Chapter 19: Already Behaving |
Ye Qinghe had no intention of stepping in.
Long-armed apes weren’t exotic beasts. They were considered fierce beasts to ordinary people, but not much of a threat to martial artists.
She wanted to slack off.
Besides, she was a little curious about Ning Qi’s current strength.
Back when he first stepped into the Martial Path, his monstrous comprehension still left a vivid impression on her. She figured that with her Little Junior Brother’s talent, he should at least have mastered the Flesh Refinement Realm by now, maybe even perfected it.
With that kind of strength, taking on a few long-armed apes shouldn’t be a problem.
Ning Qi met Ye Qinghe’s smiling gaze and gave a small shrug.
“Alright.”
He had been treating Ye Qinghe like a bodyguard—felt a little bad about it. But hey, he had just painted such a perfect picture for her earlier, and now the opportunity to get Monkey Wine had landed right in front of him. It’d be wrong not to take it. Plus, it was just a small effort. Consider it a thank-you gift for his Senior Sister’s protection.
Then walked forward slowly.
The white ape was unusually savvy—its eyes lit up and it immediately darted behind the two of them. When it met Ye Qinghe’s gaze, it started bowing repeatedly in a fawning manner. Ye Qinghe rewarded it with an eye roll, making it scratch its head awkwardly.
At this moment—
Seeing Ning Qi step forward, the long-armed apes bared their teeth and growled low and deep.
When he took two more steps forward, one long-armed ape had already hurled a stone his way with a fierce whistle through the air. The rest charged at him. These were aggressive beasts—even if Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe did nothing, they would still be attacked.
Ning Qi lightly tapped the ground with his foot, tilting his body slightly to dodge the flying stone. It was graceful and effortless, earning a side glance from Ye Qinghe.
But what surprised her even more came next—Ning Qi reached out and caught one of the apes’ arms mid-swing, then tossed it aside like Buddha throwing an elephant. The long-armed ape flew weightlessly and crashed into the forest.
Though the contrast between Ning Qi’s small body and the ape’s size looked a bit weird.
Boom!
It slammed into a tree trunk with a loud thud.
The long-armed ape howled and couldn’t get up.
Ning Qi was like a tiger among sheep—one in each hand, tossing them through the forest.
The white ape in the back couldn’t help but shiver. This human kid was terrifying.
Ning Qi’s expression was calm.
With his current strength, fighting long-armed apes was like an adult beating up children.
After he finished, Ning Qi didn’t pursue them. Instead, he looked ahead.
Ye Qinghe also looked forward, and her expression changed slightly.
A low, guttural roar echoed out.
A pitch-black figure was approaching fast. It stood upright like a long-armed ape but was far more muscular—its bulging muscles looked like they could explode, especially its arms, black like iron and shaped like massive hammers.
Iron-armed Ape!
An exotic beast—an evolved variant of the long-armed ape, with terrifying strength. Each arm could easily weigh over a thousand pounds, and its iron arms were incredibly durable. The stronger ones could even battle Bone Refinement Realm experts.
Ye Qinghe instinctively stepped forward, but then stopped.
A hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes.
Ning Qi had made it look too easy earlier—she realized she might’ve underestimated her Little Junior Brother.
Might as well see how he handles the Iron-armed Ape—it would be good real-combat training.
Still—
She was fully focused. If Ning Qi was in danger, she’d jump in immediately and not let him get hurt at all.
Ning Qi also looked eager.
He hadn’t fought much. On rare occasions, when his hands itched or he wanted to test a martial art, he’d find fierce beasts on Zhenwu Mountain. But he’d never encountered one at the Iron-armed Ape’s level.
The Iron-armed Ape had a fearsome aura and eyes full of aggression. It roared at the distant white ape, then bellowed at Ning Qi, telling him to back off.
Ning Qi ignored it.
The next moment—
The Iron-armed Ape attacked without warning.
Grabbing a tree trunk, it leapt high and lunged, its full weight crashing down with a mighty roar. Both iron arms swung like giant hammers, tearing through the air with a shriek that made one’s scalp tingle.
Ye Qinghe tensed—this Iron-armed Ape wasn’t ordinary.
She was already channeling her internal energy, ready to act.
Ning Qi’s small body looked like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—but his expression didn’t change.
He reached out both hands. No tricks, no flash. Just a simple pull and embrace—and he caught those iron arms in mid-air, then, like a tyrant returned to life, lifted the entire Iron-armed Ape and slammed it into the ground.
Boom!
The forest trembled, and leaves rained down.
“Pretty sturdy, huh?”
He swung it again to the right—slam! The Iron-armed Ape was finished. Its once-fierce face went blank, bones practically falling apart.
The white ape in the distance flinched, its fur standing on end.
Brutal.
So brutal.
Ye Qinghe was dumbfounded, the internal energy she had gathered dispersing so fast it almost injured her.
She had imagined many possible outcomes—but never this one.
That scene of a child slamming an ape made her doubt life itself.
Was this really her four-year-old Little Junior Brother?
Ning Qi’s voice snapped her back:
“Hey, big guy—my Senior Sister wants some Monkey Wine. Hand it over, and I’ll let you go.”
Ning Qi stood on the Iron-armed Ape’s shoulder as he said this, making Ye Qinghe feel a little touched—this Little Junior Brother hadn’t forgotten her kindness.
The Iron-armed Ape was dazed, its muscles nearly torn apart. It looked at Ning Qi in fear, totally clueless what he was saying. Exotic beasts had some intelligence, but didn’t always understand human speech.
Seeing Ning Qi raise his hand again, the Iron-armed Ape panicked and started howling.
The white ape dashed over, bowing rapidly to Ning Qi, then pointed at itself, then at the Iron-armed Ape—seemingly saying it would handle communication.
Ning Qi looked surprised.
This white ape seemed like an exotic beast, but its strength was pathetically weak—it couldn’t even beat a few long-armed apes. But if it were a normal beast, it was way too smart. It could actually understand human speech.
He nodded slightly.
The white ape bowed respectfully again—then, taking advantage of Ning Qi’s distraction, kicked the Iron-armed Ape square in the face.
The damage was low, but the insult was massive.
Ning Qi heard the noise and laughed.
This little white ape was pretty funny.
The Iron-armed Ape snorted in fury—but didn’t dare fight back.
The white ape stood with hands on hips, looking smug. It started chattering and gesturing wildly.
Ning Qi could see reluctance on the Iron-armed Ape’s face—but in the end, it gave up. Better to lose wine than lose your life.
Mission complete, the white ape leapt and somersaulted excitedly in front of them.
Ning Qi smiled faintly:
“Lead the way.”
This translator’s not bad.
The two of them followed the Iron-armed Ape and the white ape deeper into the forest.
Ye Qinghe finally had a moment to ask Ning Qi. Her voice was low, like she was afraid of disturbing someone:
“Little Nine, be honest with me—what realm are you at now?”
Ning Qi thought for a bit and answered:
“Bone Refinement.”
He didn’t say he had already perfected the Bone Refinement Realm—didn’t want to shock Ye Qinghe too much.
Perfect Bone Refinement was still Bone Refinement, right? Not lying.
Ye Qinghe was frozen like a statue.
One year—and he was already in the Bone Refinement Realm?
What kind of monstrous talent was this?!
Now she finally understood why Master always hinted that they shouldn’t ask too much about Little Junior Brother’s training.
Turns out it wasn’t to protect the Little Junior Brother—it was to protect them!
Ye Qinghe looked at Ning Qi with a wounded gaze.
Already behaving. She’d never ask again!
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