164: Yan Ruyu's age

Xie Ning, Yan Ruyu, and the Jingzhou City Defense Force followed the blasted-open passage all the way down.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the passage, they were met with a wave of attacks.

“Defense! Ready guns!” the Lieutenant shouted, sweeping away an incoming strike.

A dozen or so Soldiers stepped forward with shields to block the attacks, while other Soldiers peeked out from the edges of the shields, their demon hunting guns firing with loud 'bang bang bangs,' mowing down a large group of resisting Fallen Demon Tamers.

The remaining two Silver Rank Fallen Demon Tamers, who had undergone Body Integration with their Yao Beasts, were also heavily injured.

Xie Ning flew forward and thrust his sword out as fast as lightning, piercing one person's throat. He then summoned White Fang, who, wrapped in gray flames, swept through the other person's body.

[Ding! The Heteromorphic Flame White Wolf has successfully killed a Silver Rank Demon Tamer, gaining 25 evolution value.]

Easily insta-killing two heavily injured Silver Rank Demon Tamers caused a stir of surprise among the City Defense Force.

The Gold Rank Lieutenant even exclaimed, “As expected of Yan Ruyu's student.”

Xie Ning smiled and winked at Yan Ruyu.

If it were before coming to Pingan Village, Xie Ning would have needed Little Mantis's help to fight a Silver Rank Demon Tamer.

Since fighting the Gemini Fierce Demon in Pingan Village and then battling two Gold Ranks at the Experimental Base, although he still couldn't keep up with a Gold Rank's speed, he could already hold his own against a low-level Silver Rank; winning wasn't easy, but not losing wasn't hard.

Of course, this referred to average Silver Rank Demon Tamers. If it were someone like Zhao Long, Mu Tian, or Ye Feiyu, his failure rate would be extremely high in an all-out fight.

Afterward, the group swept toward the depths of the cave in a grand manner.

Any Demon Tamer below Silver Rank encountered along the way was shot dead by demon hunting guns. Those Silver Ranks who didn't die after a barrage of fire were finished off by Xie Ning. Occasionally, a Gold Rank would appear, but facing Yan Ruyu's presence, they couldn't exert their true strength at all and were easily defeated by the Gold Rank Lieutenant finding their weaknesses.

The group finally reached the bottom, but they could no longer see a single soul.

“It seems they've escaped,” Xie Ning said.

The Gold Rank Lieutenant nodded and waved his hand. “Search!”

The Soldiers scattered to search various locations.

Xie Ning entered one of the rooms. There were signs of a previous fight, and a booklet placed on the table had been cut in half.

When he pieced it together, it turned out to be a brochure for the items at tomorrow's auction.

“Find anything?” Yan Ruyu asked.

“This group of Fallen Demon Tamers is likely targeting this auction, or even...” Xie Ning flipped through until he reached the last page, where a pile of golden bricks was circled. “Their goal is the same as mine.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Yan Ruyu asked.

Xie Ning said, “We'll take it one step at a time. I actually hope the true martial gold gets stolen by the Fallen Demon Tamers, hehe~ That way, with Master doing the robbing, the goods will be easy to get, and I won't feel any guilt at all.”

Yan Ruyu's soft, slender hand flicked lightly, and a gust of finger-wind hit Xie Ning, knocking him to the ground.

“Ouch~”

The City Defense Force's search didn't find anything of value either. In the end, only a few people were left to seal the stronghold and handle the aftermath, while everyone else left. Xie Ning and Yan Ruyu also left shortly after, but instead of returning to their suite, they went to the hotel rooftop.

Originally, Xie Ning wanted to book another room for Yan Ruyu, but she found it troublesome and refused.

The two of them sat in meditation on the hotel rooftop.

With the Xingshui Lynx guarding them, they didn't have to worry about any danger... Time passed minute by minute.

The bright moon, like a naughty child on a slide, climbed laboriously to the zenith and then quickly descended. Time soon reached four in the morning.

On the hotel rooftop, a series of fine 'crackling' sounds rang out along with a strong wind.

The Master and disciple opened their eyes simultaneously.

“Did you Breakthrough?”

“I broke through.”

Xie Ning felt the changes in himself and couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

Today's successive hard battles had allowed him to make great progress in both his mental Realm and Ancient Martial cultivation. In particular, his Mental Energy, which had previously reached the Bronze Elementary Bottleneck, had broken through two levels in a row.

