Above the sky, the milky white sun was emitting terrifying heat. Just after noon, in an ancient valley, two rows of young boys were marching forward in a neat formation.
"Second Brother, am I really that terrifying in the eyes of these little ones?" Xiao Yan glanced at his poor little subordinates.
The originally careless group of boys immediately stood at attention and lined up when they saw Xiao Li leading the way.
"Maybe it's because I'm usually too strict with them,"Xiao Li said, scratching his head with a smile.
Outwardly, he always appeared cold and domineering, but in front of his younger brother, he seemed a bit more naive.
Click, click. The two rows of boys marched steadily through the dense forest in the valley and eventually arrived at a small lake.
The lake wasn't large, but its scenery was quite beautiful. Fresh green grass covered the area, and fallen flowers scattered all over the ground. The surface of the water shimmered with a subtle golden light.
In the distance, an ancient tree stood tall, where a palm-sized second-tier magical beast, the "Wolf Demon Spider", was weaving a web on the branches above the lake.
"Boom." The calm, serene surface of the lake suddenly erupted.
A golden fish, shimmering with light and over a meter long, leaped out of the water, and before the Wolf Demon Spider could react, it was swallowed in one gulp.
"That's it!"Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together excitedly, and there was a gleam of expectation in Xiao Yu's eyes.
"Yan Ge, the Sky Dragon Fish is a fourth-tier magical beast, and it's incredibly difficult to catch in the water. If it's surrounded, even a Dou Wang expert would be in danger. How should we catch it?" a boy asked.
Among them, the highest cultivation level was only a five-star Dou Ling, so they obviously couldn't enter the water.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be catching fish, they'd be swarming the nest.
"No worries, my second brother will handle it!"Xiao Yan waved his hand, and two bags of gold coins appeared in his palm.
"Little Yan, what are you up to now?"Xiao Li asked in confusion.
"Hehe, just wait and see." Suddenly, a green flame appeared in Xiao Yan's hand, releasing a terrifying heat.
The Blue Lion Demon Flame, a beast fire from the eighth-tier Blue-winged Sky Demon Lion, was a result of Xiao Lin's mount being a Blue-winged Sky Demon Lion.
Under the envious gazes of the boys, Xiao Yan quickly melted the two bags of gold coins into two long golden rods.
"Yan Ge, is this your fishing spear?"Xiao Ning asked curiously.
"No."Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. "This is a new kind of fishing tool I invented. It's called a New Energy Fishing Rod."
"Fishing Rod?" The group looked at each other. This fishing rod didn't seem to have any line.
"Second Brother, take these two golden rods and insert them into the water. Then, use your lightning attribute Dou Qi to activate the electricity inside."
Xiao Yan handed the two golden rods to Xiao Li.
"Alright."Xiao Li was slightly puzzled but chose to trust Xiao Yan without question.
He grasped the two golden rods and inserted them into the water, then activated the immense lightning Dou Qi within his body.
"Buzz." Several arcs of electricity shot out from his hands.
Moments later, the area of the lake near Xiao Li started to experience intense fluctuations, and many Sky Dragon Fish could be seen swimming around restlessly.
As a Dou Zong expert with lightning attributes, Xiao Li seemed to understand what was happening.
"Buzz, buzz." Larger electric currents surged from his hands.
"Splash, splash!" In an instant, the small lake seemed to be boiling. The Sky Dragon Gold-scaled Fish were jumping crazily, some even leaping a hundred meters into the air.
"Buzz, buzz." In just a short time, more than twenty Sky Dragon Gold-scaled Fish surfaced, exposing their white bellies to the water's surface.
"Second Brother, that's enough. We're good now."Xiao Yan called out, but Xiao Li seemed oblivious, still enjoying the thrill of electrocuting the fish.
At that moment, the space behind Xiao Li suddenly rippled without a sound. An elder, dressed in a brocade robe, appeared without warning.
"Holy crap, the Elder's here!" The group's faces changed instantly, and Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu quickly found a bush to hide behind.
Sensing the fluctuation in the space, Xiao Li, with his rich combat experience, suddenly turned around, his expression changing. He saw the elder's black, pot-bellied face.
"Xiao Li, you're really enjoying electrocuting the fish, huh?" the Elder said, his voice cold.
"Elder, I..."Xiao Li gave an awkward smile, not being able to come up with a good excuse.
The head of the law enforcement team, sneaking fish with a group of boys, and then being caught in the act—if this got out, it would be embarrassing.
"Elder, this was all my idea. If you're upset, just hit me, alright?" At this moment, Xiao Yan stepped forward at the right time.
To be a leader of a team, one must not only possess powerful strength, but also be able to motivate the team, take on greater responsibilities, and handle delicate situations—this is an art form in itself.
"Hmph, don't think just because you're talented I won't punish you." The Elder snorted coldly.
Xiao Yan didn't say anything, just grinned and apologized.
"However, you did well today." The Elder suddenly changed his tone, patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Next time you encounter such trash, break his third leg as well."
"Ah, this..."Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood what the Elder meant.
"In the future, if you encounter such garbage, just crush them underfoot. Don't worry about their grandfathers being Dou Zuns. If anything happens, I'll bear the responsibility."
The Elder said seriously, "But if their grandfather is a Dou Sheng, then go find your grandfather."
Xiao Yan: "..."
"Since you all performed well today, I won't pursue tonight's matter. Take the fish and get out of here."
With a wave of the Elder's hand, more than twenty Sky Dragon Fish, which had been electrocuted and exposed their white bellies, were swept to the shore.
"Thank you, Elder. You're too kind."Xiao Yan quickly used his Heavenly-grade Dou Technique.
Grinning mischievously!
"Get out of here, stop flattering me." The Elder waved his hand.
"Without your selfless contribution, how could we have today's harvest? We are a hundred thousand times grateful, Elder!"
While Xiao Yan continued to flatter, he waved to his subordinates to take the fish away.
As he kept flattering, the group gradually moved further away.
"Wait, Xiao Li!" The Elder's voice stopped Xiao Li, who was about to slip away.
"Elder, is there something else?"Xiao Li put on a polite smile.
"Leave the two golden rods you're holding." The Elder glanced at him.
"Sure."Xiao Li obediently set down the golden rods and asked, "Can I go now?"
"Go ahead." The Elder waved his hand, and in an instant, Xiao Li left only a shadow behind, his real body vanishing in a flash like a streak of lightning.
"This Xiao Yan..." The Elder shook his head helplessly.
Xiao Yan had everything—great talent, intelligence—but he always liked to do sneaky things.
Stealing his own fish today, stealing chickens from someone else's farm tomorrow, cutting down trees the next day, causing a lot of trouble for the old men.
But then, in an instant, the Elder smiled again.
He had courage, responsibility, and the ability to motivate his subordinates. Most importantly, he had incredibly strong strength. Such a person was born to be a leader.
Compared to the younger generation who could unite as one and achieve greater energy, what could these old men do if they felt a bit uneasy?
With a smile and a shake of his head, the Elder's gaze shifted back to the two golden rods.
He inserted the rods back into the water, and with curiosity, raised his finger. Electric arcs started to spark from his finger.
"Buzz, buzz!" The lake, which had just calmed down, began to boil again.
(End of Chapter)