"Gulp~"
A satisfied burp abruptly shattered the restaurant's harmonious atmosphere.
The culprit was none other than Xue Beng.
Restricted to the second-tier menu, he had ordered nothing more than a simple bowl of steaming plain noodles—not even a large portion.
Yet he had never tasted anything so extraordinary in his entire life.
In no time at all, he had slurped the noodles clean, soup included, leaving the bowl spotless and gleaming.
After Hu Liena accepted the fifty gold coins, Xue Beng didn't even bother to catch his breath. He sprang to his feet, staring eagerly toward the counter.
"Boss! I—I'm done eating! Can I draw a prize now?"
Lin Feng lifted his eyelids slightly.
Before he could speak, the System's merciless and venomous complaints echoed inside his mind.
"Host, this System utterly despises this hypocritical fellow."
"He's worn that mask for so long—does he truly believe he's the person beneath it? How ridiculous."
"His so-called 'disguise' is nothing more than an excuse for the depravity embedded in his bones."
"This System has decided to grant him a… special reward, to help him live out his 'true self.'"
Lin Feng glanced at the glittering reward generated in the prize pool.
The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
You're really vicious.
Without changing his expression, he flicked a finger toward Xue Beng.
A faint light shot forward and entered Xue Beng's glabella.
Instantly, Xue Beng felt a strange ripple spread through his entire body, as though invisible shackles had shattered.
"Your reward: True Self Liberation."
Lin Feng's voice was lazy and indifferent.
"From this moment on, you will express your truest thoughts directly from your heart."
"You will no longer be able to lie or disguise yourself."
"Masks will shatter. True nature endures."
"Live as your true self."
Xue Beng's spirits soared.
My true self?
Good!
A surge of ambition erupted in his chest.
With that fake Crown Prince Xue Qinghe exposed, the entire Heaven Dou Empire now had only one prince left—him.
The throne was practically within arm's reach!
He no longer needed to pretend to be a useless, cowardly dandy, trembling in another man's shadow.
From today onward, he would display his true wisdom, strategy, and kingly bearing before all the great experts of the world!
Xue Beng… was about to rise again!
Unfortunately—
What he didn't understand was that when hypocrisy becomes habit, the rot beneath it seeps into the bones.
And that rot becomes one's true self.
The instant True Self Liberation took effect…
The gleam of "strategic brilliance" in Xue Beng's eyes vanished.
Instead, his gaze began to wander uncontrollably around the restaurant.
Then—
It froze.
At a nearby table sat a pair of breathtakingly beautiful "sisters."
One possessed flowing golden hair like a waterfall. She appeared to be in her twenties, yet the sacred authority of long-held supremacy made Xue Beng's heart burn with desire.
He had never seen such a peerless beauty in his life!
Beside her sat a slightly younger girl with waist-length purple hair. Her features bore a seventy-percent resemblance to her "elder sister," but with an added air of aloofness and imperial majesty.
Another unrivaled beauty.
Xue Beng's eyes instantly went vacant.
An undisguised, primal possessiveness surged violently from the depths of his heart.
Several people who knew the truth noticed that naked, greedy gaze.
Golden Crocodile Douluo silently dragged his chair backward.
Qian Daoliu stopped eating altogether, staring at Xue Beng as if looking at a corpse.
But Xue Beng noticed none of it.
He straightened his luxurious princely robes, cleared his throat, and walked over with what he believed to be his most charming smile.
"Two beauties."
The moment he spoke, the temperature of the entire restaurant seemed to plummet.
"I wonder if I have the honor of dining with you?"
He paused, puffed out his chest, and spoke with arrogant pride.
"Forgive my lack of introduction. I am Xue Beng, the sole remaining Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire—and the future Great Emperor of Heaven Dou!"
Seeing the slight pause in their expressions, he mistook it for shock at his status. His smile grew ever more smug.
"If the two of you are willing to follow this prince, glory and wealth will be endless!"
"The position of Imperial Consort would be within easy reach!"
"Even—"
His lustful gaze roamed freely over both women before finally settling on Bibi Dong's flawless face.
"Even the position of Empress is not out of the question!"
The moment those words fell—
Feng Ran Pavilion plunged into absolute silence.
Every diner froze.
Chopsticks hung motionless in mid-air.
Devil Bear Douluo and the others, acting in perfect unison, quietly dragged their tables another half-meter away—clearly afraid of being splashed with blood.
As expected, the expressions of mother and daughter darkened instantly.
Their faces became terrifyingly grim.
Bibi Dong slowly turned her head, her noble amethyst eyes fixing on Lin Feng behind the counter. Her voice was colder than ice.
"Senior."
"In this situation… we are allowed to teach him a lesson, aren't we?"
Lin Feng finally raised his eyes.
To be honest, even he hadn't expected Xue Beng's audacity to reach such a level—bold enough to openly flirt with the Supreme Pontiff and her daughter.
Truly…
Fearless.
After a brief pause, Lin Feng cleared his throat and spoke calmly.
"Don't kill him."
With that permission granted, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue slowly stood up.
Their knuckles cracked audibly.
Icy smiles formed on their faces, chilling the surrounding air.
Yet Xue Beng still failed to grasp the gravity of his situation.
Under True Self Liberation, he misinterpreted their killing intent as shyness and playful testing.
He even grinned, puffed out his chest, and struck a bold pose.
"Go on and hit me, beauties!"
"Your big brother's thick-skinned—he's not afraid of pain!"
Before the last word left his mouth—
Qian Renxue's voice rang out.
But it was no longer the clear, cool voice of a young woman.
Instead, it transformed into a warm male voice—one that Xue Beng knew all too well.
His greatest nightmare.
"Fourth Brother."
"You said it yourself."
"Fourth Brother?"
Xue Beng's smile stiffened.
Confusion flashed across his face.
That address…
That voice—
Realization struck.
His pupils shrank violently. All color drained from his face.
"No… no! That voice—You are—!"
In his horrified gaze, a brilliant golden light erupted from Qian Renxue's body.
When the radiance faded, the aloof, sacred young woman was gone.
Standing there instead was a handsome young man clad in the Crown Prince's usual attire, wearing a gentle smile.
Xue Beng's deepest psychological shadow—
Xue Qinghe.
"It's only been half a month, yet Fourth Brother can still recognize this elder brother's voice."
"Xue Qinghe's" smile grew even more gentle as he stepped forward.
"This elder brother is truly… relieved."