88. The Chain Unbroken

Ling Tian's gaze sharpened. The gray-robed figure stood motionless, the ruins of the celestial battlefield crumbling around them. Yet, despite the devastation, his presence remained unshaken.

"You haven't answered me." Ling Tian's voice was cold. "Who are you?"

The man tilted his head slightly, as if amused by the question.

"Names… are fleeting." His voice carried an ancient weight, as though it had existed long before the concept of time itself. "But if you insist… you may call me Xuan Yi."

Ling Tian narrowed his eyes. He had never heard that name before.

Xuan Yi continued, his gaze shifting toward the endless void above.

"You have slain the Sovereigns of Fate. You have severed the last remnants of their design. But in doing so…" He paused, his expression unreadable.

"You have freed something that should have never been unbound."

A chilling aura spread across the battlefield.

Ling Tian instinctively activated his azure-gold aura, his dual-colored energy intertwining like divine flames. "You speak in riddles. If you mean to fight, then draw your weapon."

Xuan Yi chuckled.

"Fight? No… Not yet."

His hand lifted, pointing toward the vast expanse of stars.

And then—

The sky cracked.

It was not a mere rift or a tear in space. Reality itself began to distort.

The remnants of the Sovereign Throne crumbled into dust, the lingering echoes of fate collapsing into nothingness.

Ling Tian's expression darkened.

This was not a power he recognized.

It was older than the Sovereigns. Older than the Vanquished Throne.

Something primordial.

Xuan Yi exhaled, his breath merging with the very fabric of existence.

"The one who was sealed… is awakening."

For the first time in ages—Ling Tian felt an unfamiliar pressure.

Not from Xuan Yi.

Not from any enemy he had ever encountered before.

But from something far beyond his understanding.

Xuan Yi turned to leave.

"You should prepare yourself, Ling Tian." He glanced back one last time, his gray robes billowing in the void.

"Because this… was only the beginning."

With that, he vanished—his presence erased as if he had never been there.

Ling Tian remained still, his grip on the Vanquished Edge tightening.

His journey was not over.

It was only escalating.

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