Lu Zhi: ...
Lu Zhi quickly shook his head, "No, no, I don't want to be burned by fire."
Even though he knew what kind of fire it was, the trigger source was 'sin,' and the scope was so wide that no one could guarantee they were entirely 'sinless.'
"With me here, what are you afraid of?" Shen Qi held Lu Zhi's hand and slowly reached towards the crown. He said, "Your eyes tell me you really want to touch it."
Lu Zhi blushed. He was indeed interested in the legendary double-S, but he hadn't expected Shen Qi to see through him.
Shen Qi: "Your eyes can't hide anything."
Lu Zhi touched his nose. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he let Shen Qi hold his hand and reach for the crown.
The transcendent beings who were fighting stopped their actions in unison, holding their breath and watching Lu Zhi's movements.
Then, a miraculous scene unfolded.
As Shen Qi and Lu Zhi's hands simultaneously reached out to touch the crown, its colorful gems emitted a dazzling, vibrant light. Both their fingertips passed through a barrier outside the crown.
Just as they were about to touch the crown, dark flames erupted on the back of Shen Qi's hand, which was holding Lu Zhi's.
"Shen Qi!" Lu Zhi exclaimed in concern, instinctively reaching out with his other hand to help extinguish the black flames. However, Shen Qi held his hand and asked, "It's fine, did you touch it?"
The black flames only burned Shen Qi, not harming Lu Zhi in the slightest. His slender fingertips gently touched the crown, and the colorful gems' light grew even more dazzling. Even the observing transcendent beings seemed to feel the crown's joy and excitement.
But Lu Zhi showed no hint of happiness. He anxiously said, "That's enough, I touched it. Let go quickly, aren't you feeling any pain?"
The black flames were not purely black; a purple flame heart burned at their center. For some reason, Lu Zhi felt the purple flame was scorching his heart and causing him distress.
Shen Qi gazed at him deeply and slowly withdrew his hand. "Alright."
As Shen Qi's hand withdrew from the crown's outer barrier, the dark purple flames slowly extinguished. Yet, as if unwilling, a residual purple flame heart remained, burning a small patch of flesh on the back of Shen Qi's well-defined hand until it was charred.
"You're hurt!" Lu Zhi panicked, unsure of what to do. He cupped Shen Qi's hand and asked carefully, "Does it hurt?"
For Shen Qi to be burned despite his abilities, what kind of fire was that purple flame heart?
Shen Qi stared at Lu Zhi's displeased lips, which were pressed into a straight line. He gently nuzzled Lu Zhi's hair and said with a hint of wronged, almost childish pleading, "It hurts, blow on it."
Lu Zhi frowned, looking at him suspiciously. "Did you deliberately get yourself hurt?"
Could those flames really injure Shen Qi?
"I'm not a masochist. I didn't expect that fire to be so potent," Shen Qi dejectedly blew on his own hand. "It really hurts. I haven't been injured in a long time."
Shen Qi said sadly, "The injury on my hand is nothing, but I'm hurt inside. You only expressed concern verbally, without any practical action. I'm truly heartbroken..."
His aggrieved tone and gaze made him look like Lu Zhi was an utterly wicked scumbag.
Lu Zhi abruptly pulled Shen Qi's hand and blew forcefully on the wound twice. "Happy now?"
Shen Qi blinked, his face blooming into a wide smile. "Darling, you're so kind. After you blew on it, the wound has completely healed."
Lu Zhi glanced suspiciously and was astonished to find the skin where he had been burned was smooth and flawless, with no trace of a scar.
"You lied to me!" Lu Zhi took a deep breath, no longer questioning but certain.
"Do you like this crown? If you do, take it as a collection," Shen Qi changed the subject very smoothly, as if his pretense of pitifulness to get Lu Zhi to blow on his hand had never happened.
"He's been recognized by the crown?"
"How is that possible? He's only B-class. Is this crown malfunctioning?"
The transcendent beings who had stopped fighting and witnessed the entire event were enraged.
"What are you waiting for? Grab it!"
The transcendent being who had attacked Ni Hong and almost seized the crown suddenly unleashed a powerful surge from his legs and shot towards Lu Zhi.
"Wait—" Two S-class powerhouses attempted to intercept, but it was too late.
Lu Zhi felt an extremely powerful energy bearing down on him. He turned his head to see a muscular man powerfully swinging a fist towards him.
Lu Zhi instinctively summoned his treasured artifact, Manluo, but before he could cry out, the man stopped mid-air, just one step away from him.
What happened next instilled fear in everyone. The man, before he could even utter a sound of pain, his features contorted, and his body instantly dissolved into a pool of blood.
For a moment, all the transcendent beings dared not move.
"Am I too kind, that you repeatedly try to attack my person? Hmm?" Shen Qi, embracing Lu Zhi from behind, spoke with a clear voice that carried a terrifying killing intent.
The transcendent beings, lost and filled with terror, stared at Shen Qi's eyes, which had turned into golden-red rings.
Lu Zhi, with his back to Shen Qi, didn't see that Shen Qi had been provoked. He instinctively patted Shen Qi's hand and said, "Loosen up a bit, I can't breathe."
After a long pause, Shen Qi lowered his head, nuzzled Lu Zhi's neck, and said calmly, "Killing them is cleaner."
None of the sharp-eared and keen-sighted transcendent beings failed to hear this statement, and each of them trembled uncontrollably.
"This will make Lofris.Lodin's job difficult, and the cleanup will be a hassle," Lu Zhi frowned, pointing at the person who had turned into a pool of blood, and sighed. "That carpet is ruined."
Shen Qi chuckled softly at this, his lips brushing Lu Zhi's earlobe. "You're right."
Lu Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Lofris.Lodin whistled, "Hey, are we still fighting? If not, please settle the bill."
The transcendent beings felt as if they had just returned from the brink of death. The first to react was the S-class earth-element transcendent being. "No more fighting, settle the bill."
If the auction house hadn't been so thoroughly destroyed, Lu Zhi would have thought they were discussing a business deal.
Soon, other transcendent beings also 'settled their bills' and left with a hurried, fleeing demeanor.
In the blink of an eye, only a mess remained at the scene.
"It's finally over," Ni Hong sighed, still shaken. "Captain, thank goodness you're here." She then cautiously glanced at Lu Zhi. "The crown has been claimed. I didn't expect it to choose a B-class."
"I didn't expect it either," Lofris.Lodin stroked his chin. "What's your name?"
Lu Zhi answered the question with another question, "I wasn't recognized by the crown."
Lofris.Lodin and Ni Hong looked surprised. "How is that possible?"
Lu Zhi scratched his head and said, "Really, I can feel it."
As he spoke, he naturally picked up the crown, which was the size of a baby's fist. Its seven-colored light bloomed, dazzlingly beautiful. It looked like it had been claimed by someone.
"The crown only allowed me to touch it, but I didn't gain the right to use it," Lu Zhi explained.
"This is a bit problematic," Lofris.Lodin glanced at the silent Shen Qi.
Lu Zhi took the brocade box containing the crown from Shen Qi's hand. "Never mind him, you take this crown back."
"Wait." The sudden voice startled everyone present.
A person completely wrapped up emerged from a corner. "Since the crown hasn't been claimed, can I give it a try?"
Lu Zhi looked at the person who had removed their mask and saw that it was the male protagonist of the original book, Qin Huai.