Chapter 51: Let Them Practice More
Summer vacation was leisurely. Recently, Ji hadn't found any practice targets for the little ones; he wanted them to settle down, meditate more, and act their roles more. As a result, Lu Mingfei was either playing games or chatting on QQ. Ling said she had to go back and left a few days ago. And Nono? Nono set up a small booth in the city square and was using her abilities to play tricks, claiming it was part of her acting.
The TV in the living room was playing a program. Since Ji wanted to watch something fresh, he wasn't playing anime, and it was currently advertisement time.
"Brand-new open-world adventure 'Death' is in heavy production! Play as Death, Ji Eggers! Explore the mysterious secret world!" The sound came from the TV, accompanied by the snickering of the girl beside him.
Su Enxi is truly a genius, putting up advertisements for me everywhere. I hope my name and image will leave a deep impression on a large number of people in the future...
"Xia Mi, let me ask you something." Ji was still wearing all black. He leaned back against the sofa with his arms crossed and asked the girl playing on the computer beside him.
"Hmm? What is it?" Xia Mi was browsing information with one hand on the trackpoint, while her other hand was raised, rotating in mid-air. She was modifying the potted plant Ji had just bought. Yes, Ji had bought another one, but he realized later that if he bought another, it would just be ruined by Dragon King Miss again, so he only bought one.
Ji said something shocking: "Are you a pedophile?"
"..." Xia Mi gave him a look that said, 'What are you talking about, you guy?'
"I'm not even thirty, and you're over three thousand..." Before Ji could finish, a cushion was thrown into his face.
"I'm only 18!"
"... Alright."
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump~ Lu Mingfei ran downstairs wearing slippers, sounding very hurried.
"Where are you going, Ming Fei? In such a rush?" Ji felt it was necessary to ask.
"Chu Senior Brother... Uh, Junior Brother? Forget it, anyway, Chu Zihang asked me to go out and practice. I won't be back for lunch!"
"Hmm, be careful. It's broad daylight, and you might not be able to match him in terms of physique. If you have time later, you can go and call Nono back." Chu Zihang had awakened his Dragon race bloodline, combined with the modification of the Giant Pathway Sequence 7 potion. In a bright environment, Lu Mingfei definitely couldn't win in a direct confrontation.
"Got it, Master." Lu Mingfei quickly put on his shoes and prepared to leave. However, after reaching the door, he turned back and shouted: "Oh, by the way, that new potted plant you bought is pretty cool. It has a kind of post-modern art style."
Ji could only look at Dragon King Miss with an awkward but polite tone and expression and say: "Hehe, yeah."
Dragon King Miss also chuckled.
"What are you laughing at."
...
"You're here?"
"I'm here."
The two of them were like mortal enemies standing in a gale, about to begin a duel. Their eyes were filled with the radiance of confidence—well, Ming Fei's weren't, because it was a hot day, which wasn't very friendly to Beyonders of the Darkness Path. Also, they weren't standing in a gale to fight to the Death; they were just at the entrance of the Children's Palace, and a gust of wind had just blown by.
"Come in. I found a place. Master said we should settle down on our own. When I was acting, I didn't have any targets to practice with, so I had to trouble you." Chu Zihang walked into the Children's Palace and waved for Lu Mingfei to follow.
Lu Mingfei followed, walking beside Zi Hang, and asked him: "Senior Brother, couldn't you have just asked Uncle Chu? Besides, can the Children's Palace actually rent out space? I didn't even know that."
"He has a mission. As for the Children's Palace, you just need to spend a little money."
The two walked into a spacious room. To the right of the entrance, there was a weapon rack for practice.
"What weapon will you use?" Chu Zihang looked at Lu Mingfei and asked.
"Uh, let's go with that bamboo sword." Thinking back, Lu Mingfei only felt more familiar with the bamboo sword; he often saw it in anime. Besides, he had often used the sword Ji gave him before, so it should be about the same to use...
"Hmm, I'll hold back a bit."
"Senior Brother, don't look down on me."
If they were using weapons, Chu Zihang really should hold back. After all, the Sequence 7 of the Giant Pathway was called 'Weapon Master'. They had very strong physiques and would display master-level proficiency with any weapon. Simply put, they were stat monsters.
The two stood in the arena, raising their weapons with both hands toward each other. "I think we should both hold back a bit of strength, otherwise we'll have to pay if we break the equipment." In reality, this was Lu Mingfei's distraction tactic; he was preparing to give Chu Zihang a surprise when he held back his strength.
"Hmm, indeed." However, it was unknown whether Chu Zihang really thought so.
"Hoo, let's begin."
As soon as Lu Mingfei finished speaking, Chu Zihang rushed forward, the bamboo sword striking toward his waist at an angle that was difficult to parry.
Clack! The bamboo swords collided, the blades vibrating slightly.
Such great strength!
It wasn't easy, but Lu Mingfei still managed to block it with his sword angled to the side. He thought to himself, this guy Chu Zihang looks expressionless, but he ended up holding back a big move for me. He tried to deflect Chu Zihang's sword, but unfortunately, it didn't budge.
Then he could only borrow the force! Lu Mingfei gave up on resisting Chu Zihang and wanted to turn and use his force to spin his sword for a counterattack. But clearly, he had underestimated the Weapon Master's control over weapons. As soon as he let off his force, Chu Zihang understood what he wanted to do; Chu Zihang feigned applying force but switched to parrying mid-way.
Clack!
Lu Mingfei's top-down attack was deflected, and the bamboo sword was placed against his neck.
The entire combat process only lasted a few seconds.
"The bamboo swords can't really withstand our usage; we really need to hold back, or we can just grab a few more. Lu Mingfei, your intentions were a bit obvious, and you didn't hide the expression on your face."
Chu Zihang smiled slightly, that kind of smile that was very hard to notice. "Let's continue."
...
"I'm back~" Lu Mingfei opened the door and changed his shoes at the entryway, feeling listless. Well, he had been suppressed and beaten today. After all, it was a pure contest of strength and technique. Chu Zihang's ability was passive, and he couldn't compare.
He would never fight Chu Zihang during the day again! This was Lu Mingfei's strongest thought right now. His technique, speed, and strength all couldn't keep up.
"You actually didn't get beaten into a pig's head? It seems Chu Zihang did hold back." Ji leaned on the sofa, watching Lu Mingfei enter the living room. He was surprised that Lu Mingfei was still able to maintain an intact appearance.
Lu Mingfei said with a serious face: "If it had been any later, it would have been Chu Zihang getting beaten, and besides, I was just letting him win..."
Chapter 52: The Stock Has Arrived
An ancient yet simple-styled bronze gate emerged from the void, and two black figures walked out after it opened. Why did the black figures become two? She said that dressing this way on the outside is the only way to tell they are a pair.
"Is this it? Hmm, this Cassell College is built quite grandly, and it even has such a large alchemy matrix of commandments. The Hybrid have really made some progress over such a long time. Hehe, I didn't expect I'd be able to come and play in the enemy's base camp~" Miss Xia Mi was a bit excited and said a whole mouthful in one breath.
