Ryuzaki Haruto stood on the edge of the arena, watching the unconscious form of Prince Seiryu being dragged away like a sack of potatoes.
The surrounding disciples shuddered.
"The Divine Son... he truly has a sharp tongue," one whispered. "He crippled the man and then claimed it was for his own good. That level of shamelessness... it's almost admirable."
Haruto sighed, genuinely feeling misunderstood.
"I spoke the truth," Haruto murmured to himself. "In the stories, Protagonists like Seiryu only unlock their true potential after being crippled. If I killed him now, I'd waste his destiny points. It's better to let him go, farm some XP, and harvest him again later."
"Someone," Haruto waved his hand dismissively. "Throw this trash out of the mountain gate. Don't let him stain the snow."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
As the guards dragged Seiryu away, the space next to Haruto rippled.
Ryuzaki Kenshin stepped out of the void, his expression stern.
"Grandpa," Haruto nodded. "You were watching?"
"Of course," Kenshin grunted. He stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing. "Haruto... do you know the saying? 'Wildfire cannot burn the grass completely; it grows back with the spring breeze.' To kill a snake, you must cut off its head. Leaving an enemy alive... it breeds disaster."
Kenshin was worried. Haruto was a genius, yes, but he was young. Arrogance was the downfall of many prodigies.
Haruto smiled, a glint of calculation in his obsidian eyes.
"Grandpa, don't worry," Haruto said calmly. "I know the principle of cutting weeds by the roots. But Seiryu... he isn't a weed. He's a leek."
"A... leek?" Kenshin blinked.
"A crop," Haruto explained. "I harvested his Dragon Aura today, but his luck isn't exhausted yet. Let him go. Let him grow fat on resentment and opportunities. When he comes back, I'll harvest him again. Why eat one meal when you can have a feast?"
Kenshin stared at his grandson. Then, he laughed.
"Hahaha! You little monster! You treat enemies as livestock?" Kenshin shook his head, relieved. "Good. As long as you have a plan."
"But be careful," Kenshin warned, his tone turning serious. "You have one year left until your Tenth Birthday Banquet."
Haruto nodded.
The Tenth Birthday Banquet. It would be his official debut to the Yamato Empire.
"The invitations will be sent to every major power in the Desolate Heaven Immortal Domain," Kenshin explained. "Ancient Families, Supreme Lineages, Immortal Dynasties... even your mother's clan, the Jiang Family, will send delegates."
"And," Kenshin added, "we will officially announce your status as Sequence Zero. The other Nine Sequences won't take that lying down. Expect challenges."
"Let them come," Haruto said, looking toward the horizon. "I need the exercise."
'And I need the Sign-In reward,' he added silently. 'The System promised a reward at the banquet. I can't disappoint it.'
The Fallen Dragon
Outside the towering Torii gates of the Ryuzaki Domain.
Thud.
Seiryu's broken body hit the frozen earth.
"Get lost, trash," a guard spat, kicking dirt onto the Prince. "Don't darken our doorstep again."
The gates slammed shut.
Seiryu lay there, snow falling on his face. He could hear the mocking laughter of passing rogue cultivators.
"Is that the Prince of the Azure Dragon Kingdom?" "He looks like a dead dog." "Heard he challenged the Divine Son. What a fool." "Crippled at sixteen... his life is over."
The whispers were like knives. Seiryu waited until the voices faded before he dragged himself toward the forest. Every inch of movement sent agony shooting through his shattered bones.
Once he was deep in the woods, safe from prying eyes, Seiryu let out a scream of pure despair.
"AHHHHH!"
He pounded his bloody fists against an ancient cedar tree.
"Damn it! Ryuzaki Haruto! You took my dignity! You took my cultivation! You took my woman!"
"If I have even a sliver of a chance... I will repay this a thousandfold! I will peel your skin and eat your flesh!"
As he screamed, blood from his hands soaked into the tarnished Dragon Ring on his finger.
Hum.
A soft blue light pulsed from the metal.
"Are all descendants of the Azure Dragon so pathetic?"
An ancient, majestic voice echoed in Seiryu's mind.
"Who?!" Seiryu scrambled back, terrified.
A wisp of blue smoke drifted from the ring, condensing into the translucent figure of an old man. He had white eyebrows, a long beard, and two crystalline dragon horns growing from his forehead.
Seiryu stared. He felt a jolt of recognition.
"You... you look like the statue in the Royal Ancestral Hall..." Seiryu gasped. "You are the Founding Ancestor! The Azure Dragon Venerable!"
According to legends, the Venerable was a Quasi-Supreme expert—a being who stood at the very peak of the mortal world, just one step away from true Supremacy.
"Ancestral Master!" Seiryu wept, kowtowing despite his pain. "You are awake!"
"I awakened years ago," the Venerable sighed, floating in the air. "I watched you grow. I gave you the cultivation resources. I thought you were the Chosen One... yet you let a child trample you."
"Ancestor!" Seiryu cried, his face twisted with hate. "Why didn't you help me? Why didn't you kill Haruto?!"
"Fool!" The Venerable barked. "This is the Ryuzaki Clan! Do you think a remnant soul like me can fight them? If I had shown myself, their Guardian Formation would have incinerated us both instantly! Ancient Families are terrifying, boy. You underestimated them."
Seiryu slumped. "Then... is it hopeless? Am I doomed to be a cripple?"
"Not necessarily," the Venerable murmured, floating closer.
He looked at Seiryu's shattered body with a strange glint in his eyes.
"Destruction before reconstruction," the Venerable said. "Your meridians are destroyed, yes. But for the technique I possess, that is actually a blessing."
He produced a spectral scroll made of blue light.
"This is the [Azure Sky Dragon Transformation]," the Venerable explained. "It is a Quasi-Supreme technique. To learn it, one must first shatter their mortal foundation. You have already done the hard part."
"If you cultivate this... you can reshape your body into a True Dragon Body. Your potential will far surpass your previous self."
Seiryu's eyes widened. Hope, hot and fierce, rushed back into his heart.
"I can... become stronger?"
"Stronger than you can imagine," the Venerable promised. "But the pain will be excruciating. It will feel like being skinned alive every day for three years. Can you endure it?"
Seiryu looked at his broken hands. He thought of Suzaku kneeling to Haruto. He thought of Haruto's mocking smile.
"Pain?" Seiryu laughed, a broken, manic sound. "I am already in hell, Ancestor. What is a little more fire?"
"I will do it!" Seiryu swore, his eyes burning with renewed determination. "I will cultivate this technique! And in three years... I will return to the Ryuzaki Clan."
"Ryuzaki Haruto... your biggest mistake was letting me live."
"I, prince Seiryu, will return from the abyss to drag you down with me!"