Three days after the storm at Heaven's Arena, Qingyang City no longer slept.
Taverns whispered of a scholar who stood unbowed beneath divine thunder.
Monks recited his name in half-fear, half-awe.
Even the hermits on distant peaks claimed to have seen the lightning form characters in the clouds:
> 「Reader of Heaven's Script.」
---
The Omen
That evening, Ye Chen walked the bamboo path behind the Ye estate.
The air was heavy—too still. Even the cicadas had fallen silent.
Then, the heavens cracked open once more.
A beam of pale gold descended, and from it stepped a figure in flowing azure robes—eyes like molten silver, voice carrying both gentleness and command.
> "I am Envoy of the Celestial Court," the stranger said.
"By decree of the Heavenly Dao, the mortal Ye Chen is summoned.
Your defiance of divine will cannot go unanswered."
Around them, space rippled as if reality itself were listening.
Ye Chen bowed slightly.
> "Heaven writes its edicts; I read them.
If Heaven summons me, I will read its summons as well."
The Envoy's gaze sharpened.
> "Then read this."
A scroll appeared—woven from light itself. When it unfurled, thunder echoed in the distance.
> "From the Court of Heaven:
The mortal known as Ye Chen has trespassed into the Divine Script, altered a page of fate, and challenged celestial authority.
Henceforth he shall be marked as Heaven-Defying Reader.
Let all realms bear witness."**
---
The Heavenly Mark
The scroll dissolved into light that sank into Ye Chen's chest.
Pain seared through him like molten iron.
For a heartbeat, his vision split—half in the mortal world, half inside the Book Realm.
There, a new tome burned its way onto the shelves:
> "Heaven's Edict — Record of the Heaven-Defying Reader"
Its first line shimmered:
> "Those who read beyond Heaven shall either ascend… or be erased."
Ye Chen steadied his breath.
> "So even Heaven fears unread pages."
The Envoy's eyes softened, just slightly.
> "You do not yet understand what you've touched. There have been others—Readers like you—each vanished once they reached the Third Mark."
Ye Chen looked up sharply.
> "Others?"
> "They were swallowed by the void between books," the Envoy said quietly.
"The realm where Heaven hides unfinished words."
Lightning flickered in the clouds. The Envoy's form began to fade.
> "Prepare yourself, Ye Chen. The next page opens within the Celestial Library, where even gods fear to look.
Whether you ascend or disappear depends on what you choose to read next."
---
After the Edict
Silence returned. Only the rain began to fall, thin and cold.
Ye Chen gazed at his hands. The Heavenly Comprehension Mark now glowed faint gold instead of silver—each pulse resonating with distant thunder.
Inside the Book Realm, books whispered restlessly.
Dozens of covers trembled open, revealing fragments of another presence—faint traces of those "Readers" who came before.
A whisper brushed his ear:
> "We read… and were consumed."
Ye Chen closed his eyes.
> "Then I shall read and endure."
He sat beneath the falling rain, his voice low, reciting lines that mingled poetry and resolve:
> "When Heaven writes, I listen.
When Heaven judges, I question.
When Heaven ends the story—
I turn the page."
Lightning answered softly, as if in grudging respect.