Chapter 14: Battle in the Sky (Part 1)
The next morning.
On the open ground east of Wushan Town, a large group of children had gathered as usual. Hillman and the other two instructors had not yet arrived, and the children were all chatting animatedly together, their conversations revolving around the shocking battle from the day before.
"That magical beast yesterday was really something. When Uncle Hillman and the others reached the town center, I followed behind them and secretly watched from far away. You guys have no idea. That huge magical beast just smashed its thick hoof against the ground, and the stone pavement shattered completely. And those houses—they collapsed like they were made of mud." Hadley, the most talkative among the group of children, was at the center of the crowd, spittle flying as he waved his arms wildly, as if he had seen everything clearly.
Most of the children listened wide-eyed to Hadley.
"Hadley, yesterday you were here on the east open ground with the rest of us. You didn't dare go, did you? How could you have seen it?" A brown-haired boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen snorted.
These older youths weren't as easy to fool as the seven- or eight-year-old children.
Hadley glared at the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy and retorted, "Fla, you don't believe me? When has Hadley ever deceived anyone?"
The brown-haired boy named Fla sneered disdainfully, "Who doesn't know you've got a big mouth, Hadley? How many words that come out of your mouth are true? Hey, everyone, tell me—when has this little brat Hadley ever spoken the truth?" Fla said to the group of youths around him.
The twelve- to fifteen-year-old youths all laughed: "Exactly. That little rascal Hadley is always spouting nonsense."
The older youths clearly sided with Fla.
Hadley immediately grew flustered: "You don't believe me? Fine, you don't believe me!" He looked around frantically and suddenly spotted Linde. His eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted loudly, "Everyone knows that yesterday, besides Uncle Hillman and the other two, only Linley went. Linley saw it with his own eyes. What Linley says should be true, right? Let Linley tell you—am I lying or not?"
"Master Linley?" The youths looked at Linley.
Linley held considerable status among the children and youths of Wushan Town. First, he was the eldest son of the Baruch clan. Second, although Linley was only eight years old, his physical training rivaled that of thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds. In the martial-oriented Yulan Continent, Linley's excellence earned the admiration of Wushan Town's youths.
"Master Linley did see it with his own eyes yesterday. Of course we believe what Master Linley says." The youths all nodded.
At thirteen or fourteen, these youths understood the world well enough to know that Linley was a noble, different from them. They usually addressed him as "Master Linley." Only Hadley and the other seven- or eight-year-old brats, lacking any sense of propriety, called him "Linley" directly and affectionately.
"Linley, tell me, did I lie or not? What was it really like?" Hadley immediately ran over to Linley, grabbed his hand, and secretly winked at him.
Linley felt helpless. This Hadley was spouting nonsense over there—why did he have to drag him into it?
"That magical beast is called a 'Velociraptor.' It's a seventh-rank magical beast, extremely powerful. Its scales are incredibly hard—swords and blades can't harm them. And that tail, tough as a whip, along with its sharp claws—those hard stones and stone slabs are like paper before the Velociraptor's tail and claws. It can also spew fire from its mouth, enough to crack stone slabs." Linley said honestly.
The group of children listened quietly to Linley's account.
"Actually, I don't need to say much. When you all saw the Velociraptor, you could probably imagine how formidable it was." Linley finished with a smile.
The teenage youths all nodded.
When they had first seen the Velociraptor yesterday, they had indeed been terrified. Its massive body was like a small hill, and those fiery red scales alone hinted at their hardness just by looking at them.
"See? I told you—that magical beast called the Velociraptor was incredibly powerful." Hadley started shouting loudly again.
The youth named Fla immediately glared and was about to speak loudly.
"Uncle Hillman is here." Linley spotted Hillman, Rori, and Roger approaching from afar and immediately shouted. Instantly, all the children and youths fell silent, each one obediently forming into three teams.
The open ground fell quiet, leaving only the sound of Hillman and the other two's footsteps.
Hillman and the others walked to the front, facing the group of children. Hillman smiled directly and said, "Everyone knows about yesterday's events, right?"
"Yes." Hearing Hillman's casual tone, the children below responded in a scattered chorus.
"Good." Hillman's expression suddenly turned serious. "That huge magical beast was a Velociraptor. On its back was a mysterious magician—they are incredibly powerful. But you all must understand!"
Hillman's gaze sharpened as he swept his eyes over the children before him: "Even that mysterious magician had to train step by step. Taming a powerful Velociraptor takes many years of effort! If you want to tame a magical beast as strong as a Velociraptor, if you want to become as powerful as that mysterious magician, then you must work hard—keep working hard!"
"Anyone has the potential to become a strong person. The only difference is... whether you work hard!"
Hillman spoke with firm resolve, his gaze stern.
The group of children and youths fell silent. But the older youths each harbored their own thoughts, their eyes taking on a different light.
"Alright, let's begin today's morning training. Same rules as always... face the morning sun and practice the 'Breath Gathering Form.'" Hillman got straight to the point. Immediately, the children in the three teams began their 'Breath Gathering Form' training.
...
According to the different conditions of each team, Hillman assigned different training tasks. Under the supervision of the three instructors, each child trained earnestly and diligently. The atmosphere of today's training was clearly different—almost no one complained of fatigue.
Everyone held their breath and trained hard!
"...fifty, fifty-one..." Linley counted silently in his mind. At this moment, Linley was lying face down, supporting his body with only the fingers of one hand and the tips of his toes, his body completely taut. He was performing one-handed fingertip push-ups.
One-handed fingertip push-ups were a simple yet effective way to train finger strength and arm strength.
To become a great warrior, one typically trained in a secret manual of battle qi. The achievements in battle qi cultivation generally depended on the robustness of the body—the stronger the body, the more battle qi it could bear.
"My body carries the bloodline of the Dragonblood Warrior. I can't cultivate battle qi, so I have to surpass others in physical training." Linley's gaze was resolute. His fingers gripped the ground like the roots of an old tree as he performed rep after rep, earning envy and jealousy from many youths who had already exhausted their strength.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine..."
Linley kept going.
...
"Today's morning training ends here." Hillman looked at the three teams of children and announced loudly.
After speaking, Hillman took a deep breath and thought to himself, "What story should I tell today?" Every day after morning training, Hillman would tell the children a story—it had become a tradition.
"Uncle Hillman, tell us—"
A child's voice cut off abruptly.
Hillman, who was mentally preparing himself, heard the half-finished sentence and felt puzzled. He looked up. At that moment, all the children in the three teams were staring dumbfounded toward the eastern sky. Rori and Roger had also turned to look at the eastern sky, their eyes filled with shock.
"Hmm?" Puzzled, Hillman turned and looked toward the eastern sky.
There, not far to the east, at an altitude of two to three hundred meters, a black dragon coiled and undulated in midair. Its body was a full hundred meters long. The dragon's eyes were as large as carriage wheels. The black dragon scales on its massive body shimmered with a chilling cold light. Its two enormous fleshy wings, spanning a total of a hundred meters when fully spread, flapped powerfully and slowly.
A magical beast—the 'Black Dragon'!