Teng Kelin was fully prepared.
He stared intently at Little Chu Zao, trying to figure out what the cub would do and readying himself to dodge.
Having long been secretly competing with the cub, Teng Kelin knew just how impressive his marksmanship and archery were.
He didn’t really expect any accidental surprise; it was just that the beliefs he’d firmly held had suddenly collapsed, and the guiding symbol ahead had vanished. Teng Kelin and the others couldn’t quite adapt and felt out of place.
This group had mainly gone through formal training but rarely any normal social interaction, so when they tried to blend in, they actually couldn’t and still felt like outsiders—yet never attracted the cub’s attention.
They were at a loss.
Of course, for Little Chu Zao, whether it was Teng Kelin’s squad or others, everyone looked much the same in his eyes.
Not much difference.
So while Teng Kelin was on high alert against a strike from Chu Zao’s squad—
Teng Kelin realized the other side didn’t slow down at all, and the cub even managed to tag his teammates with a couple of psychic arrows as he passed—
So confident?
But then again—with a proud Crown… huh?
Including the cub, the four of them zipped right past, targeting the beast squad his team had just intercepted.
It was led by a flying beast captain, with around seven or eight beasts in all.
Few had dared to enter this area before, all because of this beast squad.
This squad was hard enough for a four-person team to handle—let alone since the leader could fly, with avian wings.
Only the newcomers, Teng Kelin’s team, felt confident facing them.
But just as they engaged, before even a few rounds passed, the cub’s group came for their points.
Teng Kelin was about to turn back when a teammate grabbed him.
Suddenly, with no defense, he was yanked back, squeezed in a tight hug, and kissed hard on the cheek.
“Captain—I, I think my heart was racing just now—I think our relationship should…”
“What should what, Captain’s obviously mine—I kissed first.”
“No, Captain, look at me, look at me!”
Suddenly covered in sweat, Teng Kelin: …Huh?
Wait, hold on—
You guys—!!!
Teng Kelin froze, then reached out in despair.
“No—! Your Highness, what have you done, don’t kiss me!!!”
But he only had two hands, and the three surrounded him, pinning him down so he couldn’t fight back.
This was Little Chu Zao, eyes wild for points, totally caught up in the excitement.
His wings fluttered behind him, his eyes a little tired and weary.
In fact, Chu Zao hadn’t slept much at all; after all, it was the first real time he was facing everything on his own with no parents’ protection.
His soft, white, delicate face was flushed with exhilaration, amber eyes full of longing for points.
The cub grabbed his gun.
Even on the battlefield, his order was still childish and sweet: “Go!”
And the three boys with him were each more competitive than the last.
Chao Huangmu was naturally competitive, Yun Songquan driven to outdo Chao, and Peng Liang, seeing himself falling behind, gritted his teeth to keep up.
In the end, Chu Zao’s squad became the disaster squad of this drifter planet.
Even the little camera drones, flapping their tiny wings, kept their distance.
The live room was a sea of laughter.
‘Hahaha, see, that squad clearly hasn’t met His Highness yet.’
‘Exactly. After one encounter with His Highness, everyone runs the next time—no hesitation at all!’
‘I’m dying laughing—is this really a training ground broadcast? Or is this some comedy theater? Some third-rate director from another planet would love this! Hahahahahaha, I’m dead.’
‘Boy on boy, seriously, too much, hahaha—and the squad itself doesn’t seem all that popular either.’
‘Yeah, from last night to this morning, there’ve been tons of victims; lately, any First Military students who run into His Highness instinctively detach and run the other way. They’ve gotten the memo, but looks like this squad didn’t—they’re first-years from the advanced division.’
‘His Highness has gone red for points and totally changed the battlefield dynamic. Hard to imagine what the other academies researching this training must be thinking—let’s check out what the First Academy is doing? Fire up the stream—boy on boy, bro you’re so fragrant.’
‘6.’
‘The official channel is calling it exciting, hahaha—where did they even find this? And His Highness sticks to a pattern, mostly boy-on-boy—didn’t mess up any random pairs…hahahaha.’
‘So what, same-sex couples are pretty common now! Hahaha, but the Cupid’s Arrow is definitely the real deal—’
No feelings, just going for looks.
