"You want to follow me?" Haruto raised a curious eyebrow.
Becoming a retainer was common in the Ryuzaki Clan. Each of the Ten Sequences commanded a legion of loyal samurai and powerful mages. His father, Ryuzaki Mumei, had the legendary "Eight Legions of the God-King," warriors who could each suppress a kingdom single-handedly.
Haruto had considered recruiting subordinates eventually, but at three years old, he hadn't made it a priority.
"Why?" Haruto asked. "Is it because I broke the Eternal Limit?"
"It is an intuition," Linglong replied, her golden eyes deep with unspoken secrets. She dared not speak of her vision; the karmic backlash of revealing the future could be deadly.
'Intuition?' Haruto mused. He knew of Linglong's reputation—the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, a mind so sharp it bordered on precognition. 'Well, Grandpa Kenshin is getting annoying with his constant nagging about marriage and bloodlines. having a capable maid to handle my daily life wouldn't be bad.'
If the other disciples knew Haruto was considering the clan's most admired noblewoman merely as a maid, they would have coughed up blood in envy.
"Ryuzaki Linglong!" A sharp voice cut through the air. Lan Qingya, wiping blood from her lip, glared with resentment. "You refused the Sword-Master's offer, yet you kneel to a child? Where does that leave Lord Zhangjian's face?"
"Your master's sword is excellent," Linglong replied without looking at her. "But the one I follow will be the Sovereign who suppresses an era."
"Suppress an era? Him?" Qingya scoffed.
"Hmph! Where did this ill-mannered servant come from?"
Before Haruto could speak, Kenshin materialized from the void. With a mere flick of his sleeve, a shockwave blasted Qingya backward.
Pfft!
She crashed heavily into the dirt, coughing up blood. Kenshin, relying on his status as Patriarch, didn't kill her, but the warning was clear.
"If I have the chance, I will spar with Brother Zhangjian myself," Haruto said calmly, his eyes cold. "As for you... get lost."
Qingya, pale and trembling, scrambled away, casting one last hateful look at Linglong.
Haruto turned back to the kneeling girl. "Do you know how to serve people?"
The crowd stunned silence. 'Serve? Is the Divine Son really treating the "Flower of the High Peak" as a common servant?'
Linglong hesitated for only a second before nodding. "I can learn."
"Good. Then I agree."
The male disciples looked on with heartbreak. Their goddess had willingly become a maid. But Linglong didn't care. Her eyes burned with a strange fire as she looked up at Haruto.
"Since Your Highness has asked me a question, may Linglong ask one in return?"
"Speak."
"If the Divine Son becomes the Heavenly Emperor in the future... what will you do?"
The arena went quiet. It was a heavy question, laden with the weight of destiny.
Haruto smiled faintly, looking up at the sky where the clouds were beginning to swirl. He didn't need to think. The answer was already written in his soul.
"It is very simple," Haruto said, his voice soft yet carrying the weight of thunder.
"I am the Heavenly Emperor... and I shall slay all enemies in the world!"
BOOM!
As the last word left his lips, thunder roared from a clear blue sky. The atmosphere trembled as if the Will of the World was acknowledging a binding vow.
Kenshin took a deep breath, his eyes complex. "Mumei... your son is just like you. Full of terrifying ambition."
But Haruto's words traveled further than the arena.
Deep in the Forbidden Zones of the Yamato Empire, ancient, decaying voices stirred in the darkness.
"Hehe... this generation of the Ryuzaki Clan has quite the ambition..."
In the Divine Phoenix Mountain, a cold, mocking laugh echoed from a nest of fire. "To annihilate all enemies? Has the son of Mumei become so arrogant?"
And in the Dragon's Nest, where massive ley lines converged, a deep, draconic voice rumbled. "The path to the Emperor's Throne will appear in this lifetime. My descendant, Dragon Aotian, will teach the Ryuzaki Clan the meaning of despair."
Haruto, unaware that his declaration had alerted the ultimate bosses of the world, looked down at Linglong. Her eyes were shining brighter than ever.
"What is it?" he asked, touching his face.
"Linglong... is willing to follow the Divine Son until the end of time!" she declared, bowing her head until it touched the ground.
Haruto nodded, satisfied.
'Not a bad day,' he thought. 'I obtained the Divine Elephant Force, broke the Eternal Limit, got three Immortal Elixirs, and recruited a high-spec maid. A perfect start.'