Dragon Sightings

"It doesn't matter if you can't advance for now. I'll leave you some more Spore Powder, and you can eat it slowly. I'm also looking forward to seeing what you'll look like after becoming a leader, and what magic you'll learn."

Leader-class flower fairies underwent a second advancement.

During the first advancement, they shed their stamens. During the second, they shed their petals. If there was a third advancement, who knew what they would shed—perhaps the calyx, perhaps the receptacle. Among the flower fairies of the Sea of Flowers Tribe, only twelve-year-old Xise Xise had seen the old leader undergo a second advancement. Thus, a third advancement was merely Du Ke's theoretical deduction; whether it truly existed was uncertain.

"Thank you, Du Ke."

"You're welcome." Du Ke reached out and stroked Shawa Shawa's head. She did not object to the intimate gesture. "By the way, Shawa Shawa, I don't know whether I'll be staying here tomorrow night, so can you put this Spore Powder away yourself?"

"I can put it beneath the tree roots." Flower fairies had a special talent for hiding things. With their high affinity for plants, they could alter a plant's structure and use it as their dwelling.

"I'll give you a little more Spore Powder. You can share it with the other flower fairies." Du Ke generously took out a full half-pound of Spore Powder and gave it to the flower fairies. In his mind, it was payment for "rent." After all, he spent the nights here under the flower fairies' vigilant protection. Offering nothing would make him seem too stingy.

He kept a pound and a half of Spore Powder for himself.

The stuff was especially potent and filling, but he could not eat too much of it, or he would not be able to sleep at night.

After another night of sweet dreams, he greeted Shawa Shawa, who had been waiting by the window. Only then did the exhausted Shawa Shawa, whose eyes could barely stay open, fly back into her blue reed blossom.

"What a cute little thing. She'd be even more perfect with a bit more chest." Du Ke sighed from an aesthetic perspective, without the slightest impure thought.

After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he took out some Spore Powder and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Perhaps because he enjoyed it too much, he unconsciously ate too much. Sure enough, after finishing, heat began to rise throughout his body, as if he had inexhaustible strength. He jumped and bounced around, did push-ups, then went to swing the Great Sword, keeping at it for a full half hour. After sweating all over and washing up, he felt refreshed.

"Good stuff!"

"I used to be a little lazy about working out, but with the boost from Spore Powder, I can willingly do high-intensity aerobic exercise for half an hour. Wonderful."

More than that, Du Ke had a feeling that if he kept eating Spore Powder, his body might grow healthier and healthier. Especially after learning from Shawa Shawa that Spore Powder could promote flower fairy advancement, the feeling became even stronger. "Maybe if I eat enough Spore Powder, I'll suddenly advance one day and learn magic!"

But then again.

Flower fairies grew larger when they advanced.

If he advanced, would his body grow larger too?

He was about 1.73 meters tall, and a solid 1.75 in shoes. He was not especially tall, but he certainly was not short either, definitely above the average height for Chinese men. But who did not want to be a tall, long-legged oppa? Du Ke certainly hoped he could grow taller. "But not too tall. If I advance, ten more centimeters in height, plus another five centimeters down there, would be enough."

He manifested the Mountain Motorcycle and rode south along South Lake's shore. Before long, he arrived at yesterday's forest. He glanced at the Devil Explosion Flower he had cultivated. It was still tiny and did not seem to have grown much.

Du Ke did not care. Even if this "superb tonic" belonged to the fungi category, it certainly would not mature in just a day or two.

He passed through the forest without encountering any trouble. The few small magical beasts could no longer harm him, and he had become immune to the strange flowers, plants, birds, beasts, insects, and mushrooms around him. If he were a biologist, he would probably have gone mad with fascination in the Great Blue Forest. Unfortunately, he was not. He only wanted to get rich by trading goods back and forth between the two worlds.

"This is the southernmost end of South Lake. The East River and West River flow into South Lake, then flow out from here... so let's call this river the South River." He casually named the river downstream from South Lake.

The East River and West River were both less than two meters wide, but the South River was at least four meters wide. Of course, its current was somewhat gentler.

Du Ke planned to cross the river by walking on stilts.

However, a dark shadow at the river mouth stopped him in his tracks. Soon, the shadow revealed half its body. It was unmistakably the South Lake Plesiosaur he had seen yesterday. The aquatic apex predator raised its head and looked at Du Ke on the shore, but paid him no attention. It simply floated on the surface as though drifting with the current, slowly swimming downstream along the South River.

"Hm?"

Just yesterday, Du Ke had been wondering how such a small lake as South Lake could sustain such a massive creature. Today, however, he discovered that the South Lake Plesiosaur apparently did not live in South Lake permanently at all. It seemed to have swum up the South River, come here for a feast, then swum back. With that thought, he immediately followed the South Lake Plesiosaur along the riverbank. Yet after walking less than a kilometer, the terrain blocked his way.

The South River entered deep into the forest, like the Amazon in a tropical rainforest. The banks were gradually replaced by mangroves—blue mangroves.

Unable to tell where beneath his feet was solid ground, he did not dare proceed rashly. He could only deploy his drone to track it. Once the drone rose into the air, it captured the winding South River flowing southward, but the South Lake Plesiosaur had already vanished. He kept raising the drone higher to film farther ahead, only to find the South River gradually obscured by forest. After it crossed a valley, it could no longer be seen.

The drone could not fly high enough to capture what lay beyond the mountains.

"What could be on the other side of those mountains? The sea?" Du Ke tried to guess. Judging by the South Lake Plesiosaur's size, it was likely some kind of marine creature. But could a marine creature live in a freshwater lake?

Du Ke shook his head, recalled the drone, and stopped worrying about such a pointless question.

As he returned the way he came, he still needed to finish exploring the other shore of South Lake. Then, a majestic roar suddenly sounded overhead. He could not tell what animal it resembled, but the moment Du Ke heard it, goosebumps rose all over his body. It felt as though a pair of huge hands had clenched his heart, making his breathing turn ragged, as if he were about to suffocate.

"Ah!"

He let out a low, gasping sound and struggled to raise his head toward the sky.

Then, an enormous shadow flew toward the two suns. Its vast wings, its mighty body, and some intangible yet ever-present pressure that bound him made Du Ke tremble from the depths of his soul. "This is... this is... a dragon!"