Exchange

Moqi left the Tungsten Dragons' discussion circle, thoroughly satisfied.

For the past few days, he had been publicizing Ferrum's victory. Whenever he saw someone, he would sidle up for a chat, and somewhere in the conversation, he would suddenly say, "Hey, how did you know Ferrum beat Hidorivi?"

What could he do? Hidorivi had lost to Ferrum, after all.

Moqi wandered all around Ochre Valley, determined to make sure every young dragon knew the news. To achieve that goal, he had spared neither effort nor hardship.

As a brother, Moqi felt that was what he ought to do.

Ferrum's status was different now. He deserved the respect of the entire dragonkin. The way these Dragon Hatchlings had once treated Hidorivi was how they should treat Ferrum now.

What could he do? Ferrum ranked second among the dragonkin now.

What if some foolish Dragon Hatchling had not gotten the news and still laughed and joked around Ferrum without the slightest sense of propriety? Wouldn't the rankings the Iron Dragons had fought so hard to establish become a complete joke?

To uphold the dignity and credibility of the Iron Throne, Moqi felt that a little hardship was nothing.

Heh, if the Nurturer had not strictly forbidden Dragon Hatchlings from coming into contact with their retainers, he would have loved to run down to the shantytown at the bottom of the valley, grab some Gray Dwarves and Kobolds, and tell them about the latest exciting developments among the dragonkin.

As he passed along the mountain path, Moqi casually dug two Thunder Bamboo Shoots from the ground. He tucked one into his claws and stuffed the other straight into his mouth, crunching through the fuzzy, hard outer shell as he ate it raw.

The shell of a Thunder Bamboo Shoot was purplish-black with metallic patterns. They grew everywhere in Ironwood Forest. In spring, everything flourished. Even the cool, shaded ground along both sides of the streams had produced plenty of sweet wild strawberries.

When he came back later, he would dig up another two Thunder Bamboo Shoots and grab a handful of wild strawberries for the second-ranked dragonkin to taste.

Moqi chewed on his Thunder Bamboo Shoot, bobbing his head as he headed up Eaglebeak Cliff.

Leijieduolei appeared on the mountain path and blocked his way, his expression hostile.

He knew exactly what Moqi had been doing these past few days: repeatedly spreading the news of Hidorivi's defeat throughout the valley.

At first, the Iron Dragons had not cared. It would have been one thing if only the Chrome Dragon had talked about it, but for some reason, even the weak Nickel Dragons and Lesser Dragons had joined in. All kinds of things were being said, and after hearing it enough times, the Iron Dragons gradually found it hard to keep their faces straight.

But there was nothing they could do. Even if Jelierion stepped in and defeated Ferrum, that Chrome Dragon's reputation would not change. He would still be one of the strong dragons among the dragonkin.

Thinking of this, an inexplicable fire rose in Leijieduolei's heart. Looking at Moqi's smug face, he truly wanted to pin him to the ground and beat him again.

Moqi noticed the Iron Dragon blocking the road as well. With a sideways glance, he saw Leijieduolei's vicious face and felt that enemies really did cross paths on narrow roads.

No, it was not enemies crossing paths on a narrow road. This guy seemed to have come specifically to block him again.

Moqi tucked the Thunder Bamboo Shoot more securely into his claws, feeling that there was really something wrong with Leijieduolei's head.

The first time Ferrum beat him, this guy had acted like a sore loser, shouting that it did not count and insisting on another round.

Then he had been knocked down in one move the second time, only agreeing afterward to let Moqi beat him up to vent his anger.

Later, when Moqi stepped forward and saw Leijieduolei's big face, he clenched his claws and threw lefts and rights, landing seven or eight punches in a row. Only then was the matter settled.

Moqi felt he had held back, because the Chrome Dragon's distinctive heavy-metal keratin claws were the sharpest among Heavy-Metal Dragons. Ferrum's claws could even pierce sandstone in a single swipe.

Although sandstone was not particularly hard rock, such a feat was still terrifying for a Dragon Hatchling.

Naturally, Moqi was not as strong as Ferrum, but while he lacked strength and had a weaker build, his claws were not dull. He could easily turn over hard Red Earth to dig for bamboo shoots.

He had not clawed or stabbed Leijieduolei. Instead, he had balled up his claws and punched him. Of course that counted as holding back. It was probably meant to say, "We're even now, so don't come looking for trouble again."

Yet he had never expected this guy to block him again. It was utterly unreasonable. Had Iron Dragon heads been completely filled with strength, leaving them unable to see anything besides fighting?

Apparently, Ferrum defeating Hidorivi was not enough. He would have to defeat Jelierion too before these guys truly accepted it.

As Leijieduolei pressed closer step by step, Moqi wanted to run but felt that would be humiliating. He made up his mind that if Ferrum really could defeat Jelierion someday, he would never hold back again.

He would beat Leijieduolei from a True Dragon into a Kobold, until even his two brothers could not recognize him.

