"Hairy Head Sun Method"

The seven-colored scales on Wentesi's chest flashed, and he appeared in his dragon's lair deep within Emerald Valley.

Outside the lair, dawn was just breaking, and the outline of the rising sun was faintly visible.

By Wentesi's red dragon nature, having stayed up half the night, he should have returned to his lair to catch up on sleep.

But Wentesi hesitated.

He had just acquired an otherworldly Cultivation Method, the "Hairy Head Sun Method," and was quite interested in it.

So Wentesi set up a pair of scales in his mind, with sleep on one side and cultivation on the other.

In the end, the scales tipped toward the latter.

"Hmm, I'll try cultivating it first and see if that crow lied to me."

Wentesi first hid the eighteen semi-spiritual ginseng roots among his spoils in the deepest part of his lair.

This was an evil dragon's habit: the first thing he did upon returning to his lair was hide his treasures before doing anything else.

The hiding place was extremely well concealed; no one but him could find it.

Only after doing this did he place the special crow feather containing the Cultivation Method before him. With a thought, nine incomparably profound diagrams of human figures practicing the method appeared.

The "Hairy Head Sun Method"!

Drawing on the imagery of the sun rising in the east, [Hairy Head Sun], it circulated through the twelve primary meridians of the human body. After nine circulations, it ultimately condensed pure yang Qi in the Dantian. It was the purest of all supreme yang methods.

Upon reaching perfection at the sixth level, one could proceed to ingest Qi and refine essence, drawing Spiritual Qi into the body and transforming it into Embryonic Breathing Qi. That was the Qi Refining Realm.

The "Hairy Head Sun Method" Wentesi had obtained could allow a cultivator to reach the peak of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. To advance further, one would also need a portion of Spiritual Qi from the [Hairy Head Sun] path.

Wentesi examined it carefully. The little figures in the [Hairy Head Sun] diagrams showed every step, direction, and breathing rhythm down to the smallest detail, with a great sun poised above their heads.

The nine diagrams of the opening section showed breathing exercises, seated meditation, standing postures, contemplation, and more.

Merely looking at them made Wentesi feel his Qi and Blood surging and his mind and body refreshed.

There was no need to say more. This was definitely the real thing!

That foul-mouthed crow hadn't lied to him.

Wentesi immediately adjusted his dragon body to match the poses, trying to draw Spiritual Qi into his body and circulate it as the little figures did.

But he got stuck after only half a circuit.

The meridians and Qi pathways in his body were blocked. It wouldn't work; he couldn't get it moving!

Wentesi frowned slightly. He knew the reason.

He was a red dragon, and his body's structure was vastly different from a human's. Their meridians were worlds apart. A dragon alone had three hearts, while a human had only one, to say nothing of their other bodily structures.

The Spiritual Qi he had just absorbed charged left and right inside him, crashing about like a headless fly. Not only did it fail to produce the slightest sensation of Qi, it even threw the magic power already in his body into some disorder.

But as the Spiritual Qi continued crashing around, inspiration suddenly flashed through Wentesi's mind.

"Also, why is the Spiritual Qi mentioned in this 'Hairy Head Sun Method' so similar to magic power? It's only changed form."

Wentesi sensed it for a moment and felt that spiritual power and magic power differed only on the surface. At their core, they were connected and could both be converted for use.

Unfortunately, Wentesi was not a sage. Having gotten that far, he could go no further.

"Now's not the time to dwell on it. I'll try this Cultivation Method again."

Wentesi tried circulating it another three or four times, and every attempt ended in failure.

The spiritual power he absorbed wandered and collided inside his body, leaving his meridians painfully swollen.

Forcing himself to endure the pain, Wentesi tried another seven or eight times before he couldn't help cursing:

"No wonder that black bird was so quick to make the trade. It turns out this can't be cultivated at all!"

Cultivate his ass!

He had stayed up all night, and now the swelling pain was unbearable. Wentesi decided to take a nap before trying again.

True dragons slept differently from other creatures. While sleeping, they could recover from injuries and regain their strength extremely quickly. This was an innate gift of true dragons.

As the saying went, sharpening the axe didn't delay the chopping. If he rested well before cultivating, perhaps he would get better results.

But just then.

The morning sun slowly rose.

The first ray of sunlight shone through the cave entrance into the dragon's lair, falling squarely on Wentesi's forehead.

"Oh? The sun's up?"

Wentesi was taken aback. He hadn't expected that he had stayed up the entire night without even realizing it. It really was time to sleep.

But beneath the morning sun.

Wentesi felt a scorching yet warm power help clear the meridians throughout his body. The spiritual power that had been running wild also began to flow smoothly.

This power was coming in through the sunlight.

In an instant, Wentesi felt as though his conception and governing vessels had been opened, and he grasped the true essence of the Cultivation Method.

The "Hairy Head Sun Method" was not a method one could master through grueling cultivation and endurance alone.

Only those with exceptional talent, profound fortuitous opportunities, and an affinity for the sun could cultivate it.

