The dry, cool climate of autumn made every wisp of sunshine so precious and warm.
On the glittering lake, Zhu Minglang stood gravely at the edge of the wooden pier extending into the water, watching the Spotted Blue Fish Monsters dart through with incredible speed, then glanced at the Little Crocodile Dragon sprawled beside him, exhausted to the point of almost flipping belly-up.
"Tap tap tap tap~~~~~~~~~~"
A swarm of Stone Spotted Fish Demons flicked their tails rapidly, splashing water next to the Little Crocodile Dragon with a full dose of mockery.
These damn Spotted Blue Fish Monsters...
They were incredibly fast and far more agile than the wild stone-spotted fish near the rivers and lakes. Despite their numbers and being within arm's reach, it was a mystery why each time the Little Crocodile Dragon lunged at them, they dodged in perfect coordination, leaving it snapping at thin air.
An entire afternoon's valiant effort yielded not a single Spotted Blue Fish Monster; no wonder this assignment was unclaimed—the difficulty was much higher than it seemed!
"Don't be discouraged, don't be discouraged. We're just not doing this quite right. I'll study these Spotted Blue Fish Monsters and tomorrow we'll fight again!" Zhu Minglang comforted the Little Crocodile Dragon.
The Little Crocodile Dragon hung its head in defeat, probably not expecting to be so useless that even these Spotted Blue Fish Monsters could mock it.
At this rate, when would it ever compare to the Waterfall Flood Dragon?
...
When night fell, Zhu Minglang locked the door as usual and headed to the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall.
The young spirits inside the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall actually all possessed some extraordinary attributes that set them apart from wild beasts. Furthermore, most of them had just hatched or were still in their juvenile phase, making them very suitable for taming and nurturing, and the best choice for most people aspiring to become Dragon Shepherds.
Yet even after human selection, their chances of transforming into dragons were still very slim.
With some of the young spirits growing older without anybody willing to take them, they were mostly destined to be released into the wild.
Tonight, Zhu Minglang was helping Elder He release some of the creatures that had grown too large and possessed destructive and aggressive natures. After all, they couldn't be allowed to freeload here their whole lives, could they?
Busy for the first half of the night, Zhu Minglang realized that releasing them wasn't an easy task. After all, most of the ones to be released were aggressive; they had harmed or even killed other young spirits in the Reserve Dragons Storage Hall...
"You stay until dawn, then you may leave. There's a Resonance Bell over there. Unless there's a juvenile spirit jailbreak, do not ring it. The old man needs his sleep, and if disturbed, he might not be able to sleep well for a month. There are Large Meat Silkworms behind the hall; take as many as were delivered, no one feeds these inferior worms to the young spirits anyway, I don't know who would bring them as food." Elder He instructed Zhu Minglang.
"Sure, Elder, you go rest." Zhu Minglang nodded.
"When I leave there should be a certain number of them, and when I return there should be the same number, not one less," Elder He said.
"Don't worry. If any are missing, it won't be on account of any little fellows," Zhu Minglang replied.
...
Following Elder He's instructions, Zhu Minglang patrolled every hour to prevent any creatures with a taste for "yellow weasels" from stealing Young Spirit Eggs. Fearing accidents, he patrolled quite diligently.
Scanning the area, Zhu Minglang unexpectedly came upon a pond in which a group of Spotted Blue Fish Young Spirits were being raised.
The academy was too careless, just catching a few Spotted Blue Fish Young Spirits from the lake to make up the numbers!
These Spotted Blue Fish Young Spirits were slightly different; their spots shone more brightly, and they already had long whiskers even though they were still very young.
"So that's it, when they swim together, they use the movement of these whiskers to signal their companions of an attack. This way, the other Spotted Blue Fish Monsters can dodge the Little Crocodile Dragon's lunges in advance!" After observing for a while, Zhu Minglang had an epiphany.
"But purely in terms of speed, the Spotted Blue Fish Monsters are also much faster. Little Black Tooth is going to need some training in the waterfall whirlpool, to get used to the resistance of the water on one hand and to increase speed on the other!"
...
