The reason stemmed from the previous Empress Zhao. Reportedly, the Solemn Emperor had accepted an entertainer into the harem, angering her so much that she went into premature labor. Both mother and child were lost. Who would’ve imagined that this entertainer’s son would become the emperor a couple of decades later? This was like a big slap on the Zhao clan’s face.

It was only normal that the Zhao clan wouldn’t be happy with the Radiant Emperor. It was just as expected that they would extend this hatred to Lin Xitang.

The Radiant Emperor said, “If the Zhao clan feels that the Ji family owes them an emperor, then we shall repay them with an Emperor.”

Lord Riverglance was stunned. “Who’s spreading such news? Are they mad?”

The Radiant Emperor smiled. “The Emperor position is the leader of all aristocracy, to be held by one of might and virtue. The Founding Emperor said thus when the aristocracy elected him to be the Emperor. So, Uncle, the Emperor might be the head of the Empire, but the Ji family isn’t necessarily so. It’s been a thousand two hundred years since our Ji family ascended the big stage. Let this come to a close with the end of the Chronicle of Glory.”

With that, the Radiant Emperor fished out two documents from the stack and opened them up before the lord.

“I’ve prepared two orders for you, Uncle. One is a regent’s position, and the other is to supervise the Empire. You may pick whichever you like, I have no objections.”

Lord Riverglance covered his eyes with his hand and remained silent for a good while.

The Radiant Emperor was calm and collected; he even had the leisure to pour himself another cup of tea.

Finally, Lord Riverglance looked up at the Radiant Emperor and crushed the regent order into powder. “Marshal Lin would not do this if he were still alive.”

The Radiant Emperor revealed a longing expression. “Monarch Zhang said the same.”

Lord Riverglance sighed. “How is that child? Has he fallen?”

“No, I hope he can remain safe and uninvolved in this matter.”

Lord Riverglance noticed that something was off. “How many people know of this?”

“Monarch Zhang, you, and me.”

Lord Riverglance’s expression darkened, holding back the urge to curse. “You brat, you only act pure and good in front of your teacher.”

The Radiant Emperor replied, “You can’t even act.”

Both of them paused for a brief second and finally broke into laughter.

This laughter traversed the passage of time, returning to a period where a young prince and his uncle would bicker behind people’s backs, just like now. What about one’s high status? What about one’s warm temperament? It was all the same in the eyes of that person.

Lord Riverglance sighed. “Marshal Lin has been pushing new policies in recent years but with little success. There are many things left undone now that he’s gone. I thought you’d continue his path. Who would’ve thought you would be bringing the Empire back to the self-ruling system from before?”

“Uncle, you’re wrong. What I want is to close the curtain on the Ji family, and have the newcomers pick their own path. In truth, you object to a lot of Teacher’s new policies, don’t you?”

Lord Riverglance stared blankly into space. “Correct.”

“The same goes for Prince Greensun,” the Radiant Emperor said. “We’ll disregard personal stances and discuss political views. Teacher wanted to expand the protected population and give them resources, then pick out the best among the best. Prince Greensun thinks that it’s too idealistic and only good on paper.

“Actually, Teacher’s views aren’t new. Look through the Empire’s history and you’ll see people who have suggested and implemented this system before. Humans are born weaker than the dark races, so as soon as they left the livestock pens, they had always stuck together as one. The Empire was built upon this foundation.

“Currently, the starting point of most humans is decided by the strength of their family and their position within the clan. That means the weaker powers, civilians, refugees, and those humans from the lower Evernight Continent will only be able to obtain minuscule amounts of resources.

“The Empire set up the four training camps Yellow Springs, Dark Flower, Sword Rain, and Great Path with the intention of training everyone regardless of their birth. They had been operating for nearly a hundred years, but the results were barely passable. Yellow Springs was only allocated more resources than the other camps after producing Teacher and Monarch Zhang. The problem was that they weren’t commoners.

“Igniting a person’s origin power was just the first step, what followed was a long, long process. Such a pouring in of resources might put a commoner fighter on the same level as their aristocratic peers, but they would still run into problems. They lacked family support, resources, secret arts, experience, and connections.

“That’s why Teacher’s selection process was nothing more than a greenhouse in Monarch Zhang’s eyes, breeding a group of sheep that would never become lions. He felt that it was better to let nature run its course because no one could tell how long such handholding would be necessary.

“Resources don’t pop out of thin air and everyone has different thoughts. Investing a large amount of resources into commoners would raise the overall rate of awakened daybreak origin power among humans. Yet, how many clans are willing to sacrifice the resources meant for their own descendants for such an uncertain project?

“Judging from our thousand-year history, this project would only be possible on a small scale. The nobility might contribute a portion of their resources for the Empire’s use and they themselves might distribute rewards to commoners and servants, but there would never be enough for everyone. In the end, the Empire is too small and weak.

“The biggest failed test is without a doubt the two provinces of rebels on the Western Continent. They are currently no different from other grey zones, relying on both the humans and dark races to get by. They are also falling into different social strata, providing no new answer to the aforementioned problem of ours. At this point, we can only pass on the experience of our failure to the successors.”

Lord Riverglance sighed. “Marshal Lin was too aggressive in helping commoners. Actually, the biggest problem wasn’t shaking the interests of the major clans but rather his refusal to form a faction. Just like you said, the problem of different starting points is present everywhere.

