Chapter 312 - 300: You’re Only Hurting Yourself
The Dragon Blood Ceremony began once again.
The Blood Knight returned to the Pixel World to put Pasha through special training, beating the Dark Sun Dragon until it howled in pain.
However, the effects were immediate. The moment the fight started—even if it was a one-sided beating—all of Pasha’s laziness was swept away. It frantically dodged and weaved, sometimes even attempting a Counterattack.
Luh Yao took this opportunity to ask Cancong about the Three-Headed Dog, Harlow.
"My Lord, I am not familiar with Harlow, but the Cerberus race, as the Netherworld Gatekeepers, has always had a good reputation. If you were to draw a parallel to the history here, they would be like the most ancient knights and tomb guardians among humans, upholding and adhering to tradition, and taking great pride in it."
"Although they may look a bit rough around the edges, the Cerberus are by nature bound to their oaths and duties. They are among the first forms of life in the Netherworld."
"The Dragon Race’s assessment of them is that a Cerberus is the most reliable and respectable of guards, but also the most hidebound, blockheaded traditionalist."
"If you give a Cerberus a clear command, they will most likely execute it perfectly, and they will remain constant no matter how eras and the Era change. But if you want a Cerberus to decide something for itself, it will easily fall into hesitation and confusion..."
Cancong’s acquaintance with Harlow was purely coincidental.
Back when it was the 66th generation of Cancong, it sensed the aura of a Dragon, its source coming from a house in the countryside.
The family was using a broken turtle shell to prop up a table leg. Somehow, a small fragment of Dragon Bone had become embedded in the shell, though it was completely unnoticeable from the outside.
It was because of this fragment that Cancong and Harlow met for the first time.
After investigating, Cancong discovered that the Dragon Bone on the turtle shell did not come from a true member of the Dragon Race, but was a bone fragment shed from a Sub-Dragon or a Dragon Descendant. Based on the bone’s deeper composition, it deduced that the original owner’s ancestors must have had Red Dragon blood.
Considering Harlow’s detection, the Sub-Dragon to which the bone belonged was, in all likelihood, a descendant of the Red Dragon Kataro, born in this world.
This fact had misled the Three-Headed Dog.
Cancong expressed deep regret after hearing about Harlow’s disastrous duel with the Red Dragon and informed it of the basic knowledge needed to distinguish between Dragons, Sub-Dragons, and Dragon Descendants.
Harlow decided it wanted to help Cancong in return.
Cancong, thinking of its current situation of being hunted by the Committee, entrusted Harlow with going on ahead to help it find its memories stored in a certain place.
Although Harlow’s [Hunter’s Mystery] lacked precision, its reaction to specific targets was clear. In the task of retrieving Cancong’s memory-bodies, it was actually more sensitive than Cancong itself.
And so, everything that happened afterward came to be.
After parting ways with Harlow, Cancong continued to evade capture.
What exactly happened during that process is now unknowable to the current Cancong. The only thing it knew was that to escape its pursuers, it had self-destructed time and time again.
The current Cancong was already the 72nd generation, having died six times just to make it here in relative safety.
"...I implore you to allow me to serve under you as a long-term Apostle, to fulfill and abide by all the duties and missions of an Apostle. I also hope that by helping Pasha, I might one day reopen the passage to the Dragon Residence."
"Respected Pioneer, I hope you will take me in."
Luh Yao magnanimously agreed.
Being an Apostle was a job; wanting to go home was a personal matter. The two didn’t conflict.
Choosing to become an Apostle to get a long-distance ticket home was understandable.
Luh Yao had always appreciated the quality of honesty. Compared to those who were secretive and evasive, Cancong, who was so open about its goals and desires, was far more reliable.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Luh Yao. ’A long-term Apostle... Does that mean Cancong is prepared to be continuously reborn in the Yao Race World?’
"Yes, My Lord."
Cancong elaborated, "I am currently in my most complete form. I possess a portion of memories concerning the Dragon Race and the Dragon Residence, which should be helpful to Pasha."
Luh Yao glanced at the open ground in the Dragon Nest.
