Dai Tianyu's Departure

The afternoon sun shone through the locust tree branches at the entrance of the Heaven Dou City courtyard, casting dappled, shimmering light spots.

Fu Shiyan stood at the very front, still dressed in black, her silver hair gently swaying in the breeze.

Standing beside him were Tang San, Xiao Wu, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun, all of whom were focused on the small figure at the gate.

Dai Tianyu pursed his lips, lowered his head, and nervously gripped the hem of his robe with both hands.

Before him, Wu Yuan, standing tall and straight like a pine tree, bowed Fu Shiyan, his voice steady and reverent.

"Mr. Fu, thank you for your long-term guidance and care for the Young Master."

"Now that we part today, I will do everything in my power to ensure your Young Master arrival in Star Luo City."

Fu Shiyan nodded slightly, but her gaze passed over Wu Yuan and landed on Dai Tianyu.

The child kept his head down, his shoulders slumped slightly, and his entire being screamed "unwillingness."

Wu Yuan straightened up, took half a step to the side, and called out softly:

"Young Master, it's time to set off."

Dai Tianyu's body stiffened, and he finally slowly raised his head.

The eight-year-old boy's face still had a childish look, but his eyes were slightly red, and his lips were pressed into a stubborn straight line.

He first looked at Fu Shiyan, opened his mouth, and his voice trembled slightly:

"Master..."

Fu Shiyan walked up to him, squatted down, and looked him straight in the eye.

This action brought tears to Dai Tianyu's eyes, but he gritted his teeth and refused to let them fall.

"Tian Yu." Fu Shiyan's voice was calm, yet carried a strange penetrating power, "Do you remember what the first lesson I taught you was?"

Dai Tianyu sniffed hard, his voice thick with nasal resonance, and replied:

"Yes... see the path beneath your feet."

"Yes." Fu Shiyan reached out and gently patted his shoulder, saying:

"Now, the path beneath your feet leads to the Star Luo Empire, to the Tianxing King Mansion left by your father, and also to the destiny you must bear."

His tone softened slightly:

"This road won't be easy."

"Royal etiquette and rules will give you a headache, those dry theoretical texts will make you sleepy, and then there are those people eyeing the throne and your status... They will become your obstacles, or they may become your whetstone."

Dai Tianyu's tears finally rolled down his cheeks. He wiped them away roughly with the back of his hand and choked out:

"But Master... I... I don't want to learn those things... I can't memorize them... and I can't sit still..."

That's the truth.

Among the children under Fu Shiyan's tutelage, Dai Tianyu's "academic underachiever" status is the most prominent.

He never slacks off in physical training and sparring, and can even grit his teeth and exceed the requirements.

But when it came to theory classes or literature and history classes, he would become unfocused and restless, and Fu Shiyan would often keep him behind for extra lessons.

Although it didn't have any effect.

Now, he is to return to the Star Luo Empire and, as the sole heir to the Tianxing King, receive the most rigorous and complex royal education.

This is torture for an eight-year-old who hates memorizing.

Looking at his frightened and aggrieved expression, Fu Shiyan's eyes flashed with a faint smile, but her tone remained serious as she said:

"So, this is the first hurdle you need to overcome."

"Remember, Tian Yu."

"You're not going there to 'enjoy' the throne, you're going there to 'take' it."

"And the first step to conquering it is to learn to establish yourself in an area where you are not good at it."

He stood up, took a half step back, and said softly:

Go on. Your companions are waiting for you to say goodbye.

Dai Tianyu nodded vigorously, wiped his face, and then turned to look at the children behind him.

Xiao Wu was the first to rush forward.

The seven-year-old girl's eyes were also red. She grabbed Dai Tianyu's arm, her voice urgent and distressed:

"Boss Dai! You... you're really leaving?!"

Ma Hongjun followed behind her, his chubby face scrunched up, wailing:

"Oh no... Boss Dai, now that you're gone, who's going to share the punishments with me during theory classes?!"

That's the truth.

Among the children, Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun consistently ranked at the bottom in theory classes, while Dai Tianyu was the worst performer among the trio.

More importantly, with Dai Tianyu around, the firepower they both had to face was taken care of by Dai Tianyu.

Now that Dai Tianyu is gone, only two complete academic failures remain, and their future looks utterly bleak.

Oscar leaned over, unusually not joking, and simply patted Dai Tianyu on the shoulder:

"Take care of yourself."

Tang San stood a little distance away, quietly watching Dai Tianyu, and finally said only one sentence:

"The situation in the Star Luo Empire is complex; proceed with extreme caution."

Looking at his partners with whom he had spent two years, Dai Tianyu felt a lump in his throat.

He nodded vigorously, as if trying to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Finally, he simply took a deep breath and turned to look at Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan had already prepared a seemingly simple carriage, but which actually contained hidden secrets, and it was now quietly parked at the entrance of the alley.

"Young Master, please."

Dai Tianyu turned around again, glanced at Fu Shiyan, glanced at his companions, and glanced at the small courtyard.

Then he straightened his back—though the movement still made him look somewhat childishly stiff—and strode toward the carriage.

Every step felt like walking on a heavy thread of fate.

Wu Yuan lifted the carriage curtain for him, and Dai Tianyu climbed in, but then turned around inside the carriage, leaned against the window, and waved vigorously outside.

The carriage started slowly, rolling over the bluestone road with a rhythmic rumble of wheels.

Xiao Wu finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears, while Ma Hongjun also hung his head dejectedly.

Fu Shiyan stood there, watching the carriage gradually disappear into the distance, finally vanishing around the corner of the alley.

The sunlight was still dappled, and the breeze was still gentle.

In the courtyard, only a small figure was missing—one who roared during training and dozed off during class.

Fu Shiyan withdrew her gaze, turned to look at the remaining children, and spoke calmly as usual:

"Starting tomorrow, the theoretical class time will be increased by half an hour."

Xiao Wu's crying stopped abruptly.

Ma Hongjun froze, slowly raised his head, his face filled with despair.

Oscar glanced at them sympathetically and silently took a half-step back.

Tang San sighed softly, a hint of "I knew it" flashing in his eyes.

Inside the departing carriage, Dai Tianyu leaned against the window, watching the streetscape of Heaven Dou City recede little by little, and tears finally welled up in his eyes again.

But he didn't cry out loud.

He simply clenched his fists tightly, silently repeating his master's words in his heart:

"See clearly the path beneath your feet..."

"Take it down..."

Outside the car window, the sky was azure, and fluffy clouds drifted lazily by.

A brand new path, full of thorns and unknowns, is slowly unfolding before eight-year-old Dai Tianyu.

Two days later, Dai Tianyu and his group, who were about to reach the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, encountered two unexpected people.