Chapter 30: The Prince Returns Home

"The main character's cheap parents?"

Looking at the options, Zhao Si hesitated for a moment:

Thinking back, in those two simulations, how many times had the Golden Flood Dragon King severed ties with the protagonist?

What kind of feeling could that be! Although Zhao Si isn't an extremist, the protagonist's parents really aren't up to much; in the first simulation, they didn't even give the protagonist a name.

At most, in the second simulation, because the protagonist became a Heavenly Immortal right after birth, the parents considered him a genius and thus gave him a placeholder name like "John Doe."

The name Jin Bing is as ordinary as Ao Bing sitting at the same table; I don't know if that's a dragon trait.

But coming back to the point, the protagonist's few severings by his birth father weren't without reason; after all, under his own control he kept uttering heaven-defying remarks, and if the severing wasn't timely, the whole clan's old and young might have to line up for the execution platform.

The only two‑fifty brother who didn't sever ties with the protagonist was probably also a bit blinded by familial affection……

Severing, though not emotional, is indeed reasonable.

Yet Jin Bing really did personally trigger the split and great war between the two races, causing countless casualties and leaving him with a powerful inner demon; although merit can eradicate inner demons, it still can't cure his heart ailment.

【After all, the Golden Flood Dragon clan is just a small gate, a minor household in the East Sea, only a second‑rate role, yet now it can produce a supreme Heavenly Emperor ruling over all myriad clans of the wilderness—this is simply glorious and honoring the ancestors; even Ancestral Dragon back then couldn't achieve this!】

【Faced with your heart ailment, you choose (true fragrance, in the world only parents are good!)】

【Heavenly Court waystation, you once came here because you wanted to submit a memorial to the Heavenly Emperor opposing the slaughter‑of‑people order, slipping that eight‑hundred‑character "Letter to the Heavenly Elder Grandfather" into the daily documents the Dragon Palace sends to the Heavenly Court; I don't know if the Heavenly Emperor saw it, but the Demon Master did give you a commendation.】

【Upon your return, your parents originally wanted to hold a grand celebration, after all your achievements are extraordinary; whether to respect your status and face or to show off, they should have invited relatives and friends to fill several tables, even dragging the true Dragon King of the East Sea Crystal Palace here wouldn't be out of the question.】

【After the old hand's guidance, you suddenly understood, and then felt even more regret: you shouldn't have betrayed the human race, thinking you could trade it for an imperial throne, but ended up a false emperor—what have you done?!】

【One familiar place after another entered your vision, making you feel as if you'd had a dream, a great dream lasting nearly ten yuanhui, as if you'd never left this place.】

【You opened your mouth, as if wanting to say many things, but in the end only let out an "en"……】

For example, participating in the slaughter of people, in your view this is merely a word game; slaughter is slaughter, it's not you who did it, and your heart feels no disturbance.

【This time, the cheap father probably won't judge people by his nostrils, even the true Dragon King of the Crystal Palace will look down on him? Then comes arrogance and tyranny, doing all kinds of evil……】

【You also strive to adapt to this strange feeling, but as the topic unfolds, you naturally and harmoniously blend in……】

【You didn't alarm anyone, walking alone on the familiar childhood path, from land into the East Sea, then heading south into the sea; along the way the scenery remains as it was in childhood, the atmosphere of the demon‑human war never touched this place.】

【The father was shocked, then immediately realized the Heavenly Emperor plans to act against the old ancestor Hongmeng Purple Qi, Red Cloud; after rapid thought, he shook his head and told you, even if the Heavenly Emperor becomes a sage and protects you, your imperial position is fundamentally false, for what kind of sovereign is the Heavenly Emperor? Even if he becomes a sage, he could never relinquish power!】

【Ancient Toxic Fire Mountain, you were once exiled here for offending the Sun Star Lord, and finally perished when the ancient toxic fire erupted, your Dao vanished and your body died.】

【Deeply remorseful, you consequently confessed to your father the past plan of you and the Heavenly Emperor to exterminate humanity; your father was even more shocked, exclaiming you're truly muddle‑headed!】

