AEKMEM chapter 74

Chu Heng hadn’t held out much hope, but then he heard An Qiao say, “I can teach you Elvish, too.”

He almost doubted that he had heard correctly!

He hadn’t expected Qiao Qiao to agree to teach him Elvish, let alone teach him how to say “I love you” in Elvish. Qiao Qiao was clearly in a good mood tonight, and his attitude toward Chu Heng was unbelievably kind.

Just as Chu Heng was secretly pleased with himself for his brilliant suggestion, An Qiao casually added, “Another day, I’ll compile an Elvish textbook for younglings for you.”

Chu Heng: “… ”

It was one thing to teach them one sentence at a time, and another to compile an Elvish learning textbook.

But why was the textbook meant for younglings?

**

The “Plant Affinity Contest” was held in Blue Star City the next day at 2 p.m.

The competition rules were simple and straightforward.

The organizers provided three levels of exotic plants: Grade B Mutant Sunflower, Grade A Stinky Fruit, and Grade S Ghost Flower. Contestants had to use their abilities to appease the plants and get them to willingly hand over what was needed for advancement. The first challenge was the B-rank Mutant Sunflower. If they could not subdue it, they were eliminated. Success allows them to advance to the next level and face the A-rank Stinky Fruit. The final challenge is the S-rank ghost flower, which determines the top ten, top three, and ultimate champion.

Out of the three to four hundred participants, the vast majority are plant-based superpowered beastmen, and only a very small number are elves. Almost all of the participants are B-rank or A-rank; there are very few S-rank participants. The competition isn’t particularly prestigious and is known for its absurdity. Its only redeeming quality is the generous prize money.

In the first round, contestants competed against the B-rank sunflower in six groups. Each contestant had ten minutes to calm the mutated sunflower. If the sunflower willingly offered seeds within that time, the contestant advanced.

When the signal gun fired, the competition began.

The first group of contestants, numbering in the dozens, went up on stage. An Qiao was in the sixth and final group.

Backstage, An Qiao waited curiously, watching the contestants onstage soothe their mutated sunflowers.

A burly S-grade plant-type ability user with a scarred face and a confident smile released his ability toward the mutated sunflower in front of him as if victory were assured.

The next second, “Whoosh! Whoosh! The mutated sunflower seemed enraged, frantically firing sunflower seeds at the ability user. Thousands of seeds rained down on the S-rank beastman like arrows, nearly turning him into a hornet’s nest. He escaped injury thanks to his protective gear, but his clothes and hair were a mess, and he was covered in dust and dirt. With his bewildered and confused expression, he looked quite comical.

Seeing this, many in the audience burst into laughter.

The mutated sunflower is less aggressive than the other mutant plants, but it will still attack those it dislikes with sunflower seeds. If it likes someone, it will give them sunflower seeds as a gesture of affection, and it won’t attack.

Despite possessing a high-level plant-based ability, this S-rank beastman clearly lacked affinity for exotic plants. He was arrogant and disliked by the mutated sunflower, which caused him to fail to advance.

Because of this characteristic, the “Plant Affinity Contest,” also known as the “Plant Mischief Contest,” often uses the mutated sunflower as the challenger because it is more entertaining for the audience.

A young Beastman resembling a white rabbit—so much so that one might doubt whether his Beast Form was actually that of a rabbit—was sweating profusely from nervousness. He muttered, “God bless me. Elf bless me…” His hands trembled violently, making him appear like a novice with no chance of advancing. Unexpectedly, however, after he released his plant-based ability, the mutated sunflower in front of him slowly turned its head as if considering something, finally tossing one sunflower seed in front of him.

—Yes, just one sunflower seed.

Since the mutated sunflower had proactively offered a seed, however, the young beastman could barely be considered to have successfully advanced. Advancing a round meant receiving a considerable reward.

An elven healer laboriously channeled his healing abilities and painstakingly soothed the mutated sunflower for a long time. But the sunflower leisurely spun its flower head, completely ignoring the healer—quite embarrassing.

…

Ten minutes later, only seven or eight of the dozens of contestants had advanced. Most of the rest were humiliated by the mutated sunflower’s attacks. Being ignored was considered lucky.

One group of contestants after another went up on stage.

The audience below watched with great interest. They were especially amused when the contestants were made fools of by the mutated sunflower.

Some, with ill intentions or simply there for the spectacle, knew that An Qiao was participating in the competition as well and would be one of the last to go on stage. They were eager to see his “performance.” They imagined it would be quite “exciting.”

However, others worried about An Qiao, fearing that, since he had neither plant-based abilities nor healing powers, the mutated sunflowers would severely attack him.

Finally, amid everyone’s anticipation, the last group of contestants stepped onto the stage.

Among the dozens of contestants on stage, An Qiao stood out the most.

First, he was undeniably handsome. With his silver hair and snow-white robe, he stood out with a cool and aloof expression. He was simply a crane among chickens.

Second, he appeared to be the weakest contestant. Everyone else was at least level B or A, but he was barely level C and hadn’t awakened his powers yet. He looked like an elf, yet he had no healing abilities.

—Why would such a “useless parasitic vine
participate in the competition?”

