Dragon Valley, that training ground pounded as hard as iron.

"The great... Pale Wings! These training methods... are truly too harsh."

Black Dragon Seraphina felt every muscle in her body groaning in unbearable agony, finally couldn’t help but voice a painful protest to the overseer, White Dragon Trish.

"Harsh?!"

White Dragon Trish snorted with disdain in her Dragon Eyes: "Compared to the daily grind that the Master of Molten Iron endures, this pitiful amount of training is not even worth mentioning."

The surrounding young dragons—Red Dragon Kahill, Blue Dragon Heryam, Green Dragon Ludwig—including the black dragon, couldn’t help but show skeptical expressions, clearly doubtful of Trish’s words.

But at that moment.

Whoosh—!

A sudden fierce gale swept through, accompanied by a clear tremor from the ground. A figure like a burning meteor suddenly flew out from the Burning Steel Fortress, exuding a suffocating pressure, precisely landing at the center of the extreme training ground not far away.

"Look at the expressions on you lazy creatures, I sense doubt."

Trish raised her head, eyes blazing as she looked at the muscular, towering, scorching metal-like body of the Red Iron Dragon and said: "Then watch carefully! Open your eyes wide and see how our Master of Molten Iron tempers himself! Soon, you’ll understand that what you should envy most isn’t the powerful strength he holds now, but that willpower—more unyielding than the hardest steel, more dazzling than the sun in the sky!"

Upon hearing this, the young dragons couldn’t help but cast their skeptical glances uniformly at that extreme training ground.

At the same time.

Red Iron Dragon Galos suddenly flapped his massive wings, his huge body instantly suspended in the air, then with a clean and swift inversion, he adjusted his body into a vertically inverted posture, decisively folding up his broad wings.

When the inverted, fierce dragon head was less than a meter from touching the ground.

Whoosh—

The two vast wings suddenly unfurled completely like battle flags.

Furious gales wrapped in flying sand and rocks radiated violently in all directions! The intense wind pressure almost made it impossible for the distant young dragons to keep their eyes open.

When their vision painstakingly pierced through the swirling sand, finally seeing Red Iron Dragon’s current movements, all their breaths involuntarily halted.

Astounding!

The body of the Red Iron Dragon, heavy as a mountain, was now in an inconceivable inverted stance, supporting the terrifying weight of its entire body solely with the wing bones, standing steadily on solid ground.

Every fold on the tough wing membrane seemed to bear incomparably immense pressure, trembling slightly; the rugged muscles at the connection of the dragon wings and the mighty body emitted a teeth-clenching tautness, as if countless steel wires stretched to their limits were groaning.

Under the increasingly shocked and nearly stagnant gazes of the young dragons.

Red Iron Dragon steadily landed, the four strong dragon feet digging deep into the ground, followed by tightly gathering the wings on the broad back, with that thick, powerful tail like a living giant python, flexibly slithering along the back curve, finally hooking the base of his own rugged dragon horn with the tail tip.

The entire body from neck to tail seemed to form a closed loop.

The next second.

That seemingly clumsy, sluggish, heavy-as-mountainous body, unexpectedly erupted with unimaginable resilience and agility, curling up like a spring. The Dragon Scales fiercely rubbed and collided against each other, bursting into countless fragmented sparks, as the Dragon’s Kiss almost touched the robust tailbone, the massive dragon form was nearly compressed into a ball.

Boom—!!!

The coiled dragon body released explosive force, as if a giant bow released by the Celestial God, sending the body soaring straight into the sky, burning into an orange-red meteor amid air friction, crashing into deep clouds, then steadily descending back to the ground.

The Dragon Scales on his body slightly opened and closed, emitting an amazing high temperature, clashing intensely with the cold air, generating thick, cloud-like white steam.

He slowly stood upright, fully extending the enormous wings and strong Dragon Arm.

Freely displaying that towering, fierce, robust-to-the-extreme... yet shockingly beautiful and powerful dragon body.

Without any pause or breath, he began a new round of training at the extreme training ground.

Every move seemed nearly impossible to the young dragons, but on his body, it manifested perfectly and full of power, shocking the observers’ hearts.

"I really want... to experience being completely overwhelmed and ravaged by such a body..."

White Dragon Trish extended her crimson tongue, licking her lower jaw with desire, her gaze fixed on Galos, unapologetically revealing the rolling hot greed and possessiveness therein.

She had long coveted Galos but knew deeply that he didn’t take interest in her relatively "slim and slender" white dragon body.

Suddenly, Trish sharply turned her head, converting the uncontainable heat and slight sense of defeat in her heart into another form of "motivation," her gaze sweeping like a blade towards the young dragons beside her.

"Did you all see? Now, is there anyone who feels they’ve reached their limit? Is there anyone who dares complain that their training intensity is too high?!"

White Dragon Trish wagged her tail, producing a sound cutting through the air, baring a grin both cruel and excited.

"Now, it’s time for your ’resilience training’! Line up one by one, come over and obediently await my thrashing."

