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

A low rumble filled the air as the shattered remnants of the guardian faded into nothingness. But his final words echoed within Ling Tian's mind.

"Break the chains… or be consumed by them."

The weight of those words clashed against the fury rising within him. His clan wasn't just destroyed—it was locked away, beyond the grasp of time itself.

And now, an unseen force was reaching out—trying to erase even the memory of what was lost.

Ling Tian smirked. "Let them come."

---

An Unseen Enemy

Xu Qing'er stood beside him, her silver eyes flickering with an unfathomable depth.

"Ling Tian…" she murmured. "That name… The One Above All Thrones… it shouldn't exist."

Her words sent a chill down his spine.

Shouldn't exist?

Xu Qing'er clenched her fists. "That title was erased from the Myriad Worlds' records thousands of eras ago. No one should remember it."

Yet the guardian had spoken it. And now, reality itself was trying to correct that mistake.

A vast, formless will descended upon them.

The sky above them rippled like a broken mirror, cracks forming in the fabric of existence. The unseen force pressed down, a presence beyond logic or reason—a concept given form.

Ling Tian's golden-azure aura flared, pushing back against it.

BOOM!

The air trembled as invisible chains slithered toward him, coiling like serpents.

Chains of Fate.

An ancient power, used only by those who governed the highest laws of existence. It sought to bind him, to silence the truth before it spread further.

But Ling Tian's eyes turned cold.

He had never bowed to fate.

He would not start now.

---

Defiance of a Sovereign

The Heavenly Tribulation Sword hummed in his grasp, its golden-azure blade pulsing in resonance with his will.

Ling Tian's lips curled into a smirk.

"You want to erase me?" His voice was calm, but beneath it burned a storm of wrath. "Then try."

SLASH!

His sword cut through the air—and the chains shattered!

A roar of defiance echoed through the heavens as Ling Tian's power surged. The golden and azure light around him expanded, ripping through the invisible suppression.

The force pressing down on them shuddered.

Xu Qing'er's breath hitched. "You… you broke the Chains of Fate?"

That should have been impossible.

No one—not even Sovereigns—had ever cut through fate itself.

And yet, Ling Tian had done it.

---

The Call of the Vanquished Throne

Far beyond the known realms, in the deepest void of the Myriad Worlds, something stirred.

For countless eons, it had remained still. Sealed. Forgotten.

But now—

The broken throne trembled.

Golden-azure cracks raced across its surface, pulsing in resonance with the power of a single man.

A whisper passed through the void—an echo from a time before records began.

"The Vanquished Throne… has awakened."

---

Return to the Forsaken Realm

Ling Tian lowered his sword, his breath steady. The unseen force had withdrawn, retreating into the depths of reality.

He had won this battle.

But war had just begun.

Xu Qing'er studied him, her expression unreadable. "Ling Tian… what will you do now?"

He looked toward the distant sky. "The Forsaken Realm still holds answers."

The journey was far from over.

The truth of the Ling Clan's erasure. The identity of The One Above All Thrones. The secrets of the Vanquished Throne.

All of it awaited him.

He sheathed his sword, turning to leave. "Come, Qing'er. It's time we returned."

Time to shatter the chains of fate once and for all.

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