Sharpening blades doesn't delay the chopping of firewood, so the next afternoon Zhu Minglang didn't rush the Little Crocodile Dragon into matching wits with the Stone Spotted Fish Demons. Instead, he went to the waterfall whirlpool that had trapped them originally.
After two days of feeding, the Little Crocodile Dragon had grown to about 1.2 meters, and its physique was noticeably stronger than before.
The waterfall's swirling current provided a powerful resistance and suction force for physical refinement, which was an excellent method of exercise.
"The goal for today is not to be swept away..."
For safety, Zhu Minglang found a long rope and tied it around the Little Crocodile Dragon's body so that, should it fail to withstand the current, the rope would offer some relief.
The Little Crocodile Dragon was quite impressive; it hovered around the mouth of the waterfall all afternoon and was never swept away by the powerful current. This exercise method had significantly toughened its recently grown black alligator skin.
On the third day, Zhu Minglang still did not take the Little Crocodile Dragon to hunt the Stone Spotted Fish Demon.
After eating a large basket full of food, the Little Crocodile Dragon seemed to have grown larger. Zhu Minglang increased the difficulty of today's training, not only requiring the Little Crocodile Dragon to withstand the waterfall's swirling current but also commanding it to swim against the fierce current and escape the dark vortices as quickly as possible.
"Very good, you've completed your task for today, and you no longer need the protective rope. Eat more tomorrow morning; we'll try to bite and attack amidst the waterfall's powerful resistance!"
Zhu Minglang stood guard all night and obtained two baskets of Large Meat Silkworms.
However, in just a few days, the Little Crocodile Dragon had grown to one and a half meters in length. It was estimated that before long, its length could reach that of an adult, and its appetite had also doubled from one basket to two!
Zhu Minglang began to feel a headache.
His temporary job seemed barely able to feed the Little Crocodile Dragon; he would have to find some more work.
...
On the seventh day, the Little Crocodile Dragon finally succeeded in biting amidst the strong current, so Zhu Minglang and the Little Crocodile Spirit once again appeared spiritedly at the Lake Plank Bridge...
The lake water was crystal clear, and the Stone Spotted Fish Demons were indeed a bit rampant, often flailing their tails and barbels near the surface, not just near the submerged rocks.
"Charge!"
Zhu Minglang gestured grandly, as if he were commanding an army of thousands.
The Little Crocodile Spirit's black body dove into the water, biting at a plump Spotted Blue Fish Monster with triple the speed it had before.
The Spotted Blue Fish Monster was startled and clumsily dodged.
Meanwhile, the other Spotted Blue Fish Monsters responded as well; they scattered like ripples before the Little Crocodile Dragon could get close to them.
The Little Crocodile Dragon was much stronger than before, but chasing the Spotted Blue Fish Monsters was like chasing one's own shadow. Just as it seemed to touch them, they scattered apart!
"Little Black Tooth, disperse them and then chase down the one that's alone!" Zhu Minglang shouted.
Hearing the command, the Little Crocodile Spirit immediately switched its attack method. Instead of directly lunging, it used its body to disperse the rippling formation created by the Spotted Blue Fish Monsters, sending some of them into a panic...
Indeed, a young Spotted Blue Fish Monster revealed a weakness. It got scattered and isolated outside of the school of fish, without the guidance of the barbels of the other Spotted Blue Fish to indicate direction, it swam in a daze!
"Roar!!!"
Crocodile teeth struck swiftly and cleanly latched onto the panicked Spotted Blue Fish Monster!
The black teeth firmly clamped the smooth demon fish as the Little Crocodile Dragon excitedly leaped from the water, tossing its prey high out of the surface and showing off its hunting results to Zhu Minglang on the plank bridge!!
"Haha, we did it!!" Zhu Minglang's face was filled with joyous laughter.
Although he had previously slain ancient demons and destroyed giants, for some reason, capturing a small Spotted Blue Fish Monster made him even more thrilled.
Perhaps this was change.
In prolonged darkness, even the faintest glimmer of light can ignite hope.
Similarly, when one's heart holds expectations, even the slightest change can stir one's soul.