First Breath

First Birth

The sunset in Ochre Valley was beautiful, and the evening glow poured down like molten gold along the rolling hills, casting a golden hue over the cascading tiers of the Ironwood Forest.

A sudden breeze blew, and the leaves of the Ironleaf Wood collided, making crisp, bell-like tinkling sounds.

Xilong sneezed, feeling the fresh air drill into his nasal cavity, filling his lungs for the very first time. Then he rolled over, babbling as he struggled to prop his limbs straight and stand up.

This was a newborn Chrome Dragon hatchling whose body was covered in unhardened gray tender scales. Its wing membranes drooped limply, its gaze was bright, and its head was an inverted triangle shovel shape.

Xilong Solax, this was his True Dragon name.

What... am I transmigrated?

Xilong raised his hand, staring dazed at that claw before him.

He was originally an obscure little streamer, without a girlfriend, who loved drinking iced cola. Relying on a bit of gaming talent, he filled his belly by working as a gaming companion and booster, and when he had free time, he watched movies and novels. His days hadn't gone very well, but they weren't too bad either.

One day while working overtime late into the night, he suddenly felt the pain in his knees drastically worsen. Once the ailment flared up it lasted for several days, and having always assumed it was arthritis, he was forced to go to the hospital for a checkup.

As a result, he was diagnosed with late-stage malignant tumor. The disease progressed extremely rapidly, and after torturing him for just a year, it ended his life.

Though young, you must always pay attention to your body...

This was Xilong's last dying breath from his past life.

Before he could overthink, the gifts bestowed by the True Dragon Legacy came in a continuous stream, instantly allowing him to master dragon language, script, and sensory habits, while establishing his cognition as a Heavy-Metal Dragon.

A human soul fused with a dragon body, and the legacy intertwined with his memories, never to be separated again.

After his astonishment, Xilong actually felt a trace of joy.

In his past life he had passed away prematurely at a young age. Looking back on the past, he neither earned much money nor properly looked at the world, and now finding the chance to live again, naturally he was invigorated and delighted.

Though in this lifetime he was no longer human, transforming into a healthy, long-lived dragon felt to Xilong like a rather good thing instead.

He stared at his claws, making a hollow grip and then opening them, repeating this several times. Then he twisted his neck and tail, fluttered his wing membranes, and rolled over twice, discovering that his experience of the body was so familiar, completely devoid of any stiffness or alienation.

Whew, I'm tired.

However, for a newborn, prolonged activity was no easy task. The little Chrome Dragon didn't have much strength, and after shuffling forward for a bit, it muttered, spread its hind legs, and plopped right back down.

Fortunately, it still knew to use its tail to support its spine, rather than just lying flat in a straightforward manner.

After settling down, Xilong began to swivel his head, looking left and right to size up this unknown and unfamiliar world.

The humid aroma of red earth rushed over his face, accompanied by a slightly sweet metallic fragrance.

Warm-red ochre hills extended within his line of sight, with emerald-green Ironleaf Wood forests clustered among them. A swift, clear stream passed through the middle of the canyon, and because the riverbed was rich in minerals, the stream water actually presented a gorgeous amber hue.

A massive head appeared above Xilong, occupying his entire field of vision.

Jiazhuosa's scales were dark like black steel, the edges tinged with a faint iron sheen, and sharp-angled bony ridges extended along both sides of her head, making her entire face appear stern and restrained.

Her eyes were glowing red like burning charcoal, and her unspooled horns grew from behind her forehead, sweeping back slightly with a coarse texture like unpolished metal branches.

Along with the Young Dragon's breathing, her magnificent chest rose and fell slightly, stirring up a low sound of airflow resembling a slowly operating furnace.

What a truly massive dragon.

Facing a giant dragon whose scale color was completely different from his own, Xilong didn't feel any fear at the very first moment. Various thoughts tumbled through his head, ...it seems I really have transmigrated.

While Xilong looked up at the Great Dragon, Jiazhuosa also completed her gaze upon this newborn.

Chrome Dragons held a status among the Heavy-Metal Dragons roughly equivalent to Silver Dragons among Metallic Dragons and Blue Dragons among Chromatic Dragons, being the second most powerful entities among Heavy-Metal Dragons. Although their innate physical bodies were weaker than those of Iron Dragons, they were still targets well worth cultivating.

Since it was a hatchling that had just broken its shell, this little fellow possessed no True Dragon might. Although it hailed from the evil alignment, no malevolence could be discerned either, and she only felt that its limbs were short with a large head and a round belly.

Only those pair of yellowish vertical pupils, with the color of hexavalent chromium, displayed its equally noble pureblood identity.

After the fall of the Supreme Dragon, the Heavy-Metal Dragons lost their deity, encountering an unprecedented calamity.

The concept of a predestined birth no longer existed from then on, and nowadays the good or evil of every Heavy-Metal Dragon depended entirely on their own personality and acquired experiences. Today on the mainland there were gentle and friendly Chrome Dragons, and there were also tyrannical and cruel Tungsten Dragons.

