AEKMEM chapter 17

An Qiao: “… ”

Seeing that An Qiao was about to get angry, Chu Heng quickly changed the subject to salvage the situation. “I did that before because those people are all very good at judging others. If they see that I don’t value you, they’ll go out of their way to cause you trouble.”

But wasn’t Zhou Xiaoxiao the one who thought An Qiao was easy to bully? That’s why he dared to scheme against him and embarrass him. Had Zhou Xiaoxiao known that he really valued An Qiao, he wouldn’t have risked offending him.

An Qiao understood Chu Heng’s motives, which is why he hadn’t contradicted him earlier.

But now that there were no outsiders around, Chu Heng was still deliberately calling him “Qiao Qiao” with that smile—it was simply infuriating!

He glared at Chu Heng again, clearly displeased. “Don’t think I don’t know you were just teasing me.”

Chu Heng readily apologized. “Ahem, it was indeed my fault. I apologize.”

He’ll do it again next time.

“I forgive you.”

An Qiao coldly snorted as he walked to the dining table. He calmly and elegantly took out a snow-white silk handkerchief embroidered with a blood-red rose from his pocket and slowly wiped the chair he was about to sit on.

Chu Heng’s lips twitched slightly. “…”

Truly the air of a young master—so particular. An Qiao sat down, resting his chin on his hand as he sized up Chu Heng across from him. He said lazily, “You were acting like a villain when you were arguing with those people just now—”

“Using your status as the crown prince to bully people. Don’t others have any objections?”

Chu Heng was speechless for a moment, thinking: I stood up for you, and you call me a villain—how is that polite?

Of course, he could also hear concern and a hint of teasing in An Qiao’s words.

An Qiao rarely acted so relaxed and carefree. Although they hadn’t known each other long, Chu Heng knew that An Qiao was incredibly image-conscious and very concerned with his appearance and saving face. He was always aloof and cold around outsiders, making him seem unapproachable.

The languid young man glanced lazily at Chu Heng, softening his aloofness. He became like a proud, beautiful white cat, making one want to pet his head.

Suppressing the strange thought in his heart, Chu Heng said nonchalantly, “It’s all right. Almost everyone in the empire knows that’s just my personality.”

“Besides, I did get to the position of Crown Prince based on my 3S-level strength.”

The last sentence carried a hint of boasting, like a peacock displaying its plumage during courtship.

When Chu Heng first returned to the capital and was recognized as a prince, he considered laying low temporarily and toning down his temper. However, later events proved that, without being domineering and ruthless, he would be seen as a weakling to be bullied.

Ultimately, the empire revered military strength and power. As long as one’s military strength and power were sufficient and within the rules, no one could interfere.

As they spoke, the dishes arrived.

“This steamed sea bass is our signature dish. How does it taste?” Chu Heng leaned over and moved the steamed sea bass in front of An Qiao.

Chu Heng showed great sincerity, feeling that he was treating An Qiao to an apology.

He didn’t serve An Qiao any food, knowing he could be meticulous, even obsessive, about cleanliness. He recommended the steamed sea bass because he knew An Qiao preferred it.

An Qiao picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, chewed slowly, and his icy blue eyes lit up slightly. He nodded and said, “Not bad.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Chu Heng breathed a sigh of relief.

Given An Qiao’s picky nature, if he said “not bad,” it really meant that it was very good.

The private room was exquisitely decorated. Outside the window, the vibrant peach blossoms along the long street were bathed in the setting sun’s glow, creating a captivating scene.

However, Chu Heng’s gaze gradually focused solely on An Qiao.

The silver-haired youth, dressed in a snow-white robe, exuded elegance and refinement in every movement. Having seemingly enjoyed a particularly delicious meal, his beautiful ice-blue eyes shone brightly. His complexion was pale and radiant, more dazzling than the golden light of the setting sun.

His very existence was brilliant. His stunning, breathtaking beauty overshadowed everything else, reducing them to a mere backdrop.

**

Two days remained until the final assessments for the freshmen at the Empire’s top military academy.

The entire school was abuzz with discussion about the upcoming Star Beast hunt in the Star Beast Forest.

It is said that all five of the Empire’s major military legions sent representatives specifically for this assessment. Their roles were twofold: first, to serve as judges; and second, to select promising talent from this year’s freshmen class for early training and to replenish their legions’ future elite.

The First Military Academy is the most prestigious and powerful military academy in the Empire, and its students are exceptionally talented. No legion would miss out on such high-quality reserves.

“It’s a pity that His Highness the Crown Prince won’t be serving as a judge. If he could represent the Second Legion in person, many would want to join. However, even without His Highness’s presence, the Second Legion still has the largest number of members,” remarked Song Leran.

