Chen Rui watched Athena land safely and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over and frowned. "That was too dangerous just now. Even if it was only a demonstration, you didn't have to go that far."
Seeing how worried he looked, Athena suddenly felt a little happy. She smiled. "What are you afraid of? Come on up and give it a try. I'll teach you. This Horned Wing Beast has a long back; it can carry two people without a problem."
From the ground, Chen Rui had watched Athena soar through the sky on the Horned Wing Beast with ease and grace. He'd assumed it couldn't be that difficult, so he asked her about a few of the basics and prepared to begin his first real flight.
Who knew that he'd only discover the truth after trying it himself? Theory and practice were completely different. After finally getting the Horned Wing Beast to crouch obediently, he climbed on. The beast stood and began to run, and the speed felt far greater when experienced firsthand than it had from the sidelines. Overly nervous, Chen Rui tightened his grip on its feathers, then pulled two handfuls right out. He lost his balance and toppled backward.
Athena wasn't sitting very close behind him; she'd kept a little distance. She hadn't expected this turn of events and couldn't dodge in time as he crashed straight into her arms. Instinctively, she braced herself with one hand to keep their balance and stop them both from falling.
Athena was dressed in a short robe that day, without her leather armor or the greatsword she usually carried. Chen Rui felt his head bump between two high, soft, warm mounds. A faint feminine fragrance reached his nose, and his mind instantly felt as if it were rushing with blood. Athena was stunned, too. The Horned Wing Beast had no idea what was going on. Its feathers had been yanked out, and the pain made it run faster and faster.
The beast was moving so quickly, and its momentum was so strong, that Chen Rui had no time to explain. He could only brace his head between those two mounds to keep his balance while desperately clutching at anything that might stop him from falling. At last, the Horned Wing Beast took to the sky.
The hapless rookie flyer had only just recovered when Athena's gritted voice came from behind him. "You idiot, what do you think you're doing? Let go!"
Chen Rui finally realized that his head was still pressed between her ample breasts, and one of his hands was gripping her remarkably firm thigh. Athena's face was bright red. She had never been touched so intimately by a man before—not to mention having him bury his head there! Even with the wind whipping around them at such an altitude, the warmth and scent of a man still sent a strange shiver through the usually carefree swordswoman.
Chen Rui could've cried. This was absolutely an accident! I really didn't mean to!
He truly had no lecherous intentions toward Athena. But with them in such an intimate position, and the sensations so intense, it was impossible to say he hadn't reacted at all—unless he was less than an animal...
"I'm sorry!" Chen Rui said, but he didn't dare let go, afraid he'd lose his balance and fall. He could only slowly shift his head, not realizing that it only made Athena react more strongly. He could clearly feel the pounding of her heart behind those proud curves, and his own heartbeat began to speed up as well.
"You idiot!" Athena's face was red enough to drip blood. They were in midair, and she was afraid he might fall, so she supported their weight with one hand while slowly freeing the other. She carefully pushed his back forward, and at last he moved away from that dangerous spot.
Back in a normal position, Chen Rui was mortified. He hadn't meant to do it, but the intoxicating feeling from a moment ago was impossible to forget. He was about to apologize again when Athena snapped, "Enough! We're in the air! If you don't want to die, learn to fly first!"
Chen Rui forced the memory of those two soft, warm mounds from his mind and focused on learning to control the Horned Wing Beast. As a novice, he couldn't get his commands to match the beast's responses, and it never performed the movements he wanted. Just as he was getting frustrated, he suddenly remembered: the accident had happened so suddenly that he'd forgotten to use Analytical Eye!
Chen Rui immediately activated Analytical Eye and leaned close to the Horned Wing Beast's ear to communicate with it. The beast wasn't very intelligent, but after he promised it all sorts of food, it quickly accepted him.
Athena's embarrassment and anger gradually gave way to astonishment. In such a short time, Chen Rui, who had been so clumsy just moments before, could already control the Horned Wing Beast with relative ease! She put the earlier incident aside and focused on emphasizing the basics and correcting his mistakes.
After flying several circles, the Horned Wing Beast landed smoothly at Chen Rui's command.
Chen Rui noticed that Analytical Eye rated Athena's overall strength as E, the same as his own. Clearly, she was no match for Joseph. Athena had told him she'd reached the peak of the Mid-tier Demon level. Judging by Pagliu's assessment, the Gang Realm was probably equivalent to the Mid-tier Demon level. But even among Mid-tier Demons, there were considerable differences in strength. At least for now, he was nowhere near Athena's equal.
Seeing that Chen Rui no longer needed her to accompany him, Athena suggested that he try riding alone. Taking his previous lesson to heart and communicating well with the Horned Wing Beast, Chen Rui finally managed to take the beast into the sky by himself.
Excited, he flew the Horned Wing Beast through the air, looking down at the scenery below. He almost felt like singing at the top of his lungs. Now that he tried the flight techniques Athena had taught him, they came naturally.
