The Eastern Nibelungen Project

The mixed-blood families appearing in the Type-Moon series, taking the Tohno family as an example, are not only major financial conglomerates in modern society but also the sect masters of subordinate branch families like Kugamine, Zakuma, and Tozaki—their influence is undeniably vast.

Those who inherit non-human blood often awaken formidable power and unique abilities. The purer the bloodline, the stronger the strength. Of course, there are also cases where the bloodline is so diluted that they end up no different from ordinary people.

But mixed blood is only part of the Type-Moon worldview.

What Shirou didn't know was that compared to the Type-Moon world, where gods, immortals, demons, and monsters run rampant, the Dragon World was much simpler. No matter what supernatural ability, psychic power, witchcraft, or divine authority, they were essentially all dragon abilities, and every human transcendent family or organization was composed of mixed-bloods, with virtually no exceptions.

"Whoa, it's like mutants from American comics! And the whole family can inherit it!" Old Tang was full of envy after hearing the explanation. "Brother, with my luck on every mission, do you think I might awaken some ability too?"

Shirou Emiya poured cold water on him without mercy. "Great power often comes with risk. Mixed blood grants you strength, but it also makes human moral values fragile. When the non-human blood outweighs the human blood, an 'Inversion Impulse' occurs."

"In short, a person turns into a 'demon'!"

Wa Lord seemed intrigued by Shirou. "Interesting. You Eastern Island mixed-bloods call those out-of-control ones 'demons'?"

Shirou was surprised. Wasn't that the case on Wa Lord's side?

...Right, the name "Wa Lord" clearly had a Shenzhou style, and the Oni Race was a uniquely Japanese legendary product.

According to Fate/Grand Order's setting, the Oni King of Mt. Oe, Shuten-doji, also had a divine aspect—"Divine Spirit Ibuki-doji," who was the child of Yamata no Orochi. This meant the origin of the oni bloodline was likely Yamata no Orochi.

As for mixed-bloods in Shenzhou, they definitely couldn't have oni or Yamata no Orochi blood. The most likely possibility was...

"In vast Huaxia, the dragon brings auspicious signs, unchanged for thousands of years," Wa Lord's tone carried a proud air even through the screen. "True Dragon bloodline, the orthodox lineage of Shenzhou."

That made so much sense!

Shenzhou indeed had a deep dragon culture heritage, and the dragon was the national totem. Feudal emperors all called themselves the "True Dragon Son of Heaven." If there wasn't some dragon mixed blood in there, it wouldn't hold up!

Shirou Emiya silently complained. Was this the expanded mixed-blood worldview from the future Tsukihime 2?

"Back to the point, boy. Which mixed-blood family in Eastern Islands do you come from?" Wa Lord's tone turned old and authoritative.

"...I'm actually of Chinese descent. Not a mixed-blood, just a half-baked magus."

"Oh, your ancestors lived abroad?"

Shirou Emiya said, "Yeah, yeah, that's right." Yes, his ancestors (from his past life). No problem there.

"A magus? Someone who performs Western tricks?"

Shirou frowned. He remembered that Shenzhou in the Type-Moon world also used magecraft, but the system was completely different from Western Magecraft, involving Thought Plates and such, with very few specific details.

As for the Western Magecraft system, he could explain it. First, you had to create Magic Circuits in the body—a network of simulated nerves spread throughout the body, used to draw magical energy from the Greater Source (Mana) of the planet and convert the body's own Od (life force) into magical energy to power various spells.

As for spells, Shirou only knew basic Reinforcement and Projection. The non-basic ones were mostly hereditary in the Type-Moon world.

But Wa Lord was deeply interested. "Haha, fascinating! This talk of 'circuits' is quite similar to 'meridians'!"

Shirou clapped his hands in agreement, thinking it made sense. Taoist Internal Alchemy Theory also had cultivation methods like "Refining Essence into Qi."

