When he was five years old, the court officials all began to question Li Chang’an’s abilities and proposed replacing the Crown Prince.
In truth, Emperor Wu of Zhou was tempted.
When Li Chang’an was his only son, Emperor Wu of Zhou had doted on him endlessly, finding him more and more endearing with every glance.
But over the years, his other concubines had borne him many more sons.
A few of them were particularly clever, and he had grown quite fond of them.
But appointing a Crown Prince was easy; replacing one was much more troublesome.
Such a matter carried immense weight.
Even as the Emperor, he couldn’t make such a decision alone. He first had to gain the consent of the Royal Family’s Elders, the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and other Clan Relatives.
But therein lay the problem: would the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Clan Relatives agree?
The Empress’s stance was a given. As the Crown Prince’s birth mother, she would naturally never agree. In her eyes, aside from being a little mischievous, there was nothing at all wrong with Li Chang’an.
The Empress Dowager was also very fond of Li Chang’an, and her stance on replacing the Crown Prince was equally firm.
Emperor Wu was not surprised by their opposition.
What surprised Emperor Wu, however, was that when he presented his idea of replacing the Crown Prince to the Elders of the Royal Family, they all unanimously disagreed.
The most senior of them, the Imperial Uncle, stated bluntly, "Chang’an is the qilin-child of our Great Zhou. The Old Ancestor himself perceived this while his spirit roamed, using the art of Celestial Sight and Earthly Hearing. If you dare to depose him, I will dare to depose you!"
Staring at his white-haired uncle, whose eyes were wide with fury, Emperor Wu felt his head spin. He had never imagined that not a single person would side with him on deposing the Crown Prince.
It made him begin to doubt everything.
’My eldest son’s birth may have been accompanied by auspicious signs, but judging by his performance so far, he hardly seems like some incredible talent!’
’Could I be the one who’s blind?’
After long consideration, Emperor Wu of Zhou decided there was nothing wrong with his own judgment.
He decided to press his point. "But that boy, Chang’an, refuses to learn how to read or practice martial arts. Learning Immortal Skills is completely out of the question. If this goes on, and he inherits the throne, won’t he be an illiterate tyrant?"
"To our north lies the Great Yuan, and to our west, the Qiangman. Both are like hungry tigers, eyeing us with predatory intent..."
"Great Zhou may have the Old Ancestor’s protection for now, but if our nation’s power wanes, he will be affected as well. Imperial Uncle, this is something we cannot afford to ignore!"
Emperor Wu paused, a clever idea occurring to him.
’Since Imperial Uncle insists Li Chang’an is destined to be Great Zhou’s qilin-child,’ he thought, ’why not let him see for himself? Once he witnesses with his own eyes that the boy is a hopeless case, perhaps he’ll change his mind.’
With this thought, Emperor Wu spoke again. "Imperial Uncle, over the years, I have found many tutors for the Crown Prince. But they all claim he is too extraordinary for them to teach. Why don’t you go and see for yourself? If you can make that defiant son of mine turn over a new leaf, it would be like curing a persistent illness for our Great Zhou!"
The Old Ancestor of Great Zhou was an elusive figure, his whereabouts a complete mystery.
All that was known was that he had long since detached himself from worldly affairs to live a life of carefree leisure.
As things stood, Imperial Uncle Li Lin was the most senior and most powerful member of the Great Zhou Royal Family. He had broken through to the Martial God Realm many years ago and was now only a single step away from the Immortal Dao.
Hearing Emperor Wu’s request, the white-haired Li Lin hesitated for a moment before replying, "Since you’re so worried about the boy, I’ll go have a look myself. I’ll see what the problem is!"
Receiving his agreement, Emperor Wu smiled and hurriedly bowed.
...
「In the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace.」
Li Chang’an was playing with his younger brother, Li Yuanqing, and his younger sister, Li Shiran.
’Under normal circumstances, with the original owner’s identity and status as Crown Prince, his life should have been smooth sailing, utterly triumphant.’
’And yet, this person, who was destined for a life of glory and wealth, ended up dying at the hands of a Child of Destiny of unknown origin, vanishing without a trace.’
’All of his Destiny and fortuitous encounters became a stepping stone for another...’
’There was clearly something wrong with that.’
Back in his old life, Li Chang’an had learned about the concept of a Child of Destiny in school.
A so-called Child of Destiny was a human favored by the World Consciousness.
Such individuals were born with a purpose. They would absorb and gather all the surrounding Destiny to accomplish a task for the World Consciousness that it could not achieve on its own.
In such cases, every enemy the Child of Destiny faced was, in reality, just a pawn placed on the board for them by the World Consciousness.
To put it another way, they were just walking bags of EXP.
’So, what was the greatest thing the original owner provided to that mysterious Child of Destiny?’
’The Destiny of Great Zhou!’
’The original owner was the most legendary Crown Prince in the history of Great Zhou, virtually destined to become the next Emperor.’
’Therefore, the Child of Destiny only had to defeat Li Chang’an—or not even defeat him. The moment they met, Li Chang’an’s Destiny could be stolen away.’
Thus, to prevent his fate and Destiny from being stolen by the Child of Destiny, Li Chang’an had deliberately created setbacks for himself since birth, ensuring his life wasn’t too smooth.
At the very least, until he could meet this Child of Destiny in person and figure out what methods he used, Li Chang’an wouldn’t allow too much Destiny to accumulate around himself.
Of course, this didn’t mean Li Chang’an was truly doing nothing at all.
’The disguise is for outsiders,’ he thought. ’I still have to take the real benefits for myself.’
Over the past five years, while Li Chang’an had appeared to be slacking off and acting clueless every day, he had, in secret, already more or less mastered everything he wanted to learn.