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

The world around them twisted as the temple ruins dissolved into a storm of golden fragments. Ling Tian felt his body being pulled into an unseen force, his surroundings replaced by an endless void where time itself seemed meaningless.

Xu Qing'er's presence beside him remained unwavering, though her expression had changed—her usual composed demeanor now tinged with deep concern. She gripped his sleeve, as if afraid he would be swallowed by the abyss of memories unfolding before them.

Before them stood the mysterious figure, his robes woven from the remnants of twilight. His gaze, ancient and piercing, bore into Ling Tian's very soul.

"You stand upon the precipice of truth, yet your heart still seeks the echoes of the past," the figure intoned, his voice reverberating through the void. "Tell me, Sovereign of Two Fates… do you truly wish to see what has been buried?"

Ling Tian's eyes were calm, but beneath that calmness surged an unshakable will. "I have no need for riddles. Show me."

The figure exhaled, raising his hand. At once, the void trembled, and golden chains erupted from the darkness, binding themselves into the shape of a massive celestial gate before them.

The inscriptions on the gate were written in a language that had long been lost to the Myriad Worlds, yet Ling Tian instinctively understood them.

"The Ling Clan was never meant to exist."

A cold chill swept over him.

The golden gate shattered, and the memories of the past descended upon them.

---

A Forgotten War

The vision before them was not of mere history—it was a battlefield soaked in divine blood, where Sovereigns clashed against fate itself.

At the heart of the battle stood a figure, clad in armor that bore the insignia of the Ling Clan. His azure-gold aura was unmistakable, his very presence bending the heavens around him.

Ling Tian's breath caught.

That man…

He was a Ling.

He was one of them.

He recognized him.

And yet, his name was nowhere in the history of the Myriad Worlds.

Xu Qing'er gripped his hand. "Ling Tian, do you see it now? The Ling Clan… they didn't just vanish. They were erased."

The Vanquished Throne wasn't merely a myth. It was a punishment—a sentence carried out against those who dared to defy the natural order.

The vision shifted.

Ling Tian saw the moment of betrayal—figures he couldn't yet recognize but could feel in his soul. The ones who had orchestrated this fate.

The ones responsible for his clan's disappearance.

And in that instant, the vision collapsed.

---

Back to the Present

Ling Tian and Xu Qing'er stood once more in the ruined temple, the echoes of the past fading like dust in the wind. But something had changed.

Ling Tian clenched his fists. His aura surged wildly, the golden and azure energies intertwining like sovereign flames.

The mysterious figure stood before him once more, his gaze unreadable.

"You have seen the first glimpse of your truth, Sovereign of Two Fates," he murmured. "But will you seek the full answer… or will you turn away?"

Ling Tian exhaled slowly. His mind was calm, but deep within, a storm raged.

The Ling Clan's fate was no accident.

And now, he had taken the first step toward uncovering the ones who had orchestrated their fall.

His journey had only just begun.

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