Time passed quietly, and the sky gradually darkened.
The light of both moons was obscured by dark clouds and snow, so much so that the Borderlands at night seemed to be left with only darkness, with light only emanating from Dragon Valley, where bonfires blazed.
"Galos! Galos!"
Fairy Dragon Vera flew over, circling the Red Iron Dragon who was devouring food with his head down.
"Why... haven't you burst from eating so much?"
Vera tilted her small head, asking a soul-searching question, her eyes reflecting the Red Iron Dragon's massive, mountain-like body as he continuously swallowed food.
Galos, who was focused on eating, suddenly paused, as if choked by the ill-timed question.
Immediately after, he slightly turned his huge head towards the flying Fairy Dragon, puffed out his cheeks, and blew a strong gust of wind.
He blew the little one tumbling several times in the air.
"Stay away from me, or I might just eat you as a dessert."
Because he needed to eat a lot and excrete waste from time to time, he didn't want this process to be observed by other dragons.
Galos gulped down a large mouthful of viscous black oil and continued to tackle the food in front of him.
Finally, after what felt like an incredibly long time, his spirit suddenly lifted.
He keenly sensed that deep within his right chest, the Dragon Jade, which pulsed slowly like a miniature sun, had finally reached a certain saturation point of accumulated energy.
The energy converted from the food he had just consumed was no longer greedily absorbed by the Dragon Jade.
Instead, like a stream that had finally found its destination, it began to truly and continuously flow into his limbs and bones, nourishing every muscle, every sinew, every cell. This long-lost, tangible sense of satisfaction made Galos let out a long, contented growl and groan.
"From the moment I first awoke from my slumber."
Galos chewed on the tough beast meat, mentally reviewing his feelings during this period.
"Because almost all of my body's energy was drained by this newborn Dragon Jade, I was extremely weak, almost equivalent to being critically injured and on the verge of death."
"But the Dragon Jade automatically fed back energy at a crucial moment, instantly restoring me to a strong state."
"After that, everything I ate—flesh, ore, black oil... the energy they converted was almost all absorbed and stored again by this Dragon Jade, like a bottomless pit."
"Until now, it has finally eaten its fill, been completely filled."
He slowly exhaled, his chest rising and falling more gently, and his eating speed slowed down. He no longer devoured food frantically like a starving ghost reincarnated, but began to eat unhurriedly, while his mind raced.
After this period of personal experience and careful introspection, he broadly understood the core effect of the Dragon Jade.
It still maintained a connection with the Cold Burst Scales and retained the effect of absorbing damage and converting and storing energy.
But the specific effects seemed to have undergone some subtle changes compared to before the evolution, which would require further clarification through actual combat or specific tests.
However, none of these were the most important.
The most crucial, core effect was that it could accumulate a large amount of energy during normal times and release it at critical moments when Galos was extremely weak or even on the verge of death, achieving a near-resurrection reversal!
This was somewhat similar to the old Sword Demon's Blood Demon Well skill.
In simpler terms, this was—a second life!
In Galos's mind, scenes that might occur in the future involuntarily appeared:
When a powerful enemy, after enduring countless hardships and paying a heavy price, finally broke through his layers of defenses, crushed his rounds of state bursts, and beat him to the point of being on his last breath, his strength exhausted.
The enemy might be wearing a victor's sneer, preparing to deliver the final blow or to enjoy his death throes.
At this very moment, deep within his chest, the dormant Dragon Jade suddenly erupted with a dazzling light, like the rising sun. A surging torrent of life energy instantly washed over his broken body, all injuries healed at a visible speed in the light, and the weakness of near-death was swept away.
In its place was a vitality and power even more vigorous and flourishing than before.
Galos could almost imagine the enemy's expression instantly freezing—from ecstasy to astonishment, from triumph to bewilderment, finally turning into utter despair, or... a numb stupor at being toyed with.
"It's practically a tailor-made ability for me!"
Galos's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
For him, who valued his life, the Dragon Jade's effect brought by this evolution far surpassed the further enhancement of the Explosive Scale state.
With this trump card, combined with his inherently powerful strength and quick mind.
In the future, unless he encountered a terrifying existence whose strength gap was as vast as a chasm, utterly impossible to contend with, Galos would have the confidence to go all out, or even turn the tide, against any powerful enemy.
He only thought for a moment, and countless tactical scenarios for using the Dragon Jade instantly appeared in his mind.
For example, he could disguise himself as a reckless, impulsive hothead, deliberately adopting a crazy and foolish, injury-for-injury, berserk fighting style to lure the enemy into a war of attrition.
When both sides were battered and exhausted.
He would then suddenly activate the Dragon Jade, instantly restoring himself to peak condition, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy.
Another example: he could create the illusion of being exhausted and dead in battle, luring the enemy to lower their guard, approach his 'corpse' for confirmation or mockery, and then, at the enemy's most unsuspecting moment, suddenly burst forth and launch a fatal sneak attack.
It was a bit insidious, but it suited Galos's taste perfectly.
"Regardless."
Galos's mouth curved into a smile: "My Dragon Jade will surely give those enemies who think victory is in their grasp an unforgettable surprise."
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Wait... since I have the Dragon Jade, which is equivalent to having a second life, does that mean I can start cross-training in the Eternal Death Dragon path?"
Galos's thoughts jumped to this point.
The Eternal Death Dragon, the dangerous path of [Death like wind, always by one's side], possessed many powerful skills that Galos coveted.
Unfortunately, its cultivation method often required infinitely approaching true death, and its fighting style was too extreme and lethal. The risk was simply too high, and a slight misstep would lead to eternal damnation. This was why Galos had always hesitated, not daring to easily get involved.
But now, everything was different.
