The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] Chapter 67

Lin Jing stood in the raging storm, wind and lightning swirling around him. His curled hair rested on his shoulders, his white dress trailing along the ground. With deep brown eyes flickering in the candlelight, he looked like a painting come to life.

Veraka stepped closer, her body radiating cold dampness from the rain. She laughed to herself. “The Soul Reversion Ritual is a forbidden technique of the Pars Royal Family. In reality, the blood of the penitent isn’t necessary—any blood will do. The Queen only wrote it that way to prevent potential disasters.”

She paused, then smiled sweetly. “So today, my dear, I’ll be needing yours.”

Her last words were like a demon whispering in the dark.

Lin Jing’s pupils contracted. His voice trembled as he pleaded, “No, Veraka, we… we can work together.”

Veraka curled a strand of wet hair around her fingers and laughed. “Work together? I don’t need to. Once I get the magic vine fruit and revive the princess, this story is over.”

Lin Jing shook his head desperately, whispering, “No… You… You still haven’t obtained the Heart of the Rose.”

Veraka froze for a moment. Then her smile turned both sweet and venomous, like a colorful serpent. “The Heart of the Rose? Hmm… Now I’m curious, M. How did you come to this timeline?”

Lin Jing took a shallow breath, his voice shaking. “I… I found an old map. It led me to a small wooden cabin.”

Veraka reacted instantly. “A cabin? You met Evelyn?”

Lin Jing said nothing.

Veraka chuckled meaningfully. “So she went into the forest? That fool—did she think this forbidden ritual was meant to summon a witch? And by sheer dumb luck, she ended up bringing you in instead.”

Lin Jing remained silent. In the wooden cabin, it seemed that Evelyn’s goal was to use this ritual to meet the witch.

Standing in the rain, Veraka’s black robe was like a thick shadow, and her damp golden hair clung to her body. She let out a strange smile. “She really is foolish. So, your intended storyline is to go to the forest, find the witch, wake up the princess, and receive the king’s reward?”

Lin Jing hesitated. “Is… is that not right?”

Veraka was thoroughly enjoying this moment and smiled. “Of course, it’s right. In role-playing, as long as the logic holds, the story is correct.” Then, in a softer voice, she added, “But the crown is missing.”

Lin Jing froze, disbelief flashing across his face. “The… the crown is missing?”

Veraka continued to smile. “Yes, the crown is missing. The Heart of the Rose has already been stolen.”

Lin Jing couldn’t seem to accept this fact. His eyes widened as he murmured, “It can be stolen? But… that’s not fair. Doesn’t that mean the game is already over?”

Veraka looked at him with undisguised contempt, as if she were staring at a naïve fool. After a long silence, she finally sneered, “I don’t even know how someone like me with over a thousand points got matched into a game with an average of five hundred points.”

“…” Lin Jing almost choked—so the problem was actually here?!

As a mere 50-point burden to the team, he quietly raised the flowerpot to cover his face, pretending to be on the verge of tears.

Sorry, boss. It was me. I slightly averaged out your score.

Veraka didn’t see him as a threat at all. She leaned down. “Shall I introduce you to the real mechanics of role-playing?”

Lin Jing looked back at her, confused.

“The start of a game is never fair, but you can make it fair.” She took a slow step forward, her patience running out, raising her blade. “The Heart of the Rose of Eberon—it’s not just that gemstone. There’s also the sleeping Rossi. Obtaining the gemstone and waking the princess is the real victory. But these two steps…”

Veraka blinked, her smile turning eerie and unfathomable. “There are many ways to complete them.”

Many ways.

That was the last thing she said before her eyes turned cold, and the blade came slashing down from above.

Lin Jing, clutching the flowerpot, instinctively rolled out of the way. In the process, he accidentally knocked over a mirror. With a loud crash, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the rainy night.

“You—” Veraka was momentarily stunned but quickly snapped into high alert, her expression ice-cold.

The magic vine, usually lazy and gluttonous, trembled in fear.

Lin Jing set it aside, grabbed a shard of broken mirror as a makeshift weapon, and stood up. He flashed a grin at Veraka. “Thanks, boss, for enlightening me.”