"Keep your voice down in the middle of the night. Do you remember what I said earlier? If you get exposed, I'll have to clean up your mess." Ji placed his hand on her head, trying to make her quiet down.
The young girl waved her hand dismissively and said: "I know, I know. Hey, is that cool old man in front Angers?"
"Mmhmm." Ji snapped his fingers. To the outside world, he and Xia Mi seemed to have suddenly appeared in front of the Cassell College gate, which slightly surprised Angers and Flamel, who were waiting in front of the gate.
"Principal Anzhe, I have come to collect my bounty." Ji extended his right hand to shake hands with Angers.
"I didn't expect you to arrive so suddenly; I haven't prepared any hospitality." Angers said in fluent Chinese, shaking his head with a smile. He then extended his hand, fingers together, toward the pot-bellied cowboy beside him. "Let me introduce you. This is the Vice Principal of our college. You can call him Nightwatcher; he is this generation's Flamel."
Angers had previously given Ji a lot of information about the dragon race, and he believed that Ji knew about the special surname Flamel.
"Hmm, the strongest person in alchemy among the Hybrid on the surface?"
"You don't need to add the words 'on the surface'." The Nightwatcher's Chinese was also very good. He was trembling slightly, but he still reached out to shake hands with Ji.
Ji pointed to the brown-haired girl in black beside him, who was no longer too short now, and said: "My assistant. Let her introduce herself."
The girl beside him started to wiggle: "Ahem, listen up! Remember my name."
"Priest of Earth and Nature."
"Messenger of Creation and Abundance."
"Miss Xia Mi, the follower of the Death Consul!"
"Ouch!" Miss Xia Mi, the follower, received a flick to the forehead.
Ji touched the spot where Xia Mi had just been flicked. "You don't need to add the words 'Miss Xia Mi'."
Another description of this type—Priest of Earth and Nature, Messenger of Creation and Abundance... She must be the 'Doctor' that Chu Tianjiao and Schneider mentioned. Xia Mi. I need to check things related to this name, Angers thought to himself.
"Hello, beautiful lady. Please come with us. We must keep our movements as quiet as possible; I don't want those guys on the Board of Trustees to use this incident to impeach me."
"Why would you be impeached for something like this? Aren't you the principal? What's wrong with taking a few things?" Xia Mi asked.
"After all, it's not mine; it belongs to the school. However, they won't go checking to see if things are missing, but we still need to be quick." As Angers said this, the Nightwatcher beside him looked left and right, afraid that someone would notice them.
Ji and Xia Mi followed the Principal and Vice Principal to the lowest level of the school, a place that required the highest level of clearance to enter. However, for them, it could be forcibly breached, so Angers didn't bother hiding it.
'Hey, Bastard Boss! Aside from that large alchemy matrix of commandments in this school, everything else is trash!'
Xia Mi's voice rang in Ji's mind. He turned his head to look at the girl with a puzzled expression.'Since you can do this, why didn't you use it when we were underwater?'
'I had too many Words of Power and didn't think of it.'
'Alright then. It seems bringing you along was indeed the right choice. Is there anything slightly worth looking at?'
Aside from turning his head earlier, Ji did not show any abnormalities; he and Xia Mi looked like they were walking normally.
'If you could move this large piece of bronze flooring back...'
'I don't think that's possible.'
'Alright, I think that music box looks nice. There's a living spirit inside that plays music automatically. I don't know who made it, but it's quite leisurely.'
Ji followed Xia Mi's gaze. Large patterns on the ground branched out into some tiny threads, and the ends of those threads were connected to the sealed collection items. He saw a mottled music box.
'What does it play?'
'How would I know? If you play music next to it, it should learn it on its own.'
"Wait a moment." Ji spoke up, interrupting the group's walking. He looked at a mummy among the many exhibits.
'What's wrong? That is... the corpse of a Second Generation? They didn't even notice? What kind of Flamel is he? He really doesn't know quality.'
A Second Generation-level mummy should barely be usable as ritual material for the Chained Pathway. The Chained Pathway happens to have a suitable candidate. I hope it can be used, otherwise I can't just go and kill a First Generation Species to make it into a mummy.
Ji pointed to the sealed mummy in the distance and said: "Do you really need that mummy? If it's not really needed, that will be one of the bounties."
Angers turned to look at the Nightwatcher. The Nightwatcher leaned into Angers' ear and said: "That mummy hasn't really been studied since it was bought back, but it doesn't look like anything good." Angers turned back and said to Ji: "Very well, it is yours."
'This Nightwatcher is a character.' Although Xia Mi's voice was ringing in his mind, looking at this girl, she was completely calm. A poker face is truly a good skill.
"What about that music box over there? You wouldn't use it to play music, would you?" Ji pointed to another music box in a different direction. After all, if the girl beside him wants it, he might as well take it.
Angers looked at the Nightwatcher again, and this time he nodded hesitantly. "Very well."
Afterward, Ji pointed out a few more. Angers and the Nightwatcher felt their hearts bleeding, but in the end, Ji gave them something that was quite decent.
"This is the mask of the so-called Dragon King I killed on the viaduct. You can take it and study it." Ji grabbed a one-eyed mask from the void beside him and handed it to Angers. The Nightwatcher beside him frowned tightly upon seeing this method of retrieving items.
"My assistant and I will be leaving first. I will take that music box with me; you can have the other items delivered."
"According to Chu Tianjiao's description, that viaduct should be the legendary land of the dead, 'Nibelungen'. Unfortunately, it seems to have already been destroyed by that magistrate." Angers held the mask in his hand, examining it, when the Nightwatcher snatched it away.
The Nightwatcher also turned the mask over and over, looking at it. "The land of the dead, Nibelungen. That place is like a sanctuary. For thousands of years, alchemists have racked their brains trying to find such a place. It is said that it is full of 'treasures'."
"Treasures? Chu Tianjiao told me he only saw endless, pouring rain and countless Death Servants."
"Heh, who knows? I will find some time to study this mask and see if I can find the secret of how that suspected Dragon King could create clones."
Chapter 53: Nono's Blessing in Disguise
"Hmm~ The air here feels much better than in Brooklyn~" A young, handsome man with a large backpack walked out of the airport exit. He stretched, speaking in off-key Mandarin, but he seemed to sense something watching him. He looked around but found nothing unusual, eventually giving up, thinking he might just be too suspicious.
"Ronald Tang! Over here!" Lu Mingfei waved, holding a wooden sign with a large "Ronald Tang" written on it, with Nono by his side.
"Hey! Ming Fei! Why do you look so young? And even more handsome than in the videos! You're almost catching up to me." Ronald Tang walked quickly to Lu Mingfei's side and slung an arm around his shoulder; after all, they were good brothers who had fought together at the Daqing Oilfield.
Ronald Tang glanced at Nono and whispered to Lu Mingfei, "Hey, aren't you going to introduce the beautiful redhead next to you? Girlfriend?"
"Damn! Don't! You're my living father!" Lu Mingfei was terrified, looking around in fear that some blonde girl might pop out. After confirming everything was safe, he replied, "This is my senior sister, the Psychiatrist I told you about."
