Shen Binghua x Cheng Rui: A Side Story

Li Yang didn't want to fill it up.

One of the forty-nine of the Heavenly Evolution is missing.

This less than 1% represents both uncertainty and potential.

It's a glimmer of hope!

Chapter 260 Extra: Shen Binghua X Cheng Rui

Shen Binghua and Cheng Rui are classmates.

Both were representatives of the new students, but their backgrounds were worlds apart.

Shen Binghua was born into the Shen Family, a prominent family whose Heavenly Chosen had been the focus of attention since his early education.

She possesses exceptional talent, is Heavenly Fortune Bearer of the Star Magic Department, and has an ancestor who aspires to the Supreme... Her background and status are unparalleled even in the capital city Central Capital aristocratic families abound.

Cheng Rui, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of her.

Cheng Rui came from another province. Although the Cheng Family also had Star Wielders, their influence was nowhere near that of the Shen Family.

Cheng Rui displayed astonishing talent during the physical fitness test, and then shone brightly in the unified examination, successfully entering Zhongdu Military Academy as the top scorer in the province.

One was Heavenly Chosen from a prestigious family, the other a peasant from another province...

Logically speaking, they shouldn't have any interaction.

But they all became representatives of this year's freshmen.

Being scheduled together for a series of events, it's hard not to see each other.

Shen Binghua has a cold and aloof personality, and treats everyone the same—with a blank expression.

Cheng Rui was a warm-hearted person and took the initiative to chat with her, but Shen Binghua didn't even bother with pleasantries and turned away as if she hadn't heard him.

Cheng Rui: "..."

He noticed Shen Binghua on the first day of school.

Shen Binghua wore the uniform of the Star Magic Department. She was tall and slender, with a snow-white and cold face. Especially when her eyelashes were lowered, it seemed as if she was saying silently, "Everyone here is trash."

Cheng Rui felt a surge of resentment, yet he couldn't help being drawn in.

Therefore, he Central Capital tried his best to perform well in every activity and strive for perfection.

The teachers all praised him highly, and he also felt that he was quite outstanding, so he took the initiative to approach Shen Binghua and wanted to become friends with her.

Result...

She still treated him like trash.

Cheng Rui was furious.

He had a new goal: to defeat Shen Binghua and to take first place in the freshman monthly exam!

Cheng Rui began cultivating fervently and did indeed make some progress.

However, the Nature Department training system has always advocated following the natural course of things, and forcibly improving in this way will backfire.

In the first monthly exam, Cheng Rui swept through the competition and eventually faced Shen Binghua in the final.

Cheng Rui was confident that he could defeat her, and that way she would definitely see him.

However, this contest became a humiliation that Cheng Rui would remember for the rest of his life.

He had thought he was on par with Shen Binghua, but in reality, they were far apart.

Shen Binghua held Growth-Type Divine Weapon in his hand, and a bright blue light carrying frost rushed towards him, instantly Ice Seal him in place, unable to move at all.

Shen Binghua said calmly, "Do you want to continue the competition?"

Cheng Rui couldn't make a sound.

The referee announced loudly, "Shen Binghua wins!"

The ice dissipated, Cheng Rui, his face deathly pale, stammered, "I..."

His voice was so faint it was drowned out by the cheering crowd.

Shen Binghua didn't even glance at him before turning and leaving the venue.

By the time Cheng Rui came to his senses, he had already been dragged back to the Nature Department by his senior sister.

Nature Department have farm work to do every day.

But today he was in no mood for anything, and looking at the hard, mutated wheat, he felt utterly dejected.

Why is there such a big difference?

Why was he defeated in one hit?

What happened to the Nature Department being the strongest department?!

At this time, Cheng Rui was young and impetuous, and did not yet have a deep attachment to the Nature Department.

After losing the monthly exam, his first thought was, "I want to change my major!"

The dean of the Nature Department is a rotating position. Those of the Sixth Grade or above from the Nature Pavilion will regularly serve as dean for several decades.

This year's dean happens to be in Si Yue.

Upon hearing this, Si Yue smiled and asked, "Why do you want to change your major?"

Cheng Rui stammered, "That... it's..."

Si Yue: "Don't blame the department if you're bad at it."

Cheng Rui: "!"

He blushed deeply and, before Si Yue could say anything more, hurriedly said, "Senior Sister, please pretend I farted!"

Si Yue: "No, even a fart makes a sound." The implication was that it was even less than a fart.

Cheng Rui was about to cry.

Si Yue, still smiling, added, "Giving up so easily means you didn't really want to win."

"I think!"

"Then let's continue."

"Can..."

"If you want to win, there are no 'buts.' Of course," Si Yue added, changing the subject, "You don't have to win. Being second is fine too; you're already very good."

Her last words were spoken softly, imbued with a touch of spiritual power, which effectively soothed Cheng Rui's emotions.

