Qiu Ling raised his brows at the person in the doorway and smiled faintly. “Is everyone else gathered inside? Otherwise, how about helping me call them?”

Wei Jun, the half-blood in question, had already frozen up as soon as he saw them and barely managed to calm down after Qiu Ling spoke up. Being given a task, he hurriedly nodded and then rushed off to call everyone else. His thoughts weren’t completely there though. No, inwardly, he couldn’t help but think of what had just happened over and over again: He had met the king! He had basically stood just five steps away from him! His Majesty had even directly looked at him and spoken to him! He had given him a task!

Wei Jun as if he was floating to everyone’s rooms and told them in a daze that the king had come to see them and was waiting in the hall. When he informed the last person, he stood in place for a moment and took a deep breath. He definitely didn’t want to look like an absolute idiot when he went back there.

It took him some effort but when he finally stepped back into the hall, he felt that his expression should look normal and he probably wouldn’t say anything he’d regret later. He calmly walked to the side and found a spot to stand next to everyone else. Even though he had been the first to see him earlier, he didn’t have the guts to stand in the first row where the king would be sure to look at him.

Qiu Ling had seen the person clearly when he sent him off so he had still been waiting for him to return. Since he was back, it was time to start with his speech. Thankfully, he had had a little time to think about it but, most likely, he would have been fine even if that hadn’t been the case. The situation of being a half-blood was so familiar to him that he could easily relate to them and just speak from the heart. Even if he didn’t find the perfect words, he was sure that they’d understand his intent.

“An Bai told me that your work in the Tower of Wisdom was wrapped up yesterday. I have been there several times and I know how much information there was to look through so I know that this was not an easy task for you to do. I want to thank all of you for the effort you have put in the previous months.

“The results of your work are going to benefit both the dragons and the gods and will strengthen the alliance between our two races. Apart from the general good this will do for our realm, you can imagine my personal gratitude for that.”

Some of the half-bloods nodded in response. Everyone was aware that their king was pursuing the Son of Heaven and that things were heading in the direction of a wedding. Well, of course, that had been before the crown prince of the Nine Heavens suddenly vanished. Being reminded of this, they all couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. Dragons were irrevocably tied to their partners so their king’s lover going missing … that was not a good thing for anybody involved. It could throw both the Nine Heavens and the dragon realm into disorder.

Qiu Ling saw their anxious looks and smiled faintly. “Even if things are looking … a bit strained right now, I believe that everything will get better in the future. I also hope that this project won’t just benefit everyone else. I hope that due to your heritage and the unique perspective each of you has on our races and the connection between them, that all of you will take something away from this project as well. I hope that it can also make you feel more welcome in … two races who have not paid your plight the attention it deserved before.

“I do not want things to end here but, going forward, I want most of the decisions to come from you. An Bai may have told you that some people will be needed to wrap up what has been achieved so far. I know that not everyone is interested in research. Not everyone has the same talents so that is only natural. For those who do, you are naturally invited to continue with the last part of this project and any ideas that might be derived from it.”

He lowered his gaze and thought of Xiang Yong’s reports that regularly reached him. “In the dragon realm, my adviser Xiang Yong is currently working with someone from the spirit beast tribe to draw our races closer together as well. I could imagine that after the foundation has been laid, your insights from this project and your life experience might be valuable there as well.

“Either way, I want you to take some time to think it over. If you are interested, please stay for a while longer. An Bai will organize everything. Those who have no interest in this shouldn’t feel forced though. There are many other tasks that will need your help and I hope that you will return to the dragon realm to work on those.

“Of course, if you don’t want to work on anything and instead return to the way you’ve lived before, I won’t urge you either. While I want the half-bloods in our realm to gain more recognition and ease their time in the future, all of you are your own people with your own aspirations. You should be allowed to follow those.”

He himself had his choice taken from him when Xin Lan simply dragged him to the battlefield and then announced Jinde’s wishes. It had turned out to be the right thing in the end but that didn’t mean that it would be the same for others. All of them should have the chance to decide by themselves and he’d not budge on that front, no matter how convenient it would be for others.