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.
Ancient Ruin Opens.
"Let's run away! People from the Misty forest sect will surely hunt us down. They won't let us go." She said in a panicked voice.
"No rush, no rush." Li Shenrong said leisurely as if killing a Heavenly King was no big deal.
Elder Cao's death made all the Misty Forest sect disciples angry and fearful. Even though they were not the main force, they thought with Elder Cao it would be easy as pie to grab a camping spot.
"Report this matter to the fifth elder." A leading disciple ordered in a solemn tone.
"Don't think you can leave the Ghostly ridge alive after offending our Misty Forest sect." A disciple shouted.
Li Shenrong was trying to sense what was inside the gate but these Misty Forest sect's disciples interrupted him. It made him angry.
"Sure, if your Misty Forest Sect courts death, then don't blame me for being merciless." Li Shenrong said coldly.
Hearing this, Misty Forest sect disciples shivered from anger but they didn't dare to flare out and left quietly. A person who could kill a Heavenly king with one punch wasn't someone they could deal with.
A young man approached Li Shenrong and cupped his fists politely.
"You can call me Bao Zhentian. How should i address you, dao brother?" He said.
Luo Shenghua looked at Bao Zhentian from head to toe curiously. It could be said after offending Misty forest sect, no one wanted to mingle with Li Shenrong. Everyone started avoiding him like a plague in fear of incurring the wrath of Misty forest sect experts, but on the contrary, this Bao Zhentian actually took the initiative to speak with Li Shenrong. It's either he wasn't afraid of Misty forest experts or he was just someone blindly arrogant, maybe a fool too.
"So it's dao brother Li, i've seen your incomparable ability which would outshine any geniuses. If dao brother Li doesn't mind travelling with someone like me, let's explore the ruin together. I absolutely won't let you down." Bao Zhentian said in a solemn tone.
Li Shenrong thought for a bit and agreed. It won't hurt taking one more person with him. After all they could deal with the small fries and save him from some unnecessary troubles.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed, shaking the entirety of Ghostly ridge. Usually Ghostly Ridge would often be shrouded in darkness and thick fog without much sunlight, but now, every corner was being illuminated by a blinding radiance. The source of the radiant beam was the ancient ruins gate, twisted trees and craggy cliffs of the ghostly ridge was now bathing in its light.
The ancient ruins gate was suspended in the azure expanse of the sky, encompassing thousands of miles as it stretched from one corner to another. At first glance, the gate appeared weathered and rusty, giving the impression that it would shatter with the slightest touch. But when someone focused carefully, it would give people a mysterious feeling as if their soul was being stirred. Grand dao laws cascaded down from its structure like a shimmering waterfall. Each droplet had profound mysterious truths within it which could even mesmerise a true-god.
The air suddenly crackled as the gate trembled with loud noises as if something akin to a giant was hammering the earth continuously.
Everyone's attention was on the gate high above. No one wanted to miss a single detail.
"Look! The ancient ruin is opening!" Someone excitedly cheered. No one could remain calm at such moments. Even the behemoth clans and sects from other regions looked very solemn.
The brilliance of the beam intensified as it shot toward the sky, breaking through the dense clouds and almost piercing the Heavens. Many cultivators were forced to close their eyes because the light beam was too dazzling. Finally, with a strange hymn the gate blasted open itself.
No one knew who took the first step, but everyone started rushing inside the gate like a tide. Be it powerful heavenly kings or hidden masters from previous generations, no one wanted to lag behind. Some truly powerful sects and clans watched everyone rushing inside coldly. They weren't in a hurry to go inside.
"Humph! Let the ants test the water first. It won't be too late to go in after that." A powerful sect master snorted coldly.
Luo Shenghua was anxious to rush inside. Contrary to her, Bao Zhentian stood behind Li Shenrong calmly.
He noticed Luo Shenghua's anxious expression, she was like an ant in a hotpot. Seeing this, he laughed slightly.
"Sister Luo, let them go in first. The gate won't be closing anytime soon. We don't have to rush in like them, it won't be very comfortable otherwise." Bao Zhentian couldn't help but say.
Luo Shenghua took a deep breath as she smiled wryly. Bao Zhentian was younger than her but he was so calm and collected. As the elder one, she was so eager! It made her a little embarrassed.
She stole several secret glances at Li Shenrong and couldn't help but roll her eyes. He stood unmoving like an ancient god, calm and unperturbed as if nothing in this world could even cause a slight ripple in his heart.
Even when the ancient gate opened, shaking the entire world and illuminating all directions, Li Shenrong didn't even blink an eye. Sometime Luo Shenghua even wondered whether he had any emotions or not.
A cold scowl rang out all of a sudden. The trio looked at the direction from where it came and saw a thousand people flying toward them. All of them had overwhelming aura, almost reaching the sky. The lowest among them had peak physic foundation realm cultivation. None of them were weak.
"So you are Li Shenrong? The one who killed our sect's elder?" A middle aged man spoke in a deep voice. He wore a simple white robe but his aura was astonishing. Luo Shenghua felt her heart palpitating just by standing in-front of him. Bao Zhentian narrowed his eyes slightly with a dignified expression.
"A Dao sovereign!" He murmured.
A Dao sovereign was an absolutely pinnacle existence below Godhood. In the absence of a Demi-god, Dao sovereigns reigned supreme.
"You are looking at the right person." Li Shenrong replied nonchalantly.
"Good! Don't let me find you inside the ruin or else it'll be your grave." The middle aged man uttered coldly.
"Why not now? Come! let's fight three hundred rounds." Li Shenrong gestured provocatively with one finger.
The middle aged man indifferently gazed at the ruin's massive gate, he turned around and flew away swiftly along with all the experts.
"Dao brother Li, we should avoid them when inside the ruin. Did you notice the old man at the very back. I couldn't see through him." Bao Zhentian said warily.
Powerful families and sects finally started moving. They soared into the sky and rushed inside the massive gate.
"Let's go. We should get going too." Li Shenrong said slowly.
"Phew, finally!" Luo Shenghua felt excited as she jumped.