Cheng Rui's demeanor was noticeably better, and he said firmly, "Senior sister is right. What's a mere one-month exam? There are midterms, finals... and many, many more exams to come!"

In Si Yue, she poured cold water on his enthusiasm again. "Then you'd better hurry up. With Shen Binghua's aptitude, he'll probably graduate by the time of the final exams."

Cheng Rui: "!!!"

He wasted no more time and went back to his secluded cultivation.

At this time, Cheng Rui was still very naive and unaware of the gap between himself and the aristocratic families.

For example, he could afford the practice room at school, but he didn't know that the Shen Family also had a dedicated practice room.

In that training room, time flowed differently from the outside world, and Shen Binghua, who was already highly talented, was exceptionally hardworking.

Cheng Rui's idea of catching up with her while he was still in school was nothing short of a pipe dream.

However, Cheng Rui demonstrated remarkable resilience.

Failed the monthly exam, failed the midterm exam, and failed the monthly exam again...

In Si Yue, everyone thought the young man was going to cry again, but to their surprise, he became even more determined and motivated.

As mentioned in Si Yue, Shen Binghua will be promoted to the Third Grade by the end of the year.

By then, she should be graduating.

In Si Yue, she told Cheng Rui the news.

Cheng Rui said with a determined look in his eyes, "It's alright, I'll be able to go to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace in at most a month."

Si Yue smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Keep it up, you can do it."

Cheng Rui's eyes lit up as he looked at Si Yue and asked earnestly, "Senior sister, can I really do it? Don't try to fool me."

Si Yue chuckled and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way. As long as you persevere, you'll naturally beat her."

She had long ago discerned Cheng Rui's feelings for Shen Binghua.

After all, she's only seventeen or eighteen years old. If she didn't have these thoughts in mind, she wouldn't be so persistent.

In Si Yue, she vaguely felt that Cheng Rui could never beat Shen Binghua, probably because he had too many distracting thoughts.

At the same time, Shen Binghua was always able to easily defeat Cheng Rui because she genuinely had no such intentions.

Thinking about it this way, Si Yue felt a little sorry for her junior brother.

The falling flowers are full of affection, but the flowing water is heartless... Junior brother, your journey is still long.

Undoubtedly, the final exams ended in failure, but Cheng Rui did indeed soon head to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace.

After arriving at the Huaxia Heavenly Palace, he felt the power of the Nature Department more and more clearly.

Huaxia Heavenly Palace often arranges collaborative tasks, and every student in the Department of the Nature Department is a team leader.

After Cheng Rui arrived at the Huaxia Heavenly Palace, he finally met the legendary senior sister, Si Kui, for the first time.

At that time, Si Kui had just finished wiping out a beast tide.

She stood bathed in blood, the divine weapon in her hand shining as brightly as the Sun.

The corpses of the Star Beast outside the city piled up like mountains, forming the most magnificent backdrop and highlighting the radiant light of the Huaxia Sun.

Cheng Rui clenched his fist and said firmly, "I can do it! I definitely can!"

He began training with even greater dedication and diligently completed various trial tasks.

Without the school's assessments, Cheng Rui lost the opportunity to challenge Shen Binghua.

He mustered his courage and wrote a letter to Shen Binghua. The letter was very serious, but the core message was in the last sentence. "Can you fight me?"

Unsurprisingly, the letter disappeared without a trace.

Cheng Rui was not discouraged. He felt that he still couldn't defeat her, so it would be good to train for a while longer.

Two or three months passed in this busy routine until Cheng Rui discovered a summons at the Heavenly Palace mission office.

The person who issued the task is -- Shen Binghua.

Cheng Rui accepted the task without hesitation.

This is an exploration mission; they will infiltrate a desolate Realm Domain in search of a crucial material.

Shen Binghua gathered four people. Although the other three were also at the Third Grade Realm, they were experienced Star Wielders with rich experience.

Only Cheng Rui was the same age as her.

Cheng Rui hadn't seen Shen Binghua for a long time, and upon seeing him again... he still felt a pang of heartache.

She's really beautiful.

It was as beautiful as the bright glow of dawn he saw when he was a child climbing a snow-capped mountain.

Cheng Rui was quite nervous and couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Shen Binghua didn't say anything to him. She simply explained the process of the task and the specific division of labor to everyone.

As we were preparing to depart, a rather lively senior member of the group asked, "Are you all in the same grade? Don't you know each other?"

Cheng Rui didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure if Shen Binghua could be considered to know him, since their interactions consisted mainly of various tests and him being "killed in one strike."

Shen Binghua: "I know him."

Cheng Rui: "!"

The teammate chuckled and said, "Why do you guys seem so unfamiliar with each other?"

This time, Shen Binghua remained silent, so Cheng Rui quickly said, "We're just acquaintances, we haven't had much contact, so..."

He kept a close eye on Shen Binghua's expression, afraid that he might have said something inappropriate.