En Ci had already explained why he had conceded at the end, and Dai Tianling didn't blame him as there was no point in playing the blame game at this point. The support of the Holy Dragon Douluo was far too important to the imperial family, so he didn't even dare to voice any dissatisfaction toward this teacher of his.
What could he do next? How could he reverse this situation?
They had to fulfill their promise to the Tang Sect, but how should they react if a war really were to break out? Were the weapons that the Tang Sect was going to supply really going to be enough to intimidate the federal military?
All of these problems were giving Dai Tianling a massive headache, and the most concerning issue of all was how he was going to minimize the impact this Trial of Five Gods had on his rule over the empire.
"Knock knock knock." The sound of gentle door-knocking suddenly rang out.
"Come in," Dai Tianling said as he opened his eyes.
There was only one person who would dare to disrupt him while he was thinking in his study.
Dai Yun'er poked her head into the room and took a look at Dai Tianling before calling out in a hesitant manner, "Father."
A sense of warmth suddenly welled up in Dai Tianling's heart at the sight of her careful display. Regardless of what situation he was in, he still had his children by his side.
One of the things that he was most proud of was that his children weren't displaying any signs of a power struggle. He didn't know if there were something different going on beneath the surface, but at the very least, everything appeared to be very peaceful and harmonious for now.
"Come in. Since when did you become so timid?"
Only after seeing Dai Tianling's smile did a smile appeared on Dai Yun'er's face as well, and she said, "I was worried that you would be in a bad mood, so I came to see you."
"You knew I was in a bad mood?" Dai Tianling asked as he put on an expression of faux chagrin.
Dai Yun'er giggled, "Alright, I know it's all my fault. If I hadn't been so determined to marry Tang Wulin, you wouldn't have been enraged to the point of instigating this Trial of Five Gods, and none of this would've happened."
A hint of surprise appeared on Dai Tianling's face. "Oh? Since when did you become so modest and willing to take on responsibilities? Are you still the Dai Yun'er that we all know?"
"Father!" Dai Yun'er pouted as she said in an indignant voice, "I never run away from my responsibilities! I'm your daughter, so it's only right that I carry some of our imperial family's responsibilities."
"Alright, tell me why you came to see me." Dai Tianling cut straight to the chase.
"Why do I need a reason to see you? Can't I just pay you a visit because I miss you?"
Dai Tianling pursed his lips in an unconvinced manner. "I know my own daughter; you wouldn't come to see me without a reason. I always have to be the one to call you to me if I want to see you."
Tears welled up in Dai Yun'er's eyes upon hearing this, and she approached Dai Tianling before squatting down beside him and resting her head on his leg. "I'm sorry, Father, I'll definitely come to see you more often. Please forgive me for being so wilful in the past."
Her voice began to choke up as she spoke, and Dai Tianling was very surprised to hear this. He had never seen his daughter act like this before, and a myriad of emotions welled up in his heart.
He really liked Dai Yun'er's impish and mischievous nature, and her current display filled him with a sense of wistfulness as he suddenly realized that his daughter had grown up, while he had become an old man.
He heaved a faint sigh. "Don't be silly; Father will love you no matter what. What's going on with you today? Are you here to cheer me up because I lost?"
Dai Yun'er looked up and shook her head vigorously. "No, Father has never lost, and you're never going to lose! This is not necessarily a bad thing; I'm here to propose an idea to you."
"Oh? Not a bad thing? Our imperial family is in a very precarious situation, and you're still saying this isn't a bad thing?" Dai Tianling couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"You're not to blame for this; I tried to tie the Tang Sect to our empire by doing this, but I failed to consider the possibility that Tang Wulin could successfully complete the Trial of Five Gods. As a result, we're in a rather sticky situation, but there aren't any major issues; everything will eventually return to normal."
A mysterious light suddenly appeared in Dai Yun'er's eyes. "Father, have you considered what would happen if Tang Wulin were to actually become your son-in-law? Wouldn't everything be different then?"
Dai Tianling faltered slightly as this possibility flashed through his mind.
Indeed, if Tang Wulin could become his son-in-law, then that would mean the Tang Sect Master and the legendary victor in this Trial of Five Gods would be his son-in-law, which would make him a part of the imperial family.
In that case, the situation would indeed be completely different as the legend of the empire would be a member of the imperial family. He could even announce to the empire that this Trial of Five Gods was a test to see if Tang Wulin were worthy of his daughter.
The entire narrative would be flipped on its head. Not only would the relationship between the Tang Sect and the empire become even closer, they could proclaim that the Trial of Five Gods was just a publicity stunt to raise the popularity of the emperor's future son-in-law. In addition to that, the power displayed by Tang Wulin indicated that it was virtually assured that he would become a Limit Douluo, and one that was definitely going to be more powerful than En Ci. With Tang Wulin as his son-in-law, it would be like the equivalent of having a modern Spirit Ice Douluo!
Dai Yun'er's words immediately made his eyes lit up, but he quickly calmed down. "He's already given you an outright rejection; what else can we do? I'm not going to force my daughter upon him! Yun'er, have you still not given up on him?"
Dai Yun'er had seen the sequences of changes in Dai Tianling's expression, and she said in a low voice, "Father, for the future of the empire, we have to take some special measures, even if they sound downright preposterous. For the empire, I'm willing to sacrifice myself. I have a plan..."
She stood up and whispered into Dai Tianling's ear, and Dai Tianling's pupils quickly contracted drastically upon hearing her plan. He wanted to cut her off on several occasions, but refrained from doing so in the end.
"No! Absolutely not! We can't do something like that!" Dai Tianling shook his head vigorously with fury in his eyes.
However, Dai Yun'er wasn't backing down in the slightest. "Father, if this fails, then all the blame can fall on me. I went rogue and decided to do this on my own; it has nothing to do with our imperial family. However, if we succeed, then the long-term prosperity of the empire would be all but assured! With his support, everything will be different. He's not the only powerful being in the Tang Sect; I'm sure you've heard about the recent sparring match between Shrekâs Seven Monsters and our Monster Eight Kings, right?
"We were completely crushed! Our Monster Eight Kings were proclaimed to be once-in-a-millennium prodigies, yet we were no match for them at all. Besides, Tang Wulin is not just the Tang Sect Master; he's also the current Sea God's Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy. Trust me, Father; Shrek Academy definitely won't fall so easily. You haven't seen how powerful the academy is; they have over 20,000 years of history! I'm sure they have other powerful beings who survived and are lurking in the shadows.
"If we can attain Tang Wulin's unreserved support, we'll have the support of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect as well. There's even a chance that Shrek Academy could be rebuilt in our empire! If that happens, then the federation will be the one that has to fear us in the future!"
Dai Tianling's eyes flashed with complex emotions upon hearing this. It was undoubtedly the case that Dai Yun'er's words had painted a very enticing picture for him.
Regardless of whether it was the leader of the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy, all of them had never sided too closely with any of the three continents, and this was all in an effort to ensure neutrality. If it weren't for the fact that Shrek Academy had been bombed and the Tang Sect was being severely oppressed by the federation, the Star Luo Empire wouldn't even have an opportunity to get closer to the two superpowers.
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