An anxious Teddy urged Meng Lei, “Hurry and get onto my back, Boss! Let’s retreat!”
“Withdraw? Why are we withdrawing?” Meng Lei shook his head lightly. “That luscious piece of meat has delivered itself to our doorstep. How can we let down its good intentions?”
(⊙o⊙)
Teddy was rather stupefied. Then, it turned flabbergasted.
The weeds around them began to grow excessively before turning into several strong yet pliable grass whips that shot toward the mighty-looking Groundfire Iguana.
Roar!
The Groundfire Iguana let out a furious roar. It opened its mouth, and then several bouts of flames sprayed forth from within as it tried to burn the innumerable grass whips.
Alas, it was to no avail. The grass whips penetrated the flames’ blockade to wind around the Groundfire Iguana, binding it into a dumpling.
Roar!
The infuriated Groundfire Iguana roared into the sky and struggled fiercely, but the more it did, the tighter the grass whips contracted around it. The final outcome was evident.
Bound by the grass whips, the Groundfire Iguana died of asphyxiation.
“I-it’s dead?”
Teddy was rather flabbergasted. “Boss, it’s dead?”
“Of course it’s dead!”
Meng Lei flicked his fingers several times in succession, turning grass blades and leaves into razor-sharp blades. In just a few minutes, the Groundfire Iguana had been cut into several pieces and placed on the roasting rack.
“Boss, that’s a Ninth-Grade Groundfire Iguana. Just like that, it has died by your hand?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you already that impressive now, Boss?”
“...”
One must admit that Meng Lei’s casual act of slaying the Groundfire Iguana had thoroughly astounded Teddy.
Like a curious little baby, the little fellow pestered Meng Lei with questions. Even the roast wasn’t that attractive anymore.
By the time they were done with the Groundfire Iguana, three hours had already gone by. Seated on Teddy’s back, Meng Lei flew toward the Magical Beast Village.
He didn’t plan on returning to the Imperial City for the time being. Instead, he intended to stay a couple of days in the village to readjust his frame of mind. As for the suspended exchange competition... He would think about it again in the future.
...
“All of you’d better put in some strength! Stop being so limp and floppy like a pansy!
“Remember this! The chance to cultivate doesn’t come by easily. If you want to get ahead and become someone strong like Meng Lei, then you must train hard! Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“Great!”
“One, two! One, two!”
A loud, clear whistle rang out at the square in front of the village entrance. Even from afar, one could see a group of adults and children standing in the square, moving according to Captain Hudders’ commands and training.
They waved their swords and swung them, again and again!
“Not bad, even the children are cultivating!”
A comforting smile couldn’t help but appear on Meng Lei’s countenance. Staying in the mountains would never lead anywhere; only by cultivating could one hope to see the vast skies.
The villagers were doing pretty good.
Whoosh!
Teddy’s descent from the sky attracted the villagers’ attention, and they turned to look. At once, they were delighted, and looks of joy came over their countenances.
“Meng Lei!”
“Big Brother Meng Lei!”
“Big Brother Meng Lei is back!”
They swarmed toward him at once.
“I thought that Teddy had gone Magical Beast-hunting when I saw it flying out in a rush. Little did I expect that it was going to you instead!”
Captain Hudders was elated. He said, “By the way, I heard from Jonah and the others. Weren’t you heading to the Imperial City to take part in the exchange competition? Why—”
“There was a small accident during the competition. I went to the Magical Beast Forest to see to something, so I decided that I might as well come back to check on the village.” Meng Lei eyed Hudders up and down. Then, he asked with a smile, “Captain, you’ve become a Fourth-Grade Warrior?”
“Hahaha! All thanks to those high-grade Battle Aura manuals of yours!”
A rosy Captain Hudders said, “Of course, it’s also to do with the fact that the meals have been great recently. Teddy has been going to the forest every day, and every time he does, he returns with a Magical Beast.
“Eating mid-grade to high-grade Magical Beast meat every day halves the effort yet doubles the efficiency of cultivation. That’s how I’d managed to advance by two grades in such a short amount of time!”
“That’s right, that’s right!”
Meng Lei turned to the villagers to see that all of them had improved by varying degrees. Almost all the Trainee Warriors of the past had improved a lot and become Second- or Third-Grade Warriors.
As for the ordinary villagers, they had also become much stronger and sturdier than before. They were no longer skinny and sallow with haggard faces; instead, their skin had become supple, and their bodies strong and energetic.
“That’s great!”
A smile appeared on Meng Lei’s face.
“It wasn’t easy for you to come back, Meng Lei. We must show you hearty hospitality today!”
Hudders instructed the villagers loudly, “Training for today ends here! Inform everyone—we’ll hold a bonfire feast to give Meng Lei a warm welcome home tonight!”
“Yay! Captain Hudders’ the best!”
“Big Brother Meng Lei’s the best!”
The village held a grand bonfire feast that night. The aromatic fragrance of meat permeated the village as the villagers sang and danced and ate and drank happily.
As he ate the delicious roast and listened to the villagers’ cheerful voices and laughter, Meng Lei’s mood gradually improved, and he enjoyed a rare moment of happiness with the villagers.
Late at night...
Despite resting in his run-down house, Meng Lei wasn’t sleepy at all. Even though Ol’ President was no longer around, life still went on. It was time for him to come up with a
