Zhang Yemiao didn’t care what Li Pingtian thought. After all, she was the one beside Wang Qi now. Deep down, she didn’t believe Li Pingtian could stay on good terms with Wang Qi forever.

She wielded Divine Art Mastery—a power that, compared to Wang Qi’s capped talent, made a Tenth Level lifeform theoretically unstoppable.

But she was different. Even at Tenth Level, without weapons nearby, her combat power was actually quite weak.

So clinging to Wang Qi like a parasite was no problem… though “parasitic” wasn’t quite right. The professional term was mutualistic symbiosis.

“Once you hit Level Three, you can synthesize all kinds of armor, right?”

“Mm-hmm. Making armor’s a ton of work. If I do it by hand, our blacksmith shop’d need an upgrade—but we don’t have enough saved. Still, leveling up to synthesize armor directly is convenient.”

Zhang Yemiao had studied her talent deeply. For so long, aside from teasing Wang Qi now and then, she’d been fully immersed in it.

She hesitated. “At Level Four, I can synthesize enchanted weapons or armor directly. It’s costly, but one item can give up to a ten percent boost.”

Wang Qi sucked in a breath. “A money-burning profession.”

Zhang Yemiao blushed slightly. Weren’t blacksmiths money-burning professions everywhere? High investment, high return—that was the way.

Late-game, it wasn’t so bad. Truly skilled blacksmiths got clients to supply practice materials and pay handsomely. Pure profit, no cost.

But Zhang Yemiao was still very, very far from that level.

“If you can forge armor, I can go deeper into the grasslands. I’m stuck at my level.”

Wang Qi was stuck. Advancing from Level Three to Four was a leap, yet he hadn’t even reached peak Level Three. He was trapped between early and mid Level Three.

The drawbacks of Physical Enhancement were showing.

Physical Enhancement was a trashy ability.

Why had they all concluded that? First, its ceiling was too low.

Second, if Zhang Yemiao’s Mastery of Objects devoured materials, Physical Enhancement devoured rare ingredients. Some things were unobtainable—special plants, unique lifeforms.

Worst of all, this profession leveled up crazy fast early on, then got stuck. Human bodies had limits.

Human bodies weren’t strong. In a world with races like orcs—naturally high physical limits—human training speed and results couldn’t compare. Training the body was foolish.

Humans excelled in the thirteen basic magics and their combinations.

Generations of magical research, accumulated knowledge—that was humanity’s capital here.

So the strongest was still Zou Moan. For defense, she used basic elements with Arcane Magic for spells like “Stone Armor.” For recovery, she brute-forced Life Magic. Same for strength… With enough Mental Power at high levels, Zou Moan was nearly omnipotent.

Zhang Yemiao frowned. “You’ve hit a bottleneck?”

Wang Qi nodded. “My ability says to grow stronger, I need to bathe in dragon blood… Not a true dragon, but at least a dragonkin.”

Zhang Yemiao didn’t know much about dragonkin. But Wang Qi, who visited the Adventurers’ Guild often, clearly understood. His grave expression showed dragonkin weren’t easy kills.

“Hard to take down?”

“I checked at the Guild. Even the weakest dragonkin—like those bugs we saw two days ago… Those aren’t true dragonkin; their bloodline hasn’t awakened. Once it does, they’re terrifying. At least as tough as my Level Four Physical Enhancement defense. Huge size, vitality, innate magic… Very hard to fight.”

So armor was needed for confidence?

“Can’t we just buy dragonkin blood?”

Wang Qi gave a bitter smile. “Bought blood’s useless… I need fresh blood. My talent’s clear: bathe in it.”

“What if we hire someone to kill it, then you bathe?”

“If we can afford it…”

Zhang Yemiao fell silent.

It was tough. To be safe, wait until she hit Level Three. Forge two armors, stronger weapons… Then maybe handle the weakest dragonkin.

“Let’s not think about that. Grind monsters first. Better to get you to Level Three.” Wang Qi ruffled Zhang Yemiao’s hair. Lately, he’d noticed petting her head cheered her up. Many games had head-patting to boost affection. Some people really knew better.

Zhang Yemiao retorted, “What ‘feed’?! Be clear! Don’t act hot stuff ‘cause you’re strong! When I forge armor, you won’t get it unless you call me ‘Dad’!”

Though sharp-tongued, she looked utterly adorable to Wang Qi, clearly enjoying it. He bent slightly to hide his embarrassment.

They advanced through the grasslands.

Completely different from their escape… Wang Qi was calm.

“Yikes! Wang Qi! Over here! A deer-like creature’s staring at me! Help!”

Wang Qi charged, punched it down, then two more blows. The creature died.

“Ooh… Brother Qi is the best! Brother Qi’s amazing~~~” Zhang Yemiao fawned in a disgustingly sweet voice. Embarrassed for contributing nothing, she played cheerleader.

Dancing around.

“Brother Qi, Brother Qi, go for it~ Brother Qi, Brother Qi, you’re the best~”

A black # mark flashed on Wang Qi’s forehead. He wanted to punch her—but she’d cry for ages. He let it go.

Eep… Zhang Yemiao knew she was being gross. But! But but! Wang Qi was so cool!

Tell me—what man could resist stomping the ground like a cannonball, then smashing a punch into an opponent?

What man could resist sneering at a monster, muscles bulging, ripping his shirt open, charging for a brutal flesh-on-flesh clash?

No one could resist!

Even as a girl, Zhang Yemiao couldn’t look away.

Like powerful anime characters—their fighting spirit was incredibly cool.

Even getting blasted away, rolling on the ground, then rising with a cold smirk was super cool!

Ah~ What to do? At this rate, she’d get addicted!

Unconsciously, Zhang Yemiao crossed her arms around her waist, legs pressed together, rubbing slightly.

She was ecstatic. Though Wang Qi fought, she was excited. In anime, her pupils would’ve turned into little hearts.

“Truly astonishing physique.”

A gentle feminine voice sounded in Zhang Yemiao’s ear. She snapped to attention and turned. A tiny figure stood beside her.

…About her height, but still petite—since she was small too… Unlike her, this figure was cloaked in an oversized black robe. Hair like Li Pingtian’s—silver? No, not silver; no sheen. Gray.

A woman with long gray hair, shrouded in black.

Seeing Zhang Yemiao’s wary look, she smiled kindly. “Don’t be wary. I mean no harm. I was drawn by the combat… Never expected someone to train their body this much. I thought it must be from the God of War Empire…”

“God of War Empire?” Unfamiliar. Zhang Yemiao didn’t respond.

Her silence made the woman awkward. Her smile froze. She scratched her cheek. “Um, I really mean no harm~ I’m Soya. You?”

Zhang Yemiao stepped back, face cold, silent.

Soya was dumbfounded. Seriously, I didn’t do anything! Why so wary?

Soya sensed subtle movements—Zhang Yemiao was on guard. She must have special means… Are people this cautious now? So cute yet cold. What a waste.

Wang Qi noticed. The stranger worried him.

He endured a monster’s blow, finished it off, and returned.

Zhang Yemiao hid behind him, grabbing his hand—no shirt sleeve to hold since he’d ripped it open.

Wang Qi bore the pain. He looked at the gray-haired girl.

“May I ask… what brings you here?”

Soya took in their reactions. She forced her kindest smile. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re seeking dragon blood, right?”

Wang Qi’s eyes turned icy. Killing intent radiated from him.

“Don’t be so angry~ I mean no harm. In fact, I can help you.” The gray-haired girl smiled, her words like a tempting dessert—delicious and inviting.