Translator: AnubisTL
Time slipped away unnoticed as the sky gradually dimmed.
The light from the two moons was obscured by dark clouds and swirling snow, leaving the Frontierlands at night plunged into darkness. Only the Dragon Valley, dotted with burning campfires, offered any light.
"Garos! Garos!"
Vera, the Fairy Dragon, flew over, circling the red-iron dragon who was engrossed in devouring his meal.
"Why... why haven't you stuffed yourself to death yet?"
Vera tilted her small head, posing a soul-searching question. Her eyes reflected the red-iron dragon's mountain-like form, which continued to swallow food relentlessly.
Garos, focused on his meal, suddenly paused, as if choked by the ill-timed question.
Then, his massive head turned slightly toward the fluttering Fairy Dragon. His cheek puffed out, and he unleashed a sudden blast of wind.
The gust sent the little one tumbling end over end in the air.
"Get away from me. I might just eat you as a dessert."
Because he needed to consume a vast amount of food and periodically expel waste, he didn't want other dragons watching the process.
Garos gulped down a large mouthful of thick black oil and continued to tackle the food before him.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, his spirit suddenly surged.
He sensed it acutely: deep within his right chest, the Dragon Jade—pulsing slowly like a miniature sun—had finally reached its critical saturation point.
The energy converted from the food he now devoured was no longer being greedily absorbed by the Jade. Instead, like a stream finally finding its course, it began to flow steadily into his limbs and bones, nourishing every muscle, every tendon, and every cell. This long-overdue, tangible sense of fulfillment drew a low, satisfied groan from Garos's throat.
From the moment I awakened from my deep slumber, Garos thought, chewing the tough beast meat, my body was drained of almost all its energy by this newborn Dragon Jade. I was weakened to the absolute limit, nearly as if I were mortally wounded.
But at the critical moment, the Dragon Jade automatically fed that energy back to me, instantly restoring my strength.
Since then, everything I have consumed—flesh, minerals, black oil... the energy they converted has been absorbed and stored by this Jade once again, like a bottomless pit.
"Only now is it finally full, satiated."
He slowly exhaled, the rise and fall of his chest becoming more measured. His eating slowed, no longer the frantic devouring of a starving ghost, but a steady, deliberate consumption. Meanwhile, his mind raced with thought.
After this period of direct experience and careful introspection, he had gained a rough understanding of the Dragon Jade's core effect.
It still maintained a connection to the Cold Exploding Scale, retaining the ability to absorb damage and convert it into stored energy.
However, its specific effects seemed to have undergone subtle changes since its evolution—changes that would only be fully clarified through future combat or specific tests.
Yet, none of this was the most important part.
The most crucial, core effect was that it could amass a massive amount of energy during normal times and release it in a critical moment when Garos was extremely weakened or even on the verge of death, achieving a near-resurrection reversal!
This was somewhat similar to Old Sword Demon's Blood Well skill.
To put it more simply, this was—a second life!
In Garos's mind, a possible future scene even involuntarily emerged:
Imagine a powerful enemy, after a grueling struggle and paying a heavy price, finally breaking through his layers of defense, crushing his successive bursts of power, and beating him to the brink of death, his strength completely spent.
The enemy might be wearing the savage grin of a victor, preparing to deliver the final blow or savoring his dying struggles.
At that very moment, deep within his chest, the dormant Dragon Jade would erupt with a radiance as blinding as the rising sun. A torrent of life energy, like a burst dam, would instantly surge through his broken body. In the light, all his wounds would heal at a visible speed, and his near-death weakness would be swept away.
In its place would be a vitality and power more vigorous and explosive than ever before.
Garos could almost picture the expression freezing on the enemy's face—from ecstatic joy to astonishment, from triumph to bewilderment, and finally to utter despair... or perhaps the numb, vacant stare of someone who had been played for a fool.
"This ability was practically made for me!"
A satisfied glint shone in Garos's eyes.
For someone as protective of his life as he was, the Dragon Jade's effect from this evolution was far more valuable than any further enhancement to his bloodburst state.
With this trump card, combined with his already formidable strength and sharp intellect, Garos now possessed the confidence to go all-out—or even pull off a desperate reversal—against any powerful foe. The only exception would be a terrifyingly powerful entity whose strength dwarfed his own to an insurmountable degree.
Countless tactical scenarios for utilizing the Dragon Jade flashed through his mind.
For instance, he could feign the role of a reckless hothead, deliberately adopting a wild and foolish fighting style that traded injuries for damage, baiting his enemy into a war of attrition.
Just as both sides were battered and exhausted, he would activate the Dragon Jade, instantly restoring himself to peak condition to deliver a fatal blow.
Alternatively, he could fake his death from exhaustion, luring his enemy to lower their guard and approach his body to confirm the kill or gloat. Then, at the moment they were most vulnerable, he would erupt from his corpse and launch a lethal surprise attack.
A bit underhanded, but exactly his style.
"Either way," Garos grinned, "my Dragon Jade will give those enemies who think they've already won a surprise they'll never forget."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.
Wait... Since the Dragon Jade gives me a second life, can I start dual-cultivating the Eternal Death Path?
Garos's thoughts leaped to this conclusion.
The Eternal Death Path—the perilous path of the Eternal Dragon, where "Death is like the wind, ever-present by one's side"—bestowed countless powerful skills that Garos had long coveted.
Unfortunately, its cultivation method demanded one to constantly approach the brink of true death. Its combat style was too extreme and lethal, the risks too high. A single misstep could lead to eternal damnation, which was why Garos had always held back, afraid to set foot on this path.
But now, everything had changed.
He possessed the Dragon Jade. He had a second life.
(End of the Chapter)
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