Leijieduolei swept his gaze over Moqi, snorted, and said in a muffled voice, "You're here. Where's Ferrum? I couldn't find him."

"He's resting in his nest. Hidorivi hit him hard enough to twist both his wing membranes apart. They still haven't healed after nearly a week."

Thinking a fight was coming, Moqi bared his teeth. "What do you want?"

"Didn't he want to learn Wedge Form?"

Leijieduolei said, "We agreed. From now on, I'll teach him."

Once he realized the Iron Dragon was not here to cause trouble, Moqi immediately relaxed. But before long, suspicion appeared on his face. He looked Leijieduolei up and down warily instead.

"You? You couldn't even block one move from Ferrum. Do you know how to use Wedge Form? Don't tell me you're calling it teaching while deliberately spouting nonsense to harm Ferrum."

"Bullshit!"

Leijieduolei suddenly roared, flying into a rage almost instantly. "What do you take Iron Dragons for? Filthy, lowly Chromatic Dragons? Keeping one's word is our creed. Words spoken should be like words carved into iron. Don't use the vile thinking of you Evil Dragons to judge our character and ambition."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Moqi nodded quickly. He knew he had gone too far. Iron Dragons could not stand that sort of accusation. "I wasn't questioning your character. I was questioning your ability. Can you use Wedge Form too?"

"I can't use it, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to teach it. The things in the Dragon Legacy that I, Jelierion, and Hidorivi learned are exactly the same."

Although having his ability questioned was also an insult, Leijieduolei became much calmer instead. "But nothing in this world is free. If you want to learn it, trade that movement technique from your legacy for it."

Moqi knew what he meant. He spread his claws, the Thunder Bamboo Shoot still held in them. "You'll have to ask Ferrum about an exchange. I don't know it."

"Aren't you brothers? He knows something you don't?"

Leijieduolei studied Moqi with a strange look in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not defective. The things in Ferrum's legacy are exactly the same as mine, but what he used wasn't a move from the Dragon Legacy."

Moqi hurriedly explained, "I asked Ferrum about it afterward. He said he came up with it while climbing rocks. It wasn't anything special, and he never thought to give it a name."

"He came up with it himself?"

Leijieduolei's eyes flickered. "I don't believe it."

"Believe whatever you want."

Moqi went around Leijieduolei and continued forward on his own. "I'm going to play in the Racing Competition."

Leijieduolei fell silent. He truly did not believe it, but Moqi's casual, natural manner did not look like a lie.

This little Chrome Dragon probably did not understand what that meant. Every killing form and secret art in the Dragon Legacy was a treasure accumulated by True Dragon ancestors over the ages. Each had a name, an origin, and a traceable lineage of transmission.

That was why Leijieduolei had resisted so strongly when his brothers said they would trade Wedge Form to the Chrome Dragon, and even said they would later give away Chain Form and Axe Form as well.

Those techniques had originally belonged to the Ember Scar surname. They were treasures, secrets. Only because the Divine-Fall Calamity hung over their heads had the Iron Dragons been forced to share them with other dragon breeds.

And now he had suddenly learned that Ferrum had used an unnamed technique to determine the outcome of that battle.

It was impossible that Ferrum had created a legacy-level technique himself. Leijieduolei knew that was unrealistic. But if Moqi was not defective and had not lied, then there could only be one explanation...

The Iron Dragons had misjudged him.

Ferrum did not possess any secret legacy art. As he had said, he had merely used an unremarkable little trick. But because he was too fast and too agile, he had deceived Hidorivi and every spectator.

When the Iron Dragons had discussed and analyzed that battle, they had all concluded that Ferrum had simply been lucky. He had continuously strangled Hidorivi, bled him out, exhausted his strength, and only then narrowly claimed victory.

But if Ferrum had no inherited technique, all their conclusions had to be overturned.

That guy had not been lucky at all. To fool every dragon like that could only mean his physical abilities were far stronger than he had revealed.

Could those strange-looking training methods really work?

Leijieduolei's heart wavered. Moqi's answer did not put him at ease. Instead, it made him even more solemn.

Then he saw that Moqi had not paused at all and had truly gone far away. He hurriedly growled, "Take me to see Ferrum. Whether it's a secret art from the legacy or not, we've already agreed to trade. We won't go back on our word."

"No. I'm going to take part in today's final Racing Competition."

Moqi did not turn around. His voice drifted back from afar.

"Don't you admire Ferrum? Isn't his business more important than your game?"

"I already said Ferrum is resting. Of course his business is important to me, but your business isn't."

Moqi swayed his tail, speaking with complete seriousness while his feet did not slow in the slightest. "Go find him yourself. If you can't complete your task, Hidorivi will definitely beat you up, so you don't need me to lead you there at all."

Leijieduolei watched his retreating back, fury immediately surging in his heart. "Little brat, you like playing, do you? I'll knock you flying out of the competition first."