The Dragon Throne cracked
A deafening sound echoed through the underground chamber as golden stone split from the center, sending fragments across the floor.
Lin Xue instinctively stepped backward.
Mo Yuan immediately moved in front of him.
“Stay behind me.”
Lin Xue didn’t argue this time.
Something was rising.
Slowly.
From beneath the broken throne, crimson light poured upward like smoke.
Then came a hand.
Pale.
Human.
It gripped the edge of the shattered stone.
Ji Chen’s face changed.
“No…”
The hand pulled itself upward.
A figure emerged from beneath the throne.
He was dressed in ancient white robes, his long hair falling around his shoulders.
Strange golden chains were wrapped around his arms and chest, disappearing beneath the stone floor.
His eyes remained closed.
Yet the moment his feet touched the ground—
Every candle in the chamber went out.
Silence.
Then his eyes opened.
Crimson.
Lin Xue felt the Soul Lotus burn violently.
He clutched his wrist.
“Who is that?”
Ji Chen whispered,
“The Second Sovereign.”
Mo Yuan’s sword tightened in his grip.
“Sovereign of what?”
Ji Chen didn’t answer.
The ancient figure slowly raised his head.
His gaze passed over Mo Yuan.
Then Ji Chen.
Then finally—
Lin Xue.
The crimson eyes widened.
“Finally.”
His voice was quiet.
But the entire chamber trembled.
“My lotus has returned.”
Lin Xue’s heart stopped.
“My…
lotus?”
The figure smiled.
“You don’t remember.”
He stepped forward.
“You never remember.”
Lin Xue felt a strange pressure building inside his chest.
Memories began flashing through his mind.
A vast white palace.
A garden filled with red lotuses.
A younger version of himself standing beside this ancient man.
Then—
Mo Yuan.
Standing between them.
A sword drawn.
Blood on his robes.
Lin Xue gasped.
“No…”
Mo Yuan immediately looked at him.
“What did you see?”
“I don’t know.”
The ancient man laughed softly.
“You always forget.”
His gaze moved to Mo Yuan.
“And you always remember.”
Mo Yuan’s expression turned cold.
“You.”
The ancient man smiled.
“Yes.”
Mo Yuan’s hand tightened around his sword.
“You were the one who separated us.”
Lin Xue looked at him.
“What are you talking about?”
Mo Yuan’s eyes remained fixed upon the ancient figure.
“I remember now.”
His voice was quiet.
“Not everything.”
“But enough.”
The golden chains around his body shattered.
BOOM!
A wave of spiritual energy exploded through the chamber.
Mo Yuan immediately swung his sword.
A black barrier appeared.
The impact pushed him several steps backward.
Lin Xue rushed to his side.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
The ancient man watched them.
His expression became almost amused.
“Still protecting him.”
Mo Yuan looked at him.
“I’ll protect him in every life.”
Lin Xue’s heart skipped.
The ancient man smiled.
“Then you will die in every life.”
He raised his hand.
Crimson chains shot from the ground.
Mo Yuan blocked the first.
The second.
The third.
But there were too many.
One chain slipped past his defense.
Lin Xue raised his hand.
“Nine Heavens!”
Golden light erupted.
The chain shattered.
The ancient man looked surprised.
“Your cultivation has awakened.”
Lin Xue stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
“I told you.”
He smiled.
“I am the Second Sovereign.”
“I ruled the eastern heavens before your empire existed.”
“And your Soul Lotus was once mine.”
Lin Xue’s expression hardened.
“Then why was it placed inside my soul?”
The Sovereign became silent.
For the first time…
His expression changed.
“You truly don’t remember.”
“No.”
“Then perhaps…”
His gaze turned toward Mo Yuan.
“…he should tell you.”
Lin Xue looked at Mo Yuan.
“Tell me what?”
Mo Yuan remained silent.
“Mo Yuan.”
The prince lowered his sword.
“There was a time…”
He hesitated.
“…when I killed him.”
Lin Xue froze.
“You killed him?”
“Yes.”
The Sovereign laughed.
“And he has regretted it ever since.”
Lin Xue looked between them.
“Why?”
Mo Yuan’s eyes darkened.
“Because he tried to take you.”
The chamber fell silent.
Lin Xue’s breathing slowed.
“What do you mean?”
The ancient Sovereign answered.
“In our first age, the Soul Lotus belonged to me.”
“Lin Xue was its vessel.”
“But the lotus chose him.”
He pointed toward Mo Yuan.
“The moment their souls became connected, I lost control.”
Mo Yuan’s expression was grim.
“So you tried to separate us.”
“I did more than that.”
The Sovereign smiled.
“I created the Crimson Seal.”
Lin Xue’s eyes widened.
“The Crimson Seal…”
“And every time you were reborn…”
“I used the seal to erase your memories.”
Lin Xue stared at him.
The truth felt like a blade.
All those lives.
All those memories.
All the times he had felt inexplicably drawn toward someone…
Only to lose them.
Because someone had deliberately torn their souls apart.
“Why?”
The question escaped Lin Xue quietly.
The Sovereign looked at him.
“Because I loved you.”
Lin Xue went still.
Mo Yuan’s expression hardened.
The Sovereign continued.
“But you chose him.”
He looked at Mo Yuan.
“And Heaven punished us both.”
Lin Xue shook his head.
“No.”
His voice became stronger.
“You don’t get to call that love.”
The Sovereign’s smile disappeared.
Lin Xue stepped forward.
“Love isn’t possession.”
“Love isn’t stealing someone’s memories.”
“Love isn’t forcing them to belong to you.”
The crimson light around the Sovereign intensified.
“Be careful.”
Lin Xue didn’t move.
“I’ve already died once.”
“I don’t fear you.”
Mo Yuan looked at him.
Something warm appeared in his eyes.
The Sovereign raised his hand.
“Then die again.”
A massive wave of crimson energy surged toward Lin Xue.
Mo Yuan moved first.
He stepped directly in front of Lin Xue.
Their spiritual energies collided.
The chamber shook violently.
Stone pillars collapsed.
Ji Chen was thrown against the wall.
“Mo Yuan!”
Lin Xue reached for him.
But before he could move—
His Soul Lotus erupted.
Nine crimson petals unfolded around him.
A golden thread appeared between his wrist and Mo Yuan’s chest.
The thread pulsed once.
Twice.
Then—
A tenth petal appeared.
The Sovereign’s expression changed completely.
“Impossible.”
Lin Xue stared at his wrist.
“What’s happening?”
Mo Yuan looked at the lotus.
“The seal…”
“It isn’t breaking.”
“It’s transforming.”
The tenth petal opened.
Golden light flooded the chamber.
The ancient Sovereign staggered backward.
“No…”
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
“You were never supposed to awaken the tenth petal.”
Lin Xue looked at him.
“Why?”
The Sovereign whispered,
“Because the tenth petal means…”
He looked toward Mo Yuan.
“…the bond can no longer be severed.”
The golden thread between them brightened.
And somewhere far beyond the mortal realm—
A third crimson star appeared in the sky.
The second seal had broken.
But the third had already begun to awaken.