Defeating the Sulfur Dragon Slayer and Returning to the Surface

Clang! Clang-clang--clang! Clang!!

Heavy metallic impacts, one after another, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes dense, sometimes sparse.

Even among Dragon Slayers, there are fast and slow blades, and it's not uncommon to constantly change the rhythm of attacks to expose an opponent's opening.

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer's situation grew increasingly difficult. Xingyan wasn't surprised he could defeat it; what was more important was that he had finally found the technique for using Life Energy with swordsmanship—a technique unique to Dragon Slayers, unrelated to the experience of Hunters.

This was a duel between two swordsmen.

The swordsmanship contest that began with the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's eagerness to hunt had been like a whetstone, allowing Xingyan to perfectly combine the knowledge he learned from Hunters with his own situation. From this perspective, the Sulfur Dragon Slayer could even be considered Xingyan's benefactor.

A foe of the same size with a similar attack pattern—this kind of pure swordsmanship duel was something no other dragon could ever provide Xingyan.

Xingyan's Sword Tail, forged from a large amount of iron ore and Lapis Lazuli, was now wrapped in a faint red glow. In this dim cave, the light that continuously danced out red phantom lines was like the eyes of a swift dragon leaping in the darkness.

Crimson Blaze Meteor!

Uh, meteor?

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer's heavy tail, wrapped in sulfurous crystals, was already pockmarked from being cut. Both the blade and the back of the blade were covered in pits of various sizes, or were smashed and twisted to one side.

If the Sulfur Dragon Slayer hadn't been relentlessly secreting sulfurous crystals to thicken its tail blade, its Sword Tail would have broken long ago.

Conversely, Xingyan's Sword Tail had suffered almost no damage at this moment—apart from the dents left from brutal impacts before it was sharpened.

The power, or rather, Life Energy, condensed on the tail blade had fulfilled its mission well, making Xingyan's Sword Tail even harder and sharper.

The more he fought, the more exhilarating it became; the more he slashed, the smoother it flowed. Xingyan's thrusts, often executed with a twist, were like a startled antelope leaping—always breaking through the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's defensive stance inadvertently.

The swordsmanship Xingyan was currently displaying would be unrecognizable even if a Sword Master were brought here; it was definitely not the swordsmanship used by Hunters, nor was it related to the techniques Hunters commonly used.

Every spin unleashed a slash. Whether it was a horizontal or vertical cut, it meant the entire dragon was dancing—yes, dancing!

Spinning, leaping! Yet every slash could precisely strike the enemy's vital points. This was dancing swordsmanship, unique and suited only for a Dragon Slayer's body!!

Another fierce thrust, Spirit Blade Thrust!

It accurately struck the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's exhausted and unguarded hind leg. To the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's dumbfounded expression, Xingyan leaped from his spot, flipped, twisted into the air—almost hitting the cave ceiling—and plummeted!!

Anthro-Beast Art: Dragon Ascending Dragon!!!

The suddenly descending body, the suddenly descending tail blade!

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!

A series of dense and piercing metallic impacts. The Life Energy wrapped around Xingyan's tail blade was suddenly released during this descent, transforming into the purest destructive power. The faint red glow even turned into a faint yellow glow.

Crack—Clang!

"ROAR!!!"

The massive body staggered from the impact. The Sulfur Dragon Slayer roared in pain from Xingyan's ferocious attack—and even more so from the crisp snapping sound.

Before Xingyan could turn back to retract his slashing Sword Tail, a section of the yellow-green, cold-shining tail blade spun in mid-air before deeply embedding itself into the ground.

Tail Severed!

The Sulfur Dragon Slayer's tail blade had been cut off!!

"ROAR!!!"

When its pride and joy, its tail blade, was severed, the Sulfur Dragon Slayer roared again. But this time, its roar contained not only pain and anger but also a hint of panic.

It knew it had lost.

Its orange eyes stared intently at Xingyan. A Sulfur Dragon Slayer that had lived this long knew when to retreat. Thus, without lingering, it quickly fled along the path it had come.

Xingyan did not pursue.

It was rare to encounter a fellow kin, well, a subspecies, but it had finally allowed him to fight to his heart's content and even hone his own swordsmanship.

