After devouring the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Haoyuan's bite force unexpectedly broke through the upper limit of his ten-meter flood dragon body!
He could now easily bite right through the hide armor of a ten-meter giant beach croc.
This thrilled Haoyuan endlessly!
It actually worked!
You really are what you eat!
However, he needed to consume powerful individuals or specialized species to get these results.
Having eaten giant beach crocs year-round had already made his hide significantly tougher.
Thus, in the days that followed, Haoyuan began targeted hunting.
To improve the flexibility of his claws and the sharpness of his claw blades, he consciously hunted dromaeosaurs.
To enhance the strength of his scaly armor, he swept through the fish in safe waters like swamps and lakes.
While clearing out the fish, he took the opportunity to shed and replace his scales body-wide.
Snake scales were too brittle compared to fish scales, with weak penetration resistance.
Nor were they as tough and thin as fish scales.
However, during the evolution process, Haoyuan had envisioned dragon scales.
Therefore, the evolved scales differed slightly from fish scales.
They were harder, thinner, and more flexible.
His entire body felt much lighter as a result.
As for developing majestic dragon horns, Triceratops was his top choice, supplemented by other ceratopsians.
After some time passed, Haoyuan managed to further raise the upper limit of his flood dragon body through this method.
...
One day, just as the sun set, leaving only a streak of fiery red sunset glow on the horizon, Haoyuan, having eaten his fill as usual, found a high slope to lie down on and look out over this vast hunting ground.
A gentle breeze blew past, giving him a sense of cozy comfort.
He just lay there quietly, letting his mind slowly wander into a serene, tranquil state.
Time flowed lazily.
The sky gradually darkened.
The world in his view grew smaller and smaller as his eyelids drifted shut.
Unconsciously half-closing his eyes, Haoyuan prepared to take a short nap.
Suddenly, a brilliant streak caught the edge of his vision.
Haoyuan blinked in surprise and opened his eyes.
Meteor after meteor plunged from the sky like blooming fireworks, dragging radiant tails of flame as they fell toward the four corners of the world.
Haoyuan's eyes widened instantly.
Watching countless meteors fall in magnificent bursts, lighting up heaven and earth time and again, dyeing all creation in dreamlike colors, his heart was profoundly shaken.
The scene was simply too grand.
Haoyuan felt his breath catch. By the time he finally snapped out of it, he suddenly remembered that an extraterrestrial meteorite impact was precisely what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs in his past life.
A surge of panic gripped his heart.
Yet the sky was filled with a brilliant meteor shower, completely different from the colossal impactor in his past life's memories.
That giant asteroid should have struck a single location, rather than scattering as countless meteors across the whole world like this.
“It's probably just a cosmic spectacle. Still, it's really beautiful.”
Watching the sight, Haoyuan marvelled repeatedly, not panicked at all.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for the meteor shower to end, and the sky returned to its usual darkness.
“Still, with catastrophic events like meteorite impacts, I should plan ahead. It'd be bad if one happened to hit right where I am.”
Haoyuan pondered. If a meteor truly came crashing down, his only chance of survival would be the main river channel.
Hiding in the deepest subterranean river inside might allow him to endure the shockwave of a meteorite impact.
That was assuming the meteor wasn't heading directly for him—otherwise, all hope would be lost anyway.
“Mosasaurs lurk in the main river channel. In the water, I'm no match for them—unless I can breathe underwater like a fish...”
Visualizing the image of a hidden dragon lurking in the deep abyss, Haoyuan opened his panel.
Name: Haoyuan
Species: Flood Dragon (Custom)
Lifespan: 6,000 years
Evolution Direction: 1. Aquatic Lungs (Available) 2. Fire Line (??) 3. Aerial Flight (???)
Fifty years had passed since he killed the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Having accumulated plenty of energy over those fifty years, evolving Aquatic Lungs was more than within reach.
“Guess the Fire Line will have to be pushed back again.”
He had been coveting the supernatural power of breathing fire for a long time.
“Too bad I don't know when a meteorite might hit, or I'd definitely save up for the Fire Line first.”
After finishing the Aquatic Lungs evolution, his lifespan increased by 2,000 years.
“Well, living a few more millennia isn't bad either.”
Looking at the 8,000-year lifespan on his status panel, Haoyuan instantly found it sweet as pie.
...
