I saw humans!

Unfortunately...

He couldn't afford to spend 30 achievement points for now.

He had no interest in the other two, so all he could do was look.

Xiluo stood blankly in the Mystery Sea and glanced again beside the giant skeleton's skull. The phantom of Little White Dragon Allen was still clearly visible.

But apart from Allen, there were no other dragons.

Getting proud, arrogant creatures like dragons to admit they were far inferior to another dragon their age and acknowledge that dragon as their leader was dozens or even hundreds of times harder than getting humans to recognize a leader!

These Dragon Cubs could always find some advantage of their own to compare against Xiluo's shortcomings.

Not as strong as Xiluo? Not as fast as Xiluo? Not as smart as Xiluo? An inferior breath weapon?

It's a bit disappointing, and I have to admit Xiluo is impressive, but that guy definitely isn't as funny as me! And his farts aren't as loud as mine! Yes! And he's nowhere near as popular with other dragons as I am!

So... I certainly don't think I'm worse than him at everything!

And that was how most dragons thought...

Xiluo stood in the Mystery Sea, doing nothing.

He simply waited in silence.

Gradually, the sea distorted.

When he woke, it was already the next day.

First thing in the morning.

He went to check on the Ground Luo Beast pen.

The six young Ground Luo Beasts hid in their burrow, not daring to come out at all. The fenced area outside was empty.

Xiluo tossed some weeds into the burrow, then went out hunting with Gordon and Allen.

Xiluo had no idea.

Shortly after they left.

Alicia, accompanied by Koraman, Martha, and another Green Dragon, approached Barbara, who had been about to follow Xiluo.

The four Dragon Cubs stood before the Young Green Dragon with resolute expressions.

Barbara looked at the four Dragon Cubs, somewhat speechless.

"Are you sure you want to go out hunting too?"

"Yes! Lady Barbara! Please allow us to venture beyond Green Forest!" Alicia said earnestly.

The thick dragon hide on Barbara's face twitched slightly as she said patiently:

"No! Children! You aren't short of food. You shouldn't make such a rash decision! Going out on an adventure isn't a wise choice!"

"Lady Barbara! We may not be short of food, but I want to prove it! Prove that we're no worse than Xiluo and Gordon! Whatever they can do, we can do too."

Alicia held her neck high, looking proud and confident.

But at those words.

Barbara's expression grew uglier. She frowned and patiently tried to reason with her again.

But Alicia seemed rather stubborn, insisting all along that she wanted to go out hunting.

Eventually, Barbara could bear it no longer and growled:

"Alicia! I didn't want to discourage you, but your stupidity and stubbornness are truly more than a dragon can stand!

"No worse than Xiluo and Gordon?

"Are you daydreaming?

"Even with all my experience as a dragon, those two could be called geniuses among all chromatic Dragonkind.

"And you? If you fought either Xiluo or Gordon one-on-one, you probably wouldn't even last 20 seconds!

"Alicia! Even ignorance should have its limits! Now! Get back this instant!

"I have no desire to be punished by the Dragon Mother because something happened to you while you were out hunting!"

As she continued, Barbara's roars grew louder and her draconic face became increasingly fierce.

Faced with Barbara in this state, Alicia immediately backed down.

She stammered a farewell and left.

Back on the ground, Alicia kept murmuring:

"Not even 20 seconds? Am I really that bad? I've clearly mastered almost all the spells... That shouldn't be... It shouldn't be like this..."

She walked as she spoke, utterly dejected.

Watching from beside her, Koraman was heartbroken and kept reassuring her. "Alicia! Don't be so upset.

"Lady Barbara only said that because she doesn't want you to be in danger. You're the pride of us Green Dragons. You're definitely no worse than Gordon and Xiluo!"

But the dazed Alicia seemed not to hear him.

Atop the giant tree, Barbara watched the Wyrmlings leave and gently shook her head.

"Xiluo was absolutely right. What a spoiled child, actually comparing herself to two geniuses. Even a Young Dragon like me will probably be surpassed by them when they're only at the Adolescent Stage... Those two are sure to become leading figures in the Dragon Legion."

Barbara muttered to herself, then quickly turned into a bird and flew away.

That entire day.

The three dragons' hunt did not go smoothly.

They encountered neither magical beasts nor Ground Luo Beasts, and in the end had to return empty-clawed.

Back in Green Forest, they met the Wyrmlings.

Xiluo was surprised to find that something seemed wrong with Alicia, the little female dragon.

Like a dragon whose treasure had been stolen, she lay on her back on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.

Beside her, Koraman kept murmuring something, seemingly comforting the little female dragon, and occasionally shot angry looks at Xiluo.

This unusual behavior puzzled Xiluo.

He asked Abel, the Blue Dragon Wyrmling, about it, but the youngster didn't understand it either...

Only several days later did Alicia return to normal.

Meanwhile, Xiluo and the other two dragons went out hunting every day.

Time passed, and soon a month had gone by.

Green Forest.

The Ground Luo Beast farm.

Xiluo crouched on the ground, gazing into the farm with a satisfied expression.

More than a dozen Ground Luo Beasts were outside their burrows, quietly eating grass.

They seemed to have gradually grown accustomed to Green Forest's environment and realized that the dragons around them bore them no "ill will" and wouldn't hurt them. This had made them much bolder, and they no longer hid in their burrows so often.

"Mmm... Not bad at all! These Ground Luo Beasts really do grow fast. In just a month, those first six have probably put on more than 20 pounds each! Very nice...

"We even caught an adult female Earth Boar last week. Now all we're missing is an adult male Earth Boar, and we can start the breeding plan.

"Life will only get better from here."

Xiluo gazed at the Ground Luo Beasts, murmuring to himself.

"Stop staring at this food all the time! Staring won't let you eat it now! It's time to go!"

An urging voice sounded beside him.

Xiluo turned to look. Gordon, the Red Dragon Whelp, was impatiently lashing the ground with his tail.

It was time for today's hunt!

Xiluo looked the other way. Little White Dragon Allen was ready too!

"Then let's go! Today's goal is to find an adult male Ground Luo Beast!"

With a loud roar, Xiluo prepared to set off with the two Dragon Cubs.

But just then.

Another shout rang out:

"Xiluo, Gordon, Allen, hurry back with me! Lady Barbara wants to see you!"

All three dragons turned to see Abel, the Blue Dragon youngster, charging excitedly toward them like a cheerful dog.

Somewhat puzzled, Xiluo asked:

"Abel, what's got you so happy? And why does Lady Barbara want to see us?"

"Hehehe, it's good news, of course! I saw humans! Several humans followed Lady Barbara into our territory! They look so delicious! Slurp..."

The Blue Dragon Wyrmling grinned goofily, nearly drooling.

(End of chapter)