"Psychiatrist?" Ronald Tang had actually just wanted to come for a meet-up and wasn't really there for his problem, but he carefully looked Nono over. Uh, this fierce girl blowing bubblegum with her foot propped up on a stone curb was a Psychiatrist? Plus, she didn't even look like an adult; what kind of Psychiatrist was she?
"You're pulling my leg. If you told me she was the heiress of the Zang'ai family, I'd believe you."
Nono popped her bubble, turned her head, and looked at him with calm eyes. "I can hear you."
"Hehe, Senior Sister, this is the friend I mentioned who needs help. Let's find a good place to rest first, and then you can take a look at him." Lu Mingfei scratched his head awkwardly.
"Let's go. I remember a nice Western restaurant in the west of the city. We can treat your friend to a meal first." After saying that, Nono turned and walked away, gesturing for Lu Mingfei to follow.
Lu Mingfei and Ronald Tang exchanged glances before following her.
"Did you see anything? Xia Mi?" On a high building in the distance, standing on the edge of the roof, a man wearing a black trench coat and a top hat asked the girl beside him.
"It's definitely Norton. Truly amazing. Why does Lu Mingfei know him? And… his state isn't right." The girl sat on the edge of the building, her legs swinging naturally. "Let's keep following and observing. Didn't Lu Mingfei say he was helping a friend treat a mental illness? Peeking into the heart of a Dragon King… I hope Nono is okay." Miss Xia Mi flashed a mischievous smile.
"She is more fragile than she looks, but also very strong. Hmm, we do need to keep an eye on things. If this Dragon King suddenly recovers and gets out of control, that would be bad." Ji jumped off the building and disappeared.
"Hey! Wait for me! What a jerk!" Xia Mi didn't know where Ji had gone, so she could only get up and follow near Lu Mingfei and the others.
…
"The lamb chops here are really good, much better than what I eat in Brooklyn. The lobsters are huge too. Sigh, Ming Fei, you have such a good life, being able to eat at restaurants like this whenever you want." Ronald Tang was wolfing down food at the table, popping out sentences from time to time.
"It's alright. It's mainly because I met my master. If it weren't for him, I'd probably be in some internet cafe playing games, eating cheap instant noodles, and drinking nutrient drinks." Compared to Ronald Tang's completely unrefined eating habits, Lu Mingfei was much more refined, perhaps due to the influence of the potion. Nono, on the other hand, was rough but with a hint of restraint.
'Why do we have to watch them eat while we sit on the sidelines! Bastard Boss, I want to eat a big meal too!' The Dragon King Miss, having reunited with Mr. Administrator, vented her dissatisfaction beside him. But since they were sitting in a coffee shop drinking coffee, they used their own methods to communicate.
Ji picked up the plate and cup, blew on it, and took a small sip from the cup. 'Can't you cook it yourself? Why not go home and make it?'
'Isn't cooking tiring? Besides, eating a big meal out is what makes it meaningful. You really don't understand romance at all.' Xia Mi held the cup of coffee with both hands, drinking slowly while glaring at Ji across from her with dead fish eyes.
'Well, aren't we here drinking coffee?'
'Not romantic at all.'
After a while, sensing that the three in the Western restaurant were full and ready to get down to business, Ji stood up and nodded to signal Xia Mi to follow.
"Hehe, Ronald Tang, I've booked a quiet private room here. Later, I'll let Senior Sister take a look at what the problem is. She's really amazing." Although last time when I asked her to help me, she fainted for some reason…
"Alright, let's give it a try." Although Ronald Tang didn't hold much hope, he felt he shouldn't let down his friend's good intentions. Anyway, trying wouldn't hurt.
The three walked into a private room in a small hotel, where there was a reasonably spacious sofa. Nono gestured for Ronald Tang to lie flat on it.
"Whew, clear your mind, and then think in the direction I tell you." Nono sat to the side and said to Ronald Tang, who was lying flat with his eyes closed.
Shouldn't she ask some questions first? What kind of new medical method is this? Although Ronald Tang was a bit confused, he followed instructions. After closing his eyes, he felt very peaceful and comfortable. Strange, why didn't he have this feeling before?
That was because a 'Psychiatrist' had used a soothing ability, which could calm patients with psychologically unstable conditions from various causes. However, Nono didn't say anything to make Ronald Tang think; she directly used deep Profiling and mind-reading abilities to delve into Ronald Tang's consciousness, while Lu Mingfei provided her with help regarding sleep induction.
She saw an orphan being adopted, saw his adoptive parents pass away, saw him struggling in the poor areas of Brooklyn, and saw him donating to the orphanage he once lived in from time to time.
Such experiences are truly common… but they shouldn't be considered the norm.
Nono always felt something was missing. It shouldn't be; there was nothing in his experience that would lead to mental abnormality. She needed to go deeper.
She seemed to pass through layer after layer of obstacles. In the end, she saw… saw a black dragon? Saw hundreds of thousands of troops? Saw a boy writing by the window?
Nono opened her eyes abruptly. Golden light shone in her eyes; her Golden Eyes had lit up unconsciously. Accompanied by an unbearable headache, Nono collapsed on the sofa and fainted.
"What's going on?! Again?" Lu Mingfei, who was sitting nearby, quickly stood up and went to Nono's side. Realizing that Nono had just fainted, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"What, what's going on?" Ronald Tang, who was lying down, scrambled up from the sofa. He touched his head and said, "I feel… it seems a bit worse now? Uh, no, it feels a bit good and a bit bad. I don't know how to describe it."
"Hey, why did this beautiful lady collapse on the sofa?" He pointed at Nono and asked Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei scratched his head and said, "Uh, Senior Sister was a bit tired just now, so she said she wanted to rest. Don't worry about her; she'll wake up in a while. Ahem, Ronald Tang, it's rare to come such a long way, stay for a few more days. Later, we'll go help you book a hotel, and then I'll come find you to hang out."
"Uh, I won't trouble you guys. I'll find a hotel myself. You stay here and watch over this beautiful lady. If anything comes up, we'll contact each other by phone." Ronald Tang clutched his head, shouldered his bag, and walked out without giving Lu Mingfei a chance to speak.
After watching Ronald Tang leave the private room, Lu Mingfei sat on the sofa where Ronald Tang had just been lying, thinking about something.
"Ugh… enough is enough. Why am I so unlucky…" Not long after, Nono also clutched her head and sat up.
"Senior Sister? Are you okay?" Lu Mingfei crouched in front of Nono and asked.
"How could I be! My head hurts like hell… That friend of yours, he's not simple." Nono shook her head in distress, but her worried expression suddenly turned into surprise.
"Wait a second, my 'Psychiatrist' potion seems to have finished digesting?"
Chapter 54: Pitch-black Scales
"Completely digested. Not bad. You can promote to 'Hypnotist' tonight." Ji Eggers' figure appeared in the private room along with a Pale light. He had expected Nono to be able to digest the potion quickly, but just as he was about to say something else, a knock sounded at the door.
"Hey, hey, hey, can you let me in first!" It sounded like the voice of an anxious young girl.
It was Miss Xia Mi.
Ji Eggers shook his head and walked over to open the door for her.
