#184 - Chapter 184: Failure is not terrible

“Father, I am sorry, your son has disappointed you. I lost to Lin Changqing and caused the Great Wu royal family to lose all face today.”

“I lost, Father…”

In the somewhat dim palace, the Fourth Prince was pale and slumped dejectedly on a chair. Opposite him was a tall and imposing figure in an imperial robe, none other than the Great Wu Emperor, Qin Wushang.

This palace was the Fourth Prince’s residence in the First City. After facing Lin Changqing and using the Heavenly Wolf Seven Kill Saber, Qin Wushang, knowing he was no match due to the restrictions of the Starry Sky Ancient Road’s rules, directly led the Fourth Prince to this place.

“I am very disappointed,” Qin Wushang replied indifferently.

“I know, Father. Today, I was beaten by Lin Changqing without any ability to fight back,” the Fourth Prince said, lowering his head. “I have disappointed you. Your son was defeated by a commoner from Qingzhou.”

“You are wrong. I am not disappointed that you were defeated by someone else. No one is without failures. I am disappointed in your current state!” Saying this, Qin Wushang took a big step forward, his sharp eyes looking at his son. He shouted loudly, “Look at yourself! A martial arts competition, so what if you lost? Look at what you look like now! Where is the bearing of a prince? I am not disappointed that you were defeated; I am disappointed in your current state!”

“Were you scared out of your wits by Lin Changqing? This Emperor’s son can fail, can lose to others, but cannot be like you, defeated by someone and looking like you’ve reached the end of the road!”

The Great Wu Emperor’s words pierced deeply into the heart. The Fourth Prince’s face turned even paler after hearing them: “Father, I…, your son was defeated too miserably. My Great Sun Golden Crow Body, my Underworld Shadow Divine Power, none of them were a match for Lin Changqing. Your son was utterly defeated today. Father, you are right. I was indeed scared out of my wits by Lin Changqing. All my pride today was shattered by him!”

“Your son used to be proud of being a descendant of the Great Sun Immortal, proud of being the number one genius of the Seven Kingdoms, but in reality, he is nothing in front of Lin Changqing. I used all the inherited divine powers of the Great Sun Immortal, but I was still utterly defeated by Lin Changqing. My pride is not worth mentioning in front of him!”

“Enough!” Hearing the Fourth Prince’s reply, Qin Wushang shook his head coldly: “You have disappointed me too much. A person can fail, but cannot wallow in despair. A temporary failure is nothing, but you must have the courage to get back up. You were defeated miserably by Lin Changqing today, but that is nothing. As long as you still have a fire in your heart, as long as you have not lost confidence and courage, you may not have the chance to defeat Lin Changqing in the future. But if you continue to be like this, you will never have the opportunity to defeat Lin Changqing. This Emperor has high hopes for you. This Emperor hopes that after I pass away, I can entrust the vast dynasty to you. I hope you will be an excellent successor, I hope you will be a future ruler who dominates the world, and not look like the end of the world after a single defeat!”

“Father, do I still have a chance to defeat Lin Changqing? Today, I was defeated too miserably. I have already used all that I have learned, but I am still no match for Lin Changqing. He created the Immortal King Body; I see no chance of defeating him,” the Fourth Prince said with some helplessness. He understood what his father meant. His father said that a person can fail, as long as they get back up in the future.

But he really didn’t have the courage to get back up. Today, the gap between him and Lin Changqing was too despairing for him. He really didn’t have the confidence to stand up again and compete with Lin Changqing.

“You have had it too easy in this life, unable to withstand even a little failure,” Qin Wushang said, shaking his head. “Let’s do this, I’ll ask you a question. What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Father is the Emperor of Wu, a hero of the world, a hegemon who led the rise of Wu to become the number one of the Seven Kingdoms. You are the number one person in the Seven Kingdoms today,” the Fourth Prince said with admiration. In his heart, his father had always been invincible, leading Wu to become the number one of the Seven Kingdoms, an unprecedented hegemon. But immediately, his eyes dimmed again. Today, he had disappointed his invincible father.

“Then do you think I have ever failed?”

“How could you have ever failed? Your life is a legend, leading the weak state of Wu to become the number one of the Seven Kingdoms, and defeating the former hegemon Zhao Wugong. Your life is invincible!”

“No, you are wrong. I have failed. And I have failed many times,” Qin Wushang said in a deep voice. His majestic eyes looked at the Fourth Prince, the son he valued most. “More than two thousand years ago, your royal grandfather wanted to choose a crown prince. The candidates at the time were me and your third uncle. At that time, everyone favored your third uncle. After all, your royal grandfather loved your third uncle more at the time, and I was silent and taciturn, and was not liked by your royal grandfather. In terms of talent, your third uncle was also better than me. In terms of background, your third uncle’s mother was the queen, and your grandmother was just an unloved concubine at the time.”

“In terms of strength…” Saying this, Qin Wushuang narrowed his eyes, seemingly lost in some past memories, “In terms of strength, I was also inferior to your third uncle. I still remember that day, your royal grandfather said that I and your third uncle would compete, and whoever won would be the crown prince. At that time, I took some kind of elixir, and my strength was a small realm higher than your third uncle. At that time, I thought I was sure to win, but who would have thought that I would lose miserably on the arena. Your third uncle defeated me in just two moves.”

“How is that possible? You actually lost to Third Uncle!? ” The Fourth Prince’s face was full of disbelief. He really didn’t know that his invincible father had lost to Third Uncle in the crown prince competition.

In his impression, Third Uncle was just a failure, a failure who didn’t even succeed in breaking through to the Transformation God Realm, and just completely relied on the royal family to support him.

Even to say something unpleasant, in the Fourth Prince’s heart, with the royal family’s resources fully supplied, not even being able to break through to the Transformation God Realm, wouldn’t that just be trash?

But Father actually said that he lost to such trash as Third Uncle when he was young!?

If Father said that he lost to some strong people, the Fourth Prince wouldn’t have reacted so strongly, but saying that he lost to Third Uncle, the Fourth Prince was somewhat shocked.

After all, the Fourth Prince had always looked down on his Third Uncle in his heart.

“It’s true, don’t you believe it?” Qin Wushang nodded and said, “The reason why you don’t believe it is because I have reached the Return to Void Realm today. On the path of cultivation, I have walked much further than your third uncle, and your third uncle hasn’t even reached the Transformation God Realm, so you don’t believe it.”

“But this matter is true. I did lose to your third uncle when I was young. At that time, I was defeated and looked as dejected as you, looking like the end of the world. I was like you at that time, defeated by your third uncle in two moves. Your royal grandfather declared on the spot that the crown prince was your third uncle. I was also desperate for a long time at that time, but you are luckier than me, your royal grandfather didn’t comfort you like I did.”

“In his heart, I was just a dispensable son born to an unloved concubine, while your third uncle was the legitimate son of the queen.”