Eight Years

Chiba Lake lay in the southern part of Hua Zhen's Bedroom Palace territory. Nestled against the mountains and beside the water, its rolling azure waves looked like a maiden's hairpin from afar. Thousands of islands were surrounded by rippling water, mountains and lakes blending into one. It was a dreamlike place.

The sky, washed clean as if by water, held not a trace of cloud. Beneath the deep blue, the trees along the shore stood silently with their arms spread wide, welcoming strands of golden light. Sunlight filtered through layer upon layer of leaves, scattering down in dappled patches.

Crystal-clear dewdrops glittered across the grass, carrying the fragrance of green grass, flowers, and damp earth. Countless tiny flowers competed to break through the soil, white and red, sparkling like stars and filling all of Chiba Lake with vibrant color.

Naturally, this was an excellent place for an outing. While admiring the scenery, one could also cleanse body and mind and escape the clamor of the outside world.

A large picnic blanket was spread over the grassy shore, covered with all kinds of food: bread, sushi, fruits, drinks... and, of course, golden-brown grilled meat skewers.

All these delicacies had been made by Lian Xi. Little Girl—no... she could no longer be called Little Girl. Time flew, and eight years had passed in the blink of an eye. She had grown into a graceful, stunning beauty.

Her fiery red hair curled beautifully, cascading down to her waist like seaweed. She wore no excessive adornments, yet her simple attire accentuated her creamy skin and gave her a distinctive charm. She had changed from a petite, lovable girl into a mature and dignified woman, her innocence tinged with allure, making people feel affection and pity for her.

Her large eyes seemed to speak as they flickered. Her small red lips stood out even more sharply against her fair skin. A pair of dimples sat evenly on her cheeks, appearing and disappearing with her gentle smile as a quiet, graceful tenderness naturally flowed from her.

In the distance, Gus, Xuan Ji, and Andre sat together beneath the shade of a tree, each holding a meat skewer and eating until their mouths glistened with grease. Ever since grilled skewers had first appeared at Hua Zhen's hands several years ago, they had been completely conquered by the delicacy.

"Look at how these skewers are grilled..." Gus held one up before his eyes. "Crispy outside, tender inside, with lean and fat meat perfectly layered. One bite makes you want to swallow your tongue. Lian Xi's cooking is getting better and better~"

Xuan Ji glanced at Lian Xi, who was busy nearby, and curled his lips almost imperceptibly. "Hmph, what's so impressive about it? Isn't it all because His Highness taught her so well~" Now that Lian Xi had fully blossomed, she was becoming more beautiful and captivating by the day. He was terribly jealous of it~

This guy's hostility toward Lian Xi had not begun just yesterday or the day before...

Eight years ago, after Hua Zhen had kept this fellow by his side as an instructor, he encountered an especially serious problem: Xuan Ji was simply too damn beautiful. His profound skill, along with that strange hormone he exuded with every gesture, always made people feel the urge to pounce on him.

When Hua Zhen had first begun studying under him, his eyes would gradually turn hazy as he listened, and dangerous images of steamy passion would start surfacing in his mind. There had already been clear signs that he was being bent.

If this keeps up, won't I be completely screwed?

One night, Hua Zhen lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as he said those words. Tell Xuan Ji to get lost? Leaving aside whether the Old Angel King would allow it, Hua Zhen himself could not bear to part with him just for the sake of his wealth of knowledge. What a knowledgeable, beautiful person...

Just as he was tearing his hair out over it, the lovely Lian Xi suddenly entered his room carrying a fruit platter. The moment he saw her, his eyes lit up. He had finally thought of a way to restrain Xuan Ji...

From then on, an accompanying little study attendant appeared at Hua Zhen's side during every theoretical lesson. Xuan Ji would lecture from above with a twitching mouth, while Hua Zhen, ignoring Lian Xi's shyness, held her little hand below and listened attentively.

He used this method to remind himself that he only liked women. Though the results were mediocre, it was still better than nothing.

Women did not like other women appearing around the men they valued. Although Xuan Ji was a man, he valued Third Prince greatly. Naturally, he deeply disliked Lian Xi's sudden appearance, which disrupted the in-depth discussions between himself and His Highness—academic and theoretical discussions, of course.

And as Lian Xi grew day by day, her bright and lovely appearance had clearly surpassed his own. That made Xuan Ji feel even more threatened. After all, most women were jealous of women prettier than themselves, weren't they? Though he was a man.

"Tsk~ Are you fucking sick or something? What did Lian Xi ever do to you? If you're so hostile toward her, why are you eating food she made?" Gus firmly supported Lian Xi. She was beautiful, had a good personality, lacked the scheming nature of other female angels, and, more importantly, possessed excellent cooking skills.

Xuan Ji shot Gus a glance and gave a dainty snort. "I'm His Highness's instructor. My status speaks for itself. Eating her food is already doing her an honor~" Then he put on a smiling face and called sweetly toward the distance, "Lian Xi, I'm out of grilled skewers over here. Could you bring me some more?"

"All right, Lord Xuan Ji. Please wait a moment..." Lian Xi replied sweetly. After placing the freshly grilled skewers onto a tray, she walked toward them with light, lotus-like steps.

