Side story: Shen Binghua x Cheng Rui (continued)

Cheng Rui's teammates sensed his nervousness and laughed, "We still need to get to know each other a bit more so we can fight side by side better."

Cheng Rui shouldn't do that.

He had expected Shen Binghua to be aloof from getting close to people, but to his surprise, she said, "I've reserved a table at 'Late Night,' let's go."

Cheng Rui asked in surprise, "You can drink?"

Shen Binghua tilted his head to look at him. "You don't know how?"

"I..."

"If you find drinking boring, we can try something else..."

"Interesting! Very interesting!" Cheng Rui's eyes shone like stars when he said this.

He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to know Shen Binghua very well.

Although he longed to defeat her every day and knew all about her abilities, his understanding of her as a person seemed to be only superficial.

She is the Heavenly Chosen of the Shen Family, a figure of great renown, and the inheritor of the Star Magic Department...

But beneath that icy, snow-white face, there seems to be another side to her.

Cheng Rui was filled with anticipation, but he never expected that the Naonao "Late Night" could turn into a "frozen wasteland."

They went out for drinks together, originally intending to get to know each other better, but Shen Binghua remained as cold as ice, drinking one glass after another without any change in expression.

Does she like to drink?

Cheng Rui didn't know.

She can drink a lot without getting drunk, which has certainly impressed everyone!

Moreover, her way of drinking is quite unique.

Everyone else comes to "Late Night" to socialize, but she's the only one who's really there to drink.

However, it also brought them closer together. This seemingly aloof and cold Heavenly Chosen of the Shen Family didn't seem to be as unapproachable as they had imagined.

Even more outrageous, of the people who came out "Late Night," all of them except Shen Binghua were completely drunk.

Cheng Rui was also drunk; he even started acting out.

"I'll tell you all a secret..." he said mysteriously.

Everyone was already tipsy and shouted, "Quick, quick, we love to hear secrets!"

He said it was a secret, but Cheng Rui's loud voice made it sound like everyone in "Late Night" could hear him.

He said, "Actually, my name isn't Cheng Rui."

Everyone: "???"

Cheng Rui shouted mysteriously, "My real name is... Eternal Second Place!"

The crowd burst into laughter, and even strangers came over to join in the commotion, asking what was going on.

Cheng Rui turned to look at Shen Binghua and said quietly, "I've been challenging her since the day I enrolled. But! I haven't won even once, not even once!"

Everyone then understood why he had called himself the eternal runner-up, and they laughed even harder.

By this time, Cheng Rui was completely drunk. He didn't know what happened afterward, only that he woke up with a splitting headache and a few fragmented images flashing through his mind.

"Damn it, am I an idiot?!" Cheng Rui's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But soon, another image popped into my mind.

In the midst of the chaos of the "Late Night," amidst the bustling scene, Shen Binghua, sitting aloof, seemed out of place.

Everyone was laughing, but she only slightly curved the corners of her mouth, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.

Cheng Rui: "!"

His heart was pounding, but he quickly pounded his head, muttering, "I must have drunk too much... I must have seen wrong... her..."

Cheng Rui had never seen Shen Binghua smile.

Her smile was like a radiant glow filling the sky, instantly melting even the coldest icebergs.

Two days later, they regrouped, preparing to explore that unknown, desolate Realm Domain.

This expedition was a turning point.

Even centuries later, Cheng Rui still remembers it vividly.

It was from this point that Cheng Rui found his true path.

He was highly talented and one of the best among his cohort of Star Wielders.

Furthermore, since he took Shen Binghua as his role model, he always regarded "fighting" as his path of cultivation.

It wasn't until this adventure that he suddenly realized that combat wasn't what he was best suited for.

Shen Binghua possesses extraordinary combat prowess, but he has a fatal weakness.

Her Star Skill are very strong, but she will be put on the defensive if she encounters someone she cannot kill in one hit.

Just like in this mission, Shen Binghua's Ice and Snow Smash instantly killed a group of Star Beast that surrounded him.

This amazed everyone.

But unexpected changes can occur.

When the second wave of ferocious beasts rushed out, Shen Binghua didn't even have the strength to move his body.

Cheng Rui reacted quickly, rushing in front of her to meet the second wave of ferocious beasts. Their teammates also rushed over and worked together to kill this group of Star Beast.

Immediately following, another wave of Star Beast attacked, Shen Binghua stepped forward once again, instantly killing them with a single blow.

But this time, there was one type that was extremely fast, and it arrived in front of Shen Binghua in an instant.

Upon witnessing this scene, Cheng Rui's heart nearly leaped out of his throat.

Shen Binghua's cultivation method was too extreme; she did not possess any defensive Star Skill.

