As the first rays of the morning sun pierced the horizon, the golden-red dawn spread lavishly over the vast, night-dew-cooled earth.

At this break of day, Galos concluded his all-night training.

He slowly eased his stance, his chest heaving like a giant bellows, then exhaled a long, deep breath of scorching air that lingered for a while.

He then turned his head towards the young Golden Dragon.

After a brief respite, Alberto was now biting his teeth, enduring the muscle-tearing soreness and extreme mental fatigue, once again mimicking Galos’s earlier fluid but powerful posture, starting a new round of exercises.

His movements were somewhat clumsy, but he showed no intention of stopping.

Is his competitiveness so intense? It’s practically self-torture.

The Red Iron Dragon’s gaze lingered momentarily on the young Golden Dragon’s movements, a sliver of surprise and amusement passing through his mind.

He pondered for a moment and said, "That’s enough, Alberto, I understand your unyielding competitive spirit."

"But even the sharpest blade needs to be re-fired and maintained, occasionally giving yourself some respite to allow your tired body and tense mind to recover a bit, this in itself is not out of place, it might even make subsequent honing more efficient."

Upon hearing this, the young Golden Dragon Alberto’s eyelids twitched violently.

Didn’t he want to rest?

He couldn’t!

Alberto’s golden tail drooped weakly, directly ignoring Galos’s advice, continuing with the near-exhausting exercise that pushed his physical and mental limits.

Judging by his posture, it seemed that unless he trained himself to exhaustion and collapsed on the ground, he wouldn’t stop.

Galos stood silently, taking in Alberto’s unusual reaction.

After a few seconds of silence, he slowly opened his mouth, saying, "Alberto, have you perhaps vowed something rather peculiar to yourself?"

This statement was like a stone thrown into a deep pond, shattering Alberto’s dam of forced endurance.

The long-suppressed, unspoken heaviness and burden surged out like a breached flood, a strong desire to speak almost rendering him unable to control himself.

While pressing his head against the ground, clumsily rolling his heavy body, mimicking Galos’s neck exercises.

With a voice numb from fatigue, he intermittently explained:

"Yes... Galos... In a moment of rashness, I made... a severe promise... with heavy consequences if broken."

"Oh?"

Galos’s tone slightly rose, revealing some curiosity, his eyes gleaming with interest.

"What exactly is this vow?"

Tell me so I can have a laugh... this latter part Galos muttered silently in his heart.

According to the extensive records in ancient memories, there were countless examples of Holy Dragons impulsively making strange vows, only to become deeply entangled and exasperated thereafter.

Alberto’s current embarrassing, self-inflicted suffering was a prime example.

Galos’s curiosity was ignited; he wanted to know what kind of vow could drive a proud Golden Dragon to such an extent.

"Alas..."

Alberto let out a long and heavy sigh, filled with regret and helplessness.

He lifted his eyelids, his golden pupils carrying complex emotions, repeatedly glancing sideways at the Red Iron Dragon, his lips moving, words rising to his throat only to be swallowed back down.

Wanting to speak but hesitating, stopping and wanting again, as though there was a fierce inner conflict going on.

After painfully struggling for a full seven or eight seconds.

Finally, under the silent encouragement of Galos’s gaze, Alberto finally let go of the last bit of psychological defense.

"It’s like this..."

He began to recount, his voice intermittent amidst the arduous exercise.

Soon, listening to Alberto’s words, a gleam of realization flashed in Galos’s eyes as he suddenly understood.

"I see."

He nodded slightly, his tone showing a hint of surprise and interest: "So the content of this vow involves me."

It turns out that after encountering Galos and being defeated beyond his tier, Alberto simply couldn’t accept the reality of being beaten by a teenage dragon.

Driven by a strong sense of defeat and pride, he impulsively vowed to defeat Galos.

And during the vow’s effective period—before defeating Galos—he must completely forgo all leisure and relaxation, dedicating himself entirely and unreservedly to training his own power and honing his will.

More seriously, the vow specified: if he broke this vow, he would be reborn as a lowly White Dragon in his next life.

"I can see that."

Galos’s voice sounded considerate, saying, "This vow is now causing you great distress, unbearable suffering."

He paused and suggested, "How about this? You challenge me now, I will go easy on you in the battle, allow you to win this fight, perhaps this way, you can fulfill the vow’s conditions and end this vow."

However, the Golden Dragon shook his head, his movements affected by fatigue.

He gasped, saying, "No, in my vow there’s a critical phrase—until I become stronger than you, indisputable strength."

"Indisputable—"