ABRIWMTHM Chapter 3

Shi Xing finished speaking, and Yu Man quickly retracted his hand.

Even too shocked to stand up, he awkwardly scooted back two steps away from Shi Xing, his eyes filled with fear.

“Xing Xing, have you… entered the maturity period?” Lu Lu, who was beside him, regained his senses and hesitantly asked.

The whole Nest knew about Yu Man entering the maturity period, and Lu Lu, who understood the racial characteristics of Blue Star humans very well, subconsciously made such a guess.

Shi Xing’s gaze finally fell on Lu Lu.

At this time, Lu Lu had just turned twenty, had not yet entered military school, and had not experienced the countless battles with star beasts that would come later. The current him, stripped of the steadiness around his eyes and brows, was undoubtedly youthful.

Just as the caretaker described, he still carried a hint of innocent boyishness.

Shi Xing felt somewhat nostalgic for such a Lu Lu but did not linger on it.

Some things are difficult to cut off, but when truly discarded, it only brings a sense of peace and liberation.

After years of experiencing the ways of the world, the emotions hidden in Shi Xing’s gaze were too complicated. Even a light glance at Lu Lu caused the keen Lu Xiaosha to immediately sense something different, feeling inexplicably flustered by that look.

Shi Xing smiled at Lu Lu, a shallow and faint smile, “Not yet.”

“You are lying!” Yu Man retorted immediately.

In the next moment, Shi Xing’s hand unceremoniously pressed against Yu Man’s forehead. Thinking Shi Xing had gone mad and wanted to absorb his mental power, Yu Man gasped in fear. Just as he was about to struggle, the disdainful look in Shi Xing’s eyes made him realize that nothing was happening.

Shi Xing: “Am I lying?”

Yu Man’s ears turned beet red.

Of course not. The fluctuations of mental power are hard to deceive a Blue Star human. Shi Xing’s hand not only did not actively absorb his mental power, but Yu Man also did not feel the disorientation unique to the maturity period. Instead… it was extremely stable.

So stable that it seemed somewhat inconsistent with being before the maturity period.

Yu Man’s silence was undoubtedly a powerful response.

Shi Xing did not care what Yu Man thought; having concluded, he said to Lu Lu, “Shall we change places to talk?”

Lu Lu nodded, and Shi Xing turned to leave without even attempting to help Yu Man up.

He felt that this was somewhat uncharacteristic of Shi Xing, but thinking of what Yu Man just did, Lu Lu suppressed his eyebrows and followed Shi Xing out.

By the time Yu Man sluggishly realized what everything that had just happened represented, his heart was once again filled with shock, the vast difference made his fingers tightly clenched.

When had Shi Xing become this strong?

“Xing Xing, are you about to enter the maturity period?”

Finding a secluded bench in the garden, Lu Lu sat down first, not waiting for Shi Xing to speak, he smiled brightly and said without thinking.

Shi Xing didn’t know how to respond, but luckily Lu Lu wasn’t really looking for an accurate answer. Seeing that he was silent, Lu Lu took it as consent and continued, “I heard everything you all said.”

The boy’s bright eyes stared at Shi Xing, as if golden light entered his vision under the setting sun, shining brightly.

So bright that just looking at him made Shi Xing’s eyes feel somewhat scorched.

There was once a time when he most liked Lu Lu’s smile, open and warm, as if there was not a trace of gloom.

Lu Lu looked around, then lowered his voice and asked, “Are you really starving yourself?”

His words conveyed an expectation that Lu Lu didn’t even realize he held.

“……”

The distance between their two faces was too close, and Shi Xing unnoticeably pushed Lu Lu back a little, with no burden denying, “No.”

At first, there was a hint of disappointment that Lu Lu himself didn’t quite understand, but soon he laughed wholeheartedly, genuinely saying, “That’s good. Otherwise, I’d worry about you.”

The words were serious yet natural, and under Lu Lu’s unwavering gaze, the atmosphere became uncontrollably ambiguous.

The evening sun bathed Shi Xing’s face, illuminating his light blue eyes. Watching Shi Xing like this, the hidden feelings in Lu Lu’s heart surged, causing him to hesitate slightly as he asked, “Aren’t we supposed to talk about matching? How have you been considering it, Xing Xing?”

