Liu Yueling's Dream (Please Follow)

Generally speaking, a person's thoughts and perceptions were incredibly stubborn. Before seeing the truth with their own eyes, they would not believe anything that defied common sense, no matter what they were told.

For example, if Zhuang Hong had told Liu Yueling and the others about a strange creature that could freely travel through space before they had seen the hundred-legged worm, they would most likely have taken him for a fool.

But after witnessing it firsthand, their attitude became the complete opposite.

Zhuang Hong had originally thought that the three of them would need at least two or three days to recover from the fright. Unexpectedly, not long after getting on the ox cart, they excitedly took the initiative to chat with him, as though they had discovered some astonishing secret of the world.

Liu Yueling in particular rattled on for a while and quickly explained the ranks of warriors to Zhuang Hong.

According to Liu Yueling, the warriors of this world gained powerful strength by developing the potential within their bodies.

Everyone possessed Three Great Secret Treasures: the "Secret Sea," "Secret Knowledge," and "Sky Bridge." Each time one was opened in sequence, the person gained corresponding power. Opening the Secret Sea granted the body tremendous strength, and such people were called Secret Sea Warriors; opening Secret Knowledge brought clarity of mind and greatly heightened comprehension, and such people were called Secret Knowledge Warriors; opening the Sky Bridge allowed one to comprehend the mysteries of the body and fully command its strength with perfect ease.

Beyond that were still higher realms, known in sequence as Earth Treasury Warriors and Heaven Treasury Warriors.

Once someone reached the Earth Treasury Warrior realm, it was said they could merge with heaven and earth, sense the power of nature, possess immense might, and transcend the mortal realm.

As for Heaven Treasury Warriors, Liu Yueling said that a very, very long time ago, there had been one such warrior. After that warrior died, no one had ever managed to break through again.

Of course, whether that was true or not still required Zhuang Hong to verify for himself.

At the height of her excitement, Liu Yueling suddenly widened her eyes at Zhuang Hong. "Don't tell me you're a legendary Heaven Treasury Warrior? That would explain how you could instantly kill Ox Pen King, who had reached the Sky Bridge Warrior realm."

Zhuang Hong said helplessly, "I told you, I'm not. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't even know what Secret Sea or Secret Knowledge were. Just think of me as a monster hunter who specializes in fighting those void monsters."

Liu Yueling stroked her chin. "Monster hunter? That name sounds awful. You're definitely lying, but if you don't want to say it, forget it."

Er Niu said enviously, "I want to be a monster hunter too."

Liu Yueling patted his head. "No rush. You can only begin martial training after you turn sixteen."

She quietly moved closer to Zhuang Hong and lowered her voice. "Zhuang Hong, can you teach me how to hunt monsters? That thread thing that went whoosh, whoosh, whoosh was amazing."

Zhuang Hong said, "Can't teach it. I was born with it."

Liu Yueling waved a hand. "Cheapskate."

After a while, unable to sit still, she asked again, "Where are you going? Hunting monsters?"

Zhuang Hong shook his head. "I only get rid of them when I happen across them. My goal is to find something, but I don't know what it is or where it is. I can only vaguely sense the direction."

"You don't even know what you're looking for? How mysterious."

Zhuang Hong asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" When Liu Yueling saw Zhuang Hong asking about her, a look of longing appeared on her face.

"I want to go to many, many places. My dream is to travel across the entire world, then draw a map of its landscapes. On every place on that map, I'll record the roads I traveled, the things I did, and the people I met. Then I'll pass my map down so everyone will know. That way, even when I grow old and die, the traces of my existence won't vanish so easily. What do you think? That's my dream!"

Zhuang Hong could not help raising a thumb. "Amazing. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met."

Liu Yueling laughed. "It has nothing to do with courage. I just want to have fun, to play everywhere. Deep down, I long to cross mountains and rivers. But so many people say the outside world is dangerous. They say I'm only a girl and urge me to live a peaceful, stable life. But I insist on going. No one can stop me. Take Ox Pen King from earlier, for example. It looked like I was in danger, but I actually had plenty of ways to escape. I definitely could have fooled him completely.

"And let me tell you a secret: I've already traveled through more than half of Anlan Continent. Once I've visited the rest, I'll sail out to sea and search for the legendary Menglai New Continent. They say there's a particularly small race there called the Water Elf Race. I want to see them."

Zhuang Hong sincerely admired the girl. Then he suddenly realized something and asked in surprise, "You've traveled through more than half of Anlan Continent? How old are you?"

Liu Yueling gave a sly grin. "I ran away from home when I was twelve. As for my age, I'm not telling you."

Er Niu's eyes sparkled as he listened to Liu Yueling. He began counting his age on his fingers. "I'm nine now. In one year, I'll be ten. Another year after that, I'll be... what was it again? No, I need to count again. I'm now..."

Er Niu began calculating, frightening the old man half to death. Waving the ox whip in his hand, he snarled, "If you dare run away from home, I'll break all three of your legs."

"Hahaha!"

Zhuang Hong and Liu Yueling burst into laughter.

Drawn in by Liu Yueling's experiences, Zhuang Hong could not help taking a notebook from his backpack and starting to write down what she said.

Liu Yueling, meanwhile, curiously examined Zhuang Hong's backpack. "Your bag is quite unique. Where did you buy it? I want one too."

Zhuang Hong said, "You can't buy this one, but you can note down the design and have one custom-made at a tailor's shop. It's best to make it from sturdy cowhide, or it'll be easy to damage."

As he spoke, Zhuang Hong quickly sketched a three-dimensional structural drawing of a backpack on paper, then tore it off and handed it to Liu Yueling.

Liu Yueling took it and admired Zhuang Hong's drawing. "You can draw too? You draw much better than I do."

Then she carefully put it away.

As though suddenly remembering something, she turned to Zhuang Hong. "My current destination is Luo Family Village. Rumor has it that an invincible, terrifying monster is occupying the land there, making the people of Luo Family Village suffer terribly. Village Head Luo has even offered a reward of one hundred taels of silver for anyone who can take down that monster. Do you know what the strangest part is?"

Liu Yueling had piqued Zhuang Hong's interest. "What is it?"

Liu Yueling said, "Village Head Luo has offered that reward for two years. Since two years ago, all sorts of powerful warriors have been going to Luo Family Village to eliminate the monster one after another, but to this day, no one has succeeded. It's said that many famous Earth Treasury experts have been unable to do anything against that monster. They tried every possible method, but in the end, they all failed."

Zhuang Hong said in surprise, "That monster is that powerful?"

Liu Yueling clenched her fists, her face full of anticipation. "It's that powerful. The news has spread across all of Anlan Continent. Nearly everyone knows of that monster. It's called the Thousand Shadow White Dragon. That's why I want to go to Luo Family Village and see what that monster actually looks like."

"Aren't you afraid it'll eat you?"

"Heh, I'm just curious and want to take a look. I'm not planning to claim those hundred taels of silver. I heard that as long as you don't provoke it, it won't attack people on its own."

Liu Yueling invited Zhuang Hong, "Monster hunter, do you want to go to Luo Family Village together? It's less than three days from here. Maybe the thing you're looking for is there."

Zhuang Hong was in no rush to find his Other Self, so he decided to follow Liu Yueling and see for himself. He nodded. "All right. Let's go take a look."

Er Niu looked eagerly at the two of them. "I want to go too."

The old man said, "Bastard, no you don't."

Liu Yueling smiled until her eyes curved like crescents. "When you grow up and learn enough martial arts to protect yourself, you can go wherever you want."