"To be precise, this is degeneration," Angers said, shaking his head. "Once dragon blood exceeds fifty percent, it happens spontaneously. But the powerful dragon genes can't completely eliminate the human genes. Those impurities, as dragons see them, remain like dregs. So hybrids never truly evolve into pureblood dragons. They only become things called 'Deadpools.' At the final moment of their evolution, they die, losing their sense of self and becoming walking corpses."
"So the process, taken as a whole, leads to destruction." Lu Mingfei had already guessed what the "path to godhood" meant.
There had been a demigod in the Lands Between, Rykard, the Lord of Blasphemy. He had allowed the God-Devouring Serpent to swallow his body, intending to possess the serpent with his soul and gain the power of blasphemy. Instead, the serpent had influenced him in turn. A ruler's lofty ambitions had degenerated into base greed, and in the end, Lu Mingfei, the Tarnished, had slain him.
The path of blasphemy demanded a crushing price, even the loss of oneself, in exchange for power far beyond one's own.
After merging with the God-Devouring Serpent, Rykard had fought with enough power to all but destroy heaven and earth. If the Gelmir Knights hadn't sought out that great spear for hunting the immortal serpent in an effort to salvage their lord's reputation, Lu Mingfei might not have defeated him so easily.
It had been a tragedy, really.
A nameless knight had carried the Serpent-Hunting Spear to the fallen demigod he had once revered, fought to the death, and left the weapon before his lord, until someone finally came after long ages to put an end to that foul fate.
"On the whole, it leads to destruction," Angers said, affirming the latter half of Lu Mingfei's statement. "But on the battlefield against dragons, hybrids were at an absolute disadvantage, especially in eras when human technology was still primitive. So..."
"So temporarily altering their bloodline, staying lucid for a short time while gaining power, became a necessary weapon," Lu Mingfei said evenly.
Angers nodded approvingly, growing ever more appreciative of this young man whose thinking carried such decisive, lethal resolve. He continued, "Even when their dragon blood doesn't exceed fifty percent, trained hybrids can preserve their primary personality while suppressing it, releasing a secondary personality. At that point, the change isn't merely psychological. The dragon genes become active, as though they can sense the shift. All the hidden draconic traits in your body awaken, and the dragon genes begin modifying the human genes. That is 'Blood Rage.'"
It was essentially what Lu Mingfei had expected. Even if obtaining power came at an enormous cost, a chance to change one's fate in a desperate situation was still profoundly tempting.
Blood Rage traded irreversible destruction for the power of dragons-of gods.
"Blood Rage is a forbidden technique. It briefly activates your dragon blood, but the side effect is that you may cross the fifty-percent 'critical bloodline limit.' Once you cross it, you're like a roller coaster plunging down its track. No power can pull you back. This technique is a devil. The exhilaration of your bloodline's instantaneous purification immerses you in the illusion that you can do anything. If you're too greedy for power, the devil silently leads you across the line and pushes you into the abyss." Angers stared into Lu Mingfei's eyes as he described its consequences in greater detail.
"I understand." Lu Mingfei nodded.
What he had learned from the headmaster today had filled another gap in his understanding of dragons and hybrids.
The so-called power of gods, when stolen by a mortal, was also a curse.
"Mingfei, I don't know why you're so eager to learn about dragons, though of course that's a good thing." Seeing that Lu Mingfei seemed ready to leave, Angers added, "There's some good news today. I think it'll interest you more than those ancient books in the library."
Lu Mingfei blinked, intrigued. "What good news? Did you successfully kill another awakened dragon?"
"No," Angers said. "But close. The Kuimen Project has made considerable progress. We may have found the Bronze and Fire King's sleeping palace."
Chapter 20: Underwater
At dusk, just before the sun went down, its final crimson rays passed through the glass and fell across Lu Mingfei's tranquil face.
The dorm room was quiet. Fingel had gone to the cafeteria to pick up their food. There was no delivery service during summer vacation, so they had been taking turns collecting their meals.
A heartbeat sounded in the silence.
At first it was barely audible, but as Lu Mingfei's breathing rose and fell, thump! Thump! It grew clearer, slow and powerful as a beating drum.
At the same time, the blood in Lu Mingfei's body flowed faster, carrying a constant stream of nutrients to his muscles and limbs. His intense metabolism converted them into biological energy and waste heat. In the summer heat, scorching vapor rose from the sweat on his body!
"Whew..." Lu Mingfei opened his eyes, and his Golden Eyes slowly faded.
After a period of practice, he had mastered the technique called Blood Rage.
During the process, he had gradually suppressed his thoughts to release the so-called "dragon" personality. Unfortunately, even when his mind was utterly still and his awareness of self had diminished to its limit, no violent, bloodthirsty alternate personality emerged.
It was a little disappointing.
He had been back on Earth for quite some time without seeing a single real dragon, and even the "curse" inside his own body refused to show itself.
