Chapter 10: Power and Speed (Seek Follows, Seek Monthly Tickets)

“Sleeping again? Get up and mine!”

Luo Si landed before the two hatchlings, flicking their heads with his tail to wake them.

He yawned.

The two hatchlings felt they hadn’t slept enough.

“Dear brother Luo Si, can I rest a little longer?”

They asked in weak voices.

When brute force fails, a dragon will resort to emotional manipulation.

“No.”

Luo Si rejected them coldly—he had given them chances before, offered to be a good older brother, but they had chosen to turn on him and provoke him.

They chose their own path.

They wanted a cold-hearted older brother? Fine. Luo Si would oblige.

Hmph!

Red Dragon Sister snorted, reluctantly turning toward the mine tunnel.

As for Iron Dragon Brother…

After hearing Luo Si’s refusal, he still smirked crookedly, his expression arrogant and disdainful.

He deserved a beating.

Had Luo Si known the crooked mouth wasn’t intentional but the lingering result of a prior injury, he would’ve already struck.

Under Luo Si’s gaze, Iron Dragon Brother shrank his head slightly, then trudged after Red Dragon Sister into the mine tunnel, still crooked-mouthed, drool dripping, stepping unevenly.

He looked up at the crimson clouds of sunset.

Luo Si lowered his gaze to his right arm.

On his lower forearm armor, a small patch of gray-white, stony texture remained—the mark of a petrification ray, petrifying both scale and flesh.

Crack. Crack.

Luo Si pried off the petrified scales and flesh, leaving a small hollow on his forearm.

Though the sensation was faint, he still felt something strange happening—the tissue there was undergoing a peculiar transformation.

When new flesh and scales grew back…

The next time he was hit by a petrification ray, the effect would be weakened.

Complete immunity would require repeated, massive adaptation—he had no such conditions now.

The wound was small, inconsequential, and didn’t hinder his movement. Under the fiery glow of sunset, he began trying a new training method.

Huh!

He exhaled slowly.

The hatchling flapped his wings, flipped midair, and finally balanced his heavy body entirely on one foreclaw, rising and falling in a steady inverted push-up motion.

Soon after…

He curved his tail against the ground, using only the strength of his powerful tail to support his body, training the tail muscles.

Or he arched his neck backward, pressing his skull to the ground, rotating his body around his neck as a pivot.

A series of specialized exercises, never recorded in the Dragon Heritage, unfolded on Luo Si’s body.

He was training for strength.

Besides strength, there was speed.

After a while, Luo Si launched into the sky, soaring upward until he reached the star-speckled night where twin moons hung, then drew a deep breath, stretched his wings to their full span, and began flapping furiously.

But…

Despite the violent wingbeats, the hatchling’s body didn’t rise—it sank slowly, unnaturally.

—Dragon flight is a magical effect.

With their weight and body proportions, dragons couldn’t possibly fly like birds using wings alone.

In reality, when dragons fly, magical energy flows through their blood into their wings, creating an effect similar to levitation, combined with spell-like abilities and wing strength to achieve flight.

Other intelligent races always carry sky-sealing spells when fighting dragons.

Their principle: cancel the levitation effect.

Luo Si didn’t want to be forced to the ground and beaten by a mob the moment an enemy cast a sky-sealing spell.

He wanted to fly solely through physical strength, soaring the skies without magic.

That way, one more weakness would vanish, bringing him closer to his goal of living a thousand years.

Because he had suppressed his magical energy, the levitation effect vanished.

His heavy dragon body continued sinking.

Luo Si strained his wings, flapping hard enough to stir violent gusts, yet still could not lift himself—only slowed his fall, barely managing to glide.

This method placed enormous strain on his wings.

Under the burden, a tearing pain constantly radiated from them.

Especially at the membrane roots connecting to his torso—each flap felt like steel needles piercing through.

No audience, no encouragement in the night—only the hatchling, gritting his teeth, silent, enduring the pain, flapping his wings again and again, chasing adaptation and evolution through tearing agony.

Time passed slowly.

Until the twin moons sank below the horizon and the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds.

Only then did Luo Si complete his training regimen, exhausted to the point where even a dragon’s resilient body reached its limit.

Aching pain surged through his entire body, especially his wings—almost numb, as if torn away.

The hatchling breathed heavily, like a bellows.

Yet despite his fatigue and pain, his gaze remained sharp and clear.

For alongside the aches came faint tingles of numbness.

Signs of adaptation and evolution—each time he pushed to exhaustion, his body grew tougher and stronger, able to endure longer, fly faster next time.

One day, he would truly soar the skies with wings alone, unbound by any magic-free zone.

As Luo Si prepared to rest…

Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother emerged from the mine tunnel, covered in dust, seeing Luo Si’s weakened state.

They exchanged glances, then slowly approached him with ill intent.

“Dear brother Luo Si, you look awfully tired.”

Red Dragon Sister asked.

Her words sounded concerned, but brimmed with malice.

“Hoo hoo, we’re definitely beating you this time.”

Iron Dragon Brother chuckled with a crooked smirk, his villainous laugh as he stepped closer.

“Your skin itching again?”

Luo Si’s face was expressionless. His larger, more muscular frame stood firm, his calm gaze sweeping over them.

One look—and both hatchlings froze, uncertain.

Luo Si’s accumulated authority, though he appeared weak, still kept them from acting rashly.

“I’ve realized… it’s been a while since I punished you two.”

He took a step forward, his eyes blazing with menace.

At that step, both hatchlings involuntarily retreated, their earlier bravado instantly crushed.

“Just joking! Just joking!”

“Dear brother, don’t misunderstand!”

The two hatchlings immediately backed down, retreating rapidly away from Luo Si.

Luo Si snorted softly, this time generously letting it pass.

In truth, he couldn’t pursue it anyway.

His expeditions beyond the pit had exposed him to the wild’s many dangers; his training had been too intense, draining every last ounce of stamina, leaving his body extremely weak—he’d likely be beaten if he fought now.

Yet he showed no sign of weakness, relying on his past aura to intimidate the two hatchlings.

They had lost their only chance to retaliate and beat Luo Si.

“Next time, train smarter—save some stamina for emergencies.”

He thought, then found a large crater he’d smashed into the ground, didn’t mind the dirt, and simply sprawled out inside, using his own tail as a pillow, folding his wings over his body, coiling to rest.

In the days that followed, Luo Si’s life became regular and rich.

Beyond daily training and forcing the hatchlings to mine, he occasionally left the pit, fighting beasts and monsters in the surrounding wilds to hone combat skills, while searching for a suitable new lair to prepare for his future solitary existence.

Thus…

One year passed in a flash.

(End of Chapter)