The *Nine Gates of Hell* is an advanced form of martial arts, and it’s not something one can master easily just through practice.

Although it’s labeled as “martial arts,” the initial stages require an extraordinary degree of control over one’s mana. A slight mistake during practice can result in the technique backfiring. The mildest consequence could be injury, while the worst could lead to death.

When Leon first unlocked the First Gate, he needed Rosvisser’s assistance—a Dragon Queen—to help him. 

Moreover, the *Nine Gates of Hell* becomes progressively harder to master as one advances. The text even explicitly states that after the Fifth Gate, it’s common for practitioners to be stuck for years without any progress.

This was why, despite Leon’s natural talent and hard work, his progress slowed dramatically after reaching the Fifth Gate.

But his youngest daughter had already unlocked the Eighth Gate at such a young age...

It seemed impossible unless Aurora had begun practicing the *Nine Gates of Hell* at an age when other little girls were still playing with dolls.

“How old were you when you started training in the *Nine Gates of Hell*, Aurora?” Leon asked, still in disbelief.

The *Nine Gates of Hell* was different from magic.

With magic, once a dragon’s mana circuits were mature, they could officially start learning. Most young dragons would begin learning magic around five or six years old, while Noa had started learning magic at Leon’s side when she was just over a year old.

But to train in the *Nine Gates of Hell*, one’s physical strength had to meet some absurdly high standards.

Leon vividly remembered those standards—like being on the verge of death and still needing to maintain breathing for twelve hours.

If Aurora had truly begun training during childhood, how could her body have met those extreme requirements?

Aurora thought for a moment. “I started when I was around... eight years old, I think.”

“Eight years old?!” Leon was shocked.

Eight?! Seriously?!

“What’s wrong with eight?” Aurora asked, leaning in closer.

Leon quickly waved his hands. “Nothing... nothing. But did you really meet the prerequisites for the *Nine Gates of Hell* at eight?”

Aurora laughed. “Well, no, but I had a great teacher.”

“A great teacher?”

The first person that came to Leon’s mind was his master, the old man. In this timeline where Leon had disappeared, his daughters had learned about his true identity and past. It was possible that Rosvisser had told them about his master too.

After all, the *Nine Gates of Hell* had originally been a gift from his master, so it wasn’t unreasonable to think that in the span of eight years, his daughters had found a way to contact him.

“Yep,” Aurora said. “And it’s someone you’d never guess.”

Leon blinked, trying to guess. “Is it an old man named Tiger Lawrence?”

“Nope, not Grandpa Tiger.”

Grandpa Tiger.

That affectionate title cleared up a lot of things. At least Leon was sure now that his daughters had met his master.

But this also raised another important question:

What had happened to his master, Rebecca, and Martin?

Twenty years had passed—had they left the Empire? Or had something worse happened?

As Leon’s thoughts shifted to these concerns, his expression grew more serious.

Noticing her father’s worry, Aurora quickly added, “The last time I saw Grandpa Tiger was a few years ago. He was getting on in years and couldn’t stay in the Empire any longer, so Grandma Charlotte took him back to her homeland.”

Charlotte was the name of Leon’s master’s wife.

So, in these past twenty years, it seemed that his master, Rebecca, and the others had been quietly sabotaging the Empire from the shadows?

Knowing that the old man hadn’t gone to challenge the Emperor head-on after hearing his disciple had disappeared into a spatial rift was a sign that the old guy had mellowed out with age. If this had happened when he was younger, causing chaos in the Empire alone wouldn’t have been enough. He would’ve made a spectacle of it.

“If it wasn’t my master, then who was this great teacher of yours?”

Anna? Isa? Rosvisser’s grandmother?

None of them seemed to be martial arts experts.

“Claudia Poseidon.”

At that name, Leon’s thoughts were pulled back to the past.

He vividly remembered that very special surname.

Rosvisser had told him that Poseidon was the royal family name of the Sea Dragons.

And Claudia was the author of *Nine Gates of Hell*.

What?!

