Reincarnation of the Empress

Gu Changge gently paused the folding fan at his fingertips, his gaze crossing the noisy street corner to land on the fleeing figure of a young girl.

The wind swept the hem of her moon-white brocade dress across the bluestone slabs. Though the edges were stained with dust, it still accentuated her upright and elegant posture.

Even while fleeing in panic, her knees instinctively straightened with every step, as if she were accustomed to maintaining her dignity under the scrutiny of the masses.

The girl's messy hair clung to her cheeks, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on her forehead. Yet, those almond eyes were astonishingly bright, like tempered cold stars, exuding a proud arrogance that said even if she lost a fight, she would never lose her backbone.

Gu Changge raised an eyebrow slightly as an extremely faint aura drifted over with the wind.

It was a peculiar fluctuation hidden deep within the girl's soul. It was barely discernible, yet it carried a profound weight that transcended reincarnation, like a dust-covered imperial crown.

Although firmly suppressed by her new physical body, it still faintly trembled in the depths of her soul. This aura actually bore a trace of the Emperor's Path.

He quietly circulated his Delusion-Shattering Divine Eyes, a faint golden light flashing briefly in the depths of his eyes.

In an instant, the girl's past unfurled in his sea of consciousness like a shattered scroll.

She was not a native of the Xuanhuang Great World. In her past life, she came from the Tianlan Great World, where she was an existence that made all domains bow in submission.

With a woman's body and a mortal physique, she rose from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. She created the Heaven-Devouring Dao Art to slay the prodigies of her generation, suppressed eternal supremes with a single iron sword, and ultimately ascended to the throne as an empress, titled Empress Lingxi.

Gu Changge's divine sense delved deeper along the images, seeing that a thousand years after she ascended the throne, her cultivation had reached the limit of the Tianlan Great World—the peak of the Great Emperor realm.

In pursuit of a higher realm, she used her own imperial body as a catalyst to forcefully cleave open the realm barrier.

That battle lasted for three full months. She withstood the suppression of the Great World's Heavenly Dao and the tearing of the realm storms. Even when her imperial crown shattered and her imperial robes were stained with blood, she never took a single step back, finally tearing a rift in the barrier.

But just as she was about to step into the legendary Immortal Realm, a golden blade of laws suddenly slashed out from the rift. It was the law of the Immortal Realm, cold and ruthless.

She hastily swung her sword to defend herself, but her imperial weapon shattered into dust. Her imperial body was pierced by the power of laws, and even her divine soul nearly dissipated.

In the space between life and death, she burned the last trace of her Emperor's Path origin, stripping her divine soul from her imperial body and escaping into the void through the spatial rift created by the collision of laws.

Eventually, by a stroke of fate, she drifted down to the Xuanhuang Great World and was reborn into the Ling family. In a flash, sixteen years had passed.

Quite a ruthless character.

Gu Changge withdrew his divine eyes, a flash of amusement passing through his gaze.

Such an experience was somewhat similar to a certain legendary Great Emperor. Both used a mortal body, relying on heaven-defying talent and an unyielding tenacity, to carve out a path of survival in desperate situations.

On his shoulder, Little Black suddenly grew restless. Its black bean-like eyes stared fixedly at the girl, its wings taut like a fully drawn bowstring, emitting low whimpers from its beak.

Although it had not cultivated to the Emperor realm, it had once felt the coercion of a Great Emperor. Now, vaguely sensing the lingering resonance of the Emperor's Path deep within the girl's soul, it instinctively grew vigilant.

Gu Changge gently pressed his fingertips against the top of Little Black's head, suppressing its restlessness. The corners of his mouth curled up. What are you panicking for? It is just a little one who has not recovered her strength. Back when you were chased by ordinary mortals fighting over a spirit fruit, you were much more pathetic than she is.

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu stood to the side, completely unaware of anything unusual.

Xiao Ruobai frowned at the middle-aged man giving chase and whispered to Gu Changge, Master, looking at this situation, it seems to be a family matter. Should we avoid it?