"You just ran off by yourself and ignored a beautiful girl like me! Bastard Boss is truly rotten to the core!" The girl began shouting as soon as she was let in.
"Can't you use that key Word of Power?" After opening the door, Ji Eggers turned around and went back to stand in the center of the private room.
Xia Mi stood there in a daze for a moment before fully walking in. "...I almost forgot about that thing myself. How did you know?"
"It's in the information Angers gave me."
"Master, have you been following us the whole time?" Lu Mingfei looked at Ji Eggers with a twitching eye, and Nono's gaze was also very strange. I didn't expect Master to be a perverted stalker! That was probably what they were thinking.
"Ahem, I noticed it as soon as information completely different from other life forms entered the range of the domain I set up. Ming Fei, I didn't expect you to have made friends with a Dragon King." He hadn't expected it.
"D-Dragon King?! Old Tang is a Dragon King? What's going on?" Lu Mingfei was dumbfounded. How is my good brother a Dragon King? Do Dragon Kings like playing video games too? Well, there was one right in front of him who liked watching anime and playing games.
"Yes." Nono nodded in response. "Deep in his consciousness, very ancient memories are hidden. They seemed to have been sealed before. After I checked, he should slowly start to remember."
"Then we have to hurry and chase after Old Tang! If he regains his memory... uh, I don't think it matters that much, actually." Lu Mingfei had currently seen two dragons: one was a very lazy Third Generation Dragon of Earth, and the other was an Earth Dragon King who used to be lazy and wasn't much more diligent now.
Seeing Lu Mingfei's rapid change of expression, Ji Eggers laughed. "We still have to go check. Not everyone is as abstract as the one next to you. If he harbors malice toward the world, we need to suppress him first."
"I suggest we beat him up regardless of the situation. That guy always used to mock me. Damn old thing! Why am I the weakest..." Xia Mi started off furious, but her voice grew quieter as she went on, and her expression turned sullen. A hand was placed on her head to comfort her.
"Will he return to that Bronze City after regaining his memory? I think it's better to camp out there and wait for him, so I don't have to mark out another area." Actually, marking an area was easy; using the authority of the Darkness Uniqueness would suffice.
"Most likely. Constantine is still there. We can prepare and then go camp out. Just thinking about what we're going to do later makes me laugh out loud." Miss Xia Mi could change her expression quickly too.
"Um..." The voice came from Lu Mingfei, who had finally managed to interject. "Can I go too? If Old Tang turns bad after regaining his memory... I want to try to persuade him."
Ji Eggers nodded: "Go home and prepare. From Hefei to Chongqing, even if he wants to go there, it shouldn't be that fast. Tell Zero about it; she will probably go too. Hey Nono, are you going?"
As for why Chu Zihang wasn't being brought along, it was because he had gone back to the preparatory class to attend school.
Nono shook her head and signaled: "If you all leave, can I still stay home in peace? Sigh, how unlucky."
"Are you that Equipment Department head? Shaking your head means yes, nodding means no?" Ji Eggers thought to himself. He had a deep impression of that matter.
...
"Sequence 6 'Hypnotist'. Congratulations, Nono. After drinking this potion, you'll have some ability to engage in direct combat." On the coffee table sat a bottle of transparent, colorless liquid, which seemed to reflect everything around it.
A slender hand picked up the bottle and brought it to her lips, drinking it down. It still didn't taste bad. The potions of the Thinker Pathway were truly delicious beverages compared to other Pathways.
"Master, actually, I feel like I can promote now too." Nono was stabilizing her state after the promotion, and Lu Mingfei took the opportunity to mention it while there was nothing else going on.
"Promoting from Sequence 6 to sequence 5 requires a ritual to ensure that your spirit doesn't get lost during the promotion process. Although I believe you most likely won't need a Promotion Ritual, it's better to do it just to be safe. Let's wait until this matter is resolved." Ji Eggers answered Lu Mingfei's question while observing Nono's state.
Lu Mingfei asked curiously: "Then what is my Promotion Ritual?"
The bronze gate rose from the ground and appeared in the center of the living room. Ji Eggers pointed at the gate and said: "Find the key information you mapped in the Spirit World, and then you can consume the potion."
"It's that simple?" Lu Mingfei scratched his head, thinking it didn't seem difficult.
After snapping his fingers to make the bronze gate disappear, Ji Eggers said to everyone: "Well, for someone who can open the door to the Spirit World at any time, it's indeed not difficult. But the Spirit World is fraught with danger—I'm talking about the Spirit World of the world I used to be in. It has all sorts of strange and bizarre things. It's quite normal here, though."
"Boss, when can we open the door to the Spirit World? I want to move quickly too, so I can go back to see my brother quickly." Miss Xia Mi was looking forward to this ability; she had been taken by Ji Eggers to travel through the Spirit World many times.
"None of us are on special Pathways. To open the door to the Spirit World for travel, we must promote to Sequence 2." Ji Eggers' words interrupted their imagination.
"That long?" Lu Mingfei and Xia Mi said in unison.
For some reason, the blonde girl Zero hadn't joined the conversation, just sitting there watching Nono.
"Dragon scales, Psychological Invisibility, combat hypnosis..." Nono opened her eyes, raised her hand, and clenched it into a fist. "My physical fitness seems to have improved."
"Dragon scales? Why would this Pathway have such an ability?" Xia Mi poked Ji Eggers, who was beside her.
"I should have mentioned the Mythical Creature form before. The Mythical Creature form of the Thinker Pathway is a Giant Dragon. They can manifest an incomplete Mythical Creature form at Sequence 4." Ji Eggers poked her back. Xia Mi's body was soft and didn't look like a Dragon King at all, but he usually relaxed quite a bit too.
"There's such an ability? It actually reminds me of something."
...
Knock, knock, knock.
The door to Ji Eggers' room was knocked on.
"Please come in."
Nono walked in. Ji Eggers wasn't surprised at all; if it were Xia Mi, she wouldn't have knocked at all—she would have just opened the door and pounced on the bed, which was what she would do.
Nono's complexion wasn't very good. Her mouth was slightly open, as if she wanted to say something but was hesitating. Finally, she decided to say it.
"Is this situation normal, Master? The knowledge I obtained from the potion doesn't seem to be like this..."
Ji Eggers had been standing on the balcony looking at the night sky. After Nono entered, he returned to the room. He saw that the girl's forearms and palms were covered with a layer of glistening, pitch-black scales.
Chapter 55: Backup Plan
Unlike the scales of Xia Mi or Fenrir, Nono's reflected the moonlight within the deep Darkness; well, Ji usually didn't like to turn on the lights in the room, so it could only reflect the moonlight.
"Can you control the appearance and disappearance of the scales on your own?" Ji walked over to Nono and crouched down. Nono was only about 15 years old now, and her height hadn't fully developed yet.
Ji raised his hand, signaling for Nono to reach out so he could take a look.
"I can, but shouldn't they be mostly gray-white? Why are they black..." Nono placed her hand on the hand Ji had extended, and Ji carefully observed her scales.
Tsk, I can't tell anything, but I can guess a few things. Ink-black pupils... it must be the influence of Nidhogg.
