Ryuzaki Kenji stood up from the rubble, his face pale and caked with dust.
He had planned to "go easy" on his three-year-old cousin. Now, his finger bones were shattered, his ribs were bruised, and his ego lay in tatters on the palace floor.
"Brother Haruto truly possesses the qualities of a divine being," Kenji forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I admire you, brother."
The surrounding disciples were speechless. News of this battle would spread through the clan like wildfire. Haruto had not only broken the Eternal Limit of the Takachiho Stele but had now crushed a Sequence in open combat.
"Brother Haruto has a bright future," Kenji said, bowing stiffly. "When you turn ten, you will surely become a Sequence... perhaps even ranking above me."
Haruto shrugged nonchalantly. He was already Sequence Zero. The clan just hadn't announced it yet.
'I wonder what kind of expression Kenji will make when he finds out at the banquet,' Haruto thought mischievously.
"Farewell, Cousin." Kenji turned to leave, desperate to enter seclusion and heal his wounds.
"Wait," Haruto called out. "Brother Kenji, as a Sequence, you shouldn't let just any stray cat or dog become your follower. It lowers your dignity."
Kenji froze. He glanced at the trembling Tachibana Ayaka.
"Understood," Kenji said coldly.
Ayaka's face flushed deep red. She knew exactly who the "stray dog" was.
The Banishment
Outside the palace gates, Kenji stopped walking. The mountain wind howled, mirroring his foul mood.
"It seems that for the sake of the clan's harmony, you must leave," Kenji said without looking back.
"Master!" Ayaka gasped, her face turning deathly pale. "Don't send me away! Without the Ryuzaki Clan's protection, I am nothing!"
In the Yamato Empire, being expelled from a Great Clan was a fate worse than death. She would lose her resources, her status, and become prey for rogue cultivators.
"Get lost!" Kenji roared. "If not for your vanity, I wouldn't have lost face today! I wouldn't have lost the Amatsu Token!"
Bang!
With a flick of his uninjured hand, Kenji blasted Ayaka away. She rolled down the stone steps, coughing up blood.
As she watched her former master walk away, the pain in Ayaka's eyes turned into a deep, venomous hatred.
"Ryuzaki Haruto... it's all your fault!" she hissed, clutching the dirt. "You abused your status... you ruined my life..."
A dark thought bloomed in her mind.
'The Ancient Sacred Body... shattered shackles... What if the enemies of the Ryuzaki Clan knew about this? What if the Dragon's Nest knew?'
Ayaka knew she couldn't touch Haruto herself. But if she sold this information to the clan's enemies before the Tenth Birthday Banquet, she could have her revenge.
"Just you wait," she whispered, her eyes gleaming with madness. "You and that bitch Reika will pay."
The Art of a Thousand Soldiers
Inside the Ten-no-Kura, Haruto was deep in thought.
"My methods are too limited," he mused. "I have infinite strength and defense, but I lack technique. I need a proper martial art."
He found his grandfather, Ryuzaki Kenshin, meditating in the garden.
"Grandpa, I want to learn a Divine Ability," Haruto announced.
Kenshin opened one eye. "You're only three. Stick to foundation building. You're too impetuous."
"Let me try," Haruto insisted. "If it's too hard, I'll stop."
Kenshin sighed. A mischievous glint entered his eye. 'The brat is too arrogant. I need to give him something impossible to humble him.'
"Very well," Kenshin said, producing an ancient, heavy scroll. "This is the [Sen-Hei-Jutsu] (Art of a Thousand Soldiers). It allows you to condense your Ki into thousands of divine weapons—swords, spears, halberds, axes. It requires immense mental processing power to control."
'It took me a full year to master the basics,' Kenshin thought smugly. 'Let the boy struggle for a few months.'
Haruto took the scroll, his eyes shining. "Thanks, Grandpa!"
Three Days Later.
Kenshin was sipping tea, enjoying the peace, when a thunderous roar shook the palace.
BOOM!
Endless golden light surged into the sky from the training hall. The light twisted and shifted, condensing into thousands of solid golden weapons—katanas, naginatas, yari spears, war hammers. They filled the sky like a metallic storm, cleaving the clouds and splitting the wind.
Haruto walked out, looking slightly disappointed.
"Grandpa," Haruto sighed, shaking his head. "It's been three whole days, and I've only just grasped the basics. Cultivating Divine Abilities is indeed complicated."
"Pfft!"
Kenshin sprayed his tea all over the veranda.
"Three... days?" Kenshin choked, looking at the sky full of divine weapons. "Basics?"
"Yeah," Haruto said innocently. "I can only summon three thousand weapons. I need to practice more."
Kenshin stood up abruptly. He felt a sharp pain in his chest—the sound of his Dao Heart shattering into a million pieces.
"Grandpa?"
"Don't talk to me," Kenshin muttered, walking away briskly. "I'm going into seclusion. If you want more techniques, go rob the Martial Pavilion yourself. I'm done."
Haruto scratched his head, bewildered. "What did I do?"
Five Years Later
Time flowed like water in the mountains. Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
Haruto was now eight years old.
He had grown into a devastatingly handsome youth. His skin was flawless white jade, his hair a cascade of midnight silk. He wore flowing white robes embroidered with the Ryuzaki crest. He looked less like a human and more like an immortal banished from the heavens for being too perfect.
Ryuzaki Reika, now twenty, would sometimes catch herself staring at him for hours, forgetting to pour tea. To serve such a master was a blessing she wouldn't trade for immortality.
Haruto had not been idle.
Body: Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Force (Advanced Mastery).
Soul: Chaos Spirit-Grinding Visualization.
Technique: Art of a Thousand Soldiers (Mastered).
Cultivation: Divine Palace Realm.
He had crossed the nine stages of the Spirit Sea and built his Divine Palace. Thanks to his Sacred Body, his inner world was a boundless Golden Sea.
"Two years left until my Tenth Birthday Banquet," Haruto murmured, standing on the balcony of the Ten-no-Kura. "That is my next Sign-In location. And after that... the Amatsu Supreme Treasury."
He looked out over the sea of clouds. He felt a storm coming.
Meanwhile, in the side hall, Reika was meditating when her communication jade vibrated. She picked it up, her golden eyes narrowing as she read the encrypted message.
"Is it her?" Reika whispered, a dangerous light flashing in her eyes. "The rat has finally resurfaced."