"Auntie, Little Brother, I forgot to mention—when I was in the Great Wilderness, I once encountered that adult Pixiu."
Shi Yi sat between Qin Yining and Shi Hao. To his left was the gentle, mature, and beautiful widow, radiating a quiet charm. To his right was the lively, energetic Shi Hao, still sporting his signature skyward braid.
To be honest, Shi Yi couldn't quite grasp Qin Yining's sense of aesthetics. Was her taste just… a bit unconventional?
Let's put it this way: Shi Yi was eleven years old, three years older than Shi Hao, who was eight. Yet, at eight years old, Shi Hao still wore that skyward braid. How does he even make friends with a hairstyle like that?
"Nephew, are you serious?" Qin Yining's voice carried a trace of excitement.
"The Great Wilderness?"
Shi Hao clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger. If only I had the strength right now to charge into the Great Wilderness and slaughter that adult Pixiu myself.
"It's true," Shi Yi confirmed with a nod, reaching out to pat Shi Hao's shoulder. Just a moment ago, he'd sensed the surging vitality within his younger brother, like that of a pureblood ferocious beast cub.
The sheer intensity of Shi Hao's blood essence was staggering. A quick assessment told Shi Yi that Shi Hao's physical strength had reached its peak. With a single swing of his arm, his raw power likely exceeded 100,000 jin.
This was the power of the Supreme Bone, constantly tempering Shi Hao's body by channeling his blood essence, pushing him to the absolute limit.
Though the Supreme Bone's potential might not rival Shi Yi's Double Pupils in the long run, it granted Shi Hao an unshakably solid foundation early on.
It also explained why Shi Hao, without ever undergoing a baptism in the true blood of a pureblood ferocious beast—relying only on the true blood of an ancient remnant species—had reached the peak of the Blood Transformation Realm, capable of unleashing 100,000 jin of force with a single arm.
As for the young Pixiu's true blood, it hadn't been retrieved. But that wasn't anyone's fault—greed had driven some to try to exterminate the adult Pixiu, and they'd paid the price.
"With so many ferocious beasts, Nephew, you didn't encounter any danger, did you? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Ignoring Shi Yi's protests, Qin Yining began checking him over, her hands patting and probing. It took her a while to realize that her nephew's body was already stronger than that of a true pureblood ferocious beast.
"No, no, no, Auntie, I'm fine! No danger, no injuries—please, stop fussing!" Shi Yi squirmed, feeling like a toy in her hands, subject to her whims.
"Getting shy already? Little man with big ideas."
Qin Yining's smile bloomed like spring flowers. She could tell her nephew was embarrassed. So shy—how's he going to court a wife like this?
"I'm not shy!" Shi Yi gritted his teeth.
It was almost laughable. In his past life, he wasn't exactly inexperienced with women, but he'd been a grown man who'd never truly "gone to battle."
"Really? Not shy?" Qin Yining teased, clearly unconvinced.
"Not at all!"
To prove his point, Shi Yi boldly leaned into her embrace, wrapping his arms lightly around her soft waist.
"You're barely holding on. How will you hug a wife like this?" Qin Yining froze for a moment, then laughed, teasing him for not daring to hug her tightly.
In her eyes, Shi Yi was just a child, no different from her own Hao'er. To him, women were probably just "fat ladies."
"Nonsense! I'm just afraid of hurting you, Auntie," Shi Yi protested, his intentions pure. His heart belonged to Liu Shen, and he harbored no improper thoughts toward Qin Yining. He only wanted to prove himself.
"Yi'er, can I call you that?" Qin Yining asked tentatively.
"Of course." Shi Yi nodded.
"Yi'er, let me tell you something about pursuing girls. You need to be bold but careful. Hesitating like this won't do." She pulled him into a warm hug.
At that moment, Shi Hao, feeling ignored, couldn't help but mutter, "Yi Gege's still acting like a kid. I stopped liking being hugged by fat ladies when I was three."
Shi Yi ignored Shi Hao's grumbling. Lifting his head from Qin Yining's embrace, he lowered his voice. "Auntie, what if… I mean, a friend of mine likes a woman much older than him, and she's not even human? Is there any good advice for that?"
Truth be told, Shi Yi's mention of a "much older woman" startled Qin Yining. I'm not ready to remarry yet, not until Hao'er grows up! But his follow-up—that she wasn't even human—eased her mind, though it left her with a strange sense of disappointment.
"How much older?" Qin Yining asked, curiosity piqued.
"I don't know. Thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Maybe a few epochs?" Shi Yi scratched his ear. He had no idea how old Liu Shen truly was.
"You don't even know her age?" Qin Yining's tone turned odd.
This boy's been charmed by some vixen, hasn't he? Tricking a child like this!
"It's not me! It's my friend!" Shi Yi insisted earnestly.
"Right, right, your friend," Qin Yining said, humoring him.
"It's a pity, though. Before my friend could confess, that woman forcibly took him as her disciple. Now he's stuck serving her every day, and she even beats him sometimes."
Shi Yi sighed. He didn't lack the courage to defy his master, but he certainly lacked the strength. One wrong word, and he'd be whipped by Liu Shen's willow branches.
"A disciple…"
Qin Yining pieced it together. Shi Yi's talent was likely too remarkable for the woman to ignore, but unwilling to entertain his feelings, she'd taken him as a disciple instead.
Qin Yining could understand. A child's confession, no matter how earnest, wouldn't be taken seriously by a normal woman. At most, it might be amusing.
"For this, all I can say is: sincerity can move mountains. If your heart is true, she'll surely feel your honesty in time."
Qin Yining ruffled Shi Yi's hair, marveling that, at just three years older than Shi Hao, he already had a woman he admired, while her Hao'er still called women "fat ladies."
___
Hours passed.
Shi Yi's conversation with Auntie Qin Yining petered out. He'd meant to talk about his ten-day, ten-night battle with the adult Pixiu, but her teasing had derailed the topic. It veered so far that it touched on Liu Shen, and Shi Yi lost the urge to brag about his exploits.
In the end, he let it go. No point showing off now.
After bidding Qin Yining farewell, Shi Hao caught up to him.
"Yi Gege, it's been years. How about a spar?"
Shi Hao grabbed Shi Yi's arm, his dark eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Thanks to his Supreme Bone, he was already unmatched in the Martial King's Manor, at least among the younger generation. Even those in the Heavenly Passage Realm couldn't defeat him.
Now that Shi Yi was finally back, Shi Hao wouldn't miss the chance to test himself. If not for Shi Yi's arrival yesterday, he'd have challenged him sooner.
"A spar? I'm at Ten Heavenly Passages, and you've only just perfected the Blood Transformation Realm, not even opening a single passage yet," Shi Yi said, puzzled.
"Yi Gege, not one of the Heavenly Passage Realm fighters in the Martial King's Manor is my match. I'm afraid only you can beat me," Shi Hao declared with brimming confidence.
His confidence wasn't baseless. His Supreme Bone, never taken from him, granted him the talent of a young supreme. Two years ago, he'd already reached the extreme limit of the Blood Transformation Realm, ready to break through to the Heavenly Passage Realm.
But he'd chosen to refine his body for two more years, chasing perfection.
Now…
_
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