Emperor's Reckoning

Lyon didn't even bat his eyes as he left the building with the others. The pure disrespect that he had shown was like a slap toward the powers that ruled First Heaven. They couldn't comprehend where did the young man get the courage from but the power that he had displayed was absurdly abnormal.

They had never heard the name until now. The pure world of the mortal cultivators rarely produced a talent that could surprise them, but he had surpassed even those that had trained their entire life in First Heaven, to the point that an immediate recruit was issued personally by two princesses.

"This, has never happened before..." said one of the spectators.

"Don't state the obvious, I'm in need to remind myself that the young man came from the Mortal World."

"Hey, he said he wanted to kill Hezar, suddenly I feel that it's not a joke, he probably has the ability to do it."

They turned their glance toward the man himself. He was seen tapping his feet and felt restless. He might be a famed commander but right now, he was being toyed with a young man coming from the lower end of the world spectrum.

"So? What now?" asked Carius as he stood up.

"Don't get so cocky! Mortals should back down!" gritted Hezar before he turned up a smile. "Understand that you are still at the palm of my hand, if all else fails, I still got you three to become the bargain for that brat."

"Ho?" Tael stood up before he stand beside his best friend. "From your words, are you saying that he might be able to actually kill you?"

The matriarch stood up. "What is our role here exactly?"

"Hmph! Fine then! I will tell you," said Hezar. "You are nothing but a backup plan."

The three leaders furrowed their eyebrows.

Hezar smirked. "No mortal should rise above."

"You!" Carius glared before Tael hold his shoulder. "Calm down."

The matriarch said, "So you want to control Zet, Ivy, and Porealus through us? So that they can never enter the top ten?"

"Bingo! I know the cold woman had the most accurate intuition but woah, you surprise me."

Tael furrowed his eyebrows, "How do you control us exactly? Oh... you mean that half-ass framing attempt."

Hezar crossed his arms, "It's enough, tell me who would believe you more than me in this place? If you decide to fight me, then the Pala Kingdom has the right to enter the Mortal World and ravage it."

"Then?" The matriarch crossed her arms. "Lyon had offended the Pala Kingdom greatly, they blatantly declare to kill you."

"Hahaha!" Hezar laughed. "He won't be much of a threat. He was fine for now because Cecile was with him, however, with their relationship revealed, I think it would be in the best interest that Lyon should die. You guys, on the other hand, have the status of a leader in the mortal world thus, your life is not only your own but the rest of your home as well. You will act accordingly until you are needed."

"Tch!" Carius was angered as he buried his fingers into his palm. He was raging internally as he was at the palm of someone's hand. The burden of the Mortal World rested with the three of them yet they couldn't do a thing.

Hezar laughed before he continued, "Let's see if he could win in the next round."

---

Soon the nightfall had enveloped the sky with darkness as the stars glimmering.

Hilde was having a chat with her parents in their exclusive inn over a fancy private dinner.

"Are you sure that you wanted to recruit him into our kingdom?" asked the king as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You see his power yourself, regardless of how much truth lies inside the notion that he knocked out a four-horned hellboar, he still got the four giant horns inside his pouch."

The queen leaned in slightly forward from her seat. "I see where you're getting at, but that attitude of his, he needs some discipline in his manner. So uncouth!"

Hilde could only smile wryly. There was nothing she could do about his style and way of living.

The king said, "It would be an uproar, actually it already is, there was no mortal that has even been recruited by the four kingdoms, they usually got recruited from rich nobles."

The king let out a sigh, "Then there is this animosity with him against Hezar."

Hilde nodded before she raised her index finger upward. "However, this might be a good thing. The Pala Kingdom had grown stronger as of late."

"Dear beautiful daughter of mine, are you telling me to oppose the Pala Kingdom for someone from the Mortal World? Even if I drank seven gallons of wine I would say no in my grave."

Hilde couldn't refute that fact. An entire kingdom would be at stake, for the sake of a mortal cultivator? Their people would riot.

"I'm sorry but it looks like it's impossible for us to recruit him due to that."

Hilde bit her thumbnail as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hilde, don't do that," said the queen. "C'mon eat."

---

Meanwhile at another exclusive inn.

Cherie, the princess of the Sverine Kingdom was having a delicate tea as she shared them with her father and beautiful mother.

"Cherie, are you mad?!" asked the skinny king.

"Dear, calm down," said the queen as she sipped her tea. Her eyes were closed before it opened once she put the cup on the saucer.

"Cherie, why do you want to recruit him? He is not a magic-based cultivator, he is art-based."

"Maybe it's time to break the cycle, mother," said Cherie as she sipped her tea as her mother did.

Their platinum blonde hair was starking as they both shared the same pale white complexion. They both were on the thinner side but their eyes were more vigorous than an excited ox. The black eyes couldn't be anymore shrouded.