New Evolutionary Direction and Miasma Valley

As soon as these words were spoken, a peculiar kingdom popped into the minds of the three scholars. The template was easy to follow; human kingdoms were a ready example. However, in their fantasy world, the inhabitants of this kingdom were all sorts of dragons, with this Dragon Slayer sitting on the throne, even wearing a crown.

Scholars, after all, possess boundless imagination.

"Just imagine, a kingdom made entirely of various monsters. A monster like a Rathalos could be the kingdom's security captain... Hmm, and there should be a blonde Dragon Slayer princess, very willful, always issuing all sorts of requests with unclear meanings..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Foehr! Stop it! Your fantasy is getting a bit too specific!!"

A moment of panic ensued as Bent and another scholar quickly covered their companion's mouth. The topic of a willful princess, regardless of whether it was in a kingdom or a guild, was something that couldn't be touched.

Cough!

"Ah, look, the Dragon Slayer's slash was well executed."

"Mhm, yes, yes, that slash was indeed good."

After mumbling for a while, the three of them continued to record in their notebooks. Even though they could only observe from afar, the scholars still wanted to gather as much information on the Dragon Slayer as possible.

"Wait, have you guys noticed a problem?" Bent suddenly said. "Quickly recall when we first tried to explore the Great Sand Sea, and even during this time—have we ever seen any feces left by the Dragon Slayer?"

The scholars exchanged glances.

"Uh, he's so smart, maybe he found a place to defecate at a fixed spot?" Foehr guessed, but without needing Bent's reply, he himself had already dismissed the idea.

Another mystery added to the list.

Xingyan had also noticed the scholars' presence. After all, these guys practically came every day. He hadn't noticed them at first, but later he did.

As long as these scholars didn't come to pester him or attempt to capture him for research, Xingyan wouldn't pay them any mind.

Observe, just observe. Xingyan believed his evolution speed would be faster than the scholars imagined. With just one opportunity, everything the scholars had observed would become obsolete and lose its value—perhaps by the time the Blue Star arrived in forty years, Xingyan would no longer resemble a Dragon Slayer at all.

Another sunset arrived, but this time, Xingyan, panting, did not leave immediately. Instead, he turned and looked at the Sword Master.

"Roar." (I'm leaving.)

"Roar roar roar." (Thank you for your help during this time.)

Looking at Xingyan, who was roaring at him incessantly, the Sword Master showed no signs of tension—he simply couldn't understand.

He couldn't see the Sword Master's face beneath his helmet, but Xingyan could guess that his face was currently filled with bewilderment.

The experiences of this period were quite remarkable for Xingyan. He hadn't intended to interact with Hunters; he just wanted to observe them from afar and learn their techniques, as he always had.

He never expected these Hunters to be so bold. Even after realizing Xingyan's presence, they didn't deliberately avoid him or flee. Instead, they bravely approached him, and the Sword Master even selflessly taught him his swordsmanship.

"Roar roar! Roar!" (Take these. I won't be coming anymore starting tomorrow.)

Xingyan didn't want to owe the Hunters anything; being quits was the best state.

He shifted his body, consciously controlling his Air Sac Carapace to release the gas inside before biting down on the two layers of shell with his teeth—forcefully tearing off a piece.

Given Xingyan's current size, a single piece of his carapace was about the size of a Hunter's head. After glancing at the Sword Master, Xingyan tore off six more pieces of carapace and threw them all in front of the Sword Master.

It hurt, naturally, but for Xingyan, this pain was nothing.

"These... are for me?" The Sword Master was taken aback.

"Roar!"

With a roar, and no intention of saying more, Xingyan turned and left the hillside without looking back.

Gazing at Xingyan's departing figure, the Sword Master picked up the carapaces from the ground, shook his head, and headed towards the base camp. Not long after, he saw the scholars who had run down from the cliff after noticing the commotion.

"What happened?!" Bent asked anxiously. "Are these the Dragon Slayer's carapaces? Why would it suddenly give these to you?"

"I guess he won't be coming back anymore," the Sword Master said, handing the carapaces in his hand to the scholars, who were already extremely curious. "As for these carapaces, they're probably his payment to me, right?"

