Beneath the Red Dragon-Chapter 158 - 68: Blue Dragon Carlette

Sure, here's the translation:

The autumn wind swept across the vast, boundless grasslands and over the mountain peaks where the Dragon Group resided, making the scorching winds that surrounded the Dragon Nest throughout the day become gentler.

Even while immersed in the searing magma, the Red Dragon, surrounded by boiling lava currents, sensitively perceived the slight change in temperature.

It's quite amusing, really, that the Red Dragon's flesh and blood are considered the epitome of yang energy and vigor, boiling with fiery energy, yet it is particularly afraid of cold, detesting the chill of winter.

If the Red Dragon were to step into some extremely cold domains, it could even lead to a drop in strength, getting severely beaten by opponents far weaker than itself.

Those affected by the Red Dragon bloodline power, its beloved ones, also avoid starting conquest wars in winter; although the cold winter affects most species, the impact on the Red Dragon's beloved is excessively severe.

Karon previously couldn't comprehend why those ordinary tigers, far from being powerful, can resist the harsh cold climates solely with their fur, which is no stronger than the Red Dragon's scales.

Those ordinary tigers never fear the cold winter, and even become relatively stronger during winter, while the powerful Red Dragon, a near-perfect species, falls short even compared to an ordinary tiger in this regard.

But after gradually mastering control over his body, Karon discovered the real reason.

Almost all giant dragons constantly emit their power and bloodline aura, radiating and intertwining with the Material World, which is one of the sources of the Dragon Nest effect.

But this also indicates a form of consumption; in the presence of cold essences and certain extremely cold forces, it turns into confrontation and suppression, exacerbating the Red Dragon's consumption, and clearly, a single Red Dragon cannot fight against the entire world.

The vapor and sulfurous breath constantly steaming from every Red Dragon, from the gaps in their scales, is proof of this.

But Karon is different from other fellow Red Dragons; his talent [Bloodline Solidification - Mental Overclocking] allows him to gradually master perfect control over his body.

With long-term practice and the aid of his bloodline talent, Karon can now freely control the opening and closing of every scale on his large body and contract every tiny pore on his skin.

Not a trace of essence or energy is allowed to leak from Karon's body surfaces without permission, every breath must be contained within Karon's body, all bloodline radiation and domain effects lie dormant at Karon's will, like the Evil Dragon Blood within his body.

Moreover, it is foreseeable that in the upcoming adolescent period, when Karon's reproductive organs mature, granting reproductive capability, he might even control the joyful times with his partners and mates.

Though with the giant dragons' physical resilience and abundant energy, such control isn't really necessary, Karon nonetheless feels a sense of pride and achievement arise from this unilateral mastery.

At this moment, Karon's body is akin to a massive closed furnace and energy heap, confining all the essence and bloodline energy within, wholly eradicating the chill aversion commonly found in other Red Dragons.

In extreme cold environments, Karon too won't be weakened by this aversion; the intensely consolidated power would only intensify reaction and resistance when released.

And Karon reveals the characteristics common to Red Dragons only when he exerts his full strength, otherwise, it's just the smell of lava and sulfur clinging to his scales from long immersion in magma.

At this time, Karon's body is submerged in magma, and large pieces of deep crimson scales, the size of an adult's palm, slowly molt off his body, floating and sinking within the roiling magma stream.

Giant dragons have some similarities with snakes; generally, dragons molt in exceedingly rare circumstances, akin to how snakes shed their skins to transition through life growth cycles into a new phase.

Dragons molt their scales during these age-spanning slumbers, as their bodies naturally adapt to the dragon's evolutionary and transformative bloodline, growing new scales perfectly suited to their bodies.

However, as Karon steeped himself constantly in magma, the abundant magic power kept his body and bloodline in a state of accelerated growth and transformation.

Since the scales are the more static structure on a dragon's body, they often cannot keep pace with Karon's bodily growth and changes, so every now and then Karon would voluntarily shed scales, growing new ones suited to his body.

Once the last old scale was shed and new scales emerged, Karon would rise from the scorching magma.

He carefully collected each old scale, placing them in his Treasure Vault. By now, a pile of old Red Dragon scales has amassed in the vault's corner; despite their duller appearance post-shedding, these old scales are still regarded as prized assets by most creatures.

Even other giant dragons would covet the old scales shed from Karon. These old scales carry certain traits unique to the Red Dragons, and are the best magic materials for embodying earth, metal, and flame elements, and they naturally possess magic resistance to these three elements.

Additionally, they are highly durable, useful not only for crafting Magic Treasures, but their sheer defensive capacity can create armor and shields that would allure countless warriors.