Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 262 [Fallen Scales]

You bite off a piece of flesh from the big loach; it eats its own kind, and you eat it—that's the rule of the pond.

Instead of rushing to eat the whole loach, you took a small bite each day and ate it slowly.

As you ate, you lay dormant deep in the mud, your body growing from two inches to three inches, then to four inches.

With the arrival of the dry season, the water level in the pond is dropping inch by inch, and the silt is beginning to crack.

Unlike other loaches that struggled in the cracked mud, you burrowed deeper into the wet mud along a crack at the bottom of the pond much earlier. Your choice was—

[First, they spin cocoons in the wet mud, waiting for the rainy season.]

Second, continue downwards along the crack to search for groundwater.

Third, it crawled out of the crack and out of the pond.

Choose one.

You mix the slime around your body with wet mud to form a hard mud cocoon. Inside the cocoon, you neither eat nor drink, neither breathe nor have your heart beat, entering a state of near-non-existence. You gain the trait: Mud Cocoon.

[After an unknown amount of time, rainwater soaked through the cracked bottom of the pond. The mud cocoon softened, and you emerged. The pond had recovered, but it wasn't the one you remembered.]

The water is deeper, the weeds are more abundant, and there are several fish you've never seen before. Your body has grown from four inches to a foot long. You are still a loach, but you are no longer the loach that could be slaughtered at will.

You didn't rush to expand your territory, nor did you compete with the new fish for food. You swam to the deepest part of the pond, to the crevices in the rocks, and continued to lie dormant. You occasionally came out to hunt at night, and occasionally to get some fresh air on rainy days, but most of the time, you stayed in the darkness.

As time passed, the pond became a lake, the lake became a swamp, and the swamp became a river.

[As your environment changed, you migrated and hibernated time and time again. Your body grew from one foot to three feet, then from three feet to five feet, and then it stopped growing.]

[You're not incapable of growing; you deliberately choose not to, because you've discovered that the larger you grow, the bigger your goals become, and the greater the energy expenditure. Your goal isn't to become bigger, but to live longer. Acquired trait: Simplicity.]

[Many years passed, and you emerged from the riverbed's silt, seeing a golden dragon flying across the sky. A dragon.]

[The most powerful being you've ever seen in your life. Its scales shimmered with gold in the sunlight, its whiskers billowed in the air, its horns pierced the heavens. You gazed upon it without envy or jealousy, simply watching with serene acceptance.]

Therefore, you have made a unique choice for this theme simulation. Please decide carefully.

[First, emerge from the mud, follow the dragon, and seek the way to transform into a dragon.]

Second, continue to lie low and wait for the next opportunity.

Third, observe the dragon. After observation, return to the mudflats.

Zhu Ge looked at the three options and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

coming!

The only choice!

Finally, after [Kunpeng] and [Spider], he has another chance to obtain a unique trait!

The choice among these three options is quite obvious.

"Choose three!"

You sink back into the sand and close your eyes. The dragon has flown away. You didn't chase after it. You don't need to transform into a dragon. Because you've already understood that lying low isn't about becoming something else, but about becoming a better version of yourself.

[The loach has its way, the dragon has its way. You are not a dragon, you are a loach. You lie dormant in the mud, you forage in the mud, you die in the mud. This is your way. Gain the unique trait: Fallen Scales.]

【本次模拟结束。】

[Gained Traits: Patience, Cunning, Silence, Simplicity, and Subtlety.]

Please select one trait.

at last!

The unique trait has arrived!

As Zhu Ge predicted, this time the theme's dormancy didn't really stay dormant forever.

Just like that hexagram.

The dragon lies hidden in the abyss, waiting for the day it will soar into the sky.

"We need to see what use this trait is."

Zhu Ge immediately examined this so-called "Fallen Scale" trait.

[Fallen Scale: With hatred and rage, I will reforge my clan's halberd, daring to change the heavens and the stars.]

Sure enough, their only characteristic was described in this way.

To explore its true usage, you need to keep trying it yourself.

However, we can probably guess at the general usage from the content of this topic.

Perhaps we can try it in the next battle.

However, in the next moment, the simulator in Zhu Ge's mind suddenly changed.

Name: Zhu Ge

Lifespan: 286 year

【Trait: Fallen Scales (Passive)】

[Inventory: Kunpeng, Spider, Stealth]

Passive?!

Zhu Ge couldn't help but be surprised.

This [Fallen Scale] is actually passively equipped!

Zhu Ge could sense that he could also put down the Fallen Scales on his own initiative, but why would he remove this passive, unique trait that doesn't consume his lifespan?

"What exactly are its effects?!"

Zhu Ge carefully perceived.

After a moment of careful perception and speculation, he finally understood part of the function of this unique trait.

Most importantly, and in Zhu Ge's mind, the most unparalleled ability is that it can be passively worn without consuming lifespan.

This is the best.

In addition, the first function of this trait was discovered by Zhu Ge.

【accumulation】!

Humans, or most living beings, are constantly emitting various forms of energy.

There is the heat emanating from the body, and also the overflowing thoughts emanating from the mind.

The function of [Accumulation] is to allow Zhu Ge to concentrate and accumulate these powers, and then release them all at once when needed.

If we had to put it in perspective, this was tantamount to giving Zhu Ge a second chance to turn the tide!

The power of the body, which shares the same origin, was released when Zhu Ge was physically and mentally exhausted, which was equivalent to allowing Zhu Ge to recover directly from a near-death state.

It's equivalent to the second phase of a boss in a game.

In addition to [Accumulation], Zhu Ge also discovered another trait in [Fallen Scales].

[Dragon Transformation]!

Unexpectedly, the Fallen Scale contains such a trait.

I remember obtaining this trait, Blessing Song, during the first simulation of this theme.

The loach of that time transformed into a dragon.

I never expected to obtain it again in this way.

He remembered that the effect of the [Dragon Transformation] was that wearing it allowed him to selectively transform into a dragon, which meant changing his body.

However, it wasn't like that, where it directly transforms into a dragon, but rather—

"It's just patterns appearing on the body—"

Zhu Ge felt a surge of joy upon recalling the introduction to [Dragon Transformation].

Simply put, under the right circumstances, his body surface will develop muscle textures similar to the tips of his fingers, but in the shape of dragon scales.

This can give him improvements in many aspects, such as defense, speed, and underwater adaptability.

At first, Zhu Ge thought he had to completely transform into a dragon, but now he sees that it's fine without transforming into a dragon, which is the best outcome.

"Huh? [Fallen Scales] has this kind of effect?"

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