbols of the schools of magic that were engraved on the eight skulls became influenced by the necromantic power, each emitting a different colored light. These lights represented the eight different powers that a Necromancer must master, which also symbolized the eight distinct paths that a Necromancer pursues.
For Chen Yu, the paths represented by the Eight Great Factions were still distant; what he needed to do now was to accept the baptism of necromantic power. He had to allow the pale purple flames to burn his flesh to elevate his life to a new level and advance to a Certified Necromancer.
However, looking at the pale purple flames raging around him, although he knew it was an essential step of the ceremony, he still hesitated, not daring to let the flames touch his body.
After all, fire is a natural force that humanity has worshipped and feared for thousands of years. It is one of the most powerful elements harnessed from nature by humans and a crucial driving force behind modern civilization. The innate fear of flames in humans, especially when one is about to be burnt by such flames... What if I'm burned to death?
But how can one wield power and elevate their quality of life without paying a price? On the path to pursuing power and truth, how can there be no threat of death?
Ever since the first time he caught a Fierce Ghost and started his first meditation with the negative energy drawn from a Ghost, Chen Yu had understood this truth. Whether for good or evil, a Necromancer, upon embarking on this road, was destined to be in the company of death throughout his life, whether it was the death of others or his own.
Although he was still afraid, Chen Yu had one major strength – when it came down to the wire, no matter how much he hesitated or feared internally, he would grit his teeth and face it. It had always been this way; despite trembling with fear, he had still caught his first Fierce Ghost and turned it into the first stepping stone on his path as a Necromancer.
Taking a deep breath and not bothering to adjust his emotions, with a surge of courage, he extended his hand towards the pale purple flames and grasped the skull representing the Death School.
The moment his hand met the flame, it wrapped around his arm and began burning its way up, shrouding his body. The flames from the other seven skulls seemed to do likewise; as the skull of the Death School was seized, the rest stopped around Chen Yu, extending their flames towards him as if he were a magnet pulling them in.
An excruciating pain emanated instantly from the hand he had outstretched, a torment that seared the soul.
Instinctively, Chen Yu wanted to draw his hand back, but his body seemed fixed in place, completely immobilized, and he could only allow the flames to wrap around his entire body. He was like a giant purple cocoon, each inch of his flesh burning intensely and leaving him unable to even make a sound.
Chen Yu, wrapped in flames, watched in horror as his fingertips were consumed by the pale violet fire down to the bone, flesh and blood burnt away, and the fire continued to scorch his body, slowly evaporating his flesh bit by bit.
Panic, fear, and shrinking back... Facing such a terrifying scene, anyone would instinctively want to escape, but Chen Yu couldn't even move a finger and could only watch as the flames enveloped his entire body, creeping up from between his fingers and feet until they finally engulfed his head.
The moment the flames engulfed his head, Chen Yu thought he would die, but in that instant he felt nothing... No, he had only lost the sensation in his body, while his soul's senses were suddenly magnified... He could clearly feel the Necromantic Power invading his soul, the flames tempering his bones... He felt the changes occurring deep within his soul...
It was as though a computer's resolution had leaped from 800x600 to 1920x1080, instantly making the entire world clearer, the chirping of insects, the calling of birds, even the sound of a bug's wings flapping in the air was crystal clear, yet it was not chaotic; within the range perceived by his soul... No, Chen Yu held clear in his heart even the trajectory of a speck of dust floating around, the energy encircling him was no longer invisible and intangible, it flowed like a river, visible to the soul's eye, radiating glorious colors...
That feeling was like the electronic tinny sound from the most primitive musical greeting cards suddenly upgrading to a home theater's surround sound, the imagery went from 2D rudimentary sketches to 4D immersive, multi-dimensional experiences, this transformation was indescribable, beyond words... Only those who have truly experienced it could understand this change, what had actually happened.
This was an evolution of life's hierarchy, the sublimation of the soul.
Chen Yu finally understood why his flesh had been burned to nothing, because it was the flesh of a lower life form, and as the soul was sublimated, the body, as the vessel for the soul, needed to evolve as well. Burning away the old flesh, to then reconstruct a new flesh better suited to hold the soul and power, even the brain became more intelligent and sharp; this was true advancement.
With this realization, Chen Yu hesitated no longer; with a single thought, he began to construct new flesh from his skeletal remains. The flesh that grew from his bones, tempered by the Necromantic Power, naturally possessed affinity for the Necromantic Power and a stronger essence of life. Not only could it bear the Necromantic Power, but it was also capable of housing the powerful soul of a Necromancer after the Promotion Ceremony.
As flesh regenerated, the previously crystal-clear soul's senses gradually became obscured, shifting back to the physical senses. Naturally, the physical senses could not be as acute as the soul's, but the newly reconstructed flesh still provided Chen Yu with more powerful senses than his original body.
Moreover, having experienced the soul's senses, that exhilarating feeling had already been etched deeply into his soul, spurring him to keep pursuing along this path, until one day he could truly make use of such powerful senses. After all, he was only a Certified Necromancer with a soul not yet strong enough to exist independently; he still needed continuous growth and accumulation.
When the last wisp of pale violet flame was absorbed into his body, the Promotion Ceremony concluded.
All the material Chen Yu had prepared for the ceremony had been devoured by the pale violet flames, leaving behind only the sublimated Chen Yu and the last skull in his hand that resembled an amethyst.