AEKMEM chapter 30

Although his expression remained calm and showed no sign of anything amiss, Chu Heng’s usually steady hands trembled slightly with tension when he heard the man’s question.

However, when he heard the man mention testing the purity of An Qiao’s elven bloodline, Chu Heng breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Testing the purity of an elven bloodline means testing the elven genes within the body. Elven genes are almost entirely innate and, aside from extremely rare exceptions that can mutate, remain unchanged, making them impossible to fake.

However, An Qiao is an elf, and even a tiny amount of elven genes released casually can be detected.

The testing process is controllable. If the bloodline purity is high, it can easily be faked as a lower-level purity.

Elven bloodline testing instruments are common in the Empire, and elven bloodline purity is difficult to fake. Sometimes, the genes in a person’s body can be temporarily manipulated to create a convincing illusion, requiring multiple tests. Nevertheless, testing the purity of elven blood in a person is straightforward, eliminating concerns about falsification. That’s why the Zhou family faction proposed testing the purity of elven blood.

Seeing An Qiao’s aloof expression and blank eyes, it was clear that he completely misunderstood.

Chu Heng explained, “This test detects elven genes in your body. You release a tiny bit of aura, and the elven bloodline detector automatically captures and analyzes the elven genes within you.”

“The amount of aura released is controllable. High bloodline purity can be disguised as low purity, but elves generally wouldn’t be so bored as to fake low bloodline purity. Qiaoqiao, don’t be nervous during the test. Just make sure your bloodline purity reaches 89—the same as before.”

He had to be careful not to overwhelm the detector. He had to control it carefully, like releasing a trickle—oh no, a whole sea!

The Empire classifies elven bloodline purity on a scale from one to one hundred. Ninety is a significant dividing line. Jun Yilian of the Jun family had an exceptionally high elf bloodline purity of 88%, but the original eldest son of the An family surpassed him with 89%—the highest purity ever recorded in the Empire’s history. Of course, this excludes those who reverted to elf form due to unforeseen circumstances.

Aside from exceptional circumstances, theoretically, only those with an elf bloodline purity of 90% have a slim chance of reverting to elf form. At 89%, the likelihood is even smaller.

To elevate their eldest son’s reputation and value, the An family invested heavily in promoting the idea that he had a slim chance of reverting to elf form. However, those in the upper echelons of the capital planet know that, without a special opportunity, it’s virtually impossible for the An family’s eldest son to revert to an elf—an opportunity that occurs only once every few hundred years.

An Qiao’s eyes widened slightly.

The elf bloodline detector could automatically analyze and detect elf genes within a person based on a tiny wisp of aura. Needless to say, it was another piece of advanced technology that he didn’t understand.

“It’s just a test. Why am I so nervous?” An Qiao said calmly.

Actually, he was a little nervous before Chu Heng explained. Although being exposed wasn’t a big deal, he didn’t want to change his lifestyle just yet.

However, after hearing Chu Heng’s explanation, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The elven genes within an elf-human likely originated from the offspring of an elf and a human in the distant past.

When he first arrived in this world, he was surprised to find elf humans—a hybrid species. After seeing them, he realized that elf humans were mostly human in nature because their elf genes were too diluted to matter.

Imperial history vaguely records the appearance of elves, and later generations are unaware of the truth. Many firmly believe that the rare elven bloodline capable of awakening healing abilities is a gift from the elves.

Since testing for elven bloodlines of the same origin is involved, it should be fine.

The principle is analogous to mana control: If your mana is 98, you can make it appear as 97, but not 99.

“However—”

An Qiao furrowed his beautiful eyebrows and said casually, “Do you think I’ll just do a test because you say so? Wouldn’t that make me lose face? Just because you question my identity, does that mean I have to prove myself?”

What a joke! He’s the dignified Elf King! Does he have to respond to every random person who questions him? What do they take him for?

Chu Heng realized this at that moment, too.

He was too nervous and eager to prove that An Qiao’s identity was “not a problem” and overlooked this important point.

If An Qiao were to easily give in today, agreeing to the elf bloodline purity test and cooperating to clear his name when questioned about his identity, wouldn’t he be looked down upon in the future?

He hadn’t thought things through!

“Qiao Qiao is right,” said Chu Heng with an apologetic smile to An Qiao.

Then, turning to the Zhou family member who had questioned him, his smile instantly turned cold and ruthless.

“You suspect without reason that Qiaoqiao isn’t the original An family young master, and you made him undergo elf blood purity testing to ‘prove’ his identity. Well, then, I also suspect that you’re not your father’s son. Shouldn’t you take a few genetic tests to prove that you’re his son?”