The Dark Sun Dragon was being pinned to the ground by the Blood Knight, who was pummeling its face with iron fists. It could only curl up desperately, trying to protect its head with its claws. After all, having been through countless battles, Pasha had plenty of defensive experience.
Luh Yao’s reason for having the Blood Knight train Pasha was different from that of Cancong, the traditional Dragon Race educator.
He felt that whether Pasha became another Dark Sun in the future or continued to grow along the path of a Dragon, it was its own choice, and in principle, he wouldn’t interfere.
The problem was, Pasha itself was capable of growing much better.
While absorbing the Dark Sun Power, its Dragon Race bloodline could also be further awakened; the two were not mutually exclusive.
However, Pasha was now just resting on its laurels, expecting an easy victory due to its innate advantages.
That was unacceptable.
In the Yao Race World, one could lack talent, or even accomplish nothing, but as the Dragon here, it had to possess the Yao Race’s spirit of enterprise and innovation. This spirit was the key to how the Yao Race had developed to this day.
Even if you were just playing around, you had to do it with some flair.
Take Muke, who created Tribal War Chess—now that was a pro player.
But now, Pasha was turning into a lazy mutt.
This was a very serious attitude problem.
For the first time, Luh Yao angrily reprimanded Snowman Jimmy.
Regarding the Dark Sun Dragon’s long-term idleness and laziness in this Era, a warning was now being issued. It was to rectify its behavior within a set time limit. If it failed, then Pasha would be transferred to Yunzhong Temple to support the border regions.
"Lord God, Jimmy is guilty for failing to raise Pasha properly! Jimmy will definitely teach it a good lesson! I’ll whip it, burn it with fire, and freeze it into a block of ice!"
An angry emoticon appeared above the Snowman’s head. It looked at Pasha, who was lying nearby, beaten half to death.
"How long are you going to be lazy? Get up and fight Mr. Blood Knight!"
A dialogue box appeared above Pasha’s head: "I can’t beat him... I can’t fight... I don’t have the ability..."
The Snowman pulled a Quenching Sword from its belly and tapped it against the Dragon’s horns.
"You hopeless case! All you know is how to raise insects, worms, birds, and crabs! What’s the use of that?! You just won’t do any real work! And you said you could make yourself stronger? Just keep drifting along; you’re only hurting yourself!"
"The Lord God is going to throw you into Sand City! To eat sand! To become a dried-up lizard!"
An exclamation mark popped up over Pasha’s head.
It struggled to its feet and prostrated itself on the ground. "Great Lord Yao God, I beg you to forgive Pasha this once! Pasha will devote all its energy to honing its combat skills and will never mess with strange things again..."
Luh Yao felt like he had overlooked something.
He looked around the Dragon Nest.
Behind the Dragon Nest was a massive breeding ground. It was divided into small, square compartments, each one housing Dark Worms, Dark Black Water Striders, Dark Dodos, and Dark Crabs... There were even some roses.
The Snowman put away its Quenching Sword and explained, "This is a ranch that Pasha built itself."
"After Pasha returned from White Castle, it increased its training regimen. But not long after, it said something like... traditional Dragon Race-style combat was outdated, and the ways of the Dark Sun were more worthy of study."
"It wanted to use Dark Sun irradiation and Dragon Blood to cultivate Sub-Dragons, imitating Mr. Pinkman’s cultivation of the Rose Envoy and combining it with the experience of the Brass Furnace Dragon from White Castle..."
Luh Yao stared blankly at the screen.
"It all ended in failure."
Jimmy spread his hands. "In the end, all it managed to tinker out was a strange insect."
Luh Yao observed the breeding ground carefully again and found the insect.
...
[Dragon Descendant Battle Shovel Armor LV3]
Life Value: 270/270
Mana Value: 1/1
Damage: 5
Defense: 8
Speed: 5
[Strong]
[Dragon Painting with Combined Talisman]
Evolves itself by collecting various elements and living creatures, imitating the forms of various Dragon Race members (48/70).
...
’This Dragon Painting ability... the description sounds kind of interesting.’
’So Pasha wasn’t just slacking off. It was adapting to the times and had switched tracks.’
’My mistake,’ Luh Yao thought to himself. ’I was too quick to judge.’