"Ah?!"

From the Sword Master, Xingyan had obtained what he desired.

The techniques Hunters used with the Long Sword, how to systematically practice swordsmanship, and what direction to improve in the future...

There wasn't much the Sword Master could help Xingyan with. After all, the Sword Master was ultimately just a person, wielding a sword with his hands. He didn't have a Dragon Slayer's body, nor did he understand how a Dragon Slayer felt.

So, in the end, it still depended on Xingyan figuring it out himself—but unlike before, Xingyan wasn't just randomly pondering and figuring things out anymore. He now had the Hunters' experiences as a reference.

Xingyan didn't believe he was incapable of channeling energy into his weapon to sharpen it like the Hunters. In fact, during his previous practice, he had felt the sensation of his internal Life Energy being mobilized several times.

It flowed with the movement of his body's muscles, accumulating and transferring power within him.

However, each time, it felt like something was missing—not smooth enough, not flowing freely enough. It was like hitting a wall, but the wall wasn't solid enough, as if he could break through with just a little more effort. Yet, no matter how he adjusted his posture, it felt wrong.

This feeling was somewhat tormenting for a dragon, but Xingyan had no good solution.

Perhaps... he needed a battle?

An idea struck him.

Xingyan made a decision that went against the ancestors of Dragon Slayers.

After such a long time, he finally began to recast his broken tail. However, unlike the first time he forged his Sword Tail, this time Xingyan only hastily recast his tail with iron ore and Lapis Lazuli—in simple terms, he didn't use good materials.

This was a decision no other Dragon Slayer would make, solely because Xingyan had new evolutionary plans for his Sword Tail.

He was about to begin hunting for new evolutionary information, and before his tail finished evolving, this Sword Tail only needed the most basic function.

Complete, big enough, heavy enough, sharp enough, that's all.

If the New World as a whole is considered a living organism, then Miasma Valley is the excretory part of this organism, or perhaps its lowest organ?

Located at the bottom of the entire New World, it is filled with the corpses of all sorts of monsters, and many Elder Dragons enter here to die when their lifespan is nearing its end. The Life Energy within their bodies will flow out after their masters die, merging with nature.

In a sense, Miasma Valley is the end of the New World's natural cycle. It contains a large amount of essence left behind by dead dragons, and even the skeletons of top-tier Elder Dragons like the Serpent King Dragon.

Rocks, ores, and countless bones left by dead Elder Dragons... and the Life Energy that re-enters the cycle will flow into the Leylines from here, nourishing the entire New World through the flow of the Leyline Corridor.

Don't be fooled by the poisonous gas or rotting flesh filling this place. Ordinary life would die just from breathing the air here, but the importance of Miasma Valley is undeniable.

This is the root of the New World.

After spending several months traveling north from the Flower Field Marshland Area near the southern part of the Great Sand Sea, Xingyan finally arrived at a canyon that continuously descended like the opening of an abyss. This was already considered the outer layer of Miasma Valley.

It was truly like an abyss, with visible yellow-green miasma filling the air. Even the stone walls on both sides were sticky, not to mention the nauseating stench. Microorganisms decomposing corpses certainly wouldn't produce any pleasant aroma.

And now, Xingyan had entered this canyon. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath—he, the Blazing Dragon, didn't sense any foul smell.

To be honest, it was a little sweet and sour.

At least, to Xingyan's taste.

What surprised Xingyan a little was that when the miasma entered his stomach, he felt like he was digesting something. Although it was digested instantly, it was imperceptible.

As long as he didn't get poisoned, that was good.

Miasma Valley is a vast area, much larger than the map in the game. At the entrance of the canyon, Xingyan found some traces left by a Steel Dragon, likely left by that old Steel Dragon.

He had no interest in following the tracks to find it. Xingyan wasn't here to kill the old Steel Dragon, and he didn't have the ability to kill it before his new evolution was complete—fighting it again now wouldn't yield a different result than their battle six months ago.

He was here to find the apex predator of Miasma Valley.

The Claw Dragon.

