No matter what, Leon firmly believed one thing—his master would never set him up for failure.

Even though he had no clue where his master had obtained this book, titled "Nine Hells Gate" and supposedly authored by the Dragon Clan, it didn’t stop Leon from practicing its contents.

After all, since he still hadn’t found a solution to his inability to condense magic, cultivating a new and powerful physical technique had become a necessity.

What’s more, "Nine Hells Gate" wasn’t merely a physical technique—it was practically a piece of “mythical enhancement” that significantly bolstered General Leon’s performance in... well, let’s say, certain intimate situations.

This mythical enhancement could stack up to nine passive effects. Presently, Leon had only activated the first layer, and it had already left the dragoness trembling, murmuring, “Next time, for sure(a meme-like promise).”

Leon dared not imagine the outcome if he stacked all nine layers.

At the very least, this much was apparent: his master hadn’t led him astray. In fact, the old man had done his beloved disciple a significant favor. Aware that Leon was deep inside enemy territory, likely living anything but a cushy existence, the master had handed him a cheat—a power-up that allowed Leon to reclaim his title as the the most powerful in the current realm.

Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

After unlocking the First Gate, Leon dove right back into further studying "Nine Hells Gate" without wasting a moment.

“The First Gate remains continuously ‘open’ after being activated. For the other eight Gates, however, practitioners must manually open them during combat.”

“Each Gate unlocked signifies a leap in power, but it comes with an increase in physical strain on the practitioner.”

“Additionally, the temporary surge of newfound power allows the practitioner to perform various physical techniques unique to each Gate.”

“For example, the technique corresponding to the First Gate is called ‘Body Tempering.’ This is more of a passive technique; it expels all impurities within the practitioner’s body, rendering it as pure as that of a newborn infant."

Leon reviewed the text carefully, analyzing its content at a leisurely pace.

“So, according to this book, the older you get, the more impurities accumulate in your body. Hence, opening the First Gate is essential to purge these impurities, right?”

“That implies younger practitioners would find it much easier to train in this technique. And since Dragon Clan hatchlings can learn magic as early as seven or eight... it truly seems tailor-made for the Dragon Clan’s physiology.”

“Daddy.”

“Hm... Huh?! Aurora, when did you get here?”

Leon was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed Aurora’s presence.

The little one sat there obediently, her small pink tail swayed behind her. She tilted her head upward, looking at Leon with an expression of serious curiosity.

Leon looked back at his daughter, noticing the fine beads of sweat on her delicate nose. Her breathing was slightly labored.

Turning to glance at the back door of the sanctum, he realized why.

Although Aurora could now walk, her little legs couldn’t carry her very far. From the sanctum to the practice field was practically a marathon for someone of Aurora’s current stamina.

“I just got here~ I saw Daddy talking to himself so seriously, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

In other words, sweetie, you overheard everything Daddy just said, didn’t you?

Leon quickly replayed everything he’d muttered in his mind, making sure nothing he said might expose his human origins.

Scooping Aurora into his arms, Leon hugged her close. “Why aren’t you off playing with Muen?”

“Muen is still asleep.”

Ah, right. It was seven in the morning, which was definitely Muen’s bedtime.

If Noa were home, Muen would’ve been up early, eager to play games with her big sister while she had a rare day off.

Such is the way of a sister-obsessed younger sibling—willing to sacrifice sleep just to maximize time with her elder sister.

But since Aurora was too young for most games, Muen evidently found sleeping more rewarding.

“What book were you reading, Daddy?”

Aurora leaned into his chest, her big eyes fixing on "Nine Hells Gate", which rested on Leon’s lap.

She held out her tiny hand, signaling for her dad to let her see.

Leon handed over the book but kept one hand supporting its back, while Aurora used her tiny hands to flip open the pages with determination.

“Aurora, do you want Daddy to teach you how to read?” He figured it was about time to start teaching her basic literacy.

“No need, Daddy. I think I can already recognize most of the words in this book.”

Aurora pointed to a line of text and, word by word, read aloud: “The Seventh Gate is named ‘Awakening’ and corresponds to the technique known as ‘Twilight’s Blessing.’ Did I read that correctly, Daddy?”

The pink-haired dragon girl looked up, her face lighting up with a hopeful expression, clearly waiting for praise.

Leon was stunned by his little daughter’s literacy skills. Neither he nor Roswitha had ever taught her—so how had she learned?

The proud father pinched Aurora’s chubby cheeks and showered her with compliments without hesitation. “Yes, you read it perfectly. Aurora is amazing!”

“Yay~” The little dragon wagged her tail with glee.

“Who taught Aurora how to read? Was it Muen?”

Aurora blinked her pretty eyes and replied, “Sort of.”

“‘Sort of?’”