Over fifty years, Haoyuan's body size had grown to eighteen meters.
This was the natural growth limit for his flood dragon body; growing any larger would require spending energy.
To save up for the Fire Line, Haoyuan had no choice but to pause his physical growth.
...
For the next month, Haoyuan continued his dull daily hunting routine.
Until today, when the sound of a Tyrannosaurus Rex echoed from the forest.
This surprised Haoyuan.
To raise his bite force, he had eaten all the nearby Tyrannosaurus Rexes long ago.
Later, he realized that the gains to his bite force had become negligible unless the prey was massive, so he ultimately abandoned the idea of far-off expeditions.
Even so, no Tyrannosaurus Rex had ventured into this vast hunting ground for many years.
Perhaps sensing danger, they had kept a respectful distance from this place.
Yet today, a fearless one had actually shown up.
“Gulp... I haven't eaten T-Rex meat in a long time.”
“You'll make a nice snack to tide me over.”
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Haoyuan immediately decided to change his hunting plan and head straight into the forest.
Despite his massive eighteen-meter body, he slithered with very little noise.
However, to a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the faint sound was still distinguishable.
In fact, from a distance, it could clearly see his every move as he slithered over.
Haoyuan slithered at an unhurried pace, without the slightest intention of hiding his movement.
So what if he was spotted?
It wasn't like the creature could outrun him anyway.
Yet after slithering some distance, he suddenly stopped and knitted his brow slightly.
“Hmm?”
Through the airflow sensing of his dragon whiskers, he felt that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was heading straight toward him.
Once he sensed its size, enlightenment dawned on him.
“Ah, it's sixteen meters long. No wonder it's so confident.”
“Though even if you were twenty meters, coming here just makes you a dish on my plate!”
Haoyuan was brimful of confidence.
As luck would have it, increasing his bite force required large prey over 15.6 meters.
This sixteen-meter Tyrannosaurus Rex could raise his maxed-out bite force a bit further.
Not bad at all.
“Yawn...” With that thought, he let out a yawn and stopped in his tracks.
Since the opponent was coming to find him, he might as well wait right here.
It would save him energy anyway.
Soon, the massive Tyrannosaurus Rex entered Haoyuan's field of vision.
Without thinking twice, he prepared to pounce and slaughter it on sight.
Unexpectedly, the Tyrannosaurus Rex opposite him was even more impatient than he was!
The instant it spotted him, it charged straight forward!
“Huh?”
Haoyuan was completely dumbfounded.
“Seriously? You're that confident? You dare charge right in without probing first? We're barely different in size!”
Complaints aside, he still lunged forward.
It felt like dealing with a brainless brute; a solid constriction lock would tame it soon enough.
Haoyuan slithered at high speed. Just as he was about to collide with the gaping, bloody maw of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, his body twisted limberly, dodging its lunging bite to slip around to its flank.
On both sides of his torso, his Kirin Arms—already primed and ready—shot out and slammed violently into the ground.
Thud.
Dirt shattered and flew into the air.
His entire flood dragon body leaped skyward, instantly tackling the slow-reacting Tyrannosaurus Rex to the ground.
One Kirin Arm pinned its head while the other pinned its torso. With his current bite force, a direct throat lock would end the fight.
Yet just as he was about to clamp down on its throat, an unexpected anomaly occurred!
Something suddenly wrapped tightly around his midsection, violently jerking him toward the Tyrannosaurus Rex's chest!
The sudden pull caused him to stumble.
Stabilizing his footing, he discovered that the Tyrannosaurus Rex's belly had burst open like a gutted carcass!
Numerous tentacles sprouted from within, wrapping around his flood dragon body one by one and dragging him deep into the ruptured belly!
“What in the world?!”
Horror seized his heart.
At that exact moment, the Kirin Arm pinning the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head suddenly met soft air as the head collapsed beneath it.
His claws slammed directly onto the ground as a result.
The icy chill of the damp earth vibrated clearly through his palms.
Haoyuan's skin crawled with dread. Turning his head back, his pupils dilated in shock.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex's mouth had actually split open from the head, extending down its neck all the way to its shoulders, transforming into a colossal, monstrous maw!
Rows of razor-sharp teeth lined its interior in terrifying concentric circles!
This wasn't a living creature at all!
It was a monster!!
Rate on N.U.
