**Battle Through the Heavens 03: Ascension of the Flame God**
**Episode 5: Flames That Burn the Sky**
The world trembled as Xiao Yan descended from the sky like a meteor engulfed in golden-red flames. His robe fluttered wildly as the aura of the Flame God surged around him. Every step he took ignited the very air, and the once-overwhelming pressure from the Demon Flame Dragon Monarch began to falter.
The beast roared in defiance, its eyes filled with rage. "You think just because you've inherited the will of the Flame God, you can stop me?!"
Xiao Yan didn't speak. His fingers formed a strange hand seal, and behind him, nine flaming golden lotuses bloomed in the void — each larger than a mountain. It was the ultimate manifestation of the upgraded technique: **Angry Buddha Lotus Flame – Divine Ascension Variant**.
Each lotus pulsed with the power of nine different Heavenly Flames, merged by Xiao Yan's mastery and elevated by his God Flame Heart.
A whisper escaped his lips, "Burn... everything."
**BOOM!!!**
The nine lotuses spun rapidly and fused into a single divine lotus that was twenty thousand meters wide. The sky cracked apart, revealing golden flames stretching beyond the clouds.
The Demon Flame Dragon Monarch widened his eyes in disbelief. "This... this is no longer the power of a Dou Di! This is something beyond!!"
Before he could retreat, the divine lotus exploded, unleashing a cataclysmic tide of incinerating flame. The blast turned the entire battlefield into a sea of divine fire. Time itself slowed under the sheer spiritual force.
When the flames finally died down, silence fell. The once-arrogant Dragon Monarch lay embedded into the mountain, his scales charred and eyes empty.
Xiao Yan floated down, his breath steady, his aura now more controlled than ever. His cultivation had soared again — he had stepped into the threshold of **Flame Sovereign Realm – 1st Flame Ascension**.
Yao Lao appeared beside him, his face full of pride. "You've done it, Xiao Yan. You've gone beyond what even I imagined."
But Xiao Yan's eyes didn't celebrate.
"There's still something out there... darker than this dragon. The black flame I sensed earlier — it didn't belong to him."
A dark cloud loomed in the distance, and a faint laugh echoed from the horizon.
"Hehehe... Not bad, Flame God's successor. You're worthy of being my next offering."
The scene faded to black as a pair of crimson eyes opened in the sky.
**To be continued...**