The skies had calmed…
but only on the surface.
Beneath the quiet winds and sleeping stars,
something ancient had awakened.
A force not seen in tens of thousands of years.
The Heavenly Dao — that which governs fate, balance, and karma — had taken notice.
And it was furious.
---
In the Forbidden Realm of Stars — Deep in the Void
Old celestial spirits stirred.
Golden decree scrolls burned into ash.
An ancient voice whispered:
> "A mortal walks without chains…
A flame that refuses to bow…
Shall the heavens watch in silence?"
Another voice, older, colder, answered:
> "No.
He must be tested.
If he dares defy heaven,
then let him first survive it."
---
Back in the Mortal World
Xiao Tian sat cross-legged on the peak of a shattered cliff,
his body still glowing faintly with golden flames.
But something had changed.
Above his head, dark clouds began to gather.
Not normal thunderclouds —
but Heavenly Tribulation Clouds.
Blacker than night.
Heavier than worlds.
Each bolt of lightning carried the wrath of the cosmos.
The will of heaven itself.
---
The Sect Elders Panicked
> "Impossible!" cried one elder.
"He hasn't even reached the Earth Origin Realm! Why would a tribulation appear now?!"
> "No, look closer!" shouted another, voice trembling.
"That's not a normal tribulation...
That's a Heaven-Slaying Tribulation!"
The Empress narrowed her eyes, her brows knitting.
> "So... even the heavens fear him.
Interesting."
---
Xiao Tian: Calm Amidst Chaos
Everyone else trembled.
But Xiao Tian simply stood, his black robe fluttering in the violent winds.
He looked at the roaring clouds above and smiled coldly.
> "So this is what you send when you're afraid...
A storm of heaven's fury?"
He raised his hand, and the golden flame — the True Origin Flame — roared to life.
It coiled around him like a divine serpent, crackling with divine heat.
---
Heaven's First Strike
CRACK!
A blinding bolt of violet lightning, wide as a mountain, came crashing down.
The air screamed.
Mountains miles away split.
The ocean in the distance boiled.
But Xiao Tian didn't dodge.
Instead, he roared back —
and punched the lightning.
BOOM!!
Flame met fury.
Man met heaven.
And for the first time in countless ages...
Heaven's will cracked.
---
Voices From the Void
In the hidden realms of the ancient immortals,
several hidden watchers — old monsters, secluded saints, and sleeping titans — opened their eyes.
> "This child... he punched tribulation lightning?"
"He bears no heavenly fate… yet commands a forbidden flame..."
And one of them smiled faintly.
> "He is not chosen by the heavens...
He is the one who will one day choose which heaven shall remain."
---
Back at the Peak
Xiao Tian's robes were torn.
Blood dripped from his fist.
But his eyes burned brighter than ever.
He looked up, challenging.
> "Is that all?
Send more."
And so the second bolt came.
Then the third.
The fourth.
Each stronger than the last.
Each meant to kill.
But Xiao Tian… endured.
Fought.
And with each strike, his flame grew wilder.
---
A Silent Oath
As the ninth bolt fell — large enough to destroy an empire — Xiao Tian rose into the sky.
And screamed:
> "Mark my words, old heavens!
You may strike me now,
but one day —
I shall strike you back!"
And with a final roar,
his fist met the last bolt.
And shattered it into stardust.
---
The Sky Cleared.
The clouds faded.
The world went silent.
And far, far above…
the Heavens wept.
For the first time in eternity,
they had tried to erase someone — and failed.The last bolt of tribulation lightning dissolved into a billion sparks—
not falling,
but rising,
as if bowing to the mortal who had refused to die.
The winds stilled.
The earth stopped shaking.
And from the torn sky,
a golden crack opened.
Heaven had been split.
---
The Heavenly Decree Descends
A scroll descended slowly—etched in divine gold, written in the blood of stars.
It radiated a pressure no mortal could bear.
Sect elders dropped to their knees.
The mountains groaned.
Only Xiao Tian stood still—
gaze calm, fists clenched, chest heaving with fire.
The scroll unfolded in the air, and a booming voice echoed across the realm:
> "Xiao Tian, son of no fate, bearer of flame unblessed,
you have defied Heaven's first judgment.
Thus, by order of the Heavenly Mandate,
you are hereby declared—
Heaven's Bane.
Let no sect shelter him.
Let no realm bless him.
Let no immortal guide him.
From this day onward,
he walks the path alone."**
---
Silence Fell
Even the Empress, known for her icy heart, narrowed her eyes.
> "Heaven's Bane?" she whispered.