"It's fine, just a rare mutation. Reflect on your inner self more, and soothe your state of mind." Ji brushed his hand over the areas on Nono's hand covered in scales. Nono felt a bit ticklish, but when she looked down, it felt as if the scales had never appeared at all.
"That's truly amazing. I didn't even have the thought of retracting the scales." Nono looked at her smooth forearm and palm, exclaiming in wonder.
"A simple application of authority, causing the keratinous tissue to die. Give yourself a soothing command before you go to sleep." Ji stood up and smiled, patting Nono on the head. Her natural red hair was really cool...
After whispering her thanks, Nono slowly walked out. After she closed the Door, Ji walked to the bedside and sat down, his previously smiling expression now tinged with a hint of worry.
'Xia Mi, come over here, and be quiet.' Ji wanted to ask Xia Mi what she thought.
Not long after, the room Door opened gently. A brown-haired girl poked her head in, smiling as she looked at Ji, who was waiting by the bed. "Boss, are you feeling repressed?" After entering, the girl gently closed the Door and sat down beside Ji.
"Little Xia Mi is doing this for the first time, oh~ Boss, you have to be gentle..." Xia Mi's suggestive words were interrupted by a flick to the forehead from Ji. Just as she was covering her head and about to ask why he had called her over in the middle of the night, Ji produced a pitch-black scale and placed it before her eyes.
The girl took the scale with some confusion. "What is this?"
"Nono's scales. Logically, they should be gray-white. This color is not right."
"...They look a bit like Norton's scales. Could she be from the Bronze and Fire lineage?" Xia Mi replied uncertainly. The color was very similar, but deeper.
"She is the vessel for the Black King. If the Black King were to resurrect one day, she would likely be the anchor point."
"What?" The girl simply couldn't believe what she had just heard. This was explosive! "Why not just..." She made a throat-slitting gesture.
Ji patted her head and said with a smile: "Every innocent creature has the right to live. She is a very good girl and shouldn't just die in the schemes of the despicable. I am trying to control and protect her, but if it really comes to that point."
"I will temporarily grant her a painless death, and then I will need you, Xia Mi, to forge a new body for her and stitch her soul back on."
"It's still too dangerous, Ji. We are practically keeping a bomb by our side." Xia Mi's expression became rarely serious, and she even called the young man beside her by his name.
"Perhaps it's a dud. The longer one comes into contact with death, the more one can appreciate the value of life. A guy I really hated once said that excessive humanity is my greatest weakness, and that it makes me timid." That guy seemed really hateful; Xia Mi saw that Ji, who usually kept a smile on his lips, was now gritting his teeth.
"Keep an eye on Nono. If she exhibits any abnormalities, tell me as soon as possible. Also, I suspect that Nidhogg's death was not that simple."
The girl nodded without speaking.
'Brother, Brother?'
Why is this happening again? It seems Ming Fei's treatment isn't very effective...
'Brother, we are very close.'
Close? What does that mean?
'Brother, please come find me, and we will rule the world together...'
"Damn... what is going on?" The young man of Chinese descent sat up on the not-so-soft bed and clutched his head. This was a cheap hotel, but it accepted passports and the environment was passable.
It seemed as if some memories that weren't there before had appeared in his mind; they were very distant yet very familiar. He felt panicked by these memories, but why did he also feel joy?
"Constantine, who is that..."
...
"Master! Master!" Lu Mingfei ran into Ji's room in a hurry. "I called Ronald Tang last night and he was fine, but this morning he wouldn't pick up. Could he have already recovered his memories?"
"I sensed it. A special life signal has left the range of my domain. He must have gone to his old lair." Ji only took off his trench coat when sleeping, though he was still wearing all black. He had just climbed out of bed. "Ming Fei, calm down. Just be prepared. He won't be that fast. We will go and intercept him tonight."
Everyone gathered in the living room. The seven deadly sins were placed in the center by Ji. Hmm, Norton actually didn't come to take this first.
"Take your respective weapons. Tonight, you are going to beat up a Dragon King without a dragon body. Note that it is 'you all'. Xia Mi and I will watch from the sidelines first. Fight without holding back; don't worry about making too much noise." As for the issue of whether the weapons would be controlled by Norton in return, Lu Mingfei and Zero's status was certainly not inferior to an incomplete Dragon King. At worst, the poor red-haired lady would have her weapon taken away.
"Doesn't the jump feel a bit too big? Last time we were still fighting a Third Generation Dragon, and this time we have to fight a Dragon King?" Nono felt a bit uneasy. You're asking me, someone with no attack capabilities, to go up there?
"Two Sequence 6s and one Sequence 7. Come on. Based on the performance of the one next to us, he's only around Sequence 4, and only in terms of physical body." It was time for our mandatory 'roast-Xia Mi' segment again, and Miss Xia Mi could only roll her eyes wildly on the side.
Chapter 56: Old Tang
There were not many ships sailing on the Yangtze River at night. In the woods by the river, five figures were standing or crouching, looking quite relaxed.
The tallest male, wearing a black trench coat, carried a large bag, occasionally taking out a skewer to eat himself or pass to the other four.
A woman with brown and red hair was crouching on the ground in an ungraceful posture, eating skewers. One of the shorter males was sitting directly on the ground, gnawing away. Beside him stood a petite blonde woman, eating in small bites. The weapons they had brought were all tossed aside...
"Master, did we come too early? Hasn't Old Tang arrived yet?" Lu Mingfei sat on the ground, his mouth covered in grease. Beside him, Zero handed him a pack of tissues.
"It's better to camp out early; we'll give him a big surprise later." Ji gestured in the air with a skewer before putting it to his mouth to take a bite. He really loved barbecue and had gone out of his way to buy a huge amount before coming.
"Even for training, this is a bit excessive; we're going to get beaten up badly." Zero's attire for the night was simple: a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, suitable for intense activity. The 3-06 white revolver and the 2-19 Bronze Sword Hilt were tucked at her waist. As a Sequence 7 'Appraiser', she could unleash the abilities of Mystical Items to a greater extent, but she was a bit pessimistic about the three of them facing a Dragon King.
After tossing away the bamboo skewer, Nono clapped her hands and stood up from the ground. She took a ring from her pocket and put it on; it was an item from the 3-08 Pyromaniac Pathway. However, using fire against the master of fire elements seemed a bit ill-advised? Wish her luck.
Lu Mingfei had originally wanted to wear the bracelet Ji gave him, but even after being sealed by Ji, the side effects were not insignificant, so he could only leave it in a bag far away as a backup.
"He's here." Ji said this without stopping the movements of his hands or mouth, merely looking ahead. The others picked up the weapons at their feet.
"How did you know he would come this way?" Xia Mi asked, looking up.
Ji shrugged and replied, looking down: "I don't know. I just picked a random place. Maybe it's the choice of fate?"
A rustling sound of vegetation being touched rang out in front of them, then returned to silence. Just as Lu Mingfei, Nono, and Zero were somewhat puzzled, they looked up, as their intuition suddenly triggered.
The entire sky was shrouded in dark-toned shadows; the sky and stars had already vanished, leaving only the Moon reflecting white light on the dark canopy.
