Are You Really a Descendant of the Tarnished?

Lu Mingfei felt that the days and nights in the Lands Between were exceptionally long. Perhaps the high-intensity training had blurred his sense of time, or perhaps this place had always been like this.

As the old knight gradually increased the intensity of his instruction, Lu Mingfei's strength improved at a rapid pace.

For the first fifteen days, he could not even execute a complete sword technique and could only flee miserably beneath the old knight's blade.

After that, he gradually began to grasp the techniques and rhythm of combat. He could barely parry now and hold out for five or six minutes against the old knight.

By the thirty-seventh day, Lu Mingfei was already able to exchange blows with the old knight.

On the forty-first day, the old knight finally donned his full set of armor and began seriously sparring with Lu Mingfei in both attack and defense.

Five more days passed, and scratches of varying severity appeared on the old knight's armor.

On the sixtieth day, the old knight suddenly launched a fierce assault, fighting Lu Mingfei with all his strength. He drove Lu Mingfei back step by step, and Lu Mingfei collapsed after holding on for only ten minutes.

Then, the white-bearded elder helped the exhausted Lu Mingfei to his feet and declared that his swordsmanship had surpassed that of an apprentice knight and was enough to earn him the lowest rank in the knight order.

After that, the old knight disappeared, instructing Lu Mingfei to train on his own here until he returned.

A few days later, he came back with a complete set of Banished Knight Armor and two Exile Knight Greatswords.

"Since you have entered the ranks of formal knights, you should not use your mentor's sword as your own every day. A knight ought to have his own armor and weapons."

The old knight said slowly:

"Starting today, you will learn Storm from me."

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, gripped the greatsword in his hand tightly, then twisted his arm with full concentration and swung the blade.

A breeze swiftly gathered around him, bringing a trace of coolness before quickly vanishing beneath the gazes of the old and young men.

"Source! Source! Can't you understand human speech?!"

The old knight flew into a rage, roaring across the lawn in fury. The deafening sound made Lu Mingfei shrink his neck involuntarily.

"The movements of Stormcaller are merely aids for guiding power! Stop blindly swinging your weapon. Focus your heart on the power within you!"

Lu Mingfei tightened his grip on the hilt.

He closed his eyes and tried to sense the "source" the old knight had spoken of.

He took a deep breath.

This time, he no longer pursued superficial resemblance.

"Ha!"

Lu Mingfei gave a low shout and lightly turned his blade. At that instant, he seemed to feel the flow of blood within his body.

As his sword whistled through the air, wind gathered once more, bringing even more—stronger—cool wind.

This time, the old knight did not curse him again.

He raised his head and let out a long sigh, muttering:

"They say the Tarnished are descendants of warriors, that learning combat skills should be as easy as eating and drinking. So why haven't I seen it...

If they had all possessed such aptitude back then, why would the Storm Lord have..."

Lu Mingfei's sword tip trembled slightly.

"Teacher..."

Lu Mingfei said weakly:

"It's been over three hundred times already. How about... we try another combat skill?"

"Bullshit!"

The knight flew into a rage, his silvery beard trembling with anger.

"A Storm Knight's combat skills and swordsmanship are one and the same! If you can't even learn the most basic Stormcaller, don't even think about the later combat skills!"

"And besides!"

The old knight spoke as though he hated iron for not becoming steel:

"You clearly released it! You released it! Why can't you just put in a little more effort and use the complete combat skill?"

"You obviously have such a powerful source! You even know how to use Runes to strengthen it! How could you not sense it? How could that be possible?!"

Lu Mingfei lowered his head somewhat shamefully.

He had actually long grown accustomed to the disappointed looks of others. From childhood to adulthood, Lu Mingfei had never displayed any talent outside of StarCraft and shooting.

Aside from the freaks at Cassel College, the old knight was the first person to place such high hopes on Lu Mingfei. Though he had never said so aloud, Lu Mingfei had long felt it deeply through his daily actions.

Lu Mingfei had never responded to anyone's expectations so actively or worked so hard. Yet he truly could not sense the "source" Emiya Shirou and the old knight spoke of at all.

Lu Mingfei muttered softly:

"Maybe I was born to be a..."

As someone who wielded the power of Storm, the old knight's ears were exceptionally sharp.

"Born to be what?"

The old knight suddenly closed in, his beard and hair bristling as a sharp gleam burst from his clouded eyes.

"Say it!"

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, but in the end, he silently uttered two words, softer than a mosquito's buzz:

"Good-for-nothing."

Silence spread between them. In the distance, a gray hawk swept over the top of a cliff.

The old knight suddenly seized his twin swords.

"Watch closely, boy."

His voice was calmer than ever before:

"This is the true Stormcaller."

In an instant, a violent gale erupted.

The old knight's figure flickered in and out of sight within the storm, his twin swords becoming two streaks of silver lightning.

Lu Mingfei had to raise a hand to shield his eyes, yet he could still feel the gale crashing against him.

When the storm subsided, the old knight's swords had already reached Lu Mingfei, pointed at his throat.

"Now," he said, sheathing his swords, "tell me what you saw."

Lu Mingfei swallowed. "I saw... a storm."

"Wrong." The old knight turned and walked toward the bonfire. "What you saw was obsession."

"Boy, do not belittle yourself. In terms of learning swordsmanship alone, your talent would still rank in the upper-middle among the knight order."

Lu Mingfei froze for a moment, unsure whether the old knight was comforting him or speaking the truth.

"This old man's teaching methods were all designed to train the Storm Lord's recruits. Your source is half Ancient Dragon and half human, vastly different from ours. Perhaps my path is not suited to you."

Lu Mingfei understood that the old man was likely referring to the dragon bloodline within him.

"However, the inheritance of Storm takes more than one form, just as warriors have more than one path to growth.

"In the past, the Ancient Dragons and Flying Dragons fought a civil war. Dragonlord Placidusax bestowed Dragon Communion upon us, allowing ordinary humans like us to hunt Flying Dragons. It later gradually became a tradition of the knight order."

With matters having reached this point, how could Lu Mingfei not understand?

He raised his head hesitantly.

"Teacher, do you want me to undergo Dragon Communion?"

The old man was silent for a long while before nodding.

"Those who pursue Dragon Communion often become unable to free themselves from their craving for dragon hearts, eventually turning little by little into something inhuman."

"However, you are different."

"If my guess is correct, your human side will allow you to undergo Dragon Communion normally, just like any ordinary person. And your Ancient Dragon side will prevent you from transforming in the direction of a Flying Dragon."

"Not far from here lies a lake. A Flying Dragon named Agheel dwells there."

"Go hunt it and bring back its heart."

"Perhaps this is your destiny."