Battle Saint Ancestor, Genetic Inheritance

Lu Yuan stared at the black longsword hovering before him. The corner of his mouth twitched violently, his scalp prickling.

Yeye studied him. Her dark, slit-pupiled eyes held no emotion. Then she drew back the sword.

"Let's go."

He considered for a moment, then dropped from the branches to the ground.

Lu Yuan glanced over at the fallen Mist Ground Dragon. A cyan orb of light and two green orbs had materialized over the body, with a massive pile of Spirit Crystals heaped beside them.

*All the good stuff that Mist Ground Dragon dropped.*

Yeye gave a satisfied nod, then vanished — reappearing an instant later atop the dragon's back. She collected what she wanted, then dropped to the ground. A single sweep of her sword sliced through the Mist Ground Dragon's scale armor without resistance, and she began harvesting materials.

*Almost died back there.*

As for anything that wasn't edible — she didn't want it.

"My Lord Yeye, the hide, the poison fangs, the venom sac — you're not taking those?"

Yeye shook her head. "Those aren't tasty."

"...???" Lu Yuan was momentarily struck dumb. "But you could sell those for Spirit Crystals."

Yeye's expression remained impassive. "My storage space is reserved for good food. No room."

By the time she finished, Yeye had gathered not only materials but a generous quantity of the Mist Ground Dragon's flesh — she clearly intended to roast and eat it.

She glanced at Lu Yuan. "You can have the rest if you want."

Lu Yuan's face broke into a grin. "Thank you very much, My Lord Yeye!"

*There's a powerful backer to latch onto — obviously you latch on.*

Since Yeye had come to the Mist Forest, she was clearly planning to pass through and head to another city. Cat-kin had several cities of their own, so Lu Yuan asked.

"Where are you heading, My Lord Yeye?"

"I'm going to Youming City."

Lu Yuan: "???"

He thought it over. "I'm heading to Tianrao City — that's on the way. Want to travel together?"

Yeye paused and looked at him with a hint of uncertainty.

Lu Yuan smiled. "I can cook for you, My Lord Yeye."

Then he saw Yeye's eyes light up. She gave a nod. "Okay."

*There's a powerful backer to latch onto — obviously you latch on.*

Facing Yeye directly, he'd finally grasped just how formidable she really was.

Yeye turned and pushed deeper into the Mist Forest. Lu Yuan followed.

The two pressed further in. Lu Yuan had almost no opportunity to act — every Feral Beast that tried to ambush them was cut down by Yeye in a single stroke. Her sword seemed barely to move.

*How can there be such a gulf between people?*

*And he was clearly so handsome, for that matter.*

To Lu Yuan's delight, he found that gathering materials this way was going far faster than when he hunted alone. The journey was both safe and profitable.

Before long, an Elite Grade Mist Poison Python launched itself down from an overhead branch and lunged at Lu Yuan.

This beast was no pushover, but it posed no great threat to him either. He narrowed his eyes, on the verge of striking — and a flash of sword light swept through the Mist Poison Python.

In an instant, the python was severed in two and crashed to the ground, lifeless.

Yeye's sword seemed not to have moved.

Lu Yuan's pupils shrank as he looked at her.

*How can there be such a gulf between people?*

Then it was time for Yeye to collect ingredients. He watched her scoop great chunks of snow-white snake flesh into her storage, ignoring the far more valuable parts — the skin, the poison fangs — and leaving the internal organs like the venom sac untouched as well.

Only the meat.

She looked at the snake's corpse and murmured softly to herself: "Snake meat seems quite tasty — should collect a bit more..."

"My Lord Yeye, the hide, the fangs, the venom sac — you're really not taking those?"

Yeye shook her head. "Those aren't tasty."

"...???" Lu Yuan stared. "But those can be sold for Spirit Crystals."

Yeye, her expression still flat: "My storage space is for good food. No room."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*My sense of scale is too small.*

Everything left behind naturally became Lu Yuan's windfall.

Evening settled in. The sun slipped below the western horizon, and the already-dim forest deepened into darkness.

Yeye stopped. "We're not traveling further tonight. I want to eat."

They found a clearing roughly twenty meters across. Yeye produced a gray-white, diamond-shaped stone pillar, placed it at the center, then slotted a Spirit Crystal into the notch at the top.

