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Silken Chains of the Lotus Throne

jaytae1
In the twilight years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Imperial Palace gleams with gold but bleeds secrets beneath its silken splendor. Yan Qingshi, the beautiful son of a disgraced official, hides among the eunuchs in the inner palace, his true identity buried beneath layers of obedience and silence. Gifted with a face that tempts fate and a mind sharper than any blade, Qingshi survives in the shadows, gathering whispers like a spider weaves its web. Li Shen, the Emperor’s most loyal shadow guard, is cold, precise, and unflinching—until he is ordered to eliminate the rumored traitor hidden among the harem. When he finds Qingshi instead, hesitation blooms where suspicion should be, and desire coils like smoke between them. Bound by duty, haunted by past betrayals, and drawn together by a dangerous pull neither can resist, the two men walk a tightrope between love and ruin. In a world where affection is a crime and betrayal wears a crown, how long can silken chains hold before they snap?
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My SSS Rank System

***his life had never been worse, hopeless, miserable...and alone. until he heard the sound... That small sound, like the chiming of a bell, Ding! Yes, that's the one, the sound that changed his life.*** He had always been the weakest. Laughed at by the villagers. Scorned by the hunters. Ignored by the world. Born without magic in a land where even children could tame flames or speak to beasts, Kael was a mistake in everyone’s eyes. He couldn't lift a training sword, summon a familiar, or even sense mana. Not even a flicker. Not even a spark. Not until the day the world cracked open before him. That day, rain poured like the sky wept for him. He knelt beside his sister’s broken pendant, the last thing he had of her. Mud caked his fingers. Blood stained the ground. And then— That sound. So soft, so sudden, it cut through the storm. Ding! A chime. A bell, bright and delicate, like hope itself. > [Congratulations, Host. You have been selected by the SSS Rank System.] [Initialization begins…] His breath caught. His heart skipped. And the sky— The sky stopped crying. From that moment, Kael was no longer the weakest. He just hadn't awakened yet. ***The world of Aerthrial is steeped in mana, spirit beasts, and ancient legacies. Power is everything—measured in Ranks (F to SSS). Guilds protect the world, magic academies train the elite, and the strongest become Archons—those who command dragons, bend space, or rewrite fate. No one has ever possessed an SSS Rank System. Until now.*** **** Main Character: Name: Kael Ardyn Age: 15 (at start) Background: Orphan, magicless, often bullied. His sister died protecting him from a beast raid, and he carries her pendant. Core Trait: Empathetic and underestimated—kind but sharp, and he slowly gains tactical brilliance. Goal: Become strong enough to change the broken world that scorned the weak. System Core Mechanics: SSS Rank System: Grants Kael access to a unique tiered skill tree, beast contracts, evolution paths, and system quests. Has both active abilities (combat) and passive blessings (intuition, mana growth). As Kael emotionally evolves, the System itself evolves, gaining sentience over time. Also hides an ancient “Truth Protocol”—
Krystal_George123 · 4.8k Views