I May Not Be Suited to Be Celestial Emperor

"Just how much do you hate me?" the Celestial Empress pressed. "Is it because of Sean Shaw? Would you rather wipe out my entire family if you could?"

"What does this have to do with Little Five?" the Celestial Emperor snapped.

"Isn't this all about paving the way for him?" the Celestial Empress demanded. "Only the son you had with the woman you love is worthy to be Celestial Emperor, isn't that right?"

"Do I get to decide who becomes Celestial Emperor?" he shot back. "That's up to Heaven! It's up to their own fate!"

"Heaven..." The Celestial Empress sneered. "Heaven always favors those who are prepared! Isn't all of this just your way of preparing for him? Why not just wipe out me and my children? If you leave only him, then there's no one else but him left!"

"I treat all my sons equally. Can you please stop saying things like this?" the Celestial Emperor said.

The Celestial Empress sneered, "You know perfectly well whether you treat them equally or not."

The Celestial Emperor took a deep breath. "Of course I know."

Then he turned and walked away.

The Celestial Empress shouted after him, "That woman already took everything from me! I will never let her son take what belongs to my own child! Never!"

...

The Celestial Emperor stood outside the divine hall, rubbing his brow.

"Your Majesty." Divine Lord Tanya Quinn arrived.

"What brings you here?" the Celestial Emperor asked.

"I heard you called for Liam Leshan to be brought up?"

The Celestial Emperor nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to him. I'm just very interested in his talismans."

"He helped Marcus Xuanchen hide, and gave them invisible tracking talismans. I want to know exactly what role he played," Tanya Quinn said. "If he really was involved, then so be it! I'll just swap fiancés. You don't need to worry about me, Your Majesty."

"Just swap fiancés? That easy?" The Celestial Emperor raised an eyebrow.

"I only picked one to placate the Elders anyway! Men—there are plenty of handsome ones in the world." Tanya Quinn smiled, hinting, "Your Majesty, you should learn to let go a little."

"What do I need to let go of?" the Celestial Emperor asked.

"Sorry, I overheard just now." Tanya Quinn laughed. "You should go to the mortal realm and learn from those emperors with three palaces and six harems. They manage dozens of women just fine! You only have two, and you're already losing your mind!"

The Celestial Emperor said nothing.

"Honestly, you're just too sentimental," Tanya Quinn said. "On one hand, you can't let go of your marriage bond with the Empress. On the other, you can't give up your love for Xiao Mi, so you end up physically and emotionally exhausted! As Celestial Emperor, you should care less, take more consorts, and enjoy life. Why torture yourself like this?"

"You make a good point! But... sigh. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be Celestial Emperor..."

Tanya Quinn smiled and shook her head. "They've all learned the basics of formation arts. What's next?"

His Majesty the Celestial Emperor did some mental math. "The three-year deadline is almost here. Next... it's time for them to lead troops for real..."

...

Palace Guard Barracks.

His Majesty the Celestial Emperor told them, "You did well on this mission. I'm planning to reward you."

Everyone looked at him, eyes full of anticipation.

"Your reward is an early vacation! This time, you get a long one—half a month, how about that?" the Celestial Emperor said.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Half of them immediately declared they were going to sleep for half a month straight, without moving a muscle.

The past three years of training really had been brutal.