Chapter Summaries

Lu Mingfei recounted how he arrived in the Lands Between, died repeatedly, and grew stronger while searching for Dragon Communion, then lost hope when he realized he had no way to return and save the girl from his world. As Lu Mingfei lay in despair outside the Church of Elleh, Galle answered his question about what people lived for by describing the contentment he found in surviving and trading.

• Lu Mingfei recalled the devil sending him to the Lands Between with a way to grow stronger, soul-bound storage, and the instruction to find Dragon Communion.
• After dying forty-seven times, Lu Mingfei learned to hunt Godrick Soldiers, but a heavily guarded checkpoint and its powerful spear knight repeatedly stopped him.
• Lu Mingfei questioned why he was fighting and realized he did not know how to return to his original world, then gave up and lay on the church lawn.
• Lu Mingfei asked Galle what people lived for, and Galle said his nomadic people had preserved their sanity and that he was content to trade with Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei entered the Groveside Cave to find Runes after his usual enemies stopped providing enough, only to be ambushed by a pack of wolves. His increased strength and combat instincts helped him fight back, but he was left bleeding and facing the giant wolf and another wolf.

• Lu Mingfei decided to seek more Runes in the Groveside Cave after the enemies outside yielded almost none.
• Lu Mingfei killed the Godrick Soldiers near the cave entrance and activated a Site of Grace inside.
• Lu Mingfei discovered three gray wolves and a giant wolf in the cave and fought them with his torch and dagger.
• Lu Mingfei's torch repelled one wolf, while his dagger killed another as his heightened reflexes revealed how much stronger he had become.
• The giant wolf wounded Lu Mingfei, and a fourth wolf bit his shoulder before he drove it off with his torch and drank from the Flask.
• Lu Mingfei faced the remaining wolves while injured and shouted for them to die.

Lu Mingfei reached a cavern and confronted a powerful Beastman of Farum Azula, but the beastman killed him and broke his knife. Back at the Site of Grace, Lu Mingfei struggled with despair, then forced himself to stand and face the fight again.

• Lu Mingfei entered the cavern after running out of supplies and found a towering Beastman of Farum Azula beside a bonfire.
• The Beastman attacked with its greatsword, and Lu Mingfei tried to dodge and study its moves before dying.
• Lu Mingfei awoke beside the Site of Grace and recognized that the Beastman had overwhelmed him and broken his only familiar weapon.
• Lu Mingfei considered retreating to the Church of Elleh but rejected the idea after remembering how isolation had driven him out before.
• Lu Mingfei angrily cursed his fate and his failures, then compared his fear to how he had felt when Zhao Menghua bullied him.
• Lu Mingfei stood up, tucked away his broken knife, and resolved to keep going because nobody was telling him to drop out and hold the class back.

Lu Mingfei equipped a sword and chainmail, then trained by fighting soldiers and knights until he felt ready to challenge the Beastman of Farum Azula again. He wounded the Beastman in Groveside Cave, but it broke his rhythm with an unexpected move and left him injured.

• Lu Mingfei replaced his knife and tattered robe with a straight sword and chainmail, then used his Golden Eyes to kill two Demi-Humans.
• Over several days, Lu Mingfei hunted soldiers and knights near the ruins, improving his fighting and learning that he could pierce a Godrick Knight's visor.
• Lu Mingfei traveled to Groveside Cave, killed the gray wolves inside, and threw a spear into the Beastman's shoulder.
• Lu Mingfei dodged the Beastman's attacks, struck its lower back, and began to recognize its attack patterns.
• The Beastman abandoned its greatsword, grabbed Lu Mingfei's leg, and hurled him into a rock wall, warping his shield and making him spit blood.
• Lu Mingfei drank Crimson Tears, recovered, and faced the Beastman again with his Golden Eyes blazing.

Lu Mingfei killed the Beastman of Farum Azula and, thrilled by his victory, set out from the starting area to seek Dragon Communion. At a Site of Grace, he met Melina, who offered to make a deal with him.

