Chapter 72: When the Younger Fails to Behave, It's the Elder Who Has Not Taught Well

Just how strong had he become?

To put it simply, before eating the gu diao meat, after days of consuming grey wolf flesh and the seventh-grade vermilion fruits Yu Yan had given him, he was already confident that even if he had to carry a ten-kilogram load and run a hundred kilometers cross-country, at most, he would only be a little short of breath.

But now—

Even with a hundred kilograms on his back, covering a hundred kilometers of rough terrain, Zuo Changyu was sure he could do it without breaking a sweat or losing his breath. Every cell in his body brimmed with boundless vitality and vigor.

For the first time, as he looked at Yu Yan, his gaze carried a trace of genuine admiration. Previously, when he called her “Sister Yan,” it was done grudgingly, merely out of necessity. Now, however, he truly bowed his proud head before her.

Yet when he recalled the torment he had endured to gain this strength, even now that it was over, Zuo Changyu couldn't help but shudder in apprehension.

He was certain that gu diao meat was not the only earth-tier spirit beast flesh Yu Yan possessed. Otherwise, why would she be so generous, tossing it to him so casually for his absorption and refinement? Surely not every spirit beast meat could taste that vile, nor could the process of refining each one be so excruciating. At the very least, those two lightning gryphons Yu Yan had recently acquired gave off a perfectly normal scent.

So, Yu Yan did have her own reasons for wanting to help him grow stronger.

But for some reason, she had also wanted to give him a taste of suffering.

Realizing this, Zuo Changyu's lips curled into a wry smile. Thinking back, her attitude toward him had begun to change after he shot and killed that lightning gryphon. But that incident hadn't harmed her at all—he'd acted entirely out of good intentions! Women’s hearts were indeed as unfathomable as the sea.

Zuo Changyu felt a deep sense of kinship with that old saying.

“Hmm.”

Yu Yan gave a noncommittal nod in response to Zuo Changyu’s display. After all, he’d eaten her gu diao meat, and as far as she could tell, he hadn’t lost his wits—he was still the little brother she’d chosen. But Yu Yan had far higher standards for the initiative of her followers. What did he mean by “I’ll repay you if I have the chance”? Did that mean if there was no opportunity, her gu diao meat would be given in vain?

Heh!

Yu Yan sneered coldly in her heart but said nothing aloud, striding ahead. If her underling hadn’t learned to be obedient, it was her own failing as the leader. She was determined to teach him how to be a proper subordinate.

A sudden chill ran down Zuo Changyu’s spine, as if sensing impending doom. But seeing Yu Yan already some distance ahead, he quickly shook off the feeling and hurried after her.

This time, since he was now a third-grade ability user and Yu Yan had intentionally slowed her pace, he just barely managed to keep up.

Zuo Changyu could finally keep pace with Yu Yan, rather than being dragged along the whole way—an experience he could only describe as… well, let’s not even talk about it! Bent over with his hands on his knees, he struggled to catch his breath. Watching Yu Yan maintain just enough distance ahead for him to see her silhouette, he could have wept with frustration.

Yu Yan was toying with him!

He could feel it.

“Yan—cough, cough, Sister Yan!” Zuo Changyu gasped hoarsely as he caught his breath. Sure enough, Yu Yan—who had been walking at a leisurely pace—stopped. She could hear him. “If there’s something about me you dislike, just say it.”

“I’ll change, really!”

He was truly at her mercy.

As long as her demands weren’t fatal, he would accept them all!

Zuo Changyu thought, both aggrieved and resigned.

“Windstride.”

Yu Yan gave a soft command. The wind element surged, and she was instantly back at Zuo Changyu’s side, grabbing him and resuming the same rapid pace as before. As for Zuo Changyu’s look of utter despair, she pretended not to see it. Until he realized he was the little brother she had chosen, and that being her subordinate was his only role, Yu Yan had no intention of spelling it out for him.

She would show him, through countless actions, that becoming her follower was the wisest choice he could ever make!

For example, at this very moment, as she carried him along, Zuo Changyu no longer felt the awkwardness of the past two days.

Being carried by Yu Yan through the air now seemed perfectly natural.

It was a subtle process of taming, acclimating him to being under her control and following her orders, until he would one day willingly submit to her. Of course, Yu Yan would never mistreat those on her side.

If Zuo Changyu stuck with her, it would be the best decision of his life!

With a whole spatial trove of high-grade spirit materials at her disposal, Yu Yan was confident of this.

Perhaps her bad luck in this S-class dungeon had finally run its course, for shortly after picking up Zuo Changyu, Yu Yan discovered a low-tier fire salamander nest. They were old adversaries; a few days ago, Yu Yan had been chased across heaven and earth by the “elders” of this species. She had almost wished her parents had given her an extra pair of legs. Now, faced with a nest whose strongest member was only fifth-grade, it really did seem that what goes around comes around.

Yu Yan didn’t startle them.

She signaled to Zuo Changyu with her eyes, and they both retreated a short distance. Only when she was sure their voices wouldn’t carry to the three fire salamanders in the distance—one large, two small—did Yu Yan voice her doubts. “Don’t you think something’s odd around here?”

It had been the same with the two lightning gryphons they’d killed before; now there was this salamander nest. These monsters usually lived in large groups, nesting together in the hundreds.

If they just thought themselves strong, that would be one thing.

But whether it was the lightning gryphons who’d died by their hands or the three fire salamanders nearby, none of them were the top of their brood—in fact, they were below average in strength. Zuo Changyu nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it is a bit strange.”

Though he found Yu Yan’s use of “around here” a little grating.

After all, he’d been running for ages at full tilt behind her, panting for breath, and in her eyes, it was still only “nearby”? Did Sister Yan have a different understanding of “nearby”? He was a third-grade ability user now, after all.

But Zuo Changyu’s instincts, honed in the hail of gunfire, told him something really was off.

For one thing, the surrounding wasteland offered no cover.

The two lightning gryphons’ nest was not even on this expanse—why had they lingered there for so long? Surely they hadn’t just wandered into Yu Yan’s path to be hunted? And as for this salamander nest, it looked like one of the bigger ones was out hunting.

The larger one left behind was watching the surroundings warily, its eyes sharp with caution, clearly uneasy about the safety of the nest.

But by nature, birds always build their nests in the safest places.

It’s for the sake of their offspring, as well as for themselves when wounded or weary, to have a place to rest and recuperate.

If they felt this area was unsafe, why nest here at all?

It was completely contradictory.

“So, Sister Yan, are we doing this or not?”

He didn’t quite understand why Yu Yan, who could already leave the dungeon, was still lingering here, but Zuo Changyu was happy to go along. If Yu Yan really left, even though he was now a third-grade ability user, the monsters they’d encountered these past two days had been stronger and more formidable each time, with ever more dazzling abilities.

That thought made Zuo Changyu lose any sense of confidence!

So, seeing Yu Yan show interest in the fire salamander nest, he was nothing if not eager…