【You stared at him in astonishment; it turns out the cheap father still has this vision?】

【Golden Flood Dragon King's rear hall, you once privately submitted a memorial to the Heavenly Court overstepping your authority, and here you were harshly whipped by your sweat‑drenched father with a wolf‑skin belt; the belt made from seven wolf pelts was lashed into two strands of three and a half pelts each.】

【Golden Flood Dragon King's rear garden, countless flood dragon eggs are stored here; you were born in this place, and it's also the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes……】

【But you refused all that, only the three of us sat at one table; Mother cooked a table of dishes with her unskilled hands, then awkwardly and carefully served you vegetables; although immortals don't need to eat, the atmosphere at the dining table is always more harmonious.】

"Then……let's go talk heart‑to‑heart with the parents."

After thinking, Zhao Si decided on the option:

【"Welcome back?" the cheap father said in a muffled voice, sounding angry yet also afraid.】

【The mother then stood there helplessly looking at you, she didn't know how to express her feelings to you, because indeed there's no emotional foundation; she usually stays only with her husband, hardly ever accompanies the children, to her the children are merely by‑products of love.】

【You lost yourself in your own world until……your parents appeared……】

【Golden Flood Dragon King's great hall, you once openly proclaimed to your father and the clan the heaven‑defying words of being a lapdog to the human race, and then were swiftly severed by your father and sent to the Heavenly Court's execution platform.】

【But unexpectedly, after a brief agitation, your father managed to calm himself, solemnly saying you've been schemed by the Heavenly Emperor; this edict shouldn't have been accepted!】

【"Rumor has it the Heavenly Emperor will abdicate in your favor?" After a long while the topic finally arrived here, this is also what the parents care most about.】

【The father fell silent for a moment, seemingly trying to adapt to this new role, then slowly began chatting with you about family matters, work, and many affairs of the Heavenly Court.】

【Without their loyalty, what can you do? Just a puppet of the future Holy Emperor!】

【You felt this made sense, yet after thinking, you confirmed that the strict prohibitions set in the Dragon Palace wouldn't leak, and solemnly told your parents about the Heavenly Emperor's impending ascension to sagehood.】

【The father earnestly told you, the Heavenly Emperor's position stems from supreme strength, not mere reputation; how could it be as simple as abdicating? When the Heavenly Emperor steps down, you a Great Luo Golden Immortal couldn't possibly command the Heavenly Court's multitude of quasi‑sages; this is empty talk.】

【The further you walked, the more familiar the sights became, memories of the two lives unconsciously blending together……】

【You couldn't help but maliciously guess your father's future disgraceful state.】

"Choose B!"

【The pillar of power is military force; given the Heavenly Emperor's consistent overbearing style, even after becoming a sage he won't relinquish power, but will only become a "Holy Emperor"—nominally yielding the throne to you while actually controlling all affairs of the wilderness from behind the scenes; would his old subordinates really abandon this sage and come to serve you, a junior?】

【You unthinkingly agreed to the two‑fifty brother's suggestion, then refused his company and alone joyfully returned to the East Sea.】

Moreover, I view all this from a third‑person perspective, while the protagonist Jin Bing is genuinely experiencing it in the first person; after all, he was born and raised by his parents, having feelings is not surprising, and I cannot fully represent his consciousness.

Now it's obvious Jin Bing's mental state is already extremely abnormal, even affecting the plot's progression; if I insist on letting him suppress it, that's really not good……

【"Yes." You sighed and took out the abdication edict; at the sight of it, your father's face trembled, as if in excitement and ecstasy! Mother also showed a look of joy.】

【"If the human race truly is the Heavenly Dao's chosen protagonist, then whoever slays humanity will be placed by the Heavenly Dao in a death‑without‑burial situation; even if humanity perishes at the hands of the demon race collectively, who besides the Heavenly Emperor bears the greatest responsibility?! You let that feather‑less beast become the scapegoat!!!"】

……

(End of chapter)