Making the Best of a Mistake! A Beautiful Misunderstanding

Shea's concerns were not without reason. If Chen Rui were truly leaning toward Prince Heiyao, not only would the truth behind today's challenge be exposed, but the inherited power of the Grandmaster would give Heiyao wings, making it even more impossible for Darkmoon City to contend with him.

She had originally intended to use this as a way to pressure and warn Chen Rui, but as she spoke, she grew uncertain herself, and her murderous intent gradually thickened. Judging by the incident where Prince Heiyao sent Sandru, the current situation was already dire and allowed for not even the slightest negligence. Just as her father had once taught her: if someone cannot be used by me, they must not be used by the enemy!

Chen Rui could never have dreamed that things would evolve into this, and he shouted, "Wait! If I wanted to betray you, why didn't I leave with those people from the Imperial Capital?"

"Perhaps you received some kind of promise and wanted to stay behind as an inside agent."

This logic was too intense; both the older and younger sisters were this ruthless! Seeing that murderous aura growing increasingly frigid, Chen Rui hurriedly defended himself, "With my status as the successor to the Grandmaster, I would certainly be highly valued by Prince Heiyao if I went to the Imperial Capital! Why would I still stay here to act as an inside agent?"

Shea sneered, "Indeed, since that is the case, why are you still staying?"

Chen Rui was momentarily speechless. According to this logic, if he had seen the situation clearly and still stayed, what was he if not a fool?

Could it be that he really had to tell the whole truth? That might lead to an even more miserable death, and everyone, including Pagliu, would be finished.

"That's right, in this situation, why would I still stay?" Chen Rui dragged out the time while desperately searching for an excuse, "Your Highness, don't you find it strange?"

This tension could not be hidden from the sharp gaze of the ice-cold lady, and Shea became even more convinced that there was something wrong with him. The boiling water in the pond rose higher and higher, faintly revealing the shape of a giant beast. The pressure Chen Rui felt grew increasingly heavy; if she struck now, it would surely be a world-shaking killing blow. Even without considering that he lacked the protection of the Grandmaster's inherited power, even if he had it, he would likely be dead.

Super System, damn this delay! Unscrupulous Space-Time Administration!

"Your Highness! Don't force me!" Chen Rui knew this was a life-or-death moment and used all his strength to roar, "There is something I never wanted to say, but now I have no choice but to lay it out!"

Thinking it over, he could only use Alice's "poisoning" as a threat. However, if he did that, the Poison Dragon would be exposed, and given the Poison Dragon's current predicament of being sealed, the result might be even worse. But if he didn't say it, he would die immediately.

Sure enough, the giant beast stopped in mid-air, poised but not striking. Chen Rui took out the small leather bag and said loudly, "First, I must clarify one thing: Master Kamp was indeed trying to win me over today, and even invited me to return to the Imperial Capital with him, all for the sake of the formula that poisoned Sandru. Although that formula was fake, the Grandmaster's inheritance is real. I could have gone, but I didn't!"

"I swear, I have absolutely not betrayed Your Highness! And I will absolutely not leave Darkmoon City!"

This resolute tone moved Shea, and she began to truly ponder. If this was the case, what was the purpose of this human staying? With the intelligence he displayed in the Master Challenge, why would he do such a foolish thing?

"The next thing, if I lay it all out, Your Highness might hate me to the bone." Chen Rui felt the pressure around him lessen, though he guessed it would be more violent later. He secretly gave a bitter smile, trying to make his wording as tactful as possible: "This kind of thing is like... like certain feelings; they just come, and you simply can't control them... It all started back when I..."

Shea seemed to have thought of something, and her gaze became increasingly strange. Just as Chen Rui gritted his teeth, preparing to speak of the incident at Blue Wave Lake, she suddenly spoke: "Wait! You are not allowed to say it!"

The bone-chilling murderous aura around them suddenly vanished without a trace, the water surface gradually calmed down, and the moonlight returned to its pale purple coldness.

Shea's sudden change in attitude was far beyond Chen Rui's expectations: "Your Highness..."

Shea showed a hint of annoyance: "Don't say it! Never have such delusions again."

Delusions? It was clearly a threat, but strangely, the threat hadn't even been spoken yet?

This sudden turn of events left Chen Rui's brain unable to keep up. "This..."

"Chen Rui, listen to me," Shea's breathing gradually steadied, and she said calmly, "It was my fault for misunderstanding you today, and I offer you my most sincere apologies. I promised that when you achieve a certain level of success, I will bestow Jia upon you. As for me... and you, it is impossible. If you stayed for this reason, I am very sorry."

Hearing the last sentence, Chen Rui thought of his loss of composure when he first met Shea, as well as the Dark Elf's meaningful advice when he left the palace, and finally understood what Shea had misunderstood.

A wonderful misunderstanding!

It came just in time!

Thanks to the powerful deduction skills of the Lucifer family! Otherwise, he would have been finished!

Since that was the case, he certainly couldn't be foolish enough to bring up the threat again. The best method now was to let the mistake continue, further solidifying the impression of an admirer in her heart to avoid further suspicion.

