1. Rebirth of the Fallen Emperor

The End of a Legend

The Celestial Ascension Peak, once a sacred land of the gods, was now a battlefield drenched in blood. Torn banners fluttered in the night wind, and the bodies of fallen cultivators lay scattered across the shattered stone ground. The air crackled with the lingering energy of divine techniques unleashed in the battle.

At the very center of this ruin stood a lone figure.

His long black hair, once regal and flowing, was now stained with blood and dirt. His golden eyes, once filled with boundless power, now flickered with fading light. His robes, woven with the essence of celestial beasts, were in tatters, barely holding together his wounded form.

This was Ling Tian, the Martial Emperor, the man who had once ruled the Myriad Heavens with an iron fist.

Yet now, he stood alone.

Surrounded by the very people he had once called allies. Betrayed by the very sects he had once protected.

A jagged sword was impaled through his abdomen, pinning him to the cracked ground like a fallen beast. The divine energy within him was fading, his cultivation crumbling.

And before him stood the betrayers.

His sworn brother, Ji Wuye.

His trusted general, Zhao Feng.

His most loyal disciples.

And the woman he loved.

Ling Tian clenched his bloodied fists. "So… this is how it ends?" His voice was hoarse, but there was no fear—only chilling amusement.

Ji Wuye, clad in a golden divine armor, stepped forward. "Your ambition was too great, Ling Tian. The heavens do not allow a man to stand above the gods."

Ling Tian scoffed. "The heavens? Or you cowards who fear my rise?"

Zhao Feng sneered. "You should have known. The moment you tried to break past the final realm, your fate was sealed. No mortal should dare to challenge the heavens."

Ling Tian ignored them. His gaze had already fallen on her—the woman he had once vowed to cherish forever.

Dressed in a flowing white robe, her eyes filled with sorrow, yet she did not move to save him.

Xian Yue.

The woman he had loved. The woman he had trusted above all. The woman who had whispered eternal devotion to him beneath the starlit sky.

Her jade-like fingers trembled, but her resolve did not waver.

Then, in a blur of motion, something pierced his chest.

A delicate jade hairpin.

Small. Beautiful. Lethal.

Ling Tian coughed, tasting blood. His golden eyes dimmed as the energy in his body collapsed completely.

"You..." His voice wavered, not with pain, but with disbelief.

Xian Yue's lips trembled. "I had no choice, Ling Tian."

No choice?

Ling Tian let out a low, broken chuckle. The once-mighty Martial Emperor, betrayed not by swords or armies—but by love.

The world around him blurred. His vision darkened. The last thing he saw was the heavens above, laughing at his downfall.

Then, everything faded to black.

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10,000 Years Later—A New Beginning

Pain.

An unbearable, searing pain.

Ling Tian gasped as his body convulsed, his lungs burning as though he had been drowning for an eternity. His fingers clawed at the air, his mind in chaos.

He was supposed to be dead.

But instead, he felt warmth. The weight of flesh. The pulse of a beating heart.

His eyes snapped open.

He found himself lying on a straw mat inside a dimly lit wooden room. The air smelled of medicinal herbs and damp wood. His body felt weak—frail, even. Gone was the invincible power that once coursed through his veins.

Ling Tian frowned. This body… isn't mine.

Memories rushed into his mind.

The body he now inhabited belonged to Ling Tian of the Ling Clan, a young master in a small kingdom's declining noble family. He

was once a genius, but due to a mysterious injury, his cultivation had been crippled, and he became the "trash young master" of his clan—mocked, humiliated, and beaten. His own family had all but abandoned him, and his enemies saw him as nothing more than a joke.

A cripple.

A failure.

Ling Tian's golden eyes flickered in the darkness.

No. Not this time.

Before he could process more, a sharp knock echoed through the wooden walls.

"Young Master Ling, have you finally woken up?" A voice dripped with mockery.

The door slid open, revealing a man clad in fine robes, his expression twisted with amusement. Ling Tao, his arrogant cousin.

"You've been lying in bed like a useless worm for days," Ling Tao sneered. "Father said if you don't show signs of improvement soon, we might as well throw you out of the clan."

Ling Tian sat up slowly, his weak body trembling from the effort. His fingers clenched into a fist.

The old Ling Tian might have bowed his head.

But he was not that Ling Tian.

He was the Martial Emperor. The man who had once ruled the heavens.

And now, in this new life, he would rise again.

Stronger.

Smarter.

And this time, he would break fate itself.

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