"Here, Lord Xuan Ji..." Lian Xi handed a handful to Xuan Ji. "These are Lord Gus's, and the rest are Lord Andre's..." The type and number of skewers in everyone's hands were exactly the same, neither too many nor too few. She was exceedingly thoughtful.

"Lian Xi is getting more and more amazing. If there ever came a day when I couldn't eat Lian Xi's cooking, I'd be miserable to death~"

"It's not like that, Lord Xuan Ji..." Lian Xi's cheeks warmed from the praise. "Please eat first, my lords. Call me again when you've finished~"

"...I've noticed you're getting more and more shameless!" Gus quietly mocked as he watched Lian Xi's retreating figure.

"Even eating can't shut your mouth. Look at Andre—he's already perfectly grasped the essence of what His Highness said: don't talk while eating!"

At that, Gus shifted his gaze to the burly man beside him, and his brow twitched. Other people savored grilled skewers bit by bit, but Andre simply stripped all the meat from the skewer at once, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole without even chewing.

His cold, aloof eyes seemed unfocused, the depths of them filled with calm. His icy arrogance carried a faint air of idiocy.

"Ah~" Gus sighed helplessly. When it came to Andre, he had nothing but speechlessness.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

A tremendous roaring sound suddenly came from the distant sky. Everyone looked up, and the tiny black dot slowly grew larger. Soon, Hua Zhen's figure appeared before their eyes.

The pair of white wings behind his back beat continuously, leaving circles of cone-shaped sonic booms in his wake. Eight years had brought great changes to Hua Zhen. The youthful immaturity had completely faded from him, replaced by the brightness and maturity of an adult man.

His wild golden fringe, sharp slanting brows, narrow black eyes that held a piercing edge like an eagle in the night, thin pursed lips, sharply defined features, and tall, lean yet not rugged build gave him a cold, proud solitude and an overbearing presence. His entire body radiated an imposing strength that looked down upon heaven and earth.

"Uh... what's wrong with His Highness?" Gus asked Xuan Ji with a puzzled expression, sensing that something was off about Hua Zhen.

"So serious... could he be dissatisfied after the Gene Upgrade?" Xuan Ji said indistinctly through a mouthful of grilled skewer.

"..." Andre.

"Whoosh!"

More than a thousand meters above the picnic site, Hua Zhen abruptly halted. Under Gus and the others' puzzled gazes, he assumed a horse stance in midair, clenched his fists, and drew them to his waist. At the same time, threads of golden energy began spilling from his body.

"Th-this is..." Gus looked at Xuan Ji.

"After absorbing Dark Energy, it undergoes simple processing and conversion! Emmm... His Highness calls this special effects~" Xuan Ji explained, brushing back his hair.

"Special effects?"

"Haaah~~~"

At that moment, Hua Zhen changed again. Electric arcs flashed around his body with crackling pops, like torrential rain striking the ground or butter boiling in a pan. His expression was twisted as though he were constipated.

"...Holy shit, he's actually shooting electricity. Is this some new technique you developed with His Highness?" Gus asked with wide eyes.

"Uh... this..." Xuan Ji wiped away a cold sweat and forced out an explanation. "Dark... Dark Energy disrupts the flow of the surrounding air. Friction and collision create charged particles, and once the voltage exceeds the air's tolerance, it ionizes the air and turns it conductive, which produces electric arcs... No, I already told His Highness, this doesn't have any offensive effect..."

"Hey, do you think His Highness might have eaten something bad?"

"Impossible. His Highness has already upgraded his genes..."

"Haah! Super Saiyan transformation!!"

Xuan Ji jumped at Hua Zhen's roar and looked up. Golden energy surged around his prince like a rising tide, and his hair stood upright against the airflow. But that was not all.

His hands moved rapidly, almost turning into afterimages. Light spheres transformed from Dark Energy were continuously manifested and fired, while he kept shouting, "Ora ora ora..."

The once tranquil Chiba Lake instantly became turbulent. Earth and stones flew while water splashed everywhere. After that bout of chaos, Hua Zhen suddenly stopped, clasped his hands together at his waist, and snorted coldly. "Kamehameha!"

In an instant, he fiercely launched a light sphere even larger than the previous ones. When it struck the surface of the water, it exploded with a tremendous boom. A water column mixed with sediment from the lakebed surged more than ten meters high, terrifying in its force, as though mountains had collapsed and the waters flowed backward.

"..."

"..."

Seeing this, Gus stood with his mouth wide open, utterly dumbfounded. Xuan Ji tilted his head up toward the sky, not even noticing that the skewer in his hand had fallen. Lian Xi clasped both hands before her chest, her beautiful eyes sparkling like stars. Only Andre remained the calmest... After watching for a while, he picked up Xuan Ji's fallen skewer and began stuffing his mouth again.

Regardless of how they reacted, Hua Zhen felt incomparably exhilarated. As a Dragon Ball fan since childhood, he had long wanted to fire off a Kamehameha. Wiping the splashed water droplets from his face, he wore an intoxicated expression.

"Wow~ That felt incredible!"