A week had passed since Asura's overwhelming victory in the Crimson Pavilion Challenge.
But the academy wasn't calm.
It was trembling.
Not from fear… but from anticipation.
Because news had spread.
The Starflame Mausoleum had awakened.
An ancient forbidden zone located beneath the Flame Kingdom, sealed off for over a thousand years. Only once every millennium would the mausoleum's flames shift, revealing the entrance to its inner sanctum—a place where time, space, and flame essence merged to create a realm of unimaginable trials and inheritance.
And this time…
Asura held the key.
The Medallion's Secret
Inside the private courtyard he was given after his duel, Asura sat cross-legged, the Royal Flame Medallion floating before him. It pulsed with flickering crimson light, reacting to his qi.
Suddenly—
Click.
The medallion split open.
From its core emerged a tiny ember-shaped crystal, glowing with ancient runes, its flame not hot… but alive.
"So it really was more than just a title," Asura muttered.
A hidden voice echoed in his mind—an ancient will sealed within the medallion.
"Heir of Chaos and Fire... You carry both blood and defiance. Enter the Mausoleum, and face the Trial of Eternal Flame. Survive… and claim the inheritance of the Flameborne Emperor."
The crystal drifted into his chest, merging with his qi sea.
And the location of the entrance appeared before his eyes.
Beneath the Flame Serpent Gorge.
Lira's Warning
"You can't go alone," Lira scowled, blocking the gate to his courtyard. "The Mausoleum is said to be alive. The last genius who entered… burned to ashes before he took ten steps."
"Perfect," Asura smiled lazily. "I was getting cold."
Lira rolled her eyes, but deep down, she knew.
He needed this.
Because Asura wasn't just collecting power.
He was recovering fragments—of who he was before reincarnation.
And something inside that Mausoleum was calling to him.
Descent Into Flame
With the medallion acting as a compass, Asura arrived at the Flame Serpent Gorge—a cursed canyon sealed by the royal clan for centuries.
Fiery winds howled.
Lava rivers flowed like bloodstreams across the cracked stone.
Dead disciples' bones still lay scattered across the edges.
But at the center of the gorge, a massive stone gate pulsed with red light—sealed by 99 flame sigils.
Asura walked up, raised his hand…
And the Royal Medallion's energy pulsed.
BOOOOM!
The gate trembled. Sigils shattered.
A path into darkness opened.
He stepped inside, disappearing into the abyss.
"He's really insane," muttered Lira from a distance, watching from the cliff. "But damn it… that's what makes him terrifying."
Starflame Mausoleum – First Trial: The Flames That Judge
Asura entered a massive chamber where the ceiling was the sky—a sky of roaring flames.
Suddenly, twelve pillars ignited, forming a ring around him.
Each flame formed into a giant avatar, shaped like legendary warriors of the Flame Kingdom's history—kings, assassins, generals, monks.
"Prove your worth, Flame Heir," one of them boomed.
"Each of us guards one principle of the Flame: Power, Control, Rage, Will, Resolve, Blood, Balance, Origin, Trial, Rebirth, Despair… and Legacy."
"Defeat us all... and the inheritance shall be yours."
Asura cracked his knuckles.
"Twelve old men against me? Tch. I almost feel bad for you."
Trial Begins – One Versus Twelve
The first flame avatar—Power—charged forward, striking with blazing fists that warped space.
Asura didn't dodge.
He let the punch connect.
BOOM!
The entire floor exploded, fire rippling like an ocean.
But when the smoke cleared, Asura stood still.
"Power without control…" he whispered, "is just noise."
He countered with a single palm strike wrapped in Heaven's End qi.
CRACK!
The avatar shattered.
Then the others came.
Rage unleashed berserker flame claws.
Despair created illusions of everyone Asura ever lost.
Blood tried to absorb his life essence.
But Asura never faltered.
He fought, adapted, and absorbed.
Every movement, every technique—they were devoured by the Supreme Martial Eyes and reborn through Heaven's End.
"Your flame is old. My flame is evolving."
One by one, the avatars fell.
The Final Avatar – Legacy
The last flame took the form of a majestic emperor clad in obsidian robes, with twin swords made of molten flame and void qi.
"You've passed every flame… but Legacy is not something you fight. It is something you become."
He rushed forward, his every strike infused with generations of martial wisdom.
Asura grinned.
"Good. Now show me what it means to carry a kingdom's history."
Their clash shook the entire mausoleum.
Every cut from the avatar was absorbed by Asura's sword style.
But he didn't just block—he learned.
Heaven's End: Inheritance Breaker.
CLANG!
With one final strike, Asura shattered the emperor's sword.
BOOOOM!
The entire chamber exploded in light.
Inheritance Acquired – Flameborne Core
A blazing lotus formed in the air, drifting into Asura's body.
His qi sea boiled, his inner flames shifting.
[You have absorbed the Flameborne Emperor's Legacy.]
[Unique Flame Core Awakened: Crimson World Lotus Core.]
This core didn't just enhance fire techniques.
It made Asura's flames intelligent—able to seek out weakness, devour enemy qi, and evolve mid-battle.
Vision from the Past
As Asura collapsed to one knee, a memory surged into his mind—a glimpse from a past life.
He stood at the center of the universe, flames devouring planets, facing an army of Supreme Gods… and smiling.
"Is that… me?"
The memory faded.
His eyes narrowed.
"So I really was a monster back then…"
He clenched his fist, flames dancing across his fingers.
"Good. Then let me become one again."
End of Chapter 85