[Congratulations. You have exceeded my expectations and passed the test with flying colors. As promised, you will receive thirty drops of the Fire Dragon God's blood essence.]

Shortly after the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit spoke, a miniature fire phoenix branched off its main body and delivered the bottle to Vaan.

Nevertheless, Vaan didn't have any thoughts of immediately consuming the thirty drops of the Fire Dragon God's blood essence.

Although the Celestial Dragonwolf Transformation had much milder side effects than the Lycan Transformation and didn't threaten his life for prolonged usage, there's no telling what lasting effects it'll have on his body if he doesn't find a way to revert.

As such, he needed to clear the Trial by Fire quickly and seek the dragon lords' vast knowledge to find a solution.

However, the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit's following message suddenly surprised him.

[Congratulations on passing all the stages. You have cleared the Trial by Fire and gained the right to the Fire Dragon God's inheritance.]

"What?" Vaan was stunned before he asked with doubt, "What about the fifth stage?"

[This Lord's test was the fifth stage.]

[You might be wondering what about the fourth stage in that case, and I can tell you this; you had already passed the fourth stage when you charged into this region. Thus, in truth, there aren't really five stages but five tests.]

[These tests were designed to find five important qualities in the Fire Dragon God's successor: Diligence, talent, temperance, courage, and finally, decisiveness.]

[Originally, this last test was designed to be impossible for mortals to pass. After all, the flames of a Demigod aren't something ordinary mortals can endure. Thus, the only prerequisite to pass was to endure the baptism of flames to a half-dead state.]

[This Lord would have withdrawn the flames and saved your life once it reached that point.]

[However, not only did you endure the baptism of flames, but you also overcame it, even though you had to use a special method with harmful effects. Still, you did it without hesitation.]

[As such, you still passed despite doing things differently.]

"So, what now?" Vaan asked.

[Since you didn't use a single quota and passed all five stages of the Trial by Fire, you can go on ahead and enter the Fire Dragon God's tomb to accept the inheritance as the Fire Dragon God's successor.]

[If you pass the last stage, all the fire-attribute magical plants and other parts of the Fire Dragon God's inheritance will belong to you.]historical

The Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit informed, causing Vaan's brows to crease.

"I thought you said I've already cleared all the stages of the Trial by Fire, Lord Fire Spirit?" Vaan mentioned.

[And that you have.]

The Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit acknowledged.

[All testing stages have been cleared. You can view the inheritance stage as a bonus stage to collect your rewards. There is no harm and only benefits, so you don't have to worry.]

[That said, it still depends on whether you can accept all of the Fire Dragon God's inheritance. However, if you do succeed, the problem you are facing with your current appearance will be easily resolved.]

The Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit explained with a mysterious smile.

Vaan could see that the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit had no intention of explaining anything further and left things vague in order to surprise him.

He could only enter the black pyramid and find out for himself.

"I understand," Vaan replied.

Shortly after, he headed towards the dark opening in the black pyramid. The moment he did, trails of flames lit on both sides of the corridor, illuminating the path ahead.

Vaan followed the given path and eventually reached the heart of the black pyramid, a large open space filled with treasured magical plants of Rank 5 quality.

That said, the black pyramid was a treasure in and of itself. It was entirely comprised of a special alloy that surpassed Rank 5 materials.

Vaan wouldn't be surprised if it could endure the full-powered attacks of Rank 6 beings.

Nevertheless, he gradually settled his gaze on the center, where the Fire Dragon God's giant body was laid to rest.

Over the course of three hundred years, much of the Fire Dragon God's blood essence had been extracted for the Trial by Fire, causing the outer shell of the Fire Dragon God's carcass to dry like an empty husk.

As such, there weren't many drops of the Fire Dragon God's blood essence left; about a thousand drops.

All the Rank 5 fire-attribute magical plants in the heart of the black pyramid were also nurtured by the Fire Dragon God's blood essence.

Countless fireflies roamed the magical plant garden and tended to them. Vaan later realized they weren't actually fireflies but tiny Fire Spirits.

Nevertheless, as Vaan continued to follow the set path to the center, he eventually found himself in front of the Fire Dragon God's head, which had been split open.

A single semi-transparent grey pearl containing unimaginable power was embedded inside but easily within reach of Vaan's hand.

"This is.."

Vaan's calm expression changed as his eyes widened with a startled look, visibly shocked by the divine object in front of him.

[Kukuku, it seems you have recognized what it is.]

The Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit suddenly appeared beside Vaan, chuckling, with its main body after downsizing.

[That's right; it's the Fire Dragon God's soul—or what's left of the Fire Dragon God's soul after being refined for the successor to absorb safely. It contains pure dragon soul force.]

[Although there isn't enough dragon soul force to achieve a complete deification of the soul, even if you somehow manage to absorb all of it, achieving partial deification and raising your soul to the Demigod rank is still possible.]

[And as this Lord said earlier, your issues will be easily resolved once your soul reaches that level. Even if it's only a temporary solution, it should still last you long enough to find a proper solution.]

The Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit explained.

Vaan had little-to-no information about the Demigod rank. Thus, he couldn't guess what sort of solution he would have once his soul reached such a level.

However, he fully understood why absorbing the dragon soul pearl would make him the Fire Dragon God's successor officially.

Once he absorbed the dragon soul pearl, he would no longer be considered an 'outsider.'

All members of the Red Dragon Clan would be forced to recognize him as one of their own and the closest kin of the Fire Dragon God.

And if they don't agree with his right to rule, he could suppress them with his dragon soul.