“You—” Veraka’s eyes widened in fury. Realizing she had been played, she trembled with rage. But her anger vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a sinister smile that sent chills down one’s spine. “No problem. I’ll just make sure you learn your lesson before you die.”

Then, she swung the blade at him with pinpoint precision.

The sharp edge sliced through the air.

For someone to reach over a thousand points in Survivor, Veraka’s combat skills and mental fortitude had to be top-tier.

Lin Jing, still in a weakened state, could only dodge her relentless attacks while waiting for an opportunity. But Veraka wasn’t giving him one—her dodging, pursuit, reaction speed, and even night vision were superior, leaving him little room to maneuver.

The black-robed woman wielded her great blade like a monster in the storm, hunting him down.

“I’ll help you, Jingzi!” The rat finally snapped out of its daze, launching itself at Veraka’s face.

But Veraka didn’t even flinch. She reached out and caught the rat mid-air, gripping it tightly.

“Sh*t—” The rat struggled wildly.

“So, you even have a pet rat as a companion?” She let out a cold chuckle. Her grip was strong, nearly crushing the rat as it gasped for air.

Lin Jing’s eyes turned icy. While she was distracted, he lunged forward, aiming the mirror shard at her weapon hand.

However, Veraka’s reflexes were razor-sharp. She narrowed her eyes and immediately tossed the rat aside. Whipping around, she raised the blade with both hands, ready to finish off Lin Jing.

“Overestimating yourself.”

In that split second, Lin Jing suddenly changed course. Instead of attacking her hand—he slashed toward her face.

Veraka might be a ruthless warrior, but like most women, she still cared about her face. The glinting mirror shard reflected light into her eyes, causing her to instinctively flinch and pull back with a scream.

At the same time, Lin Jing slammed into her arm, forcing her to drop her weapon.

A furious roar erupted outside as thunder split the night sky.

The rat staggered back to its feet, still dizzy.

Lin Jing seized the fallen blade, his pale, slender face breaking into a calm smile. Just like when he had fired those two shots back in the wooden cabin, his voice was soft and steady. “Veraka. Now it’s my turn.”

Veraka let out a cold, disdainful laugh. “With just you?”

Lin Jing smiled. “Yeah.”

After a brief thought, he added, “Actually, we have quite a connection.”

Veraka’s gaze darkened.

Lin Jing continued, “I was just as shocked as you were. How did I get matched into a 500-point game? After all, my actual score is only 50 points.”

Veraka: “…”

Lin Jing lifted the blade, his tone sincere. “So it was you who shared 500 points with me. Thank you. Without you, we wouldn’t have even been able to start this game.”

Veraka clenched her teeth, fuming.

Her lips twisted into a cold sneer as she charged at him, abandoning her weapon and opting for a barehanded attack.

The silver embroidery on her black wizard’s robe shimmered under the rain.

Lin Jing had been waiting for this moment. Just as he was about to thrust the blade into her chest—

A soft voice called out from behind.

“M.”

Light as falling snow, in this storm of thunder and lightning, it was as gentle as an old dream.

Lin Jing’s movements faltered.

In that split second of distraction, Veraka seized the opportunity. Her hand clamped around his throat, forcing him back several steps.

Lin Jing quickly regained his senses, his gaze sharp. Before Veraka could choke the life out of him, he raised his hand—and plunged the blade straight into her back.

Ka.

Steel pierced flesh, and warm blood trickled down.

He had been backed into a corner, where his foot hit something.

A flowerpot.

Veraka stared in shock, veins visible in her bloodshot eyes. But in the end, she died with them wide open, unwilling to accept her fate. Her body slumped to the ground.

Outside, the storm raged even harder.

Lin Jing stood in the corner, gripping the blade. His long white dress was still pristine, but specks of blood splattered his face.

At the doorway stood the little princess, Rossi, holding a lantern. Her frail figure seemed even more delicate in the darkness. Barefoot on the cold floor, her golden-white hair cascaded down her back, skin pale as snow—like an angel lost in the mortal world. Her light blue eyes, silent and sorrowful, took in the scene before her.