The selection process is mutual. If a military regiment is interested in a student, the regiment must consider whether the student wants to join after graduation. Likewise, if a student wants to intern with a regiment, the regiment must be willing to accept them.

There is also competition among the five major military regiments.

In previous years, the Third Army Regiment of the Empire, to which Marshal Jiang belonged, was the strongest, and the First Military Academy of the Empire sent the most students to join it.

However, after Chu Heng joined the Second Army Regiment, the regiment’s overall strength skyrocketed in just a few years. It rose from the bottom to become the strongest of the five major military regiments.

This year, Chu Heng led the Second Army Corps to defeat the invading Zerg. He single-handedly wounded the Zerg queen, forcing them to retreat. Since then, the Second Army Corps has garnered immense attention within the Empire. Countless beastmen, from the capital planet to the most remote ones, dream of joining Chu Heng’s Second Army Corps.

“He probably doesn’t have time to come,” An Qiao said, shaking his head.

Chu Heng has been busy these past few days, sometimes skipping meals and relying on nutritional supplements. The number of officers entering and leaving the marshal’s residence has also increased significantly.

An Qiao could vaguely sense a tense, deadly atmosphere.

“Is this the Star Beast’s Star Core?” He picked up the Star Core that Song Leran had placed on the table and examined it.

It was a small, milky-white, round bead, unremarkable in appearance.

Star Cores were crystallized power within the Star Beast’s head.

Star Cores were somewhat similar to energy crystals in that they both replenished energy. However, the energy within a Star Core was extremely violent and impure. It was far less gentle and pure than the energy in an energy crystal. The energy could not be directly absorbed and could only be used as a precious energy source.

Someone had previously attempted to absorb the energy from a Star Core, but ultimately couldn’t withstand it and died from a mental breakdown.

An Qiao stared at the small, round, bead-like Star Core. His eyes suddenly widened, and his icy blue pupils burned with unusual intensity.

Was he mistaken?

Could his light-attribute magic actually purify the impurities within the Star Core? If so, its energy would be as gentle and pure as an energy crystal, and he could restore his magic power just like with an energy crystal!

If he weren’t concerned about his image, he would have burst out laughing.

Over the past few days, his magic power had slowly recovered, and his severe injuries had gradually healed. Except for the occasional, irregular flare-ups of the demon king’s curse within him, he hadn’t felt much pain.

However, this recovery can only be considered half complete.

The room in Marshal Chu Heng’s residence is decorated with many glittering, high-grade energy crystals. Although he doesn’t directly absorb the energy crystals, he can feel the abundant, almost overflowing energy surrounding him. This energy slowly and automatically flows into his body, allowing his magic power to recover gradually.

Firstly, he didn’t directly absorb the high-level energy crystals because they belong to Chu Heng, not him.

Secondly, and most importantly, his body was severely injured and weakened, so absorbing a large amount of energy in a short period was unsuitable. First, he had to slowly recover some magic power, then use light-attribute magic to gently nourish his body.

Now, after this period of recuperation, his body had recovered somewhat and could withstand a large influx of energy.

He had originally planned to hunt star beasts in the Star Beast Forest for star cores, which he could then exchange for energy crystals.

However, now that he knew purified star cores could be used like energy crystals, An Qiao was even more determined to go!

**

Tragically, when he returned home that evening, the demonic curse within him suddenly flared up again.

He had just finished his meal and was leisurely wiping his lips with a clean, snow-white silk handkerchief embroidered with a blood-red rose when a piercing pain swept through his entire body.

An Qiao: “?”

His brows furrowed in pain, and he gripped the handkerchief so tightly that he almost tore it to shreds.

Before he could ponder why the curse had flared up again,

The next second, a metallic taste rose in his throat, and he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The handsome, aloof young man’s brow furrowed in pain. A speck of crimson blood stained his pale, jade-like lips. It looked like a few drops of blood staining white jade glass—a breathtakingly fragile and broken beauty.

“An Qiao?!” Chu Heng, who had come to ask An Qiao to withdraw from the freshman finals—and had been too busy to have dinner with him these past two days—saw this scene, and his face turned deathly pale.

His hand, which was holding An Qiao’s, trembled slightly.

For beastmen, losing composure is the worst thing. On the battlefield, a moment’s carelessness could cost them their lives.

Chu Heng was always calm, but he was so panicked now that his hand trembled.

The silver-haired youth leaned weakly against him. His eyes were half-closed with listless weariness. His face was pale and almost translucent. He looked like he would turn into a beautiful bubble or a mere phantom at any moment.

In reality, An Qiao could barely contain his urge to curse.

This damned demon curse!

In that instant of coughing up blood, he almost lost control and reverted to his elf form in order to resist the increasingly frenzied torment of the demon curse within him!

If the Empire people discovered that he was an elf, it would be terrible!

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