Lord of the Celestial Throne
His fate was predetermined: fight, defend, and perish with the stars, a mere cog in the great machinery of creation. But something within him resisted this cruel fate. A seed of defiance sprouted in his heart, whispering of freedom. He sought a way to transcend the cosmic chains—to escape, to defy destiny, to seize freedom at any cost. As a mortal, he felt the agony of watching his loved ones wither and die, powerless to stop the decay of time. He wept for children, lovers, friends. As an emperor, he conquered kingdoms and wielded unimaginable power, only to be betrayed by those he trusted most, dragged from his throne, and executed in shame. As a beggar, he wandered the streets, starving and shivering under the cold gaze of uncaring gods. As a villain, he became the monster in stories told to frighten children—burning cities, drowning nations in blood, only to be hunted and killed by the heroes of those same tales. As a saint, he gave everything—his wealth, his strength, his life—to others, only to discover that gratitude was fleeting and the world did not remember the sacrifices of the righteous. But, Every failure, every death, every betrayal—they were nothing but steps on a long, infinite path. And the path had only one direction: up, through the layers of existence, through the fabric of reality itself. No prison could contain him. No curse could hold him. His heart whispered one thing to him, a truth carved into his soul:Move forward. Always forward. Because he was Li Shenrong—the Lord of the Celestial Throne.
A mortal hunter.
Xiao han who was following quietly behind li shenrong didn't speak a word all along. He seemed very distracted
by something.
" What's wrong with you? Did you hit your head so hard that you forgot how to speak? " Li shenrong asked jokingly.
After a while xiao han sighed, " i ran away from home, i wanted freedom. Never wanted to bound myself with so called responsibility for the kingdom and sect. Thought i could move unfettered and live my life as i wish but… everything i experienced along the way made me realise something. I am too weak. "
He recalled how horrendously wounded he was, how many times death was so close. Each time it made him shiver from head to toe. He was just a young prince of a kingdom who never witnessed worldly affairs and brutality of cultivation world.
" If you want to move unfettered and undeterred, get stronger first. Only strength can help you grasp your own fate. " Li shenrong spoke slowly, still walking with hands behind his back.
Xiao han silently contemplated his situation. After half a day he spoke with firm determination.
" Brother, i decided something….i want to go back home.
I want to cultivate diligently and get stronger. So at least i could protect myself and my freedom. "
Li shenrong smiled slightly.
" Go, its all up to you and do what your heart desire. "
" Brother, you should have guessed by now xiao han is just an alias. I am Lu hongping from Lu dynasty. You must visit me when you have time. " Lu hongping spoke solemnly.
" If fate permits then why not. " Li shenrong said.
" Farewell brother, I'll definitely repay you my life saving grace in the future. " With that said Lu hongping dashed into the forest and vanished.
Three days passed, li shenrong crossed mountains and lakes, sometime sat beneath the tree cultivating, sometime killing wild beast to satiate hunger. He walked alone like a lone ghost amidst the dense forest and hills. Currently he was few miles away from fire bird mountain, a relatively safe area. There's not many high level beasts around.
He met a few mortal hunters along the way. There was many mortal villages he came across so it wasn't totally weird to encounter mortal hunters.
Li shenrong was resting with his eyes closed above a tree branch. With black robe covering his body and a sword lying on his chest, he leaned himself against the tree comfortably as if sleeping.
A swoosh sound echoed suddenly. An arrow pierced through the air and hit a branch nearby where li shenrong was resting.
With a plop sound, body of a beast fell on the ground. It was a black panther who considered li shenrong as its prey and approached him silently.
" Hey, do you want to die so early? Why are you sitting here recklessly. Don't you know this place is extremely dangerous. This panther could have killed you if it wasn't for me noticing it. " A young girls voice reached his ear.
Li shenrong opened his eyes and looked at her. She was a young girl around 20 years old. Her face wasn't that beautiful but not so plain either. She wore dress made of bear skin and a mid size bow carrying on her back.
Her eyes fixedly staring at li shenrong, ready to take action if necessary.
Li shenrong jumped down and made the girl taking few steps back in caution.
He slowly put away the sword, hiding it inside his robe and smiled slightly.
" I thank you for helping me. "
Seeing this her attitude became a little softer and said " you shouldn't stay here. This place is not good for resting. If you want to, you can come with me to our village. Don't worry its not too far. "
Li shenrong thought for a moment and agreed. It wouldn't hurt to move in to the village for a while.