Lu Mingfei knew these were probably Angers's words, so he listened quietly.
"Nidhogg, the Black Dragon King, was killed on his own throne thousands of years ago. His throne was a mountain eternally covered in ice and snow. Those who killed him laid his enormous corpse on its summit, his wings hanging all the way down to the foot of the mountain. His blood flowed down like lava, staining the entire mountain red and melting the ice and snow. Blood-colored vapor rose into the sky, forming dark red clouds that rained scarlet rain. His killers cheered as they bathed in that rain. They called that day the 'New Age,'" Lu Mingze said softly.
Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that the scene Lu Mingze described was unfolding outside the window. Through the wind and snow, he heard the distant sound of hammers striking the ends of iron spikes.
He had been forcing himself not to look away from Lu Mingze, but now he could no longer help it. This boy who called himself Lu Mingze had invoked the power of the dream.
Lu Mingfei turned toward the window. The train raced across a vast ice field. White ice tinged with pale blue covered a mountain that pierced the sky. The heavens were a deep, blood-red hue, and rain poured down in torrents, every scarlet droplet streaming down the window. Atop that frozen peak, the great dragon from the painting lay motionless, his wings trailing to the foot of the mountain, his pungent blood staining the entire peak red. Crowds climbed up along his wings. Those who reached the summit gathered around his head, driving sharp iron spikes into his skull and hammering their ends with all their strength. Each time they bored a hole, white fluid gushed out like a fountain, evaporating into thick white vapor moments later. The people leaped and cheered, their cries shaking the heavens.
Lu Mingfei's eyes widened slightly.
A Dragon King of Earth, then.
He, too, had fought a grueling battle to slay the Dragonlord of the Lands Between, Placidusax. The supreme ruler of the ancient dragons had hidden in a rift in time and space within the storm at the heart of the city in the sky. As time flowed backward, the ruins and storm returned to their former places, towering stone pillars rose once more, and a magnificent ritual arena reemerged from the river of time. There, beneath a sky filled with thunderstorms, the ancient sovereign, as massive as a small mountain, slumbered.
It had been less an encounter than an audience.
The instant Lu Mingfei first saw him, he had prepared himself for his first death since ascending to the city in the sky. By then, he had already defeated numerous demigods and carried several Great Runes. No one who saw him would have doubted his worthiness to become a lord. Yet he had been absolutely certain that what he was about to face was a true creature of myth.
"It must have been a difficult battle." As Lu Mingfei watched the cheering crowds outside, a glimmer of eagerness actually appeared in his eyes.
"It was a grand rebellion," Lu Mingze said.
"You know it in such detail, and you've even recreated a scene that should belong to mythology. It's almost as if you were there." Lu Mingfei turned toward him. "So were you a dragon-slaying hero, or a survivor of the dragons?"
"Brother, right now I'm just curious. If you really faced him, could you still hold on to that resolve and courage?" Lu Mingze did not answer. His tone was solemn as he turned and walked toward the rear of the carriage.
The dream seemed about to collapse. Bright sunlight flickered through, falling across Lu Mingfei's face, while the dream's hazy darkness gradually swallowed Lu Mingze's retreating figure.
For some reason, Lu Mingfei felt a trace of sorrow and reluctance. He did not show it, instead answering Lu Mingze's earlier question. "A long time ago, death meant starting over for me."
Lu Mingze whipped his head around and stared fixedly at Lu Mingfei's face.
Lu Mingfei continued, "But now..."
His figure had vanished completely into brilliant, blinding light, as though the afternoon sun were about to wake him from a nap. Yet his final words were steady and clear, each one following Lu Mingze into the darkness.
"Death means only one thing: I've given everything I have."
In that final instant, the young man's gaze seemed ten thousand times fiercer than the sunlight.
"All right. I'll put just a little faith in you for now, Brother. Just this once..." Lu Mingze replied from the darkness.
Someone woke from a nap, removed his eye mask, and looked at the person beside him.
"Nono, how much longer until Beijing?" Still bleary-eyed, Guderian rubbed the corners of his eyes, swallowed, and asked the red-haired girl beside him.
"We're still cruising, but we're almost there," Nono replied, looking out through the plane window at the endless white clouds and clear blue sky.
"Wow, Principal Angers met Mingfei in person." They were sitting in business class, and Guderian was using the plane's Wi-Fi. He grinned foolishly at a newly uploaded photograph on the Night Watch Forum. "I told you Mingfei was destined to be the best of the best. Look at that presence. He holds his own even beside the principal."
"I get the feeling our S-rank is going to be a whole lot of trouble..." Nono said quietly.
"Trouble? I think Mingfei is a fine young man. He values his relationships, too. He made a point of attending a farewell party with his classmates, and he even left that phone for his uncle."