"They fear him that much?"
One elder murmured, terrified,
> "No mortal has been called that in ten thousand years…"
And in the center of the storm,
Xiao Tian looked up at the fading scroll—
—and laughed.
A deep, furious, unchained laugh.
> "Heaven's Bane? So be it.
You gave me no blessing.
No path.
No destiny.
So I'll make my own.
And carve my name into the bones of the sky."
---
Unknown to All
Far in the divine void,
behind veils of light and karma,
an ancient pair of golden eyes opened.
Soft, feminine.
Yet older than creation.
She whispered one line:
> "He has begun to awaken…"
As the divine golden scroll faded into nothingness,
space itself cracked again.
This time, it wasn't lightning.
It wasn't flame.
It was presence.
Like a sword pressing against the soul.
Like judgment given form.
---
The Divine Messenger Arrives
A figure descended slowly from the torn sky,
clad in robes made of constellations,
haloed in a thousand laws of Heaven.
Behind him hovered six immortal rings, each pulsing with terrifying energy.
The world held its breath.
He wasn't a cultivator.
He wasn't a god.
He was a messenger of Heaven—
one who did not deliver messages.
He enforced them.
> "Xiao Tian," the Messenger's voice was like thunder wrapped in silk.
"You have two choices."
He raised two fingers.
> "Kneel.
Bind your soul to Heaven.
Accept judgment…
Or—"
The second finger glowed crimson.
> "—perish. And let your very name be erased from the wheel of reincarnation."
---
The World Waited
Even Flame Empress Huo Lian didn't move.
This was no longer about sects.
No longer about mortal pride.
This was Heaven's warning to all.
But Xiao Tian… just grinned.
He looked at the Divine Messenger with eyes full of mischief and madness.
Then stepped forward.
He raised his bamboo stick.
Tapped it once on the ground.
And said:
> "I refuse."
---
The First Blow
The skies howled.
The Messenger raised a hand—
and unleashed the Law of Suppression.
It crashed down like the weight of planets, aiming to flatten Xiao Tian into dust.
But Xiao Tian didn't move.
Instead—
He raised a single palm.
Golden starlight flared behind him.
A hidden bloodline surged.
Not demonic.
Not divine.
Primordial.
And the Law shattered like brittle glass.
Title: The Bloodline That Should Not Exist
---
The moment Xiao Tian shattered the Divine Law of Suppression,
the world stopped breathing.
Heaven's Messenger staggered back.
Eyes once emotionless… now narrowed in disbelief.
> "That power… that aura—impossible!
It was erased!
That bloodline should have been destroyed in the First Era!"
Xiao Tian smiled coldly.
Golden starlight still flared behind him,
but now it was mixed with strands of black void and crimson fate.
It was not one bloodline.
It was three fused into one.
A bloodline older than divine beasts.
Older than the heavens.
> "You said I had two choices," he said softly.
"But you forgot the third…"
He stepped forward.
Every step caused the sky to crack,
the stars to tremble,
and even the Flame Empress to instinctively summon her divine flame barrier.
---
Whispers from the Past
In the distance, the ancient ruins of the Southern Flame Temple began to awaken.
Old statues shattered.
Ancient runes glowed with fear.
A whisper echoed in the air—
one not heard in ten thousand years:
> "The bearer of the Fallen Origin returns…"
"The child of the Forbidden Star walks once more…"
"He who defies fate, karma, and Heaven…"
Even the Divine Messenger hesitated.
> "This power… it does not belong in this world.
It is a threat to the Heavenly Order."
---
The Revelation
Xiao Tian stopped just ten steps from the Messenger.
Then he spoke a name.
> "I am Xiao Tian… heir of the Ancestral Nihil Flame,
inheritor of the Voidborne Starchild Vein,
and the last living vessel of the Heavenbane Soul Core."
He raised his palm.
Three ancient symbols appeared in the air—one burning, one dim, one flickering.
And the skies above turned black.
> "You call it blasphemy…
I call it freedom."
---
Clash of Destiny
The Divine Messenger roared—
his six immortal rings expanded, forming a massive celestial blade of judgment.
Xiao Tian didn't retreat.
Instead, he sheathed his bamboo stick.
And drew a blade of his own.
It was not forged.
It was born—from his will, his rage, and his soul.
And when their blades met—
The sky split in half.
Mountains in nearby regions collapsed.
Rivers ran in reverse.
Time trembled.
And the cultivators watching could no longer stand.
They fell to their knees—
not from fear…
but from the weight of truth.
That Xiao Tian…
Was no longer just a man.