Athena watched Chen Rui control the Horned Wing Beast high above, performing one maneuver after another with the ease of a veteran. She could hardly believe her eyes.
Had this guy been pretending from the start? Had he deliberately wanted to take advantage of her? But from the way he was flying now, he'd clearly been adapting and improving step by step, correcting the common mistakes she'd pointed out. It seemed the human really had been flying for the first time. But his ability to learn and adapt... was terrifying!
Even more unbelievable was the hardest part of beast-riding: communication. Yet Chen Rui had no trouble with it at all. Man and beast seemed like longtime partners, growing ever more in sync until they seemed to reach the "beast and rider as one" state that only expert beast riders could achieve.
"That guy..." Athena rubbed her chest, which still felt a little strange. Her heart was beating a little fast, and her face grew warm.
Chen Rui had his fill of flying and finally began to descend. Athena walked over and looked him up and down before nodding. "I have to admit, you have far more talent for beast-riding than I do. There's no problem with you competing. But you've only learned the basics of flying. The real test is in actual combat. Unfortunately, it's almost dark, so there's no time for more training. In any case, even though you've already made a thorough plan, you mustn't let your guard down tomorrow."
Although the swordswoman kept her face stern and spoke coldly, Chen Rui could hear the concern in her words. Feeling a little guilty, he took out two sugar pills. "By the way, these are the antidote I got from the Poison Dragon today. They'll work for three months, so you won't have to go every seven days anymore. The little princess has already taken hers. You should take one, then give the other to Jia. I'll find a way to cure the poison completely as soon as I can."
He obviously couldn't have Athena accompany him on his future training trips, so he'd extended the "antidote's" effects to avoid any trouble.
Athena wasn't just his friend. She was also the daughter of the First General of the Empire, Alice's best friend, and someone the Eldest Princess valued. Keeping his ally in the Symbiotic Contract from being threatened with death also meant protecting his own life. He could only keep up this little lie.
Unless... he really did "get his hands on her," as Pagliu had schemed. But Chen Rui had already decided to abandon that plan. He'd never wanted to deceive Athena in the first place, and now that he had gained power, he should be able to travel to the Gloomy Night Wetland on his own in the future, without treating her as someone to use.
Besides, it was only natural that Chen Rui would be attracted to Athena. She was beautiful, cheerful, generous, and warmhearted. But he didn't have the energy to spare for that just then. As for the little lie about her being poisoned, he'd confess and ask her forgiveness once Pagliu broke the Lock of Light and Darkness.
Seeing Athena silently accept the sugar pills, Chen Rui realized she still hadn't calmed down. He hurried to apologize. "About what happened just now..."
Just then, the Analytical Eye status that still lingered in his vision suddenly changed. Athena's strength, which had been E, instantly rose to D. Chen Rui was startled. Athena's skin had turned light red, and the faint outline of horns appeared on her head. Before he could react, she used a move like a back suplex to throw him flat on his back.
Chen Rui was startled, but Athena controlled her strength with remarkable precision. Though the move looked fierce and swift, she merely lowered him gently to the ground without injuring his head or neck.
Then something unexpected happened.
Athena sprang into the air with her back to Chen Rui. As she came down, her head and back landed squarely on his chest. Fortunately, she'd already returned to her usual state; otherwise, the two curved horns on her head would have caused him serious harm. Even so, someone's chest felt so tight he could barely breathe. In the end, he managed not to use Star Power.
Athena pounded the back of her head against Chen Rui's chest, then angrily reached out and felt his thigh a few times—or, more accurately, pinched it hard a few times. Then she jumped to her feet, clapped her hands vigorously, and said viciously, "There! Now we're even! You are absolutely not to tell Alice about what happened today, or anyone else! Otherwise, I won't let you off!"
Chen Rui stared dumbfounded as Athena led the Horned Wing Beast away with swaggering strides, forgetting to get up for a moment. That was too fierce! She actually did that...
He'd thought Athena was getting easier and easier to get along with. He hadn't expected...
Had the little princess's dark aura made him overlook Athena's "strength" all this time? Like Pippen hidden beside Michael Jordan? No, that comparison was way off. Maybe Yang Paifeng beside Mu Guiying? That didn't work either; it was a stretch... Chen Rui's thoughts were in chaos. He breathed in the faint fragrance lingering on his chest, and his mind wandered uncontrollably. The only sensation he could still clearly recall was the softness and remarkable springiness of those warm mounds in midair.
In fact, Chen Rui didn't know that when Athena turned to leave, the tips of her ears had turned completely red.
If anyone had been standing across from her, they wouldn't have believed that the blushing girl before them was Athena, the fearsome female demon renowned throughout Darkmoon City.
"No! The man I, Athena, like has to be stronger than me!" Athena kept reminding herself, her cheeks still burning.
Before you continue