The surrounding air was cold, and a layer of ice crystals had condensed on the ground.
Dense clusters of ice blades had not yet melted, packed together like countless blooming flowers.
A dark shadow stepped out from the nearby forest's shadows—obsidian-like dragon scales, dark red patterns, and a towering, sturdy body. It was Garros, who had returned to the scene of the crime.
He looked up in the direction the Copper Dragon had left, then at the devastated abandoned mine.
"Tsk, this Copper Dragon is quite furious. However, Dragonkin cherish treasure as much as their own lives; not going completely insane already shows good upbringing. As expected of a Metallic Dragon, far more restrained than a Chromatic Dragon."
Garros clicked his tongue.
His claws pulled out an ice blade; it felt freezing, making his claws ache slightly from the cold.
"This is a power that only a Dragonkin of at least adult age could possess."
"Cold-based. Could one of its parents be a Silver Dragon? Most likely."
Garros thought to himself.
When choosing mates, Dragonkin don't specifically choose only the same dragon species; it's actually quite rare for a pair of the same species to get together.
However, because Dragonkin Bloodlines are domineering and difficult to reconcile, the probability of crossbreeding is low.
So, regardless of the parents' species, the offspring will likely inherit the Bloodline of only one side. Hybrid Dragons like Garros are relatively rare.
Another point worth mentioning.
Hybrid Dragons aren't always examples of power and excellence.
Garros inherited the strengths of both the Iron Dragon and the Red Dragon, making him a positive hybrid.
But there are also unlucky negative hybrids who inherit the weaknesses of both parent species at once.
For example.
The offspring of a Red Dragon and a White Dragon might be weak to both water and fire, have a body as frail as a White Dragon, and a personality as reckless and explosive as a Red Dragon—truly the type with 'ambitions as high as the sky but a fate as thin as paper' among Dragonkin.
Garros rubbed the keratin on his chin, looking down at the abandoned mine.
"Facing the Copper Dragon's venting rage, the Insect King must be heavily injured. Should I take the opportunity to subdue it?"
Shaking his head, Garros dismissed the idea.
The Insect King was hiding deep within the abandoned mine. Although Garros could go down, the underground was not his home turf, and simply killing the Insect King wouldn't bring much benefit.
As for subduing it.
Garros's method of subduing through mental resonance and communication was essentially a mix of threats and inducements—a transaction that lacked a stronger guarantee.
This wouldn't work very well on the Insect King.
It had a very high life Rank. He might be able to subdue it initially, but once it recovered, betrayal would be inevitable.
A short while later.
Under the cover of night, Garros returned to the Hemlock Hills and began to take stock of his gains.
With a shake of his dragon wings, gems and gold coins fell with a clinking sound, shimmering beautifully under the moonlight.
These gems and gold coins were no ordinary items; they contained magical energy, and eating them would help a Dragonkin's growth and development.
Looking down at these shiny things.
Garros instinctively felt a sense of excitement and joy, along with a strong urge to collect and protect them, not letting any other creature touch them.
The attraction of treasure to Dragonkin is ingrained in their bones, almost like a curse.
Garros did not want to be affected by this.
Excessive pursuit and obsession with treasure is one of the major causes of death for Dragonkin, no less than death caused by arrogance.
Garros took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, repeatedly breathing deeply to resist his inner desires.
His gaze gradually cleared.
When he was four years old, he had been lucky enough to dig up a Magic Gem. At that time, he wanted nothing more than to hide it in the crack of his buttocks, but he felt this emotion was very abnormal and shouldn't be allowed to develop, so he thought about eating it.
However, when the gem reached his mouth, he simply couldn't bring himself to swallow it.
It was as if what was at his mouth wasn't a gem, but his very lifeblood.
Later, Garros hid the Magic Gem at the bottom of a lake. In his spare time, he would go to play with it, fighting against his desires and tempering his will.
Finally, around the age of six.
After two years of tempering, Garros hardened his heart and successfully ate it as he had wished.
For a young dragon.
This was an absolute feat.
If you aren't a Dragonkin, it's hard to imagine their obsession with treasure. It's a throb seemingly etched into the Soul, an instinct in their very bones.
