The air in the Third Prince's house was colder than the winter wind outside.
He looked like a man who had lost his soul. His servants had to carry him to his study, where he collapsed on the floor. He couldn't even stand up. Despair hit him like a dark wave, choking him. Li Tianhan's refusal to help was the final blow.
"It's over," he whispered to the empty room. "Everything is over."
Just then, an old servant sweeping the floor "accidentally" tripped at the doorway. A bundle of old scrolls rolled out of his arms and stopped right in front of the Prince. The servant turned pale and started bowing frantically.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness! I am a clumsy old fool!"
The Third Prince didn't care until he saw the words on the torn edge of the scroll: Great Fire Rebellion, Frost-Fang Spies, Military Secrets Leaked.
He grabbed the scrolls and tore them open. It was a secret report. While some parts were missing, the truth was clear: the First Prince had worked with the enemy during the rebellion.
A wild, crazy fire lit up in the Third Prince's eyes. "The heavens haven't left me yet!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.
He didn't need Li Tianhan anymore. He would do this himself. He planned to tear off the First Prince's mask at the Emperor's birthday party, in front of the whole world, and send him to hell. It was all or nothing.
Two weeks later, the Azure Emperor held his birthday feast.
The palace was filled with music, dancing, and expensive food. The First Prince sat in the seat of honor next to the throne, looking like he already owned the empire. He smiled as everyone praised him. He was only one step away from the crown.
The Third Prince sat in a dark corner. His face was white, but his eyes burned with hatred as he watched his brother.
On the throne, the old Emperor leaned back. He had once been a powerful Spirit Lord, but now his face was wrinkled and his eyes were cloudy. He looked like a candle about to blow out.
After everyone had been drinking for a while, the Third Prince suddenly stood up. He pushed his table over and walked to the center of the hall, dropping to his knees.
"Father!" he cried out.
The music stopped. Every head turned. The First Prince frowned in disgust.
"I have a great crime to report!" the Third Prince shouted, holding the scrolls high. "I am here to stop a traitor! Our First Prince worked with the Frost-Fang Kingdom! He sold our secrets and caused the deaths of millions during the rebellion! Here is the proof!"
The room exploded into noise. Everyone was shocked. The First Prince was stunned for a second, then his face turned red with rage. He stomped forward, grabbed the scrolls, and looked at them. Then, he laughed.
"What proof?" he yelled, throwing the scrolls to the floor and stomping on them. "You think you can ruin me with these lies and rumors?"
He turned to the old Emperor. "Father, look at him! My brother has gone crazy trying to save himself. He is lying about the Crown Prince! This is treason!"
In an instant, the mood shifted. The officials looked at the ruined scrolls, then at the powerful First Prince. They decided to side with the winner. The Third Prince felt a chill go through his body. His only hope had been crushed.
"Guards!" the First Prince yelled, his eyes full of murder. "The Third Prince is a rebel! Take him!"
Soldiers rushed in, pointing spears at the weeping Third Prince. But the First Prince wasn't done. He saw a chance to take everything right now.
"Guards, listen to me! Seal the doors! Today, I will clean this court of all my enemies!"
Suddenly, the men standing near the First Prince let out the powerful energy of the Spirit Lord Realm. The Prince walked toward the throne, drawing his sword with a loud clang. He pointed the blade right at his dying father.
"Father, you are too old," he said. "It's time for you to rest. Give the empire to me."
A coup. A bloody take-over in the middle of the feast. The officials watched in horror, too scared to move. But just as the First Prince reached for the crown...
BOOM!
The palace doors were kicked open. Wood flew everywhere. The sound of a real army screaming for blood thundered into the hall. A man in black armor stood in the light, surrounded by a terrifying aura of death.
It was Li Tianhan.
Behind him was the Prince of the South and a wall of elite soldiers. The First Prince's face turned white.
"Li Tianhan! Are you rebelling?"
Li Tianhan ignored him. He walked to the center of the room, holding a thick pile of files.
"By the Emperor's order, I am here to arrest a traitor!" Li Tianhan's voice was calm, but it filled the entire room.
