Destiny Alliance In Tas (Part 2)

"There is one more thing I must remind you of."

Xilong paused, then abruptly changed the subject. "Over these past two months, you've been imitating my training. You should have felt it too—the results those exercises produce on you are nowhere near as obvious as they are on me."

"So you can only work harder. Arrive earlier and rest later. If I arrive at dawn, you must already be here in the dead of night. If I train until my body shakes and my limbs go limp, then you should train until you cannot even crawl."

In Tas stared straight at him.

"But even then, it's useless."

Xilong's voice was hard and cold. "The valley says I defeated Hidorivi through training. That is true, of course, but not because I was especially hardworking or disciplined. Sleeping on sharpened logs, stabbing myself with rocks until my mouth was full of blood—that's impossible. I'm not some mad dragon."

"The real reason was that this training suited my body. Heavy-Metal Dragons naturally concentrate their potential in their physiques, and I happen to be extraordinarily gifted—a rare Variant Species among Chrome Dragons. That was why I advanced by leaps and bounds and defeated Hidorivi."

He turned back toward In Tas. "This training suits me, but it may not suit you. That Finger-Bone Rebound you mentioned—you might never be able to learn it, no matter what you do. Just as no matter how hard you work, your training has always yielded little result. Even with that understood, do you still want to learn?"

In Tas lowered his head. He was silent for a long time, never answering.

Xilong looked at the patterns on the Thunderclap Dragon's scales and waited in equal silence, saying nothing.

"I still want to learn."

In Tas raised his head again, his eyes bright. "The Nurturers said they would not teach us any ways to become stronger during our Dragon Hatchling years. But if I don't become stronger, I'll just keep getting bullied. I don't want to be bullied, but I can't find any other path... Right now, this is the only road I can see. And right now, it's the only road I can keep walking to the very end."

"You can't find another road?"

Xilong fell silent for a moment. "Fine. Then all the remaining rock sheep are mine to eat. From now on, I'll teach you Finger-Bone Rebound."

In Tas froze for a moment, apparently not expecting Xilong to agree so readily.

Xilong did not care about his foolish daze. He dragged all the remaining rock sheep before himself, pinned them down with his claws, and began wolfing them down like the alpha wolf, crunching even the rock sheep's bones to pieces and swallowing them.

"You said you've always been observing me, but over these past two months, I've watched you for a long time too. The more I watched, the more I realized you really are far inferior to me."

Xilong chewed slowly. "Still, there is one thing inside you that I do not have."

The Thunderclap Dragon stretched up his neck. "What?"

"Magic power."

Xilong said, "Heavy-Metal Dragons awaken their magic power very late, but Lesser Dragons are different. I can sense it—your magic power is gradually becoming active. Every time you train to the point of exertion, when you grit your teeth so hard your fangs show, arcs of electricity keep bursting from your body. Have you noticed?"

"I know."

The Thunderclap Dragon hesitated and instinctively looked at his claws. "But..."

"Since you know, and you want to become stronger, haven't you considered using it in battle?"

"No one has taught me how to use it. I don't know how to control it," the Thunderclap Dragon said.

"That's a little strange."

Xilong cocked his head. "If no one teaches you, can't you explore it yourself? Or do you think those training methods of mine were taught by the Dragon Legacy, or that I was born knowing them?"

"Are you afraid of pain, afraid of getting hurt, or afraid you'll electrocute yourself to death?"

Xilong continued in one breath. "Don't think about training your strength until it's as great as an Iron Dragon's, or sharpening your claws until they're like a Chrome Dragon's. Lesser Dragons aren't qualified to compete with us in those things. Metallic Dragons and Chromatic Dragons alike—none of you can."

"Rather than staring fixedly at me, think more about how those electric arcs are triggered. If it is because your muscles exert force, then keep exerting force. If it is because of emotional anger, then stay angry."

"I'll teach you Finger-Bone Rebound."

He leaned forward slightly, his yellow-orange slit pupils fixing on In Tas. "But think for yourself too. If you trigger the magic power inside your body, press those leaping arcs into your claws, then make them detonate when they touch a target—wouldn't that kind of power be able to contend with a Heavy-Metal Dragon too?"

In Tas stood rooted to the spot. The image of lightning erupting from his claw tips flashed over and over through his mind, making the blood surge faster through his entire body.

The Thunderclap Dragon's scales trembled, faint crackling explosions sounding from them.

Xilong withdrew his gaze.

In the world of True Dragons, who were born knowing all things, many matters were simply taken for granted. Moqi, for instance, was lazy and playful only because of his temperament. In daily life, he did not need anyone to teach him anything. Moqi had been born with a comprehensive understanding of the world and thought everything through clearly.

Dragons like Hidorivi, aside from the difference in size and strength, were no different from Great Dragons in any other respect.

But when it came to Lesser Dragons, it was an entirely different matter.

