Exchange

Moqi withdrew from the Tungsten Dragons' discussion circle, thoroughly satisfied.

These past few days, he had been tirelessly publicizing Xilong's victory. Whenever he saw anyone, he would sidle over for a chat, and somewhere in the conversation he would suddenly blurt out, "Eh, how did you know Xilong beat Hidorivi?"

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

Moqi wandered all over Ochre Valley, determined to make every little dragon aware of the news. To achieve that goal, he could truly be described as sparing no effort and shrinking from no hardship.

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

Xilong's status was different now. He deserved the respect of the entire dragon clan. However those Dragon Hatchlings had treated Hidorivi before, they should now treat Xilong the same way.

What could he do? Xilong ranked second among the dragon clan now.

If some foolish Dragon Hatchling had not gotten the news and still acted all giggly and carefree upon seeing Xilong, without the slightest sense of propriety, then wouldn't the dragon clan rankings the Iron Dragons had fought so hard to establish become a complete joke?

To uphold the majesty 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 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 all about the latest exciting events in the dragon clan.

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

The shell of a Thunder Bamboo Shoot was purplish-black with metallic markings. They grew everywhere in Ironwood Forest. In spring, when all things sprang to life, everything was good—even plenty of sweet snakeberries had grown in the shady patches along both sides of the streams.

When he came back later, he would dig up two more Thunder Bamboo Shoots and grab a handful of snakeberries for the dragon clan's second-ranked dragon to taste.

Moqi munched on his Thunder Bamboo Shoot, swaying his head as he made his way up toward Eaglebeak Cliff.

Leijieduolei appeared in the middle of the mountain path and blocked his way, his expression unfriendly.

He knew what Moqi had been doing these past few days: repeating the story of Hidorivi's defeat over and over throughout the valley.

At first, the Iron Dragons had not thought much of it. It would have been one thing if only the Chrome Dragons were talking, but somehow even those weak Nickel Dragons and Lesser Dragons had joined in, saying all sorts of things. After hearing it enough times, the Iron Dragons gradually found themselves unable to save face.

Yet there was little they could do. Even if Jelierion stepped in and defeated Xilong in battle, that Chrome Dragon's reputation would not change. He would still be one of the powerful dragons in the clan.

At that thought, a nameless fire surged up in Leijieduolei's heart. Looking at Moqi's smug face, he truly wanted to pin him to the ground and beat him up again.

Moqi also spotted the Iron Dragon blocking the path. With a sidelong glance, he saw Leijieduolei's ferocious face and felt that enemies truly met on a narrow road.

No, it could not be called enemies meeting on a narrow road, because this fellow seemed to have come specifically to block him again.

Moqi shifted the Thunder Bamboo Shoot deeper into his claws, feeling that there was truly something wrong with Leijieduolei's brain.

When Xilong had beaten him the first time, this fellow had still tried to weasel out of it, shouting that it did not count and insisting on another round.

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

Later, Moqi had stepped up, looked at Leijieduolei's big face, clenched his claws, and struck left and right in quick succession—bang, bang, bang—throwing seven or eight punches in one breath before finally letting the matter rest.

He felt that he had held back, because the Chrome Dragons' distinctive heavy-metal keratin claws were the sharpest among heavy-bodied dragons. Xilong's claws could even pierce through sandstone with a single swipe.

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

Moqi naturally did not possess Xilong's strength, but he was merely weaker and less robust. His claws were not blunt either, and he could easily turn over hard Red Earth to dig for shoots.

He had not clawed or stabbed Leijieduolei, choosing instead to clench his claws and punch him. Of course that counted as holding back. It was probably his way of saying, "We're even now. Don't come looking for trouble again."

But he had not expected this fellow to come block him again. It was simply beyond reason. Had Iron Dragon heads been completely filled with strength, leaving them unable to see anything but fighting?

It seemed defeating Hidorivi was not enough. Xilong would have to defeat Jelierion before these fellows truly accepted it.

As Leijieduolei pressed toward him step by step, Moqi wanted to run but felt that would be humiliating. He had already made up his mind: if Xilong truly defeated Jelierion someday, he would never hold back again.

He would definitely 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 is Xilong? I couldn't find him."

"He's resting in his nest. Hidorivi struck viciously and twisted Xilong's membrane wings apart. They still haven't healed after nearly a week."

Thinking a fight was about to start, Moqi said fiercely, "What do you want?"

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

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

Realizing that the Iron Dragon had not come to cause trouble, Moqi immediately relaxed. But he quickly put on a suspicious look, his gaze wary as he looked Leijieduolei up and down in return.

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

"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 must be like words carved into iron. Don't use the despicable thinking of your evil dragons to judge our character and ambition."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Moqi hurriedly nodded. He knew he had gone too far—Iron Dragons could not stand that sort of thing. "I'm not questioning your character. I'm questioning your ability. Can you use the Wedge Form too?"

"I can't use it, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to teach it. What Jelierion, Hidorivi, and I have learned from the Dragon Legacy is exactly the same."

Though having his ability questioned was also an insult, Leijieduolei instead calmed down considerably. "But nothing in this world comes free. If you want to learn, trade us that movement technique from your legacy."

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

"Aren't you brothers? You don't know what he knows?"

Leijieduolei looked Moqi over, his gaze strange.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not defective. What Xilong and I have in our legacies is exactly the same, but what he used wasn't a move from the Dragon Legacy."

Moqi hurriedly explained, "I asked Xilong about it afterward. He said he came up with it while climbing cliffs. There was nothing special about it, and he never thought of giving it a name."

"He came up with it himself?"

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

"Believe it or not."

Moqi walked around Leijieduolei and continued onward without a care. "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 yet understand what that meant. Every killing move and secret art within the Dragon Legacy was a treasure accumulated by true dragon ancestors over countless years. Not only did each have a name, but their origins and lines of transmission could be traced.

That was why Leijieduolei had resisted so strongly when his elder brothers proposed trading the Wedge Form to the Chrome Dragons, even saying they would later give away the Chain Form and Axe Form as well.

Because they had originally all belonged to the Ember Scar surname. They were treasures, secrets, and only because the Divine-Fall Calamity hung over their heads did the Iron Dragons have no choice but to share them with other dragon kinds.

Yet now he had suddenly learned that the unnamed technique Xilong had used had determined the outcome of that battle.

It was impossible to say that Xilong 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.

Xilong possessed no 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 discussing and analyzing that battle, the Iron Dragons had all believed Xilong was simply lucky. By continuously strangling Hidorivi and bleeding him out, he had exhausted Hidorivi's strength and narrowly seized victory.

But if Xilong had possessed no legacy move, then all their conclusions had to be overturned.

Because that fellow had not simply been lucky. To deceive every dragon in such a way could only mean that his physical abilities were far stronger than he had shown.

Could those bizarre-looking training methods really work?

Leijieduolei's heart wavered. Hearing 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 Xilong. Whether it's a secret art from the legacy or not, we have already agreed to the exchange. We won't go back on our word."

"I'm not going. I'm taking part in today's final Racing Competition."

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

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

"I already said Xilong is resting. His business is naturally important to me, but your business isn't important to me."

Moqi swayed his tail. His words were perfectly serious, but his feet never slowed for even half a step. "Go find him yourself. If you can't complete your task, Hidorivi will definitely beat you up, so there's no need for me to take you there at all."

Watching his retreating back, Leijieduolei's fury immediately flared to the heavens. "Little brat, you like playing? I'll smash you out of the competition first."