*Hum!*

A peculiar resonance rang out. Gray-white light radiated outward from the pillar and expanded into a dome that enclosed the entire clearing.

Lu Yuan watched the dome with curiosity. "My Lord Yeye, what is that?"

"Concealment Stone. Masks aura — nothing complicated."

He'd never seen anything like it in Sandy Rock City. Probably something she'd brought from home.

The dome shimmered briefly, then faded silently from view.

Then Yeye reached into her storage and produced a tiny room model — small enough to hold in one hand. She set it on the ground, and in Lu Yuan's bewildered gaze, the model began to grow and grow until it had become a two-story building roughly ten meters across. The dark metal structure looked like a miniature fortress.

*It can conjure an entire room?*

"My Lord Yeye, what is this?"

"Traveler's Cottage."

*Is she some kind of cat-shaped Doraemon?!*

Talking as she went, Yeye opened the small building's door and stepped inside. Before entering, she paused, reached into her storage, and pulled out a chunk of blood-red meat with an arresting fragrance. She held it out to Lu Yuan.

"Eat this tonight."

Lu Yuan took it. This was the Mist Ground Dragon's flesh.

Yeye gave a nod, entered the Traveler's Cottage, and shut the door.

Watching it close, Lu Yuan admitted to himself that he was jealous.

*A hot bath in the wilderness...*

*He was out here just surviving.*

*My worldview is simply too small. I apologize.*

But he was, after all, here to cook, and he hadn't forgotten his duty. He brought out tools and seasonings, built a fire, and set the meat to roasting.

Lu Yuan had never had great teeth — he'd always preferred softer food.

*Almost died back there,* he thought, glancing at the dragon meat.

When it had turned golden-brown and the rich aroma had thickened considerably, Yeye stepped back out.

He glanced over. Her hair was slightly damp, her naturally snow-white skin flushed a soft pink, a faint curl of steam still hovering around her.

*Ah — she'd been bathing.*

Yeye stood before him, expressionless, tilting her head as if working something out. Then her eyes brightened.

"You're the fish-griller!"

*Good lord — this cat-girl only remembers him as the fish-griller?!*

"My Lord Yeye's memory is excellent," Lu Yuan said. "I didn't expect you to still remember me."

Yeye studied him. A trace of pride broke through her otherwise blank expression, and while her voice remained cool, it climbed half a note: "Mm. Your grilled fish was very tasty."

Lu Yuan: "..."

*He's clearly so handsome.*

He felt it was necessary to offer a small correction.

He cleared his throat.

"That was a crocodile."

Yeye stared at him. "Crocodile is fish."

Lu Yuan tried again. This was basic common knowledge.

"Crocodile is not fish! It's an amphibian!"

Yeye's grip on her sword tightened. Her gaze sharpened, voice rising in emphasis:

"Crocodile. Is. Fish."

A pause. Lu Yuan opened his mouth.

"Crocodile is not fish. It's an amphibian."

He caught a glimpse of Yeye's knuckles tightening further around the hilt, then declared with complete and utter solemnity: "My Lord Yeye is truly remarkable! To spot in one glance that a crocodile is a fish — it was I who was wrong!"

*I apologize.*

Yeye nodded with satisfaction.

Lu Yuan: "..."

*Whatever makes you happy.*

He plated the roasted meat, cut it neatly, and served it to Yeye.

Yeye crouched down beside him and fixed her eyes on the food.

She took a bite. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she kept eating.

Lu Yuan, noting that she seemed satisfied and in reasonably good spirits, decided to try a conversation.

"My Lord Yeye's strength is truly something. The gene you've inscribed — it must be Boss Grade or above, right?"

A flicker of unease crossed Lu Yuan's eyes as he looked at her.

Yeye looked back at him. The trace of pride returned to her expressionless face, and her voice, still cool, rose another notch:

"My ancestor was a Battle Saint. I inherited his Transcendent Gene."

Lu Yuan's pupils shrank.

*A Boss Grade or above Transcendent Gene — as your very first inscription?! You wouldn't just explode from that?!*

Throughout the journey, Yeye had appeared expressionless and faintly cold, but she was actually quite even-tempered — every question Lu Yuan asked, she answered directly.

The whole journey had been safe, and he'd gained considerably from the trip.

*There's a powerful backer to latch onto — obviously you latch on.*