Chapter 71 – A fledgling at first
Jian Luo sighed heavily and said, “Look, everyone is queuing up. Why are you in such a hurry? We still need your help with our stall.”
“Since you have your mom, you don’t need me,” Jian Sheng, now completely irresponsible when it came to his idol, replied, “How about I go first, and you join me later, bro?”
Because of the class teacher’s invitation, Su Liang accompanied Jian Luo. As a mother, she was quite considerate and good at taking care of people.
Whenever a friend was thirsty or hungry, she always noticed it first. Even though the dark star students might have some initial reservations about humans, most of them quickly let go of their prejudices after getting to know Su Liang.
Jian Luo thought for a moment and said, “Alright, let’s go together.”
Jian Sheng was thrilled, “Yeah!”
He was basically dragged along by his younger brother. As Lu Shifeng’s number one fan, Jian Sheng was extremely interested in everything about his idol. While walking, Jian Luo chatted with Lu Shifeng.
He sent a message, “How come there are still some covers left outside?”
Lu Shifeng replied, “That’s unusual. Damaged ones should be collected uniformly and not left outside. Why?”
Jian Luo hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell him about the covers being used as attractions at the flea market by the kids. After some thought, he casually said, “Oh, it’s nothing. It just crossed my mind. By the way, I heard you’re pretty famous in school. Many people admire you and think you’re amazing.”
He thought Lu Shifeng would be a bit conceited. Little did he know that Lu Shifeng replied, “It seems Mr. Jian has a different opinion?”
Jian Luo felt cornered. In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, he said, “No, not at all. I know you’re amazing, but we see each other every day, right? My admiration is all in my heart.”
Every day? Lu Shifeng disagreed, “It’s been two days since we last met.”
“…”
Why calculate so precisely!
Following Jian Sheng, Jian Luo walked up to the stall. There was already a long line ahead. He replied to Lu Shifeng while waiting, “I can go back today. The flea market will end soon. Will you come to pick me up later?”
Most of the time, it was Secretary Jin who picked him up. Jian Luo didn’t have much hope, so he just said it casually. However, Lu Shifeng agreed readily, “Give me a specific time, and I’ll be there.”
Jian Luo was slightly surprised at first, then agreed, “Alright.”
After the chat, he turned his attention back to the things on the stall. He also heard the class president of this class maintaining order in front, “One touch per person. If you want to take photos, you have to buy something.”
People of various races had come, and young ones tended to seek security by attaching themselves to powerful races. This was one of the reasons why the alien students liked to attach themselves to nobles. Weak individuals would feel safe and happy when they relied on powerful ones.
For young children, the textbooks contained the achievements of several generations of Dragon Kings. Lu Shifeng’s remarkable feats were even being adapted into idol dramas. To the alien students, the Dragon King might be like Ultraman and Power Rangers that Earth kids admired—a source of unspoken pride.
Jian Sheng said, “Lu Shifeng is amazing. He’s my favorite among all the Dragon Kings. At first, many people didn’t think much of him, but he eventually succeeded through his own efforts. He has indestructible scales and unparalleled leadership. I heard his dragon body is even larger, and one tail can destroy enemy warships.”
Jian Luo remarked casually, “Scales might not be as indestructible as you think; he can get injured.”
He had just said it casually, but Jian Sheng vehemently disagreed, “No way! Marshal Lu won’t get hurt!”
Another kid behind Jian Luo joined in, “…”
Jian Luo sighed and turned to meet the gaze of another one of Lu Shifeng’s fanboys. Feeling somewhat defeated, he nodded, “Yeah, what you said is right.”
The other fanboy chimed in, “How tough are Marshal’s scales? Are they colder than ice?”
Jian Luo casually replied, “No, I don’t think so. His scales should be quite warm.”
“Really?” Jian Sheng innocently asked, “Aren’t dragons cold-blooded creatures? The books say that their scales only warm up when they’re being affectionate with their mates. Otherwise, they’re usually cool. Is that what you mean, bro?”
“…”
Jian Luo gradually widened his eyes.
Jian Sheng looked puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
“No… nothing.” Jian Luo felt like he had been schooled by a kid today, “Is that really what the books say?”
Jian Sheng nodded, “Of course!”
They continued to browse the items in front of the stall, but many things here seemed overpriced and not worth it.
Jian Sheng, always straightforward, commented, “Aren’t these items priced much higher than the market rate?”
The person in charge of the stall replied, somewhat defensively, “What? How are these expensive? After buying them, you can get up close with the things Marshal has used. You’ll profit, you know?”