Cough, cough, don't be fooled by the fact that Claw Dragons are used as greatswords by top predators like Deviljho. They are just mere Fanged Wyverns, brothers with the middle-parted Great Jagras. But in reality, Claw Dragons have quite a status in Miasma Valley, and they are one of the few monsters that dare to challenge Elder Dragons.

Although the Elder Dragon it challenged was a bottom-feeder scavenger like the Kirin, and it was kicked away by the Kirin's miasma eruption.

But it did challenge it, whereas the Great Jagras, another Fanged Wyvern, wouldn't even dare to challenge it.

(Now you know who's on top, right?)

Extremely aggressive, with an extremely ferocious fighting style, like a rabid dog. They fight wildly and can defeat seasoned veterans. When food is scarce, they will also venture to the Coral Highlands to hunt, fighting evenly with the ruler of the Coral Highlands, Velkhana. When a Brute Dragon invades Miasma Valley, they even dare to confront it head-on.

Their nickname is "Flat-Top Bro!" "Life and death are for the bold, if you disagree, fight!"

Whether they can win or not is another matter, the important thing is to fight first!

Xingyan needs a Flat-Top Bro with ideals, motivation, and ambition right now, no, a Claw Dragon—it would be even better if he could encounter a Fanged Wyvern.

As a subspecies of the Claw Dragon, the Fanged Wyvern is a comprehensively upgraded version of the Claw Dragon, and it possesses noble Dragon Element energy, making it definitely more valuable to consume.

It would be best if he could encounter one, but it doesn't matter if he can't.

According to the evolutionary blueprint Xingyan planned for himself, he only needs the muscles of a Claw Dragon.

This was Xingyan's first time in Miasma Valley, and he didn't have a map or anything. He could only wander around relying on luck, hoping to encounter a Claw Dragon.

Admittedly, despite Miasma Valley looking like a decaying Nurgle's paradise, with rotting, pus-filled flesh hanging from the ground and walls occasionally, there's a strange vitality here—quite a lot of life thrives in this environment.

Dense swarms of small insects, like flies and maggots, go without saying. There are also many beetles that Xingyan doesn't recognize, crawling out from corners from time to time.

The dragon corpses were not scattered throughout the interior of Miasma Valley as Xingyan had initially imagined, requiring him to step on a "fungal carpet" with every step. At least on the path he walked, he only occasionally saw decaying dragon corpses in cave corners or on walls.

More common were skeletons that had long since lost their flesh and blood. In this unique environment, they hadn't become dry but were instead moist.

Xingyan even tried to find the landmark of Miasma Valley, the skeleton of the Serpent King Dragon, but unfortunately, he couldn't find it. All he encountered were caves after caves, with dense openings leading in different directions, making it impossible to know where they led.

There was no possibility of sunlight penetration; illumination came solely from glowing fungal colonies or moss. The air was filled with murky miasma, reducing visibility. Normal ground creatures couldn't survive in such an environment.

Xingyan also happened to encounter a local dragon, a Great Jagras. Although it was a Fanged Wyvern like the Claw Dragon, its combat power was far inferior to the Claw Dragon. It even had a group of subordinates behind it, and they fled as soon as they saw Xingyan from afar.

He was somewhat disoriented by the successive caves. If he had lost the traces he had left on the stone walls along the way, Xingyan would have truly doubted if he could find his way back to the surface.

Two days!

Xingyan searched this area of Miasma Valley for a full two days!

No one could know how he endured those two days!

If he hadn't been lucky enough to run into his local dragon brothers again in the meantime, he would have even started considering whether to gnaw on that rotting meat.

Yes, with Xingyan's stomach, it wouldn't be a problem to eat it, but it was psychologically disgusting! And the taste was bad too!

This place was paradise for scavengers, but for Xingyan, it was anything but paradise.

As for the whereabouts of his local dragon brothers... don't ask.

Fortunately, around the dawn of the third day, Xingyan, who had found a place that was somewhat clean to lie down and sleep, suddenly heard a shrill howl. The howl was exceptionally sharp, and even from such a distance, it could still be vaguely heard.

Was that a Claw Dragon's roar?!

Instantly unable to sleep, Xingyan got up from the ground and moved towards the sound.

A Claw Dragon, huh? Finally caught you!