Chapter 19: Tamed

Ye Qinghe had no intention of stepping in.

Gibbons were not exotic beasts; while they were considered fierce predators to ordinary people, they posed no significant problem for martial artists.

She wanted to slack off.

Furthermore, she was somewhat curious about Ning Qi's current strength.

When he first stepped onto the path of martial arts, Ning Qi's monstrous comprehension had left a vivid impression on her. She felt that with her junior brother's talent, he should be at least at the Great Success stage of the Flesh Refining Realm, or perhaps even at Perfection.

With such strength, dealing with a few gibbons should be no issue.

Meeting Ye Qinghe's beaming gaze, Ning Qi shrugged slightly.

"Alright then."

He felt a bit embarrassed about constantly treating Ye Qinghe like a bodyguard. It was just that the "pie" he had painted earlier was too timely; now that the opportunity to obtain the monkey wine had been delivered to his doorstep, it would be impolite not to take it. Since it was just a quick task, he would consider it a reward for his senior sister coming along to protect him.

Ning Qi glanced at the white ape.

Then, he stepped forward slowly.

The white ape was exceptionally tactful. Its eyes lit up, and it immediately flashed behind the two of them. Upon meeting Ye Qinghe's gaze, it bowed repeatedly in a fawning manner, only to be met with a roll of her eyes, leaving it to scratch its head sheepishly.

At this moment.

Seeing Ning Qi approach, the gibbons bared their teeth ferociously, emitting continuous low growls.

Before Ning Qi could take two more steps, one gibbon had already hurled a stone at him. The wind whistled with heavy force as all the gibbons surrounded him to attack. These were highly aggressive beasts; even if Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe did nothing, they would have been attacked.

Ning Qi tapped his feet lightly, shifting his body slightly to dodge the flying stone with a graceful, elegant movement that drew Ye Qinghe's attention.

But what surprised her even more came next. She saw Ning Qi reach out and grab the arm of a gibbon that was swinging at him. Like a Buddha throwing an elephant, the gibbon was instantly tossed away as if it weighed nothing.

However, the sight was somewhat strange given the contrast between Ning Qi's small frame and the gibbon's massive size.

*Boom!*

It slammed into a tree trunk with a loud crash.

The gibbon let out a mournful cry, unable to get up.

Ning Qi was like a tiger among sheep. Taking one in each hand, he sent the gibbons flying, crashing them into the forest.

Watching from behind, the white ape couldn't help but shudder. This human child was too brutal.

Ning Qi's expression remained calm.

With his current strength, fighting gibbons was no different from an adult fighting a child.

Having finished this, Ning Qi did not pursue them but instead looked ahead.

Ye Qinghe's gaze followed, and her expression changed slightly.

A low roar sounded as a pitch-black figure approached from the distance. Like a gibbon, it stood upright, but it was much more robust, with explosive, bulging muscles. Its arms, in particular, were as black as iron, resembling massive sledgehammers.

The Iron-Armed Ape!

This was an exotic beast, a variant of the gibbon. Its strength was staggering, with a single arm capable of lifting at least a thousand catties. Its iron-like arms were incredibly tough; the most exceptional among them could even fight against experts of the Bone Refining Realm.

Ye Qinghe instinctively took a step forward but then pulled back.

A hint of curiosity appeared in her eyes. Ning Qi had been too effortless just now; she realized she might have underestimated her junior brother.

She decided to use this Iron-Armed Ape to test his limits, which would also serve as good combat training for him.

However.

Her mind was fully focused. Once Ning Qi was no match, she would intervene immediately to ensure he wouldn't suffer even a single scratch.

Ning Qi also felt a sense of eagerness.

He hadn't fought many times. Occasionally, when his hands felt itchy or he wanted to test his martial arts, he would seek out fierce beasts in the True Martial Realm, but he had never encountered something of the Iron-Armed Ape's caliber.

The Iron-Armed Ape possessed an intimidating aura. Its gaze was equally fierce as it stared at the white ape in the distance and roared, signaling Ning Qi to leave its territory.

Ning Qi ignored it.

In the next instant.

The Iron-Armed Ape attacked without warning.