Meanwhile.
Samantha, who was currently engraving Alchemy Runes on Mobel, paused her movements, her ears suddenly perking up.
"Ah, where did this wonderful, heavenly clinking sound come from?"
She turned her head and immediately saw the pile of gems and gold coins at Garros's feet. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened instantly, and her eyes lit up.
Her claws accidentally swept in a large arc, tearing a long bloody gash on Mobel.
Aowuu—the sudden pain caused Mobel to let out a sharp howl.
Samantha, however, seemed not to hear it. Her eyes were fixed, as if her Soul had been snatched away, as she walked toward Garros step by step.
"My dear, wealthy, great, and glorious brother!"
Samantha completely abandoned her dignity as a Red Dragon, walked up to Garros, and bowed her head in submission.
"Please, I beg of you."
"Give me some treasure; I'm willing to do anything!"
Samantha felt as if ants were biting her whole body, from her Soul to her flesh. She couldn't help herself; she was willing to pay any price to get the treasure.
Garros looked at Samantha with pity.
Her appearance was the reaction of an ordinary young dragon seeing treasure.
She only refrained because she knew she couldn't take it by force; otherwise, she would have pounced already.
Even so, Samantha had to expend a lot of mental energy to suppress the urge to snatch the treasure from Garros's hands.
One of the common methods used by adventuring parties to hunt Dragonkin is to spend big, scattering many gems and gold coins in areas where Dragonkin frequent, setting traps around them, and quietly waiting for the Dragonkin—who are exceptionally sensitive to these things—to arrive.
"No problem."
Garros agreed lightheartedly, making Samantha unable to believe her ears.
After a pause, he added, "But the premise is that your behavior must satisfy me. If I am happy, I can reward you with some treasure."
Samantha's eyes widened, and she asked excitedly, "What exactly should I do?"
Garros smiled and said, "I can't say for sure. You need to figure it out yourself. In short, just make me happy."
As the saying goes.
If the law is unknown, its authority is unpredictable.
Without a fixed standard, it meant that giving or not giving depended entirely on Garros's whim.
Simply put, he was dangling a carrot.
"Making Garros happy sounds so simple. He wants me to master the Alchemy that can help him as soon as possible."
After a moment's thought, Samantha thought of something that could make Garros happy.
"My dear brother, I know what to do!"
Leaving behind these words full of fighting spirit, Samantha turned back to continue her diligent Cultivation of Alchemy in order to obtain the 'reward'.
Having sent Samantha away.
Garros picked up a gem, moving it quite sluggishly toward his mouth. Finally, closing his eyes, he tossed it in, gritted his teeth, and crunched it to pieces before swallowing it.
A surge of energy, several times more potent than an equal mass of black oil, rose from his stomach.
The slight fatigue from training and combat.
Vanished almost instantly.
Magic Gems are difficult to mass-produce or mine, being rarer and more precious than resources like black oil. Their enhancement effects are also stronger than black oil, but they are much harder to obtain.
After eating one.
Garros wanted to strike while the iron was hot and eat a second one.
But when the gem reached his mouth, he couldn't open it.
The attempt to eat two gems in a row made Garros feel a sharp pain in his heart. Every scale and every muscle on his body resisted; he simply couldn't bring himself to bite down.
"This instinct is still too strong. Eating one at a time is my current limit."
Garros shook his head and put down the gem.
Now he had five gems left: three cold-attribute White Crystals, one fire-attribute Ruby, and one water-attribute Sapphire. There were also about two hundred gold and silver coins in total.
With a sweep of his dragon wings, all these gems and coins were put away.
Then, taking advantage of the abundant energy in his body, Garros took flight with the three pieces of Alchemy Equipment to test their specific strength and effects.
Alchemical Items are not like Magic Items.
These things are primarily about being useful; whoever gets them owns them.
If an ordinary person gets a powerful Alchemical Item, as long as it still has energy to activate, it's not impossible for them to trade blows with a transcendent being.
Unless it's a very Advanced Alchemical Item, the concept of Soul-binding or ownership simply doesn't exist.