The sunlight had vanished completely. Beyond the window, a pale blue canopy of sky spread wide, gradually enveloping the summer night as its lingering warmth faded.
Then the phone the headmaster had provided finally rang. Some time earlier, Angers had agreed to let him join the Kuimen Project, diving to the bottom of the Three Gorges Reservoir to search for the Dragon King's sleeping palace, and had promised to notify him before departure.
"Mingfei, come to the helipad." Angers sounded relaxed when the call connected. He neither asked whether Lu Mingfei was ready nor elaborated on the mission. After receiving a brief answer, he hung up.
It was as though they weren't going to pick a fight with a first-generation dragon, weren't undertaking a top-secret mission requiring approval from the Board of Trustees, weren't embarking on a dangerous operation with complicated procedures. It felt more like a father and son heading to the beach for a vacation. The family had packed their luggage and were sitting in the car, waiting for the eldest son, still packing in his room, to come downstairs. Dad had called to hurry him along: come on, son, the sunshine and sand are waiting.
Lu Mingfei had already undergone several days of diving training for this mission. Naturally, his luggage had long since been packed.
Carrying two white foam takeout boxes, Fingel kicked open the dorm room door and found Lu Mingfei with Red Skies on his back and a black travel bag in his hand.
"You're not eating?" Fingel stared at him, lifting the steaming takeout boxes in their plastic bag.
"I have a mission. Eat both portions," Lu Mingfei said succinctly.
"You haven't even started school yet, have you? It's only September. You haven't attended a single proper class, and the Executive Department is already working you like a pack mule, sending you all over the world?" Fingel grumbled. "Also, why do I feel like you have a prejudiced view of my appetite?"
"I volunteered." Lu Mingfei shocked Fingel again.
"Fine. You're the elite, you're S-rank. Your senior here is a useless loser. I wouldn't understand." Fingel set both meals on his desk.
Lu Mingfei ignored him and walked out.
Fingel gazed around the empty dorm room. After a long while, he murmured, "You really don't know how to treasure campus life..."
The group took Angers's private helicopter to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, then transferred to a small commercial jet chartered by the Executive Department and headed for China.
After the long journey, this stellar lineup consisting of two S-ranks finally arrived at the local Cassell College branch.
As an Executive Department operative, Lu Mingfei checked into a hotel arranged by the college. About a week later, the operation finally began.
Angers did not participate directly. As headmaster and a representative of the Board of Trustees, he served as commander-in-chief and would not interfere with the specifics of the mission. Someone else was in charge on-site: Professor Mance Longsdale, who taught Magitech Mechanical Design.
The professor was the one who reported directly to Angers.
On the day of the dive, the rain was heavy. Aboard the ship in the raging storm, all they could see in every direction were waves surging through the darkness. The unfathomable water was pitch-black.
Lu Mingfei stood before the aft cabin door of the tugboat Moniakh. He had just asked Professor Mans for permission to dive and had been refused.
Ye Sheng and Jude Jiqu were putting on their diving equipment while Professor Mans inspected the safety lines beside them. Rain battered them from every direction. In weather like this, they had to shout to be heard.
Lu Mingfei watched for a moment, then turned and went back into the aft cabin. His current outfit was rather peculiar: black thermal clothing with Red Skies strapped to his back, making him look like a swordsman in pajamas. The forward cabin served as the Cassell team's operations room and command center. Everyone there was working at a screen, and he had nothing to contribute, so he could only remain aft.
Inside the aft cabin, a baby lay in a cradle. A beautiful, alluring woman sat beside him, presumably his mother.
Lu Mingfei sat opposite them. He didn't know why a baby was present on such a dangerous mission, nor did he care to ask. He simply closed his eyes to conserve his strength. With his current knowledge of dragons, he could guess that the infant had become part of the mission because of some unusual bloodline or Word Spirit.
The beautiful woman looked up and studied Lu Mingfei as he rested with his eyes closed. She, too, remained silent.
The ship had a deep draft and merely rocked in a steady rhythm despite the storm. Through the steel hull, the rain that drowned out everything sounded somewhat muffled.
The peace lasted until Mans entered. But after taking off his waterproof jacket, he immediately hurried into the forward cabin without giving either the woman or Lu Mingfei any instructions.
Unlike Angers, Professor Mans did not really regard Lu Mingfei as part of the operation.
An S-rank who had already passed the 3E exam was undeniably destined to become a brilliant rising star. But here and now, he was at most a freshman the headmaster had sent along to gain experience, entitled only to observe. Participating in a mission suspected to involve a Dragon King without having taken the college's courses or undergone Executive Department training was already an honor worthy of his S-rank status.
As for actually diving to carry out the mission, Mans trusted his own people more.
The only connection remaining between the people aboard and Ye Sheng and Jude Jiqu was the signal cable inside their safety line. Signals from the underwater sensors passed through fifty meters of water and became electronic images and sound on the monitoring terminals.