The first round involves facing a Level B exotic plant, which are ferocious. Even those at that level don’t have much hope of calming them down; only those a level higher have a chance. Even with a high level, you still can’t calm an exotic plant without strong affinity. Otherwise, this competition would be called the “Supernatural Ability Competition,” not the “Plant Affinity Contest.

Even A- and S-rank individuals could be tormented by exotic plants. Wouldn’t An Qiao, this clueless “parasitic vine,” be worse off?

Although the competition organizers have implemented robust protective measures to ensure the participants’ safety, this is no joke.

Many spectators below the stage began to whisper amongst themselves.

They could almost picture this beautiful elf being humiliated by the exotic plants. After all, exotic plants aren’t human, and they won’t show mercy just because someone is pretty.

Standing on the stage, An Qiao immediately spotted Chu Heng in the front row.

Chu Heng was staring intently at him, his cheek resting on his hand. When he noticed his gaze drift toward An Qiao, he winked and smiled.

His smile was rather charming.

An Qiao thought to himself.

“Your Highness seems completely unconcerned,” an elderly man from the judges’ table next to Chu Heng asked curiously.

This old man was the vice director of the Imperial Institute of Exotic Plants. Though his hair was gray, he had a ruddy complexion and was in good spirits. He was usually engrossed in studying exotic plants and rarely showed interest in anything else.

Although he had heard that His Highness was very fond of his Crown Princess, he seemed completely unconcerned. Could someone have recently discovered a useful method for taming exotic plants?

Chu Heng was watching An Qiao intently when he was suddenly disturbed and felt somewhat displeased. However, seeing that this person was a respectable senior, he answered:

“My Qiaoqiao is very capable.”

As he spoke, his eyes drifted involuntarily toward the stage, watching An Qiao constantly.

“Pfft.” Several snickers rang out from the judges’ panel and the VIP seats.

The old dean who had asked the question didn’t laugh nor did he show any mockery. He was simply surprised and speechless.

He had heard about Crown Princess An Qiao. He wondered how gullible the Crown Prince had to be to genuinely believe that his unawakened Crown Princess was “very capable.”

One of the people who snickered was a member of the Mo family, the maternal family of the Second Prince. The Second Prince was also seated in the VIP seats.

This representative of the Mo family hadn’t planned to come originally. The “Plant Affinity Contest” had long since faded into obscurity and wasn’t worth taking seriously. It was only after learning that An Qiao was participating and that Chu Heng would definitely attend that the representative decided to come at the last minute.

Coincidentally, an elite researcher from a plant research institute under the Mo family was also participating in the competition. This researcher was an S-rank, plant-type supernatural researcher with an exceptional affinity for all kinds of plants.

This researcher was extremely talented and capable. He solved several innovative problems for the Mo family’s plant research institute and brought considerable profits to the family.

Had he not been brought into the institute by chance after graduation and been quiet, focused on research, and unwilling to change work environments, other research institutes would have poached him long ago with a high salary.

In the previous competition, the Mo family’s researcher performed the best. He received several times more sunflower seeds from the mutated sunflower than anyone else and spent the least amount of time calming it down.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it’s safe to say that their Mo family researcher will almost certainly win first place.

Crown Princess Chu Heng will embarrass himself in the competition by failing in the first round, while the Mo family researcher will easily overcome all obstacles and win. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Crown Prince Chu Heng will be humiliated while the Mo family gains glory—as will the Second Prince. Just thinking about it is satisfying!

The Mo family member smiled and said to himself, “Your Highness seems quite confident in your Crown Princess.”

“Aren’t you afraid of making a huge fool of yourself later?”

“My Crown Princess is the best,” said Chu Heng, “unlike that self-righteous, half-crippled fool from your Mo family.”

The Mo family member’s face instantly turned ugly.

Previously, under some unknown person’s mental control, Mo Zhiyuan had foolishly and presumptuously created a “fake elf,” giving the imperial people a bad impression of the Mo family. They believed that creating the “fake elf” was a conspiracy by the Mo family or the Second Prince.

Since then, the Mo family hasn’t had an easy time.

Just then, the signal gun fired and the competition timer started.

Chu Heng rested his chin on his hand and gazed intently at An Qiao on stage, his eyes burning with intensity.

Others turned their attention to the competition platform, wondering how An Qiao would handle the B-grade mutated sunflower.

Some were already secretly imagining how he would embarrass himself.

Of course, many more were simply there for An Qiao’s beauty. Although somewhat useless, he was undeniably beautiful, ethereal, and otherworldly, like an elf.

Chu Heng, who was gazing intently at An Qiao, noticed the large number of people staring at him. His brows furrowed, and a surge of anger rose within him.

Why were these people staring so intently at his Qiaoqiao?

They want to hide him away so that only he can see him!

As if by telepathy, An Qiao also glanced at him, understanding perfectly.

On stage and below, their gazes unexpectedly met in midair. Then they intertwined and locked.

Seemingly sensing the anger and negativity within Chu Heng, An Qiao’s gaze softened with gentle reassurance.

Chu Heng suddenly felt a sense of calm wash over him.

Even though there were so many eyes on him from below, An Qiao’s eyes only saw him.

**

Meanwhile, after the principal of the Empire’s First Military Academy heard from his friend, Teacher Zhen, about the prophecy that the Zerg would invade the Empire again, he seized an opportunity to contact Chu Heng’s adjutant, Jiang Qi.

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