Ye Qinghe had no intention of making a move.
The long-armed apes were not exotic beasts; they could be considered fierce creatures to ordinary people, but not much of an issue for martial artists.
She wanted to be lazy.
Moreover, she was curious about Ning Qi’s current strength.
Back when he first entered the martial path, Ning Qi’s monstrous talent left a deep impression on her. She thought that with her junior brother’s talent, he should at least have reached great success in the Flesh Refining Realm by now, maybe even perfection.
With such strength, dealing with a few long-armed apes shouldn’t be a problem.
Ning Qi met Ye Qinghe’s smiling gaze and shrugged slightly.
He always used Ye Qinghe as a bodyguard, which made him feel a bit guilty. But who made his earlier promises so tempting? Now that the opportunity to get monkey wine was presented to him, he had to take it. Besides, it was a simple task, a way to reward his senior sister for coming along to protect him.
Ning Qi glanced at the white ape.
Then he stepped forward slowly.
The white ape, sensing the situation, immediately appeared behind the two of them. When it met Ye Qinghe’s gaze, it bowed repeatedly in a flattering manner, only to receive a rolling of eyes from her, making it scratch its head awkwardly.
Seeing Ning Qi step forward, several long-armed apes bared their teeth fiercely, letting out low growls.
As Ning Qi took two more steps, one of the long-armed apes had already lifted a rock and hurled it, the sound of it slicing through the air loud and forceful. All the long-armed apes came to attack. These were aggressive beasts that would attack even if Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe did nothing.
Ning Qi lightly tapped his foot, slightly sidestepping to dodge the flying stone gracefully, catching Ye Qinghe’s attention.
What surprised her even more came next; she saw Ning Qi reach out, grab a long-armed ape’s arm, and throw it away with Buddha’s Elephant Throwing, making the long-armed ape appear weightless.
Nonetheless, the sight of Ning Qi’s small figure compared to the size of the long-armed ape was somewhat strange.
The sound echoed from the impact as it crashed into a tree trunk.
The long-armed ape whimpered, unable to rise.
Ning Qi charged into the group of long-armed apes like a tiger among sheep, sending them flying into the forest with each grab.
Behind him, the white ape shivered uncontrollably; this human child was so ferocious.
Ning Qi’s expression remained indifferent.
With his current strength, dealing with long-armed apes was no different than an adult fighting a child.
After finishing these, Ning Qi didn’t pursue further but instead looked ahead.
Ye Qinghe also looked in that direction, her expression changing slightly.
A deep roar sounded, and a pitch-black figure approached from afar, standing upright like a long-armed ape, but much stronger, with bulging muscles that seemed explosive. In particular, its pair of arms was as black as iron, resembling massive hammers.
This was an exotic beast, a variant of long-armed apes, with astonishing strength. Each arm weighed at least a thousand pounds, with iron arms unparalleled in toughness. The best among them could even battle a Bone Refining Realm expert.
Ye Qinghe instinctively stepped forward but then fell back.
Her eyes held a hint of curiosity. Ning Qi had been too relaxed earlier; she realized she might have underestimated her junior brother.
Might as well use this Iron-Armed Ape to see his limits and hone his combat skills.
Her mind was fully concentrated, ready to intervene if Ning Qi was outmatched. She wouldn’t let Ning Qi get hurt in the slightest.
Ning Qi also showed some eagerness.
He hadn’t fought many times. Occasionally, when feeling itchy or to test his martial arts, he’d find some beasts in True Martial. But he had never encountered an Iron-Armed Ape of this level.
The Iron-Armed Ape was daunting, and its eyes were fierce. It glared at the distant white ape, then repeatedly roared, signaling Ning Qi to leave its territory.
The Iron-Armed Ape attacked without warning.
Grabbing a tree trunk, it leaped and pounced, descending from above with immense momentum, its iron arms crashing down like hammers, accompanied by a piercing wind, making one’s scalp tingle.
Ye Qinghe’s expression tightened; this Iron-Armed Ape was no ordinary creature.
Her inner strength was already mobilized, ready to strike at any moment.
Ning Qi’s young figure appeared no more than an ant’s in the face of the Iron-Armed Ape, yet his expression was unchanged.
He extended his hands, without any unnecessary moves, merely pulled and embraced, catching the iron arm in his arms. Then, like a tyrant reborn, he lifted the entire Iron-Armed Ape and smashed it down.
The forest shook, leaves fell.
With another swing to the right, the Iron-Armed Ape was utterly defeated, its once ferocious expression now dazed, feeling as if all its bones were dislocated.
The distant white ape shivered, its fur standing on end.
Ye Qinghe was left speechless, her gathered inner strength dissipating, almost causing self-inflicted wounds.
She had considered many possibilities but never expected this one. The sight of the young boy hurling the ape made her question reality, almost wondering if she was dreaming.
Is this really her four-year-old junior brother?
Ning Qi’s voice pulled her back from her thoughts:
"Hey, big guy, my senior sister wants to drink monkey wine. Offer us the monkey wine, and I’ll spare you once."
Ning Qi stood on the Iron-Armed Ape’s shoulder, asking, which made Ye Qinghe feel touched. This junior brother was indeed worth doting on.
The Iron-Armed Ape was dizzy, its arm muscles near tearing, fearfully looking at Ning Qi, completely not understanding what he was saying. Exotic beasts had some intelligence but didn’t necessarily understand human language.
Seeing Ning Qi ready to strike again, the Iron-Armed Ape howled in panic.
From a distance, the white ape quickly dashed over. It first bowed repeatedly to Ning Qi, then pointed to itself and the Iron-Armed Ape as if indicating it would do the communicating.
Ning Qi looked surprised.
This white ape seemed like an exotic beast, yet it was incredibly weak and couldn’t even defeat a few long-armed apes. If it were an ordinary beast, it was too clever, understanding human speech.
The white ape bowed respectfully, then, when Ning Qi wasn’t watching, kicked the Iron-Armed Ape in the face.
The damage wasn’t high, but the insult was immense.
Ning Qi heard the commotion behind and laughed.
This little white ape was quite amusing.
The Iron-Armed Ape was furious, its nose crooked, but it dared not retaliate.
The white ape stood proudly, hands on its hips, then gibbered with various gestures, and Ning Qi clearly saw reluctance on the Iron-Armed Ape’s face before it finally gave in, knowing survival was better than losing its life.
Completing its task, the white ape excitedly rolled and jumped before Ning Qi and Ye Qinghe.
Ning Qi smiled slightly:
This translator was quite impressive.
The two followed the Iron-Armed Ape and the white ape into the forest.
Ye Qinghe finally had time to ask Ning Qi, speaking in a low voice as if afraid of disturbing anyone:
"Jiu, be honest with me. What realm are you in now?"
Ning Qi thought for a moment and replied:
He didn’t mention he had achieved Bone Refining Perfection, fearing it might shock Ye Qinghe.
Bone Refining Perfection was still Bone Refining, right? That wasn’t lying, was it?
Ye Qinghe was dumbfounded.
A year’s time, reaching the Bone Refining Realm?
What an unparalleled prodigy!
Now she understood why their master had cautioned them not to question their junior brother too much about his martial training.
Turns out it wasn’t to protect the junior brother, but to protect them!
Ye Qinghe looked at Ning Qi’s innocent face with a wistful gaze.
She resolved to never ask again!