Fated to Rule, Destined to Love: The Martial Emperor’s Curse

The air was thick with an oppressive aura as Ling Tian stepped into the desolate ruins before him. He narrowed his eyes, his dual-colored Qi—Azure and Gold—coiling around him like celestial serpents. The remnants of an ancient battle lingered here, the very essence of the world tainted with sorrow.

Xu Qing'er, standing a few steps behind him, held her breath. Her gaze lingered on the golden embers flickering around Ling Tian's form. She had seen that energy before—long before she had ever met him. And yet, she dared not speak of it. Not yet.

"This place…" Ling Tian muttered, his voice laced with an eerie calm.

From the depths of the ruins, a faint whisper echoed—an ethereal sound carrying fragmented words. Ling Tian's pupils shrank as his divine senses sharpened, scanning every inch of the decayed surroundings. He felt something… familiar.

Xu Qing'er finally broke the silence. "This aura… it is intertwined with fate itself. Have you realized it yet, Ling Tian?"

He turned toward her, his gaze penetrating yet unreadable. "Explain."

She hesitated for a moment before sighing. "The Vanquished Throne. This place bears its remnants. It isn't just a legend… it is the graveyard of truths long forgotten."

Ling Tian's fists clenched involuntarily. The Vanquished Throne—a name that had appeared too many times in whispers, in ancient records, in the very depths of his soul. He had ignored the implications before, but now, standing here… he could no longer deny the weight of it.

Before he could respond, a sudden gust of malevolent energy erupted from the ground beneath them. A shadowy figure, neither living nor dead, rose from the ruins, its presence distorting reality itself.

"Who… dares disturb this forsaken land?" The voice was hollow, its presence ancient beyond reckoning.

Ling Tian's aura flared. "I am merely seeking answers."

The entity trembled before letting out a guttural laugh. "Then you are too late, Sovereign of Two Fates."

Xu Qing'er gasped. That title—one that should not exist, one that not even Ling Tian himself was aware of.

Ling Tian's eyes darkened. "What do you mean?"

The figure let out a chilling sigh. "The Ling Clan's fate was sealed the moment you stepped into the Forsaken Realm. Their existence… was never meant to persist beyond that point."

A crack formed in Ling Tian's composure. His heart pounded, his mind racing through the possibilities. "They… were erased?"

The entity did not answer. Instead, it raised an ethereal hand, and visions flashed before Ling Tian's eyes—fragments of a time long past. He saw his clan, standing against an unseen force, their figures turning into nothingness as if they had never existed.

Not slaughtered. Not conquered.

Erased.

Rage burned in Ling Tian's chest. He gritted his teeth, suppressing the storm within him. "Who?" he demanded.

The entity flickered, its form crumbling under the weight of time. "You will find your answer in the Myriad Worlds. But beware… the truth is far crueler than you can imagine."

With those words, the figure dissipated, leaving only silence in its wake.

Ling Tian exhaled slowly. His gaze was steeled, his resolve unshaken.

The Ling Clan was gone—but not forever. He would uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

Xu Qing'er approached him hesitantly. "Ling Tian… what will you do now?"

He turned to her, the flames of determination burning in his golden-azure eyes. "I will walk the path laid before me. And I will rewrite fate itself."

As the stars above shimmered ominously, the shadows of the past stretched forth, intertwining with the flames of the future. And Ling Tian stood at the center of it all—Sovereign of Two Fates, the one destined to uncover the truth.

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