The "essence" in that referred to the essence of heaven and earth and the essence of the human body—the same thing as the planet's energy/Greater Source and the body's life force/Od in Western Magecraft!

The two of them launched into an enthusiastic discussion about "cultivation systems," and the chat interface suddenly turned into a xianxia novel.

Only Old Tang, who was still learning Chinese, stared blankly at the messages.

What was "circulating qi and breathing out the old"? What was "qi uniting with spirit" and "dual cultivation of nature and life"? What the hell were you guys talking about? I even used Google Translate, and I still couldn't understand!

Shenzhou Xiangyang, Tang City.

This was a local Tang Dynasty-style palace with upturned eaves and pointed corners. Thick wooden pillars supported crisscrossing beams, and colorful lanterns hung from the four corners, casting light on intricate patterns of dragons and phoenixes, water and cloud motifs on the walls. Under the glow of the lanterns, rows of people dressed in Tang Dynasty attire stood waiting, as solemn as generals before a majestic hall.

In the center of the great hall, a beautiful, fairy-like young girl sat in front of a computer.

She wore a gorgeous Tang skirt with an extremely long train, her long hair loose and unadorned. Her face was bare of makeup, her cheeks small and round, her brows and eyes like a painting, her skin almost translucent.

Not far away, a lean young man in Tang robes stood quietly, his expression calm.

"Zhou Yuxuan, what do you think? Is this boy's talk of 'circuits' real or fake?"

The girl spoke first, her voice clear and bright.

The lean young man, Zhou Yuxuan, bowed respectfully.

"Reporting to Wa Lord, his words resemble the so-called 'Qigong' theory. In the early days, Ji Kang's 'Treatise on Nourishing Life' said, 'Breathe and exhale, ingest qi to nourish the body.' But after the Tang and Song dynasties, the theory of ingesting qi was proven false. The Internal Alchemy Method may be good for cultivating the mind, but expecting it to enhance cultivation is wishful thinking."

"Rather than pondering Internal Alchemy, it's better to study Mantra Magic and Artifact Forging and Talisman Drawing."

The so-called "Mantra Technique" in Shenzhou was called "Mantra" in the West—a special ability possessed by mixed-bloods with dragon bloodline in this world. Mantras were released by driving elements through Dragon Script and Dragon Language, a legacy from the dragon domain.

Another dragon legacy was alchemy, which in the Western mixed-blood world gave rise to studies like forging the Philosopher's Stone and Alchemical Weapons, while in Shenzhou, it similarly spawned Pill Refining and Artifact Forging.

As for what Shirou Emiya said about cultivating magical energy or refining qi, it simply didn't exist in this world. Mixed-bloods with dragon bloodline generally leaned toward using the advantages their bloodline gave them or researching how to refine and enhance their bloodline.

There was no such thing as getting stronger through cultivation. If you wanted that, you'd be better off hoping to bathe in dragon blood like Siegfried or using Dragon Fetal Blood or Evolution Potions to boost your bloodline. Even the Elixir of Longevity could only be refined with dragon blood.

"Heh, you're firmly on the side of the 'External Alchemy School,' aren't you?" Wa Lord chuckled. "But what if... it's real?"

Zhou Yuxuan was startled. "Wa Lord believes it's real?"

"Do you know about Western alchemy? Recently, some young people studying abroad at 'Cassell' in the West came back with rumors. That Cassell College is proposing the Nibelungen Project, which can implant Alchemical Matrices similar to Daoist Runes throughout the human body to stably enhance bloodline." Wa Lord mentioned some rumors, her eyes flickering.

Zhou Yuxuan seemed to recall something. "The Chen Family's younger generation mentioned something similar too. So this Magic Circuit is that Alchemical Matrix? It actually exists?"

When he heard the words "Chen Family," a hint of barely concealed disgust flashed in Wa Lord's eyes.

"Whether it's real or fake, we'll find out with a test."