It gripped a tree trunk and lunged forward. Coming from a high position, it carried immense momentum. Its iron arms swung down like sledgehammers, creating a piercing whistle of wind that made one's scalp tingle.

Ye Qinghe's expression tightened; this Iron-Armed Ape was no ordinary beast.

The internal energy within her body began to circulate, ready to strike at any moment.

Ning Qi's youthful body looked like a mantis trying to stop a chariot before the Iron-Armed Ape, but his expression did not change.

He extended both hands. There were no flashy movements; he simply guided and embraced the incoming iron arm into his chest. Then, like a legendary overlord with the strength to uproot mountains, he lifted the entire Iron-Armed Ape and slammed it down violently.

*Boom!*

The forest shook, and leaves fell.

"Quite sturdy, aren't you?"

Slamming it to the right once more, the Iron-Armed Ape was completely finished. Its originally ferocious expression turned into one of pure confusion, feeling as though its very bones and muscles were about to shatter.

In the distance, the white ape jolted, its fur standing on end.

Brutal!

So brutal!

Ye Qinghe was left speechless. The internal energy she had raised dissipated, nearly causing her internal injuries from the shock.

She had considered many possibilities, but she had never anticipated this one. The sight of the child slamming the ape made her question reality; she almost thought she was dreaming.

Was this really her four-year-old junior brother?

Ning Qi's voice pulled her back to her senses

"Hey, big guy. My senior sister wants to drink monkey wine. If you offer up the monkey wine, I'll let you off this once."

Ning Qi asked while stepping on the Iron-Armed Ape's shoulder, which moved Ye Qinghe to a bit of emotion—she hadn't raised this junior brother in vain.

The Iron-Armed Ape was dazed and disoriented, its arm muscles feeling as if they were tearing apart. It looked at Ning Qi in fear, having no idea what he was saying. Exotic beasts possessed a certain level of intelligence, but they did not necessarily understand human speech.

Seeing that Ning Qi was about to strike again, the Iron-Armed Ape began to wail in desperation.

The white ape scurried over from a distance. It first bowed repeatedly to Ning Qi, then pointed to itself and then to the Iron-Armed Ape, as if suggesting it could handle the communication.

Ning Qi was surprised.

This white ape seemed like an exotic beast, but its strength was pitifully weak, unable to even defeat a few gibbons. Yet, if it were an ordinary wild animal, it was far too intelligent, as it seemed to understand what he was saying.

He nodded slightly.

The white ape bowed respectfully, and then, taking advantage of Ning Qi's distraction, it flew up and delivered a kick to the Iron-Armed Ape's face.

The damage wasn't high, but the insult was immense.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Ning Qi laughed.

This little white ape was quite interesting.

The Iron-Armed Ape was so angry its nose seemed to tilt, but it didn't dare resist.

The white ape acted high and mighty, hands on its hips, making various chirping noises and gestures. Ning Qi could clearly see the look of resistance on the Iron-Armed Ape's face, which eventually turned into resignation. When faced with overwhelming force, losing wine was better than losing one's life.

Having completed its task, the white ape rolled and jumped excitedly in front of Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe.

Ning Qi smiled slightly

"Lead the way."

This translator was quite good.

The two followed the Iron-Armed Ape and the white ape into the forest.

Ye Qinghe finally found the chance to ask Ning Qi. Her voice was low, as if afraid of disturbing others

"Xiao Jiu, tell me honestly, what realm are you in now?"

Ning Qi thought for a moment and replied

"Bone Refining."

He didn't mention that he had already reached the Perfection stage of Bone Refining, fearing it might shock Ye Qinghe.

Perfection of Bone Refining is still Bone Refining; that wasn't a lie, right?

Ye Qinghe stood frozen like a wooden chicken.

In just one year, he had stepped into the Bone Refining Realm?

What kind of peerless monster was this!

Now she finally understood why Master always told them not to ask the junior brother too much about his martial arts training.

It wasn't to protect the junior brother; it was to protect *them*!

Ye Qinghe looked at the innocent-looking Ning Qi with a resentful gaze.

*Fine, I'll be good. I won't ask ever again!*