Upon hearing this, many people couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Your Highness, you…” The man felt severely humiliated, almost unable to breathe.

His face turned ashen with anger. “Your Highness, please watch your words!”

Chu Heng sneered. “You weren’t careful with your speech, either.”

“Are you afraid to let the Crown Princess take the test, Your Highness?”

“Don’t try to provoke me. If Qiaoqiao said you’d let me take the test, wouldn’t that be a huge loss of face for him and for me, the crown prince?”

An Qiao interrupted Chu Heng, narrowing his eyes. “If you want me to take the test, fine. But that depends on whether you’re willing to pay the price. It’s like in the old days when you had to get a beating first if you wanted to sue someone. Otherwise, wouldn’t you be able to make baseless accusations?”

“That’s right,” Chu Heng nodded hastily in agreement.

They had thought An Qiao was unwilling or disdainful of the test. Turns out, he just wanted some “stakes.”

Everyone: “… ”

They were already somewhat numb to An Qiao’s tendency to stir up trouble out of nothing and his seemingly gentle yet actually arrogant and ruthless nature.

However—

Your Highness, do you really need to be so… servile? Oh no, listen to your Crown Princess?

The man from the Zhou family faction said darkly, “Does Your Highness mean I have to let you beat me up first?”

Chu Heng shook his head. “No, beating you up will only cause pain. A rest in the treatment pod will make you practically fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Nothing much. I won’t make things difficult for you. Just make a bet. If the test results show that An Qiao is indeed An Qiao, then you will voluntarily relinquish your current position in the military. You will also have your military registration canceled and will never rejoin the military again.”

As soon as Chu Heng finished speaking, almost everyone present gasped.

That’s ruthless!

Moreover, this “bet” was a direct copy of An Qiao’s suggestion for how to hurt Zhou Xiaoran!

His Highness the Crown Prince really listens to his Crown Princess—he’s practically henpecked.

Many people couldn’t help but think to themselves.

“Not only do you have to make a bet, but the guy next to you, Zhou, has to make the same bet too. He was the one who stirred up trouble by questioning first.”

“If you two dare to make a bet, testing my Qiaoqiao isn’t out of the question.”

After Chu Heng finished speaking, almost everyone present looked at the person from the Zhou family faction, and then at Zhou Xiaoran, who was receiving emergency treatment for his injuries and hadn’t had time to process what was happening.

When he pointed out that the Crown Princess was not An Qiao and provided evidence to prove it, many people began to doubt An Qiao’s true identity. However, Chu Heng and An Qiao’s subsequent composure and openness made them uncertain.

Now, Chu Heng had gone even further, demanding a wager.

Everyone guessed that the two of them wouldn’t agree. The stakes were simply too high! If they lost, they would lose their status and power in the military, as well as everything else, and be expelled from the military permanently. Even if they won, they wouldn’t gain anything. At most, they would please the Second Prince, whom the Zhou family relied on, but that wouldn’t be worthwhile.

“I… I… I bet…” Zhou Xiaoran, whose external injuries had healed somewhat from the treatment, struggled to utter a few trembling words. His face was contorted with rage.

If he hadn’t made the bet, wouldn’t he have been beaten for nothing?

He wasn’t the only one who felt that An Qiao was not the same as before. He trusted his intuition.

Moreover, if An Qiao’s identity was legitimate, why would Chu Heng beat him so violently, rendering him speechless? Now, he proposes such a daunting bet. Was it just a pretense of calm, an attempt to scare him off?

He wouldn’t fall for Chu Heng’s trap. Chu Heng wanted to publicly humiliate them, ruining their reputations.

“Oh, so Major General Zhou is still conscious?” Chu Heng smirked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“However, it’s not enough for you to agree to the bet. The person next to you has to agree, too. He questioned Qiaoqiao’s identity as well. It seems your partner isn’t too keen on this. How about we consider this a case of you two slandering Qiaoqiao, and you apologize to him?”

Hearing Chu Heng suggest apologizing, Zhou Xiaoran’s heart surged! If it weren’t for the test, how could someone as proud, cold, and domineering as Chu Heng possibly back down? He must be afraid of the bet forcing An Qiao to take the test.

And an apology? How could Zhou Xiaoran possibly apologize to a useless parasitic vine?

Zhou Xiaoran turned his head to look at the Zhou family faction member beside him and glared at him fiercely. “Agree… quickly… quickly agree…”

Chu Heng watched these two jump into the pit and recklessly court death with a cold smile on his lips.

“Nonsense! Military ranks and status are not bargaining chips!” Marshal Jiang frowned in displeasure.

