Chapter 6: Buffer Scales (Request Monthly Tickets, Request Follows)

In a ring-shaped sinkhole, on an open patch of ground before a cliff face, there were pits of all sizes and depths, their shapes resembling marks left by heavy objects crashing down.

But it was unclear where so many things had come from to strike the ground.

CRACK!

Amid a spray of shattered stone, a juvenile dragon six meters long folded its wings and plummeted freely from the air, slamming hard onto the earth and kicking up a ring of spreading dust.

“Pah!”

Luo Si spat out pebbles from his mouth and staggered upright from the depression, shaking his head.

On his body, the black iron scales that had once shimmered with a dull silver sheen like cast steel now had many patches turned into black-gray dragon scales, their texture no longer metallic, and the lava-like crimson patterns on their surface had vanished.

Some black-gray dragon scales still lay scattered in the depression from his fall.

Compared to before, Luo Si’s scales seemed somewhat more fragile.

And from a distance, at first glance,

Luo Si now looked neither truly black nor truly gray, his appearance slightly diminished.

But

Luo Si showed no dissatisfaction; he turned to look at the crater he’d made, then fixed his gaze on the fallen scales, even nodding in satisfaction.

He turned to examine his own scales.

Beneath the spots where the black-gray scales had fallen off was not skin, but a layer of black scales with faint crimson patterns, shimmering with a dull silver sheen.

Correct—these black-gray dragon scales were a newly grown extra layer, concentrated mainly on his back, chest, and limb joints.

—They were all detachable buffer scales!

When subjected to violent impact, these scales could actively shed to absorb shock, and at the moment of detachment, they generated a counter-recoil.

With the height of his previous fall, the old Luo Si would have been dazed for a while and injured himself—but this time, aside from a slight jolt, he felt no discomfort or pain within his body.

The changes went beyond just this layer of buffer scales.

On Luo Si’s head, the rearward-curving dragon horns had grown thicker and larger, and the metal exoskeleton covering their bases had expanded significantly, making them more stable.

The blade-like scales along his tail had become denser.

Muscles, bones, organs, and other tissues hidden beneath the scales had grown stronger and better able to withstand impact forces.

“I never expected this evolution would grant me a layer of buffer scales instead of simply strengthening my dragon scales further, as before.”

Luo Si himself was somewhat surprised by the new layer of buffer scales.

The underlying dragon scales had also grown slightly tougher, but the increase was minor; this evolution primarily manifested in the buffer scales.

“Gornton, Samantha, come over and hit me.”

Luo Si called out toward the distance.

Two juvenile dragons flew out of the mine shaft with eager urgency, landing before Luo Si.

Luo Si’s finally gone dumb! Even his scales have lost their luster.

Both thought this, their expressions brimming with anticipation.

“Come on—hit me with your full strength.”

Luo Si planted his four limbs firmly on the ground, signaling the two juveniles to charge him.

“I’ll go first!”

The more fiery-tempered red dragon sister rushed forward without hesitation, flapping her wings to accelerate, her heavy footsteps leaving deep prints as she charged straight at Luo Si.

Charging—this was a common tactic among juvenile dragons, capable of unleashing full-body power with considerable force.

According to past experience, although Luo Si was strong and larger in size, he would still be knocked back when struck head-on.

In an instant,

The excited red dragon sister slammed into Luo Si’s front, striking him directly with her body.

At the moment of impact against Luo Si’s powerful chest,

As countless black-gray scales shattered and fell away, a massive counter-recoil struck the unsuspecting red dragon sister, flinging her backward to the ground, while Luo Si didn’t retreat a single step—only his body swayed slightly.

“The kinetic energy of the impact was almost entirely absorbed by the buffer scales; what reached me was negligible.”

Luo Si mused.

On the other side, Iron Dragon Brother had also been eager to try, but seeing the red dragon sister knock out a tooth and Luo Si remain utterly unmoved, he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him in the middle of summer—his fiery enthusiasm instantly cooled.

“Damn Luo Si!”

The red dragon sister shook her head, furious, and charged at him again; red dragons’ tempers far exceeded those of iron dragons, and defeat only made her more frenzied.

She used no other techniques—only repeatedly charged at Luo Si.

Luo Si’s scales flew everywhere, appearing fragile, but each time it was the red dragon sister who was thrown back, while he stood firm like a reef enduring the pounding waves.

Until nearly all the buffer scales on Luo Si’s chest had fallen off, revealing the steel-cast dragon scales beneath.

The red dragon sister lay exhausted on the ground, her body covered in bruises from her own rebounding impacts.

“Before the buffer scales fall off, I can basically ignore this kind of damage.”

Luo Si weighed this in his mind.

He preferred direct evolution that enhanced the hardness of his scales, but unfortunately, adaptive evolution wasn’t something he could fully control; each evolution was like opening a blind box, bringing unpredictable changes. Though his evolution always moved toward improvement, the physical transformations often exceeded Luo Si’s expectations.

“Though unattractive, the effect is excellent.”

Luo Si inherited Iron Dragon Mother’s pragmatic nature.

The black-gray buffer scales were plain-looking, but their effect was indeed strong—Luo Si was still quite satisfied.

Besides, he would continue evolving and changing; perhaps one day he would evolve into a form that dragonkind found especially fierce and handsome.

At the same time, Luo Si was reflecting on this adaptive evolution.

“This time, buffer scales evolved directly, likely because my recent training was too monotonous—I’ve been crashing into mountains and ground too frequently and violently.”

“Next, I should reduce the frequency of such training and try other methods.”

He thought so.

Luo Si was still in the exploratory phase regarding his evolutionary talent; he was willing to experiment and compare various approaches, and planned to reduce mountain- and ground-crashing frequency, shifting his focus to strength and speed training.

Suddenly,

He heard a THUD.

He turned his head and saw Iron Dragon Brother—he had flown into the air and crashed down again, landing on his back, then shook his head and staggered upright.

“What are you doing?”

Luo Si asked, puzzled.

“Luo Si, I’ve figured out your secret to strength—it’s definitely smashing yourself to get stronger.”

Iron Dragon Brother’s eyes gleamed with wisdom as he spoke to Luo Si with smug pride.

Hearing this, the red dragon sister fell into deep thought, feeling her intelligence had just claimed the high ground.

“Yes, it must be exactly like that.”

She nodded in agreement and told Luo Si: “Wait, Luo Si—I’ll surpass you someday!”

In the days that followed, the two juveniles believed they had uncovered Luo Si’s secret to strength, and during their mining breaks, they began imitating him, attempting to “learn from the superior to overcome the superior,” studying Luo Si to surpass him.

The ground of this open area had been crushed and sunken by a layer of impacts.

Another week passed.

Having fully adapted to his buffer scales, Luo Si flew to the cliff’s peak, feeling the wind brush against his scales, his eyes half-lidded as he gazed toward the distant wilderness.

“I will eventually leave Iron Dragon Mother’s territory and survive on my own.”

“Relying solely on protection is not a lasting solution.”

“While I still have a safety net, I should hone my combat skills and survival techniques, and if possible, select a suitable territory in advance for my future habitation.”

The juvenile dragon silently planned his future.

A few seconds later, Luo Si spread his wings and soared into the sky, leaving the Iron Dragon Mother’s sinkhole territory, though he didn’t fly far—staying active nearby.

(End of Chapter)