In one week, Jason's undead army had grown to eight undead.
Lumba was level five, the zombie Brandon was level three, the zombie leopard was level four, one skeleton rhinoceros was level three, two skeleton sword-and-shield soldiers were both level two, and two skeleton archers were both level two.
But the number and strength of the undead a necromancer could summon depended on his own level of spiritual power. Though Lumba's undead were strong, strictly speaking, they belonged to Lumba. Strong as they were, Jason couldn't make use of them. Only those Jason could summon counted as his own.
Jason had tested himself. For now, he could only summon level-two undead, and only one at a time. He had prepared those four level-two undead for himself.
Without making a graduation speech, Stutzman announced on the evening of the seventh day that the seven children had graduated and would be transferred to other classes. They would study the other spells of Necromancy in those classes, and those with affinities for other types of magic would also learn the relevant magical knowledge there.
In fact, Undead Summoning was the only Necromancy spell Jason and the others could learn, because they were simply too weak, and most Necromancy spells had very high requirements.
Before Jason was assigned to another class, he was first taken to a hall.
There were the twenty-odd children who had taken the talent test with him.
The hall was filled with whispers. As a prince, Jason had the good sense to sit down beside Yunika. She gave him a gesture to be quiet, and Jason nodded to show he understood.
Under the glow of the magic lights, Jason's imperial father, the Rhein emperor Maisiji Rhine, stepped onto the stage.
The hall fell quiet.
With a bang, the main doors shut, and even the curtains were drawn over the surrounding windows.
"Hope of the Rhine Clan, I am Maisiji Rhine, emperor of the Rhine Empire. I have gathered you here today to tell you about the history of our Rhine Clan.
"I imagine you also noticed that, during the talent test more than ten days ago, there was a 'bloodline test.' That test measured the concentration of our Rhine Clan ancestor's bloodline in your bodies.
"Our Rhine Clan's ancestor was a powerful Deity-level expert! And the blood of that Deity-level expert flows in our veins-the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend Bloodline!"
Maisiji Rhine's impassioned speech made the children present gasp.
A storm also surged in Jason's heart. Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend? Is it an Abyss Blade Fiend? Why is there a 'Violet-Eyed' in the name?
"Descendants, perhaps you cannot understand what this noble bloodline means. Did you know? It is precisely because of this noble bloodline that one-third of our clan members have the aptitude to become necromancers, and one-third have a talent for the Destruction attribute!
"Among ordinary people, only one in ten thousand can become a mage, and necromancers are almost extinct outside the empire! Our Rhine Clan has been able to dominate the Yulan Continent precisely because of our great ancestor's bloodline, the bloodline of a powerful god who attained godhood through both Destruction and Death!
"And you, this great bloodline flows through your veins."
"Oh!" An exclamation of admiration rang out in the hall.
Jason more or less understood. Whether or not this Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend was a variant of an Abyss Blade Fiend, one thing was certain: it was a Deity-level magical beast with both Death and Destruction attributes, and it had accidentally left its bloodline on the Yulan Continent.
Judging by the fact that Jason could train without activating his bloodline and faced no particular restrictions in training battle-qi, the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend itself was probably a Saint-level magical beast.
Maisiji's speech lasted half an hour. Aside from the beginning, Jason only remembered what he said in the last few minutes:
"Young members of the clan, train hard. Once you reach level nine, you can go to the clan's sacred ground, Bloodshadow Valley. It was established by our ancestor, and the concentration of magic there far exceeds that of the outside world. Dozens of Saint-level experts and nearly a hundred level-nine experts of the clan have gathered there. There, you will break through to the Saint-level faster than people anywhere else on the Yulan Continent and gain eternal life!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Cheers rang out again.
Bloodshadow Valley? The clan's sacred ground? Is it a place like Mist Canyon in the original story? That really does sound pretty good. Jason suddenly felt that having a powerful clan to rely on was a good experience too, so he clapped excitedly as well!
Prince Vittorio took the stage next.
Unlike the emperor, who had been boosting morale, the prince wore a serious expression.
"Fellow clan members, what do you consider good, and what do you consider evil?" After a pause, he said forcefully, "Protecting your kin and remaining true to your heart is good; fighting among your own and being insincere is evil!"
"I imagine you had doubts the moment you heard our ancestor's name, the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend. Yes, our ancestor came from the Abyss. He was a demon."
"Huh!?" Cries of disbelief rang out. They were all children, after all, and weren't very resilient.
"So what if he was a demon? Has our Rhine Clan killed indiscriminately? Has our Rhine Empire fallen into chaos? No! Our Rhine Empire is flourishing, and our Rhine Clan is united as one!"
The children, who had been downcast, began to nod and applaud, showing their agreement with the prince.
Prince Vittorio took a deep breath. "Our ancestor came to the Yulan Continent five thousand years ago and left behind our Rhein clan. Though he came from the Abyss, though he was a powerful Deity-level being, our ancestor did not plunge the Yulan Continent into bloodshed. Ever since our Rhein Clan established the Rhine Empire, we have protected the people of this land. We should be proud!"
"However, with every gain comes a loss. Our bloodline is not perfect. A Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend's lifespan is shorter than that of a normal human, so those of us with this bloodline can live no longer than three hundred years before reaching the Saint-level."
Without giving the children time to react, he continued, "My fellow clan members, our ancestor was a god! We possess a noble bloodline. We cannot pity ourselves just because our lifespans are shorter than those of ordinary humans. To avoid bringing shame upon our bloodline, we must train hard, break through to the Saint-level within three hundred years, and gain unlimited lifespans. Only then can we prove that we are descendants of a god. Only then can we prove that we are nobler beings!"
"For the noble bloodline, long live!" The guards on both sides of the hall were apparently members of the Rhine Clan too, and they shouted in unison.
"Long live! Long live!" The children excitedly joined in.
Jason shouted a couple of times too, but he found it baffling. What did a "noble bloodline" have to do with "long live"?
Afterward, the guards handed out a booklet to each of the children.
Jason opened his and found the results of his talent test.
Death and Lightning Element: superlative. Fate and Water Element: high. Destruction and Life: medium. Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend Bloodline: medium. Overall evaluation: excellent.
Jason cleared his throat.
Yunika and Lucy, who were beside him, understood and lowered their booklets a little.
The three compared their results. All three had received an overall evaluation of excellent, and all three had medium bloodline concentrations.
It seemed bloodline concentration was not a particularly important measure.
Jason guessed that after generations of reproduction, the Rhine Clan's bloodline had become very thin, unless close relatives married.
But that didn't matter. It was only a mutated demon bloodline, merely Saint-level, and nothing precious.
Jason couldn't help grumbling inwardly, The Four Ultimate Warrior Clans are the ones with noble bloodlines. As long as they activate their bloodlines, they're guaranteed to reach the Peak Saint level; after undergoing their clan's baptism, they can become gods on their own. And they don't have the drawback of a reduced lifespan at all!
So, after weighing everything, Jason judged his Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend Bloodline to be neither good nor bad, barely a little useful.