The entire world seemed to have been stripped away from reality, and surrounding objects became distant and blurry. Lu Mingfei crouched down and touched the plants beside him, unable to exert any influence on them.
"A Concealment world; it can enhance the abilities of Darkness Beyonders, and fighting here won't affect the material world. I don't want the commotion to attract unnecessary attention." Ji explained, then looked behind him and said: "If you want to continue walking, you'll have to get my approval, Ronald Tang, or should I say, Norton?"
The group turned toward the back, standing on guard.
Ji's words were like a small pebble thrown into a river, causing not a single ripple.
After a long while, a figure finally emerged from the woods. On his face, one could see obvious confusion and surprise, and even a trace of fear.
"What are you? Jörmungandr! Do you know what that is standing next to you?! Have you, by any chance, already... Fenrir..." Old Tang, or rather, Norton, simply could not believe such a creature existed in the world. It was definitely not a dragon or a Hybrid, yet it possessed such a dense aura of death.
"My own brother is alive and well. As for you, my elder brother, let me introduce you." Xia Mi deliberately adopted a humble posture and bowed to Ji beside her.
"The great Death Consul."
"This feels so awkward! This girl really needs to be educated when we get back! I'm never this high-profile! Yeah! Never!"
Ji restrained the twitching on his face and maintained his smile.
"Old Tang, we're here to determine your stance... If you harbor malice toward the world, we'll just have to beat you up." Lu Mingfei held Pride in one hand while scratching his head with the other. Beside him, Zero and Nono both shook their heads slightly.
"...You use my own creations to deal with me? Ridiculous! I am the King of Bronze and Fire!" Norton raised his hand, his fingers slightly curled, attempting to regain control of the seven deadly sins, but he failed. The ones in Lu Mingfei and Zero's hands remained motionless, though Nono's trembled slightly.
"..."
"This is not funny at all. Lu Mingfei, you thick-browed, big-eyed guy, you're actually plotting against me here! And that humanoid creature next to Jörmungandr, that traitor to dragonkind... hard to evaluate."
"What exactly do you want to do?! Kill me and take my Dragon Bone Cross?" Norton's face was full of gravity. Black scales began to grow on his body, and his hands curled into the shape of claws.
"Let's just beat you up first. Everyone, go." Ji signaled Lu Mingfei to attack directly, and he and Xia Mi stepped back a bit.
"Sorry, Old Tang, we have to beat you up first. If the real you is what you show when we talk... whew, I hope you can stand on our side." Lu Mingfei gripped Pride with both hands and assumed a combat stance, with Zero and Nono standing slightly behind him.
Norton's entire face was almost covered in scales. He assumed a stance and roared in a hoarse voice: "I am Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, Norton!"
"This guy is even more chuunibyou." Ji whispered to Xia Mi. Xia Mi shook her head and replied: "He wasn't like this before. If it were before, he wouldn't have said anything. The decades in the human world might have changed something."
"And you?"
"Me? Hehe, perhaps more. Do you want to hear about my past? My dear magistrate?" Xia Mi winked.
"Save it for later." Ji patted the girl's head beside him and then turned his gaze toward the battle ahead.
Lu Mingfei raised his sword, barely blocking the claws attacking from Norton. Zero and Nono attacked from the sides. Zero drew her gun midway and fired a few ice crystals, trying to restrict Norton's movements, but unfortunately, it had little effect. Deep red flames ignited on Nono's blade; she had used weapon enchantment.
"Norton's aggressiveness isn't very strong, even weaker than yours. He is incomplete, and his memories are chaotic. If this is all he has, he might very well lose. Let's see how he can use his Word of Power to counterattack." Norton might be testing the waters for now, but the three of Lu Mingfei weren't using their full strength either.
The surrounding temperature was rising. Norton used his grown dragon tail to sweep and force the three of them back. He leaped backward, raised one hand, and chanted in an ancient, profound language.
"It's Sovereign Flame. It's too low-level. Norton will pay the price for underestimating them." Xia Mi said, shaking her head.
Norton released a massive Word of Power coverage across a 180-degree range in front of him. The high-temperature Sovereign Flame enveloped the three, but when it spread to in front of Ji, it could not advance any further.
The Sovereign Flame was torn open by a light like the dawn, and the three people within had slightly dirty clothes but were otherwise unharmed.
It was Zero who had used the 2-19 Storm of Light from the Bronze Sword Hilt.
Chapter 57: Still Embarrassing
Damn, damn, damn! Why?! Why do three Hybrids have such strong power! I actually can't break through their defensive line! I need to go further! I need stronger suppression!
Norton's attacks were blocked by Lu Mingfei from every angle. He is a 'Soul Assurer', he can perceive danger in the Darkness and react, and the darker the environment, the stronger he becomes. Norton wanted to try attacking Zero on the sides, but whenever he touched the light blades manifested from that bronze sword hilt, he felt pain.
"Ah!" The man, whose torso was mostly covered in scales, let out a roar. Curved horns grew from his head, incomplete membrane wings sprouted from his back, and scales completely covered his entire body. If he were to lie on the ground now, he would be a dragon.
"It's a bit ugly. The scales are indeed like Nono's, but there are slight differences. You actually looked better before, with a unique sense of beauty, except it was too flat." Ji stroked his chin, commenting on Norton's current appearance. Miss Xia Mi secretly looked down, then pretended nothing had happened. After a dozen seconds, she blurted out: "Does the Bastard Boss happen to like non-humans?"
"...At least it has to look like a human."
"Eww~"
Facing the mostly dragon-transformed Norton, Lu Mingfei jumped back, attempting to use the power of the Nightmare to drag him into a dream. The effect wasn't very obvious, only making him dazed for a while. Zero, on the side, took this opportunity to release the second Storm of Light. The light of dawn illuminated the surroundings, and the'Storm' struck toward Norton with overwhelming force.
This isn't just beating me up; this is practically sending me to meet Nidhogg! Damn! My dragon wings... wait, where's the other one? Where is that redhead?!
Norton suddenly realized that there were three people at the beginning, and now there was only one left. He couldn't possibly make the mistake of not remembering people! This was a special ability!
"Got you!" A youthful voice tinged with excitement came from behind Norton. He turned to look; it was the beautiful red-haired woman from the airport. In her hand, she held a scimitar engulfed in flames—it was Gluttony from the seven deadly sins.
This is why you shouldn't shout out loud when a sneak attack is about to succeed. Nono was about to slash Norton, but he quickly released a Blazing Sun, flashing her eyes, and then she was swiped away by a tail.
"Are you okay? Senior Sister?" Lu Mingfei looked toward Nono, who had been swiped away and knocked down in the distance.
"I'm fine!" Nono stood up from the ground, supporting herself with her blade. "Damn, I really shouldn't have shouted that…"
"Nono's dragon scale defense is very effective. For now, she's probably the most durable one, but to cause significant damage, it depends on Lu Mingfei and Zero. Zero's spirituality should still be able to support two more Storms of Light." As Ji said this, he handed a skewer to the girl beside him.