Lin Jing having just killed a person, throat dry, instinctively wanted to cover her eyes and tell her to leave. But before he could, the rat let out a terrified scream—

“What the h*ll is that?!”

The moment Veraka collapsed, a small golden ring rolled out from her sleeve, tumbling all the way to the center of the formation. Under the glow of the firelight, the ring lay in the heart of the golden rose—a pure gold, elegantly crafted ring.

The little princess took another step forward and called out, “M.”

But the unexpected continued. Behind them, something was growing wildly. The sound of branches sprouting was unnervingly clear.

Roots breaking through the soil, leaves emerging anew. Amid the torrential rain, the air carried not only the dampness of rain and the metallic scent of fresh blood but also the fragrance of soil and grass.

Terrified, the rat scrambled onto his shoulder, its voice trembling: “Look at the ground!”

He looked down.

The ground was slick with flowing blood, shamelessly spreading like red serpents.

Some of it was being overtaken by the wildly growing vines, while some followed the patterns of the formation on the ground, gradually covering it inch by inch.

The vines showed no signs of stopping.

They had detached from their source, growing like mad.

Thickening, twisting, becoming monstrous, covered in thorns.

Finally, the blood awakened the formation.

The ring lying in the golden rose became the catalyst, melting into the center of the formation.

A dazzling golden light erupted, illuminating the entire tower, even brighter than the lightning outside.

The time-reversal formation had been activated!

Lin Jing opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Rossi, but in the end, he gritted his teeth, bent down, and used a knife to hack off the wildly growing vines. Holding the flowerpot, he swiftly ran to the center of the formation with the trembling, bewildered magic vine.

The lamp in his hand slipped to the ground.

“M!” The little princess let out a hoarse cry, tears welling up in her eyes. Barefoot, she seemed ready to rush forward to grab him.

But the frenzied magic vines kept splitting and growing, reaching out of the window, stretching toward the door, coiling around her feet, forming barriers that blocked her path.

Rossi stared straight at him, disregarding everything else. She lifted her skirt and stepped forward barefoot.

Just like that blood-soaked thorny path outside the castle back then, this time was no different.

The thorns pierced her soles, and her fresh blood only drove the magic vines even wilder. Yet, she did not stop.

Lin Jing stood in the center of the formation, holding the flowerpot, watching the scene before him.

For a moment, he was lost in thought—feeling an ache in his heart.

The rat, who had been staring in shock, turned back to look at this scene and instantly fell silent.

A familiar pull came from beneath his feet. Time had begun to rewind.

The little princess ran toward him, tears streaming down her face, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She reached out as if trying to hold him back, her voice trembling with sobs: “Wait, just wait a moment, M.”

The rat covered its face with its paws, unable to bear watching.

But Lin Jing only gazed at her in silence, emotions churning within him. With a sigh, he softly said in the golden light, “I’m sorry, Rossi, but I have to go save someone very important.”

The little princess froze in place, tears falling like rain.

Boom—

The final bolt of lightning struck the sky. Black clouds churned, the sound of rain intensified, roaring like a great flood.

Before the white light could erase everything around him—

Lin Jing suddenly recalled the little princess’s letter.

She had written that Eberon after the rain was like a gloomy, reclusive, mute girl.

The sky was a deep, dark blue, the castle an overwhelming black, even the streets and houses an unpleasant gray. How could a city be so awful?

She had asked, “Do you like Eberon?” He had said yes.

But no, M, you lied to me.

You don’t like Eberon, just like you don’t like me.

Lin Jing closed his eyes and thought: That’s not true. Eberon’s rainy days are terrible, but I wasn’t lying.

I still like it… and I still like you.

***

The intense golden light of the time-reversal formation brought a moment of darkness.

Lin Jing held the flowerpot tightly. When he finally steadied himself and opened his eyes, he found himself standing in warm sunlight. Light streamed through the tower’s windows, brushing against his eyelashes like a feather’s gentle touch.

Instinctively, he looked outside and saw a vast, clear blue sky with drifting clouds.

Eberon’s weather was beautiful today.

