"Your Majesty, should I announce your identity outright?"
One of the King of Hundred Brahma's followers whispered to him. He was the king's Imperial Guard Captain.
He could tell that the king had taken quite a liking to this Heavenly Strategy Merchant and wanted to recruit him as a subordinate.
Yet even after coming here, the merchant still hadn't recognized the King of Hundred Brahma or paid his respects.
The Imperial Guard Captain wondered whether they should make things clear.
"No need. The best way to win someone's wholehearted allegiance is to win them over with virtue. That is what my teacher taught me."
The King of Hundred Brahma was brimming with confidence. He had expanded the tiny Hundred Brahma Kingdom's territory dozens of times over, giving it tremendous influence among the Southern Kingdoms.
He wanted this Heavenly Strategy Merchant to acknowledge his abilities, rather than bow to his status.
The Late Emperor had taught him this back when he had studied at the Kindling Combat Academy in the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty as a prince.
If someone only followed you after learning of your lofty status, that meant he followed your status, not you.
In other words, he could just as easily follow someone else who attained your position.
But if he admired some other ability of yours, then as long as you retained that ability, he would remain your loyal follower.
The Late Emperor had often gone out incognito and recruited talented people without revealing his identity. All of them had been unwaveringly loyal.
Much of what the King of Hundred Brahma had achieved came from the Late Emperor's teachings.
His access to so much military equipment also had something to do with the Late Emperor. After all, he was the Late Emperor's "student."
To win over this merchant,