• Lu Mingfei killed the Beastman of Farum Azula by pinning it to a cavern wall, then collapsed and celebrated his first hard-won victory.
• After resting, Lu Mingfei decided to leave the starting area and search for something related to Dragon Communion.
• Lu Mingfei fought through Gatefront Ruins, damaging his armor, before realizing he could have gone around the area to reach a Site of Grace.
• As Lu Mingfei changed out of his ruined armor, Melina appeared at the Site of Grace and introduced herself.
• Lu Mingfei mistook Melina for Higuchi Madoka before she knelt and offered to make a deal with him.

Lu Mingfei met Melina, who offered to guide him in exchange for being taken to the foot of the Erdtree. He accepted her offer and received a ring to summon Torrent, then asked her about Dragon Communion, prompting her to revise their bargain.

• Melina offered to serve as Lu Mingfei’s Finger Maiden and asked him to take her to the foot of the Erdtree.
• Lu Mingfei revealed that he could absorb Runes without a maiden and questioned Melina about her identity and purpose.
• Melina explained that she was searching for her purpose and offered to guide Lu Mingfei on the path to becoming a lord.
• Lu Mingfei accepted Melina’s request, and she gave him a ring that summoned Torrent, who had chosen him.
• Lu Mingfei asked Melina about Dragon Communion, and she offered to tell him about it and the Church of Dragon Communion in exchange for revising their bargain.

Melina explained that Dragon Communion granted dragon power but gradually transformed its practitioners, then told Lu Mingfei where he could learn more about the ritual. After killing a Kaiden Mercenary, Lu Mingfei freed a Demi-Human named Boc from a tree and learned that other Demi-Humans had cursed him for being ugly.

• Melina warned Lu Mingfei that Dragon Communion slowly consumed its practitioners with dragon desire and changed their bodies, and he asked her to tell him everything she knew.
• Melina said a Dragon Communion church stood in Limgrave and that Caelid held further lore, though Scarlet Rot made it difficult to reach.
• Lu Mingfei killed a Kaiden Mercenary by taking down its horse first, then defeated the dismounted fighter.
• Lu Mingfei heard someone calling for help, found a shrub, and revealed a wounded Demi-Human hidden beneath its disguise.
• Boc thanked Lu Mingfei for freeing him and explained that other Demi-Humans had driven him from their cave and used magic to turn him into a tree because they thought he was ugly.

Lu Mingfei accompanied Boc to Coastal Cave to retrieve something important, fighting his way through the Demi-Humans inside. He entered the deepest cavern and discovered two enormous creatures waiting in the darkness.

• Boc offered Lu Mingfei ten mushrooms to thank him, but Lu Mingfei accepted only one and called it a friendship fee.
• Boc decided to return to Coastal Cave despite his fear, and Lu Mingfei insisted on going with him.
• Lu Mingfei left Boc waiting by a Site of Grace and entered the cave alone, silently killing the Demi-Humans he encountered.
• Lu Mingfei reached the deepest cavern and prepared to fight after a shield-bearing Demi-Human charged at him.
• Two creatures over three meters tall rose from the darkness, and Lu Mingfei realized they were far larger than he expected.

Lu Mingfei summoned help to face the Demi-Human horde after realizing he could not defeat them alone. Emiya Shirou answered the call and appeared before him in splendid armor.

• Lu Mingfei concluded that he needed help to overcome the two Demi-Human chiefs and their numerous followers.
• Lu Mingfei used the Furlcalling Finger Remedy, but found no summoning signs inside the cave.
• Lu Mingfei spotted a Japanese rune outside the cave asking for help from Emiya Shirou and summoned its owner.
• Emiya Shirou appeared in ornate armor, introduced himself as a knight from Caria, and asked Lu Mingfei if he had called for help.

Lu Mingfei met fellow Tarnished Emiya Shirou and learned that their worlds were different, but both had brought them to the Lands Between. Shirou explained that Lu Mingfei could return home by defeating Margit at Stormveil, and promised to teach him how.

• Lu Mingfei recognized Emiya Shirou as a fellow Earth-born person and broke down as Shirou comforted him.
• Emiya Shirou explained that he came from a different world and that Tarnished had to collect Great Runes and restore Elden Ring.
• Shirou told Lu Mingfei that defeating Margit would let him travel back and forth, then revealed he had died ninety-four times before winning on his ninety-fifth attempt.
• Lu Mingfei reluctantly accepted that he had to fight Margit to return home, and Shirou promised to teach him the basic techniques.

