Chapter 147: The Distance of Fingertips

"Arooo?"

The little puppy whimpered. It felt that Xia Mi’s gaze was somewhat strange; her eyes carried a hint of hostility, as if she were secretly competing with it.

*No, sister, I am just a dog!*

*Do you really have to compete with a dog?*

"Lu Mingfei, you are growing up now, not just an ordinary little dog anymore. So you need to learn more useful knowledge, such as learning simultaneous linear equations." Xia Mi slowly wore a dangerous smile on her face as she reached out her demonic claws toward the puppy.

Chu Zihang pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.

Under Xia Mi's intense pressure, the puppy's learning progress was rapid. It had already mastered addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, so stepping into the stage of learning equations was well within Chu Zihang's expectations.

Moreover, the time the puppy spent studying wasn't actually that long. Chu Zihang and Xia Mi hadn't stayed at the Three Gorges for very long overall, and the puppy even had to squeeze in time to explore the Bronze City and search for the dragon bones hidden within.

Looking at it this way, the puppy's intelligence level was remarkably high. It was hard to imagine what level it might grow to in the future.

Although the power of dragon blood could help open the gates of wisdom for a puppy, possessing dragon blood did not necessarily guarantee superior intelligence. For instance, Fenrir, the King of Earth and Mountain, had an intelligence level roughly comparable to the puppy's—or perhaps even slightly lower.

While dragon blood could enhance intelligence, individuals had varying adaptability to it, resulting in different degrees of wisdom gained. Fenrir had poor adaptability to wisdom, so despite being a Dragon King, he didn't possess much intelligence. The puppy, on the other hand, had a high compatibility with wisdom, so even with a lower bloodline, it could display impressive results.

Right now, Xia Mi didn't seem to realize the puppy's extraordinary talent. Should he mention it?

Probably better not to.

Chu Zihang felt that if he reminded Xia Mi of the puppy's high intellectual potential, she might...

*Sigh!*

"You're actually zoning out and getting distracted! If you don't study more now, what will you do when you enter society later? How are you going to become a dog of value to society?!"

"Knowledge is power. Someone without knowledge can't do anything right; the same resources given to them go to waste, and the same opportunities slip right through their fingers! You need to study hard and be ambitious. You cannot become that kind of useless dog, do you hear me?!"

"Whimper..."

Chu Zihang listened silently to the exchange between the girl and the dog, feeling an extraordinarily complex mix of emotions. Previously, the puppy only had a tiny trace of dragon blood mixed in and already possessed that level of intelligence. Now, influenced by the Dragon's Heart, its bloodline had reached the level of a 2nd-generation pure-blood, and its intelligence level would likely rise significantly.

Just how smart was it now?

Perhaps it had already...

Just as Chu Zihang was pondering, Xia Mi's voice rang out again. She said playfully, "Oh? You actually guessed right by fluke! The little guy has pretty good luck. Let's see you try this problem and see if you can guess it right again."

With a pen in its mouth, the puppy scribbled and doodled on the study materials Xia Mi had bought, then selected the correct answer. Its lazy, golden dog eyes concealed a hint of confident color.

Ever since it took the dragon bones, it felt as though its thinking had changed, undergoing a special kind of metamorphosis. The puppy of the present was terrifyingly smart; things that used to be difficult to comprehend were now extremely simple, and it could arrive at the correct answers with just a quick glance.

But could it just write down the answers directly?

No, absolutely not!

While it could figure out the correct answers instantly, a certain someone would only think it was guessing blindly. The puppy only wrote down the steps to make it understandable for that particular human, but in reality, it didn't need the steps at all—a mere glance was enough to calculate the correct answer.

"Hiss..."

Xia Mi stared at the equations written by the puppy, a look of growing confusion gradually spreading across her face. She couldn't understand why "Lu Mingfei" was suddenly learning at such an accelerated pace, especially since she hadn't even had her fill of teaching him yet...

"Did you awaken the Spiritual Empyrean?"

She asked suspiciously.

"Arooo?"

The puppy tilted its head, not understanding what "Empyrean" meant in Xia Mi's mouth. Based on its intelligence, however, it could roughly guess that it was something related to enhancing computational and analytical abilities, though the specifics remained unknown.

"That must be it. Looking at your goofy face, you don't look like you're that smart anyway; your Spirit must be Empyrean." Xia Mi muttered to herself, rubbing her chin.

Although 2nd-generation pure-bloods could use multiple Spirits, there were very few they could truly master perfectly. Being able to use one and being good at using it were two entirely different things. Xia Mi figured the puppy's primary Spirit must be Empyrean.

