With a System at his disposal, unparalleled talent, and an invincible background, Ryuzaki Haruto was destined to dominate this era.
The so-called "Protagonists" like Prince Seiryu were nothing more than XP packs to be farmed.
On the arena floor, Seiryu lay in a pool of his own blood. He clenched his fists, trying to find words of defiance, but the crushing defeat had silenced him.
"Seiryu, that's enough," Princess Suzaku said, stepping forward. Her voice was cold, devoid of pity. "With the Divine Son's strength, he could have killed you instantly. He has already shown mercy."
"Shut up!" Seiryu roared, his eyes bloodshot. "Do I need his mercy? You traitorous woman!"
Suzaku's face darkened. The last shred of childhood affection vanished. "Fine. I wasted my breath."
Seiryu panted heavily, dragging his broken body upright. He knew he couldn't win today. But he had the Dragon Ring. He had a destiny.
He glared at Haruto with eyes full of venom.
"Ryuzaki Haruto," Seiryu spat. "Don't be so smug. Fortune changes like the tides. Don't underestimate a young man's potential!"
He raised a bloodied finger to the sky.
"Thirty years East, thirty years West! Three years from now, I will return! And on that day, I will wash away this humiliation with your blood!"
It was a powerful, tragic declaration. The wind howled, framing his blood-stained silhouette. Some of the younger female disciples even felt a stir of admiration for his indomitable spirit.
Having delivered his cool line, Seiryu turned around and began to limp away, leaving bloody footprints in the snow.
He expected Haruto to let him go. That was how it worked in legends. The villain lets the hero escape, only to regret it later.
"Wait."
A calm voice stopped him in his tracks.
Seiryu froze.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Haruto stood with his hands behind his back, a faint, mocking smile on his lips.
Seiryu turned around stiffly. "What... what do you want?"
"You barged into my home, insulted my clan, challenged me, and lost," Haruto tilted his head. "And now you think you can just walk away after shouting some threats? What do you take the Ryuzaki Clan for? A public park?"
"Are you afraid?!" Seiryu scoffed, trying to hide his panic. "Are you afraid I will defeat you in three years?"
"Heh," Haruto laughed softly. "Don't flatter yourself. I don't intend to kill you. Killing you would be boring."
Seiryu breathed a sigh of relief.
"However," Haruto's eyes turned cold. "Capital punishment is spared, but living punishment cannot be escaped. I have my eye on your Dragon Aura."
Before Seiryu could react, Haruto raised his hand.
BOOM!
A giant hand of golden Mana materialized and slammed Seiryu into the ground.
"You are despicable!" Seiryu screamed, pinned like a bug.
"Quiet."
Haruto made a grabbing motion. A powerful suction force erupted from his palm.
"ARGHHHH!"
Seiryu shrieked in agony as streams of azure light were ripped from his pores. A phantom of an Azure Dragon was forcibly dragged out of his body. This was the essence of his cultivation, his destiny, his "cheat."
"No! My Dragon Qi!" Seiryu wailed, tears streaming down his face.
"Mine now." Haruto crushed the dragon phantom into a ball of pure energy.
Then, he slammed his palm down again.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The sound of bones shattering echoed through the arena. Seiryu's meridians—the pathways for his Mana—were obliterated.
"You... you crippled me?!" Seiryu gasped, coughing up chunks of visceral lining.
"Jun... Xiao... Yao..." Seiryu whispered the name with hatred deep enough to fill an ocean.
The surrounding disciples shivered. This was the first time they had seen the Divine Son's true ruthlessness. He hadn't just defeated Seiryu; he had destroyed his future.
In the void, Ryuzaki Kenshin watched with a satisfied nod. "Good. The boy is decisive. To cut the weeds, you must pull the roots."
The Reward
Haruto ignored the glaring Seiryu. He began to absorb the Dragon Qi ball right there in the arena.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Inside his body, explosions rang out.
10,000 more Giant Elephant Particles awakened.
He now had 30,000 Particles. 300 Million Kin of force.
His skin glowed with a faint blue light as the Dragon Qi merged with his Sacred Body, forming an invisible layer of dragon-scale armor beneath his skin.
"Not bad," Haruto nodded. He looked at the remaining 30% of the Dragon Qi in his hand.
He turned to Suzaku.
"Come here."
Suzaku approached, trembling.
Haruto pressed his hand against her back. "You have the Vermilion Bird Fire. This Azure Dragon Qi will complement it perfectly. Consider it a reward for your loyalty."
He injected the Qi into her.
Whoosh!
Suzaku's aura skyrocketed. The Fire and Dragon Qi merged, healing her body instantly and boosting her cultivation.
"Divine Son..." Suzaku looked at him with teary eyes. He had crippled her ex-fiancé and given his power to her. "Thank you! This kindness is like a second life!"
"Pfft!"
Watching this, Seiryu vomited a fountain of blood.
His Dragon Qi! His hard-earned power! It was being used to strengthen the woman who betrayed him, while she thanked the man who crippled him!
The anger was so intense his vision blurred. His liver felt like it was exploding.
"How... how can you be so shameless..." Seiryu wheezed.
Haruto looked down at the broken protagonist with a look of sincere concern.
"Seiryu, don't be angry," Haruto said earnestly. "I did this for your own good."
"For... my... good?" Seiryu choked.
"Think about it," Haruto explained, crouching down. "Every great hero in legends starts with a tragedy. They get their engagement annulled, their cultivation crippled, and they suffer endless humiliation. Only then can they rise from the ashes."
Haruto patted Seiryu's broken shoulder.
"I just gave you the perfect backstory. You should be thanking me."
Seiryu stared at Haruto. His brain short-circuited. The sheer audacity, the gaslighting, the cruelty... it was too much.
"AUGHHHH!"
Seiryu let out a scream of pure, impotent rage. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted, foaming at the mouth.
Haruto stood up, dusting off his hands.
"Reika," he commanded. "Throw this trash out of the domain. Make sure he stays alive. I want to see if he can crawl back in three years."
"Yes, Your Highness," Reika bowed, suppressing a smile.
Haruto looked at the unconscious Seiryu.
'Now, let's see if that Grandpa in the Ring can fix shattered meridians,' Haruto thought, turning away. 'If not... well, the leek has been harvested.'