It was almost over—just about time.
The beast squad was actually not that hard for them.
Little Chu Zao’s powers were getting stronger by the minute.
But the place was so desolate, so fighting always kicked up dust—
When time ran out, all the camera feeds broadcasted the ending at once.
Points in, Holy Cas forces started orderly clean-up, sweeping away the remaining beasts.
And with everyone howling in protest, the broadcast was ruthlessly shut off.
Teng Kelin, reaching out in vain, eyes blank—
Why?
Why, really—?
“Wait—boss???”
“What did I just do?”
“Am I seeing things, or did boss look kind of cute just now?”
Teng Kelin: …
Get lost!!!
He slumped, head bowed, one hand on the ground, looking totally wrecked.
He’d dreamed up many endings—maybe convinced by His Highness’s power, or awed by the points gap—but never this.
His Highness hadn’t even noticed them?
Teng Kelin thought so. He looked up.
Through the dust, Little Chu Zao stood with his bow, honey-colored eyes shining, his crown halo bright.
In the distance, Yun Songquan got up, Peng Liang clung to a boulder, Chao Huangmu landed lightly beside the tiny cub after delivering the final blow, standing one step behind, smiling with slightly cold eyes.
Clearly, this guy beside His Highness still held a grudge over being snubbed on the starship.
His Highness was only six, still growing, so tiny, but under this dust-choked, gloomy sky, the pressure from him was intense.
That innocent, cute little face seemed tinged with other emotion—
Was it dislike?
Teng Kelin hung his head, thinking. He looked around at his teammates.
Unexpectedly, the ones who’d just pinned him were reacting worse than he was, backing away even further, all retreating several meters.
“I haven’t even yelled at you guys yet; what are those forced expressions for, huh?”
Teng Kelin exploded, stomping in place—he was the one pinned and almost kissed all over, okay?
As the dust settled, Little Chu Zao sneezed, rubbing his nose, uncomfortable.
His little face was smudged with dirt, even his snow-white wings dusted.
The Holy Cas troops cleaned up fast; the Ninth Army just steamrolled the weak beasts. There weren’t many injuries this time, but still plenty of issues exposed.
Nearby, Ayala hovered in the air, looking down with a sweep of his wings, wary of the cub’s Cupid’s Bow.
“Training’s over, twenty-four hours. Starnet comms are fully restored, maps updated, docking points posted—find the nearest one and wait for the starship.”
And with that, Ayala left at lightning speed.
Meanwhile, on the Ninth Army flagship, aboard the secretly-following ship, Anya burst out laughing: “Ayala’s definitely scared of Zao Zao.”
“Ran so fast, hahaha.”
Amos made no sound. Suddenly, he looked up at the stars.
“Second brother? What is it?”
Amos was the Crown Clan’s strongest, and sharpest.
“Seems like a wave of beast creatures is coming—”
But the aura was odd—weak, chaotic.
And this was Holy Cas territory. At a time like this, these things shouldn’t be able to cross the blockades, much less such weak creatures.
Something was off.
“Should I go check?”
Anya stood up.
“I’ll come too,” Frey said.
“But, speaking of which—training’s over and Feeney still isn’t here. Did his comms go out again?”
“Who knows. When he left, I had the logistics team double-check everything—no problem at departure.”
Amos got up, clearly deciding to go himself.
“Let’s go take a look.”
But just then—
A new message came in.
From the Third Army, with Feeney—who’d disappeared for another day.
“Feeney’s encountered an unmarked fleet. When he tried to detain and search, they bolted. He’s giving chase—looks like it’s a Hymn Organization starship.”
Kaman glanced at Amos as he spoke.
“They’re fast—stealth ships, very scattered. Feeney’s pursuing; Feiman asked if we need help intercepting. Looks like they’re heading our way.”
Amos: “Pinpoint their coordinates.”
“AI assessment says—their target is near (xxx, xxx, xxx).”
Meilun said, tidying the hair hanging over his shoulder, looking lazy and indifferent—but then he paused.
“Eh? Looks familiar.”
“Of course it does, check our coordinates,” Kaman laughed.
“So, straight for us?”
“Have Feiman hold position at the objective.”
