The Gate of Eternity Curse of Heaven

THE YOUNG GENERAL

Dawn hadn't even touched the horizon when the sound of clashing swords began to echo through the Valley of Light. Zhao Lingyun stood tall at the top of the crystal rock formation, his golden-white war robes fluttering in the morning breeze. Below him, a thousand heavenly warriors moved in a formation that had never been seen before in the Heavenly Realm.

“Second move!” he called, his voice echoing throughout the valley. “Remember the basic principle-light is not just for offense. It can flow like water, gentle yet deadly.”

The warriors moved in unison, their light sabers forming patterns that looked like a dance. The holy energy flowed in a beautiful yet deadly spiral. In the distance, a group of elders observed with sour faces.

“Too... unorthodox,” muttered one of them. “He taught them to use light like... like...”

“Like shadows,” another elder finished his sentence. “Zhao Lingyun was a genius at war strategy, but his methods were dangerous. He blurs the line between light and shadow.”

In the practice arena, Zhao Lingyun leapt down from the stone formation, landing gracefully in the center of his troops. He took out his own sword-a light saber unlike any other. The blade looked like it was made of pure crystal, but there was a tinge of darkness dancing within it.

“Look carefully,” he said as he held up the sword. “True light does not reject darkness-it embraces it, understands it, and makes it part of its own power.”

With movements barely visible to the eye, Zhao Lingyun danced. There was no other word that could better describe his movements. His sword formed intricate patterns in the air, leaving a trail of light mixed with thin shadows. The soldiers were stunned-never before had they seen such beautiful energy control.

“General!” a voice interrupted the drill. A young soldier rushed into the arena, his face pale. “There's... an intruder on the southern border!”

Zhao Lingyun stopped his movements. “Explain.”

“The energy is... strange, General. It's not purely light or shadow. The guards couldn't contain it. It... it penetrated our defenses like water through a net!”

The elders in the distance rushed over, their faces showing deep worry. Zhao Lingyun, on the other hand, looked calm. Too calm.

“Silver Moon Formation,” he ordered his troops. “Split up in small groups. Don't attack-observe and report. I'll check myself.”

“But General,” one of the elders spoke up, ”protocol requires that we use the Twin Sun Formation for intruders!”

Zhao Lingyun turned his head, his dark eyes glaring. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, that protocol was made to deal with normal intruders. This is... different.”

Without waiting for a rebuttal, he darted towards the south, his figure becoming a flash of light in the air. The elders could only look at each other uneasily.

On the southern border, chaos had occurred. The supposedly impenetrable protective barrier showed strange cracks-not physical cracks, but some sort of distortion in the energy itself. The guards lay unconscious, without physical injuries but their energy seemed to be sucked away.

Zhao Lingyun landed near one of the cracks, kneeling down to examine it more closely. His long fingers touched the distortion carefully. Instantly, a strange sensation ran through his body-warm and cold at once, familiar yet unfamiliar.

“Lin Fengtian,” he whispered, recognizing the same energy as the strand of hair he had found the night before.

Suddenly, the air around him shook. A figure appeared out of nothing-a young man in gray robes, with black hair that shone golden. His different-colored eyes stared straight at Zhao Lingyun.

“General Zhao Lingyun,” the young man's voice sounded strange-like two voices speaking simultaneously. “Finally we meet.”

Zhao Lingyun stood up slowly, his hand motionless towards his sword. “You took a big risk by coming here.”

Lin Fengtian smiled faintly. “Not as big a risk as they took with that Judgment Crystal.”

“You know about that crystal?”

“I know many things, General. Including about your very... detailed notes about the irregularities in the realm system.”

Zhao Lingyun felt the tension in the air-his soldiers had started to gather around them, hidden but ready to attack. With a subtle gesture, he signaled them to remain silent.

“Why are you here?” asked Zhao Lingyun, his eyes not leaving the figure before him.

“To give you a warning,” Lin Fengtian stepped closer. “And an offer.”

From under his robe, the young man took out an ancient scroll-much older than the one Wei Xuan had. “The Crystal of Justice is not an instrument of justice,” he continued. “It is a prison. A prison built not to confine evil... but to confine the truth.”

Before Zhao Lingyun could respond, the sound of war horns echoed from the direction of the palace. Reinforcements were on their way-including, no doubt, the elders with their Justice Crystals.

“My time is up.” Lin Fengtian retreated slowly. “But we'll meet again, General. When that time comes, you'll have to make a choice.”

“What choice?”

“Between the law you guard... and the truth you seek.”

With those words, Lin Fengtian disappeared in a swirl of blinding energy. All that remained was an ancient piece of paper that floated down to Zhao Lingyun's hand-an ancient map that showed a location he'd never seen before: “Dusk Library”, written in ancient script in the corner of the map.

