Two weeks later, at dusk.

Amidst endless vines, a figure flickered unpredictably, darting and dodging.

Sidestep, retreat, block, sweep, rapid fire—every move was purposeful, a pleasure to watch.

Sitting on a leaf sofa, Yang Qingqing watched Du Yu with an appreciative gaze.

Especially when Du Yu drew a Fire Arrow from his bow and stabbed the oncoming vine behind him, that resolute look on his face seemed to let Yang Qingqing catch a glimpse of him many years later, bravely fighting Demon Beasts on the battlefield.

People often say you can see what someone will become from how they are at three years old. In just over two weeks, Yang Qingqing had already seen glimpses of Du Yu's future.

Provided the Paper Crane Disciple's talent is sufficient, and he won't get stuck at some stage's level.

Suddenly, Yang Qingqing's naturally draping fingers twitched slightly.

"Dong!"—a dull thud!

Just a moment ago, Du Yu had been moving with ease and confidence, but suddenly he stumbled, whipped forward by a flexible flower stem.

In a flash, Du Yu twisted his body sharply and lay on his back on the ground.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh!"

The delicate Hunting Bow in his hand fired several Fire Arrows, puncturing the pursuing flower leaves. He dug his feet into the ground, desperately scooting himself backward.

The Little Fire Fox perched on his shoulder shot fireballs everywhere, and the black flames burning atop her head whipped up bursts of Wind and Fire Vortex, shielding her master from the pursuers.

Even so, some flexible flower stems glided along strange routes, skillfully threading through the blockade and lunging straight for Du Yu's face.

The compact Hunting Bow gave Du Yu better control. The sharp blade on the bow arm slashed again and again. As he retreated while lying on his back, Du Yu sensed movement at his side!

"Hm?" Du Yu quickly looked over, bracing for an enemy attack—only to see the trailing hem of a luxurious nightgown and a pair of fair, slender legs.

Turned out he had backed up to the leaf sofa.

Du Yu, rapidly drawing his bow and nocking arrows, continued fending off the pursuers.

As he kept retreating, he naturally noticed the hand hanging over the armrest, just above him.

The elegant, lightly tapping fingers belonged to the commander of this harsh training ground—and the source of all his suffering, making Du Yu wish he could chop her hand right off!

"That's enough for now." A cool, crisp voice came from above his head.

"Ha." Du Yu exhaled deeply, wiped the sweat from his brow, and slowly sat up as the menacing flower-stem pursuers wavered, then slowly withdrew.

Yang Qingqing leaned over, looking down at Du Yu by the armrest. "Stretch your legs again."

"Ah." Du Yu pulled a long face, and the Fire Phoenix Tree had already sent out its soft branches to wind around his ankles.

"Gentle now, Brother Tree!" Du Yu was alarmed. "Easy—!"

What did it mean to be forced to do the splits?

Luckily, Du Yu was only 17 this year and still quite malleable. After two weeks of hellish special training, his tendons and bones had fully loosened up.

Xiaoyan hopped in front of Du Yu and, seeing his grimace, plopped down on the floor, stretching her little stubby legs wide one front, one back, with effortless ease.

"Ying~" Xiaoyan lifted her little head and blinked at Du Yu.

Through their contract, Du Yu seemed to pick up on her meaning: "You're so weak~"

Du Yu rolled his eyes in annoyance. She'd been led astray by Little Fen Yang!

Little You Ying also floated over, as if wanting to mock her master too. But... she had overestimated herself—being just a ball of black flame, she didn't even have legs!

Awkward!

Coming to its senses, Little You Ying bashfully bumped into Du Yu's forehead and retreated back into the Acupoint Home.

With a smile on her face, Yang Qingqing bent down and picked up Xiaoyan, setting her on her knee. "Behave yourself."

"Ying~" Xiaoyan leaped lightly onto the woman's shoulder, stretched out her fluffy little head, and affectionately nuzzled Yang Qingqing's cheek—but dared go no further.

After this period of training, Xiaoyan truly didn't dare act up in front of Yang Qingqing.

Yang Qingqing stood and walked to the balcony, looking into the distance at the beautiful sunset, her voice gentle: "No extra training tonight. Go to bed early, get plenty of rest. Tomorrow is the 23rd."

Held down in splits by the Fire Phoenix Tree, Du Yu, to distract himself, lifted his eyes to the far-off wall.

With the leaves having receded like a tide, the spacious living room was back to normal.

The wall clock showed the time, and in the face of it, a small electronic calendar as well: Great Xia Calendar, Year 996, July 22nd.

Every time he saw a year like "996," it seemed to remind Du Yu he was already in the Otherworld. After all, in his last life, Du Yu had been a 21st-century man—but here, the years hadn't even hit one thousand yet.

Of course, this world's history is much longer than a mere thousand years. Tracing back from the first year, you can find all manner of ancient dynasties.

Those were normal eras.

It's just that later generations had designated the year when Demon Spirit culture arose as Year One, starting the calendar anew.

This was probably the only time the historians of the Five Continents unanimously agreed on something. To put it bluntly, the histories of the Five Continents could only be described as "fragmented and broken."

Especially after Year One, Great Xia's historical records had vast blank stretches. In those ancient ages when Demon Beasts ran rampant and the Human Race hadn't yet found a path to Demon Taming, even survival was a problem.