The heart of its cultivation lay in partaking of the sunrise in the morning, bathing in the essence of sunlight, following one's meridians, and letting it follow its own course.

When humans used this Cultivation Method, their bodies were often too weak, so they needed to select a related spiritual object of the supreme yang path to aid their cultivation. Otherwise, mastering it was impossible.

Wentesi, however, was a red dragon, a creature of supreme yang and unyielding strength by nature. Nothing could have suited him better than cultivating the "Hairy Head Sun Method." Once the morning sun shone on him, he could generate its Qi and circulate its power on his own.

These rays of sunlight fell on Wentesi.

He felt comfortable all over, and his sleepiness vanished.

He faintly felt the boundary of his body's life level slowly begin to loosen as well.

His life level slowly climbed.

The next moment.

Life level five!

At the same time, Wentesi discovered that he had inadvertently mastered the first level of the "Hairy Head Sun Method."

He had thus become a [Hairy Head Sun] cultivator at the First Level of Embryonic Breathing.

"This First Level of Embryonic Breathing is really impressive. Why does it feel even stronger than my presence at life level four?!"

In other words, the First Level of Embryonic Breathing in the cultivation world was actually comparable to a life form at life level four or a professional at class level four in their world.

Terrifying indeed!

Feeling Hairy Head Sun Qi fill his body, Wentesi trembled all over. His scales radiated a lingering golden glow that did not fade for a long time.

An almost irresistible urge rose in his dragon throat. Wentesi knew this was a reaction caused by the "Hairy Head Sun Method." Facing the newly risen sun, he opened his dragon jaws and let out a long-awaited dragon roar.

"Roar-!"

The dragon roar echoed through the valley, shaking the entire place.

All the kobolds still sleeping in the valley were jolted awake. Once they recognized the dragon roar, they all knelt in the direction of the lair and worshipped.

The dragon roar continued to travel farther and farther, startling the birds and beasts around the valley into frantic flight and leaps. Timid beasts even fainted from fright amid the successive waves of the roar.

The dragon roar continued for a long time before gradually fading.

Only after its echoes had died away did Gru's cautious voice come from outside the stone cave.

"Great red dragon master, your subordinate has an urgent matter to report."

After roaring, Wentesi felt comfortable all over and was in a very good mood. He answered, signaling for Gru to enter.

More humble than usual, Gru walked in slowly and deferentially.

Catching a glimpse of the faint golden halo shimmering on his master's scales out of the corner of his eye, he lowered his head even further. He dared neither look again nor ask, and his voice was full of awe:

"Master, the sentries at the fishing area report that they've found traces of that group of gnolls upstream. There seem to be around sixty of them. They appear to be planning a sneak attack on our territory this morning."

Wentesi's golden, slit-pupiled eyes shifted slightly at the report.

Gnolls had come knocking just after his breakthrough, giving him the perfect chance to test his skills.

He had no intention of charging into battle in an immediate rage. In a calm voice, he said:

"Understood. Take the kobold guards to meet the enemy. I'll go now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wentesi beat his wings. His crimson-gold figure shot out through the cave entrance and soared into the sky toward the sunlight filling it.

The first light of dawn spread across his scales, which were coated in pure yang True Qi. Gold and red shone together, making the entire dragon look like cast crimson gold as he traced a dazzling arc across the sky.

Beneath the morning sun, Wentesi's body merged with the sunlight, and his dragon form seemed several times larger.

In the bushes upstream of the river valley, the gnoll warlord Walker was leading seventy-two young, strong gnolls, crouching low as they crept toward the fishing area.

He was Walker, a level-four gnoll warlord.

Life levels corresponded to class levels. There were twenty-five levels in total: at level ten one advanced to High-Level Transcendent, at level sixteen to Sanctuary, and at level twenty-one to Legendary.

Beyond level twenty-five lay the domain of the gods.

Walker had been driven out by Wentesi back then. When Wentesi first arrived in Emerald Valley, he killed Walker's father, who was also the leader of the gnoll tribe.

Seeing that most of the gnolls were unruly and refused to obey, Wentesi simply drove them all out.

Walker had little to say about the vengeance owed for his father's death.

He had little affection for his father. He had even been delighted to see Wentesi kill him. After all, with his father dead, gnoll custom gave him a chance to take his place.

Unfortunately, they had all been driven out.

Life after being expelled by Wentesi was miserable.

Resources in the wilderness were extremely scarce, unlike in Emerald Valley. He had suffered every hardship there and had nearly starved to death.

Several brushes with death had made him hate Wentesi.

If not for the red dragon, how would he have ended up wandering the wilderness?!

If not for the red dragon, he should have been the next chieftain!

If not for the red dragon, he should now be ruling over Emerald Valley and leading the gnolls to glory!

It was all that damned red dragon's fault!

So he buried his resentment deep in his heart and desperately strengthened himself, all so that one day he could take revenge and wipe away his hatred.

A few days ago, he had finally become a level-four gnoll warlord.