"First, I have proof that the First Prince leaked our secrets to the enemy. Second, I have records of how he killed our own people for his own gain. Third, I have the evidence of the coup he is trying to pull right now!"
A dozen generals stepped out from the crowd, glarring at the First Prince.
"Kill the traitor!" they roared. "Save the empire!"
The First Prince's own guards saw the situation was hopeless and dropped their weapons. Driven mad by rage, the First Prince let out a scream and charged at Li Tianhan with his sword. "I'll kill you!"
Li Tianhan didn't blink. As the sword reached him, he moved.
He unleashed his full power: Level 4 Spirit Lord.
No one even saw him move. There was a loud crack. The First Prince's body stopped in mid-air, then fell flat on the floor. His neck was twisted at a sickening angle. He was dead.
The room went silent. The fighting outside stopped just as fast.
On the throne, the old Emperor looked at the bodies of his two sons. He looked at Li Tianhan, the only man left with any real power. With tears of blood running down his face, he used his last bit of strength to speak.
"The throne... goes to the thirteenth prince... Li Tianhan."
Three days later, Li Tianhan took off his heavy armor and put on the dragon robes. Supported by his generals, he climbed the ninety-nine steps and sat on the throne.
His new title was Emperor Tian.
A new era of iron and blood had begun.
The coronation was over. The dragon robe felt heavy on Li Tianhan's shoulders. He sat alone in the Golden Throne Room, touching the cold metal of the chair. To the world, this was the ultimate prize. To him, it felt like a cage.
On his first night as ruler, three old men appeared. They were the Royal Ancestors, the true power of the empire. Each was a high-level Spirit Lord.
"You are no longer just a prince," the lead Ancestor said. His voice was cold and scary. "You are Emperor Tian. Your only job is to make this nation strong."
He explained that Li Tianhan's power was now tied to the country. If the empire grew, his strength would grow. If it failed, he would lose everything. Li Tianhan realized he had traded his personal freedom for the throne. He had no choice. He began his rule with iron and blood, starting by executing the entire Wei clan.
Ten years passed. Emperor Tian made the empire powerful. Rebellions were crushed, and neighbors lived in fear. But Li Tianhan was frustrated. Ruling took all his energy. In ten years, his cultivation barely moved. The throne was his peak, but it was also his prison.
His only joy was his wife, Princess Ling, and their children. Looking at his son, he made a plan. He would train an heir to take his place so he could be free to cultivate again.
For twenty years, he did two things: he destroyed the Frost-Fang Kingdom to secure the empire, and he raised his son to be a perfect leader. Twenty years later, his son was ready. Li Tianhan shocked everyone by stepping down.
The moment he gave up the crown, the invisible chains on his soul snapped. He retired to the background, and the energy of the world rushed back to him. In just twenty years of freedom, he surged to the eighth level of the Spirit Lord Realm. People now called him the Fourth Ancestor.
But the empire's growth had made its neighbors desperate. Three kingdoms joined together to destroy them. The war was horrific. Spirit Lords died in heaps. In a final battle, Li Tianhan killed the enemy's strongest leader, but he was hit by a Life-Eater Curse. He saved his country, but the curse began to eat his life away.
Thirty years later, Li Tianhan was desperate. He burned his own life force to reach the peak of the Spirit Lord Realm. His only hope was to break through to the Spirit King Realm.
In a secret cave, Li Tianhan sat cross-legged. He pulled in all the energy of the empire. The nation's "luck" turned into a golden dragon of light to help him. The barrier to the Spirit King Realm began to crack.
But then, the Life-Eater Curse exploded. A black hole formed in his chest and tore the golden dragon to pieces. Li Tianhan's body aged in seconds. The breakthrough failed.
As he died, he finally understood. "It isn't just talent," he whispered. "To reach the Spirit King Realm, you need Luck... your own personal luck."
The empire's luck was borrowed power. It couldn't save him. He had ruled the world, but he hadn't ruled his own fate.
"In the next life," he vowed, "I will control my own destiny."
With that, Emperor Tian died. His soul vanished into the void, ready for a new life with a new understanding of luck.