He had the Dragon Jade, a second life.
He had the capital to repeatedly dance on the edge of death and most likely crawl back!
This perfectly solved the biggest concern of cross-training in the Eternal Death Dragon path—actually dying if he messed up.
Now, Galos was almost perfectly compatible with this dangerous branch path.
"Even the most foolish, most obtuse dragon should know what to choose now."
"I must cross-train in the Eternal Death Dragon path!"
Galos's eyes blazed, and he made up his mind.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then, the sound of heavy dragon wings stirring the air came from far to near, rapidly approaching.
Galos looked up and saw the familiar figures of Iron Dragon Sorog and Red Dragon Samantha, piercing through the swirling snowstorm, gradually becoming clear.
Like him, his two blood relatives had also passed through their long slumber.
Appearing before him now were true Young Dragons who had already entered their youth.
Samantha's body length had already exceeded sixteen meters, and thanks to the innate talent of the Red Dragon race, her body appeared exceptionally strong and imposing, her scales shimmering with a dull luster.
Sorog's body length was similar to Samantha's; he generally looked slightly smaller than Samantha but exuded a steel-like toughness.
Soon, both landed beside the Red Iron Dragon.
"Galos, you're finally awake."
Iron Dragon Sorog's gaze swept over Galos's larger, more imposing body and said, "The Molten Iron Tribe has been lying in wait for your return for too long."
"Now, we can finally unleash our claws upon the wilderness, upon the wider world, and achieve great things!"
Since completing his evolution and awakening, Iron Dragon Sorog's desire for conquest had never subsided; every day he yearned to lead the tribe in expanding its territory.
But his increasingly mature and calm mind forced him to overcome his primal urges.
He knew that only by waiting for the true backbone of the dragon group, Galos's awakening and return, could the entire tribe's strength be forged into the most powerful fist. Therefore, he chose to wait patiently, until this moment.
Unlike the excited Iron Dragon.
After landing, Red Dragon Samantha first carefully scrutinized Galos from head to toe, then looked down at her own strong body, and then let out a joyful laugh.
"Haha! My dear brother, look! I've finally become as strong as you!"
She happily wagged her tail, her voice booming: "Although your body is still larger than mine, putting aside body length, our strength seems to be almost the same."
"This means that if I raise my training intensity by another level, I have a very good chance of catching up to you, or even—surpassing you."
At this time, although Galos was already filled with Dragon Jade energy, his main body had not yet fully recovered to its peak state from his long slumber. His muscle dimensions indeed looked quite similar to Samantha's current strong state.
This couldn't help but lead her to some delightful misunderstandings.
"Hmm."
Galos looked at the Red Dragon's spirited, confident appearance, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly in a smile. He didn't expose the truth or dampen Samantha's rare enthusiasm and desire to challenge.
"I'll be watching."
An hour later, the sky was completely shrouded in inky blackness.
Outside the valley, the fierce wind howled, and snow filled the sky. The harsh environment seemed to want to swallow the entire world.
However, the Dragon Valley, protected by this snow barrier, as well as the distant Black Iron Plain, Wotu Plain, various frontline outposts, mines, pastures, and all other strongholds belonging to the Molten Iron Tribe, were now enveloped in a warm and festive atmosphere.
The entire tribe was cheering wildly for the return of their leader, like a blazing fire in the depths of winter.
On the first level of Burning Steel Fortress, the spacious front yard had been transformed into a temporary feast ground.
Galos, Deborah, Sorog, and Samantha, these four majestic Young Dragons, were undoubtedly the most eye-catching focal points of the gathering.
Next were the adult White Dragon Teresa, four dragons who had already entered their adolescence—Blue Dragon Heliam, Red Dragon Kahir, Black Dragon Seraphina, Green Dragon Ludwig—and a few other Young Dragons and infant dragons whom Galos was not too familiar with, who had been taken in later.
The dragons of the Molten Iron Tribe were all gathered here at this moment.
Among this group of dragons and monsters, whose demeanor was either majestic or ferocious, there was one particularly striking exception.
A remarkably handsome young human with dazzling golden hair, holding a training longsword, was singing and dancing in the center of the venue, performing a magnificent sword dance, drawing curious glances from many of the surrounding kinfolk.
This was Gold Dragon Alberto, appearing in human form.
Galos had invited him with a bit of mischief, but he hadn't expected him to accept the invitation so readily.
"Alberto, I remember you once swore to diligently hone yourself, not slackening an inch. How is it that you now have leisure to come and dance with a sword?"
Galos couldn't help but ask.
Alberto stopped his dance with a swift sword-sheathing motion, a brilliant smile on his face, and replied, "After a long period of insomnia... er, profound contemplation! I finally understood a crucial truth."
"Appropriate relaxation and mental rest can make subsequent training twice as effective, achieving higher efficiency."
"True strength should not be bound by rigid ideas but should discern its essence."
Although he sometimes seemed to get bogged down in details, he was by no means foolish.
After Galos fell into slumber and could no longer help him sleep through physical means, he experienced a considerable period of painful insomnia. Finally, one morning, while staring blankly at his gold coins, he had a sudden epiphany, a great realization, and understood that his previous extreme ascetic method had gone astray.
Now, Alberto was still astonishingly diligent in honing himself, but he had learned to set aside necessary time for rest and relaxation, such as attending a celebration like tonight's.
"However, after the banquet, I hope to challenge you. I hope we can have a calm comparison."
Alberto added, saying.
"No problem, I can spar with you once for free."
Galos said magnanimously. He also needed to test his various attributes and states after awakening, and Alberto was a good subject.
PS: I've been quite busy recently, so the update time will be changed to before 8 PM if possible. If I don't post a single chapter asking for leave, I will update.