67: Chapter 67 Only the Victim Deserves to Be King: The Correct Use of the Goddess's Tears

Spatial ripples undulated in the air like waves on water before returning to tranquility.

As Qin Ji stepped out from the black vortex of the [mirror of the dead realm], a night breeze carrying a mix of expensive spices and biting cold air rushed toward him. The sensation beneath his feet was no longer the hard, filthy flagstones of the black market, but the soft, luxurious Star-patterned lawn.

This was the Star Palace, the back garden of the Rain Listening Hall.

He had to admit, that little fat information broker, Qian Duoduo, really had some skill. The teleportation landing point of this mirror was terrifyingly precise, directly bypassing the insane triple defensive lines of the Royal Guard on the palace outskirts and delivering him to the Second Princess's "boudoir" backyard.

"Who's there?!"

Almost the instant Qin Ji landed, a sharp feminine shout exploded alongside a bone-chilling coldness.

Without any redundant words, several crystal-clear ice spikes flew like arrows from a bow, sealing off all of Qin Ji's evasion space in a triangular formation. Immediately after, a silver silhouette darted out from the shadows of the corridor, the rapier in her hand carrying a Frost capable of freezing blood as it lunged straight for Qin Ji's forehead.

"Tsk, is this how Your Highness treats her guests?"

Qin Ji stood rooted to the spot, not even lifting an eyelid.

Just as the tip of the sword was less than three inches from his forehead, a pitch-black mana shield manifested out of thin air.

*Ding—*

The rapier struck the shield with a crisp sound, unable to advance even a fraction further.

Leona's pupils contracted violently as she looked at the man who had appeared in her defensive zone like a ghost. She recognized this face, and she recognized that irritatingly calm composure even more.

"Snow Emperor?!"

Leona abruptly withdrew her sword and retreated, her eyes filled with shock and fury. "You actually dare to break into the palace? And... didn't you promise that old woman you'd frame me? What are you doing here now? Coming to brag about playing both sides?"

The surrounding temperature plummeted as her emotions fluctuated, and the precious plants in the garden were instantly coated in a layer of white Frost.

Qin Ji casually dismissed the shield and walked over to a white jade stone table to sit down. He picked up an exquisite silver pot, poured himself a cup of black tea, and took a light sip.

"Not only is the tea cold, but the person isn't calm either."

Qin Ji shook his head and set down the teacup, looking at Leona with a playful gaze. "Princess, if I were here to harm you, you would have died more than ten times in that single moment just now."

"Then what are you here for?" Leona stared intently at him, her rapier still raised. "Don't tell me you're here to give a refund."

"A refund is impossible; it's impossible to give a refund in this lifetime."

Qin Ji spread his hands righteously. "I'm here to teach you how to be a qualified king."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that the old hag asked me to expose you before the King tonight, saying you conspired with outsiders to steal the credit for killing the Devil King." Qin Ji's finger lightly tapped the table. "And I agreed."

"You really are a treacherous villain!" Leona was so angry she trembled, her mana surging wildly as if she were about to fight for her life the next second.

"Use your brain. A 'big-chested but brainless' woman can't become a queen."

Qin Ji interrupted her bluntly. "Think about it. If you really relied on the merit of 'killing the Devil King' to gain immense glory, what would happen next?"

Leona froze for a moment and said subconsciously, "Father would reward me, the people would support me, and the probability of me becoming the new ruler would significantly increase..."

"Wrong, completely wrong."

Qin Ji extended a finger and wagged it gently. "You would become the target of everyone."

That woman Princess has a deep Foundation, and Qing Fuyun has the Queen, Fiodingyu, standing behind her. In the Star Kingdom, you have no Foundation; your only reliance is this achievement. The tall nail gets hammered down. Once you show too much strength, the two of them will inevitably join forces to kick you, the 'unstable factor,' out of the game first."

"Do you think that with your current strength, you can withstand a tag-team assault from the Queen and the First Princess?"

Leona's expression froze.

Although she was proud, she wasn't stupid. Being in the royal family, she knew the cruelty of such political struggles better than anyone. Qin Ji's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the fire in her heart and forcing her to calm down.

"So..." Leona looked at Qin Ji hesitantly, "What do you mean?"

"Only victims are fit to be king."