Lu Mingfei and Emiya Shirou discussed magic and the many otherworldly Tarnished in the Lands Between. Shirou warned Lu Mingfei about the dangers of exploring while using a Summon Finger, then revealed he was younger than Lu Mingfei.

• Emiya Shirou killed the Demi-Humans with a powerful magical sword technique, and Lu Mingfei finished off their chieftain.
• Lu Mingfei asked to learn Shirou's magical combat techniques, and Shirou explained that they required magical talent and Glintstone.
• Shirou told Lu Mingfei that Rudeus was an exceptionally gifted mage and another Tarnished from another world who might teach him.
• Shirou explained that many Tarnished came from other worlds and described the White Phantom and Red Phantom groups, warning Lu Mingfei that invaders could steal his Runes and Rune Arcs.
• Lu Mingfei thanked Shirou as his senior, but Shirou revealed he was a year younger and asked Lu Mingfei to call him Brother Shirou.

After exploring a hidden island, Lu Mingfei encountered an imposing old knight at the Church of Dragon Communion. The knight mistook him for a Godrick follower, then recognized a power in his eyes and asked whether he wanted to become a Storm Knight.

• Lu Mingfei found a passage from the Demi-Humans’ cave to a quiet island and lit a Site of Grace near the ruins.
• Lu Mingfei entered the Church of Dragon Communion and found an armored knight kneeling before its altar.
• The old knight disarmed and pinned Lu Mingfei, mistaking his soldier’s armor for proof that he served Godrick.
• Lu Mingfei explained that he had reached the island by clearing the cave, and the old knight let him go.
• The old knight noticed ancient gold in Lu Mingfei’s eyes, questioned him about Dragon Communion, and asked, “Do you want to become a Storm Knight?”

Lu Mingfei accepted the old knight’s offer and was formally inducted into the Storm Knights, then began grueling training with him. Several days into the lessons, Lu Mingfei was exhausted and still struggling to master the greatsword.

• The old knight offered to teach Lu Mingfei the Storm Knights’ knowledge, and threatened to execute him for trespassing when Lu Mingfei asked if he could refuse.
• Lu Mingfei agreed to join, and the old knight knighted him as a Storm Knight from China.
• The old knight began correcting Lu Mingfei’s stance and swordsmanship, striking and kicking him whenever he made mistakes.
• The old knight tested Lu Mingfei in combat, repeatedly knocking him down and disarming him as he practiced with the Exile Knight Greatsword.
• After several days of training, Lu Mingfei reflected on the greatsword’s description and the old knight’s claim to be the last descendant of the Storm Lord.

Lu Mingfei asked the old knight about the Storm Knights and learned how their order had fallen and why the old man wanted him to inherit the storm. The old knight confirmed Lu Mingfei’s Ancient Dragon-like power and ordered him to continue training, leaving him facing another punishing day of practice.

• Lu Mingfei asked whether the old man was the last Storm Knight, and the old man recounted the order’s collapse after the Storm Lord fell.
• The old man explained that he wanted someone to remember the storm, not to avenge him, and said he had chosen Lu Mingfei for his bloodline and stubbornness.
• Lu Mingfei worried he might never learn the storm skills, but the old knight told him to keep practicing even in his next life.
• The old knight confirmed that Lu Mingfei’s power was nearly identical to an Ancient Dragon’s and assigned him extra training of three hundred repetitions each.

After weeks of training, Lu Mingfei earned the rank of a formal knight but struggled to learn the Stormcaller skill. His teacher concluded that the usual path did not suit Lu Mingfei’s mixed Ancient Dragon and human blood and sent him to hunt a dragon as the next step toward inheriting Storm.

• Lu Mingfei trained with the old knight for sixty days, improving until he qualified for the lowest rank in the knight order.
• The old knight returned with Banished Knight Armor and two Exile Knight Greatswords, then began teaching Lu Mingfei Storm.
• Lu Mingfei repeatedly failed to perform the complete Stormcaller skill, and the old knight demonstrated it while telling him not to belittle his swordsmanship talent.
• The old knight explained that Lu Mingfei’s Ancient Dragon and human blood might make Dragon Communion a better path for him.
• The old knight told Lu Mingfei to hunt the Flying Dragon Agheel at a nearby lake and bring back its heart.