The girl gestured in the air with the skewer in her hand and said: "Norton is truly embarrassing. A dignified First Generation Species can't even beat three kids. Besides, if he can't release Rhine or Candle Dragon, using Heaven and Earth as a Furnace would have been much better. He's so stupid."
"Lu Mingfei's physical strength has greatly increased in this space. Even without awakening his bloodline, he can wrestle head-on with an incomplete First Generation Species. It's a pity he still can't forcibly drag him into a dream in a short time. Zero's use of the Mystical Item is quite good. As for Nono… she needs to keep trying." If Norton didn't have a third stage, he would likely be worn to death by the three of them. Ji basically determined the winner. He patted Xia Mi's head and praised her: "Miss Xia Mi is the smartest. After being reprimanded, she is very sensible."
"Don't bring that up again, Bastard Boss. The most important meeting was not romantic at all!"
In the gap between their conversation, the battle between the three people and one dragon was coming to an end. It was about to end with Norton failing to defeat three Hybrid kids (actually two kids). From then on, Norton would be nailed to the pillar of shame of the dragon race and talked about with relish.
He absolutely could not allow himself to become a joke. He decided to force the use of the Word of Power, Rhine.
'Rhine', a chain collapse that uses the four elements to trigger nuclear fusion. The pre-casting time is extremely long. When released, it can turn everything in a large area into ruins, and even the user cannot escape.
In fact, Norton just wanted to use Rhine to scare them. After all, if he forced it, he wouldn't end up any better. But the moment he condensed the elements, the elements in the entire domain directly disappeared.
"That one just now could barely count as a 'dangerous' attack, but unfortunately, I am here." Ji had just stomped his foot. He caused the elements in the domain to collectively die, so now if Norton wanted to release Word of Power of other types, he had no way to do so.
"...I lost." The dragon transformation on Norton faded, gradually returning to the appearance of a young man. However, Zero and Nono both covered their eyes because his clothes had all been torn during the transformation. Lu Mingfei hurriedly went to the backpack he brought, rummaged out a set of clothes, and took out 2-12 to treat everyone.
"It's a good thing Master told me to bring a few sets of clothes. So they were for you to wear, Old Tang. Am I not amazing?" Lu Mingfei threw the clothes to Norton. The expression on Norton's face was complex; he couldn't imagine that he had actually lost in hand-to-hand combat.
"Your master… is truly amazing." He looked at Ji, who was walking over from not far away, and after a long while, squeezed out this sentence.
"So what do you want to do? You've fought, and my seven deadly sins have long been in your hands. If you want to harm Constantine, I will fight you to the death." Norton had already put on the clothes and watched with golden vertical pupils as Ji got closer and closer to him.
Pale light cast a transparent robe. With every step Ji took, changes occurred, until he stood in front of Norton. He smiled; he had always been smiling.
Ji's eyes made it difficult for Norton to look directly at him. He only heard the person in front of him say: "Submit to me, be used by me, or become dinner for my cute Miss Dragon?"
"Unknown great existence, please spare my brother Constantine…" Norton lowered his head and knelt on one knee.
His attitude seemed a bit humble. Wasn't it said that Norton had a very bad temper?
"Am I a bit scary?" Ji asked, looking at Xia Mi beside him.
"More than a bit. Bastard Boss, you scared me to death back then. Look, Norton is so scared by you that he's like a quail. It's hilarious. Hey, my dear brother, stop kneeling here. You've really lost all face for the dragon race." Xia Mi ran to Norton and poked his head.
Norton raised his head, revealing a very aggrieved bitter smile. "What does that mean? Can you give me a straight answer?"
Chapter 58: So He Was a Scientist Without Power
With the return of its master, Bronze City began to whir and click into operation. However, keeping everyone dry while entering was quite a hassle, so Xia Mi had kept the Dustless Land active the whole time.
Everyone followed behind Norton, who was only wearing a single layer of clothing in front. Lu Mingfei looked left and right; his vision, modified by the potion, allowed him to see more clearly than ever in the lightless environment, and the precise structure of Bronze City left him dumbfounded.
Nono and Zero were not having such an easy time. There was no light in Bronze City, so Zero had to continuously use the light blade extending from the 2-19 bronze sword hilt for illumination. Nono did not want to use the 3-08 ring, fearing the negative effects, even though she didn't know what those negative effects actually looked like yet.
"Ronald Tang, you're so amazing? How did you build such a precise structure?"
Norton turned his head and smiled, looking quite proud: "Hehe, I spent a lot of effort making this back then. The place where Constantine and I live can't be shabby."
"You can only brag about this aspect. I could laugh for a lifetime about you getting beaten down by three kids just now."
Miss Xia Mi seemed a bit unfriendly.
"That's because I haven't fully recovered yet. My brain is still very muddled, and I don't know why my memories are so chaotic. Besides, I'm a researcher..." Norton seemed to want to explain, but Xia Mi had already covered her ears to show she wasn't listening at all.
Norton shook his head. This sister of his, who was still relatively close, had become different from before. But he had also changed a lot; it was hard to imagine that ten or twenty years of life in the human world would change a creature with thousands of years of memories.
The girl seemed to remember something. She put her hands on her hips and said to Norton in front: "Hey, aren't you going to manage those two dragons? Educate them properly; they weren't very respectful to me when I came last time."
"They were carrying out my orders, but they didn't fight you directly. They really should be educated; my subordinates cannot be so cowardly."
But perhaps it was because it was truly terrifying. Norton glanced back slightly at the man in the black trench coat and then pretended that nothing was wrong.
It was truly terrifying, an indescribable aura of death. Jörmungandr seemed to have a very good relationship with him. What exactly is he...
After arriving at a place where statues stood, Norton signaled to Lu Mingfei and the others not to look around, lest they trigger any mechanisms.
Lu Mingfei's intuition seemed to be triggered. He looked up at the dome, which was engraved with ancient patterns, but he couldn't understand them.
Norton, who was in front, noticed this and originally wanted to remind Lu Mingfei, but seeing that he was fine, he closed his half-opened mouth.
Why is Lu Mingfei unaffected? And I couldn't gain control permissions for the seven deadly sins earlier. These three people are not simple, and it cannot be ruled out that his 'Master' is helping.
Norton led everyone to a small bronze hut. It looked very much like an ancient residential house—no, it should be said that apart from being made of bronze, it was no different from a residential house.
Xia Mi looked at the house in front of her with a strange expression: "You and Constantine live here? This is too frugal, isn't it? It doesn't fit your style."
"Is where you live any better?" Norton snapped his fingers, lighting the lamps inside the small hut.
"Uh..."
The decoration inside the house was very simple. There were scrolls and such hanging on the walls, covered in quite a bit of dust. There were three rooms in total, two of which were bedrooms. Norton walked into one of the rooms and soon came out holding a bronze jar.
Wait a minute, was it originally kept here? How did Yaji Judes and the Interviewer get it?
After Norton came out, he looked at Xia Mi and said: "Constantine says you are very bad, coming to our home to steal things without saying a word."
"It's borrowing, borrowing!" Miss Dragon argued.
Ji, who had been smiling and silent the whole time, looked at Norton and asked: "How long until Constantine can hatch naturally? I heard you are the best craftsmen among the Dragon race. I need you to forge weapons for me, giant alchemy matrices, or something more profound."