"Really?" Nono turned toward the window and rested her forehead against the glass. That's because you weren't there. You didn't see those terrifying Golden Eyes of his. If Ye Sheng and Jude Jiqu were still here instead of having gone to Sichuan, they would probably have understood exactly how she felt. "I don't think he was saying goodbye to his classmates. It was more like a dragon saying goodbye to his humanity."
"Don't say things like that! Mingfei is the S-rank personally chosen by the principal. He can't possibly be a dangerous hybrid." Guderian frowned.
Nono said nothing.
Professor, that offer of tenure has blinded you. No dangerous hybrid could reach that level. He'd have to be at least a third-generation dragon.
Chapter 14: Pazzi
They were still in the speeding carriage. The darkness receded, and light returned.
Fingel threw up his hands as though he had seen a ghost. "Junior, don't eat me!"
Lu Mingfei remained turned toward the rear of the carriage, his Golden Eyes shining as he stared at the place where Lu Mingze had disappeared. Fingel happened to be directly in his line of sight. The way this young boy who called himself Lu Mingze spoke reminded him of White Mask in Limgrave. That fellow, too, had offered guidance about his fate while dropping oblique hints: there was another path he could take.
What did he mean by trusting me once? Trust is trust. Why only once?
Right now I'm just curious. If you really faced him, could you still hold on to that resolve and courage...
As Lu Mingfei recalled those words, he seemed to grasp something.
"Was it a spiritual vision? The Dragon Emperor Nidhogg does exert a mysterious pull on hybrids. That only serves to confirm the excellence of your bloodline." Angers seemed unconcerned by Lu Mingfei's lapse. The young man before him had already regained his composure and was now carefully studying the oil painting.
"Principal, are you sure 'excellent' is all it is?" Fingel raised his hand and asked timidly.
Angers smiled. "Geniuses are destined to stand apart. I believe in Mingfei. He's our The One!"
"Is this 'Dragon King' in the painting your enemy, or your progenitor?" Lu Mingfei asked.
He did not care whether he was an S-rank or The One. He had heard more than enough flattery and slander in the Lands Between. What he wanted to know now was when that one occasion the boy had placed his faith in him would come.
He suspected that fellow was preparing something big for him.
"Both," Angers continued. "According to the Poetic Edda of Norse mythology, at Ragnarök, he will gnaw through the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. On that day, the world will end. For thousands of years, countless people have searched for dragons and studied them. Cassell College represents the culmination of all their work. At Cassell College, every course has one ultimate goal." He looked straight into Lu Mingfei's eyes. "Slaying dragons!"
"So I'm entering a school that trains dragon slayers." Lu Mingfei understood.
"An excellent attitude!" Angers could not conceal the admiration in his eyes. "Beyond your knowledge, this has been going on for thousands of years. Humanity has written a history without dragons, but in another history, dragons appear in every line. This secret is too shocking, however. If it were leaked, the consequences would be impossible to predict. So, over the past several thousand years, a number of families whom we call the 'blood descendants' have shared this secret and shouldered the mission of slaying dragons. They continually raised descendants skilled in combat, incantations, magic, and alchemy, sending them onto battlefields to fight dragons and burying every effort to restore the dragons' glory. Today, Cassell College carries on their legacy."
After finishing, he quietly waited for Lu Mingfei to digest this knowledge. Instead, Lu Mingfei suddenly asked a soft question.
"Where is he?"
Angers immediately realized that Lu Mingfei meant Nidhogg in the oil painting.
"Dragons, especially first- and second-generation dragons, are very difficult to kill. Their bodies can be destroyed, but their souls can fall into slumber, then awaken in the future and descend upon the world again." Angers's voice was calm, but a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Nearly all dragons are sleeping somewhere on Earth, but they will eventually awaken, including Nidhogg. That day will mark the end of humanity. Our task is to find them before they awaken and kill them for good."
Lu Mingfei increasingly suspected that the one occasion Lu Mingze had spoken of trusting him would be the awakening of some powerful dragon, perhaps even Nidhogg.
"So how many dragon resting places have you found so far?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Many, but nowhere near enough." Angers shook his head. "You've learned enough for today. Get some rest. In two days, we'll hold a 3E Exam just for you."
Lu Mingfei had no choice but to stop asking questions. He would have plenty of time once he entered the college anyway.
"A 3E Exam?" Fingel leaned over. "Isn't it only high school students in the preparatory program who take it early? It's just one summer break. The college can't even wait that long? Do you really need to hold a separate exam for him?"
As he spoke, he winked at Lu Mingfei, his eyebrows dancing as though to say, See? I'm definitely your best buddy.
"It's not the college. It's the Board of Trustees. They're still hung up on that video of Mingfei." A trace of mockery colored Angers's voice, as though he and Fingel were playing off each other.
Once he had a general understanding of the situation, Lu Mingfei followed Fingel to the sleeper carriage to rest.
Angers returned to his seat, lifted the bone china teapot, and refilled his empty cup. Steam rose from the deep red tea.
