Principal Angers

Andrew Gattuso no longer looked at Luo Qiusheng with the same disdain he'd shown when they first met. The higher-ups had given a direct order, and the school had taken Luo away without any discussion. That was already outside the usual procedures—and Luo was a complete lunatic.

"When you enrolled, didn't you sign the Abraham Bloodline Pact? If you withdraw, they have to erase all your memories of Kassel College. You could even end up a complete idiot!"

"You're an A-Rank Hybrid!"

Kassel wouldn't easily let someone with blood like his return to ordinary life.

When Andrew saw that Luo still looked as laid-back as ever after he'd finished speaking, he was struck by a sense of defeat all over again.

In the end, the matter was dropped. Luo Qiusheng returned to the dorm Kassel College had assigned him, right next door to Finger and Lu Mingfei.

"Qiusheng, my junior! Oh, I've missed you so much. Come here and let me see if you're hurt!" Finger had just returned from outside when he spotted Luo Qiusheng in the hallway.

Luo Qiusheng recognized him and smiled faintly. "Senior Finger, with your personality, you actually didn't get involved in my affairs?"

Finger gave an awkward grin and waved a hand. Walking over, he slung an arm around Luo's shoulders, his face full of suspicion and his tone probing. "By the way, where did you run off to back then? The higher-ups at Kassel College nearly went crazy looking for you over those two days."

"What if I said I went into a Nibelungen? Would you believe me?" Luo Qiusheng looked at Finger.

Finger froze at that, then—whether he was pretending or not—broke into a smile. "That's a good thing! In the past two years, the only person from your first-year class who's managed to enter a Nibelungen and come back alive is Chu Zihang."

He couldn't tell anyone about the Dual-World Gate. The secret had to stay hidden. Perhaps the Nibelungen story could serve as a cover, since the Dragon King was the trigger for the Dual-World Gate.

On the Douluo Continent, the Dual-World Gate had been triggered when he approached the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and touched one of its springs. And the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had formed because of a dragon...

"You're the next Chu Zihang!"

Faced with Finger's teasing, Luo Qiusheng said helplessly, "So in the end, you still don't consider me a brother. The Judgment Tribunal dragged me away, and I was pitifully curled up in a corner, shivering. Meanwhile, you were surfing the forums. Truly, a sight to make the hearer grieve and the beholder weep."

Finger's eye twitched at Luo Qiusheng's accusation. If he hadn't had plenty of eyes and ears around the school, he might have believed him.

"You? Shivering?"

Finger recalled the footage he'd seen not long ago: Luo Qiusheng taking on Andrew and the Judgment Tribunal all by himself. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. If he denied it, he'd be admitting he'd watched the footage and still hadn't gone to help, which would hurt their friendship. But if he agreed, he'd feel like he was betraying his conscience. After turning it over in his mind, Finger simply decided to stop arguing about it.

"Let's drop that. All the execution specialists who went out to hunt Norton came back with at least a few injuries, so I had no choice. I had to look after Mingfei, too..." As he spoke, Finger took Luo Qiusheng by the arm and led him toward the room.

In Room 303 of Dormitory Area 1, Luo Qiusheng saw Lu Mingfei sitting on his bed, staring into space. He seemed to spend most of his time doing that.

"Mingfei, look who's back! Ta-da! Luo Qiusheng, returned from the dead!"

Finger von Frings looked over at Lu Mingfei, too. Only then did Lu Mingfei react and turn toward the door. When he saw Luo Qiusheng, he instinctively jumped. "Luo Qiusheng?!"

Luo Qiusheng smiled faintly. "Hello, Lu Mingfei."

Lu Mingfei glanced toward the window. Seeing that it was still daytime, he gathered his courage, walked up to Luo Qiusheng, and circled him, sizing him up.

"You came into contact with Constantine's flames and you're fine?"

Luo Qiusheng didn't know whether Little Devil was beside Lu Mingfei right now. If he was, there was a good chance he could sense Constantine's dragon bones on Luo's person.

Lu Mingfei poked Luo Qiusheng with a finger. "You're really all right? Then where have you been these past few days?"

Since when had Lu Mingfei become a different person? He was actually asking questions on his own.

"Oh, he was in a Nibelungen. Junior Luo already told me."

Under Lu Mingfei's curious gaze, Luo Qiusheng eventually left Room 303 and returned to his own Room 304.

Readers of Dragon Tribe would probably recognize his other roommate, too: the ambitious young man he'd met during the "3E" exam.

"Qilan? Isn't the Student Union busy today?"

Qilan froze at that and turned to look at Luo Qiusheng. A few dozen minutes later...

"So that's what happened. Anyway... well."

Knock, knock—

"Excuse me, is Luo Qiusheng here? Principal Angers would like to see you."

Luo Qiusheng turned toward the dorm-room door. Hilbert von Ange had reacted quickly, but not quickly enough.

After saying goodbye to Qilan, who still looked like a curious child, Luo Qiusheng walked straight out. In the end, an upperclassman escorted him away.

Their destination was near Valhalla: an inconspicuous two-story building surrounded by bushes, with the appearance of an old garage.

It had blue-gray stone walls overgrown with vines and ivy. The door was made of wood, and even the doorbell was a brass bell.

Only after the upperclassman who'd led the way had left did Luo Qiusheng slowly push open the door and walk inside. Before him stood floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining every wall, crammed with ancient tomes and hardcovers. At the center of the room was a huge frosted-glass skylight. At first glance, the bookshelves made the place look like a maze.

It gave off an intensely old-fashioned, quiet feeling.

Hilbert von Ange sat at the central tea table, sipping tea without looking up. He spoke slowly. "Where are Constantine's remains?"

Then he raised his gaze, sharp as a hawk's, and fixed it on Luo Qiusheng. Even with dragon bones in his body, Luo felt a chill run down his back.

Luo Qiusheng swallowed and answered, a little awkwardly, "I don't know."

Hilbert von Ange's brows drew together. "You don't know?"

Then he gave a rueful smile. "All the better. That'll save the Council of Elders from coveting them."

"You handled the Judgment Tribunal well. As for what you said about withdrawing... With an A-Rank bloodline, the people in the Secret Party won't let you leave easily."

Angers wasn't the sort to make things difficult for a junior. Luo Qiusheng began to relax, though he remained alert, ready to respond to anything unexpected.

"Principal Angers, I have a question."

Hilbert von Ange seemed a little intrigued. "Oh? You have a question? Go ahead. Do you want to discuss how to deal with the people in the Judgment Tribunal, or...?"

Luo Qiusheng responded to Hilbert von Ange's teasing with a calm voice. "People... or, more accurately, Hybrids. Are they really only able to use one Spirit Word?"

"What I mean is, why can't someone master multiple Spirit Words at once?"

As he remembered it, the rule in Dragon Tribe was that each person could only use one Spirit Word: Chu Zihang had Lord Flame, Caesar had Kamaitachi, Angers had Time Zero, Jiu De Mai had Underworld Reflection...