Before her voice even fell, her tail, covered in hard scales, already whipped out like a steel whip with a swoosh.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The dull and loud cracking sounds echoed in succession, landing precisely on each young Dragon, instantly shattering their Dragon Scales, tearing flesh and leaving bloody marks.

However, perhaps stimulated by the inhuman determination and powerful body of the Red Iron Dragon, an unprecedented yearning and expectation to become stronger began to grow in the hearts of the young Dragons.

Even as they endured the relentless whipping from the White Dragon, they merely gritted their sharp teeth, swallowing their painful howls, silently enduring, with flames of unwillingness and longing burning in their eyes.

Elsewhere.

Galos, who was in extreme training, naturally noticed the commotion from White Dragon Trish "training" the young Dragons.

But he merely glanced over, his Dragon Eyes showing no emotion, then immediately withdrew his gaze, continuing to focus on his own practice without any intention of stopping her.

The reason the Dragon Race can tenaciously exist and thrive across many planes and worlds.

Is because they possess a strong adaptability to various extreme environments.

Even though other Dragons do not have Galos’ extraordinary Evolution Talent, their efficiency cannot compare, but day-to-day targeted training is still immensely beneficial for them.

Power, speed, defense, endurance... these basic attributes can all be significantly enhanced through persistent training.

Surpassing Galos might be an unattainable dream, but surpassing those other lazy kin who only know sleep and plunder is certainly a matter of fact.

Unfortunately, many Dragons are naturally dominated by a lazy nature, stubbornly believing that just by eating, sleeping, and waiting for time to pass, their Power will naturally grow, and thus they severely lack the precious awareness for self-training.

White Dragon Trish herself is a perfect example of this.

She understands deeply that Galos’ strength is closely linked to his relentless, almost self-abusive training, and she once attempted to mimic his methods.

But that deeply ingrained pain and tedium quickly wore away her enthusiasm, making her unable to persist.

Ultimately, she simply gave up on self-training entirely.

After all, for her, imposing this "strictness" on other Dragons is much simpler and more interesting than demanding herself to persevere.

From another angle, having a "dedicated" supervisor and "special trainer" like the White Dragon is actually a good thing for the growth of these young Dragons, more advantageous than disadvantageous.

This allows them to grasp Power and gain self-defense and even formidable capital more quickly in this world full of danger where the weak are prey to the strong.

At the same time.

Located at the southern bank of the Border Area, the Estonian River.

The broad river surface, under the gentle breeze, rippled with layers of subtle ripples, and under the afternoon sunlight, glittered with countless tiny golden lights, presenting an intoxicating view of shimmering waves.

Several deeply drafted merchant ships were slowly sailing with the gentle rolling waves, the bows of the ships slowly adjusting direction, heading towards the river channel area of the Border Area.

"Young man, I’m really curious,"

The captain of one of the merchant ships, a weathered middle-aged man, leaned on the ship’s railing, looking at the young man standing before him, his tone filled with confusion and a hint of concern.

"Why do you want to go to the Border Area? That place... in most people’s eyes, it’s not a safe or friendly destination."

The young man being questioned was named Alberto, appearing to be around twenty years old.

He had fair skin, an almost perfectly handsome face, and always wore a sunny, radiant, and infectious smile. His striking golden shoulder-length curls swayed lightly in the wind. He wore simple leather armor suitable for action, with a rolled-up map, a leather water bottle, and a sharp-looking short dagger neatly strapped to his waist, a standard adventurer’s outfit.

Just a few days ago, when Alberto accidentally heard that the destination of this fleet was the Border Area, he proactively approached the captain, politely requesting to hitch a ride.

The captain naturally asked him for payment.

Alberto then gave a slightly bashful and apologetic smile, candidly admitting that he was currently low on funds.

Ordinarily, without tangible benefits, the captain would never agree to take on a stranger, as it was neither according to regulations nor without risks.

However.

As he met Alberto’s clear, sincere, sea-like deep blue eyes, for some unknown reason, he found himself nodding, agreeing to make an exception.

"I’ve heard—"

Alberto gestured at his adventurer’s attire, still smiling brightly, yet with a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "—that the Border Area now seems somewhat different from the chaotic danger in the past rumors."

He paused, his gaze falling forward onto the piece of riverbank bathed in sunlight and growing closer before the bow.

"As you can see, I’m an adventurer filled with enthusiasm for the unknown, always brimming with an irrepressible curiosity towards those lands shrouded in mystery and rarely visited. Besides... it seems that the Border Area is undergoing some peculiar changes, making it all the more worth going to witness firsthand."

He shifted the topic, bringing a perfectly measured desire for knowledge as he addressed the captain.

"You seem to be a frequent visitor here, not entering the Border Area waters for the first time. Do you know why this land is experiencing such changes? What forces are reshaping the order here?"

Under the gaze of the youth’s seemingly magical eyes, the usually taciturn captain, who didn’t like meddling, suddenly felt a strong urge to express himself surging from within.