Chapter 25: The Gap Between Us and True Genius

Chapter 25: The Gap Between Us and True Genius

“Yo, big star—you’re finally awake, huh?”

Seeing Chen Kong in a white patient’s gown, still pale and weak, Tendou greeted him with a teasing smile.

Hearing that, Chen Kong froze up in awkward silence, unsure how to respond.

Tendou, however, only smirked, his eyes flashing with mischief as he sauntered up to the siblings, looking Chen Kong up and down like a curious cat.

His strange behavior left the two utterly baffled—they simply couldn’t keep up with the guy’s wild, unpredictable thought process.

A few seconds later, Tendou suddenly leaned in toward Chen Xing, blatantly invading her personal space, and poked at her bandaged arm.

“Xing, just look at your brother’s recovery! Not a single scar left on him.”

“Now look at yourself—insisting on keeping a scar on your arm ‘as a reminder,’ or whatever nonsense you called it.”

“Honestly, I think you’ve just had it too easy. You like to suffer for no reason. Who in their right mind turns down a no-scar surgery just to leave a mark behind? That’s not dedication, that’s a sickness!”

The moment Tendou said that, Chen Xing’s face went black. The star energy in her body flared up uncontrollably.

BOOM!

A surge of violent starfire erupted around her, blazing flames roaring to life.

The sudden heatwave made the thermometer on the wall explode with a sharp crack!

Fortunately, even though she was furious, Chen Xing hadn’t completely lost control—she managed to keep the flames from spreading.

Thanks to that, a certain recovering patient wasn’t instantly burned to ash.

Even so, Chen Kong quickly backed away to a safe distance, his body trembling as the temperature in the room spiked.

Only when he was sure his brother was clear did Chen Xing finally stop suppressing her flames. Without restraint, her crimson inferno flared out—and Tendou was caught right in the middle of it.

“What, seriously? You get mad that easily? Can’t a guy speak the truth anymore?”

Facing her sudden outburst, Tendou threw up his hands in mock fear, taking a few dramatic steps back. Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he brushed away the oncoming fire—like sweeping away a speck of dust.

To a bystander, it looked like a simple gesture. But to an expert… it was terrifying.

Chen Kong’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Because what Tendou had just done wasn’t only ignoring the scorching power of the Karmic Flames—it was also wresting control of them away from Chen Xing as if it were child’s play.

That one effortless move laid bare the overwhelming gap between them.

But while Chen Kong stood frozen in shock, Chen Xing’s expression remained calm.

After all, three days ago, she had already learned this lesson the hard way.

Right after obtaining the Karmic Flames, she had challenged Tendou again—full of pride and defiance.

And, unsurprisingly… she lost.

Badly.

That defeat had crushed her self-esteem more than any before.

Because back then—just like now—she couldn’t even land a single hit.

Anyone else would’ve had their fighting spirit shattered by that kind of humiliation.

But Chen Xing wasn’t like anyone else.

Her pride wouldn’t allow her to bow to anyone.

Not even to Tendou.

So even though she knew full well how vast the gap between them was, when faced with his taunting grin…

She still bared her fangs.

To remind him—that she wasn’t one of those helpless lambs he could toy with.

“Tendou,” she said coldly, her eyes burning like twin suns, “don’t you think you’re sticking your nose a little too far where it doesn’t belong?”

“What I do is my choice. You have no right to decide that for me.”

Hearing Chen Xing’s cold warning, Tendou only chuckled, his tone light and unbothered.

“Xing, come on now—no need to sound so serious. I’m just worried about you, that’s all. If you don’t like hearing it, fine, but no need to set the whole room on fire.”

His words only made things worse.

Chen Xing’s expression grew even darker, her eyes sharpening like blades.

“Tendou,” she said firmly, “a scar like this means nothing to me. What matters is that I’m not one of those useless ornaments who can only hide behind others.”

“So instead of wasting time on things that don’t matter, I’d rather put that effort into training my Star Origin.”

“Only then… will I have even the slightest chance to catch up to you.”

“Uh—” Tendou let out a strained laugh, scratching the back of his head. Clearly, he hadn’t expected her to turn his teasing into something this heavy.

After a brief silence, faced with Chen Xing’s serious gaze, he finally raised both hands in mock surrender.

“Alright, alright. Since you put it that way, I’ll keep my mouth shut next time.”

