Esteemed Young Master

The dark clouds hanging over the small courtyard where Tian Shi was imprisoned gave way to the bright golden light of the realm's sun. A gentle breeze snaked through the courtyard, blowing the strands of hair that hovered over his head backward.

Tian Shi's face was gaunt, the flesh tightly wound around his skull with not an ounce of fat, making his sloping features more prominent. The sunlight forced him to open his eyes, and he regretted it. His bright crimson eyes contested the sun's glow, even as he felt the scalding pain spread around the edges of his sockets.

"A hundred thousand years," he whispered into the wind.

Tian Shi forbade himself from descending into despair and chose to open his eyes wide, staring at the sun. He didn't quite understand whom he was trying to fool, but the prospect of what came after scared him more than it should. Realizing the direction his thoughts were going, he hardened his resolve and focused on the sun's blinding light. The pain that accompanied the action kept his thoughts at bay.

Moments passed, and the whistling of the wind alerted his ears. The way the wind flowed wasn't natural. He shifted his gaze from the sun to the sky above the far left of the courtyard. Two soldiers flew toward him.

Their armor, cast in various divine metals, had a bright golden hue, amplified by the sun's rays. Each had two pairs of powerful wings that catapulted them through the air. In less than a second, the soldiers landed silently in front of him.

"It's time already?" Tian Shi said. "Tell the old man he can fuck himself."

The two soldiers didn't grant him the privilege of witnessing their reaction. They treated him as if he were a gust of light wind and chose to follow the instructions the Clan Leader gave them. Without missing a beat, they unfastened the chains that practically nailed Tian Shi to the ground. Removing the bit that wound around his wrists would be a mistake, as that would ensure he regained access to his divine energy, which would be catastrophic.

One of them went to Tian Shi's left, and the other to his right. They supported him off the ground and flew toward the clan's true courtyard. The journey barely lasted a second.

Tian Shi kept himself in a dull state once they arrived at the Clan's main headquarters. Magnificent structures, pagodas, and various tall, imposing buildings failed to catch his eyes, mostly because he avoided them. He didn't want to be reminded of the clan's splendor or see the vast riches that partly belonged to him get stripped away.

If he gave it thought, it might weaken his resolve. What being didn't want to remain in comfort? And the level of comfort and luxury he had was incomprehensible to most beings. If he caught a glimpse of the structures made from golden divine metals and felt the scent of divine qi slithering through the atmosphere at concentrations no other clan could hope to match, he might reconsider. His pride wouldn't allow him to. So he chose the next best option: ignorance.

The guards aided his weak body through the entrance of the largest, most imposing structure. He ignored the bows of the various pretty maidens who kept stopping to salute and greet him. Even in his putrid state, he was still the heir of the Tian Clan. Immortals and gods had to bow in his presence unless they outranked his status or held the required privilege.

The guards brought him to a massive hall the size of a planet. While the structure looked relatively small from the outside, the space within was enormous. Gigantic thrones, each eclipsing the size of moons on most mortal planets, circled the hall. He counted a total of nine such thrones.

The guards forced him to kneel in the center of the hall. Quickly, they fastened him to a new set of chains that linked him to the ground. Tian Shi felt the rest of his strength disappear the moment they did. Whatever material they used to make those chains somehow had the capability of sealing one hundred percent of his strength, reducing him to the level of a measly Immortal Cultivator. He fought the rage cycling within his heart. How much more humiliation did they need to put him through?

He tilted his head toward the massive figures that sat on the thrones, an action that caught swift punishment. Insurmountable force crackled through the atmosphere and slammed onto him. His vain attempts at resistance were met with nonchalance. Pain lit up his joints as the force pushing against him flattened him into the ground. All the grit and anger driving his body up proved useless. The chains had made him significantly weaker. He couldn't withstand it at all.

"Tian Shi!"

The voice from the direction of the center throne sounded like a million roars of thunder coalesced into one. Even his being quaked with raw primal fear that he couldn't distill with his resolve. His father had spoken, and he had no choice but to listen.

"Thou Shalt Not Gaze at A Primordial!" The collected voices of the nine beings on the gigantic thrones spoke in unison.

Tian Shi lost his grasp on his will. The defiance interwoven into his being unwound as his rigid posture slowly rolled into a natural posture of subservience. As he did, the pressure against his being receded, guiding him toward total submission.

Panic struck him. He couldn't allow himself to be manipulated by the mere aura of Primordials, even if they were the Clan's most respected Elders. He just couldn't. Doing so would mean the death of his being as a person. The death of the Dao he followed. His path as a Wargod ensured that he would never be forced to bow down before another being. If he should bow and become subservient, it had to arise from him.

By sheer grit and will, Tian Shi fought back control of his actions. His body's natural reaction to cowering in the presence of a Primordial halted instantly. The hard surface of pain hammered right into his psyche. He felt like his mind and soul were shoved into a mountain of spinning swords that continuously cut him. Blood pooled from his eyes, forming a large puddle on the previously spotless golden floor. His bones fractured into a million bits of dust under pressure, but he kept forcing his neck upwards until his bloodied eyes finally saw the apathetic gaze in his father's eyes.