As soon as he finished asking, as if remembering something, he fished something out of his pocket and stuffed it into Shi Xing’s hand.

“Oh, right, I promised to give you this; just in time, you can use it now that you’re about to enter the maturity period.”

It was a crystal.

A high-grade crystal, rich and pure in energy. During their time at the Nest, Lu Lu often fed Shi Xing one.

Feeling the energy surging within the crystal, Shi Xing had a complicated expression.

Right now, Lu Lu hadn’t harmed him; on the contrary, he had only given him care and assistance.

Shi Xing had forgotten how this habit formed. Anyway, the royal mansion didn’t lack these things. Initially, he would refuse a little, but later, after he decided to follow Lu Lu, he had never refused again. Now…

Shi Xing returned the crystal back to Lu Lu and said softly, “The black crystal from the ore star outside the boundary line, your brother probably didn’t bring back much, it’s too precious for me.”

“How do you…” Lu Lu was puzzled, not remembering telling Shi Xing this.

Lowering his head for a moment, Shi Xing interrupted his words, “Lu Lu, I think we probably aren’t very suitable.”

The resolute refusal softened due to past kindness, becoming gentle.

If possible, Shi Xing still wanted the two of them to part on good terms, with neither in debt.

Lu Lu was taken aback, “What do you mean?”

Shi Xing looked directly into Lu Lu’s eyes, “Have you thought that I might be a burden to you? You… can’t support me?”

Lu Lu froze for a moment, then uncontrollably started laughing, “Xing Xing, are you joking with me? Things like crystals and beast cores, the royal mansion has as much as it wants; how could I let you starve?”

But Shi Xing wasn’t joking. He said seriously, “While the royal mansion indeed has many ordinary crystals and beast cores, what if I need more than that?”

“What if I need high-grade crystals, S-class mental power or higher, or advanced beast cores that exceed S-class to sustain myself? Lu Lu, what will you do then?”

Lu Lu’s smile froze at the corners.

It is well known that Blue Star humans are fragile during the maturity period and require massive amounts of energy to fuel their growth. The more powerful a therapist is after the maturity period, the greater the energy they need during it, in vast quantities.

From ordinary crystals to high-grade crystals.

From superior A-class mental power to S-class.

These were all manageable.

But an S-class beast core isn’t commonly found in the market; exceeding S-level is basically only available on the battlefield.

But Lu Lu knew what an S-class beast was. He knew he would not grow strong enough to kill them while concurrently growing with Shi Xing during his maturity period.

However…

“If it comes to needing S-class beast cores, the talent level would at least need to reach S-class,” Lu Lu said earnestly, “But over the past decade, among the three batches of matching Blue Star humans, the Nest has only rated talents as high as A-class.”

Before Shi Xing could say that he was different from others, Lu Lu’s hand was already pressed against Shi Xing’s forehead, “Is your body uncomfortable now that you’re about to enter the maturity period?”

“Matching is a big deal; it’s entirely normal to consider it for a moment. I don’t mean to rush you; don’t panic, I won’t force you, Xing Xing.”

“But don’t say things like that next time, okay?”

Lu Lu smiled again, his tone carrying a hint of firmness, “Otherwise, I might think you’re just looking for an excuse to reject me.”

Shi Xing: “……”

Realizing that Lu Lu didn’t even consider the possibility of his assessment exceeding A, Shi Xing fell silent. Coupled with Lu Lu’s last sentence, Shi Xing had no doubt that if he argued about it again, it would only lead Lu Lu to think he was indeed looking for an excuse, making the conversation go even more awry.

The topic of assessment reminded Shi Xing, and he took a step back to advance, “The assessment is in two days; let’s see then.”

Arguing was pointless; it was better to let the facts speak.

If the assessment came out over A, with various factions vying for him, they wouldn’t have any further interactions.

Lu Lu had already decided that Shi Xing’s emotions were off because he was entering the maturity period, not taking it seriously. His tone even carried a comforting lilt, “Okay, okay, Xing Xing, you definitely won’t be rated low. I’ll be waiting to see.”

Shi Xing: “…………”

Shi Xing really didn’t want to talk anymore.

Back in his room, Shi Xing immediately took out the crystals provided by the Nest that he had hidden and absorbed them one by one.

