Shadow Over the Heavenly Throne

Darkness.

Not the kind you see when you close your eyes. There was no light, no sound—no sense of my own body. Just emptiness. And then... a sound. A deep, rhythmic thudding. Slow, steady, constant. A heartbeat.

Not mine.

That realization hit me like a crashing wave, snapping my consciousness into existence. My mind awakened, but I had no control over my body. No—did I even have a body?

Warmth. Pressure surrounding me from all sides. No space to stretch, every movement sluggish, as if I were submerged in thick liquid.

What’s happening?

I tried to open my eyes—nothing. I tried to breathe, but there was no need for air. Then, a terrifying thought began to take shape in my mind.

No. No, that’s impossible.

I had no sense of time, no way to tell how long I remained trapped in this strange state. But eventually, muffled sounds reached my ears. At first, just the distant echo of water. Then… voices.

"Your Highness, everything is progressing as expected. The child is developing normally."

"The child?"

"That’s good."

A woman. Her voice was soft yet regal, carrying an undeniable authority. Was that… my mother?

"Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl?"

"The doctors say it’s a girl, Your Highness."

A girl.

Shit.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place with an absurd, horrifying clarity. I wasn’t dead—not entirely. But if that was true… if I was still alive… then did that mean I had reincarnated? And worse… I wasn’t just any child. I was a royal child?

The heartbeat—the one that wasn’t mine—remained steady, but my thoughts spun out of control.

No. No. This couldn’t be real. Maybe I was in a coma, and my brain was constructing some elaborate delusion to make sense of my surroundings? Maybe—no. Something was wrong.

I wanted to scream. To demand answers. To do something. But I couldn’t. My mouth wouldn’t open. My body wouldn’t move.

I had to calm down. I had to think. If I had awareness, then something had brought me here. And if that was the case, then I needed to understand where I was.

I had no idea how much time passed, but my senses gradually sharpened. I could hear more conversations, make out distinct voices. Every day, I focused on their words, piecing together the fragments of my new reality.

"The royal bloodline has been growing weaker for generations. Each new heir is born with less and less potential."

I froze. What does that mean—‘born weaker’?

"We still don’t know if she’ll inherit any cultivation talent."

I stopped breathing. Cultivation talent? So this world had special abilities? Magic, maybe?

"If she’s talentless, we’ll have to marry her off to one of the great cultivation families to maintain our influence."

Oh, fantastic. As if being trapped in a womb wasn’t humiliating enough, I was also destined to be a bargaining chip in some political marriage? Just another neatly wrapped present, ready to be handed over for the sake of “prosperity”? No choices. No freedom. Just a life dictated by alliances I had no say in.

Anger flared within me. I hated that idea.

What about my mother? Did she even think of me as her child, or just as a pawn on her chessboard? A cold, indifferent queen, already planning my fate before I had even drawn my first breath. And my father? If I could even call him that. He hadn’t appeared even once in these conversations. Was I just one of his many insignificant offspring? Another piece in his political game? Let him choke on his own power.

Did they think I would simply accept this? That I’d quietly follow whatever role they assigned me?

Tch.

They were in for a surprise.

I kept listening, gathering every scrap of information. If I couldn’t act, then I could learn. Every conversation was a piece of the puzzle I needed to survive.

"And what of the great families? Do any of them have an interest in this?"

"The Red Moon Clan is watching closely. Their heir has just reached the Golden Core realm."

So this world didn’t just have cultivation—it had realms of power. I needed to understand more.

"That’s not the only problem, Your Highness. We suffered another loss in the battle for the Crystal Spring. The White Dragon Sect continues to dominate, and our forces were unable to resist their leaders."

"That makes three defeats this year…"

"Yes. Without a strong new generation, our influence is rapidly fading."

"And what about the heirs of other families? Have any exceptional talents emerged?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The descendant of the Heavenly Flame Clan has already reached the Flaming Manifestation realm before turning fifteen. We have no one who can match him."

"That’s… troubling."

"Fortunately, we still have our ancestors protecting us." A voice spoke with clear unease. "Our enemies may sense our decline, but none dare move against us openly. Because they know that if they do… he will act."

Silence.

"As long as he stands as our guardian, no one will risk an open war against our family."

A chill ran down my spine. Whoever this ‘he’ was, he had to be powerful—far beyond anyone else. And it seemed that he was the only thing keeping this so-called royal family from collapsing entirely.

I needed to learn more.

With each passing conversation, one thing became painfully clear: if I did nothing, I would be nothing. A pawn. A bargaining chip. A discarded heir in a declining lineage.

That was not an option.

I couldn’t move. But that didn’t mean I was helpless.

I turned my focus inward. And that was when I felt it. A faint warmth, barely perceptible, flowing through me like invisible waves.

Qi.

The energy of this world—the foundation of cultivation itself.

Most children probably didn’t awaken their talent until after birth. But I had no intention of waiting. I wasn’t about to let fate decide my worth.

If Qi was the key to strength in this world, then I had to grasp it. Now.

I tried everything. If I couldn’t control it, I’d absorb it instinctively. If I couldn’t draw it in, I’d synchronize with its flow. I had no teachers, no manuals. But I had time. Every day, every hour spent in this confined space was my first lesson.

At first, nothing happened. Qi was elusive, like trying to catch mist with my bare hands.

But I didn’t stop.

Then—something shifted.

A tingling sensation.

Like the faintest spark in the darkness. Like the first breath of fresh air.

It was working.

If Qi was real… if I could interact with it before I was even born… then I had a chance.

I didn’t know the exact rules of this world. I didn’t know what dangers awaited me beyond this warm, sheltered prison.

But I knew one thing.

I would not let anyone dictate my fate.

And if this world followed the rule of the strong reign supreme…

Then I would do whatever it took to become the strongest.