Mans stood before a display terminal. In his headphones were two strong, living heartbeats, matching the rising and falling green traces on the screen.
Ye Sheng and Jude Jiqu were gradually approaching the bottom of the reservoir. They were probably surrounded by endless darkness in every direction, hearing nothing except hollow voices laced with static transmitted through the signal cable.
An ordinary person in such circumstances would inevitably succumb to a fear of deep water, breathing faster as their heart raced. But the two divers' heart rates showed no dramatic fluctuations. They were slightly elevated due to the water pressure, but remained within the normal range.
They truly deserved their reputation as the Executive Department's finest young operatives in recent years.
Chapter 21: The Dive
The Executive Department had dispatched four additional teams to XZ, XJ, Greenland, and Mexico. Worldwide, roughly thirteen hundred people were searching for Dragon Tombs. Professor Mans's team, the closest to success, was targeting Norton, the Bronze and Fire King—a noble first-generation dragon and one of the four great monarchs.
The operation to be carried out on the Yangtze River was called the Kuimen Project.
Lu Mingfei sat in the cabin, recalling the information Angers had shared.
At one moment, the sound of rain suddenly vanished. The chill of the storm, powerful enough to drench even the summer heat, abruptly seeped into the cabin.
Lu Mingfei opened his eyes.
As expected, the woman opposite him had disappeared. In her place sat a boy wearing a black suit and a lace cravat. If he opened the door between the forward and aft cabins, all the busy operatives inside, including Professor Mans, would surely have vanished too.
"Lu Mingze." Lu Mingfei spoke his name.
The cabin stopped rocking, as though the wind and waves outside had subsided. Yet the faint fishy smell of water carried by the storm remained strong, emanating from Lu Mingze. The aft cabin's outer door stood wide open, and he looked as though he had just climbed out of the depths.
"Brother, are you sure you want to keep going?" Lu Mingze leaned over the cradle, bending down to play with the infant inside.
The baby's face was rosy, but he neither breathed nor moved, resembling a lifelike porcelain doll. Lu Mingfei knew this was because of Lu Mingze's dream. In this fellow's dreams, everything except the two of them was fake.
"Keep going? You mean the Dragon King's palace down below?" Lu Mingfei tried to draw information out of him.
"Dragon King? Just a traitorous subject." For an instant, extreme disgust showed on Lu Mingze's face. "But for you, brother, he's quite dangerous."
Lu Mingze's words confirmed that the Bronze and Fire King was beneath the reservoir.
"Dangerous?" Lu Mingfei shook his head. "If he really is down there, there are fifty meters of reservoir water between us right now."
"Soon. If you keep getting involved, you'll face him directly," Lu Mingze said softly. "I know some things have happened to you, brother. You're full of fighting spirit now, and you've awakened your hybrid powers. But are you really ready?"
His gaze was sincere, but his words carried a faint promise of bloodshed. He was like a conductor on a train bound for hell, kindly stopping an innocent traveler from boarding and asking one last time whether he was certain. Once he agreed, there would be no turning back-only a headlong, triumphant rush into hell.
Lu Mingfei suddenly understood. The big fellow underwater was probably the "one chance" Lu Mingze had meant when he said he would trust him once.
Lu Mingze was now urging him to stop for the last time.
"For us, stopping isn't an option," Lu Mingfei replied with a faint smile.
"Us... huh." Lu Mingze's eyes flickered. He spread his hands helplessly. "Then I can only watch your performance, brother."
The sound of wind and rain surged back. Someone shoved open the door between the forward and aft cabins. Lu Mingfei turned to see a slightly anxious Professor Mans.
At the same time, Lu Mingze disappeared, and the aft cabin's outer door, which he had opened, was closed again.
"We're short on time. May I use the Key to open the Bronze City?" Mans was speaking on the phone as he walked toward the baby and the woman.
"Professor Mans, I request permission to dive." Lu Mingfei stood, his tone firm.
Professor Mans frowned and looked at him with some irritation. Then, suddenly, astonishment flashed across his face before his expression settled again. "The headmaster just approved it. You'll dive with me, and we'll take the Key."
He put away his phone, went to the cradle, and gently picked up the baby.
"Be careful when you use him. He's the only Key we currently have. It would be nearly impossible to find another with dragon blood this pure. Even Chu Zihang can't compare to him," the woman said.
"But he's much better behaved than Chu Zihang." Mans played with the baby. "Don't look at me as though you can't trust anyone. You're only his foster mother. We all love the Key."
With that, Mans carried the baby into the forward cabin to fetch the diving equipment.
Lu Mingfei took the sword off his back, intending to fasten it at the waist of his diving suit later. Carrying it that way would make it easier to draw underwater.
But the woman suddenly spoke to him. "Aren't you afraid? You know what's down there, don't you? There was an underwater earthquake just now. Your fellow students may already be in danger."