His gaze swept over Ji Zhiqing lying on the ground. She had been tossed there carelessly by Chen Xing, her bright, beautiful face mostly hidden beneath scattered strands of hair. Only the red dress she wore remained as eye-catching as ever, yet that red had long been soaked through with an even deeper crimson—blood had already pooled beneath her into a large, spreading stain.
She was like a flower in full, dazzling bloom, only to be scattered by a single gust of wind, petals falling everywhere.
This was his half-sister, sharing the same father. There was still a faint resemblance between their brows and eyes. Ji Chenxi stepped forward, crouched down, and gently closed her unwilling, unyielding eyes.
“Your Highness… feeling a bit soft-hearted?” Chen Xing asked in a low voice.
Ji Chenxi had only done that one thing—closing her eyes. Once it was done, he stood up.
If it came to familial feelings tied by blood, there was absolutely none between him and Ji Zhiqing. They were familiar strangers, people who had known each other for years only because of so-called blood ties, meeting from time to time. But no matter what, she was still his sister. Even if she had to die, it should have been by his hand—or Ji Anze’s—not like this, her life ending so easily.
“Your Highness, you’re not someone soft or merciful. You should’ve known from a young age that kindness only makes you look weak and easy to bully. So… are you unhappy because I was the one who acted?” Chen Xing narrowed his eyes slightly, smiling as he looked at Ji Chenxi.
That polite smile that once made Ji Chenxi think he was refined now looked like a mask—a mask even more frightening than cold indifference.
Ji Chenxi stared straight at Chen Xing.
They stood barely a meter apart. He could clearly see Chen Xing’s face. With his excellent memory, he shouldn’t have had such a question, yet he still asked, “Have you met me before?”
The words sounded far too familiar.
When Ji Chenxi was very young, he already knew he wasn’t a “good person” in the usual sense. When he saw injured animals, he felt no pity. A cute little rabbit, to him, was simply tasty food. Withered flowers were another kind of beauty. The quiet darkness of night was far more appealing than sunlight. He liked things that were mysterious and shadowy—even his fondness for sparkling jewels was only because they looked beautiful in the dark. And yet, for a time, he had been seen as a “good child” by everyone—warm, kind, helping the weak, bright, always smiling.
Those years were the most fake—and also the happiest—time of Ji Chenxi’s life, because that was the version his mother liked. During that time, there was a small incident: he was bullied at school.
Yes, the young imperial prince had actually faced bullying.
The malice of children was far more terrifying than adults imagined. Ji Chenxi found it boring, yet he never truly fought back.
One reason was that if he did fight back, he couldn’t guarantee he’d do it cleanly. Another was that fighting back was too dull—he was planning something bigger, something those people would never forget. And deep down, he had a small selfish wish. He wanted his mother to pity him, to give him more attention. After all, he was just a fragile child. Children needed adults to watch over them to grow up.
So… don’t be sad. Look at me instead.
Back then, there was someone who said to him, while he was being bullied—“Aren’t you going to fight back?”
Ji Chenxi, already with his own plans, seriously played the role of a little white rabbit. Then that person laughed and said—“Kid, kindness will only make you look weaker and easier to bully.”
Chen Xing laughed at Ji Chenxi’s somewhat strange question. “I did notice Your Highness very early on. As for whether we’ve met before… I don’t know.”
A lie.
In his memory, the one who said those words was a tall, elegant older woman. But who knew if his memory had deceived him.
“Your Highness seems so eager to know. Trying to confirm something?”
The man was calm and steady, making Ji Chenxi feel like he might get pulled into his rhythm.
The snow leopard suddenly pounced, and along the path Chen Xing would have to dodge, Ji Chenxi had already condensed a spiritual attack. At the same time, Ji Chenxi himself struck without hesitation. A three-sided attack—there was no escape.
Yet even in such a situation, a shadow blocked the spiritual attack on Chen Xing’s path. A blood-stained short blade held off the snow leopard’s claws. And as Ji Chenxi moved in, those people who had seemed like wooden dolls earlier all sprang into action, blocking his movements.
A purple-black spider crawled from behind Chen Xing onto his shoulder and suddenly shot out silk.
Black silk.
Ji Chenxi’s eyes shifted slightly, and without hesitation, he gave up the attack for the moment and dodged.
As he evaded the silk, his spiritual power and the agile snow leopard launched attack after attack.
That silk could even block his spiritual attacks—it was an offensive venomous spider.
From just this brief exchange, Ji Chenxi had already gained some understanding of Chen Xing’s spirit form. His spiritual power suddenly expanded, rippling outward at a speed the naked eye could barely catch. This time, a trace of discomfort finally appeared on Chen Xing’s calm face, yet the way he looked at Ji Chenxi grew far more heated.
“Double S! I knew it—you’re not just a simple S-rank.”
Chen Xing had indeed noticed Ji Chenxi very early on. And that “noticing” was far more than distant observation. He had once been very, very close to him—even held the soft, tiny Ji Chenxi in his arms. But back then, the tests had only shown S-rank. What truly caught Chen Xing’s attention again was when the young Ji Chenxi staged a grand performance for him.
His early observations had left him disappointed—he had almost given up on Ji Chenxi. But then he discovered that the one who looked like a little angel was actually a demon.
Excited, he expanded his forces and even gave himself the codename “Chen Xing.”