He looked thoughtfully toward the empty seat Lu Mingfei had suddenly turned to face while studying the painting.
Apart from the CC1000 Train, the only way to reach Cassell College was by air, so the arrival station was effectively the college's outpost, standing very close to its gates. Beyond the gates lay an arched corridor. Fierce, quiet sunlight shone along one side, golden radiance flowing through the passage.
A smiling young man stood straight beside the gate. His long blond hair covered half of his remarkably delicate face.
"Hello, Principal Angers. I'm Pazzi, secretary to the Board of Trustees. I've been instructed to supervise student Lu Mingfei's 3E Exam."
Lu Mingfei, Fingel, and Principal Angers had only just stepped off the train when they spotted the young man waiting for them in the distance.
As they drew closer, Lu Mingfei felt the man's gaze settle on him intermittently, carrying a deeply concealed scrutiny.
"The 3E Exam requested by the Board of Trustees should be in two days," Angers said coolly. "Lu Mingfei has only just arrived. He needs some rest."
"Of course. My schedule brought me here two days early. Today, I'm merely here to welcome you all." Pazzi's ice-blue eyes betrayed nothing.
"Good. I thought those old codgers wanted to dissect our Mingfei for research right away." Angers smiled and shook Pazzi's outstretched hand.
Pazzi did not answer, nor did he take offense at Angers's disrespect toward the Board of Trustees.
He silently followed a short distance behind the three of them, looking more like a taciturn butler following his master.
The principal ordered Fingel to take Lu Mingfei to the dormitory. The college staff had long since gone on summer vacation, but this loser who had spent eight years on campus, dropping all the way from A-rank to F-rank, would certainly make a good guide.
The principal headed in another direction with Pazzi.
"Senior, do I have to spend this whole summer living with you?" Lu Mingfei could not help frowning after entering the filthy, cluttered dorm room.
Fingel stepped over a potato chip bag on the floor and corrected him. "Not just the summer. Your advisor is Professor Guderian, so this should be your shared room from now on."
Chapter 15: The loser
Lu Mingfei had slept in damp, fetid swamps, insect-infested forests, polluted lands teeming with rot, and underground ruins that never saw daylight. He could tolerate extremely harsh conditions.
But a pork bone under the bed was something he truly could not stomach. By this world's standards, that meant sleeping on top of one's own food waste. That was an entirely different matter from the harsh conditions Lu Mingfei could tolerate.
At his insistence, Fingel reluctantly helped him clean the room. If the college's disciplinary committee had witnessed the scene, their eyes would probably have popped out.
Fingel had his own defense. Sure, he was shameless, but what good was shamelessness against a guy who might actually be a dragon?
Late that night, both of them lay in bed.
"Say, Junior, don't you think something's strange?" Fingel was the first to break the silence.
Lu Mingfei, who had been meditating and trying to mobilize his mental power, was roused by the noise. He opened his eyes. "What do you think is strange?"
"Everything's strange. You're the one at the center of it all. Haven't you noticed?" Fingel poked his head out from his bed, looking as though he had a bellyful of complaints. "Look, you're the S-rank personally chosen by the principal, but instead of an admissions team, they sent an elite pair from the Executive Department to pick you up. Norma bought your train ticket in advance. The principal personally gave you an orientation, and the moment you got off the train, someone from the Board of Trustees was there to see you and arrange a 3E Exam just for you."
Lu Mingfei agreed with him. But first, he did not particularly care about any of it. He had only come to this college to understand the power within his body and the truth of the world's hidden side. Second, when it came down to it, neither the college nor the Board of Trustees was the source of these mysteries. He himself was.
"There are things the principal hasn't told me." Lu Mingfei thought that, of everyone involved, the principal might know the most.
Alternatively, finding his parents might also answer his questions. After all, his unusual S-rank bloodline had come from that old couple.
"Maybe you're his illegitimate son. He's an S-rank himself, so cuckolding another S-rank shouldn't be difficult." Fingel's imagination veered off into nonsense again.
Lu Mingfei had already grown used to his erratic senior. His own thoughts were rather tangled, too.
There had never been this much intrigue in the Lands Between.
Once you reached the Roundtable Hold, there was no need to talk. Kill two demigods first, then you could take a seat at the table.
To join the Dark Moon Witch's organization, you first defeated Starscourge Radahn, then entered the Eternal City to find the Godslaying Weapon and help Ranni escape her fate as an Empyrean.
Even Volcano Manor, that "evil" organization ruled by the Corrupted Inquisitor and sworn to blaspheme against the golden order, handed you a few names as soon as you joined and told you to kill them to prove your loyalty.
In the Lands Between, every goal was clear and concrete. Everything lay out in the open, waiting only for the arrival of a destined Tarnished.
Nothing made you solve riddles like this, especially when the riddle was yourself.
Still, Lu Mingfei was not one to sit around speculating.