Fang Hanyu also nodded in agreement, his fingertips unconsciously brushing against his scabbard. He felt an indescribable sense of incongruity about the girl, but unable to detect any anomalies, he could only suppress his doubts.

Only Gu Changge and Little Black could capture that wisp of lingering Emperor's Path resonance hidden deep within her soul—an aura that even a Quasi-Emperor might not easily perceive.

If Gu Changge's cultivation had not already reached the peak of the Great Emperor realm, and if Little Black was not a divine beast, anyone else, even at the Saint realm, would only regard her as an ordinary young girl.

Clearly, this girl had concealed her background exceptionally well.

Dad! Stop chasing me! I said I will not marry, and that means I will not marry!

Lingxi stumbled and hid beneath an old locust tree, leaning her back against the rough trunk.

The side of her brocade dress was torn, revealing mud-splattered ankles, yet she still kept her chin raised, her eyes full of stubbornness.

Just as she tried to use the tree trunk to steady herself, her feet suddenly stumbled. While fleeing just now, she had instinctively tried to execute the Tianlan Steps, but her Foundation Establishment realm spiritual energy simply could not keep up. She had barely darted half a yard before nearly tripping.

This broken body does not even have one ten-thousandth of this Empress's speed. It is truly a disgrace to my former glory!

When Lingxi awakened her memories three days ago, she was still immersed in her past life as an empress. Her mind was filled with the slaughters of the Dao Burial Abyss and the bloody glow of the Emperor's Road.

Before she could finish sorting through her past life's Emperor's Path comprehensions, she was dragged by her father, Ling Kun, to discuss a marriage contract with the young master of the Wang family.

The Wang family was a top-tier aristocratic family in Xuan Province. Young Master Wang Hao was already at the early stage of the Core Formation realm despite his young age, and he had fallen in love with her at first sight. The elders of the clan all called it a match made in heaven.

At first, she patiently and softly explained, Dad, my ambitions do not lie here. I do not want to marry...

But to the whole family, these words sounded like the spoiled young lady throwing a tantrum again.

The Second Elder stroked his goatee, smiling so widely his eyes narrowed into slits. He held her hand and refused to let go. My sweet Xier, the Young Master of the Wang family is a good son-in-law you could not find even with a lantern!

He is handsome and has high cultivation. Last time you mentioned you liked spirit jade hairpins, he immediately sent over his treasured Dewdrop Hairpin. Is this sincerity not enough?

The Fifth Elder was even more anxious, thumping his walking stick on the ground with loud thuds, the veins bulging on his forehead. Do you know how much the Young Master of the Wang family fought with his family to marry you? He is even willing to use his ancestral Heavenly Spirit Jade as a betrothal gift. Do not be ungrateful!

As words like blessing, opportunity, and ungrateful smashed into her, the past of the empress in Lingxi's mind suddenly surged.

Her fingertips quietly clenched, her nails digging into her palms. In her past life, she could make all domains bow with a wave of her hand. When had she ever been subjected to such constraints?

Anyone who dared to speak to her like this would have long been crushed to dust by her imperial might.

Unable to hold back for a moment, her voice rose an octave. Do not push me! If you push me again, I will suppress all of you!

The smile on Ling Kun's face froze. The Second Elder's goatee shot up at a right angle, and the Fifth Elder's eyes went wide. You... you girl, what nonsense are you spouting! You want to suppress us?

Ling Kun was so angry his hands shook. He snatched up the jade ruyi he had treasured for years, holding it high in the air, his tone anxious and furious.

You insolent girl! Your wings have grown hard, have they not? Today I must teach you a good lesson and let you know what rules are!

I will not marry!

Lingxi bit her lip, turned around, and ran outside.

Ling Kun chased after her, panting heavily. The jade ruyi in his hand waved back and forth, but it never touched a corner of Lingxi's clothes. He kept muttering, Stop right there! If I do not beat some sense into you today, I am not your father!

The next chapter is still being written, it will be a little late. Please be patient, brothers!