Whether in ancient martial arts or beast taming, he had reached Bronze Advanced. He believed he would soon be able to Breakthrough to Silver Rank.

Xie Ning clenched his fists and said joyfully, “I feel like my strength has increased a lot compared to before. Combined with Little Mantis and White Fang, I should have a chance to fight a Gold Rank head-on. If Little Mantis evolves again, defeating a Gold Rank should be no problem.”

“No, your current strength is still far from that of a true Gold Rank,” Yan Ruyu shook her head with a serious expression.

“A true Gold Rank?”

Could it be that Gold Rank was divided into true and false?

Xie Ning couldn't help but be confused.

Yan Ruyu nodded, stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and walked to the side, explaining, “Gold Rank is a watershed. Just as some demons will undergo Talent Awakening at Gold Rank, humans who Breakthrough to Gold Rank will also awaken their own Talent. This Talent might not necessarily act upon oneself, but it is certainly an ability that can greatly enhance combat power.”

Xie Ning looked at her back and asked again, “But why are the Gold Rank enemies I've encountered not particularly special, other than being stronger than Silver Ranks?”

“Those are merely laborers at best. Their strength is certainly greater than Silver Ranks, but when facing a Demon Tamer or Ancient Martial Artist of the same rank who has awakened a Talent, they can only take a beating.”

Yan Ruyu's words made Xie Ning roll his eyes so hard they almost went to the back of his head.

Merely laborers?

So after all my hard Cultivation, I'm not even as good as a laborer.

Yan Ruyu didn't turn around, but she guessed Xie Ning's indignation and continued, “If you have two Gold Rank 1 demons, one a speed-type Predatory Dragon Wolf and the other a high-defense Earth Demon Ape, which one do you think is faster?”

“Without a doubt, the Predatory Dragon Wolf is faster.” Xie Ning walked up to Yan Ruyu's side.

Yan Ruyu asked again, “What if the Earth Demon Ape's Master uses a hundredfold speed on it?”

“This... then the Earth Demon Ape would definitely be faster. In a real fight, let alone one, even if ten or twenty Predatory Dragon Wolves came, the Earth Demon Ape would still win.” Xie Ning was starting to understand the power of Talents.

“Exactly. Those Demon Tamers without Talents can only rely on Beast Taming Skills to buff their demons, but the power of a Beast Taming Skill cannot compare to a Talent. When they truly face a Demon Tamer with a Talent, they often lose very quickly.”

Yan Ruyu stood by the guardrail at the edge of the rooftop, propping her head up with her hand.

Xie Ning asked again, “Then what factors influence Talent Awakening?”

Yan Ruyu said, “There has never been a definitive conclusion on this. Theoretically speaking, the younger you are, the greater the chance. If you wait until you're 30 to Breakthrough to Gold, the chance of Awakening is minuscule.”

“Then Master, at what age did you Breakthrough to Gold Rank? And what is your Talent?”

Regarding Xie Ning's question, Yan Ruyu narrowed her eyes and didn't answer directly. Instead, she said, “The answer to this question has no meaning other than to discourage you.”

Xie Ning: “...”

“Still want to know?”

“Yes, go ahead and discourage me to death.” Xie Ning looked determined.

Yan Ruyu suddenly laughed. She looked up slightly at the fish-belly white sky and the misty mountains. “I have cultivated since childhood. I became a Silver Rank Demon Tamer at 16 and a Gold Rank Ancient Martial Artist at 18. After three years of campaigning, I reached Platinum Ancient Martial Artist at 21. As for the following five years, they were five years of silence at the academy. I didn't Cultivate much and only rose to Platinum Early Stage Demon Tamer. If those five years hadn't been wasted, I'd probably be close to Platinum Peak by now.”

Thud!

Xie Ning lost his footing and fell to the ground, his mouth agape, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

Double Gold at 18?

Is this something a human can do?

I'm freaking 18 and only double Bronze!

And 'didn't Cultivate much and reached Platinum Early Stage Demon Tamer'?

Even starting from the womb with a rocket boost, among several hundred million people in the world, you couldn't find many this fierce!

“I told you the answer would discourage you.” Seeing Xie Ning's expression, Yan Ruyu gave a faint smile and reached out to pull him up from the ground.

Xie Ning was still immersed in that discouragement.

Ten seconds later... Xie Ning: “So Master is only four years away from thirty?”

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Master, have mercy!!!”