The golden light from the shattered shackles had barely faded from the rafters of the Ryuzaki Shrine before the internal calculations of the newly born Haruto began. Even as an infant, his mind worked with the clinical precision of a modern soul combined with the vast spiritual potential of his new form.
'It seems the heavens—and this System—have no intention of letting me live a quiet life,' Haruto thought, his obsidian eyes scanning the intricate cedar carvings of the ceiling.
[Ding! New Sign-In location refreshed: The Taiyue Ancient Stele.]
The notification pulsed in his vision like a glowing embers. 'The Taiyue Stele? I will have to find where that is once I can actually walk,' he noted dryly. For now, he was content. He had been born with the Major Achievement Kongo-Seitai, the most perfect start a reincarnated soul could ask for—a body that had already bypassed the five initial realms of physical refinement before he had even tasted his first drop of milk.
The Naming of the Heir
"I must give my precious grandson a name," Kenshin said, his voice thick with emotion. He cradled Haruto with hands that had wielded legendary blades but now trembled with delicate care. "How about Ryuzaki Changsheng? A wish for him to attain eternal life."
Haruto felt a wave of internal speechlessness. In the many web novels he had read in his past life, "Changsheng" was the most overused name in the history of cultivation. It was practically a magnet for trouble. Fortunately, a soft, weary voice rose from the silk futons behind them.
"Why not call him Haruto?" Lady Shizuka suggested, her face pale yet radiating a maternal grace. "His father once said that while ascending to the heavens is easy, finding true freedom—to be carefree—is the greatest challenge. I only hope for him to live a life without chains, a life as vast as the sun."
Kenshin and the gathered elders bowed their heads in respect. Shizuka was not just Haruto's mother; she was a Goddess of the Ancient Jiang Clan, a lineage of such immense spiritual power that even the Ryuzaki had to treat her with the utmost deference.
"Very well. Haruto it is," Kenshin agreed. However, as he spoke the name, a shadow of profound sadness crossed his eyes. Haruto, observing with a wisdom beyond his years, noticed the shift immediately. His father was nowhere to be seen. 'Is this the classic trope?' he wondered. 'Has my father already sacrificed himself to the heavens for some boundless cause?'
"Do not grieve, Kenshin," an elder woman comforted, placing a hand on the patriarch's shoulder. "Ryuzaki Mumei is the White-Clad God-King. A man of his caliber does not fall easily. Perhaps one day, Haruto will be the one to find him and bring him home."
'The White-Clad God-King, Mumei...' Haruto committed the name to memory. It seemed his father was a legendary figure whose shadow loomed large over the entire Yamato Empire.
The Ancestor Stirs
The atmosphere in the room quickly turned tense as the elders began to whisper urgently about the dangers of Haruto's birth. "If the word of a Major Achievement Kongo-Seitai gets out, the Ryuzaki Clan will become a target for every jealous dynasty in the Three Thousand Provinces," one warned. "A tree that stands above the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. We must use the Void Sealing Array to conceal his aura."
"When did the descendants of the Ryuzaki Clan become so cowardly?"
A cold, thunderous voice shattered the air. It didn't come from the room, but from the very earth beneath them. The entire mountain groaned. Deep within the Ancestral Hall, in a place where time stood still, a presence that had been silent for centuries suddenly stirred.
"That fluctuation..." Kenshin gasped, his face turning ashen. "It's as if one of the ancestors has crawled out of their own coffin!"
A massive spatial rift tore open in the air above the shrine, bleeding ancient, dusty energy. A thin figure in tattered gray robes stepped out from the darkness. He looked like an old man who had been buried in the soil for a thousand years, his hair matted with the dust of ages. Yet, his withered frame radiated a power so absolute it felt as though he could trample the Ten Thousand Realms beneath his feet.
"The Eighteenth Ancestor! We greet the Great Ancestor!" Kenshin and the elders immediately dropped to the floor in a deep saikeirei bow, their foreheads touching the wood.
The Ancestor ignored the pleasantries, his eyes—deep as the moon and sun—locking onto Haruto. He appeared in front of Kenshin in a blur of motion that defied the laws of physics and snatched the infant into his arms. Haruto didn't cry; instead, he looked back at the ancient man with a hint of genuine curiosity.
"Good... very good! Another True Dragon has emerged from our bloodline!" The Ancestor's laughter shook the ceremonial lanterns. "And you fools actually considered overshadowing this child's brilliance?"
"Great Ancestor, we only feared that the Ancient Royal Families would conspire against him," Kenshin stammered.
"Hmph! Let them try," the Ancestor declared, his voice booming with a domineering pride that chilled the room. "If those old codgers from the Dragon Nest or the Phoenix Mountain dare to lower themselves to attack my grandson, I will not hesitate to ignite an Immortal War. I will slaughter them until the heavens and earth are turned upside down and blood flows for billions of miles!"
The Zero Sequence
The elders swallowed hard. An Immortal War was a catastrophic event that could wipe entire provinces off the map. It had not been seen in the Yamato Empire for an age.
"I hereby declare," the Ancestor's voice echoed throughout the mountain, "Haruto shall be the Divine Son of the Ryuzaki Clan. Every resource we possess—every drop of Dragon Essence, every sacred medicine, and every ancient scroll—shall be directed toward him. We will cultivate him into a god!"
The elders nodded fervently, but the Ancestor wasn't finished.
"Moreover, I grant this child the qualification of Sequence Zero."
The shrine fell into a deafening, shocked silence. The Ryuzaki Clan had tens of thousands of young prodigies, but only ten "Sequences" were chosen to compete for the ultimate position of Clan Head. These ten were the monsters of their generation. Zero, however, was a rank that represented nothingness, yet also infinite possibility. It was a rank that sat above the First Sequence, a position of absolute authority. The last person to hold it was Haruto's father, Mumei.
"Ancestor... isn't this a bit inappropriate?" an elder woman tentatively suggested. "The other Sequences have bled and fought for years to earn their titles. To give it to a newborn might cause... dissatisfaction."
"If they are not satisfied," the Ancestor sneered, flicking his dusty sleeve, "let them fight for it themselves in the future. We shall see if any of them can even stand in this child's shadow once he begins to level up."
He was clearly extremely confident in Haruto's potential. Haruto, meanwhile, sighed inwardly. He looked at his grandfather's high hopes, his ancestor's fierce protection, and the silent weight of his father's legacy.
'Invincible talent, an unbeatable background, and a System to guide me. With such a perfect start, if I still can't suppress this era,' Haruto thought, watching the ancient gods of the sky continue their silent bow outside the window, 'then I have no right to be called the Divine Son.
As the Eighteenth Ancestor held him toward the sky, the Sign-In System chimed once more, acknowledging his new status in this world of gods and monsters. The era of Haruto Ryuzaki had truly begun.