That evening, after settling Aurora into the nursery, Leon returned to Rosvisser’s room.

The bedroom lights were off, but the study was still illuminated, indicating that Rosvisser was working late.

Leon quietly approached the study doorway and peeked inside.

The scene before him was as serene as a painting. The silver-haired beauty sat at the mahogany desk, her back straight and her shoulders subtly moving with the rhythmic motion of her pen on paper.

Her long, pale legs rested on a high stool, with a pair of playful dragon-wing slippers dangling from her toes—an amusing contrast to her elegant and focused demeanor.

Rosvisser wore a soft nightgown, simple in design yet unintentionally seductive. The dragon mark on her chest seemed to move with each breath, dancing delicately across her soft skin.

Her body had returned to its pre-pregnancy shape, lean in the right places and curvaceous where it mattered.

Of course, Leon hadn’t come to the study to ogle his wife’s figure.

If he wanted to admire her, all he had to do was ask—Rosvisser had a thousand ways to tease him, especially when it came to lighting up that dragon mark.

Leon stood there watching her silently for a while, his lips parting slightly as if to say something, but no words came out.

Rosvisser was always deeply focused when she worked, and Leon knew how annoying it was to be interrupted when you were concentrating on something important.

Moreover, what he needed her help with was a bit... hard to bring up.

Maybe there’s another way to open the first gate, Leon thought, deciding to leave quietly.

“Do you need something?”

Just as he was about to turn away, he heard Rosvisser’s familiar flat tone.

Leon stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, still not saying a word.

Sensing his gaze, Rosvisser paused, put down her pen, and looked up at him. “Well, are you going to speak? I’m done with work.”

Leon glanced at the pile of documents on her desk.

Thanks to some lessons she’d given him, he could now understand a bit of what she was working on.

There was clearly still a lot of unfinished work. Yet here she was, claiming to be done.

Well, fine.

Since the Queen was making time for him, it would be awkward if he kept stalling.

“I need your help with something,” Leon finally said.

“Mm, what is it?”

“I need you to help me open the gate.”

Rosvisser blinked, confused. “What gate? You have the key to my room, don’t you?”

General Leon blushed as he sheepishly pulled out *The Gate of Nine Infernos* from behind his back.

Rosvisser’s eyes fell on the book.

She remembered it as the ancient text Tiger had given Leon a few days ago in the cave. It contained a powerful body technique.

Leaning forward slightly, resting her chin in her hand, she asked calmly, “So, this ‘gate’ is a term from the book, and you need my help with your training?”

Leon nodded. “In simple terms, yes.”

Rosvisser, who had studied her fair share of ancient magic and texts, could more or less guess what he meant. But she couldn’t quite understand why a training request would make Leon, usually so thick-skinned, blush.

Setting aside her curiosity for now, the Queen readily agreed. “No problem. Which gate do you need to open, and how should I help?”

“The... Steel—Steel Gate.”

...

...

The crows outside desperately wanted to caw, but even they knew better than to fly into the Queen’s study.

Still, the moment that abstract and somewhat ridiculous term left Leon’s mouth, an awkward silence filled the room.

Rosvisser’s face turned bright red in an instant.

Now she understood why this dog of a man had been so hesitant earlier. It was because of this ridiculous request...

Struggling to maintain her usual calm, she tried to speak as normally as possible.

“Leon, as you know, dragons value pure love, and I am no exception. Even though we’re technically a fake couple, I would never betray you.”

She continued, “But this request of yours... Even the purest form of love might not be able to handle it. At least for me, personally, I can’t accept this.”

Then, with a small sigh, she muttered under her breath, “I didn’t expect you to be into such weird things...”

“No, Rosvisser, let me explain—” Leon tried to salvage the situation.

“If you’re going to try to convince me to accept your new ‘playstyle,’ you might as well save your breath.”

For the first time, Rosvisser showed a hint of disdain.

Unfortunately for Leon, he wasn’t one to enjoy such scornful expressions.

Quickly, he rushed to her desk and opened the book, laying it flat in front of her.

“You’ve got it all wrong. It’s not what you think—it’s a concept from the book. Look for yourself.”