Chen Xing and Chenxi—didn’t they sound alike? One was the rising sun, the other a star in the darkness, guiding the way. If only the other were a bit more obedient, everything would have been perfect.
“Then dying under a Double S… should be your honor.”
As he spoke, Ji Chenxi released the power he had already gathered once more. No matter how strong an S-rank was, they would still be suppressed when facing a higher rank. That suppression came from the gap in pheromones and spiritual strength.
Such unhidden, overwhelming power was terrifying. But since Chen Xing dared to come, how could he be unprepared?
His heartbeat raced faster than ever before, an unnatural flush spreading across his face.
Covering his face, he laughed. “No, Your Highness… even if I die, it shouldn’t be today.”
A Double S, and a descendant of Ares—if he could study both, he could recreate ancient legends.
Just as Chen Xing was overwhelmed with excitement, a massive explosion suddenly rang out. The heat wave and shockwave it stirred were terrifying—even the ground trembled.
Chen Xing frowned.
Something unexpected had happened.
He didn’t continue fighting Ji Chenxi and instead headed toward the center of the explosion.
Countless robots and artificial humans emerged from the shadows, shielding his retreat without regard for their lives. He carried something that weakened spiritual power to a certain extent, so his escape went relatively smoothly.
Robots kept sending him updates, but none were good news. Before the First and Second Legions even received news of their princess’s death, they were already surrounded on all sides. Their massive strength could ignore most enemies—but what if those enemies were the guard forces of noble families and Chi Zhuo’s private army?
He had discovered the descendant of Ares too late. The other already controlled a terrifying underground organization, spread throughout the empire. Over the years, Chen Xing had tried to infiltrate it many times, all ending in failure. This time… was also because of him.
This situation also made Chen Xing realize that Ji Chenxi had quite a few hidden forces as well. The man had been raising private troops at Rose Manor all this time—yet not a single person had noticed over the years.
Chen Xing couldn’t help but laugh. He had thought Ji Chenxi’s bid for that position was partly pushed by him. Now it seemed the other had long been prepared for everything. Give him a few more years, and Ji Anze and Ji Zhiqing wouldn’t even need to fight him—there’d be no contest at all.
Before leaving, Chen Xing first went to the control center. He found the young man’s body, trapped tightly by rose thorns—lush and beautiful. After admiring it for a moment, Chen Xing transferred his data into another robot nearby.
Ordinary robots couldn’t be repaired once their core was destroyed—but there were exceptions.
A delicate girl with twin ponytails opened her eyes. Green streams of data flickered rapidly within them, then faded, returning her gaze to normal. She called out to Chen Xing, “Master.”
Chen Xing nodded. “Did you get all the data?”
The girl nodded. She had a cute face, yet no expression at all—not the forced maturity of a child acting grown-up, but like a mismatched soul placed inside a young body.
Sending Xiao San to seize control of the center, causing explosions—those were just distractions. What he truly wanted was the empire’s massive database accumulated over a thousand years.
After obtaining what he wanted, Chen Xing retreated with the little girl. During the retreat, he tried to export the data she had acquired—but just like the first time, he failed.
Chen Xing frowned deeply, looking at the girl with a strange expression.
Her face remained unchanged. Compared to the earlier young man’s form, she couldn’t show any expression at all—like an old, malfunctioning robot.
During the retreat, Chen Xing finally ran into a troublesome opponent—“Venomous Snake.”
“Kept you waiting,” Chen Xing smiled.
Chi Zhuo was hidden in the shadows, as aggressive as his snake, lying in wait to strike at any moment. In just one exchange, Chen Xing nearly suffered at his hands. Fortunately, he carried something extremely useful—something that could make many people who didn’t belong to him act under his control.
A chill filled Chi Zhuo’s eyes. No matter how many enemies there were, they were nothing more than ants to him. But if among them were his own people, even he couldn’t kill them all.
“Spider silk?” Chi Zhuo questioned briefly, then quickly shook his head. “No… a spider.”
He found a purple-black spider clinging to the back of one subordinate’s neck, biting tightly. The man’s actions were clearly being controlled by it.
Discovering it was one thing—dealing with it was another. During the brief moment Chi Zhuo was delayed, Chen Xing continued his retreat. But before he could go far, a sharp pain suddenly burst from his back.
He turned around in shock. The twin-tailed girl was holding a photon gun. They were too close—and with no killing intent from the robot, plus his trust in it—she had actually succeeded.
Pain spread rapidly. Chen Xing didn’t question her. He rolled on the ground, dodging two more photon shots, while nearby robots rushed to surround the girl.
The cute twin-tailed girl said with a hint of regret, “Too bad the strongest weapon I have is just a photon gun.”
Chen Xing smiled. “Someone tampered with you?”
The first rule of robots was that they must not harm their master.
He didn’t really expect an answer—he already knew who it was. Before this, who else could Xiao San have come into contact with? Only Ji Chenxi.
Meanwhile, Chi Zhuo had already dealt with the spiders controlling his subordinates. He hadn’t been worried about Chen Xing escaping under his watch—but just as he was about to capture him, a massive starship appeared above the imperial palace, opening its hatch toward Chen Xing.
In just moments, the hatch closed, and the ship shot away at light speed through the barrage of fire.
The intense movement made the wound in Chen Xing’s chest bleed even more heavily.
“Chen Xing… you look pretty miserable,” the owner of the starship mocked. “Getting beaten into this state by a kid who hasn’t even grown up yet.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
