How Did the Reborn Empress Become My Bootlicker? - Chapter 22:

Chapter 22: Not Even a Minute, and You Already Killed It?

Filled with excitement, Chen He quickly stepped forward. Although he was a 2nd stage warrior and the young man before him was just a newly awakened student… so what?

He was an SSS-grade Talent user!

Someone destined to become a powerhouse in the future!

And him? He had been stuck at the lower tier of the 2nd stage for years. Unless something miraculous happened, this was as far as he would go in this life.

So what if he kissed up a little!?

“Student! You’re here to challenge a 1st stage fierce beast, right?” Chen He jogged over to Su Yuan with a big smile on his face.

Su Yuan looked at this enthusiastic man in front of him, puzzled as to who he was. Just as he was about to ask, his gaze swept over the safety officer badge on the man’s chest.

Oh. So he was a safety officer in the challenge zone.

But he’d heard before that the safety officers in the Fierce Beast Park were all cold and aloof. Other than giving a brief explanation of the challenge rules at the start, they usually wouldn’t speak to you unless you were on the verge of death.

Now, this seemed… a bit different from the rumors?

“Yes, I’m here to challenge a 1st stage fierce beast.”

Chen He’s eyes lit up, “Great! This way please. Oh, just call me Brother Chen.”

Brother… Chen?

Su Yuan glanced at the middle-aged man beside him, scruffy and twice his size. He really couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Just then, the system prompted a message:

[Envy +13]

Envy?

Su Yuan thought for a moment and quickly understood. This safety officer uncle had probably already learned of his identity as an SSS-grade awakened and was showing this kind of enthusiasm because of that.

It made sense.

In this world, strength was revered. And top-level Talent was the ticket to becoming strong. Even if that potential hadn’t materialized yet, people would still treat you with respect and admiration.

That said, Su Yuan had a principle.

If you treated him poorly, he’d show no mercy—no matter who you were. But if you respected him, he’d respect you right back. Treat others as brothers, and they’ll be brothers in return.

So he smiled and shook his head, “I’ll just call you Uncle Chen.”

Chen He froze for a moment, then his honest face lit up with an even bigger grin.

He had initially assumed that an SSS-grade Talent user would be a little arrogant, so he’d kept his tone humble from the start. He hadn’t expected Su Yuan to be such a polite and well-mannered young man!

In that moment, Chen He’s favorability toward Su Yuan soared. Even if Su Yuan had just been a regular student, he’d still treat him warmly now.

On the way to the challenge area, Chen He carefully explained the rules to Su Yuan, “According to regulations, if you want to challenge across realms, you have to start from the lowest tier of that realm. Only after passing that tier can you move on to the next.”

“For example, you’re currently in the Awakening Stage. If you want to challenge a 1st stage beast, you must first defeat a lower-tier 1st stage beast.”

“Got it,” Su Yuan nodded decisively.

“By the way, I noticed you didn’t bring any weapons. We provide all kinds of weapons for free. What kind do you usually use?”

“Spears.”

“Spears?” Chen He’s eyes brightened. “Same here! I specialize in spear techniques too.”

“What a coincidence,” Su Yuan said with a smile.

Chen He also found it coincidental and decided that when he saw how Su Yuan fought later, if there were any flaws in his technique, he’d give him some pointers. Given Su Yuan’s temperament just now, he probably wouldn’t take offense…

With that in mind, Chen He led him to the section where spears were stored.

“You can try any of the spears here. They vary in weight and material, and they’re all free to use. Since you’re still in the Awakening Stage and your strength hasn’t developed fully, I’d recommend starting with a wooden spear…”

He had barely finished half his sentence when he stopped, eyes full of disbelief.

Su Yuan had already walked over to a black iron spear, picked it up, and tested it by pointing, thrusting, and spinning it. He handled it effortlessly.

“Su Yuan, is your Talent perhaps one that strengthens the body?”

“It is,” Su Yuan answered.

“No wonder. That black iron spear weighs over 50 kilograms. Most people can’t even lift it.”

“It’s not quite suitable,” Su Yuan said, nodding as he set down the black iron spear and picked up the adjacent spirit-bronze spear.

Spirit bronze was a special material capable of conducting Source Energy. Generally, only warriors capable of channeling Source Energy outward would use such weapons.

It was also much heavier—1.5 times the black iron spear—close to 100 kilograms.

Su Yuan tried it briefly. It felt like an extension of his body, whistling sharply through the air as he twirled it. He turned to Chen He, looking satisfied, “Uncle Chen, this spear feels right. I’ll take this one.”

[Shock +5]

Chen He: …

He vaguely remembered that back when he was a high-tier 1st stage warrior, he still couldn’t handle that spirit-bronze spear—it was simply too heavy.

And now this kid had just awakened… and could swing it so easily. So this was the difference between a genius and an ordinary person?

…

After selecting his weapon, Chen He brought Su Yuan through the gate into the challenge area.

It was a huge, open field. At the far end stood another large gate—that was where the beasts would be released.

Chen He moved to the corner of the field and said, “When you’re ready, just let me know. I’ll release the beast.”

“Just go all out. With me here, I guarantee you won’t have any problems.”

Officially, safety officers only acted when the challenger was in life-threatening danger. But rules could be bent a little.

This was an SSS-grade Talent user!

If he got even slightly hurt, Chen He might lose his job.

Besides, just hearing that one word—”Uncle”—he wasn’t going to let Su Yuan get injured, no matter what.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

In the center of the field, Su Yuan held the spirit-bronze spear, his eyes gleaming with excitement. His body was adjusted to its optimal state.

“Okay,” Chen He pressed a button.

Rumble—!

The heavy gate on the other side of the arena slowly lifted, and a savage roar echoed through the field.

A massive gray wolf stepped out.

This was a beast Su Yuan had seen in textbooks before—one of the top-tier lower 1st stage beasts: the Dread Wolf.

It wasn’t particularly strong, but it was extremely fast and had a violent temperament. It was a vicious predator.

After being locked up for too long, the Dread Wolf was full of rage. Its icy eyes locked onto Su Yuan as it lowered its body into a pouncing stance.

From the edge of the field, Chen He saw the first beast was a Dread Wolf and quickly evaluated the battle in his head.

Given Su Yuan’s SSS-grade body-strengthening Talent, this Dread Wolf probably wouldn’t stand a chance.

It should take under ten minutes to finish the fight.

Feeling a little more relaxed, he looked toward a side screen, ready to browse through the information on the upcoming beasts.

But…

He had just flipped to the second page when Su Yuan’s voice rang out from the center of the field, “Uncle Chen, bring out the next one.”

Chen He: ?

What?

He looked up in disbelief.

There, in the middle of the field, stood the young man holding a spear. In front of him lay the corpse of the once-raging beast.

The Dread Wolf had a bloody, fist-sized hole through its heart, and the ground was soaked in blood.

Chen He was dumbfounded.

Wait.

From start to finish…

Had it even been a full minute?

And you already killed it!???