The corners of Qin Ji's mouth curled into an unfathomable arc. "I will 'frame' you in the great hall, accusing you of stealing the credit. And what you need to do is show extreme grievance, shock, and... the tragic hero image of 'clearly having the strength to kill the Devil King, yet being slandered by a villain.'"

"Let all the nobles see that you, Leona, not only have the ability to kill the Devil King but are also a 'weakling' being shamelessly suppressed by the Queen's faction."

"In this world, people instinctively sympathize with the weak, especially... a strong person who is treated unjustly."

Qin Ji's voice was full of seduction. "When that time comes, not only can you clear your name, but you can also secretly win over those nobles who are dissatisfied with the Queen. This move is called retreating to advance, finding life in a dead end."

Leona listened, dumbfounded.

She had never imagined that behind this simple "framing" lay such profound strategic logic.

Looking at the man talking eloquently before her, the original killing intent in her heart dissipated by more than half, replaced by a deep wariness and a trace of... dependence that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"This is your plan?" Leona took a deep breath, her expression complex. "Assist Qing Fuyun to defeat Princess, and then bring down the Queen?"

"Bingo." Qin Ji snapped his fingers. "As long as Princess falls, I'll naturally have a way to drag out that old hag Queen's fox tail. When that happens, who else could this throne belong to but you?"

Leona remained silent for a long time.

Finally, she sheathed her rapier and bit her lip somewhat unwillingly. "Fine, I will cooperate and play along. But... what if Father asks for the details of how I killed Grelorlinssen?"

"No comment." Qin Ji said indifferently. "Maintaining a sense of mystery is sometimes more persuasive than the truth."

With the matter settled, the atmosphere eased considerably.

Qin Ji wasn't in a hurry to leave; instead, he extended his hand again, palm up, the meaning self-evident.

Veins popped on Leona's forehead. "What else do you want?! Didn't I just give you hush money?"

"That was hush money; this is now 'consultation fees' and 'script fees'." Qin Ji looked innocent. "Princess, I'm risking my life to act this out for your throne; I need more money."

"You!!"

Leona was so angry she wanted to bite him, but at the thought of the blueprint Qin Ji had just drawn, she could only suppress her rage and pull a crystal emitting a soft blue light from her bosom, slamming it into Qin Ji's hand.

"This is the final reward! Take it and get lost!"

Qin Ji took the crystal, and the moment his fingertips touched it, a warm life force surged through his arm into his entire body.

[tear of the goddess of life (Special Accessory)]

[Quality: Legendary (Unique)]

[Effect 1: Maximum HP increased by 20%.]

[Effect 2: Recovers 1% of Maximum HP per second (Doubled when out of combat).]

[Trait: Cannot be dropped, cannot be traded, cannot be destroyed.]

"Good stuff."

Qin Ji's eyes lit up.

To a "data freak" like him who pursued extreme stats, this thing was practically a Divine Artifact.

His defense had already reached a perverted level; now, with this 20% HP cap increase and percentage-based health regeneration, he was essentially carving the words "despairingly tanky" onto his forehead.

Imagine the look on those assassins' faces when they worked their lives away just to chip off a sliver of his health, only for him to regenerate more HP the next second than their total damage output.

"Thanks, rich lady."

Qin Ji happily hung the [tear of the goddess of life] around his neck. Feeling the sense of security as his health bar instantly surged by a large margin, he was in a great mood.

"Anything else?" Leona asked crossly.

"Yes."

Qin Ji's gaze swept over the Storage Pouch at Leona's waist. "Lend me some gems to use."

"Gems?" Leona frowned. "What do you want those decorations for?"

In this world, although the natives used gems, most only knew simple socketing. Regarding "high-end technology" like gem Fusion, they had never made much of a Breakthrough due to the success rate limitations.

"Just say whether you're giving them or not."

"Take them, just take them!" Leona just wanted to send this plague god away now, so she casually tossed out a heavy bag. "This is a batch of low-level attribute gems retired from the warehouse; they were originally intended to be used for paving paths."

Qin Ji took the bag and opened it.

Good heavens, it was packed full of Level 1 and Level 2 Strength and Agility gems—at least several hundred of them.

"Paving paths? What a waste of God's gifts."

Qin Ji clicked his tongue twice. Without hiding anything, he began his operation right in front of Leona.