A thoroughly satisfying swordsmanship duel—or perhaps it was a swordsmanship duel, even though the other guy wasn't very honorable in the middle of it.

Fortunately, I'm not very honorable either, or I would have been in trouble.

But what excited Xingyan the most was that he could now sharpen his blade. Without a second glance at the retreating Sulfur Dragon Slayer, Xingyan held his Sword Tail diagonally in front of him, carefully examining the faint yellow glow on it.

He almost wanted to say thank you to the Sulfur Dragon Slayer... As a reward, he wouldn't kill it this time.

It was a peculiar feeling. Consuming his stamina to attack, and then using the attack to mobilize the Life Energy within his body to enhance his tail blade—Xingyan waited quietly, and after a while, the faint yellow glow finally disappeared.

But the Life Energy that had been present on the tail blade did not return to Xingyan's body. It was as if, the moment it was released, it had no relation to him, and after dissipating, it returned to nature.

Shaking his head, Xingyan didn't dwell on it. After all, the Life Energy required for sharpening his blade wasn't much for him; it was still within his acceptable range.

Even human Hunters could sharpen their blades multiple times in a single battle, channeling their Life Energy into combat. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to defeat or kill large monsters and establish themselves in the natural world.

Every action of life in this world was inseparable from the circulation of Life Energy; it was just called by different names.

Without the slightest waste, Xingyan ate the Sulfur Dragon Slayer's severed tail whole. This was a refined and forged finished product, not to be wasted.

After the Sulfur Dragon Slayer retreated from this area, Xingyan found another Claw Dragon in the former's activity range. After hunting and eating it, his objective in Miasma Valley was temporarily achieved.

No time to mourn for the Claw Dragon, Xingyan had already locked onto his next target—Seregios!

But he had to find a way back to the surface first.

He blankly glanced at the cave, now a wreck, especially the seven or eight dark holes on the four walls that led to who-knows-where. Xingyan was truly at his wit's end.

Three hundred and sixty-five li?

The Great Sand Sea was inhabited by Seregios. When Xingyan was still weak, he had found many golden scales on some rocks. They were thin and sharp, each like a blade.

For a while, he even deliberately avoided places where he found these scales when foraging, because Seregios had a particularly bad temper and loved to torment their prey. How strange that no large monster has a good temper?

They all had bad tempers, so what was there to say? Just fight on sight.

Fierce and combative, highly aggressive, with strong territorial instincts, they wouldn't show mercy even to their own kind. Seregios driven out of their habitats had to find a way to survive, or they would be ruthlessly eliminated by nature.

But honestly, until Xingyan spent a lot of time traveling north to Miasma Valley, he had never once seen a live Seregios. He had only confirmed their existence through the scales left on the rocks.

According to the plan Xingyan made before leaving his underground nest, he was supposed to hunt down a few Seregios on the way to Miasma Valley, eat them, and absorb enough evolutionary trait information before entering Miasma Valley.

First hunt Seregios, then hunt Claw Dragon. Xingyan's next evolutionary step required the physical characteristics of these two dragons. After hunting enough traits and accumulating sufficient Life Energy, he would undergo a new evolution within Miasma Valley, and finally, he would send the old Steel Dragon on its way.

A perfect plan, Xingyan couldn't help but applaud himself.

But unfortunately, as the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes, and Xingyan's plan had failed perfectly.

The reason was simple: he couldn't find any Seregios.

As a top-tier large carnivorous monster, Seregios was on par with monsters like Rathalos and Zinogre. However, compared to Rathalos, Seregios' brutal and combative nature made it impossible for them to coexist peacefully with their own kind, let alone other monsters.

As everyone knows, monsters with such traits tend to die easily and their numbers are fewer... Dragon Slayer understood this deeply.

In short, fighting intensely and dying in battle were as normal as eating and drinking for Seregios. They loved their lives.

Moreover, Seregios were Flying Dragon Species with wings. Ground-dwelling dragons leave footprints when they walk, but Flying Dragon Species – where could you find traces after they fly overhead?

How despicable, you winged creatures!!

Only when Xingyan truly left his familiar comfort zone did he personally experience how vast the Great Sand Sea was. What he once thought was a desert area occupied by Horned Dragons was actually just a small sand sea.

