Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 213: Futile Resistance

Instead of telling her not to do it, Zhao Mingfeng took some time to compose himself. His daughter was more courageous than he was as a war hero. It was wrong to clip her wings when she wanted to fly. Even if his heart hurt and he was reluctant to see her leave him, it was a day all parents had to come to terms with eventually.

"Is the seal reconstruction surgery the only way?" Zhao Mingfeng tried to keep his voice even.

Truthfully, this was a question Anji asked her shifu. There were several options, but after weighing the odds, this was the only solution to solve the root issue. Anji wondered if she should let her father know the real reason why they had to recreate the third seal in a risky spiritual operation that also involved rewriting all the spells in her meridians.

"No," she eventually admitted. "However, it is the only solution that will cut the issue at the root. The other techniques are temporary measures that could only contain it. However, they do not change the fact that I will suffer a backlash if the energy is ever tampered with."

If Anji were not the successor to the Mystical Qilin Sect, Zhao Mingfeng would have asked if she could consider postponing or abandoning cultivation. When Mingshen expressed his wish to stop cultivation training and start expanding his intelligence network with his business, Zhao Mingfeng gave his approval right away. His oldest daughter had also halted her training progress to assist her mother with sect duties, and only his third child was undergoing intensive isolated training in order to control his extreme yang nature. When Anji expressed interest in medicine with Doctor He, nobody stopped her. He thought she would continue her medical path, but fate had other plans.

"Can the successor’s training and trial not be postponed?" he asked carefully, not wanting to reveal what Yan Ping told him.

Anji smiled tiredly. Her teacher did not stop her from wanting to complete the trials in three years. However, she was not outrightly supportive of Anji’s decision to complete it in haste so she could leave the sect freely and assist in the war. Her father must have heard a thing or two from her teacher, but the child had no idea what her father knew.

"It can," she responded truthfully. "Shifu told me there was no deadline for the successor’s trial. However, I did not want to live in a glorified bird cage for too long. I want to be able to explore the world with my brothers and contribute to the war. There is also a need for someone to deal with the traitor from the Mystical Qilin Sect. Shifu could handle it. However, time is not on our side. After the seal reconstruction procedure, shifu and the six elders will have their cultivation bases temporarily weakened to the level of a Refined or Strengthened Core. If anything goes wrong, they might even revert to a dormant state as an Initial Core cultivator for an indefinite period. It’s riskier for them than for me."

When Yan Ping first created the artificial core for Anji, her cultivation base had weakened severely. It took her three years to return to the level worthy of a sect leader, even if it did not fully reach her peak strength. Now, six other elders will also sacrifice their cultivation for Anji. The decision everyone made was not a light one. Even if Anji had only been their official successor for less than a year, Zhao Mingfeng was no fool. His youngest daughter was already a fully accepted member of the Mystical Qilin Sect, one whom they would die for.

"Must you do it now?" he bargained, hoping to hear a better solution, even if this had to be done. "Can’t you wait to be a little older? Sect Leader Yan told me in the letter that she could give you a grace period of two years to think about this here before having to return. Can’t you wait for another two more years?"

Truthfully, Anji could wait. However, there was a price to pay.

"Father, if I wait two more years, I’d be close to ten years old. It might be too late because the closer to adulthood I become, the harder it is to rewrite the circuits. The artificial cores shifu created were never meant to be permanent. Like bones, they will fuse together with my actual meridians over time. Rewiring the spells in my meridians at an older age increases the chance of rejection because the seal’s calculations will create a greater margin of error as I mature."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Anji clasped both hands over it. She had gotten too used to explaining numbers and details without filter in the Mystical Qilin Sect that she forgot some people disliked it.

Zhao Mingfeng was not angry. If anything, he was curious. Yan Ping did not mention anything about a calculation error.

"Did she make a mistake three years ago? Is this why they want to fix it at such a high cost urgently?"

Unsure how to explain this without telling her father that it was his mistake that they were trying to fix, Anji opted to shake her head. Hopefully, Zhao Mingfeng will not ask for more details. It would be difficult to explain how it worked without hurting her father’s feelings.

Confused by his daughter’s reaction, Zhao Mingfeng frowned. It was not a calculation error on Yan Ping’s end. However, only two people knew the details about Anji’s seal. Apart from that one time he created them as soon as Anji was born, who else could tamper with it?

As realisation dawned on him, blood drained from his face as the sensation in his legs disappeared from dread.

"It was me," he stated with an eerie calmness. "Father has failed you."

Quickly, Anji shook her head and denied it. She knew her father would blame himself if he found out the truth. It was why she deliberately told her teacher not to include it in the reasons, but she had to go and ruin it all with her stupid mouth!

"No, it’s not! Father, Anji would not be here without your swift actions!"

Zhao Mingfeng was no fool. His daughter was not denying his calculation errors in the seal. She was merely accepting that it was out of anybody’s control. However, the guilt eating at him did not lessen. If anything, her unspoken confirmation worsened it.

Seeing her father was not responding, Anji turned around completely and crawled around in his lap so they were sitting on his chair face to face in a hug. She cupped his face in her little hands and gave him a stern look.

"Father, it is not your fault! Anji will never hate you or blame you for anything. It was your seal that gave me life and bought me time enough for shifu to help. Even if you are strongly against this operation, Anji will never blame you for it. Shifu told me we could find another way before the two years. She would enable all the hermit researchers and elders to find a solution as the sect leader if she had to. At the end of the day, I’m not afraid of dying. It doesn’t matter how long I get to live if I can live each day happily. Father, you gave me the chance to be happy every single day. I love you the most in this world, as well as Mother, even though it was never easy raising me when I was younger. It’s really not your fault. Even shifu cannot create a perfect point-to-point teleportation spell without a fixed array. There are just some things that mortals cannot do."

His daughter, only seven, seemed more mature than anyone else. Zhao Mingfeng had no idea if this was Anji’s wisdom or the teachings of the Mystical Qilin Sect. However, the guilt that stabbed at him moments ago faded into a numb throb. Her gentle touch and coaxing rendered him helpless as he reluctantly gave her his approval.

"Father already missed your seventh birthday and might miss a few more in the coming years. At the very least, could you let me celebrate your eighth birthday before you go?"

Lighting up like a candle, Anji’s hopeful smile told Zhao Mingfeng he had made the right decision.

"Does it mean I can proceed with the operation?" she asked with barely contained excitement.

Still hesitant, Zhao Mingfeng battled briefly with his conscience. However, his love for Anji outweighed his fear of losing her, and he nodded reluctantly, not trusting his voice. Almost immediately, Anji buried her head in his chest with a squeal.

"Thank you, Father! I love you!" she giggled as strong arms wrapped around her securely.

While Anji snuggled and laughed in his chest, Zhao Mingfeng finally let a heavy teardrop fall. Having passed bedtime curfew by a few hours, the girl eventually yawned loudly after the initial adrenaline of gaining approval faded. Feeling warm and safe in her father’s arms, Anji soon fell asleep, oblivious to the salty river that slowly drenched the back of her father’s sleeves as he rocked her to sleep.

It had only been a year. Anji was only a little heavier than the last time he saw her. Yet, this comforting weight in his lap could be gone as soon as she turned eight.

Zhao Mingfeng finally allowed himself to grieve. He did not want to tempt fate for a third time. However, he would never be able to forgive himself if he became the reason for Anji’s tears. Looking at her sleeping face and listening to her soft breathing as she slept soundly, Zhao Mingfeng burned the feeling of her warmth into his heart.

There was literally nothing in the world he would not do for her, even if it meant giving her the permission to risk her life for her future. It had all been a futile resistance from the beginning.