It should be said that Qiu Ling, who had lived through the worries the identity of not being a full-blooded dragon brought, understood the thought process of the half-bloods all too well. They did want the recognition he spoke of. They did want an easier future for themselves and for their relatives. But that didn't mean that all of them wanted to be at the forefront of that fight or felt that they had the right skills to do so.
Especially the latter point had been perfectly illustrated by the project they had just worked on: They indeed had a certain insight into the differences between the dragons and the gods because they lived this reality every single day. Even if it wasn't based on their own experience, then it could be seen from that of their parents. So they indeed had a few thoughts to add here and there or could understand a certain piece of information more easily than a full-blooded dragon or a trueborn god could. What it didn't mean was that all of them were suddenly well-versed scholars with the right tools to tackle this task from beginning to end without issues.
Sure, all of them could read those books and take a few notes. They were literate, after all. But there was much more that went into actual research than that and they had to pick up on those things bit by bit. They oftentimes felt that they were unnecessarily slowing down the progress and that the project might actually go faster without them because those with experience wouldn't need to take the time to hold their hand through this starting phase.
For some, those feelings had persisted until the end while others had found something they were willing to work on further. It truly was an individual decision. And naturally, this decision would be easier for some than it would be for others. Those who had a clear understanding of whether they could or couldn't do this well didn't need to think much. One half of them would go back and find new tasks there while the other half would gladly remain here, having found a new purpose.
Compared to them, it was the people who had done decently well for someone without prior knowledge but also hadn't really liked the task who had trouble coming to a conclusion as to what would be better for them to do. Should they stay and continue doing what they had already been working on since they had learned more about this? Or should they return to the dragon realm and do something else to fight for their own people? Or could they return home and also return to the life they knew?
For some of them, the last possibility seemed like the most tempting but ... there was also this nagging feeling of being wrong. As a half-blood themselves, as someone with the experience of how bad it was, how could they ignore everyone's plight? Didn't they owe it to everyone to go ahead and do what would better everyone's situation going forward?
Maybe they felt even more so because the king had suggested it and, to be honest, the guilt might weigh heavier because he was graciously allowing them to choose on their own, not even trying to influence their own decision. They just ... did not know how to deal with such a situation. No matter what they did, all of it seemed to be wrong.
Qiu Ling kept quiet for a moment, letting the words sink in and giving everyone the chance to listen to their heart and see if there was any clear answer there as to what they should do. He could see from their faces that some people were really calm, probably having at least an initial guess of what they wanted to do afterward. Others seemed troubled and would likely need more time. Of course, they would get that.
"The future is long and you don't have to rush making a decision. For those of you who'd like to stay but would also like to be involved in what is going to happen in the dragon realm, there will still be many more tasks waiting for you whenever you return.
"For those who intend to return but worry about leaving something unfinished here, you don't need to worry either. Our people will still work together with a few officials from the Court of Justice and also a few of the clerks from the Tower of Wisdom so you can trust that everything will be wrapped up nicely. You can stay to take a look if you so wish and return as soon as you have made sure that you will not miss out on anything here.
"If you don't know what you should do, you can either stay here for a while to watch as well or return for now and come back later. I gather that this last part of the task will also take a few weeks or even months at least. There really is no rush to make a choice.
"If you aren't sure yet if either of these tasks is for you but want to have more time to consider it, you can do that as well. Even if you only want to try, you are always welcome to do that so you don't have to worry too much. No matter what you decide, what's important is that you are happy with your decision.
"Now, I unfortunately don't have much time to stay as I still need to go back to the Heavenly Emperor's palace. If any of you decide to continue with the research in the Tower of Wisdom, you can tell An Bai at any time. The others can just think about it for a while longer and give him a heads-up whenever their decision has been made. No matter what you decide on, I do wish all of you luck."