Emperor Chu Zhengming remained silent. He also felt it was absurd, but who told his son to be the one causing the absurdity?

Moreover, the two from the Zhou family had no self-awareness. Having climbed to second-in-command, they became arrogant and dared to provoke the Crown Prince, showing him no respect.

This commotion ruined the emperor’s New Year’s Eve banquet. Did Zhou Xiaoxiao consider that the emperor personally organized the banquet when he started the trouble and questioned him?

“It’s not my fault. I only suggested scaring them off. It was the two of them who insisted on betting,” Chu Heng said, shifting the blame.

“Besides,” he said with a half-smile, “they’re willing to gamble away their ranks and status so casually, which shows they don’t value them. Perfect. The military has plenty of young men with natural martial talent but a lack of opportunities to earn merit. If they don’t care, plenty of others will.”

**

When the elven bloodline detector was brought in and An Qiao stood before it, everyone present stared wide-eyed with anticipation and gossip, their eyes glued to the display screen.

An Qiao curiously examined the detector.

He stared at it for a few seconds.

Hmm, he couldn’t see anything. It looked like a bulky, unremarkable machine.

Honestly, the Imperials love researching these weird, baffling high-tech gadgets. They didn’t just develop an elf bloodline detector; they developed an elf detector too!

The elf detector is even more terrifying than this thing. It can automatically detect elf auras in the Imperial Capital Star area and determine the approximate location of elves.

Thinking about the elf detector gave An Qiao a headache and frustrated him.

Fortunately, he wasn’t going to stay on Imperial Capital Star anymore. He was preparing to go to Water Blue Star. Once he left, the detector would be ineffective against him.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Heng asked, noticing that An Qiao had been standing in front of the elf bloodline detector without moving for a while. His bangs were slightly disheveled, and his long, dark blue, curled eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, making him seem listless. Thinking he was having trouble, Chu Heng asked with concern.

“Nothing,” An Qiao shook his head.

He looked at Chu Heng beside him and asked again, “Is it 89% purity?”

“That’s right. 89% purity is ‘enough.'” Chu Heng emphasized the word “enough,” reminding An Qiao to control himself and let loose.

Following Chu Heng’s instructions, An Qiao carefully and cautiously released an extremely faint, almost imperceptible elven aura onto the collection device of the elven bloodline detector.

Chu Heng had just given An Qiao a vial of Jun Yiran’s aura, supposedly 87% pure elven bloodline, to help him familiarize himself with the process. Chu Heng had instructed him to control the intensity, making it just slightly higher than this.

Hmm, this tiny amount of aura he released should be enough.

He glanced at the display screen uncertainly.

The numbers quickly surged from zero to fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty…

After reaching eighty, the numbers slowly decreased: eighty-two, eighty-four, eighty-six, eighty-eight.

With a bloodline purity of eighty-eight, everyone present was certain that this was indeed An Qiao, and that his identity was genuine. Why would an elf with such a high bloodline purity impersonate someone else?

Moreover, among the imperial elves, only Jun Yilian of the Jun family and the eldest young master of the An family possessed bloodline purities of eighty-eight or higher.

As the numbers approached eighty-nine, everyone stared intently, not blinking.

An elven bloodline purity of eighty-nine was a rare find, occurring only once every few centuries, so they were quite interested.

Finally, the numbers on the screen started jumping again.

Eighty… nine? Wait! It seems to be ninety!

Everyone stared in disbelief, their eyes wide with astonishment.

Ninety! An elven bloodline purity of ninety! That was worlds apart from an elven bloodline purity of eighty-nine!

Before they could recover, the numbers on the screen started jumping again, this time reaching ninety-two.

It didn’t seem to be stopping.

Ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight…

Ninety-nine!

Shock, numbness, terror, disorientation…

By the end, the expressions on everyone’s faces were beyond description.

“Is this elven bloodline detector broken?” someone asked doubtfully.

It wasn’t just this person who doubted it; everyone else did too.

Elven bloodline purity of ninety-nine? How could that be?

“Yi Lian, why don’t you go up and get tested too? See if this elven bloodline detector is broken.” One of Jun Yi Lian’s admirers standing next to him suggested.

“This…” Jun Yi Lian wanted to decline.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling. Intuitively, he felt that the detector might actually be working. He didn’t want to be a stepping stone for anyone, not even as a second choice.

He had a bad feeling, and his intuition told him that the detector was probably not broken. He didn’t want to become someone else’s stepping stone—even as second place.

“Master Jun, just go up and try it,” said an elder he couldn’t ignore.

Jun Yilian: “… ”

He maintained his usual gentle and amiable demeanor, but only he knew the extent of his inner turmoil.

