Dragon Slayer Beast! Evolution!!

Xingyan ate very cleanly.

The dead Seregios left nothing behind in this world; even the blood that had dripped onto the ground during the previous battle was completely gnawed clean by Xingyan, along with the stone skin.

He had always been thrifty.

Because Seregios always flew in the sky, Xingyan hadn't noticed before, but only when he started eating did he realize how large this Seregios was.

It could probably be considered an elder dragon?

But it wasn't surprising. This Seregios had condensed a Dragon Orb within its body. Only those that had survived countless brutal battles could achieve this.

It had even strengthened its regenerative abilities through the Dragon Orb, becoming a Seregios specializing in long-range combat.

Hmm, it had some skills.

Now it's mine.

One is better than many. What Xingyan wanted to obtain from the Seregios species was precisely the part this Seregios excelled at. The Dragon Orb swallowed into his mouth sent the essence of the Seregios entirely to Xingyan.

In Xingyan's eyes, Seregios were a bit like a low-tier version of Nergigante or Brachydios. All three could launch things they grew on their bodies, though the damage from the Blade Scales launched by Seregios was much less than the other two.

And had less flair (strike this part).

Claw Dragon muscles, Seregios' regeneration and Blade Scales – best match!

From the Life Energy accumulated during his journey north from his comfortable home, the Life Energy of several Claw Dragons, the Life Energy of the Seregios, and the Dragon Orb – Xingyan had been accumulating energy for this moment for far too long.

And now, it was time.

Instead of going elsewhere, Xingyan returned to the passage behind him, constructed from collapsed rock formations. This would be his place of evolution.

He used his Sword Tail to cut off several stones, blocking the entrance to the passage. The already dim light immediately became even darker. Xingyan returned to the cave where he had been hiding. After finding a comfortable position, he lay down and closed his eyes.

"----I want to change my tail----"

"----Get rid of the Air Sac Carapace----"

"----And the tail blade----"

"----The carapace on my body----"

He chanted silently in his heart, prayed in his heart.

Just like the first time he defeated a large monster like the Mudfish Dragon after arriving in this world and ate it clean, he prayed in his heart that he wouldn't grow the ability to spew mud like the Mudfish Dragon.

It was also like when he swallowed the Sleepy Floater Dragon clean and prayed in his heart, transforming the Sleepy Floater Dragon's air sacs into his own.

And this time, Xingyan was still praying. He was like a clumsy bio-engineer, and his creation was his own body.

""

Evolution or devolution, successful mutation or failed mutation, Xingyan had to bear all the consequences himself.

Fortunately, even if the evolution was wrong, he could correct it through further evolution.

Take the Air Sac Carapace, for example!!!

My Air Sac Carapace is dead again! Dead again!!

Xingyan had had enough of the Air Sac Carapace's duplicity, or rather, he had had enough of its powerlessness against certain special abilities. Steel Dragon, Sulfur Dragon Slayer, Seregios – when facing such monsters that relied on long-range attacks and attrition, the Air Sac Carapace was truly useless.

Xingyan didn't like being hit. If possible, he only wanted to beat up all other dragons equally.

So, in his latest evolution, Xingyan decided to abandon the Air Sac Carapace evolutionary branch. He even turned the air sac trait from dominant to recessive, temporarily hiding it within his body until a future day when it might be useful again.

A brand new Blade Scale replaced the Air Sac Carapace. Xingyan's underlying carapace, which had been covered by the Air Sac Carapace for so long, finally saw the light of day again. Each reddish-brown carapace was covered with mineral secretions, which was no different from the past.

The difference lay at the connection of each carapace, where the seams had grown bluish-green Blade Scales from top to bottom. They were the same size as each carapace, generally rhomboid in shape, with a raised line on the surface that gave them thickness.

Unlike those on the Seregios, the Blade Scales that grew on Xingyan were thicker and heavier, not thin. Only their sharpness was the same.

