·Sovereign of Celestial Ascent


    Chapter 20 – The Stirring of Giants


    As Tianming and Jiang Chen emerged from the ruins, the air outside felt heavier, charged with an unseen force. The relic, though silent in his grasp, pulsed faintly—like a slumbering beast waiting to awaken.


    They had escaped the ancient vault, but they had not left its consequences behind.


    Jiang Chen exhaled sharply. "Where do we go now?"


    Tianming looked toward the distant horizon. Returning to their sects was no longer an option—not yet.


    "Somewhere we can recover," Tianming said. "Somewhere we can understand what we just took."


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Jiang Chen nodded, but a shadow lingered in his eyes. They were no longer just wanderers—they were marked men.


    And soon, they would learn exactly what that meant.


    ---


    Far from the ruins, beneath the endless sky, forces unknown to them had already begun to stir.


    In a secluded temple high in the mountains, a robed figure knelt before a glowing formation. Symbols danced across its surface, whispering of something long forgotten—now unearthed.


    A voice, low and ancient, resonated in the chamber.


    "The relic has awakened."


    The robed figure raised his head, his expression unreadable. "Then it begins once more."


    Across the continent, others were listening.


    ---


    Tianming and Jiang Chen pressed forward through a dense forest, their bodies still aching from the previous battle. But they weren’t alone.


    In the silence between the trees, something moved.


    Tianming stopped, his senses sharpening. It was not a beast, not a rogue cultivator—but something worse.


    Jiang Chen caught on as well. "They found us."


    Then—the first attack came.


    A blade of light tore through the trees, splitting stone and earth alike. The ground erupted in chaos, dust swallowing the battlefield. The pursuers had arrived.


    And they weren’t here to negotiate.


    ---


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    Tianming and Jiang Chen are forced into battle as unseen enemies close in. But are they truly the hunters—or merely pawns in a far greater game? With the relic’s power still unknown, Tianming must fight not just to survive, but to unravel the truth before it’s too late.


    > "Tianming was not just a fugitive.


    He was the Sovereign of Celestial Ascent."