“If the Ancestors have spoken, then I am here to follow.”
“Let the will of the Ancestors be done.”
Kaiser bowed his head slightly as he spoke, and the Empress accepted his words with a composed nod.
She turned to leave, her robes flowing like quiet moonlight across the hall floor.
Before departing, she placed a tray on the low table beside him, filled with pastries and sweets whose scent carried the same warmth he remembered from childhood.
‘She still remembers what I like.’
The thought flickered through him, softening the tension wound inside his chest.
For all her authority, for all the weight she carried in the court, she never forgot to bring him something she knew would comfort him.
It made him secretly pleased in a way he rarely allowed himself to admit.
Even though she could be unbearable at times with her teasing and her hidden motives, he understood there was always more beneath the surface.
Her faction did not confront him out of rebellion or challenge.
The reasons were far deeper, layered with subtleties and dangers he had yet to fully comprehend.
She moved with intentions shaped by forces older than his reign, forces he could not grasp just yet.
But that was not what he needed to think about now.
Within the quiet of the Seclusion Chamber, Kaiser sat alone, the air still and heavy with spiritual density.
He closed his eyes, letting his breath settle as he lowered himself into the first movement of the Dragon Martial Body Technique.
His muscles coiled and unfurled with each motion, drawing power through his limbs like living fire.
A deep resonance stirred within him.
“Second Layer of Palace Refinement!
Successful!”
The words slipped from Kaiser in a breathless whisper.
Heat pulsed beneath his skin, rolling through his veins like a tide of molten metal.
Every muscle tightened, then relaxed with a slow, powerful ease.
It felt as though strength had gathered in every inch of him, coiled and ready to strike.
Of course, he knew better.
Breakthrough euphoria was always deceptive.
Yet the surge of power was undeniable.
His body felt denser, sharper, more alive than ever before.
He drew in a steady breath, grounding himself.
This pace of growth was something he had never dared imagine.
His teachers had once recorded his progress with the precision of disappointed scholars, labeling him mediocre with all the gentleness that the court could muster.
His foundations were too slow.
His potential too dim.
His cultivation path too unremarkable.
But now he was tearing through those carefully measured expectations one after another.
Still, he did not let arrogance cloud his thoughts.
Rapid improvement came with its own price.
The stronger he grew, the more sharply he entered the sight of the old monsters watching from the shadows of the palace and beyond.
Ancient cultivators, clan elders, sect masters, beings who measured worth by power alone.
The more he rose, the more he became something they would value.
And value was always a dangerous thing in the world of cultivation.
The blood running through his veins belonged to the Dawn lineage.
Because of that single truth, Kaiser knew one thing with absolute certainty.
No matter how monstrous his cultivation became, no matter how quickly he rose beyond what had been predicted for him, the old monsters of the Dawn Family would protect him.
His strength would translate into their profit.
His growth meant their resurgence.
His success fed their legacy.
As long as that remained true, they would shelter him from everything.
It gave him capital.
Real, undeniable capital.
But that was only the surface.
The moment he broke through to the Second Layer of Body Refinement, he knew that the old monsters would definitely notice.
His sudden deviation from the expected path was a tremor they could not ignore.
The Ancestors disliked variables.
They had shaped the future in a careful predictions, and he was now drifting from the pattern they had laid out.
And variables were dangerous.
Especially for beings who had outlived dynasties.
He drew his focus inward and began calming the raging vitality within him.
Blood Qi surged through his veins like a living flame, running through his organs, tightening across his skin, singing through his muscles and bones.
His entire body seemed to tremble with excitement, as if the Dragon Martial Body Technique itself was urging him to push further.
Enough.
He steadied his breath, easing the thrum of power.
His aura settled, retreating into a disciplined stillness that cloaked the true extent of his breakthrough.
After steadying the blaze of his blood, Kaiser released a long breath and allowed the last remnants of heat to settle deeper into his meridians.
The power coiled within him like a slumbering beast, content for now.
He crossed the chamber and retrieved his imperial robe, the fabric brushing his skin as he lifted it over his shoulders.
The robe was a deep, commanding black, threaded with red designs of dragons overturning in ceaseless motion.
The imagery seemed almost alive, as if the creatures stitched into the cloth were shifting with the pulse of his newfound strength.
He adjusted the simple crown that marked him as Emperor and stepped from the Seclusion Chamber, making his way toward his private quarters.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted to the other him, the projection that existed far from this palace, far from the Empire entirely.
His Avatar had already climbed to the Rank Three of the Mutant Warriors.
A faint shimmer appeared before his eyes as the panel responded to his thoughts.
[Dragon Blood Tempering Art: Rank Three: 425/1000]