In his vision, a translucent panel that only he could see popped up—[myriad heavens furnace: Gem Fusion Interface].

This was one of the supplementary functions of his perverted Golden Finger: ignoring probability, forced Fusion.

"Fuse all."

With a thought from Qin Ji.

A dazzling light instantly erupted from the bag in his hand. Countless tiny gems began to collapse, reorganize, and merge under some indescribable power of laws.

Leona, who was just about to turn and leave, was momentarily blinded by this sudden intense light and subconsciously looked back.

Then, her beautiful azure eyes could no longer look away.

She saw the jumble of low-level gems in Qin Ji's hand rapidly decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by top-tier gems that emitted a brilliant luster and contained zero Impurities!

Level 3... Level 4... Level 5!

In just a few seconds, that large bag of "paving stones" had actually turned into a dozen priceless Level 5 Perfect Gems!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Leona cried out in shock, completely forgetting her princessly decorum as she rushed to Qin Ji in a few steps, staring intently at the gems in his hand. "Even for the Empire's top jewelry Grandmaster, the success rate for fusing a Level 5 gem is less than ten percent. How... how did you do it?!"

"Trade secret."

Qin Ji casually picked up a crimson Level 5 Strength Gem. It was the ultimate crystallization of strength, radiating a heart-palpitating heat.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pressed this gem directly into the crossguard of his [abyssal demon sword].

*Click.*

With a crisp sound, the gem was perfectly embedded.

[Strength +160]

Qin Ji could clearly feel a violent power surging into his body through the hilt. That sensation of muscle fibers instantly tightening and filling with explosive power was simply intoxicating.

He didn't stop, socketing the remaining gems one after another into the equipment on his body.

Strength, Agility, Physique...

His panel data, which was already exaggerated to an absurd degree, welcomed another wave of frantic skyrocketing.

[Qin Ji (ID: Snow Emperor)]

[Rank: LV.25]

[Strength: 3800 -> 4440]

[Agility: 3200 -> 3840]

[Physique: 2950 -> 3590]

[Physical Attack: ??? (Display Overflow)]

"Whew..."

Qin Ji let out a long breath and casually performed a sword flourish. The air was torn by the heavy blade edge, letting out a shrill wail.

Now, even without using any skills, just relying on basic attacks, he could probably cleave that so-called "Kingdom's Number One Knight" to death with one sword strike.

"Just who are you..."

Looking at the man before her who radiated a terrifying sense of pressure, the last trace of contempt in Leona's heart completely vanished.

At this moment, she suddenly felt that perhaps she had truly made the most correct decision of her life—not choosing to kill this man while he was still in his "novice period."

"Me?"

Qin Ji sheathed his longsword and straightened his collar. The coldness on his face instantly vanished, replaced once again by that cynical smile.

"I'm just a passing ordinary player."

He turned around and waved his hand with his back to Leona.

"Alright, Princess, please begin your performance. It's also time for me to go see that generous Queen Your Majesty."

"Remember, only victims are fit to be king."

As the words fell, Qin Ji's figure turned into a blurry afterimage again, instantly disappearing into the shadows of the garden, leaving behind only the mess of Frost on the ground and a dazed Leona.

...

The palace's main hall was brightly lit.

A massive crystal chandelier cast down golden radiance, illuminating the entire hall as if it were broad daylight.

However, beneath this glamorous facade, the air was permeated with a suffocating sense of oppression.

Upon the throne, the elderly King sat with eyes slightly closed, appearing to be dozing, but the hand tightly gripping the scepter had veins bulging, showing the turmoil in his heart.

Below, the First Princess Qing Fuyun and the Third Princess stood on either side. Their gazes met in the air, faintly sparking. In the shadows behind them, countless royal officials kept their eyes on their noses and their noses on their hearts, not even daring to take a loud breath.

Tonight was destined to be a night of bloodshed.

Just then, the heavy doors of the great hall were slowly pushed open.

*Screeeech—*

Everyone's gaze instantly converged there.

A young man wearing a black trench coat walked in with an arrogant stride. A faint smile played on the corners of his mouth, and his purple-gold pupils shone brilliantly under the lights, like a fierce wolf intruding into a flock of sheep, unscrupulously sizing up all the dignitaries present with the look of a predator examining its prey.