74. Threads of Fate Entwined

Bai Xue's words still lingered in the air, their weight pressing against Ling Tian's chest like an invisible force.

His father.

The man who had vanished without a trace.

The man who had left behind nothing but questions.

He had sealed Bai Xue's memories. He had erased her from Ling Tian's life.

But why?

Ling Tian's fists tightened. He needed answers. And he would find them—no matter what it took.

Xu Qing'er watched him silently, her gaze unreadable. She could feel the storm raging within him, yet she said nothing. She understood that some battles had to be fought within one's heart.

Bai Xue, however, seemed lost in her own world. Her fingers brushed against her wrist absentmindedly, as if touching something that was no longer there.

"Ling Tian…" she murmured.

He turned toward her. "What is it?"

Her lips parted, but before she could answer, a powerful surge of energy erupted in the distance.

A terrifying pressure swept over the land, sending tremors through the ground. The very air crackled with unseen forces.

Ling Tian's eyes narrowed.

Something… or someone was approaching.

Xu Qing'er instinctively moved closer to him. "That energy… it's strong."

Bai Xue trembled slightly. "No… it's familiar."

Ling Tian immediately focused his divine sense, stretching it toward the source of the disturbance. But before he could get a clear sense of what was coming, a voice rang out—cold, emotionless, yet carrying an undeniable authority.

"Ling Tian… your fate is not your own to decide."

A shadowed figure descended from the sky, wreathed in swirling darkness. Their presence alone was enough to make the earth shudder.

Ling Tian's expression darkened.

This wasn't just some ordinary enemy.

It was someone who knew him.

Someone who knew his past.

Someone who stood in his path toward the truth.

Xu Qing'er and Bai Xue immediately prepared themselves, their auras surging.

But Ling Tian remained calm. His azure-gold energy flickered around him like a sovereign's mantle.

"You're in my way," he said coolly.

The figure stepped forward. "I am here to ensure that you do not stray from the path chosen for you."

Ling Tian's lips curled into a smirk. "And what if I refuse?"

The air grew even heavier. The figure raised a hand, and an invisible force pressed down on Ling Tian—a suppression meant to break him.

But instead of faltering, Ling Tian's aura exploded outward. The weight that sought to crush him was shattered in an instant.

His golden eyes gleamed with defiance. "I don't care about the path chosen for me. I walk my own."

The figure remained silent for a moment, then let out a low chuckle. "Then prove it."

In the next instant, the sky split apart.

A battle… was inevitable.

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