In his eyes, victory in today's battle would be as easy as reaching out to seize it. The little red dragon was only five years old and at life level four, but its body was very small and it had no combat experience. Walker was confident he could kill it in one blow.

Once he killed the wyrmling, the remaining kobolds would naturally be nothing to fear.

Then all the resources in Emerald Valley would be his. He would have ample food, resources, and female gnolls!

There was another important reason for attacking this place.

A secret treasure was hidden somewhere in Emerald Valley. His mother had told him about it before she died...

According to his mother, this secret treasure could raise its holder's class level and life level.

Back then, his father had relied on this treasure to rise from a cowardly, mediocre gnoll to become the tribe's leader.

If he could obtain it, perhaps he could advance even further and even dominate the entire wilderness!

Just as he was imagining this, a dragon roar came from the valley.

The Dragon Might shook the surrounding leaves, making them rustle.

The roar was mixed with the presence of Dragon Might, and under it, all the gnolls panicked. Their ranks immediately fell into chaos.

The gnolls hurried out of the bushes where they had been hiding, all trying to flee in different directions.

"What are you panicking for?!"

Walker lashed a gnoll in the front row across the back with a backhand swing of his vine whip, his voice full of contempt:

"Just a wyrmling whose baby teeth haven't even hardened, with no father or mother. I've just advanced to warlord-can't I deal with it? All of you, hold steady! Take back our home!

If the attack goes well, we'll drink that wyrmling's blood and become dragonmen too! Anyone who dares cause more trouble, I'll skin him first!"

Walker viciously whipped several more gnolls who were trying to flee and roared at them.

Under the gnoll warlord's mental skill and Walker's roars, the panicked gnolls actually calmed down.

They formed ranks again, and Walker waved his hand, giving the order to attack.

The gnolls howled and surged forward at the command, but the next second, they obediently shut their mouths and stopped in their tracks.

Walker was puzzled. Thinking the gnolls in front were disobeying him, he was about to lash out with his whip when he froze.

Day had broken.

Walker looked up sharply, the brutality on his face faltering.

A golden-red figure swept across the horizon against the rising sun. The first light of dawn mingled with the pure yang golden glow of its crimson-gold scales, each setting off the other in a particularly dazzling display.

The golden-red figure drew closer and larger, bearing down on Walker and his gnolls like a blazing sun about to fall.

The gnoll warlord Walker could see it clearly: the thing illuminating the forest from the sky was a golden dragon.

Judging by its size and shape, it was a golden dragon over ten meters long, at least an adolescent.

"What's going on?! Isn't there only one young red wyrmling in Emerald Valley? How is there a golden dragon over ten meters long?!"

Walker was aghast. This figure had shattered all his expectations, and it had happened too suddenly.

As a gnoll only fifteen years old, Walker naturally had no way of knowing that the golden giant dragon he had mistaken it for was actually the red wyrmling from Emerald Valley.

The reflection of the morning sun and the enhancement of the "Hairy Head Sun Method" had coated Wentesi in a layer of golden radiance. Together with the effect of his luminous wings in the sky, this had caused Walker to mistake him for a golden dragon over ten meters long.

If Walker had seen a golden dragon, if Walker had read an encyclopedia of dragons, if Walker were clever enough, and so on, he naturally would not have mistaken him.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

The golden light came closer and grew brighter, bringing with it an intimidating Dragon Might.

All seventy-two gnolls who had come with him were frightened.

Half the gnolls fell straight to their knees, trembling and losing control of their bladders and bowels. The other half wanted to flee, but their legs had gone weak.

This was the pressure of a higher life form, and the gnolls, as lower life forms, could not resist it.

Even Walker had to force himself to endure the fear in his heart just to remain standing.

He watched the golden light approach, doing his utmost to stay calm, but his grip on the vine whip grew tighter and tighter.

His thoughts were in complete disarray:

It's a golden dragon! Why would a golden dragon come here?! Isn't there only a red dragon in Emerald Valley?! Who can tell me why?!

Walker was filled with confusion and fear.

After all, gnolls were generally considered creatures of the chaotic evil alignment, while golden dragons were dragons of the lawful good alignment. The two were natural enemies.

There was no need to think about what a golden dragon would do upon seeing gnolls. Without a doubt, it would kill, kill, kill, wiping out the forces of evil and upholding justice in the world.

The golden light enveloped Walker and the other gnolls from above.

"Gnolls, what have you come to Jade Valley for?"

The dragon's voice was deep and powerful, majestic beyond compare, and deafening.

Hearing that majestic voice, Walker suddenly realized he was not as powerful or brave as he had imagined.

Before a golden dragon, he was still an ant, lowly and insignificant.

For the hope of survival, he could kill his own kind when they fought him for food, and slay his own blood when they snatched his food.

Likewise, to survive, he could bend his knees in surrender and wag his tail for mercy, all just to stay alive.

The servility and cowardice in his bones erupted in an instant!

Faced with the true dragon's question from the sky, he lowered his head and fell to his knees with a thud. Touching his forehead to the ground, he said in a trembling voice:

"Great... lord true dragon, we've come to seek refuge with you..."