Jian Sheng frowned.
Although they also bought things to get freebies, the situation was entirely different from this. Their items were priced based on their actual value, and the cakes were edible. It was still reasonable, but here it was a complete rip-off.
A kid behind them stood at the stall, pointing at a toy ball and asked softly, “How much is this?”
The salesperson said, “It’s 50 star coins.”
The child looked at the ball in silence, then finally said softly, “I only have 40. Can I buy it?”
“Of course not! We don’t haggle.” The salesperson placed their hands on their hips, “If you don’t have enough money, go wait over there. Don’t block others from buying.”
Jian Sheng watched for a while and spoke up, “Isn’t this ball damaged? I remember a brand new one costs only 45.”
The salesperson’s face turned slightly red, and they replied sternly, “Where is it damaged? If you don’t understand, don’t make baseless claims!”
This attitude was somewhat hard to accept.
Jian Luo found it quite amusing and asked Jian Sheng, “Did you buy anything?”
Jian Sheng held a clock he had just picked, “Yeah.”
Jian Luo suggested, “Let’s go take a look at the legendary covers together.”
The two of them waited in line for a while and finally reached the stall. They saw the legendary covers, which were golden and gleaming with a metallic sheen.
Jian Sheng exclaimed, “Wow, they’re so cool.”
The squad leader with the protective cover in his hand enjoys watching these inexperienced people: “Be careful, don’t touch it.”
Jian Sheng looked at it with great interest.
In just a few seconds, the squad leader urged them, “Hurry up and leave after you’re done. Don’t delay the others.”
Jian Sheng was surprised, “So fast?”
The squad leader was a bit impatient, “What else do you expect?!”
…
Jian Luo looked at a group of students not far away who were enduring unfair prices, and finally spoke, “This protective cover isn’t from Lu Shifeng.”
As soon as these words fell, silence filled the surroundings. Everyone’s gaze turned towards him, indicating their astonishment. This statement was no small matter. They had bought so many things, and the reason they all bought in was to see General Lu’s protective cover. Did he just say it wasn’t real?
The squad leader’s reaction wasn’t pleasant either. She was somewhat annoyed, “What nonsense are you talking about?! This was worn by General Lu during the battle on Planet A in the first month!”
Jian Luo remained calm, “Lu Shifeng doesn’t like gold. His equipment is generally black. Even if it’s not, it wouldn’t be gold.”
This was the first time someone had put forth such a novel claim.
People looked at each other, unsure of how to react.
The squad leader, seeing that everyone was silent, grew angry, “What do you know? You’re a human. How would you understand the preferences of our Dark Star General? Do you think we snatched your class’s business? Of course, this is Lu General’s protective cover. Would I lie to you?”
With her imposing manner, others started to believe her a bit.
“Does General Lu really dislike gold?”
“I don’t know.”
“But no matter what, humans are more knowledgeable, right?”
Jian Luo didn’t want to argue with her, but since she was being confrontational, he had no choice. Despite the girl’s defiance, Jian Luo remained calm and raised an eyebrow, “Humans use the internet too. Don’t they check? Since you claim it’s Lu Shifeng’s, do you know that he always engraves his name on his protective equipment? Yours should have it too, right?”
The squad leader was taken aback.
Although she was also a fan of Lu Shifeng, she hadn’t seen this video and didn’t dare to refute Jian Luo, fearing that she might say something wrong and expose herself.
But it didn’t matter; she wouldn’t let Jian Luo inspect it.
With this in mind, the squad leader asserted confidently, “Yes, what’s the matter?!”
Jian Luo’s lips curved into a faint smile, and he spoke slowly, “I’m really sorry. I haven’t watched that video, and I made up the part about the engraving.”
…
A hushed silence fell over the crowd.
All the students stared dumbfoundedly at the cunning adult. Some of the quicker ones realized they had been deceived.
“Isn’t this not General’s protective cover at all?”
“Are you lying?”
“I want a refund.”
“Yeah, you sold it so expensive; do you think we’re fools?”
The children’s remarks pierced the squad leader’s pride. She didn’t have much confidence to begin with, and now she was completely flustered. The item had been given to her by the robotic butler, and she didn’t know if it was real. She was already someone who couldn’t back down easily, and now, being publicly humiliated, she had to muster her courage to save face.
With this in mind, the squad leader decided to take drastic action. She raised her head defiantly and said, “This is definitely real. If you don’t believe me, you can use a Soulstone to test it!”
The crowd exchanged puzzled looks.