Otherwise, how could a dog possibly be this smart?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

"It could also be Mirror Pupils," Chu Zihang added from the side.

"Mirror Pupils?"

Xia Mi paused to think, and comprehension dawned on her instantly. She then smiled and said, "It really could be Mirror Pupils. Passive analytical ability fits its characteristics quite well... How did you think of that?"

"Lu Mingfei's file lists his Spirit as Mirror Pupils."

Chu Zihang answered honestly.

The smile on Xia Mi's face vanished instantly, and an unnameable fire ignited in her heart once more.

*Lu Mingfei!* It was always Lu Mingfei! He always managed to remember things related to Lu Mingfei so clearly. Clearly—clearly I was the one who came first! Despicable!

"Then do you remember what my Spirit is listed as on my file?" Xia Mi asked abruptly.

"Pupil of the Wind King."

Chu Zihang answered decisively.

During the time he had spent interacting with Xia Mi, he had earnestly memorized everything about this girl—whether it was her usual hobbies, habits, or even the smallest details.

Though he was usually a man of few words, he always observed and understood the world with the pure heart of a youth, quietly locking away everything important. Lu Mingfei was important to him, and Xia Mi was equally important. These vital people were firmly etched into his heart.

"Hmph, you pass."

Xia Mi gave a soft snort, turning her head slightly.

Just moments ago, she had already decided that if Chu Zihang hesitated even for a split second in his answer, she would throw a tantrum without a second thought and ignore him for half a day.

*Half a day, a whole twelve hours! I'll make him sweat with anxiety! Hmph!*

And now, Chu Zihang's reply had been quick and decisive, which made Xia Mi feel much better inside. Once she felt comfortable, her urge to throw petty tantrums at Chu Zihang faded away.

"I properly remember things about you."

Chu Zihang subconsciously leaned closer to Xia Mi while secretly gesturing behind his back toward the little puppy, signaling it to run away quickly while he bought it some time by keeping Xia Mi occupied.

The puppy's eyes lit up instantly, filled with a look of deep touching gratitude. *Dad really does love me,* it thought.

Then, it tactfully slipped away.

"Oh," Xia Mi replied softly, her gaze shifting to the opposite direction of Chu Zihang. She seemed completely unconcerned about whether Chu Zihang was moving closer to her, merely looking at the scenery outside the window and the bustling prosperity of the city.

Seeing this, Chu Zihang continued to close the distance, though he slowed his pace considerably. He looked at the slender hand Xia Mi had resting on the sofa, and instinctively remembered the sight of her pushing him away earlier. As he raised his hand, his heart trembled slightly.

*Can I do this?*

*Can I hold her hand right now?*

Admittedly, chasing the puppy away partly stemmed from wanting to rescue it from the fires of hell, but beyond that, he genuinely wanted to get closer to Xia Mi himself—he just wasn't very skilled at this sort of thing.

Time trickled by. The emotions in the depths of Xia Mi's eyes were like wine fermenting over time, growing increasingly mellow and rich. Faint lights and shadows flickered in her gaze, and her mood was clearly far from simple.

Chu Zihang's hand crept closer step by step. The tactile sensation of his palm brushing against the sofa was so clear; the friction of his palm silently echoed the rhythm of his heartbeat. He wanted so badly to get closer, yet the journey of drawing near was inevitably fraught with racing pulses and timidity.

In that moment, he even felt like he wasn't quite himself anymore. He should have been more decisive, more resolute, but right now he couldn't do that, able only to creep forward inch by inch.

As their hands drew near each other, even without physical contact, they could faintly sense each other's warmth and presence. A hybrid's sensory perception was sharper than an ordinary person's, and a Dragon King's, naturally, superior still.

Xia Mi could feel Chu Zihang's hand inching closer. The faint rustling sound of his palm brushing across the sofa was subtle, but in the quiet of the moment, that nearly inaudible sound rang inexplicably loud in her ears. It didn't feel like Chu Zihang's hand was sliding across the sofa; it felt as though it were stroking the strings of her heart.

Tickling her, driving her impatient...

And yet, he kept up this agonizingly slow process for so long. He was like a cruel hunter, toying with her favorite thing right in front of the prey, letting the proud prey look—and forcing her to just watch.

