In the shadows.
Xiluo woke from a pleasant dream. He shook his head, braced his foreclaws against the ground, and pushed with his hind legs, slowly rising to his feet.
He raised his right foreclaw and looked at the tiny azure scales densely covering it. He gently curled it, feeling the strength within, then looked in front of him.
[Blue dragon hatchling] Level: 3 (Elite) Condition: Good
Looking at the three lines of virtual text.
Xiluo could not help sighing softly. "I really did come to another world, and I even became a dragon. But why is this completely different from what the government announced?"
Xiluo's azure slit pupils were filled with bewilderment.
Before becoming the hatchling he was now.
He had been an ordinary young man on Blue Star.
An unlucky young man, one might say! When he was eighteen, he had gone out with his parents in their car to celebrate, only to be struck by a Maserati driven by a drunk woman.
His parents had died on the spot, and both his legs had been crippled. From then on, he had lived with his disability.
He had thought the rest of his life would be like that.
Yet a week before he became a dragon hatchling, he had received a text on his phone:
"Hello, esteemed citizen of Daxia. We hereby inform you:
The Blue Star Alliance has had the good fortune to contact deities from another world. Both sides have engaged in friendly exchanges for over a month.
The deities cordially invite the citizens of Daxia to visit their world and experience its local customs.
Those interested may purchase an Astral Realm Helmet, which will go on sale in one week. This helmet will allow you to descend into another world through divine power."
Xiluo had thought it was a scam. He had even replied mockingly that making up something like "I am Qin Shi Huang! Send money!" would be far more believable than this idiocy.
But after an overwhelming flood of advertisements and statements from various experts and the government, he had finally confirmed that it was real!
The entire Blue Star Alliance had contacted deities from another world and obtained permission for its citizens to descend there.
But in exchange.
They had to buy an Astral Realm Helmet for fifty thousand apiece and choose one deity from among all the gods to worship!
Only after that deity acknowledged their faith would the deity help create a body for them in the other world.
The whole world had gone wild over it, especially those with physical impairments or disabilities.
Xiluo had joined the wave as well.
After spending a week learning about it, he had chosen a deity like most people and prayed in worship every day, waiting only for the moment his helmet arrived.
He still remembered feeling dizzy the instant he put it on. He had arrived beneath a star-filled sky, where he saw a monster's skeleton submerged in an ocean, so immense that he could not see its limits.
He had stood quietly on the surface of the sea, endless ripples spreading beneath his feet.
A line of large, pitch-black text had appeared.
[Birth]: You have successfully been born in the Astral Realm. Reward: 20 achievement points. You may now choose the innate ability you need from the following options. This will make you stronger in your future life. [Rapid Growth]: Accelerates your growth. You will mature faster and develop a larger body. (Costs 20 achievement points) [Breath Enhancement]: Your breath weapon will be more powerful and have greater range. (Costs 20 achievement points) [Rapid Healing]: Your wounds will heal faster after you are injured. (Costs 20 achievement points)
Very strange.
Chen Qi's mind had not been particularly clear. In his daze, he had chosen [Breath Enhancement] without thinking it through.
Perhaps, subconsciously, he had thought it the strangest and found it the most intriguing...
Then he had woken up.
He had discovered that he had become a blue dragon hatchling fresh out of his shell! He had also received the so-called memories of the Dragon Inheritance!
Through those, he had learned his full name.
Xiluo Utrasis!
His original name, Chen Qi, had slowly become buried deep in his memories.
He did not know whether the others who had descended into this world through faith in the gods had become humans.
Or whether, like him, they had inexplicably become something nonhuman.
But he knew that, at this moment, he was fortunate!
Dragons were undoubtedly creatures at the top of this world's food chain.
They possessed powerful bodies, magical power, and long lives beyond the reach of ordinary creatures. They were supremely perfect beings.
Although the Dragon Inheritance spoke of many, many powerful humans, some even capable of killing dragons.
Among humans, however, there might not be even one such individual in tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even a million.
And dragons?
As long as they simply grew to adulthood, they would all acquire enough power to slaughter a town...
The gap between their respective lower limits was simply too great.
He was fortunate, but he did have one regret.
He did not know how his grandmother, who had always cared for him before he crossed over, was doing now...
He had already spent three years in this world!
"Raaagh! Roar, roar, roar! Die! You stupid Abel! You think you can beat me? Not even in a hundred years!"
"You're the one who's going to die! You damned green-scale! Submit to the power of the Wings of Thunder! Roar!"
Two somewhat shrill, childish roars reached Xiluo's ears, making him involuntarily furrow the fine scales of his brow plates.