Rosvisser looked down skeptically, skimming through the text.

Then she rolled her eyes.

“Why is everything your master gives you so abstract?”

Leon shrugged helplessly. “You know how it is. Abstraction is a family tradition. I’ve just managed to add a bit more brilliance to it with my sheer excellence.”

Rosvisser kicked him lightly under the table. “Spare me your brilliance, ‘prisoner.’”

With that, she stood up, straightening her nightgown, which had wrinkled from sitting for so long, and headed for the bedroom.

“Come on, then. Let’s open your Steel Gate.”

*Sigh*...

Even though Leon knew this was just part of his training, and that the *Steel Gate* wasn’t what it sounded like, he couldn’t shake the chill running down his spine.

He swallowed nervously, took a deep breath to steady himself, and followed Rosvisser into the bedroom with the ancient text in hand.

The couple turned on the bedside lamp, and Leon removed his shirt, lying flat on the soft bed.

Rosvisser knelt beside him, one hand holding the book, the other resting gently on his abdomen.

“The first gate of *The Gate of Nine Infernos* is essential for mastering this technique. Once opened, it will remain open, meaning it won’t need to be opened again during future training or battles.”

Rosvisser read from the book aloud. “So, in simpler terms, the first gate is like the foundation of a building. You have to lay the groundwork before you can build anything else.”

“As much as I’d love to praise your eloquence, can we just get started? Your hand on my stomach isn’t exactly reassuring.”

Lying shirtless in bed, with Rosvisser touching his bare skin, was like a lamb offering itself up to a wolf, saying, “Please don’t eat me, Mr. Wolf. I beg you.”

*Smack*

Rosvisser slapped his stomach lightly. “Shut up. Let me figure out what to do... According to the book, the abdomen is the core of the body’s strength. Hmm, I have some experience with that.”

Very deep experience.

“At the same time, it’s also like a switch for the body’s power. Only by channeling internal and external forces simultaneously can this ‘switch’ be flipped, thus opening the first gate.”

“And that force has to be controlled by someone with Dragon King-level strength.”

“It’s not just about strength; it’s about the precise control of that power...”

“Oh, so basically, if you make a mistake, you’ll blow up the person training.”

Now that she understood the principle, Rosvisser glanced down at Leon, her fingers lightly tracing circles on his abs. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she teased, her voice dripping with false concern.

“Honey~ you really trust me, don’t you? What if I accidentally blow you up?”

“Then you’ll have two husbands,” Leon replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Upper half and lower half. Pick whichever one you like and keep it.”

They shared a dark joke.

Though, admittedly, it was a bit grim.

Rosvisser laughed and pinched his waist. “I’ll take both halves, thank you very much. Anyway, I think I’ve figured it out. Are you ready?”

Leon bit his lip, took a few deep breaths, and nodded. “Ready. Let’s do it.”

“Okay, feel my energy, and at the same time, channel your own magic. Let them collide, and hopefully, we’ll open the first gate on the first try.”

“Got it.”

Leon closed his eyes, focusing on the magic stored in his dragon mark.

Rosvisser slowly began to channel her own energy as well.

They started cautiously, releasing small amounts of energy at first to sense each other’s power.

Once they could clearly feel each other’s presence, they gradually increased the output of their magic.

“Leon, the book says you also need to gather your ‘vital energy’ and direct it to your abdomen. That will speed up the process of opening the first gate.”

“Understood.”

The concept of “vital energy,” as the book explained, referred to the combination of two essential forces in the body: *qi* and *blood*.

*Qi* was the body’s fundamental life force, also known as “essence.” It was the energy that sustained life and powered all physical and magical activity.

*Blood* was more straightforward, referring to the actual flow of blood within the body.

Together, these two formed “vital energy.”

Wherever vital energy flowed, it enhanced the body’s magical circuits and boosted metabolism, making it easier to

 open the first gate.

However, Leon wasn’t very familiar with vital energy techniques, and he hadn’t practiced it much.

For most people, their innate magical circuits were sufficient, so they didn’t need the help of vital energy.

But now, to open the first gate, he had no choice but to harness it.