With that, Tendou turned and started walking toward the exit, looking for all the world like a man on his way to a well-earned break.

Except—his lips curved up slightly as he began a silent countdown in his head.

3… 2… 1!

“Wait.”

Right on cue.

Tendou stopped mid-step as Chen Xing’s voice called out from behind him.

He turned around with a perfectly innocent expression. “What is it now, Xing-chan? I’ve been training all day—I’m exhausted. If you’ve got something to say, say it all at once, please.”

Chen Xing met his gaze head-on, her tone firm and unwavering.

“Tendou, fight me again. I want to see the difference between us with my own eyes.”

“...Again?”

Tendou groaned, his shoulders slumping. “You really don’t let people rest, do you?”

But then his eyes flicked toward Chen Kong, who stood nearby watching curiously.

“Ah, I get it now,” he said with a knowing grin. “You want your little brother to see what a real Starbearer battle looks like, huh?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “But hey, Xing, if you want to give your brother a lesson, you be the teacher. Why drag me into it? I was literally about to go eat.”

Being called out so bluntly, Chen Xing suddenly found it hard to maintain her usual cool composure.

Her lips pressed together, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks—a rare, almost endearing sight.

Thankfully, her crimson flames helped mask the color, or she’d never live it down.

Tendou sighed at the awkward air that had settled over them.

“Fine, fine. You win. I’ll play along.”

He stepped to the center of the training arena, then stopped.

With a flick of his wrist, a faint glow traced a circle around him—barely a meter wide.

Then he looked up at Chen Xing with a lazy smile.

“Alright, Xing. Let’s make things more interesting this time.”

“I won’t attack, and I won’t move from this spot.”

“If you can force me out of this circle within three minutes… you win.”

His words carried no arrogance—just quiet, absolute confidence.

Chen Kong, watching from the side, froze.

Because he knew his sister all too well—and he knew exactly what that kind of confidence from Tendou meant.

By all logic, Chen Xing should’ve been furious.

After all, Tendou’s “I won’t even move” proposal was the kind of blatant mockery that no proud warrior could ever accept.

At least, that’s what Chen Kong thought.

But to his surprise, his sister didn’t look insulted at all.

She simply nodded—calm, decisive, and without the slightest hint of resentment.

To her, Tendou’s challenge wasn’t arrogance.

It was fairness.

As she stepped past Chen Kong, however, she spoke in a voice so soft it almost blended with the hum of the arena.

“Watch carefully, Kong.”

“Because you’re about to see the true gap between us… and a true genius.”

Her eyes glimmered with faint starfire as she added, almost to herself,

“And that gap… is so vast, it’ll make you despair.”

Chen Kong opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.

He wanted to argue—wanted to say that no matter how strong Tendou was, they were still the same age.

With his movement restricted, unable to even strike back—how strong could he really be?

Could he truly win like that?

After all, his opponent wasn’t just anyone.

It was his sister.

The second strongest Starbearer he knew.

But when he looked again—at Chen Xing’s deadly serious face, and at Tendou’s utterly relaxed smile—a cold feeling crept into his chest.

Something deep inside him whispered that this wasn’t going to go the way he imagined.

And then… something strange happened.

As he stared at Tendou, standing inside that tiny glowing circle, Chen Kong suddenly felt the air distort around him.

The edges of his vision blurred.

The walls, the floor, even the hum of the energy field—all began to fade.

Only Tendou remained clear.

And he was… growing.

Not in body, but in presence.

The longer Chen Kong looked, the more he felt like he wasn’t staring at a human being anymore.

The easy smile was still there, but it no longer seemed gentle—it was terrifying.

Oppressive.

He could no longer see Tendou as a “peer.”

In that instant, Tendou looked like something else entirely—a being that stood at the top of the food chain.

A humanoid monster wrapped in the skin of a man.

And in a fleeting moment of realization, Chen Kong remembered his sister’s words from before:

“it’s not the Star Origin that’s strong. It’s Tendou.”

His heart skipped a beat.

He shook his head hard, trying to clear the creeping dread that was clouding his thoughts.

Then, drawing in a slow breath, he turned his eyes back to the two figures facing each other in the training hall.

His expression hardened.

Because now, more than anything—he wanted to see for himself what kind of genius his sister had spoken of.

And just how vast, how hopelessly wide, the gap between them truly was.

The answer, he knew, was about to be revealed before his very eyes.

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