“Marshal Lin helps people based on their talents. He never considered their background, nor did he ever use those people. Without sufficient background, those he helped up will always run into a new obstruction once they reach the next level. Those with background would have to draw a clear line in order to prevent their own faction from suspecting them. There were also despicable people who criticized Marshal Lin after receiving help from him, using it as an excuse to join a particular faction.”

“There was one such person in Red Scorpion, reportedly a graduate of Yellow Springs as well. He produced quite a bit of gossip in order to connect with me through the Nangong Family. It would seem he had quite a bit of friction with Song Zining as well, weaving quite a few stories of mixed truth about him and Marshal Lin.”

The Radiant Emperor frowned. “There’s such a person in Red Scorpion?”

Lord Rivergalnce replied, “Since that person is so ambitious, I gave him sufficient opportunities to realize them. I haven’t heard from him in a long while.”

The Radiant Emperor felt relieved, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. This Imperial uncle was never a saint.

Lord Riverglance stood up and paced about the room, finally stopping near the window. He gazed out at the void for a while before saying, “If we engage in an all-out war against Evernight, what do you think the best outcome will be?”

“The best result will be a small loss followed by peace talks.”

The Empire’s overall strength was much weaker than Evernight. If the Empire could force the other side into peace talks despite a small loss, it meant that neither side could afford to continue fighting. Ignoring the loss of the Empire’s land, the fall of Heavenly Monarchs was inevitable. Judging from the current setup, the first to fall would be the Profundity Monarch and the Radiant Emperor.

Lord Riverglance’s expression shifted. “What’s the worst outcome?”

“The Empire is routed and most humans will return to the dark ages.”

The Emperor made light of it in conversation, but the lord’s expression grew more and more unsightly.

Shooting him a glance, the Emperor said with a chuckle, “Of course, there’s also a third possibility. There’s a seat for the human race on the Sacred Mountain. If the Empire can produce a heavenly monarch as strong as a supreme, the council might extend such an invitation again.”

Lord Riverglance felt that things wouldn’t be so simple. “What were the terms?”

“Give up the ‘blood for blood’ practice, and allow the trade of humans below rank-five.”

“Blood for blood” was the Empire’s unyielding response to the dark race’s blood feasts. Whenever there was such an instance, they would hunt down the culprit until the bitter end. If they could not find the culprit, or if they had no power to chase after the culprit, they would start a massacre in the immediate region, blood for blood.

Many policies had been modified throughout the millennium of rule. This was the only firm rule that everyone followed despite the grave losses.

Lord Riverglance said after a while, “Who would agree to such conditions?”

The Radiant Emperor said coldly, “Who knows? Maybe someone will be willing to merge in the future.”

The two suddenly remembered some rumors, and they couldn’t help but feel distressed about the conflict between those three surnames. “There was never any talk about the Sacred Mountain. Apparently, none of my predecessors had the intention to give in.”

The Emperor said, “Only the true powerhouses and the Emperors of each generation knows of this. Of course, it’s hard to say if other non-familial heavenly monarchs have been persuaded.”

After listening to all these secrets, Lord Riverglance felt as though he had been trapped. “Your Majesty, you told me so many secrets only privy to the Emperor. If Concubine Zhao’s son succeeds the throne one day, do you need me to pass him the information?”

The Radiant Emperor gave it some thought. “No need.”

Lord Riverglance couldn’t help but feel stifled.

The Emperor remembered something else. “Ah, I almost forgot. I plan to abolish the rule that says only the Imperial family can wield the Mortal Emperor. Every divine champion from the major clans and high-ranking aristocratic families can apply for a tryout. The Grand Magnum will be given to whoever has the highest compatibility. Do you want to try first?”

Lord Riverglance said expressionlessly, “I can’t be bothered, it’s so weak.”

The Radiant Emperor wasn’t expecting this answer. He blinked a couple of times in surprise and had to try hard to suppress his chuckle. “The ‘Mortal Emperor’ will be very disappointed.”

Lord Riverglance was in no mood to play along. “I actually don’t understand. You became a heavenly monarch a bit earlier than Prince Greensun, and you might even rival a supreme in the future. You’re the best candidate to take the reins of the Empire’s future. Do you really want to let those people do what they want?”

“Teacher once said to me, the celestial trajectory is always changing. The future may be better or it may be worse. It might be better for some people and worse for others. Choices made with the aid of divination are only the best options at the time, not the absolute best. That’s why I don’t care about fame or failure. All I want is to have more options.”

“I had never dreamed about the throne when I was young. Now that I’m on the throne, I never thought of becoming an outstanding ruler. All I want right now is to go and see the results of the Chronicle of Glory in his place.”

Lord Riverglance closed his eyes, hiding his expression behind his hands.

That person was always like this. All he knew were the stars and clouds of this world, and never looked at himself. He had saved countless commoners and nobles along the way, but he never looked back at whether it was gratefulness or hatred that he had left behind. Nothing could brighten or dim the nebula in his eyes.

When Lord Riverglance opened his eyes, he was the only one in the room. The Emperor was gone.

It felt as though he had returned to thirty years before. Everyone had walked forward, leaving him with the burdens he didn’t dare—or perhaps didn’t want—to let go of. This was his confinement.

Those with a heart demon would never become the strongest.