Xia Mi's gaze shifted slightly, looking at the hand that was now very close to her. She couldn't help thinking: *Since he's already come this far, for me to move a little closer as well is only natural, right? After all, the most important thing in a relationship is mutual effort; you can't make one person walk the entire path alone with just their determination and hard work. Such a test is too cruel for both sides.*

No matter what, she finally convinced herself and made a decisive move, taking the initiative to wrap her small hand around his large one.

She looked at the startled Chu Zihang and flashed a haughty, tsundere smile. "Idiot, you're so slow. I was getting tired of waiting. You really are a big idiot!"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault."

"Hmph~"

Not far away, on the other side of the room, the little puppy slowly poked half its head out. The affectionate couple was reflected in its golden dog eyes. At that very moment, it didn't just remember its own past—it too had once experienced a heartbreaking romance, and it too had once loved someone.

But it had been betrayed...

The bitch the puppy treasured like a precious jewel had allowed herself to be pinned down by a big dog right before its eyes. The bones it had spent so much effort gathering and carrying back scattered all over the floor in an instant, and tumbling down along with them was its once-pure belief in true love.

From that moment on, the world in its eyes lost its color. It no longer believed in love.

Even so, as it witnessed Xia Mi and Chu Zihang's affection with its own eyes, the puppy still offered a silent blessing, hoping they could grow old together like the prince and princess in fairy tales.

Perhaps reality wasn't a fictional story, but stories were always rooted in reality—rooted in people's yearning for beautiful things. Dogs were no exception.

"Arooo..."

The little puppy let out a low whimper as it slowly walked toward the empty room. It sat down by itself in the dimness, gazing up at the scattered moonlight, tasting the flavor of loneliness.

It felt as though it had transformed into a wolf, wanting to stand alone under the moon and howl, letting the whole world hear its voice.

But there were humans next door...

If it actually did that, it feared it would be turned into dog meat hot pot by tonight.

*Sigh~*

On the highway, a brand-new Maybach sped forward at high speed. In the driver's seat sat Chen Motong; her heart was tense and complicated as she drove.

After all, the last time she drove this car, she had crashed headfirst into a Nibelungen. It was impossible not to feel some lingering psychological impact driving a Maybach now. While it hadn't quite reached the level of sheer terror, driving it still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

To describe it accurately: even though she was surrounded by her own people, NoNo felt as though she was currently being encircled by a pack of Dragon Kings. How bizarre.

*Let's just hope nothing goes wrong...*

"By the way, Brother Lu, why did you choose a Maybach? Aren't there better cars?" Constantine asked curiously from the passenger seat.

"Because I feel like the Maybach has a special destiny with Odin. If we're riding in a Maybach, there's a good chance we'll run into Odin again," Lu Mingfei replied with a smile.

"Aren't you afraid something bad will happen?" Chen Motong asked casually.

"Are you kidding? We're the Dragon-Slaying Team! If Odin dares to show up, we'll chop him up in minutes! Haha, am I right, guys?" The smile on Lu Mingfei's face grew even wider.

"Odin is nothing. If he dares to show up, I dare to kill him," Norton said confidently, crossing his arms.

"Even though Odin might be a Dragon King, I'm not particularly afraid of Dragon Kings either. If you're scared, you can hide behind me during the fight," Constantine said with a polite smile.

"Am I that kind of person?!"

Chen Motong glared at Constantine, feeling deeply insulted. She continued, "I possess the Heart of God now, you know. Even facing Odin, I'm capable of a fight. I'm not as useless as you guys think."

"Mhm, mhm, NoNo is amazing," Constantine agreed, smiling happily.

Norton in the back seat, however, wasn't feeling quite as happy. Being addressed as "NoNo" made him feel slightly awkward; every time Constantine called Chen Motong NoNo, it gave him a weird feeling inside.

"As long as Odin dares to show up, I will definitely kill him," Lu Mingfei said, toying with the Profound Abyss Bead synthesized inside the Nibelungen, speaking with absolute confidence.

"This is..."

Norton looked at the Profound Abyss Bead in Lu Mingfei's hand, a look of confusion gradually dawning on his face. Although he didn't recognize what the bead was, he could tell at a glance that it was far from ordinary.

"Just a piece of alchemical weaponry," Lu Mingfei said proudly.

"Can I take a look?" Norton asked.

"No problem."

Lu Mingfei handed the Profound Abyss Bead over.

The moment Norton took it, his expression changed. He felt an extreme, crushing weight; the Profound Abyss Bead felt as though it were about to paralyze his palm completely.

Even more magically, a bead of such terrifying weight hadn't caused the Maybach to warp or collapse under it!

What on earth was going on here?

Norton's thirst for knowledge was instantly ignited!