Just now, when Lu Lu wanted to stuff the crystals to him, he had firmly refused, and after a standoff, Lu Lu didn’t insist, probably feeling that Shi Xing was emotionally unstable during the maturity period and thus needing consideration.

When he once again felt the fullness in his mental sea, Shi Xing centered himself and released his mental power.

Layer upon layer extended, spreading out until he felt it becoming strenuous before stopping.

Today, when he realized he was starving, he discovered something else.

Now Shi Xing was sure that his feelings were right.

Although he hadn’t entered the maturity period yet, his abilities were not what they were at the time.

His mental sea was wide and deep, not the shape it was before his maturity period, but rather at the moment he lost his abilities.

However, his mental power was still very weak.

But now his body had also been hungry for a long time, and Shi Xing could not determine whether this was a consequence of his previous actions or a result of the weakening attribute before entering the maturity period.

In short, the threads within his mental sea were currently unreachable.

What he could activate and use came unexpectedly in alignment with his mental sea size back in those days.

Before long, Shi Xing felt a wave of fatigue. After starving for so long, and today absorbing too much energy all at once, he needed time to digest it.

Not understanding the situation, he decided to set it aside, planning to see if anything changed after he digested the energy by tomorrow.

After washing up and going to bed, as soon as his head touched the pillow, Shi Xing’s eyelids completely drooped.

In the middle of the night, Shi Xing woke up from the heat rising within him. Despite having absorbed a large amount of crystals before sleeping, his mental sea felt once again devoid, even hungrier than before he absorbed the crystals, to a level that couldn’t be overcome by sheer will alone.

He slapped his forehead, feeling enlightened.

Maturity period.

If he wasn’t deliberately starving himself, now that Yu Man had entered the maturity period, after he filled himself…

Damn.

The hunger sensation kept intensifying; entering the maturity period suddenly, Shi Xing still needed more crystals.

Realizing his body couldn’t wait, Shi Xing struggled to change his clothes and went out to find the caretaker. But just as he left, an announcement echoed in the room, instructing all Blue Star humans to stay in their rooms as the Nest would be closed for several hours to host important guests.

If only Shi Xing had left a little later, he would have realized that important figures had arrived.

Hence, as Shi Xing walked toward the caretaker’s office through the front entrance as usual, he felt that the silence along the way was somewhat out of the ordinary.

However, he didn’t have time to care about that; his forehead grew hotter, sweat droplets rolling down. In the short distance, Shi Xing felt dizzy and unsteady.

His senses grew increasingly ethereal, and Shi Xing leaned against the wall for support, but he couldn’t connect with the caretaker on his communicator.

After turning a corner, Shi Xing bent down, lowering his head.

Just before he saw that he was about to bump into a group of people, his mental sea first sensed multiple threads of high-grade mental power surge out at once, shockingly penetrating and covering him.

“Stop!”

“Who is it?”

The reprimands exploded in his ears, and the weakened Shi Xing was swept by mental power, causing his knees to weaken. Just before he knelt down, a pair of hands firmly supported him, and upon sensing the mental power’s flow, his body reacted faster than his thoughts, gripping the other’s long fingers.

Mental power instantly flowed into his body through the fingertips.

Several voices shouted in a fluster, “Your Highness.”

“Your Highness!”

“Release him quickly…”

The other hand supporting him raised slightly, and the surroundings immediately quieted down.

Very… very high-grade mental power, not just S, but SS? Or maybe even SSS?

In any case, after absorbing just a little, the dizziness eased significantly.

His vision became clearer, and Shi Xing saw the long fingers that supported him, the material of the shirt peeking out from the sleeves was exquisite, and slight movements created golden light flowing.

The cuffs of the outer coat were elaborately embroidered, luxurious and intricate, seemingly adorned with special family patterns that Shi Xing found familiar but couldn’t recall where he had seen them.

He must have bumped into an important figure involved in this matching.

After catching his breath, as Shi Xing’s condition visibly improved, the other party did not hesitate to retract their mental power.

This scene also made Shi Xing feel a sense of familiarity.

Struggling to stand up straight for a moment, their clasped hands followed by changing angles for continued accommodating support.

On the outer edge of the little finger, a small red mole became visible.

Shi Xing froze for a moment.

Slowly raising his head, he once again collided with a pair of ash-gray eyes.

“Are you okay?”

As time and space shifted, in another encounter, the other person asked the same question again.