The starship hatch was already open as Amos spoke; the wings on his back unfurled.
“Have the Tenth Army return, and coordinate with Feeney to intercept.”
Honestly, nearly every Crown Clan member with spare time had come to sneak a look at the cub’s training—but not many actually stayed glued all day and night.
The fact that they were all fleeing in this direction suggested the enemy had no clue.
And to all dash here together—what for? What was here?
Amos looked at the display, where his own cub had already reached the starship pick-up point.
The answer was obvious.
A cold light flashed in His Majesty Amos’s eyes.
Every single time, almost every time he didn’t keep the little one at his side, people would stir up all kinds of trouble targeting his cub.
His poor, innocent, adorable, and weak little cub.
With the thickest of parent filters, His Majesty Amos thought so.
But now, there was no rush.
If this really was the Hymn Organization, or even high command, and he could get his hands on that strange stone, there might be more revelations.
After all, Hymn still didn’t know what happened when Kindness died.
Amos spread his wings and flew out, Anya and Frey close behind.
They went to investigate those weak, clustered beast auras.
The two Hymn Organization leaders were thoroughly entangled and couldn’t escape, or even widen the gap—because the Third Army charged straight in, closing the distance dramatically.
In the end, they all dashed for the predetermined rendezvous point.
Frantic, the two left one last message for their colleagues.
At the other end of the galaxy, just as worried—
“How could this be?! Those routes are always safe—we’ve been through countless times, no Holy Cas, no Crown Clan—”
“Yeah, now there are only five of the Seven, and there’s no way to replace the others so soon. Lord Chastity, what do we do?”
“Don’t panic—”
Under his hood, Chastity looked at the star map.
“It might be Holy Cas just stumbling on us—there aren’t that many Crown Clan there, so they should be able to slip out. And both are carrying God’s Gifted Stones—more powerful than before.”
Chastity thought—the advantage was on their side.
It was just that Holy Cas were crazier.
“There’s only Feiman deep in the pollution, and Ayala managing the training. Crown Clan are arrogant, always thinking they can do anything alone—that’s our advantage. If they can really take down the little Crownling, the countdown to the Crown Clan’s stagnation will restart—that’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
Chastity’s words let them relax a little.
“Yes, you’re right.”
“Move quickly—check on Test Subject Xi’s progress. Let the final trigger for breaking the barrier be set on that planet, and create as much chaos as possible. Let the pollution spread, disrupt them, and give our comrades their chance.”
“Yes!”
Struggling through the pollution, Xi received the new info.
Slouched in the pilot seat, Xi struggled to open his eyes.
He sneered at the orders, wiping blood from his lips with his hand.
Finally entering the target coordinates—he was painfully aware that they were all just consumables for Hymn.
He understood perfectly.
The Crown Clan—
How nice. Even full of despair, they had freedom and power. It’s just death after all—
On that point, at least, Xi was like the Hymn Organization: he didn’t like the Crown Clan either.
In a certain sense.
The starship Xi piloted turned; beside him was the comm switch. He ignored the private comm’s vibration—just a special line set up “for contact,” by that lunatic.
Xi sneered and disconnected.
On the other end, Shenghua was slowly heading their way.
She looked at her rejected comm, exchanged a look with her underling, and slammed her hand on the table, annoyed.
“That brat won’t listen to me!”
“Unforgivable, he actually won’t listen to you, boss!!”
Like background-cricket employees muttering behind a tiny leader.
“We’re sure it’s here?”
“Should be, boss. We’ll check when we get there? Anyway, I asked around—everyone just says the job’s nearby.”
Shenghua nodded, pushed up her hat brim, and muttered softly.
“Isn’t this right next to Holy Cas’s First Military Academy’s training site?”
Rumor had it the little highness was there too.
So annoying—
Shenghua thought bitterly, recalling how many photos and videos of Little Chu Zao she’d saved—
Not allowed to let anyone else see, not even screenshots.
That was just too much!!
Couldn’t she just take one look?
Why was Holy Cas tech so powerful?! She couldn’t even get over the firewall!!!
Near Holy Cas’s Ninth Army.
Out in the starlit sky, Amos twirled the longsword in his hand, looking down at his psychic sword.
