The Will of Heaven

Zhao Liu eventually makes the right choice. The only choice that is available to her, really. She is unable to reclaim her body due to my talisman, and she cannot leave the sealed cavern due to another of my talisman.

She also cannot possess me due to me being me.

With or without my divine robe, possessing me will not turn out like she has planned, and I am actually tempted to let her try – just to see the sheer horror on her face. It would be quite priceless.

Not that her current expression isn't priceless. The undying flames has burned much of her spirit away, and if she cannot find something suitable to house her diminishing spirit, it will cease to exist alongside with her will.

Her will is what makes who she is.

It is her consciousness.

Without a will of her own, Zhao Liu will be merely a doll for me to control at my pleasure. I actually do not prefer that. If I wanted a mindless sex doll, I would have just created one myself. That is not beyond my ability to do so even if my cultivation is basically zero right now.

"I vow to serve you now and forever," Zhao Liu vows, and I am sure that she is only saying that in order to get back into her body. Once she does, she will immediately try to kill me. Try and fail.

Of course, it will probably not come to that if she learns her place. That is, under me, in all kind of sexy positions.

"You have to be more sincere than that, Elder Zhao Liu," I response. "Get on your knees and bow your head and promise to serve me and only me as your Divine Emperor."

Zhao Liu glares at me, and if stares could kill, I am probably just a corpse right now. Even so, she slowly gets on her knees and bows her head, performing essentially a prostration. She has no choice at all. It was either that or death.

And like most cultivators, if she dies, all her sacrifices would be in vain. She would never be able to lift her head in the afterlife or in the next life. That is the greatest shame.

"I promise to serve you and only you as my Divine Emperor," Zhao Liu vows without looking up at me, and if she still has her body, I swear her blood would be boiling right now. It is very humiliating, given her current status.

It cannot be helped since Zhao Liu is supposed to be the next leader of the Sword Maiden Sect, one of the most feared sects within this region. As a pinnacle Martial Expert, for her to be kowtowing before a mortal is not just humiliating but also a disgrace.

I smile. "It is pretty good, but you have to say it like you mean it, Elder Zhao Liu. Hurry up because you are running out of time."

Zhao Liu growls before calming herself and pronouncing: "I, Liu of Zhao Clan, promise that I will serve you and only you as my Divine Emperor."

My smile widens a little. "Hmm… almost. Just a bit more. Put more passion into it, Elder Zhao Liu. You are almost there! You can do it!"

"I will pay you back dearly for this humiliation," Zhao Liu curses and wants nothing more than ripping me into a million pieces. Her eyes are doing that at the moment, and they are quite attractive.

It is not that weird. Not at all. I prefer my harem to compose of all sort of girls from all sort of walks of life, including those who wants to skin me alive.

What was that saying? Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies even closer?

I certainly will, but only for supreme beauties of the ages.

"Yeah. Yeah. Get in line. There are like… oh wait, I have slaughtered them all," I response and chuckle in amusement before pointing a finger at Zhao Liu. "You'll only need to say it properly, and I will honor my end of the bargain, allowing you return to your body. I will even let you take revenge for this if you can, that is."

Zhao Liu continues to glare at me until she is unable to anymore due to the excruciating pain of being burned into nothing. She prostrates even deeper before speaking up, pronouncing what I have wanted to hear.

"I, Liu of Zhao Clan, First Elder and future Leader of Sword Maiden Sect, hereby sworn my eternal will to you and only you, as my Divine Emperor."

I laugh at that while the cavern is bathed in golden light. "Well done! Well done, Elder Zhao Liu! Okay, a deal is a deal. Let me remove that talisman, so you can get back into your body. I wouldn't want you to disappear from my life forever. I would surely regret it."

And the moment that I have done so, Zhao Liu leaps into her body, taking control of it once more. Just a few seconds later, Zhao Liu opens her eyes and blinks.

"Welcome back to the Mortal Coil, Elder Zhao –

A very powerful blast of energy crashes into me, knocking me off my feet, and before I could reorient myself, Zhao Liu already has me pinned down with a heavy sword thrust.

She is towering over me and allowing me to stare up at her. Nice view. Let me look up her skirt a little, as it is more fun this way.

"I did not expect you in keeping your words. For that, I will let you die in one piece," Zhao Liu tells me coldly, but her eyes betray her current disposition. "How would you like to die?"

"In a big bed with a harem of peerless beauties, of course. You are there. Xiao Hong and Long Yue are there. The other two Elders are there too," I answer. "Oh, your Sect Leader is there too…"

Zhao Liu is unable to contain her fury, and she raises her sword to strike me. Even with my divine robe on, a pointblank strike can inflict damage to me in the form of blunt force trauma. She obviously knows about this, and it is the reason that she has me pinned down.

Sacred Treasures do not make their wielder invincible. Even the most powerful Sacred Armors cannot save a stumbling idiot from tripping over and breaking their neck in the fall.

In any case, the force behind the pointblank strike would be enough to severely injure me, considering that I am just a mortal right now. Even so, I maintain my smile.

"If you believe you will not be harmed because of your Sacred Treasure then you are sorely mistaken," Zhao Liu announces as powerful aura surrounds her sword.

It is not simply Sword Aura, but more like Sword Intent.

Zhao Liu has reached a level even beyond that of Xiao Hong and Long Yue, and I am impressed. She is only older than Xiao Hong a little bit, but her swordplay has reached such an astonishing level.

Of course, it is thanked to the natural Yang energy within this cavern. I can assume that the Sect Leader has reached even greater height.

Not that it will make a difference when I take back what is rightfully mine. Even Sword Empress would have to prostrate before me and obey my will. The will of a Divine Emperor.

I let out a chuckle. "No, my dear Zhao Liu. I do not believe that I will not be harmed, but I am sure that I will not be harmed. If you think you can harm me, your Divine Emperor, after that vows of yours then go ahead, but you should prepare for the judgement."

Zhao Liu laughs. "Judgement? Don't make me laugh. Only I will be doing the judging."

She then strikes me with all her might, and I wish that she has not done so.

The moment that her sword descends upon me, the world turns dark. Everything slows for a moment before a blinding light tears right through the cavern from the heaven, striking her and only her.

It happens so fast that even the most powerful immortal would have missed the pillar of blinding light if they weren't paying attention.

I nearly got blinded due to the Eyes of the Beholder, allowing me to see everything. Damn. Good thing that I have the Eyes of the Beholder, or I would have been blinded, being so close to Zhao Liu. Did that make sense?

"Heaven… Tribulation…?" Zhao Liu utters as her sword shatters. All of her meridians destroyed along with her pathways, resulting in the complete destruction of her cultivation. She immediately collapses onto me, unconscious.

"Yes, Heaven Tribulation. You have angered the heaven, my dear Zhao Liu," I confirm and wrap a hand around her beautiful form. "And the heaven decides to destroy your cultivation.���