The next morning.
On the eastern clearing of Wushan Town, a large crowd of children had gathered just as usual. Hillman and the other two instructors had not yet arrived, and the kids were all chatting excitedly — the topic, naturally, never strayed far from yesterday's shocking battle.
"Man, that magic beast was insane. When Uncle Hillman and the others headed toward the center of town, I followed right behind them and watched from way back. You guys have no idea. That enormous beast slammed one of its huge hooves into the ground and the stone pavement just shattered completely. And the houses — they crumbled like they were made of mud!" The most talkative kid among the group, Hadley, was holding court in the middle of the crowd, spitting as he spoke and waving his arms around, acting as though he'd seen every last detail up close.
Most of the other children listened with wide eyes.
"Hadley, yesterday you were on the eastern clearing same as the rest of us. You didn't dare go. So how did you see any of it?" A brown-haired boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen snorted.
These older teenagers weren't so easily duped as the seven- or eight-year-olds.
Hadley glared at the boy. "Fula, you don't believe me? When have I ever lied?"
The brown-haired boy named Fula replied with disdain, "Everyone knows what a big mouth you have, Hadley. How many things you say are actually true? Come on, everybody — when has this little brat ever told the truth?" Fula turned to the group of teenagers around him.
The twelve-, thirteen-, and fourteen-year-olds all laughed. "That's right, Hadley's always spouting nonsense."
The older kids were clearly on Fula's side.
Hadley panicked. "You don't believe me? Fine, you don't believe me!" He looked around desperately, and suddenly his eyes lit up when he spotted Lin Lei. He shouted immediately, "Everybody knows that besides Uncle Hillman and the other two, Lin Lei was the only one who went. Lin Lei saw it with his own eyes. What Lin Lei says should be trustworthy, right? Let Lin Lei tell you — did I make anything up?"
"Master Lin Lei?" The teenagers turned to Lin Lei.
Lin Lei held a certain status among the youths and children of Wushan Town. For one, he was the eldest son of the Baruch Family. For another, even though he was only eight years old, his physical training was on par with that of thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds. On the martial-loving Yulan Continent, Lin Lei's excellence earned him the genuine respect of Wushan Town's young people.
"Master Lin Lei really did see it yesterday. If Master Lin Lei says so, of course we'll believe him." The teenagers all nodded.
Being thirteen or fourteen, they understood things — they knew Lin Lei was nobility, different from them. They generally addressed him as "Master Lin Lei." Only kids like Hadley, those seven- or eight-year-olds who didn't know any better, simply called him "Lin Lei" out of familiarity.
"Lin Lei, tell them — did I lie or not? What was it really like?" Hadley dashed over to Lin Lei, grabbed his hand, and surreptitiously gave him a meaningful look.
Lin Lei couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This Hadley had been boasting wildly over there, and now he'd dragged him into it.
"That beast is called a Rapid Dragon. It's a seventh-level magic beast, and its strength is truly fearsome. Its entire body is covered in scales so hard that swords and blades can't cut through them. It also has a tail as tough and flexible as a whip, plus razor-sharp claws. Hard stone and stone pavement might as well have been paper under that tail and those claws. On top of that, it can breathe fire from its mouth — fire hot enough to crack stone slabs." Lin Lei answered honestly.
The group of children listened quietly as Lin Lei spoke.
"Actually, you didn't need me to tell you. The moment you saw the Rapid Dragon, you could imagine how terrifying it is," Lin Lei said with a smile at the end.
The teenage boys all nodded.
Yesterday, when they first laid eyes on the Rapid Dragon, they had been frozen in shock. The beast's massive body was like a small hill, and just looking at its enormous flame-red scales, you could guess how hard they were.
"There, you hear that? I told you that Rapid Dragon was something else!" Hadley was shouting triumphantly now.
That boy named Fula's eyes widened and he was about to retort loudly.
"Uncle Hillman is here!" Lin Lei called out, spotting Hillman, Roy, and Roger approaching in the distance. Immediately every child and teenager fell silent, each neatly forming up into one of three teams.
The clearing went quiet all at once, and only the sound of Hillman's three sets of footsteps could be heard.