The Moon Core pulsed within Lin Xun's palm, a translucent orb filled with swirling stardust and glimmering runes. As it fused into his body, a tidal wave of enlightenment crashed through his soul. Patterns emerged—mystic diagrams formed of ancient celestial fire, overlaying the foundation of his cultivation with power drawn from before the age of the sects.
His body felt light, as if unchained from gravity. His soul—once shackled—now burned brighter than ever before.
Yet even as his spirit soared, the Trial World trembled.
A bell tolled from the skies above.
Dong...
Dong...
Dong...
Three strikes.
The sign that a hidden legacy had awakened.
Every disciple in the Trial World stopped in their tracks. Whispers echoed across the forest.
> "A secret inheritance… has opened?"
> "Only those who've received the Moon Core can sense it."
> "This hasn't happened in over two hundred years…"
And within Lin Xun's mind, a direction called to him—south, toward a forgotten corner of the realm where no moonlight reached.
---
He didn't hesitate.
His body flickered like flame, vanishing into the forest. The trees bent with the speed of his passage. He left behind those still battling for spirit crystals and raced past natural barriers, illusions, and traps.
Half a day passed before he reached it.
A dead grove of ash trees stood in a circular basin. At its heart was a black monolith, cracked and ancient, half-buried in moss and glowing faintly with golden runes. A single name burned upon its face:
> "The Hidden Flame Scripture"
His heart pounded.
The name stirred his blood. It was ancient, familiar… almost like a whisper from his very marrow.
He approached.
The moment he laid a hand on the monolith, a burst of flame surged out, enveloping him. His consciousness was wrenched away.
---
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the Trial World.
He stood in a void.
Stars rotated above him like wheels of fire. Beneath his feet, a burning lotus of golden light. A figure stood in the center—a man cloaked in divine fire, faceless yet majestic.
> "You are the Heir."
The voice cracked like thunder and echoed across the void.
> "You have broken the frost curse and ignited the embers of the forgotten flame."
Lin Xun's fists clenched. "Who are you?"
> "I am the Flame Monarch, bearer of the Hidden Scripture, sealed by traitors and buried in time. My lineage… your lineage… was extinguished by fear."
The figure stepped forward, and a lotus petal drifted toward Lin Xun. Upon it was engraved a single line of scripture—simple, elegant, and yet filled with terrifying power.
> "Flame without form. Will without end."
The moment Lin Xun touched it, it seared into his soul. His meridians expanded. His fire techniques crumbled—and then reformed into something far superior.
His Infernal Rebirth Sutra evolved.
A golden lotus bloomed within his dantian.
The Flame Monarch looked down.
> "The world will hunt you. The old sects will fear you. Your destiny is not to follow—but to burn paths unwalked."
> "Awaken, heir of the Broken Flame."
And the void vanished.
---
Lin Xun collapsed back into the real world, steam rising from his body. His clothes were soaked in sweat, and his eyes burned like suns.
But he had changed.
He stood and looked at his hand. With a flick of his fingers, golden flame spiraled upward—silent, weightless, and devastating.
The Hidden Flame Scripture was now part of him.
---
Elsewhere in the Trial World, chaos unfolded.
Mo Yang, bruised and humiliated from his earlier defeat, had rallied his faction. More than a dozen disciples surrounded a clearing, trapping an exhausted Lin Xun lookalike—one of the outer disciples trying to pass as him for protection.
They attacked mercilessly, believing him to be the true threat.
But as they torched him, a shadow descended.
Lin Xun.
His eyes glowed golden.
"You want me?" His voice was calm—too calm. "Here I am."
Mo Yang's expression twisted. "You should've stayed hidden."
"I did," Lin Xun replied. "And I found fire you'll never understand."
Then he moved.
---
The battle was brutal.
Mo Yang launched the Burning Heaven Claw, a technique that had shattered stone and bone. His allies flanked with flame whips and shadow bursts.
Lin Xun responded not with brute force—but with rhythm.
Each step left a burning lotus.
Each breath weaved fire and frost.
He called upon Hidden Flame Style: Second Petal – Flame Shift Mirage. Dozens of afterimages spread in all directions, confusing their formation.
Then—Third Petal – Witherflame Spiral.
A golden vortex erupted, devouring attacks, melting barriers.
In under five minutes, every enemy lay scattered, groaning or unconscious.
Only Mo Yang remained, scorched and kneeling.
Lin Xun stepped before him.
"You fear what you don't understand."
Mo Yang spat blood. "You're… not supposed to exist."
Lin Xun's gaze turned icy. "Yet here I am."
He didn't kill him.
Not yet.
---
The seventh day of the Moonshadow Trial arrived.
All disciples gathered at the extraction gate, battered and wiser. The elders of the Skyrect Sect hovered above, their robes billowing in the wind, eyes scanning for talents worth nurturing—or eliminating.
Lin Xun stepped through the portal, silent and steady.
Elder Qingxue met his gaze and nodded faintly.
But across the platform, a new figure stood.
She wore lavender robes embroidered with lotus blossoms, her hair tied with silver thread, and her aura—unmistakably noble.
She was from the Jade Blossom Sect—a sect above even the Skyrect in rank.
She was watching Lin Xun.
And when their eyes met, something shifted.
Like two storms sensing one another.
---
Back at the Skyrect Sect, Lin Xun was summoned by the elders.
They conferred quietly, and when the meeting ended, a decision had been made.
He was no longer an inner disciple.
He had become a Core Disciple.
But more than that—he was now marked as the potential candidate for sect heir.
Yet power came with chains.
He was now a target not just of jealous disciples—but of other factions, rival sects, and even ancient enemies of the Broken Flame Lineage.
And far above, hidden within the Jade Blossom Sect, a mysterious girl turned from he
r lotus pool and whispered:
> "He… carries the breath of the Forbidden Flame."
> "And he doesn't know what he truly is yet."
The winds of fate howled louder than ever.
And Lin Xun's journey had only just begun.