These Blade Scales grew out from the gaps between each carapace and hung down, covering the seams. One after another, the Blade Scales were closely attached to the carapaces. When all the Blade Scales were tightly pressed against Xingyan's body, his surface appeared incredibly smooth – except for the exposed tops of the carapaces, but they were also part of this neat beauty.

It was interesting; at this moment, Xingyan possessed both large carapaces and large scales –

Truly large scales.

Putting aside the vague explanations, in one sentence, scales are like an enhanced version of skin, usually found on monsters of the Flying Dragon Species and Bird Wyvern Species.

Carapaces, on the other hand, are more like exoskeletons, generally appearing on arthropod-type monsters such as Beetle Species, Carapaceon Species, and Crustacean Species.

Carapaces do not grow with the main body. Instead, after the previous old, small, and worn-out carapace becomes unusable and sheds, a new carapace that fits the current body size regenerates.

But scales grow with the main body, and only when they fall off will new ones grow.

As a Beast Dragon Species, the Dragon Slayer originally had a small portion of scales, which were relatively ordinary and had low coverage, only appearing on Xingyan's lower abdomen or limbs.

However, the Dragon Slayer's main armor was still the carapace covering most of its body, namely the back, head, base of the tail, and sides of the body.

Yet, the Dragon Slayer's carapace grew from its skin. It did not require the shedding of old carapaces and the growth of new ones as the body grew, unlike monsters of the Carapaceon Species or Beetle Species.

This meant that Xingyan's original carapace was still scales, but they were thicker than normal scales and had stronger defense, yet they were essentially the same thing.

In nature, there are similar creatures, such as crocodiles. Crocodiles are covered in keratinous scales, which are standard scales, but the scales on their backs and tails are extremely thickened and ossified, forming incredibly hard osteoderms, similar to Xingyan's carapace.

Hmm, actually, they're specialized scales.

But now, apart from those insignificant small scales, Xingyan possesses true scales—scales with defensive capabilities comparable to his carapace, obtained from a Flying Dragon Species.

These are not scales that evolved towards a carapace, but rather true scales that have followed the evolutionary path of scales, capable of protecting the physical safety of a Flying Dragon Species' body.

Two layers of defense, double the goodness. As for how the researchers at the Dragon Calendar Institute would tear their hair out over how to write their papers, that's not Xingyan's problem to consider.

The Blade Scales' utility is naturally not limited to defense; after all, even their original owner used them as throwing knives.

Moreover, with Xingyan's low— no, intelligent— nature, even if he abandoned the evolutionary path of the Air Sac Carapace, he would never give up the thrill of ambushing dragons with explosive Reactive Armor.

Rejoice, the newly formed Blade Scale Armor still possesses its explosive function!

It's just that it can no longer produce deafening air explosions like before, nor can it evade some damage through the impact force of the explosions. Instead, the moment it's attacked by another monster, it launches itself, exploding towards the enemy, transforming into countless blade fragments of various sizes.

Yes, it will also inflict the 'Bleeding' status on the enemy, causing them to bleed continuously, which fits Xingyan's combat style even better.

Explosive armor is a part of Xingyan; it cannot be omitted.

More importantly, having learned from the Air Sac Carapace, these Blade Scales, while transforming into directional explosive mines upon impact, will not detonate immediately if Xingyan consciously controls them. Instead, they will fully exert their protective function, showing attackers what the defense of a Flying Dragon Species is like.

Not to mention that Xingyan's Blade Scales are inherently thicker than those of a Seregios. What satisfies him most is that these Blade Scales possess regenerative properties.

Even if he launches them all at once, Xingyan no longer has to spend day and night mining and consuming ore to replenish the depleted Air Sac Carapace— he's almost moved to tears.

Yes, consuming ore can indeed improve him, and as long as he can improve, Xingyan will be happy, but that doesn't mean he enjoys spending half the day in mining tunnels after every fight! Nor does he like the dim light underground!!

He is a Dragon Slayer! Not an Earth Dragon or some Ore Dragon!!

