"If you could force yourself to eat as much as I do every day, your size would grow more or less."
Eating an amount of food equivalent to one's own weight every day is a daunting task, one that even dragons like Saga take note of.
Dragons have strong digestive capabilities, but there's a limit.
A dragon could eat several times its own weight in one sitting, but after such a feast, it wouldn't need to eat for weeks or even a month. Maintaining such a high intake every day would become torture over time.
"Forcing yourself to eat so much every day is quite the draconic feat."
"This guy's size isn't just due to his innate talent. Compared to many other gifted dragons, his talent isn't that remarkable."
Saga thought to himself.
"I've decided to increase my food and training even more, eating at least one and a half times my body weight daily."
After saying this and a brief conversation, the giant Golden Mountain left with heavy steps.
It was foreseeable that he would be even more rigorous in his eating and training to strengthen himself.
Time passed quietly, and after a period of rest, the seventh match began.
In this match, Saga's odds had plummeted, but he didn't care, as he had already earned more than enough. The space crystal hidden in his scales was nearly filled with a multitude of gems and gold coins. The wealth he gained from the matches had surpassed his previous accumulations.
In the seventh match, Saga faced a Golden Dragon.
Although this Golden Dragon wasn't a favorite to win the championship, it was by no means weak. After all, any dragon that made it this far was not to be underestimated, and fewer than a hundred hatchlings remained in the competition.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to contend with Saga.
In the seventh match, Saga easily won using only his psychic abilities.
After this match…
Only a little over forty hatchlings remained from the many that had started the competition.
Each of these beings was an outstanding individual among their peers, with about ten hot favorites for the championship, increasing the chances of encountering them.
Meanwhile…
Before the eighth match began, Saga received information about his opponent.
"Amethyst Warlock Tixier, fourteen years old, pure-blooded Amethyst Dragon."
"The Amethyst Dragon Tixier, who eliminated Golden Mountain Hekris, now it's my turn to face him after a break in the matches," Saga mused with narrowed eyes.
Having viewed the magic memory crystal, the image of the Amethyst Dragon's match against Golden Mountain came to mind.
The Amethyst Dragon's psychic abilities were rich and skilled, and with a wealth of combat experience, it gave the physically strong but mentally less resilient Golden Mountain a hard time.
"Some adult Gemstone Dragons don't even have psychic abilities as advanced as this Amethyst Hatchling."
Saga thought quietly.
Any hatchling that could be a favorite for the championship could be considered a little genius or even a monstrous talent among dragons, almost all of whom had resisted the lazy instincts of their True Dragon bloodline from the hatchling stage and began to actively pursue a certain power system.
The majority of ordinary dragons usually only develop this awareness during their adolescence, and it generally takes until their young adult stage to put it into action.
The knowledge contained in the Dragon Heritage is vast, allowing every dragon to become erudite and learned.
However…
Just like the difference between theory and practice, merely knowing this knowledge isn't enough to make a dragon truly powerful.
Only those willing to endure the tedious learning process and apply the knowledge from their heritage can truly arm themselves.
"The Topaz Dragon Lord of the Grayrock Archipelago probably doesn't have psychic abilities to match this Amethyst Hatchling, who likely started learning psychic abilities during the hatchling stage and has exceptional talent."
The Topaz Dragon Lord is a Gemstone Dragon with certain talents.
But compared to the prodigious hatchlings here, it pales in comparison, and the Topaz Dragon Lord isn't specialized in psychic abilities.
"However, she probably won't be a match for me, even if I only use psychic abilities."
Inside the sleeping chamber's lava pool, Saga half-closed his eyes, enjoying the massages from the water nymphs.
As the matches became more intense, the intervals between them lengthened to give the hatchlings enough rest. After the seventh match, there was still some time before Saga's next match.
"Any Mind Warlock that faces me will be unfortunate."
Ever since his encounters with the Gnoll Mind Warlock and the Mind Warrior Merfolk, Saga had confirmed that he had a natural advantage over beings who embarked on this Transcendent path. His use of Electromagnetic Force could amplify his psychic abilities, doubling the effects, and similarly, it could also dissolve psychic energies. These were things Saga had verified and tested in battle.
"Besides, the breath of an Amethyst Dragon might also be useless against me."
Remembering the breath of the Amethyst Dragon as described in the heritage, Saga thought quietly.
A few minutes later.
Bang!
Yekaterina pushed open the door and strode into Saga's chamber with an air of pride.
"What are you doing here?"
