Southern Sky City, The Ruins of Raijin's Villa.
The dust settled over the crater.
Ryuzaki Raijin lay in the rubble, his silver armor shattered, his body broken. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in his Dao Heart.
He had been trampled.
In front of the entire city, in front of the Grand Elder of the Void Sect, in front of his own followers... he had been crushed like an insect by a ten-year-old boy.
"Ryuzaki Haruto..." Raijin trembled, his voice hoarse. "You..."
Haruto stood over him, his white robes pristine, untouched by a single speck of dust. He looked down at Raijin with eyes devoid of emotion.
"Your [Thunder Tribulation Battle Body] is interesting," Haruto mused. "And that technique... [Tribulation Transcending Heavenly Art]. It might be useful for my Sacred Body's future tribulations."
Haruto reached down and plucked a jade slip from Raijin's sash. He scanned it with his divine sense and nodded. "I'll take this."
Raijin's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "That is my inheritance! You bandit!"
"Bandit?" Haruto laughed softly. "I defeated you. Your life is mine. Taking a technique is mercy."
"Now," Haruto's expression turned cold. "You are not convinced, are you?"
Raijin grit his teeth, hatred burning in his eyes.
"Let me think," Haruto tapped his chin. "If I kill you right here... will the Clan punish me?"
The temperature in the crater dropped to absolute zero.
Raijin froze. He looked into Haruto's eyes and saw... nothing. No hesitation. No fear of consequences.
He realized the terrifying truth. Haruto was the Divine Son. The Zero Sequence. He had the Sacred Body and the Supreme Bone. If Haruto killed him, the Ancestors might scold him, maybe ground him for a month. But they wouldn't kill their greatest hope for a mere Sequence Five.
Raijin felt a chill run down his spine. His life was worthless in the face of Haruto's potential.
"I... I don't want to die," Raijin thought, panic rising in his chest.
Haruto smiled, a beautiful, cruel smile. "I see the fear in your eyes. Good."
"I don't like killing fellow clansmen. It's messy. And the old fogies might nag me."
"So, I will give you a choice."
Haruto extended two fingers.
"One: Submit to me. Open your Divine Palace and let me plant a Slave Seal. You will become my sword."
"Two: Die."
"I will give you three breaths."
"One."
Raijin's body shook violently. Submit? Him? The Thunder Tyrant? It was a fate worse than death. His pride, his dignity...
"Two."
Haruto's hand began to glow with golden light. The killing intent was real.
"I..." Raijin choked.
'If I die... I will never see her again.'
A memory flashed in Raijin's mind. A little girl with silver hair, crying as she was dragged away by dimension-traveling elders.
'Onii-chan! Save me!'
"Three."
"I SUBMIT!"
Raijin slammed his head into the dirt. "I, Ryuzaki Raijin, submit to the Divine Son! Please... spare my life!"
Haruto paused, the golden light fading from his hand. He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? That was fast."
He had expected Raijin to be more stubborn.
"Open your mind," Haruto ordered.
Raijin gritted his teeth and lowered his mental defenses. Haruto pointed a finger, and a golden rune flew into Raijin's forehead, embedding itself in his soul.
The Slave Seal was set.
From now on, Haruto held Raijin's life in his hands. A single thought could detonate Raijin's soul.
"Tell me," Haruto asked, looking down at the shivering tyrant. "Why did you submit so quickly? I thought you had a spine."
Raijin remained kneeling, his forehead touching the ground. His voice trembled, filled with a deep, aching sorrow.
"I... I have a younger sister."
Haruto blinked. "A sister?"
"Yes. Ryuzaki Rin. Years ago, due to a Clan prophecy, she was sent away."
"Sent where?"
"To the Ten Earths," Raijin whispered.
Haruto's eyes narrowed.
The world was divided into the Nine Heavens (Immortal Realms) and the Ten Earths (Lower Mortal Realms). The barrier between them was immense. Sending someone down was difficult; bringing them back was nearly impossible without Supreme power.
"I see," Haruto nodded slowly. "You desperately climbed the ranks, seeking resources and power, so that one day you could break the barrier and bring her back."
"Yes," Raijin choked back a sob. "I swore I would save her. I cannot die before I fulfill that oath."
Haruto looked at the broken man before him. For the first time, the contempt in his eyes faded slightly.
"A sis-con, huh?" Haruto muttered. "Well, at least you have motivation."
He turned and began to walk away.
"Stand up, Raijin."
Raijin looked up, confused.
"Since you are now my dog, your problems are my problems," Haruto said calmly, his back to him.
"When I ascend to the pinnacle... breaking the barrier between the Heavens and Earths will be as easy as flipping my hand."
"Serve me well, and I will bring your sister back."
Raijin froze. His eyes widened. The resentment and humiliation in his heart vanished, replaced by a surge of hope and gratitude.
Haruto was a monster, yes. But he was a monster with the power to do the impossible.
"Thank you..." Raijin slammed his head into the ground again, this time with genuine reverence. "Thank you, Master! I, Raijin, will die for you!"
Ryuzaki Kenji and Ryuzaki Yukino watched this scene in awe.
"He subdued the Tyrant..." Kenji whispered. "And he turned him into a loyal fanatic."
"The Divine Son's methods... are terrifying," Yukino shivered, but her eyes shone with admiration.
Haruto walked back toward the Sky Palace, his expression indifferent.
'Three down,' Haruto counted mentally. 'Kenji (Seq 10), Yukino (Seq 7), Raijin (Seq 5).'
'But the real monsters are the top four. The one with the Double Pupils... and the Forbidden Inheritor.'
'Well, they can wait. Right now, I have a Secret Realm to plunder.'
"Let's go," Haruto ordered. "The Celestial Void Secret Realm opens tomorrow."