NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 20: Chapter 20 The Duel of Inheritance
Recap:
After taking down the hybrid guardian Calamiris in the Veins of Salt and shattering the Second Chain, Tianyu found himself equipped with the enhanced Flame Soul Armor and the Duality Cloak. But now, the Vault is moving ahead of him. Just then, a fiery message arrives from the long-lost Emberlight Sect, claiming they have a map to the Fifth Chain. However, there's a catch: Tianyu must first defeat their prodigy, a cultivator who insists they are the true heir of Jilung.
---
The letter arrived in a whirlwind of crimson wind.
Written in ancient flame script, it carried the seal of a sect believed to be long gone—the **Emberlight Sect**, the first to rise against the Vault before Jilung was sealed away.
Qin Yao read it aloud:
To the Flame Reconciler:
The Fifth Chain lies within what was once ours.
But fire cannot be shared without a fight.
Come to the Ashen Mesa.
Face the one who holds the fire you've forgotten.
Tianyu's eyes narrowed.
Forgotten flame?
Long Shen's expression darkened.
They were Jilung's chosen students.
Exiled. Hidden.
They think their lineage surpasses all other flame paths—including ours.
---
> [New Quest Activated: Duel of Inheritance]
> Location: Ashen Mesa Emberlight Territory
> Objective: Defeat Emberlight Prodigy in a sacred duel
> Optional: Win without using Dragonfire Judgment to prove originality
> Reward: Map to Fifth Chain + Flame Origin Memory
---
The Ashen Mesa didn't appear on any maps.
But the moment Tianyu set foot on its scorched ground, it felt as if the flames themselves bowed to him.
A circle of elder cultivators awaited, their robes charred by time.
And in the center stood **her**.
Not a man, but a woman barely older than Tianyu.
With fiery eyes, a crimson spear, and an aura that roared like a solar storm.
Hey there, I'm Mei Ling, the Flamebearer of the Emberlight.
I carry Jilung's first memory, passed down through the soulfire since the First Rebellion.
She stepped forward.
If you're looking for the Fifth Chain's location, you'll need to prove that your fire wasn't stolen.
---
And just like that, the duel kicked off.
They found themselves surrounded by a swirling ring of flames, its edges glowing with ancestral fire.
No allies, no external Qi—just sheer willpower.
---
Mei Ling was the first to strike, her spear slicing through the air, creating crescent waves of blinding light.
She wove the flames like a master, crafting illusions, mirages, and pressure.
But Tianyu wasn't just relying on brute strength; he was all about finesse.
Using the **Ashen Sovereign Step**, he danced around her attacks and unleashed a pure version of his flame: **Unbound Ember Form**—a style he hadn't even named until that moment.
They clashed again, this time soaring through the air, flames transforming the sky into a vibrant inferno.
Neither of them was willing to back down.
---
> [Optional Objective in Danger Dragonfire Judgment Ready]
Tianyu hesitated.
He could finish it right then and there, but he knew that if he did, the Emberlight would never see him as an equal—just a descendant of Jilung's sealed flame.
So, he held back.
Instead, he knelt down and drew his own symbol in flames on the mesa: a Phoenix entwined with a coiled dragon.
His flames burned in harmony, not in dominance.
Mei Ling froze for a moment, then smiled.
"You've forged a new path."
---
She planted her spear into the ground and bowed.
"The chain is yours to break."
> [Duel Complete Optional Objective Cleared]
> Reward: Map to Fifth Chain Vault Glacier Citadel
> Bonus: Memory Imprint Jilung's Flamebirth (Origin Technique Seed)
---
As the mesa fell silent, Mei Ling leaned in to Tianyu and whispered, "There's a reason the Vault fears the Fifth Chain.
It seals away something even Jilung feared—his twin."
Tianyu's eyes widened in shock.
"I thought Jilung was born alone."
He kept his eyes shut until they finally opened.
---
Teaser for Chapter 21:
Tianyu and his court are making their way to the Vault Glacier Citadel in search of the Fifth Chain. However, the landscape is a chilling graveyard filled with lost sects, and an ambush is waiting for them, led by none other than Ren Feilong, who now wields the Soul-Mirror Blade.