Saga lifted his head and asked.
Yekaterina's gaze swept over the water nymphs around Saga and snorted, "I came to see if you've become complacent. I don't want to hear that you've lost a match halfway through."
Her voice paused, and with a slightly heavier tone, Yekaterina said:
"Looking at you now, my foolish brother, you seem to be enjoying yourself, as if you've forgotten about the upcoming matches."
The Little Dragoness half-closed her eyes, her voice lazy:
"Don't you know the principle of tension and relaxation?"
The Little Dragoness bared her fangs, her gaze dangerous, and turned to the water nymphs: "All of you, out."
Knowing Yekaterina's fiery temper, the water nymphs showed fearful eyes, then looked to Saga.
"Leave," Saga commanded.
With Saga's order, the water nymphs nodded gently and left slowly.
Then, under Saga's watchful eye, Yekaterina stepped into the lava pool, submerging most of her body and leaving only her head above the surface.
"Who's your next opponent?"
Yekaterina inquired.
"Amethyst Dragon Tixier."
"Don't lose." Yekaterina closed her eyes, her words simple and her tone cool.
The Little Golden Dragon grinned, "My haughty sister, are you concerned about me? Because Tixier defeated Hekris, you're worried I might lose?"
Yekaterina opened her eyes:
"If you lose, it would be a disgrace for me, who shares the same bloodline as you. It's not because I care about you."
"Also,"
Yekaterina's eyes showed confusion:
"What does 'haughty' mean?"
Saga smiled slightly:
"It's hard to explain, just know it's a compliment."
"Hmph, I don't believe it. It's probably not anything good," Yekaterina glared at Saga.
"Dragons should trust each other more, especially since we're siblings. Can't you trust me a little more?"
The Little Golden Dragon blinked, speaking earnestly.
"Then I'll reluctantly trust you this once."
Yekaterina hesitated, then closed her eyes again, speaking softly.
"My sis may has a terrible personality, but she is easy to coax," Saga thought to himself.
Looking at Yekaterina, Saga inquired:
"What about you? Who's your next opponent?"
Yekaterina shook her head, her voice cool and calm:
"I don't have the habit of learning about my opponents in advance. No matter who it is, the end result is that they will be defeated and surpassed by me, including you."
Hearing Yekaterina's words, the Little Golden Dragon couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically: "Yekaterina, I sincerely suggest you undergo psychic awakening and follow the path of a Mind Warlock like me. You would definitely make rapid progress."
The Little Dragoness glared at Saga, displeased:
"My foolish brother, are you insinuating that I'm arrogant? I can tell."
After a pause, the Little Dragoness gazed at Saga, her deep voice piercing the soul:
"Saga, don't think I'm unaware that deep inside, you have the same, or even greater, confidence than me."
"You don't need to argue. We are of the same kind of dragon, I can feel it, my intuition is accurate."
Looking straight into Saga's eyes, Yekaterina quietly said:
"From the very beginning, you were convinced that you could become the champion among the hatchlings, even if your opponents were all the powerful hatchlings from the Sea Dragon City, weren't you?"
In front of Yekaterina, Saga's expression slowly became serious, looking at her with calm eyes:
"It seems I've always underestimated you, my sister. You possess uncommon wisdom, it's just that most of the time you choose not to think."
In this regard, Yekaterina was very much like a typical Red Dragon.
Aside from White Dragons, the intelligence of normal dragons is generally quite high; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to study magic, and without sufficient wisdom, they couldn't become Casters. The intelligence of Red Dragons is actually among the highest of all dragon kinds, but compared to using their brains, Red Dragons prefer to solve problems with brute force, only turning to thought when force fails.
I have a brain, hey, but I just don't use it, playing on a whim.
Time flowed quietly like water.
Saga and Yekaterina chatted in the lava pool, mainly bickering, and then left the chamber when the match was about to start, heading to the arena.
"Defeat all your opponents and meet me in the final!"
The Little Dragoness lifted her chin, commanding in a deep voice.
"The same goes for you."
The Little Golden Dragon flashed a bright, sunny smile.
After waiting a while longer, Saga's eighth match, a fierce battle between Mind Warlock dragons, was about to begin.
"As the foremost in the Gemstone Dragon lineage of psychic masters, the Amethyst Dragon with exceptional psychic talent, compared to me, who took up psychic abilities halfway through, might just surprise me."
The Little Golden Dragon licked his lips, then walked steadily towards the arena, with a faint glimmer of psychic light twinkling in his eyes.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas