Xiluo stared at the white dragon's phantom in surprise. Compared with his first visit to the Mystery Sea, his mind was much clearer now.
Was that Allen Ambrose? That little white dragon with the lame leg? Why had his phantom appeared here, and what did it mean?
Xiluo could even think through questions this complex.
But before he could figure it out.
The sea beneath him suddenly surged, ripples spreading across its surface.
In the air.
A line of bold text appeared, both familiar and unfamiliar.
[Leader]: A dragon hatchling sincerely admires you and regards you as its leader. Reward: 10 achievement points. Current achievement points: 10
Below it was a menu-like list of talents.
[Rapid growth]: Accelerates your growth. You will mature faster and have a larger body. (Costs 20 achievement points) [Rapid healing]: Allows wounds to heal faster after you are injured. (Costs 20 achievement points) [Strong]: You will become stronger and more powerful. (Costs 10 achievement points)
What was this? Unlock achievements? Earn achievement points? Then spend them to buy the talents I needed? Was this my cheat? [Leader]? A hatchling sincerely admired me? Which hatchling?
As Xiluo thought, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the white dragon's phantom.
Was it him? Allen Ambrose? Why had he suddenly started admiring me? And why had his phantom appeared in this sea? How strange...
The newly appeared text held Xiluo's attention firmly, prompting him to ponder.
He still did not understand the white dragon's phantom.
But the benefits [Leader] had brought him were real.
He could not help looking at the three talents below again.
When I first arrived in this world, I remembered the three talents clearly: [Rapid growth], [Breath Enhancement], and [Rapid healing].
Now, [Breath Enhancement] had become [Strong]. Was that because I had already redeemed [Breath Enhancement]?
Still, of these three talents, I could only afford [Strong] right now. There didn't seem to be much to hesitate over.
With these thoughts, Xiluo looked at the final option, [Strong]. As he focused his mind on it.
The text before him changed again.
Current achievement points: 0 Current talents: [Breath Enhancement] [Strong]
Then everything before him began to twist.
Xiluo jolted awake from his dream!
The den was pitch-black, with only his dragon eyes giving off an eerie green glow!
Hunger had woken him!
The meat he had eaten just a few hours earlier had actually been completely used up!
His stomach was even growling!
So hungry that he felt uneasy, he stood up and began gnawing at the wooden wall beside him.
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Wood chips flew.
Xiluo kept swallowing the foul-tasting wood.
Dragons had powerful digestive systems and could eat almost anything. Whether dirt or all kinds of ore, their stomachs could digest it.
Normally, however, they would never eat things like dirt and trees!
They tasted too awful!
Eating such things also made dragons feel ashamed!
But Xiluo was starving and could not worry about all that. Since this sudden abnormality was connected to his cheat, he did not want the other dragons to know either, so he could only gnaw on the tree in secret!
He did not know how much time passed. Only after he had nearly hollowed out the entire root section did his hunger finally disappear.
At that moment.
He could even see streaks of sunlight falling outside the once pitch-black den!
Dawn was approaching!
He had spent at least several hours gnawing on roots!
Xiluo narrowed his dragon eyes slightly and looked ahead.
[Strong blue dragon hatchling] Level: 3 (Elite-+) Status: Good
The prefix had changed! Although my level was still the same, a plus sign had appeared after Elite! There was no doubt! I had grown stronger!
Standing upright, Xiluo slowly raised his right arm.
Dragons were higher life-forms.
Except for the unusual black dragons, all dragons were like tigers. Even if they were raised in captivity, eating and sleeping all day without ever exercising, they still had fairly powerful muscles.
This was the result of their bodies' natural development.
Like what an ordinary human would normally look like after half a year, or even a year.
But Xiluo was different now. His muscles were noticeably a size or two larger than before!
Compared with a normal dragon, he looked more like he had taken performance-enhancing drugs!
Only a small dose, of course!
Even so, his body had gained quite a bit of weight!
Merely closing his claws lightly, he could feel a surge of power.
Now he was confident that, in strength alone, he should be the strongest apart from Gordon, the red dragon!
Besides that, even the magic within his body seemed to have increased considerably. Sensing it carefully, he estimated an increase of about one-fifteenth.
Was this another change brought by [Strong]? Or was it the white dragon's phantom?
Either way, it was a good thing.
Xiluo grinned.
He lay down to sleep again.
Only when noise sounded outside once more did he crawl out of his den.
Dawn had only just broken.
The Dragon Cubs were already roaring and shouting, full of energy.
But compared with yesterday.
Today, the Dragon Cubs stood upright, gripping each other's bodies with their foreclaws and pushing hard with their hind legs, trying to shove their opponents backward.
These fellows had already started preparing for the contest a month away! They certainly worked hard for honor and a chance to show off!
He had only just emerged from his den.
When a green hatchling eagerly ran toward him and roared:
"Xiluo! You're finally awake! Come on! Take me on! Let's see who's stronger!"
Beside him were the two little female dragons, Alicia and Martha.
"Sorry, I don't have time right now. I have other things to do."
Xiluo had no intention of engaging with them at all. He turned and left.
The three hatchlings behind him froze. Watching Xiluo's retreating back, Martha gave a strange grin:
"He actually backed down! Just as I thought, Xiluo's only really good at using his Breath Weapon.
"He might not even make the top five in this contest.
"He proposed the contest, only to end up hurting his own chances? What an idiot!"
"Hahaha! Did you see that, Alicia?
"This is my strength! When it comes to strength, even Xiluo knows he's no match for me! In the contest a month from now, I'll take first place!"
The green hatchling who had just challenged Xiluo growled smugly at Alicia, his tail swishing constantly behind him like a puppy seeking praise.
But Alicia only stared at Xiluo's departing figure, some confusion in her eyes:
"Why does Xiluo seem so much stronger than yesterday? Am I imagining things?"
Xiluo slowly left the noisy area.
He needed to find somewhere quiet to fully master the two spells he had learned from Barbara.
As he left, he could not help looking toward the entrance of a tree hollow.
There.
A tiny white dragon lay all alone, his eyes fixed on him. The instant their gazes met, he turned his head away and looked elsewhere.
At the sight, Xiluo looked thoughtful. He did not approach him, merely leaving slowly to do what he needed to do.
And so, a month soon passed.
(End of chapter)
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