The crushing silence hung in the air. The heavy implications of the word lingering like the knells of a wake.
Yue Qin gulped, a trace of disbelief in her eyes. "War?" She echoed.
"War. Or to be more specific, civil war."
Bing Bing spluttered. "How can that be? Surely we would have heard the news of a civil war erupting right?"
Leaning forward, Elder Hu placed his sword on the table between them, the gleaming sword constantly reminding them of the words he had just uttered. "Ah, but that's the thing. It hasn't erupted yet. It's been brewing for decades under the peaceful facade that they've paraded all along. The water runs far deeper than you think in the Capital."
"Why do they need so many genii then?" Yue Qin pointed out in confusion. "And why have they all ended up dying?"
"That's a long story, and one that I cannot answer fully either. Before I begin you must understand that the information I can provide is limited because the costs to extract information from the Empire's Capital is far too high and we never had a true need for more detailed information."
As if sensing her need for comfort, Yue Qin felt a warm palm being placed over hers. The palm squeezed her's lightly. Yue Qin turned to smile at her sister in silent gratitude.
"The current Emperor has been in power for nearly 5000 years. And as per tradition, no emperor can be in power for more than 7000 years. As such, with the current Emperor's term coming to an end soon, the various factions have been competing to amass power to push their ideal candidate onto the throne."
Yue Qin's jaw dropped with shock. "The Emperor can rule for 7000 years?" Then, as her brain finally processed the second half of his information she scratched her head in confusion. "Wait, if he has 2000 years left, why is everyone already fighting to claim the throne?"
Perhaps it was because the sum of both her lives added up didn't even surpass 50 that she felt it was utterly incredulous for people to fight over a throne that wouldn't be vacant for another 2000 years. Much less sacrifice so many lives for it. Would all these people participating in the fight for this throne even be alive 2000 years later?
Then again, even though she wasn't much of a history buff, she still remembered how the mothers of Princes would attempt to get rid of all of their children's competition even before said competition was born to ensure a smooth succession to the throne.
Nonetheless, it was still utterly baffling to imagine fighting for a throne one might not live to see. Was it due to the cultural differences that she felt this way? Either way, that didn't explain why the Capital would be preparing for a civil war that would only occur 2000 years later either.
"Because although that is the maximum time the current Emperor can remain in power, it doesn't mean he would wait till then to abdicate the throne. In fact, throughout the Empire's history, many Emperors chose to abdicate before their time once there was a worthy successor so that they could concentrate on their own cultivation. As such, the various factions have been preparing for war to push the royal they support onto the throne."
"And why doesn't the Emperor do anything about it? A civil war is brewing right under his nose!" Yue Qin huffed feeling indignant. What did the fight for the throne have to do with her anyway? Why couldn't the Emperor just keep his subordinates in line so that they did not wreak havoc across the Empire?
"Because that's how he rose to power too. As per tradition, only the strongest has the right to rule the country. Gaining the throne isn't just a matter of who the Emperor wants to appoint to be his successor. If his successor doesn't have enough strength, enough intelligence or the support of the people, the successor's reign would be doomed to fail either way. Hence only through the bloodshed of civil war would a new Emperor be able to successfully claim the throne. This is the rule of the Imperial Family and has been since its establishment. The only thing the Emperor can do is throw his resources into the child he favours the most."
"But if the situation is so chaotic to the point of civil war then why don't the various factions just kill the successors and ascend the throne themselves?"
Elder Hu shook his head. "This is why I said you would be eaten alive as you were now should you be forced to the Capital. I said that the Emperors can only rule for 7000 years. Not that the Emperors can only live 7000 years. Tell me what do you think that means?"
"Uh, that means that some of the previous Emperors are still alive?"
"Indeed. No one knows how many of the previous Emperors still live within the boundaries of the royal palace and how many are scattered across the lands. Neither does anyone know what their current cultivation levels are. Additionally, there are also the royals that chose to renounce their claim to the throne to cultivate peacefully. Each of them represents a fraction of the hidden power of the royal faction. In the past, when some rebels tried to seize the throne for themselves, a few of the previous Emperors immediately stepped out to slaughter them. It was a massacre. Gradually, people realised that the previous generations did not care who the Emperor was as long as they had the blood of the Imperial Family flowing through their veins. Remember, no matter what, you cannot underestimate the hidden strength of the Clans in the Capital."
Yue Qin bit her lip. "Then why have they been kidnapping people with special physiques?"
"Power." Bing Bing interrupted the Elder just as he was about to reply. "It's for power right?"
"Correct. Control over the talented is control over the future." Then he glanced at Yue Qin and shook his head, a trace of disappointment flashing past his eyes. "Yue Qin, from now on, your life will be very different from before. Although you might still be very young, that will not protect you from the hands of others. You have to learn to be more independent to control your own fate."
Tiny beads of tears formed at the corner of her eyes with the reality of the situation dawning upon her. 'Too protected. Too dependent. Too immature.' The words from her past life rose unconsciously to the forefront of her mind. That was the truth, wasn't it? People said that the children born of her generation were the luckiest; They were born in the greatest era of peace and prosperity in the history of Earth. Yet due to this, they were also nicknamed the strawberry generation.
Could she not even compare to her sister, a little kid, even with the extra years she had on her? Was she really that dumb like Apollo said? Why was it that she didn't think of the answer to such a straightforward question? She was sure that she had already solidified the image of her being a flower in the greenhouse after she had asked such an obvious question.
Yue Qin stared despondently at her shoes, wondering if she should ask the final question she had on her mind. Would that be a stupid question to? Finally, she gathered her wits and spoke. "Then.... then what'll happen to me?" Yue Qin whispered, her fists tightly clenching the cloth of her skirt.
"Honestly, that is not something I can tell you now. I'll have to discuss with the other Elders on the best course of action at this point in time." Clasping her hands into his, he smiled warmly, his voice deep and steady. "Don't worry too much. From the moment you made your oath, you became one of us. And we don't abandon our own. We will try our best to help you."