Chen Rui secretly felt lucky, his face showing a heavy expression: "The one who should be saying sorry is me. I am just a human, a weakling without any power, yet I have brought such trouble to Your Highness. Today, I wasn't certain about the final Soul-Eater Poison on Sandru; the Grandmaster's divine sense is not omnipotent. I once thought I might die... but at that moment, I suddenly felt that the furthest distance in the world is not the distance between life and death. It is that I am standing in front of you, yet you do not know that I am..."

"Don't say another word!" The coldness in Shea's eyes intensified: "I will only say this once. If you dare to say such things again, you die! If you dare to have such thoughts again, you die! If today's words are leaked, you die!"

Shea spoke with murderous intent, but compared to the true killing intent from before, it was merely a show of bravado. Chen Rui could feel that her heart was a bit chaotic. His goal had been achieved, so he naturally wouldn't touch Shea's bottom line again.

Shea's icy gaze gradually became lonely, and her cold voice came: "You may go, before I change my mind."

Chen Rui, who had been observing her expressions, breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had finally passed the test. In his heart, however, he cursed the designer of that Super System: The furthest distance in the world is not that I am standing in front of the ice-cold lady and she doesn't know I like her, but that there are still seven or eight hours until that damn Super System activates!

Once he crossed that distance, hmph, when the Super System erupted, he would wear his underwear on the outside, fly through the sky and burrow into the earth; no matter how mighty the ice-cold lady was, she would have to kneel and sing "Conquer."

"Whether you continue to stay in Darkmoon City or leave in the future, decide for yourself. I don't intend to stop you anymore."

Shea's voice made Chen Rui's footsteps pause. When he looked back, Shea had already turned her back to him, facing the pond. That silhouette was still graceful, but it felt more like she was solitary and alone. Chen Rui was suddenly dazed; it turned out that behind that strength was a profound loneliness.

"I'll stay." Chen Rui took a deep breath and said it softly, not knowing if he was answering her or reminding himself, and then he walked out.

Shea stared at the water surface without moving, just as she had when he first arrived, still desolate, still lonely as before.

Just after returning to the laboratory, the Dark Elf Master who had stolen the show today gave him a fierce scolding. Thinking of the scene where he performed the poison gas technique under the gaze of millions of eyes, Aldas couldn't help but want to poison this guy who came up with the bad idea. The problem was that even Sandru's poison couldn't do anything to Chen Rui, so this impulse could only rot in his heart.

However, the embarrassed and angry Dark Elf was much easier to deal with than Shea. Chen Rui didn't use much effort to explain the cause of Sandru's death. Although Aldas was indignant about the human's bad idea, he was more grateful for him killing Sandru. The only regret was that there wasn't a drop of that Soul-Eater Poison left to study.

At night, Chen Rui still couldn't sleep, instead waiting for the activation of that Super System.

Time passed minute by minute. Just as Chen Rui's eyelids grew heavy and he couldn't help but doze off, a "ding" notification finally came into his mind.

(Refining Spirit to Return to Void! Nascent Soul complete! Immortal Sword unsheathed, ten thousand swords return to the sect! Prince Heiyao, dead. Blood Fiend and Shadow Empire, destroyed. Ice-cold lady, loli, enchantress, and violent woman all included in the harem! Unify the Demon Realm, none dare disobey. The above plot is purely fantasy; any resemblance is absolutely impossible.)

The real situation was—"Super System has been activated, do you wish to enter?"

Chen Rui's sleepiness vanished instantly, and he immediately confirmed: "Yes."

As soon as the words fell, a "boom" sounded in Chen Rui's mind, and a strange scene appeared.

There was no sky, no earth, just a gray expanse everywhere. Chen Rui's consciousness floated inside for a while, feeling that this was an endless three-dimensional space, devoid of life, devoid of vitality, and filled with a strange, deathly silence.

Was this the long-awaited Super System?

A prompt sounded: Initial spiritual energy 100 obtained, meets the requirements to activate the Star God Temple, do you wish to activate?

Star God Temple? The name seemed decent enough. Chen Rui confirmed it with high hopes: "Yes!"

The surrounding scene shifted once more, and Chen Rui found himself standing before a grand hall. The architecture of this hall was archaic, shimmering with starlike radiance amidst ethereal mists, exuding a mysterious and fantastical aura.

The hall appeared to be suspended within that space; looking down from the steps, one had the marvelous sensation of overlooking the entire realm.

Just as Chen Rui thought about going inside the Star God Temple to take a look, he was instantly transported into the hall. It seemed the Super System's "controls" were very user-friendly—no keyboards, mice, or helmets required, just a simple thought.

The interior of the hall was unimaginably vast, with massive relief-carved pillars and perfectly aligned square floor tiles that gave it a magnificent and imposing air. However, the entire hall was empty, containing nothing but a primitive throne in the very center.

Chen Rui walked over to the throne and sat down, feeling as though the hall had become transparent, allowing him a clear, panoramic view of the space outside.

At this moment, light flickered, and two glowing, ultra-thin screens materialized before his eyes.