[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one-":3,"chapter-toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Toppling the Entire World with the Power of One Dragon!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2256920,4403,"Chapter 17: Pursuit","toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>Gulp!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its stomach growled again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hunger made Samantha’s stomach cramp and spasm, excruciatingly painful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It whimpered, lowered its head, and gnawed at the bitter, damp soil, missing even the days under the Dragon Mother’s protection—though daily oppressed by Luo Si, those days were far better than this precarious existence of eating dirt to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Should I go beg Luo Si to take me in?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha suddenly remembered what Luo Si had said before leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though unwilling to admit it, it knew clearly: Luo Si was smarter, stronger, and should live better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if I have to obey Luo Si completely, it’s fine—I never liked using my brain anyway.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha didn’t want to wander anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it couldn’t let go of its inner pride and arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no—I’m a Red Dragon, destined to stand atop the world. How could I be so easily defeated by the wild? I won’t let Luo Si look down on me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha gritted its teeth, rose from the muddy water, and cast aside the thought of following Luo Si.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m too hungry. I need food—real food, not dirt or bark.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha took a deep breath and trudged forward through the rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron Fir Hills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain had cleared; the air was again filled with scorching heat. Moist vapor rose from the needleforest, pooling into iridescent shallow ponds in lowlands. Broken fir branches lay scattered in the mud, oozing amber resin from their severed ends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Si lay atop a massive boulder on the hillside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden sunlight fell upon him, gilding his scales with shimmering radiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spread his wings wide, savoring the comfort of the sun’s warmth, eyes half-lidded, too lazy to move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given Luo Si’s diligence and self-discipline, such rest periods were rare—but he understood balance, that overexertion was counterproductive. While pursuing evolution and strength, he granted himself moments of relaxation during free time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous storm had rained continuously for a week.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During that time,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>because the wilds were perpetually dry and rain was rare, Luo Si treasured these rare rainy days, repeatedly using his Dark Gold Tail Ring to train himself in the wind and rain. When his energy ran out, he immediately drew in lightning to recharge, then trained again—repeating the cycle. Yet he never forgot the wilds’ dangers, interspersing rest to conserve stamina and avoid exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After being washed by rain and forged by lightning,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>over these past days, Luo Si had beaten off all his buffer scales himself. None had yet regrown, revealing a layer of black-red scales riddled with cracks, depressions, pits, and chaotic scars—as if they’d endured fierce battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for results,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>beyond an unknown increase in lightning resistance, Luo Si felt a faint, tingling, electric-like sensation deep within the muscles beneath his scales and skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also a sign of gradual adaptation to evolution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Basking in the sun, Luo Si’s tail, hanging off the rock, swayed gently. He shifted his side to let the sunlight reach his belly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t until noon, when the sun’s rays grew most intense and vicious,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that Luo Si still didn’t rise to hunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He decided to give himself a day off and sent Mober to hunt for food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just a little more rest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Si yawned, closed his eyes, and continued basking, drowsy and half-asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his nose twitched, as if catching a scent, then his black dragon pupils snapped open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—A familiar odor drifted through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Red Iron Juvenile Dragon lifted its head, gazing toward the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha stumbled through the damp, muddy wilds, each step deeper than the last. Its already half-crippled right dragon wing bore more wounds, still pierced by several poisoned feather arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it ran, it flapped its wings, trying to take flight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after several attempts, its broken wing and weakened body could not lift it into the sky—only its feet carried it forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind it, dozens of goblin wolf riders pursued relentlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gray wolves’ paws churned through mud and water, sprinting swiftly; the distance between them and Samantha narrowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha clenched its dragon teeth, staring ahead at the dense Iron Fir Hills, a glimmer of hope in its eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Almost there. Almost there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope Luo Si is still here. I hope he can forgive my past ignorance and savagery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it meant becoming Luo Si’s follower, lowering its proud head, and obeying this elder brother completely, Samantha accepted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After enduring such hardship, it had come to understand deeply:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pride could not keep it alive in the wilds. It had been far too naive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, both the Dragon Mother and the Dragon Legacy had mentioned that juvenile dragons struggled to survive alone, requiring extreme caution. But arrogance and self-importance were born with the dragon bloodline; juveniles untouched by storms always believed they could easily conquer the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Dragon Mother and Legacy knowledge could not teach it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But cruel reality could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the very first day of the storm, Samantha had entertained the idea of following Luo Si—but at the time, its pride still held on, unwilling to surrender to the wilds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bathed in wind and rain,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha tried hunting, seeking food to replenish strength and heal its wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But fate defied its wishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any creature surviving in the wilds—whether intelligent or beast—had its own survival rules. With Samantha’s clumsy hunting skills and weakened body, every hunt ended in failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it not been for the sheer resilience of dragonkind,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>any other creature would have been half-dead from such abuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After chewing on bark and dirt for several meals, Samantha finally recognized itself—and resolved to follow its powerful, wise elder brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the goblin tribe Samantha first encountered had been searching and pursuing it, hoping to turn the Red Juvenile into alchemical material. After tracking it for some time, a band of goblin wolf riders discovered its trail, followed, and gradually spotted the juvenile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Distance is sufficient—archers, ready!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the goblin wolf riders, several drew their ironwood longbows to full draw, arrows nocked—etched with tiny runes and tipped with poison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three feathered arrows tore through the air, shrieking with piercing whistles, aimed at Samantha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ears twitching, sensing danger from behind, Samantha rolled clumsily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two arrows missed, embedding deep into the wet ground, tips to fletching fully sunk. One pierced Samantha’s hind leg—the arrowhead, designed to pierce armor, broke through the scales. The metal shaft trembled faintly, emitting a subtle metallic hum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pain of the wound was secondary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse was the poison spreading through its body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha was far too weak now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In full health, this poison would have affected it not at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha felt its last strength slipping away. Its steps grew slower, its body heavy as a mountain. The Iron Fir Hills, so close, now seemed impossibly distant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If given one more chance,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Samantha would have clung to its elder brother’s leg and never let go—not foolishly tried to survive alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1155,"2026-06-19T14:21:50.702Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4c67986b39492dd227faf7c23fe30c46acb69f1415b254a17697d20327a5a3ac","toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--chapter-18","toppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--chapter-16",101,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftoppling-the-entire-world-with-the-power-of-one--cover.jpg"]