The storm and thunder had vanished, leaving behind a tranquility so serene it was almost unreal.

“Pah, pah, pah.” The rat spat out the dust, looking half-dead on his shoulder. “Did we make it back?”

Lin Jing took a deep breath, quickly regaining his composure. Gazing outside, he shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it. If I remember right, in our original timeline, it was still snowing in Eberon.”

The rat groaned, still looking miserable. “Then let’s go down and check.”

Lin Jing: “Alright.”

He wiped his face, cleaning off the bloodstains, and stepped downstairs in his crystal shoes.

But as luck would have it, as he descended, he ran into a maid who seemed to be cleaning the tower.

Standing on the staircase, Lin Jing locked eyes with the maid below him.

Lin Jing: “…”

Maid: “…”

The next moment, a piercing scream echoed through the tower: “Aaaah! A thief!”

Without hesitation, the maid grabbed her broom and started swinging wildly with her eyes shut.

Lin Jing was caught off guard, scrambling to dodge her attacks. “No, listen to me—”

But the woman had no sense of reason, nor did she want to hear any explanations. She only continued screaming.

“…” D*mn it. Lin Jing had already expended most of his energy fighting Veraka. Now, all he could do was clutch the flowerpot and flee in a frantic mess, dodging the maid’s relentless broom swings.

The rat wailed in despair. “Shrew! That shrew!”

But they could do nothing except run for their lives.

The maid chased after them with her broom raised high, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Thief! Someone, help! There’s a thief!”

“What kind of luck is this?!”

Lin Jing was on the verge of collapse, cursing under his breath. As he burst out of the tower, the sunlight suddenly poured down, enveloping him.

The golden light was dazzling, yet the wind was gentle. The sensation of it washing over him felt like a kiss from the sky. For a brief moment, he was stunned, his lashes trembling slightly.

But the furious pursuer behind him had no intention of letting him stop to enjoy the moment.

“Why are you just standing there? Run!” The rat urged him anxiously. “Stop chasing us, lady, please!” The rat, nearly blown away by the wind, clung desperately to Lin Jing’s shoulder, fearing for its life.

Lin Jing had no choice but to keep running.

Christine still wore that pristine white dress, her crystal shoes encasing her slender, delicate ankles. As Lin Jing ran, holding onto the flowerpot, he had to glance back constantly. The deep blue sky stretched above, the wind brushing past the girl’s black hair. The hem of her dress fluttered in the sunlight, like a butterfly in flight. In the half-lit, half-shadowed garden of the tower, red roses bloomed at her feet, making her appear like a distant, sacred deity—an image frozen in time.

The broom-wielding maid was ruthless, chasing Lin Jing all the way into the garden.

“When the h*ll is she gonna stop?!”

Lin Jing gritted his teeth. “God knows?!”

He thought he was familiar with the palace, but that familiarity ended up being his downfall. Not watching his step, he failed to notice a raised stone on the ground. His foot caught on it, and before he knew it, he was pitching forward. He managed to steady himself at the last moment, still clutching the flowerpot tightly in his arms.

The rat, however, was not so lucky.

“AHHHHHHH—” The rat’s scream was in perfect sync with the maid’s.

Lin Jing only had eyes for his flowerpot. He skid to a stop, hugging it close in relief.

Meanwhile, the rat landed with a plop—right at someone’s feet.

At the same time, two maids let out horrified cries. “Your Majesty the Queen!”

Lin Jing froze at the words, holding onto the flowerpot in a daze.

The roses of Eberon never withered, flourishing even now. Beneath the vast blue sky, deep green leaves and vibrant crimson flowers thrived, full of life. If he listened closely, he could even hear the chirping of crickets.

The palace was grand and sacred, its white walls covered in intricate carvings. And in the quiet garden, a woman sat in solitude. She had long, golden hair and wore a simple, pale blue gown. She looked frail, her skin pale, her eyes a soft silver-blue. As she gazed at him, there was a gentle and harmless aura about her.

The queen held a book in her hands, looking surprised by this unexpected guest. But she was kind by nature and asked softly, “And you are?”