When the relief troops arrived, they found only Zhao Lingyun standing alone, staring at the map in his hands. The elders rushed over, the Justice Crystal glowing red in their hands.

“General! Where are the intruders?”

Zhao Lingyun folded the map carefully, tucking it under his robes. “He disappeared,” he replied shortly. “But he left a trail of energy that we can track.”

“We should form a pursuit team!” one of the elders exclaimed. “With the Crystal of Justice, we can-”

“No,” Zhao Lingyun cut in firmly. “Let me handle this myself. This intruder is... different. He understands our defense system too well. We need a different approach.”

The elders looked at each other doubtfully, but no one dared to argue. Zhao Lingyun's reputation as a strategist was too strong to ignore.

“Fine,” one of the elders finally said. “But remember, General. The Crystal of Justice knows no compromise. If you find that intruder...”

“I understand my duty,” Zhao Lingyun bowed respectfully, his hand unconsciously touching the place where the map was hidden.

That night, in his private room in the Sword Tower, Zhao Lingyun spread out the map Lin Fengtian had given him. It showed a location that shouldn't exist-a library located right in the middle of the realm boundary, at the point where light and shadow met in perfect balance.

“Dusk Library,” he read the ancient writing in the corner of the map. “The place where all truths are kept.”

Suddenly, a soft knock sounded on his door. Zhao Lingyun quickly hid the map.

“Come in.”

Wei Xuan stepped inside with silent steps. “I heard you met him.”

“Yes,” Zhao Lingyun nodded. “And he knows about the Judgment Crystal.”

“Of course he knows,” Wei Xuan smiled mysteriously. “The birthmark on his chest... is the key to all these mysteries.”

Zhao Lingyun raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“There's a reason why the elders are so afraid of him,” Wei Xuan leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Lin Fengtian isn't just the child of forbidden love. He's the manifestation of an ancient prophecy that's much older than the formation of the realm itself.”

Zhao Lingyun took out the map again. “And this Dusk Library...?”

“Is the place where the prophecy was first written,” Wei Xuan nodded. “The place where the truth about the separation of the realms was kept. A place that has been erased from the official history of the Heavenly Realm.”

In the distance, red clouds again moved in a strange formation. This time, Zhao Lingyun could read the message clearly:

“The time is almost here. The truth must be revealed before the Crystal swallows all.”

Fate had given him a choice. And Zhao Lingyun, the young general who had always observed in silence, now had to decide-whether he would remain an unwavering guardian of the law, or become a truth-seeker who dared to challenge the system itself.

Somewhere between realms, Lin Fengtian smiled. The first pawn had been moved. The game of destiny had begun.

The night was getting late as Zhao Lingyun left his private room, moving like a shadow between the Sword Tower's crystal pillars. He wore his light combat robe that was dark gray, a color rarely used in the predominantly white and gold Heavenly Realm. On its back, its light saber pulsed gently, as if sensing the tension flowing in its master's blood.

In the hidden garden at the base of the tower, he found something unexpected-a young warrior from his army, Hong Ying, was practicing the moves he taught her that morning. But something was different. The girl wasn't using a standard light saber, but instead trying to control pure energy with her bare hands, shaping it into spirals similar to the shadow technique. Zhao Lingyun observed in silence, realizing that perhaps he wasn't the only one who had begun to question the rigid dogma of absolute separation between light and shadow techniques.

When he finally reached the main library of the Heavenly Realm, the moon was already high in the sky. With his special permission as general, he could access the restricted section of the library-the place where the ancient scrolls on the history of the realm were kept. But that night, his eyes were drawn to something different: an ancient mirror mounted on the far wall, almost hidden behind a pile of scrolls. The mirror didn't reflect any shadows, but Zhao Lingyun felt the same energy he felt from the Dusk Library map.

As he approached the mirror, its crystalline surface started rippling like water. And in the hazy reflection, he caught a glimpse of the figures that made his heart stop for a moment-Li Tianshen and Xiao Yingmei, standing side by side in a room filled with shelves of ancient books. They seemed to be reading something with serious expressions, and behind them, the same symbol as the birthmark on Lin Fengtian's chest was faintly visible. But before he could get a better look, the reflection vanished, leaving only the cold, dark surface of the mirror.

It was early morning when Zhao Lingyun finally returned to his room, carrying more questions than answers. But one thing became clear to him-the story of Li Tianshen and Xiao Yingmei wasn't just a forbidden romance as it had been told. There's something bigger, a secret buried deep by those in power. And now, through Lin Fengtian and the Dusk Library, that secret begins to find its way back to the surface.