Leon sighed internally, regretting not studying this more in the past.

“Leon, focus. You can do this.”

Distracted, Leon heard Rosvisser’s gentle encouragement.

He opened his eyes to look at her.

Her silver hair was whipping around wildly from the magical energy flowing through the air. She was using both hands, her brow furrowed in concentration, carefully controlling the intensity of her power.

There was a certain risk in opening the first gate. While it wouldn’t exactly split him in half like their joke, there was still a chance of injury.

Seeing how serious Rosvisser was, Leon smiled with appreciation. “Alright, I’m on it.”

Closing his eyes again, he channeled his magic while simultaneously focusing on directing his vital energy to his abdomen.

But this wasn’t something that could be done easily.

Despite Leon’s best efforts, he only managed to send a small amount of vital energy to his abdomen. It wasn’t enough.

“How can I gather more vital energy...” Rosvisser murmured to herself. “Vital energy...”

Her gaze drifted to Leon’s dragon mark, and a thought struck her.

“Leon, I have a way to send more vital energy down.”

“What—wait, down? What do you mean by ‘down’?” Leon’s focus was... slightly off.

Rosvisser didn’t bother explaining. She just smiled and said, “Brace yourself. This might be a bit uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable? Hey, Rosvisser, what are you—”

Before he could finish, Leon felt a sudden heat radiating from his chest.

He looked down.

The dragon mark was glowing with a deep, purple light.

“Wait, wait, wait! Now’s not the time for this, Rosvisser!”

“Have you forgotten, Leon? The dragon mark is the most potent aphrodisiac. It can make your heart race, your temperature rise, and then... it’ll send all your vital energy flowing downward.”

She paused, then added, “Of course, it will eventually gather elsewhere, but you can stop it in your abdomen as it passes through.”

“You think I can just *stop* it like I’m robbing a train?!”

“Do you have any other way to stir up your vital energy? If not, then you might as well enjoy the effects of the dragon mark.”

Leon thought storing magic in his dragon mark was impressive enough.

Now Rosvisser was using the mark to manipulate his vital energy.

The dragon mark truly was an invaluable tool for this troublesome couple.

Realizing there were no better options, Leon decided to go along with it.

As he felt his body heat rise and desire stir within him, he focused on letting his magic collide with Rosvisser’s power.

His body responded to the intense energy exchange, undergoing a subtle transformation.

Starting from his abdomen, a steady stream of power slowly spread to his limbs.

His bones, blood vessels, and nerves seemed to be going through a unique refinement process.

As his strength surged, a faint white glow began to radiate from beneath Leon’s skin, mixed with traces of black impurities.

Rosvisser recalled that the book mentioned this as one of the benefits of opening the first gate: purging impurities from the body, making it more pure and powerful.

In other words, their method was working.

Bringing her attention back to the present, Rosvisser could clearly feel the energy flowing from Leon’s body.

His firm muscles felt like a beast on the verge of awakening—just touching them gave a sense of the raw power within.

Their magic intertwined without any resistance.

Leon’s eyes remained shut, and in the darkness, he seemed to glimpse a faint light.

The light grew brighter, as if it were impatiently waiting to burst through some barrier.

When the light finally filled his vision, Leon snapped out of his trance.

He sat up abruptly, shirtless, breathing heavily as though he had just woken from a nightmare.

After a moment of catching his breath, he felt a warm, soft touch on his shoulder.

Leon slowly turned to see Rosvisser, her hair disheveled, her cheeks flushed, smiling softly at him.

“We did it, Leon. The first gate is open.”

At her words, Leon’s heart swelled with excitement.

But despite his joy, the first thing he asked was, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Rosvisser blinked, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, so concerned for me, are you? Well, I’m hurt *everywhere*! My hand hurts, my back hurts, my legs hurt—everything hurts.”

Leon rolled his eyes. “Childish.”

He paused, glancing at her face.

It was red.

Huh?

Why was she blushing?

Opening the first gate was a big achievement, sure, but why would it make her blush?

It wasn’t until Rosvisser’s hand slipped from his shoulder to his waist that Leon realized what was happening.

“Oh no... the dragon mark!”