He bared his teeth.
Xiluo slowly crawled out of his burrow lair.
After three years, he was already thoroughly familiar with this body. He emerged with light, graceful steps like a cat.
Outside.
Tall, lush green trees stood in thick clusters. Dappled sunlight filtered through their dense branches and leaves, spilling over a group of leopard-sized dragon hatchlings.
They crowded together with their necks held high and their long tails swishing constantly, looking extremely excited.
"Roar! Go, Abel! Come on! You're a dragon with blue dragon blood! If you lose to a green dragon, don't call yourself a blue dragon again! We blue dragons can't afford that humiliation!"
"Koraman! Show every dragon here! Green dragons are the true rulers of Green Forest!"
"Raaagh! Roar, roar, roar! Go, Koraman! Alicia's watching you!"
The hatchlings shouted and roared from the sidelines, cheering for those they supported while venting their abundant energy.
Xiluo slowly walked over, quite naturally squeezing a black dragon and a white dragon aside to look toward the center.
The two displaced hatchlings opened their mouths, ready to roar in anger, but when they turned and saw Xiluo, they hurriedly lowered their heads and acted as if nothing had happened.
In the center.
A blue dragon hatchling and a green dragon hatchling were fighting fiercely, constantly attacking each other with their claws, bodies, mouths, tails, and every weapon available to them.
Occasionally, they even unleashed their breath weapons or used a minor spell or two against each other. Their attacks were extremely brutal.
Both their scales were already stained with blood, yet they continued fighting desperately.
Xiluo watched them closely. A moment later, he saw virtual text appear above the two hatchlings' heads.
[Blue dragon hatchling] Level: 3 (Elite) Condition: Extremely poor (Bleeding) [Green dragon hatchling] Level: 3 (Elite) Condition: Poor (Bleeding)
"Koraman! Abel! You two idiots! Have you forgotten our caretaker Lady Barbara's warning? How dare you fight so brutally?"
Looking at their conditions.
Xiluo raised his finely scaled brow plates slightly and could not help demanding an answer.
The two dragons, locked in the heat of battle, ignored him and continued fighting fiercely. Several scales shattered.
Instead, a green hatchling standing one dragon away from Xiluo glanced at him. She had a slender build and finer, brighter scales than an ordinary green dragon.
"Xiluo! Which of them do you think will win?"
Her voice was soft and gentle, very mild and pleasant to hear.
"Is this the time to discuss that? When Lady Barbara returns, she'll..."
"Half a Thorn Beast leg! If you guess correctly, I'll give you my half portion for today!" The green hatchling spoke again before Xiluo could finish.
"Koraman will win, of course. The forest is a green dragon's home ground. He awakened the spell Nature's Vine before his last slumber. His victory is inevitable."
Xiluo changed his tune at once.
A dragon's strength generally consisted of its physical strength, along with the power of its spells and breath weapon.
Among the Chromatic Dragons.
Although their usual ranking in strength ran red, blue, green, black, then white.
And blue dragons did indeed hold an advantage against green dragons.
Considering the green dragon's surroundings, his recently awakened spell, and the fact that he was half a year older, his advantages were substantial.
"Exactly! Koraman may be a little stupid most of the time, but his strength is still quite good!" The green hatchling beside him smiled.
"Heeheehee~ Koraman may be strong, but he's still a little behind you, Alicia, with your title as heir to the Jade Star! Our generation should unite under you as our leader, big sister Alicia."
Beside the green hatchling, a skinny black dragon spoke with a giggle. Her voice was equally clear and bright; she was evidently female as well.
"The Jade Star..."
Xiluo murmured.
That title belonged to Baili'er, the ruler of Green Forest, who was known as the Dragon Mother.
She was a green dragon in her prime, possessing immensely powerful strength and spellcasting abilities, as well as enormous ambition.
Even after seizing Green Forest, she remained unsatisfied.
She had even mobilized her subordinates to gather dragon eggs everywhere over the past few years, all to build a dragon legion that could wage war far and wide for her in the future!
Xiluo and these other hatchlings were the dragon legion Baili'er was currently raising!
Every hatchling, whether sincerely or under compulsion, had to respect this Dragon Mother.
Of course, when it came to respect, generally only the green dragons of her own kind showed the Dragon Mother great reverence. They even idolized her, dreaming of one day being as imposing as she was.
Alicia was just such a green hatchling.
"Leader? Leaving aside whether Xiluo would accept me, that fellow Gordon has never thought anything of me!" Alicia's young draconic face visibly darkened, and her dragon eyes narrowed slightly.
(End of chapter)
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