81. The Omen of Sovereigns

Ling Tian's mind was still clouded by the whispers of the Vanquished Throne, but the cold air of reality quickly brought him back. Xu Qing'er's fingers were still wrapped around his wrist, her grip firm, as if anchoring him to the present.

He turned to her, eyes filled with unspoken storms.

"What did you see?" she asked again.

He hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice calm but laced with an unbreakable determination.

"A war. A throne. A past that refuses to stay buried."

Xu Qing'er's golden eyes flickered with understanding. "Then… the truth is close."

Before Ling Tian could respond, a sudden shift in the heavens made both of them snap to attention.

The air grew thick.

A distant roar echoed through the skies.

And then—the world itself trembled.

A golden pillar of light erupted from the far horizon, piercing through the firmament. The sky twisted, stars distorting as an ancient presence stirred.

A presence Ling Tian knew well.

"Sovereigns…" he muttered under his breath.

Xu Qing'er's breath hitched. "They've noticed."

Ling Tian's fists clenched. "They were always watching. But now they move."

BOOM!

A deafening thunderclap split the heavens apart.

A silhouette descended from the golden pillar—clad in imperial robes, his presence alone suffocating the air itself. Behind him, a hundred figures followed, each radiating an unmatched aura of dominion.

They were not ordinary cultivators.

They were Sovereigns of Fate.

And they had come for Ling Tian.

One of them, a man draped in celestial gold, spoke first.

"Ling Tian."

His voice carried across the land, shaking mountains, declaring judgment.

"You have walked a path not meant for mortals. The balance of fate demands correction."

Ling Tian's gaze remained impassive.

"I don't believe in fate," he said, his aura rising. "And I don't believe in your authority."

The Sovereign's expression did not change, but the air around him grew heavier.

"Defiance leads only to ruin."

Ling Tian smiled—a sharp, dangerous smile.

"Then let ruin come."

BOOM!

His azure-gold aura exploded, colliding with the Sovereign's divine pressure, splitting the clouds apart.

Lightning arced across the sky.

The battle for fate itself had begun.

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