Lu Mingfei lured Flying Dragon Agheel into rocky terrain and attacked it, using cover to evade its Dragonfire. After Agheel knocked him into the lake and tried to pounce, Lu Mingfei scrambled beneath its body, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Lu Mingfei bought throwing knives and arrows from Galle and learned that Agheel breathed fire but could not command lightning or Storm.
• Lu Mingfei rode Torrent to the lake, studied Agheel, and chose the rocky shoreline as a place to fight it.
• Lu Mingfei shot Agheel with an arrow and led it toward the rocks while dodging its Dragonfire.
• Lu Mingfei slashed Agheel's hind leg and thrust into it, but the dragon struck him with a claw and sent him into the lake.
• Agheel dove at Lu Mingfei, who scrambled beneath its body to avoid the pounce.

Lu Mingfei fought and killed Agheel, awakening the power in his dragon blood during the battle. He took Agheel’s heart and learned it could grant him the dragon’s power through Dragon Communion.

• Lu Mingfei charged Agheel and was badly injured by the dragon’s tail, but his dragon blood awakened in response to the danger.
• Lu Mingfei drank from his Flask and attacked Agheel through its fire breath, using a violent Storm to slash the dragon’s head and throat.
• Agheel died, and Lu Mingfei celebrated surviving his first solo dragon hunt before cooling off in the lake.
• Lu Mingfei cut open Agheel’s chest and pulled out its heart, learning that Dragon Communion could let him claim the dragon’s power.

Lu Mingfei returned with a Dragon Heart and accepted the old knight’s offer to undergo the Dragon Communion ritual. As the heart’s power flooded into him, black scales spread across his body and the old knight murmured that he had never seen anything like it.

• Lu Mingfei learned from Galle that an Exile Knight carrying two greatswords had been seen on a nearby cliff and suspected the old knight was there.
• At the Church of Dragon Communion, the old knight scolded Lu Mingfei for damaging his armor, then praised him for becoming more like a knight.
• The old knight explained the dangers and power of Dragon Communion and let Lu Mingfei choose whether to consume the Dragon Heart or transform it through the ritual.
• Lu Mingfei chose the ritual, placed his hand in the altar, and was struck by the Dragon Heart’s power as Golden Eyes and black scales appeared.

After awakening his Dragonification and discovering his new strength, Lu Mingfei entered Fringefolk Hero's Grave to retrieve its ancient Dragon Communion Mark. He reached the chamber's Storm Knight guardian and began a fight that pitted his two-handed swordsmanship against the knight's sword and shield.

• Lu Mingfei awoke with fading scales, heightened senses, and a fiery power within him, then accidentally smashed a stone wall with one punch.
• The old knight told Lu Mingfei that the scales came from his unusual bloodline and sent him to Fringefolk Hero's Grave to master Dragon Communion.
• Lu Mingfei followed the chariot through the tomb, dodging its path and fighting spectral soldiers along the way.
• Lu Mingfei faced a spectral Storm Knight guarding the inner chamber and attacked with Storm Blade.
• The Storm Knight blocked Lu Mingfei's attacks, struck him with a shield bash, and used a sword-and-shield version of Stormcaller.

Lu Mingfei fought a Spirit Knight in a tomb and defeated it after its Dragonfire attacks nearly exhausted him. He claimed the Dragon Communion Mark, paid respect to the fallen knight, and then heard the chariot approaching again.

• Lu Mingfei disrupted the Spirit Knight with a storm technique, but his sword strikes failed to injure the spirit.
• The Spirit Knight attacked with repeated Dragonfire, and Lu Mingfei split the flames with a storm before striking the knight again.
• With his essence depleted and his Flask empty, Lu Mingfei fought defensively until the Spirit Knight collapsed and dispersed.
• Lu Mingfei collected the Dragon Communion Mark, which branded his palm and strengthened his Dragon Communion Flame.
• Lu Mingfei saluted the fallen knight and turned to leave, but the chariot roared through the passage again.