However, he had to suppress his anxiety and get tested according to everyone’s wishes in the banquet hall.

Eighty-eight.

Jun Yilian stared at the number, standing motionless in front of the elven bloodline testing device for a long time.

The others were no longer paying attention to him, however, stunned by the number on the display screen.

So… the elven bloodline that An Qiao had just tested was… Ninety-nine percent pure? Is it true?

**

The events that occurred at the New Year’s Eve banquet held in the palace spread throughout the entire empire with astonishing speed.

Crown Prince Chu Heng, because Crown Princess An Qiao was provoked and questioned by Zhou Xiaoran, had lost his temper and beaten Zhou Xiaoran nearly half to death. An Qiao, the only person present who could influence Chu Heng, fanned the flames, causing him to beat Zhou Xiaoran even more.

Afterwards, the emperor arrived and the crown prince proposed a bet between the two Zhou family members. An Qiao’s bloodline was found to be ninety-nine percent pure….

The story had many twists and turns, leaving listeners breathless with excitement. What truly shocked the empire was An Qiao.

Initially, they had assumed that he was an unawakened, powerless, weak-willed parasite who possessed only a stunningly beautiful face and was dependent on Chu Heng.

However, after news of the banquet leaked, they discovered that An Qiao, who appeared unawakened and powerless with a sickly, aloof beauty and seemed as fragile as a parasitic vine, was actually arrogant and ruthless. He relied on Chu Heng’s support. He could manipulate the crown prince into acting as his deadly and ruthless killer with mere words. It was astonishing!

Yet the crown prince, Chu Heng, was completely infatuated with An Qiao, letting him do whatever he wanted and obeying his orders. Even a slight frown from An Qiao would make the Crown Prince extremely concerned.

The people of the empire realized that An Qiao was a parasitic figure but also ruthless and not to be trifled with.

Because of An Qiao, Zhou Xiaoran was beaten half to death by Chu Heng. Both Zhou Xiaoran and his family lost their bets and were permanently discharged from the military. Even the high and mighty Second Prince was ultimately forced to submit to Chu Heng for making a sarcastic remark about An Qiao at a banquet. Despite his reluctance, he was forced to apologize to An Qiao in a humiliating manner.

Most people were shocked. The empire’s demon god and war god had once vowed never to marry the crown princess. Yet, he could feel love and had become “wife-controlled,” like an ordinary beastman—perhaps even more so.

Some were envious and jealous, thinking that An Qiao’s failed awakening and lack of healing abilities made him a parasitic vine who could only temporarily bewitch Chu Heng with his handsome, troublesome face.

Regardless of shock or envy, everyone understood that with Chu Heng’s unconditional support, An Qiao was untouchable.

Offending Crown Prince Chu Heng might sometimes be overlooked, but offending Crown Princess An Qiao would surely result in severe consequences from the crown prince

The final revelation that An Qiao’s elf blood was 99% pure was shocking and awe-inspiring.

An Qiao must have failed to awaken, but after entering the Star Beast Forest alone, he had an opportunity. Due to a special accident, he mutated, increasing his elven bloodline purity to 99% and nearly reverting him to an ancestral elf. That’s it.

No wonder An Qiao’s appearance and aura improved dramatically after he emerged from the Star Beast Forest. He looked as beautiful as an elf.

Unfortunately, An Qiao’s awakening failed, leaving him without the healing abilities unique to elves. Having an incredibly high elf bloodline purity without healing abilities is essentially useless.

This caused many to regret the failed awakening and to hate those who assassinated and severely injured An Qiao.

If An Qiao’s awakening had succeeded, the empire would have gained a rare talent that only appears once every few centuries. Ancestor Elf?

Because of this, the assassination attempt, which had been impossible to uncover at the time, was revisited and re-investigated.

**

Having just returned to the Marshal’s residence from the palace banquet with only An Qiao by his side, Chu Heng suddenly turned deathly pale and coughed up blood.

At the banquet, while beating Zhou Xiaoran to avoid being disturbed by outsiders, he forcibly activated a level 3S energy “barrier,” despite his injuries not yet being healed, which caused them to flare up.

The fact that the injuries only flared up now was a testament to Chu Heng’s extreme control.

An Qiao: “?”

An Qiao was startled by Chu Heng’s sudden vomiting of blood. Panicking, he hurriedly waved his hand, sending a burst of healing, light-attribute magic.

Chu Heng was instantly restored to health. “… ”

With An Qiao’s healing ability revealed, it was proven that he wasn’t actually unawakened. He was no longer the supposedly powerless eldest young master of the An family.

Now, how could he prevent An Qiao from “losing his cover”?

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