The author herself?!

Other people called on the gods for good fortune before battles, but your little darling here actually summoned the person who wrote the book?

“After Mom fell into her coma, we were taken care of by Anna and Shirley for a long time,” Aurora explained. “Of course, even after disbanding the Silver Dragon Clan, many of Mom’s followers stayed behind to protect us.”

“But the Empire never stopped hunting us. At first, we thought it was to silence us, but after learning that Mom was in a coma, they kept coming. So, there had to be another reason behind it, one we didn’t understand.”

“Anna, Shirley, and Milan all gave their lives to protect Mom and us sisters.”

“Great-Grandmother wasn’t a warrior-type dragon, so she could barely fend off the Empire’s attacks.”

“And Aunt Isa’s Red Dragon Clan got dragged into the chaos of war. They wanted to help us, but they couldn’t.”

“So, in the end, Great-Grandmother and we were constantly on the run, but we couldn’t escape the combined forces of the Empire and the dragons.”

“In our final moments of despair, Claudia of the Sea Dragon Clan appeared and saved us. She brought us to this hidden underground space.”

“After resting for a while and ensuring we were safe, Great-Grandmother set off alone to find a way to wake Mom. Meanwhile, Claudia took care of us and taught us all sorts of survival skills.”

“That’s when she taught me the techniques of the *Nine Gates of Hell*.”

After listening to Aurora’s explanation, Leon rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

“Did Great-Grandmother know Claudia?”

“No.”

“Then why did she trust her to take care of you all?”

“We’d been together for a while by that point. If Claudia had wanted to hurt us, she would’ve done so long before Great-Grandmother left,” Aurora said. “Plus, everything she did later proved she genuinely wanted to help us. She personally taught me the *Nine Gates of Hell*, and she also helped Noa with illusion magic and guided Moon’s dual awakening.”

“Wow, this Sea Dragon sure was multi-talented,” Leon said in awe.

Martial arts, illusion magic, spellcasting—she did it all.

And she taught them well.

Noa’s illusion magic had already reached an impressive level. The illusion of the boulder at the entrance to the cave was proof of that.

“Did you ever ask Claudia why she helped you?” Leon asked, still curious about the Sea Dragon.

Rosvisser had once mentioned that the Sea Dragons had isolated themselves from the world for over thirty years.

But now, not only had Claudia of the Sea Dragon Clan helped Leon by giving him the *Nine Gates of Hell*, but she also saved his daughters after his disappearance, even becoming their teacher.

What was her reason?

“Of course, we asked. But Claudia only said that she was helping us on someone’s orders,” Aurora replied.

Leon thought for a moment. “Do you have a picture of this Claudia?”

“Uh... yeah! I have one! It’s a photo Moon secretly took.”

With that, Aurora dove into a nearby box and rummaged through it for a while.

After a bit of searching, she pulled out a yellowed photo and handed it to Leon.

Leon took the photo and examined it.

It was a side profile.

The image captured a graceful woman, still retaining her charm despite her age.

Leon stared at the photo for a moment, muttering, “I feel like I’ve seen her before...”

Aurora patted her father on the shoulder, giving him a knowing look. “Dad, I’ve told you before, your flirting skills are terrible. Starting with ‘I think I’ve seen you before’ is a guaranteed way to embarrass yourself.”

Leon shook his head. “No, seriously, I feel like I’ve seen this Claudia before... but I just can’t remember where. Ugh, it’s frustrating.”

That feeling of recognition, but without being able to place it—it was maddening.

It was like having the first line of a song stuck in your head, but no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t remember the next line.

So annoying!

“If you can’t remember, then don’t think about it for now,” Aurora suggested. “You said you’re only at the Fifth Gate? Come on, I’ll help you unlock the rest. That way, when you return to the past, you can crush those Dragon Kings who hurt Mom!”

That suggestion hit right at the heart of Leon’s fatherly instincts.

“I swear by my beloved donkey, every dragon that hurt Rosvisser Melkwy... will pay!”