Diary System - Chapter 13: Dai Yutian: You Don't Want Zhu Zhuqing to Die or Be Sad, Do You?
Dai Yichen asked directly, "Father, why did you call me here so early today?"
Dai Yutian replied lightly, "I called you here today to notify you that you will be enrolling in the Star Luo Royal Academy in half a month. There is another matter as well."
After Dai Yutian finished speaking, he glanced at Zhu Ming, who was standing beside him.
Zhu Ming smiled, walked over to Dai Yichen, and squatted down. "Yichen, let me ask you, what do you think of Zhuqing?"
Dai Yichen was confused, but after thinking about it, he replied, "Zhuqing is very good, very cute, and we have a good relationship."
Zhu Ming nodded with satisfaction and said, "But do you know that according to the original plan, Zhuqing would be given priority to the third prince, Dai Mubai, after she awakened the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul? Originally, His Majesty thought of your good relationship and changed his mind, provided you awakened the White Tiger Martial Soul and had better talent than the third prince. But..."
Dai Yichen thought, Tsk, he understands; these two came so early just to corner him. He's seen enough of this type of game from his previous life!
Dai Yichen maintained a calm demeanor and said, "Uncle Zhu, Father, please stop beating around the bush. I prefer to be direct."
Then, Dai Yichen looked at Dai Yutian and said, "Father, you stated in the hall yesterday that you would not marry Zhuqing to my third brother. Are your words true?"
Zhu Ming thought to himself: Good guy, you don't follow the rules. Under normal circumstances, shouldn't you be nervous about asking questions?
Dai Yutian: ...
Originally, they had planned for Dai Yutian to play the "bad cop" while he played the "good cop," which should have kept things stable; but now they were being interrupted directly.
Dai Yutian glanced at Zhu Ming and then looked at his fourth son. "Yichen, do you have any opinion on the royal competition rules passed down by our ancestors?"
Dai Yutian didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted to hear his youngest son's thoughts.
Zhu Ming stood nervously to the side, thinking it would be fantastic if they could make the competition of the Star Luo royal family more humane through Dai Yichen.
Throughout the ages, their Zhu family had been tied to the Dai family, with women from the Zhu family always being the weaker party. Even in a successful competition, they would only become queens, and the benefits they received would not be comparable to those of the emperor.
Moreover, in this generation, he had three daughters, which meant that two of them would die. Regardless of who it was, they were his favorites, and he was unwilling to see them perish. It's not that he kept having daughters out of desire; the main reason was that their lineage lacked a male heir to inherit the future title.
He had not anticipated having three daughters in a row, which left him feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Yesterday, when Dai Yutian privately discussed this matter with him, he was filled with excitement!
Faced with Dai Yutian's question, Dai Yichen showed a thoughtful look, while internally he was speculating about Dai Yutian's reasoning.
A few minutes later, Dai Yichen said, "Father, the reason why our Star Luo Empire possesses such strong national strength, and why the royal power can surpass that of the Heaven Dou royal family, is due to the competition rules passed down by our ancestors."
Dai Yichen continued, "However, in my opinion, this competition rule lacks humanity and is unfair to us princes who trained later. My eldest brother has practiced for many years longer than we have, and now he is a 3 ring soul master, while my second and third brothers are, respectively, a 2 ring soul master and a 1 ring soul master. The gap is too vast! In three years, the competition between my eldest and second brothers will commence... If there are no surprises, the second brother will lose!
And the outcome of failure is either being stripped of cultivation or even dying on the spot. Isn't that too inhumane?"
Dai Yutian frowned, responding in a cold tone, "Oh? Yichen, you were born into royalty. You often went to the royal library alone to study in recent years. You should understand that people are born unequal, especially in the royal family. The winner advances, and the loser is eliminated!"
"And since you were born later, you need to practice harder. This is also a form of pressure on you!"
Dai Yichen cursed inwardly. What does it mean to practice harder? It's easy to say!
If someone is born earlier than you, and after seeing you struggle inwardly, they decide to match your effort. How easy is it to catch up, even if your talent is a little higher? That's simplistic!
Originally, according to his understanding of the royal competition, it was supposed to be a duel between the princes, while the women of the Zhu family on both sides could perform martial soul fusion skills.
However, now, because of his emergence, there was a slight shift. Zhu Zhuqing would not be paired with Dai Mubai. When he reaches the appropriate age, will Dai Mubai need to fight Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun separately, or will he lose his qualification to compete altogether?
Dai Yichen was unafraid of Dai Yutian's indifference: "Father, there's an issue with what you said. Look at my second brother's dedication to cultivation. But can he defeat my eldest brother? Not, unless my eldest brother slacks off!"
Dai Yutian appeared indifferent, yet he was genuinely impressed by his youngest son's attitude. As the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, he had fought his way through many trials and tribulations, so he understood the brutality of this competition.
He had considered abolishing it before but feared it would lead to civil strife.
Now that the Clear Sky Sect was closed, there was no external support, and with the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire looming outside, the Star Luo Empire, although appearing prosperous, hid its vulnerabilities. Every major decision he made felt like walking a tightrope; one misstep could lead to disaster!
However, Dai Yichen's awakening yesterday provided him with a ray of hope, igniting this vision in him.
"So? What do you think? As a prince, you should know that historical reforms often come with bloodshed. The strongest asset of our royal family now is the Hell White Tiger. And as for the others, you also understand that stripping their cultivation or executing them can significantly reduce the risk of civil strife!"
He has to admit that what Dai Yutian said was somewhat reasonable. From Qian Renxue's choice to go undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire rather than coming to the Star Luo Empire, we can glean some insight.
Although Qian Renxue can disguise her appearance and martial soul, she cannot mask her soul skills. Once utilized, she would be exposed, and given the special nature of the "double" on the Star Luo Empire side, she couldn't execute her plans.
Conversely, the Heaven Dou Empire presented much easier circumstances.
At that moment, Dai Yichen began to develop some understanding of the purpose of Dai Yutian calling him over.
"Father, because you noticed my talent, do you want me to try to initiate change?" Dai Yichen ventured tentatively.
Dai Yutian shook his head. "No, it's not me who desires this; it's you. You don't want Zhu Zhuqing to die or be saddened, do you?"
Dai Yichen: ???
(End of this chapter)