Next, George learned the seventy-two transformations, and also learned the somersault cloud. The fact that a single somersault on the cloud could cover “one hundred and eight thousand li” made all the little ones extremely excited.

Then George showed off his treasures, performing the seventy-two transformations in front of his fellow disciples. He turned into a big pine tree, but was discovered by The Master and expelled from the sect.

The Master said, “Now that you are leaving, you are bound to cause trouble. No matter what mischief or violence you commit, you are not allowed to say you are my disciple. If you utter even half a word, I will know, and I will skin you alive, grind your bones, banish your soul to the depths of the underworld, and make sure you never recover for all eternity!” George replied, “I would never dare mention Master, I’ll just say I learned it myself.”

Hearing this, both adults and children sighed.

Chapter 11: The Streets Are Empty

In fact, looking at the whole of “Journey to the West,” George Adams apprenticing under Grandmaster Adams is just a prelude. The truly exciting stories of the book haven’t even begun yet; these first couple of chapters are just appetizers.

But even these appetizers had already left the audience, young and old, utterly captivated.

Time passed quickly, especially for these eager listeners. Soon it was almost mealtime, and those who needed to cook went off to do so. William Carter also took the opportunity to rest, his mouth already dry from talking!

After the meal, William Carter had no choice but to continue the story.

After being driven away by Grandmaster Adams, George Adams returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain and began his journey to become its ruler.

As soon as he got back, George Adams had a chance to show off his skills. Using his newly learned ability to create clones, he defeated the Demon King of Chaos.

In this part, George Adams could pluck a handful of hairs and transform them into hundreds of little monkeys, which made the listening children drool with envy. Each of them stared at their own arms, wishing they could pluck some hairs to try it themselves.

In fact, the little loli who liked to suck her fingers really tried to pluck her own hair, but William Carter quickly grabbed her hands, picked her up, and let her squat on his lap. The little loli gave a sweet smile and forgot all about plucking hairs.

Seeing William Carter do this, all the other little lolis became jealous and crowded around him. There was no more room on his lap, so two of them rested their heads on his shoulders.

The adults present just smiled and didn’t stop them.

After defeating the Demon King of Chaos, George Adams trained his troops and fetched weapons for his little soldiers, but soon found his own weapon unsatisfactory.

The Handsome Monkey King, still pleased, suddenly said to the crowd, “You are all skilled with bows and crossbows, and well-versed in weapons, but my knife is truly clumsy and doesn’t suit me. What should I do?” The four old monkeys stepped forward and said, “Great King, you are a celestial sage; ordinary weapons are not worthy of you. But can you go into the water?” George replied, “Since I attained the Way, I have mastered the seventy-two earthly transformations and the great powers of the somersault cloud. I am skilled at invisibility and escape, can summon and dispel magic, can travel to the heavens and enter the earth, walk in sunlight and moonlight without casting a shadow, pass through metal and stone unhindered, cannot be drowned by water or burned by fire. What place can I not go?”

When William Carter told this part, the many powers of George Adams made everyone even more envious.

These unheard-of wonders left them dazzled. Things like traveling to the heavens, entering the earth, being immune to water and fire—not only did the children’s eyes shine, even Owen Smith and the others looked amazed, as if they wished they could take his place.

The four monkeys said, “Since you have such powers, Great King, there is a waterway under our iron bridge that leads to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea. If you are willing to go down and find the old Dragon King, and ask him for a weapon, wouldn’t that suit you?” George was delighted and said, “Let me go!”

Next up was the unlucky loot-dropping boss, the old Dragon King. George Adams obtained the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the old Dragon King, a staff that could grow or shrink at will, and then asked for armor and such. The four Dragon Kings, having been taken advantage of, went to complain to the Jade Emperor.

And then, a series of exciting events unfolded.

Each time William Carter told the story, the number of listeners nearly doubled.

After three or four days, when William Carter started telling the story again, the entire mercenary compound was packed with people front and back. The scene was truly spectacular! Even the courtyard walls were crowded with people sitting on top, and the big trees inside were full of people squatting on the branches. There were even many people jostling outside the Maple Forest Mercenary Group’s compound.

There was only one word to describe this scene: the streets were empty!

To accommodate all these people, William Carter had to use wind magic to project his voice farther.

Wind elements are the easiest magical elements for apprentice mages to sense. For a level-three apprentice mage, the range of elemental perception is 500 meters, and the range of elemental manipulation is 5 meters.

Projecting his voice using wind elements didn’t require precise control. So, basically, William Carter could transmit his voice within a radius of about 500 meters centered on himself.

Moreover, with this method of sound transmission, the volume was about the same at every point, whether near or far, with no problem of the sound being louder up close and quieter farther away.

This effect was something that, in William Carter’s previous life, on the Earth he came from, had never been achieved!

The lively scene should have continued until the end of “Journey to the West,” but as he kept telling the story, William Carter realized something was wrong!