Beyond that sand sea, further away were rocky, desolate lands, then more desert, wasteland, desert...

Who knew where those Seregios had flown off to whenever he encountered a rare oasis or a place with abundant plant life – it was too hot here.

Xingyan didn't dare to randomly change direction to search, fearing he might get lost and wander into some boundless desert, dying of heat and thirst, and becoming food for other dragons.

Even if he didn't become food, becoming a dried corpse wouldn't do.

Having watched so many documentaries in his past life, Xingyan knew too well the consequences of getting lost in the desert.

He could only keep moving forward in one direction from the start, not daring to deviate, for fear of getting lost in the depths of the Great Sand Sea.

Seeing a mountain from afar, but the horse dies before reaching it.

Fortunately, Xingyan eventually crossed the desert and Gobi, reaching an entrance to Miasma Valley. By then, he had no intention of continuing to search for Seregios; instead, he burrowed underground as if he had been rescued.

Don't ask why, ask because it was cool, and because there was groundwater to drink heartily.

Refreshing!

To be honest, if not for the dream of becoming a Forbidden Species always shining ahead and the desire for evolution always lingering in Xingyan's heart, he would have wanted to live out his days in the Flower Field Marshland Area... no worries about food or drink, plenty of minerals, suitable temperatures, and even a cat chef making delicious food.

As long as he was lucky enough not to encounter special monsters like Elder Dragons or Deviljho, an ordinary dragon's life would be just like that.

There was no need to risk his life and endure the harsh environment to come to a place like this.

He grumbled all the way, searching for the path back to the surface. While he grumbled, his steps never stopped – it was just the thought of the heat that could melt dragons that made his scalp tingle.

Friends who have often been trapped in underground caves and couldn't find their way know that planets have gravity. As long as you can distinguish up from down, you just need to head in the direction of your head.

Huh? What? No path? A dead end?

Sigh, I thought it was a big deal. When there's no path, just open your mouth and chew your way through. It's that simple.

Chewing and swallowing the rock fragments in his mouth, Xingyan felt a surge of emotion as he looked at the sunlight shining through the crack he had broken open.

BOOM!!

At this point, close to the surface, there was nothing more to say. Xingyan gathered all his strength and charged, smashing through the last layer of rock and emerging onto the surface!

Ah! The sun!!

So dazzling!!

A world of white. Xingyan had to squint his eyes to adjust to the long-lost sunlight. After a while, he could see his surroundings clearly again.

Well, Miasma Valley now had another passage to the Great Sand Sea. As the saying goes, transforming nature is also a meaningful part of a dragon's life. You're welcome.

Even the wind blowing past his nose was a dry, sandy wind. Xingyan narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, feeling that the pervasive, almost pickling rotten smell in Miasma Valley was being blown away by this clean wind.

In the distance, he could see several Diablos, large and small, fleeing in panic towards a farther location, likely startled by the commotion of Xingyan violently breaking through the ground.

Hmph, trying to escape?!

There was nothing more to say. Xingyan strode forward. The scorching hot rock ground under the sun awakened his memories; it was this familiar feeling!

Eat!

The taste of Diablos meat was an unforgettable taste of home. Xingyan swallowed two whole, skin and bones, not even wasting the blood inside – the familiar taste was good.

And after eating his fill, Xingyan once again faced the same problem that had troubled him a month or so ago.

Seregios! Where in the world are you?!

You're not in the Great Sand Sea! Where did you hide?!

Xingyan was so worried... It was the umpteenth time he wished for wings. If only he had wings, his search area and mobility would increase exponentially, far beyond what he could achieve now.

Too bad he couldn't fly—at least not yet.

With no other choice, Xingyan had to start looking for a temporary place to settle in this area before searching for any signs of Seregios.

Since Diablos could live here, it meant the area had plenty of food. This implied that Seregios might come here to hunt.

It wasn't a wild guess. Xingyan suddenly stopped. He stared at the Diablos corpse in front of him. It hadn't rotted, but the blood that had flowed onto the stone had already dried—more importantly, there were scales pinning the Diablos firmly to the stone, severing its spine and all life.

Golden scales, thin and sharp as blades.