If she gets close, she will surely die!

Cheng Rui stood in front of her, forming a shield.

This bought Shen Binghua time. She used her Star Skill again to freeze the attacking Star Beast in place, and Cheng Rui killed it with a swift stroke of his blade.

Their operation ended without serious incident.

Moreover, the difficulty of the mission far exceeded the initial rating, and they received much richer rewards after returning to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace.

As they were parting, Shen Binghua suddenly called out to Cheng Rui.

Cheng Rui: "!"

He felt a thousand words welling up inside him, yet he couldn't utter a single one.

Shen Binghua: "Thank you."

The two words, clear and cold, were like icicles falling from the eaves, gently striking the marble floor with a crisp sound.

It took Cheng Rui a while to realize what she had said.

"No..." Cheng Rui stammered.

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Binghua had already turned and left.

He wanted to ask her why she thanked him, and he also wanted to say that she didn't need to thank him. Because he had too many thoughts, in the end only this one word came out.

Shen Binghua seemed to simply want to thank him; whether he accepted it or not... she didn't care.

Cheng Rui pondered for a long time, and finally, in the dead of night—

I understand!

He didn't want to defeat Shen Binghua anymore; he wanted to... protect her!

Why must we defeat her?

He longed to see the glow of the sunset over the snow-capped mountains, shining brilliantly across the sky!

Therefore, Cheng Rui changed his cultivation direction, which undoubtedly required a lot of time and energy.

Fortunately, he is Star Wielders of the Nature Department.

The Nature Department encompasses everything. Let alone Third Grade Realm, even if he advances to the Master Realm, he can still change his cultivation path if he wants.

Cheng Rui set a new goal and began a frantic seclusion. He wanted to cultivate even more exquisite defensive Star Skill, and also to study various Star Curse, Star Artifact, and even Star Weapon and secret treasures.

This shift in his path of cultivation allowed Cheng Rui to find the path that truly belonged to him.

People with high talent are more likely to get lost during their spiritual practice.

Because I'm good at everything, I'm not proficient in anything.

Cheng Rui had always thought he was suited for fighting, but only now, after changing his direction, did he truly understand what it meant to be exhilarated.

A century of seclusion seemed like the blink of an eye to him.

Star Curse is so interesting.

The Star Artifact are so interesting.

Although he can't study the secret treasures right now, he already has a lot of blueprints in his mind, just waiting to gradually develop them after his cultivation level increases!

Cheng Rui was immersed in his cultivation, his mind filled with the thought, "One day, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with her!"

Three Huaxia years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In order to present a fresh face to Shen Binghua as quickly as possible, Cheng Rui worked exceptionally hard, wasting no time and even avoiding seeing Shen Binghua again.

In Cheng Rui's mind, Shen Binghua never even gave him a second glance.

He was just a defeated opponent, what's there to pay attention to?

But in reality, he underestimated himself.

Shen Binghua was deeply impressed by him.

When they enrolled, Cheng Rui saw her at first glance, and Shen Binghua saw him at first glance as well.

Shen Binghua received a systematic education from a prestigious family from a young age, and because of her exceptional talent, her decade-long dedication to cultivation left her without a single friend.

It wasn't that the Shen Family restricted her from making friends, but rather that she had no opportunity to make friends.

She accomplished in a single day what others take a year to achieve.

This alone makes it unlikely that she will have many friends her own age.

Of course, Shen Binghua didn't care about any of that; she only wanted to improve her cultivation level and reach the pinnacle.

After enrolling, a freshman representative who was his equal finally appeared, and Shen Binghua became very interested in him.

During the first monthly exam, Cheng Rui thought Shen Binghua would easily defeat him, but in reality, the two were only a hair's breadth apart.

Shen Binghua was able to defeat him because he put in a lot of effort.

Her path of cultivation makes her appear very powerful.

But in reality, that so-called one-hit kill was also the only one.

Cheng Rui was very, very close to her, so close that she had to cultivate even more diligently.

During the midterm exams, Cheng Rui's improvement impressed Shen Binghua.

Although Cheng Rui thought she had killed him with a single strike, Shen Binghua knew very well that she had only won against a single strand of his Power of Starlight.

We must work even harder!

Although Shen Binghua had never spoken to Cheng Rui, she had always been working hard to continue winning against him.

As he prepared to depart for the Huaxia Heavenly Palace, Shen Binghua felt a slight pang of regret.

She was a little reluctant to leave.

Because there will be no more monthly exams.

But soon, Cheng Rui also arrived at the Huaxia Heavenly Palace.

However, in the Huaxia Heavenly Palace, there were no longer regular assessments, and Shen Binghua could not find an opportunity to fight Cheng Rui.