In Xilong's eyes, the way In Tas spoke and acted made him plainly seem like a child who had not yet grown up. He knew too little, and his mind was still muddled and ignorant. If no one taught and enlightened him, he could only be pushed onward by the drive in his heart.

The Thunderclap Dragon lowered his head, looking at his claws, then at the roots of his wings. A light he himself had never noticed gradually flowed into those dim gray-white eyes.

"Then what about you, Xilong?"

Only after a long while did In Tas speak again. "I want to find every possible way to become stronger because I don't want to be bullied. But you're a Chrome Dragon, born as a superior breed among Heavy-Metal Dragons. You defeated Hidorivi and became second among the dragon pack. Even Iron Dragons have to step aside when they see you."

"Then why do you still train so hard? Is there some reason you want to become stronger?"

This was what Xilong had asked him earlier, yet now the Thunderclap Dragon had returned the question word for word. This fellow really did know how to use his head.

"Come."

Xilong called him over gladly and beckoned for In Tas to look.

The Thunderclap Dragon obediently moved closer. The two Dragon Hatchlings crouched together beneath the sunlight.

The Chrome Dragon pressed his claw against the gravel. Beginning from his spine, he engaged an entire chain of force. The muscles in his claw-arm pumped like flowing water, while his claw tips gradually dug into the rock, gripping it tight and locking in place.

As the pressure increased with near brutality, Xilong's finger bones cracked. His originally gray-white keratin claws gradually took on a dark-red metallic sheen.

Crack—

At last, the rock burst apart with a boom, and countless fragments sprayed outward.

"Did you understand?" Xilong asked.

"Is that how Finger-Bone Rebound works?"

In Tas shook his head earnestly. "I don't understand."

"I wasn't showing you the result. I was showing you the feeling—the feeling of that power flowing through your claw-arm, the feeling of using your will to control every strand of muscle."

Xilong asked, "Can you feel that sensation?"

The Thunderclap Dragon still shook his head.

"Put it this way. Under the Nurturers' guidance, all Dragon Hatchlings know that the Lineage is facing certain crises. But take Moqi as an example. This sense of crisis and urgency can only occasionally stir his emotions and make him pull himself together for a few days. To make Moqi maintain that motivation forever because of it would ultimately be very difficult."

"The reason I can keep working hard is because I enjoy the feeling afterward."

The Thunderclap Dragon looked at Xilong's face and discovered an expression he had never seen before.

"I enjoy the violent pounding of my heart after every effort has been exhausted, the blood flowing into my limbs, the ragged breathing, even the dizzy, lightheaded sensation. Every time I experience those feelings, I clearly realize that my own life is so vividly alive."

"I can cultivate myself bitterly like a devout believer because I deeply love my own body. I love the pleasure of constantly controlling and developing it. You ask why I want to become stronger, but what I am obsessed with is becoming stronger itself—the blazing feeling, and the almost transcendent satisfaction it brings."

The Thunderclap Dragon stared blankly at him. Xilong had just said he was no mad dragon, but as he spoke those words, he clearly carried an extremely fanatical air.

"Uh."

After saying all that, Xilong seemed to realize he had become somewhat carried away. At last, he restrained his expression and said with a trace of embarrassment, "That's roughly what I mean."

In Tas nodded honestly. The words in his mind were still not enough for him to understand what a "devout believer" was, nor did he know what "almost transcendent" meant. But he had heard Xilong speak of enjoyment and satisfaction, felt the emotions flowing from him, and believed it was true.

So Xilong simply liked becoming stronger.

"Then... what do you want to do after becoming stronger? I see all the Heavy-Metal Dragons saying they want to become Dragon Gods."

The Thunderclap Dragon asked again. Dragon Hatchlings loved imagining the future, talking about their dreams and what kind of dragons they would become someday.

"Actually, we do not particularly worship gods."

Xilong explained, "Everyone says they want to become Dragon Gods because the Heavy-Metal Dragon race needs a god—one who can sit upon the supreme divine throne, grasp the authority of the Dragon God, and grant the race the ability to inherit and reproduce."

"But in truth, no one cares who the Dragon God is, nor do they care about the Dragon God's thoughts, goodness, or evil. To me, such an existence does not seem very meaningful."

"My current goal is to become the strongest in Dragon Valley, defeat Jelierion, defeat... Ladon."

Xilong smiled. "As for the future, I do not have many thoughts yet. I just want to live a little longer and see how vast this world truly is."

"I see."

In Tas carefully committed it to memory. Then he brought bad news. "You are already the strongest Fringe Dragon, so... those Nickel Dragons are treating you as their backer and using your name to do bad things."

"Nickel Dragons."

Xilong pondered for a while. Moqi had actually mentioned this matter to him a few days ago. "It does need to be dealt with. Those fellows are truly sinister... They're damaging my image in the female dragons' eyes."