It could be seen that this newly born Chrome Dragon was fine. Although it didn't have the bulk of an Iron Dragon, it was slightly larger than other Heavy-Metal Dragons. Not only was it robust, but it was also extremely lively and healthy, and one could tell at a glance that its temperament was stable and easy to raise.

Jiazhuosa nodded, feeling satisfied in her heart, and then extended her clawed toes to toss down a piece of beast meat almost as large as the hatchling itself.

Seeing the food land, Xilong instinctively moved, crawling forward swiftly, lifting his front paws, and using only his hind feet to support his body. He first pinned the beast meat underneath himself, and only after that did he stare and appraise the blood-soaked meal he had obtained.

The food resembled a cow's leg, yet it was much larger than an ordinary cow's leg. The thing was definitely good, looking extremely fresh and clearly having been torn off not long ago, with the cut showing an alternating pattern of fat and lean, and the muscle textures and white tendons clearly visible.

Pity that it was basically completely raw, with blood still slowly oozing out from the meat.

To eat or not to eat?

Xilong smacked his lips, seeming somewhat resistant to consuming raw meat and drinking blood.

Though his mouth said he resisted, his body never lied. From the Young Dragon's perspective, the hatchling was hugging that leg meat, its eyes glowing brightly, saliva flowing back and forth past the corners of its mouth, completely unable to stop itself from craving it.

Hesitating for about a few seconds, the little Chrome Dragon seemed to have made up some kind of resolve, finally biting down with a huge mouthful and almost burying its entire head into the meat.

The surface layer of the leg meat carried the tough resilience of a fresh tear, yet it was not difficult to chew, being shockingly tender. The moment Xilong's teeth embedded into it, the muscle fibers gently parted along the force like fat sliced by a hot knife, yet they still harbored a refreshing springiness.

Following that was the direct and intense surging of bloody freshness.

Without the rich flavors brought by cooked seasoning, there was only the most primitive deliciousness of the wilderness—

The sweetness of blood, the richness of fat, and the solid flavor of the muscle itself exploded in his oral cavity all at once.

Like a ball of fire sliding all the way down his throat, dropping deep into his body and making the dragon warm all over from head to toe.

"Actually pretty tasty."

Xilong narrowed his eyes and couldn't help wagging his tail, sprawling over the thigh meat and gnawing away frantically.

To put it simply... he was eating like a king.

Yet there was not just a single hatchling in the valley; amidst the surrounding gravel and red soil, a large number of Dragon Hatchling with scales of various colors were actually crouching, and upon hearing the commotion here, one after another they cast their gazes over.

They had cracked their shells earlier than Xilong, had also received feeding from Jiazhuosa · Burningheart, and had already finished eating.

Every Dragon Hatchling knew the taste of the thigh meat was the best, hence their hearts yearned for it all the more. Right now their gazes flickered as they were driven by the inherent greedy appetite of the draconic kind, eager to try.

Merely, dragon-kind were not foolish beasts; even Lesser Dragon without the Dragon Legacy were smarter than most intelligent creatures, knowing from birth how to read expressions and seek advantages while avoiding harm.

They did not rashly rush up to contend because they temporarily could not figure out the temperament of the Young Dragon, nor did they know the Great Dragon's likes, dislikes, and rules, worrying that a rash display would anger the Great Dragon, which was why they hesitated greatly, unwilling to be the very first thorn to step out of line.

After a long while, a slightly larger Iron Dragon finally couldn't help but make a move.

It had likewise been allotted a piece of thigh meat earlier and fancied itself somewhat favored, thus possessing a bigger gallbladder than the other Dragon Hatchling.

Despite this, this fellow didn't rush to pounce and contend either; instead, it made a small circle, alternating its four limbs as it slowly probed forward, approaching Xilong while observing the Great Dragon's reaction.

Jiazhuosa · Burningheart wore a blank expression, sitting upright and motionless.

Xilong didn't even look at the approaching Iron Dragon, simply wagging his tail as he ate on his own, having almost finished gnawing the thigh meat.

Until the Iron Dragon drew close, the Chrome Dragon finally raised its head to stare directly at the other party, its throat vibrating low as it emitted a muffled, low growl.

The Iron Dragon responded with the same sound.

Seeing that the other party did not back down, Xilong immediately bared his sharp fangs, the bone spurs behind his neck trembling slightly. He had already adapted to the air of the outside world, and after eating fresh flesh, strength surged through his entire body.

The small Chrome Dragon stepped onto the leftover bones to prop himself up higher, making ready for a fight.

Only then did the Young Dragon's intervention arrive belatedly, pinching the Iron Dragon's body with two claw-toes and placing it back where it originally was.

"The Dragon Hatchling present here, regardless of scale color or lineage, are all members of the Ashmark Lineage. The food distributed by the lineage is not yet permitted to be fought over."

The Young Dragon used a low declaration as her opening remark, only then looking down at the surroundings and speaking slowly, "Jiazhuosa · Burningheart, this is my name. You may call me the Nurturer, and your upbringing and training from now on will all be my responsibility."

The sun finally sank, darkness fell, and Ochre Valley grew dim.