A Dragon Slayer should have plenty of free time to fight other dragons! And him?! All he does is mine, mine, mine!!

Now, the good times have finally arrived.

With the new Blade Scale Armor, even if all of it is fired at once, there's no need to worry. It only requires stamina and Life Energy to regenerate.

It's perfect, so perfect that Xingyan can't help but shed a single tear of a Dragon Slayer.

This tear is for his lost youth.

Of course, as the saying goes, there are gains and losses. By choosing the Blade Scales, which far surpass the Air Sac Carapace in defense, destructive power, and stability, Xingyan has temporarily abandoned the idea of using the special gases within the Air Sac Carapace to increase his buoyancy, thus laying the foundation for his future dream of flight.

No more flying.

At least not for now.

The Blade Scales even further increased Xingyan's weight; these are solid metal scales, with a heft matching his combat power.

As Blackbeard wisely said, a person's dreams will never end— and neither will a dragon's dreams.

Xingyan has not given up on his dream of flight; he is merely... making a technical adjustment.

In this upgrade, Xingyan also made changes to the sword-like cooling fins on his back. They are no longer as ostentatious, nor do they stand erect like frozen flames.

They are gone.

The cooling fins have disappeared. Xingyan has directly removed this organ belonging to the Dragon Slayer's basic bloodline. However, this doesn't mean he no longer needs to cool down. If the high temperatures generated within his body during combat cannot be effectively dissipated, it won't be Xingyan's throat that explodes, but everything within his chest cavity.

Xingyan made a bold attempt. He rerouted the internal cooling pipes leading to his back, even modifying the overall length and exit of the pipes— changing them from going upwards to going backward.

That is, towards Xingyan's tail. The new cooling vents are now located on his tail, becoming a new part of the Sword Tail's transformation.

This is preparation for future flight. Xingyan's ideal flight mode is that of a Comet Dragon. The cooling channels laid in advance might evolve into the rudimentary form needed for jet-propelled flight in the future.

This is just a temporary arrangement; it might be abandoned in the next evolution, just like the Air Sac Carapace.

To be honest, even Xingyan himself doesn't know what kind of dragon he will become by continuing to consume like this. He can only do his best under the conditions he currently possesses.

The fact that evolved traits can autonomously regress and be discarded is enough to make him feel fortunate.

As a dragon that cannot fly and can only run on the ground, the Dragon Slayer's body is not built for flight. Even if Xingyan solves the problem of flight power in the future, he must make his body as suitable for flight as possible— at least aerodynamically.

Otherwise, when he eventually soars into the sky at Comet Dragon speeds, the air resistance and the resulting high temperatures would naturally melt away any protruding parts of Xingyan's body, such as those large and protruding organs like the cooling fins.

Even the Comet Dragon itself sheds its outer shell during high-speed flight, and when the shed shell falls to the ground, it instantly forms a large-scale explosion.

Xingyan doesn't want to leave a trail of trash while flying. The active regression of the cooling fins is just an attempt, not set in stone, a way to get used to the feeling of having something less on his back and reduce the impact on his combat power in the future.

According to Xingyan's vision, at least during high-speed flight, the air resistance in front of him should be as small as possible, ideally being smoothly parted by his body and flowing along its surface to the rear.

This way, his speed will be faster and more effortless.

Consider it a rehearsal.

Shifting his shoulders, Xingyan felt a bit unaccustomed to the feeling of having something less on his back— it felt empty, light, and somehow uncomfortable.

But he knew he had to get used to this feeling.

Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack.

A series of dense and crisp metallic clashing sounds, very neat, very... smooth?

Listening to the sound alone, one could imagine a scene of orderly piano keys falling, neat metallic blocks surging like waves— but in reality, it was just the sound of Xingyan's Blade Scales striking against each other, like some kind of Transformer.

Stretching comfortably, Xingyan didn't know how long he had stayed in the cave— perhaps a few months?

But now, he once again stepped out into the sunlight.

Bending his transformed Sword Tail from his back to his front, Xingyan carefully examined his brand new weapon!