Go back? There's no going back.

"..."

What does this mean… ?

As Su Wei was confused, the scenery in front of him faded away bit by bit.

Eventually, his consciousness returned to the room in the open-air temple.

Su Wei looked down at the black box in his hand, put it down instinctively, and subconsciously turned his head to look at the remaining boxes -

At this moment, a somewhat absurd guess suddenly emerged in his mind.

Could it be that... these other boxes are also... ?

After a moment of silence, Su Wei finally reached for another box on the table, as if he had made some decision.

But the next second, his outstretched hand stopped in mid-air.

Because he noticed that his arms... no, his whole body was becoming more and more transparent, as if it was about to be peeled off from this dream.

At the same time, an extremely strong headache came to his mind. Even though Su Wei had undergone twenty hours of intensive training, he staggered at this moment, and his whole body instantly became limp and powerless.

Soon, Su Wei realized that he seemed to be leaving this strange dream and returning to reality.

But just when Su Wei calmed down a little, he heard a confused female voice: "Who are you...?"

……what?

Hearing the voice, Su Wei was stunned at first, but after he reacted, he immediately turned around and looked in the direction of the voice.

This time, he met another person in this dilapidated hall again.

It was the black-haired woman whom he had seen from afar last time.

At this moment, the other party had appeared at the door of the room without her knowing. She looked at him with slightly wide eyes, and there was an indescribable confusion on that flawless face.

"..."

Seeing this, Su Wei opened his mouth and subconsciously wanted to say something, or at least give a brief self-introduction out of courtesy. But the next moment, everything in front of him was completely distorted.

Then, a feeling of emptiness as if the consciousness had fallen from a high altitude and the soul had returned to the body surged throughout the body.

"Uh-huh??"

With a few meaningless hums escaping from his lips, Su Wei, lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes.

He knew that he had woken up from that strange dream.

...My throat is so dry.

I don’t know if it’s the aftereffect of overusing the sainthood ability before, but now after Su Wei woke up, he felt a little hot all over his body, and his throat was even burning.

At the same time, after opening his eyes, the first thing that caught his eye was the unfamiliar sky... no, it was a familiar and exceptionally beautiful face.

"Queen, my Lord...?"

At this moment, the face of the black-haired woman that remained in Su Wei's dream was replaced by the Queen in his sight.

He blinked and stared at the other person intently, and his dizzy pupils began to regain clarity little by little.

……what?

Soon, Su Wei realized that he was not in the training room where he had fainted before, but in the temporary room assigned to him in the venue.

However, Su Wei was a little confused.

Why is the Queen sitting beside my bed now, staring at me with uneasy eyes?

And, most importantly, at this moment, after meeting the Queen's eyes and gazing at her beautiful face up close, Su Wei clearly felt his heartbeat quicken.

He was completely stunned.

Although he was well aware that the Queen was very beautiful, Su Wei remembered... that he seemed to have been shaken at the beginning?

"Are you awake?"

At this moment, seeing Su Wei wake up, the Empress of the Empire also blinked.

The worry on his face also faded a little.

After taking a long breath, she looked at Su Wei and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable now?"

"..."

Su Wei was silent for a moment and shook his head silently.

But soon, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "How long did I sleep this time?"

Su Wei feels something is wrong now.

After all, in his opinion, the Queen, who was supposed to be supervising the battle on the podium, should not be here.

Could it be that I slept too long after taking the ability test and missed the auditions in the afternoon... ?

"It's only been a short while since you stepped into the training room, right?"

However, as if she had guessed what Su Wei was thinking, the empress rolled her eyes at him, giving him a reassurance, and then reminded him: "I... I think it's better for you to worry about whether you can continue to participate in the audition this afternoon."

"Huh? No, I actually feel fine now..."

Hearing the Queen's words, Su Wei thought she was talking about his physical condition, and immediately said: "Although I slept for a while, I don't feel any problems with my body at the moment, and it won't affect the auditions in the afternoon-"

“No, it will affect it.”

However, Her Majesty the Queen still said this in a calm tone.

"……Why?"

The expression on Su Wei's face suddenly became a little confused.

"Because I am now considering whether to cancel your audition qualification."

Then, under Su Wei's gaze, the Empress of the Empire said to him calmly: "After all, getting injured during the assessment is fine, but if some stupid candidates can cause problems during the audition, or even put their lives in danger... then I will be very troubled."

"No, I'm sorry... this was an accident."

Hearing this, Su Wei’s face froze.

Although logically speaking, the Queen in front of him should be joking, but he inexplicably felt that... what she just said might be serious.

No...that won't work.

