Duel

In Chen Rui's mind, fragments of memory began to surface and intertwine. Most were incomplete and hazy, yet they all shared one feature: eyes.

Blue eyes, beautiful as the ocean, their profound gentleness tinged with faint sorrow.

In a daze, all the fragments began to overlap, converging into a blurred scene: a warm hand gently brushed across the boy's face, then slowly turned and walked away. The receding figure grew ever hazier through the boy's tears.

This was the deepest image left within Arthur's subconscious—or perhaps an obsession. Even Chen Rui's main consciousness, having already merged with the memory fragments, could not erase that powerful fixation.

Chen Rui took a deep breath and finally suppressed the violent swell of emotion. Frowning, he asked Diego beside him, "Who is that woman seated in the second row to His Majesty's left?"

"Second row on the left?" Diego squinted for a long while, unable to make anything out. Unwilling to show weakness, he deliberately said, "Oh, her? Don't get any ideas. A woman seated in a position like that is far beyond the reach of a small fry like you."

Like hell I'm coveting her. If I revealed that prince's identity, your sister would probably be coveting me instead. Before Chen Rui could ask further, Paul in the arena spoke.

Paul first bowed toward Emperor Rex in the VIP section, then drew a breath and raised his voice. "Your Majesty Rex, Your Highnesses, my lords, distinguished guests."

Paul's power-laden voice drowned out the entire venue, and the noisy arena gradually fell silent.

"My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting. You must all be wondering why my opponent, Samuel Camplott, has yet to appear."

Paul's words stirred a wave of whispers. Clearly, everyone was speculating about the reason. By all rights, the challenger Samuel