On the silvery-black blade were tiny tooth marks; ahead, some residue faded off its edge.
It had materialized, if only for an instant.
A very stealthy beast?
A new species he’d never seen.
Amos wondered.
Very weak.
But the feeling it gave him was not good.
Best to eliminate it quickly.
Amos raised his eyes, swept the area, and extended his hand, still gripping his psychic sword. On his crown, the halo flared bright, bringing an unparalleled aura often called demonic.
He swung the longsword slightly.
Countless strange clashes sounded; most of the odd auras here vanished in an instant.
Suddenly, the air grew thick with the scent of blood.
Meanwhile, on the training planet—
They were waiting at the starship collection point.
Teng Kelin had yet to recover from his defeat. He kept away from both the cub and his teammates, standing off to one side, head lowered, avoiding reality.
Little Chu Zao didn’t pay any attention—he was filthy, but his eyes sparkled; after crawling and rolling all over, his squad took first place, but now he bore a new “matte finish.”
He was chatting with Chao Huangmu and the others.
Because the beast squad they’d taken on was so tough, and the cub had swept through with his Cupid’s Bow, the students nearby instinctively kept away.
So, at this starship rendezvous, not many had gathered.
Lost in misery, Teng Kelin failed to notice the hidden presence not far off.
Silently trembling, the beast Black Spring crept closer—
Most of his split bodies had been wiped out—over two-thirds, gone.
That meant he himself was in grave danger.
Why, why, why…
The jelly-like mass twisted; those strange beast eyes scanned the area.
He was extracting the dying memories of his other forms, trying to find out why.
Then, he saw something that utterly terrified him—
A silver-black crown flashed, then everything disappearing in a blink.
He’d seen that crown a few times before.
Black Spring, still not fully evolved, remembered it all too well.
The crown from the previous vision, and as he’d left the pollution zone: the one atop that tall, black-haired figure—plus—
Black Spring recalled, in the pollution, the shattered crown halo atop that immense being; each sighting brought him overwhelming…pressure.
Farther away, that tiny crown glimmered. Black Spring, though drawn by the smell of delicious meat, shrank back, afraid to go closer.
Danger—supremely dangerous.
But his strength was dwindling fast; unable to leave, lured by the scent from the cub, Black Spring needed to refuel—
He now had some intelligence, though not much. Black Spring feared the Crown Clan’s halo, yet couldn’t resist turning toward a figure in the corner—Teng Kelin—
Eat him… eat him! If only I eat him, I’ll have enough strength to escape—
The gooey beast’s form stretched, perfectly camouflaged against the environment, now faintly visible.
Both cub and Chao Huangmu looked up sharply at the same instant.
Elsewhere in the stars, Crown Clan paused their conversations and turned in a certain direction.
The video feed beside Little Chu Zao was still transmitting live to all the parents.
Amos gripped his sword and turned…
Nearest, Ayala’s wings twitched, the silver-black psychic staff in his hand spun twice—just about to strike.
Ayala wasn’t sure what this aura was, but one thing he knew—
At this close range, with no pollution—Crown Clan were invincible.
In that split second, Teng Kelin sensed something too. He turned, and the pressure from the beast, soon to be a beast commander, froze the fifteen-year-old on the spot.
What…what is this? What disgusting thing?
Coming for him?
Was he going to die?
He was just a little lost, a little unpopular; surely he wouldn’t die for it…?
He hadn’t—He hadn’t even been remembered by His Highness yet…
A half-beat, the parents paused, Ayala gripped his weapon—deep in the pollution, angry screams carried; Feiman turned, faintly sensing it.
For Teng Kelin, time stopped, thoughts spinning in his mind for only an instant.
Beside him, a spot flared bright, as if kindling a violent fire.
The pressure of flames swept in, dust flew, hair whipped up.
Out the corner of his eye—Teng Kelin saw black fire blazing past his face, arrows flying by.
Not far behind, Little Chu Zao, still small and fuzzy, but in that instant, honey-colored eyes shone. Golden light flowed into black flames, burning atop his elegant crown. He heard the little highness’s angry shout, still childish but unusually dependable: “Bad thing, what are you trying to do to him?”