Jian Luo didn’t know what this thing was, so he lowered his voice and asked Jian Sheng, “What’s a Soulstone?”
Jian Sheng quickly explained, “It’s a stone used to test spiritual power and combat ability. You don’t need to do it in front of the owner. You just need to ignite it and confirm the connection with the object, and it will display the object’s spiritual power value. General Lu’s spiritual power value is very high. We can just test it!”
Jian Luo heard about this for the first time. He seemed to understand and said, “I see.”
In fact, all the evidence he mentioned was fabricated on the spot. The real reason he was so certain it wasn’t Lu Shifeng’s item was because he had personally seen General Lu’s protective cover when he returned from the battle on Planet A in the first month, and it was black. However, he couldn’t reveal this, so he had to keep up the act.
“Let’s go ahead and test it,” Jian Luo said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The squad leader hadn’t expected Jian Luo to be so confident. Initially, she had just made a casual remark, but now, being unable to back down in front of her class, she had to double down.
With this in mind, she raised her head and stubbornly declared, “This is definitely real. If you don’t believe me, you can use a Soulstone to test it!”
The crowd exchanged puzzled looks.
Jian Luo didn’t know what this thing was, so he lowered his voice and asked Jian Sheng, “What’s a Soulstone?”
Jian Sheng quickly explained, “It’s a stone used to test spiritual power and combat ability. You don’t need to do it in front of the owner. You just need to ignite it and confirm the connection with the object, and it will display the object’s spiritual power value. General Lu’s spiritual power value is very high. We can just test it!”
Jian Luo heard about this for the first time. He seemed to understand and said, “I see.”
In fact, all the evidence he mentioned was fabricated on the spot. The real reason he was so certain it wasn’t Lu Shifeng’s item was because he had personally seen General Lu’s protective cover when he returned from the battle on Planet A in the first month, and it was black. However, he couldn’t reveal this, so he had to keep up the act.
“Let’s go ahead and test it,” Jian Luo said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The squad leader hadn’t expected Jian Luo to be so confident. Initially, she had just made a casual remark, but now, being unable to back down in front of her class, she had to double down.
Other students chimed in:
“We demand a test.”
“Yeah, we want to test it.”
“You have to prove it’s real.”
The squad leader clenched her teeth and decided to take a gamble. The students behind her said, “Bring the Soulstone!”
Seeing that it was getting serious, quite a few kids gathered around. Although this place was somewhat remote, the crowd was growing because of this incident.
Jian Luo leaned against the stall, calmly watching the drama unfold.
Before long, the Soulstone arrived. It was a red stone placed on a tray, gleaming under the sun. Everyone was waiting for the moment the Soulstone would be ignited, especially to see how it interacted with the protective cover.
“Snap.”
The flame flickered in the air as the squad leader cautiously lit the Soulstone. Everyone held their breath, anticipating the moment when the red smoke would envelop the protective cover.
The red smoke slowly began to burn from the Soulstone, gradually spreading in the air, and the entire stone started to glow. This was indeed a reaction that only occurred in the presence of pureblood dragons.
The squad leader’s eyes lit up, and she proudly said, “See? I told you!”
As she spoke, the red smoke encircled the protective cover and then seemed to disdainfully move away. It swirled in the air like a dog sniffing around, and finally, with a burst of enthusiasm, it rushed towards the onlookers, particularly targeting Jian Luo, who was standing to the side.
In the wide-eyed gaze of the crowd, the smoke from the Soulstone hit Jian Luo’s abdomen like an affectionate puppy.
Jian Luo was taken aback. He had been lazily leaning against the stall with no reaction, but the smoke from the Soulstone came too quickly. He had no time to dodge, and everyone was astonished at what happened in the blink of an eye.
The air fell silent for a moment.
After a while…
“Ugh…”
A piercing pain radiated from his abdomen. Jian Luo’s face turned pale. This familiar pain was something he had experienced only once before in Peace Paradise. The dragon reaction forming in his abdomen was even more intense than the last time. Jian Luo suddenly doubled over, half-crouching on the ground, his face devoid of color.
This sudden turn of events left all the children in a panic.
Just when they didn’t know what was going on, suddenly, a somewhat immature but rapidly forming dragon aura began to emanate. It was the distinct unease unique to Dark Star hatchlings. In an instant, it covered the entire school. The flea market was quite large, composed of numerous classes, and everyone was bustling around, but the scent of the beast was very sensitive, and the children were no exception. It happened in almost an instant—
Everyone stopped what they were doing, collectively turning their heads to look in the same direction.
T/N: Hey there! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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