Su Wei has already made an agreement with a certain witch lady that as long as he enters the finals, she will never appear in front of him with her mother's face again.

Thinking of this, Su Wei suddenly felt a little annoyed.

Time was tight at the time, otherwise, he should have tried to ask... whether the witch could give his mother's Thousand Faces Rune Stone directly to him -

"Accident? Then he spent 20 hours in the compression chamber two days ago and showed off in front of me... that was also an accident?"

Just when Su Wei was a little distracted, the Queen of the Empire in front of him suddenly asked this question.

"...Huh? No, I never boasted about that in front of you. Didn't you just ask me casually at that time?"

Su Wei felt as if he had been blamed for something. He was silent for several seconds. After reorganizing his words, he spoke again: "Besides, this time... it was really just an accident. I really didn't practice randomly."

Su Wei tried to explain that he was not planning to make any big news in this audition supervised by the Empress of the Empire. "Well, think about it, there are auditions in the afternoon. Even if I practice during the lunch break, I will definitely restrain myself. How could I deliberately cause trouble? That would only benefit others..."

"So, you don't have to be restrained when there are no auditions?"

"..."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Su Wei heard the Queen's question in his ears, and he fell silent again.

At this moment, the scenery before his eyes inexplicably became a little hazy.

This guy... this Queen, is obviously looking for trouble on purpose, right?

Why does Su Wei feel that, apart from the maid who inexplicably increases the sense of oppression she brings to people, the Queen also seems to have started to change in strange ways recently?

"So, since this time it's not a training issue, then what's going on?"

She sighed slightly and asked, "How could you lose consciousness just minutes after entering the training room? What on earth did you do in there?"

"Uh……"

Hearing this, Su Wei calmed down a little. After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth with some trepidation: "Actually, if I have to say it, it has a little to do with cultivation..."

"Huh? Didn't you just say you didn't practice randomly?"

As soon as Su Wei finished speaking, he heard the Empress's voice, which had turned cold, again. The strange sense of majesty also came over him, making his scalp numb.

He opened his mouth, but his dry throat suddenly tightened and he couldn't help but cough.

...So thirsty.

Getting thirsty.

With this thought in his mind, Su Wei subconsciously supported himself on the bed sheet and tried to sit up.

"Don't move."

But the next second, his upper body was pressed down again by the Queen who was sitting beside the bed: "Is your throat dry? Do you want some water?"

"……Correct."

Su Wei nodded silently.

Then he saw the Queen, who was sitting beside the bed, looking around the room.

Finally, their eyes were fixed on a table not far away. Below it was a bottle with 200 gold coins per bottle. It was said to be magic water that could slightly increase the speed of magic recovery.

The Queen subconsciously wanted to get up and walk over, but Su Wei seemed to suddenly remember something, his eyelids jumped, and he quickly stopped her: "No, that... I don't want to drink."

When he was first assigned to this room, Su Wei had noticed the strange liquids on the table that were extremely expensive.

But, whether then or now, he had only one thought.

It’s so expensive, no one would drink it.

……joke.

As a self-aware person, Su Wei knows exactly how much money is left in his wallet.

Just this bottle of water is worth more than his current total savings.

If he drank it in one gulp, he would probably have to take off his pants and stay here today.

"Why? Aren't you thirsty?"

In front of him, the Queen who was stopped by Su Wei tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.

“…Anyway, no need.”

Su Wei was silent for a moment, and turned his eyes away silently: "I suddenly feel... my throat is not so dry anymore."

Facing the Queen in front of him, Su Wei couldn't bring himself to say that he was short of money.

Because he had a hunch that as long as he said this, the Queen in front of him would probably generously treat him to a drink.

...That won't work.

Although his wallet is a little poor now, he doesn't need others to treat him even for a drink of water.

……correct.

At this moment, Su Wei suddenly had an idea.

Although until now, he still didn't know how the Queen knew that he slept in the training room in such a short time, and why she personally sent him all the way back to the room.

But, as long as she leaves, can't I just go out and find something to drink?

"…Well, if you don't want to drink that, would you like to drink something else?"

Just as Su Wei was thinking this, he suddenly heard a voice that was, um... inexplicably hesitant?

Su Wei raised his head subconsciously and looked at the queen beside the bed.

The next second, he suddenly felt his eyes blurred.

The consciousness that had just regained clarity became a little hazy again.

But this time… he didn’t feel drowsy at all. Instead, he felt as if he was being gently soothed, making him feel calm.

At the same time, under Su Wei's gaze, the Empress of the Empire returned to the bedside and sat down.

Soon, Su Wei saw that in her hand there appeared a jade bowl that looked familiar to him.

Huh……?