Chapter 945 The Burning Test

As soon as Darren lifted his foot and placed it over the threshold of the door, he noticed how time had seemed to speed up. His heartbeat rose for a moment.

'It feels like my strength is pouring out of my body.'

However, Darren held his composure. After all, it was very likely that this was all part of the test.

It only took a few minutes before Darren's strength was completely drained from his body and he had transitioned into a mortal human being. He looked down at his hands and stretched his fingers outwards.

'What kind of test is this?' Darren thought.

There didn't seem to be anyone else there and the room was very dark and empty. He remained standing in place, trying to figure out what to do next. After waiting for a while, a small fire blazed to life a few feet away and then floated towards him.

As the flame stopped an inch away from him, heat flashed in his abdomen. His flame crystal had awakened.

"Too weak. It's too weak,"

said a small voice mockingly.

"Wait a minute. You can talk?" Darren asked, looking at the small fire in front of him.

"Of course, I can. It's me. I am the Fire Spirit. I have a test for you and you must pass it if you want to continue on."

"Well, tell me what the test is," Darren urged.

"Ha-ha." The small fire shook with laughter. "It doesn't matter now. The flame crystal you condensed is too weak. It will be almost impossible for you to pass my test."

"We'll only know that if you let me try," Darren replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are so arrogant."

"I'm not being arrogant. I just know I'm more skilled than you are giving me credit for and I won't be laughed at by a flame. So why are you mocking me?" Darren asked.

The small fire was stunned into a momentary silence by Darren's words.

"Very well. I'll stop wasting your time. The rules of the test are very simple. As long as you can endure the heat of the flames and become a True Fire Spiritual Body, you can pass it," the small fire explained.

"And you'll start now."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The whole area was engulfed with different sets of flames. Each blaze was a different color and intensity and they lit Darren's skin up so that it danced with the colors of the rainbow.

The clusters of flames were admittedly beautiful but the pain from the heat was so insufferable that Darren had to force himself to hold back screams. Now that he was a mortal, even if the flames were further away, he wouldn't be able to withstand them.

Still, Darren didn't panic.

He gritted his

was now in a mortal body, that meant that his flame crystal had become very powerful.

'If he can hold on for another year, he will condense into a True Fire Spiritual Body. I did not see this coming!' the small fire grumbled internally as he watched Darren continue to cultivate.

'He is arrogant, just like I thought. I'll have to make it harder for him. If he dies, it doesn't matter. It won't be my fault.' The Fire Spirit began to flicker and shoot sparks everywhere. Seconds later, a jet of fire streamed out of him, blazing hot.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless flames joined together and the temperature was more than tripled in a few seconds.

Sizzling and slightly singed, Darren sat on the ground with his legs crossed. His clothes had been burnt and there were still some pieces hanging from his skin. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air and he looked down to see that areas of his skin had turned black.

"It smells so good," the small fire said.

But Darren was suffering. He understood that he had to try and increase the level of the flame crystal in his body further; however, the flame crystal was spinning so fast that it had begun to crack down the middle.

For the first time, panic ripped through him.

"It must be the small fire who is continuing to increase the temperature. The temperature outside has risen too high."

Feeling anger replace his anxiety, Darren released his assimilating power. The large amount of fire spiritual energy entered his elixir field, nearly causing his veins to explode.

Despite having advanced the flame crystal in such a short period of time, Darren still couldn't use it to save him. He sighed, knowing that death was coming.