At this moment, Du Yu wasn't lamenting about the number "996." Instead, he was sizing up the date: July 22nd.

Tomorrow would be the day he entered the Shadow Gu Tower.

With Master Qing's special training and the Fire Phoenix Tree as his sparring partner, Du Yu, who'd practiced bitterly day and night, had finally gotten his turn!

There are countless blanks in the history after Year One. Perhaps this abrupt appearance of the Shadow Gu Tower would allow people to add a line to the historical books.

Everything hinged on tomorrow.

"Your Xiaoyan's improved a lot. Even though she's at the Peak of Mortal Level, her Demon Skill output is already top-tier Silver Level." Yang Qingqing cradled Xiaoyan with one hand, lightly tapping her nose tip.

Just judging by Spark Splash's fireball size, you could tell the Demon Skill's grade.

Heroic Bronze: fireball diameter less than 10 centimeters.

Unyielding Silver: fireball diameter 11~20 centimeters.

But even though Xiaoyan's Spark Splash was still at Heroic Bronze Quality, its size and output had reached the very limit of Unyielding Silver Quality.

Watching the happy tail-wagging Little Fire Fox, Yang Qingqing murmured, "I'm not sure if you should take her into the Shadow Gu Tower."

Du Yu: "Huh? Tss…"

As he spoke, Du Yu went from front-to-back splits to side splits, with the Fire Phoenix Tree pressing down on his back, pushing his chest to the floor.

"Ying!" Xiaoyan could now understand human language. Clever as she was, her little face fell instantly, and she hopped down from Yang Qingqing's hand.

Yang Qingqing was surprised—this was Xiaoyan's first time leaving voluntarily. Usually, as long as this little one had permission, she'd want to cling to her all day long.

Xiaoyan darted over in a flash, bumped her little forehead against Du Yu's, and turned into a wisp of Fire Demon Breath, merging into Du Yu's body.

Seeing this, Yang Qingqing couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

The bond between master and pet ran deep. Was she being the villain here?

Du Yu grimaced, "She's still at the Peak of Mortal Level, which should be within range…right, Master Qing…tss, ow ow ow."

Yang Qingqing: "Be gentle."

With that, the branches binding Du Yu's ankles slowly released, letting his legs rest on the floor.

Du Yu was really close to tears—what is this? Kneading dough figurines?

I'm training martial arts, not doing gymnastics—who stretches limbs with anti-joint twisting?

In a "T" shape, Du Yu lay limp on the floor, voice trembling: "I really need Xiaoyan. She can break through all Demon Taming Prentice Tier defenses, her assault power's way stronger than mine, and she pairs perfectly with my arrows."

"Hmm. I'll think about it," Yang Qingqing said as she walked toward the stairs.

But just as her foot landed on the first step, she suddenly said, "Du Yu."

"Huh?" Du Yu pushed himself up from the floor, grimacing. Because it was Yang Qingqing summoning him, the Fire Phoenix Tree didn't try to stop him.

Yang Qingqing had a hint of praise on her face, along with a touch of comfort. "You've done really well lately. Your performance is excellent. I'm very satisfied as your teacher. Tomorrow's task—don't stress about it. Just do your best."

Du Yu opened his mouth, but in the end only said one word: "Yes."

Only once Yang Qingqing's figure disappeared up the stairs did the Fire Phoenix Tree press Du Yu's back down onto the floor again.

This time, though, Du Yu didn't have the heart to make faces.

Because this was the first time Yang Qingqing referred to herself as "Master." So… did that mean she'd formally accepted him as her disciple?

Du Yu was secretly delighted—he knew he'd reached a new milestone!

You have to know, there's a huge gap even among Demon Spirit Students.

Regular students are more like college kids—attending lectures in a cohort, taking core and elective courses, listening to whichever teacher is on the schedule.

Whereas between Du Yu and Yang Qingqing, the relationship was more like grad student and advisor, or master and disciple from ancient times.

He only needed to answer to Master Qing.

With his sweat-soaked forehead against the floor, Du Yu's face broke out in a blissful smile.

Master Qing was a good woman—his earlier fears about being "given a hard time" were totally unfounded.

She's strong, rich, and has a house full of exotic dried fruit snacks…

Though she was always excessively polite, giving off a sense of subtle distance, after these days together, the two naturally got a lot closer.

Ah~ I'm just so lucky!

In the future, with her protection, I'll definitely become a god—or…hey?

"Eh?" Lost in his fantasy of being Master Qing's personal disciple, Du Yu suddenly felt himself lifted off the ground?

The Fire Phoenix Tree had tied up his wrists and ankles, stretching him out and hoisting him in the air!

"Tss…ow, ow! Just break me apart already!"

Upstairs, Master Qing's voice floated faintly down: "Be gentle."

The Fire Phoenix Tree, uncharacteristically obedient, slowly put down the little dough man it had been toying with.

Du Yu looked at the Fire Phoenix Tree with deep resentment. Damn tree, just you wait! Right now I've just joined the sect, but once I become Master Qing's favorite disciple…

I'll definitely peel off a layer of your bark!

Chop you up and fry you in oil, sprinkle a little spicy pepper and salt, and give your crispy bark to Little Fen Yang as a snack!

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