“Yeah, when Muen practices her reading, Aurora watches from the side. I guess... I just picked it up.”

Hearing this, even the experienced General Leon couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.

He and the Silver Dragon Queen had three daughters—

The eldest was a genius among geniuses, a prodigy extraordinary enough to inspire envy in any scholar. She absorbed knowledge like a sponge and required nearly no instruction.

The second daughter possessed unique talents of her own. Her learning mantra was practically, “It’ll happen when it happens, no rush.” And you couldn’t call her lazy either; she only started slacking off *after* mastering what she needed to know.

But then there was Aurora, the youngest. Compared to her sisters’ diligence and balance, she had forged a truly heavyweight path of her own.

She invented a unique learning method—'Sneaky Learning'—beyond her father's imagination.

This was the same Aurora who hadn’t said a word for the first two months of her life, only to suddenly start speaking fluently—just to enjoy her parents’ banter a bit longer.

Even her approach to education was unconventional!

The sound of pages turning snapped Leon out of his thoughts.

Looking down, he saw Aurora rapidly turning the pages of "Nine Hells Gate". Each one stayed open for no more than seven or eight seconds.

At this speed... she couldn’t possibly be reading everything, could she?

Still, even if she could recognize the words, there was no way a child could grasp the concepts behind them.

It was safe to say she was just browsing out of curiosity.

Leon didn’t bother saying anything about it.

If the kid wanted to look through the book, so be it. A bit of indulgence never hurt anyone.

“Daddy.”

After flipping through at a rapid pace for some time, Aurora finally spoke up.

“Yes?”

“Here you go.”

Aurora closed the ancient book and handed it back to Leon.

Leon chuckled, patting her soft pink hair. “Was it boring?”

Most kids her age, after all, preferred fables or nursery stories.

But to his surprise, Aurora shook her head. “It wasn’t boring. It’s actually a fascinating physical technique. But for someone like me, it’s not useful right now—so I just wanted to get a general idea of it.”

Leaning back comfortably in her father’s warm, sturdy arms, Aurora gazed at the clear blue sky. Her soft, melodious voice carried on.

“In my opinion, knowledge beyond one’s current level isn’t entirely useless. It’s still worth understanding in broad strokes first. That way, it’ll be easier to fully grasp later on.”

“This is just a method I came up with when I was bored. It probably has a lot of flaws, but I’ll refine it through experience until it becomes the best learning strategy for me.”

“Daddy, do you think this is a good approach?”

That such profound thoughts could come from someone who broke a sweat just walking a few steps was astonishing.

Even Noa had started learning only under Leon’s guidance, and her stellar habits were largely his cultivation.

But Aurora? Even without any direct instruction, she had not only “sneakily” picked up reading but also developed such a forward-thinking perspective on studying.

This child wasn’t just ahead of her peers—she practically belonged in an entirely different league.

Sweetheart, how is it that you’ve only been alive for four months?

It’s almost as if... you reincarnated with memories from a previous life!

Are we doing transmigration stories now?

Leon playfully pinched Aurora’s soft, chubby cheeks again. “Aurora, don’t you think it’s a bit early to be worrying about things like this?”

Aurora shook her head. “What’s early, and what’s late, Daddy?”

She lifted her little hand towards the sunlit sky, spreading her short, stubby fingers. Rays of light slipped through the gaps, casting a golden glow on her delicate face.

Her pink eyes glimmered under the light, dazzling like precious gems.

“I may not have Noa’s genius or Muen’s gift for balance, and I probably won’t even be that hardworking in the future. But as long as I can think, I want to think proactively.”

Hearing Aurora’s words, Leon realized he could no longer approach her as just a child.

She wasn’t an ordinary dragon girl.

The bit about reincarnating was a joke—but her intellectual maturity genuinely exceeded that of every peer she might encounter.

Aurora might not rival Noa’s innate aptitude, but her edge lay in a unique advantage—her independence in thought.

Astonished by his youngest daughter’s abilities, Leon couldn’t help but wonder: mixed dragon children sure were extraordinary, each possessing their own unique brilliance.

Hmm...

Maybe he should have a chat with Roswitha about the possibility of... having two more kids?

See if they could “roll” an even more overpowered SSR?

Ah, the irresistible allure of gacha mechanics—truly ingrained in human nature.

Shaking his head to clear such frivolous thoughts, Leon looked down at Aurora.

“There’s no need to rush and plan out your entire future, Aurora. You still have so much time ahead of you.”

“Time isn’t about how much we have, Daddy; it’s about how we use it.”

Leon raised an eyebrow, letting out a soft laugh. “Aurora, as smart as you are, there’s no way you came up with that line yourself.”

Aurora looked up, showing her adorable smile to her dad. "I read it in a book. Aurora thinks this line is super cool!"