"Uh, that, what should I call you? magistrate?" Although Norton had never seen this person truly make a move, he could tell from the aura radiating from him that he was not someone to be trifled with.
"Xia Mi, that is to say, your sister, calls me Boss." Ji turned his head to point at Xia Mi and then turned back to say: "You can too. You work for me, and I provide you with sanctuary, on the condition that you do not do evil and only want to live in peace."
The bronze jar in Norton's hand seemed to move a few times. He tapped it and then said embarrassedly: "Constantine is still young. Please don't mind what was just said."
I didn't hear him speak at all... Xia Mi must have heard it. I'll ask her when we get back.
"Do you still have any money?"
Norton held the jar and thought for a moment before hesitating: "I think I left it at the hotel, but I only booked it until this afternoon, so I guess I must have checked out long ago. Maybe my bag has even been thrown away?"
This guy isn't doing any better than Xia Mi. I remember he seemed to have been making a living by taking orders on that Hunter Website.
"Do you want to go back to the United States to live, or stay here? I suggest staying closer. Your premature hatching is not normal; there might be some conspiracy behind it. However, if you want to take your brother back, that's fine too. I will place a mark on you, both for monitoring and for protection."
Premature hatching by a long time, sealed memories—Norton indeed realized that someone was playing tricks behind the scenes, but who would dare to scheme against a King on the throne?
"Let's just live here. Joining your faction makes me feel more at ease." He felt it was better to be by the side of this unknown existence.
"You are more straightforward than Xia Mi was at the beginning. You don't need to do anything for now; after all, you probably can't do much right now. Go back and settle down first, then come back to tidy up your lair." Ji nodded slightly and raised his hand towards the open space outside the house.
A bronze gate rose from the ground and opened. The aura emanating from within told Norton that this was a world he had never understood. As a scientist among the Dragon race, he was eager to know what this was, but Ji told him not to look around, just to keep his head down and follow him after entering. After a while, everyone returned to the living room on the first floor of Ji's house.
"Why didn't you use the Spirit World channel when we went in? Bastard Boss made me keep the Dustless Land on for so long." Xia Mi lightly punched Ji.
"There was no anchor point to determine the coordinates, so I didn't know where to open the destination. How is that for a reason?" Ji stroked the dragon head to soothe her.
"Terrible!"
Chapter 59: Very Scary to Dragons
"This isn't how I envisioned it. Norton and Constantine should have been killed by Brother to serve as stepping stones for his ascension to the throne, not huddled in a room playing video games with him." Lu Mingze shook his head, speaking in a distressed and helpless tone to the figure standing beside him.
They were not in a room, nor a living room, nor on some cold plain or mountain peak. Looking around, all that met the eye was a dim, indistinct sky, a riverbank stripped of color, and a silent, flowing unknown substance. They formed a river—a river without a beginning or an end.
It didn't look like the underworld or hell from any mythology or legend.
"The imitation isn't bad. Did you construct this'Styx' based on my esteemed name and performance? However, the real Styx or Underworld is far more..." Ji didn't continue; he simply changed the subject stiffly. "You can even tame the Water King as a pet, can't you give those two a chance?"
He sat on this virtual riverbank, looking into the distance. This scene actually reminded him of Death Stranding, a game he both liked and didn't quite like.
"...How annoying. But I didn't expect Brother to grow so fast. Although Norton is currently very weak, he is still, in every sense, a First Generation Species. To be able to fight him head-on without falling behind—I'm very curious about what this so-called 'Potion' of yours actually is."
"Do you think they have no side effects after taking the Potion, and only gain positive enhancements?" Ji shook his head and then said, "Danger is always in the unseen places. To gain something, one must inevitably lose something. The reason they can maintain such a good state is mainly because the Pathways they chose are all normal; they won't cause huge changes to their bodies or minds. Moreover, they are all very talented. Meditation and Acting are the best methods to resist madness. Once they reach Sequence 4 and possess divinity..." Ji suddenly thought of something. He narrowed his eyes and looked back at Lu Mingze, who was standing casually in a black suit. "You are his divinity... This is practically a 'bug'. Interesting. You don't even need extra anchors for stability. If one were to search for a real 'God' in this world, before I arrived, it probably would have just been you two."
"You really like speaking in riddles, Mr. Administrator."
"Likewise."
After a brief silence, Ji asked again, "Is the status of the White King consistent with that of the Black King?"
Lu Mingze seemed to have been waiting for Ji to ask this question. After a moment of thought, he said, "Not at all. The records of Hybrids or ancient history all write that the White King is a supreme being as noble as the Black King. Do you think that's possible? The White King incited a rebellion of one-third of the Dragon race. After being suppressed, the Black King still had the energy to create eight First Generation Species."
"Obviously, she isn't qualified." The Little Devil's tone was very firm.
Ji nodded slightly and continued to ask, "How is the situation in Japan?"
"That princess is doing fine, except for the fact that she still can't leave the house."
...
Ronald Tang was holed up in Lu Mingfei's room playing video games with him. Well, he said it was better to be called Ronald Tang. Xia Mi was helping him handle the issues with his data so he could stay here for a long time, and by the way, she also had to prepare a room for him; Ji's place couldn't fit that many people anymore.
"Lu Mingfei, your master is truly heaven-defying. When you told me before, I thought he was a charlatan, but I didn't expect... And you, kid, are full of secrets too."
Ronald Tang was manipulating the controller nimbly, but he still couldn't beat his opponent. Now, he was about to be taken down by Lu Mingfei. Well, they were playing Street Fighter.
"I'm not even used to you calling me by my name directly now, Ronald Tang. Sigh, I didn't expect that neither of us was simple. Oh, right, don't worry. Master is a good-hearted person. He is kind to both his own people and strangers. Besides, look at Xia Mi, isn't she just fine?"
Ronald Tang shook his head: "It might be because my sister's aesthetic lethality to humans is too high, and she bewitched your master. Hey, tell me more about your master in depth?"
"I'll pick what I can talk about. Master said he is a person who doesn't belong to this world. He comes from a parallel world..."
"You two guys really like talking about me behind my back." Ji's voice rang in their minds, and Ronald Tang dropped the controller immediately.
The door to Lu Mingfei's room was pushed open, and Ji, wearing a black trench coat, walked in. He looked at the two people sitting on the floor and said, "Ronald Tang, your sister has already found a place for you to stay. It's in a nearby residential area. You can take your brother with you later. I don't need you for the time being. You can also come and keep Ming Fei company in your spare time."
Ronald Tang nodded blankly. Now, he could only obey this person in front of him who looked kind but had a terrifying aura.
"Ming Fei, have you mentioned my esteemed name or other important information to him?"
Lu Mingfei shook his head to indicate he hadn't.
Ji covered his head. Many times, when he had to say his esteemed name, he felt very awkward; it felt especially pretentious.
"You are clearly always pretentious, and you haven't really restrained your aura much, scaring people into quails."
Ignoring the system's rare active comment, Ji looked at Ronald Tang and said, "If you encounter any life-threatening difficulties, you can recite my esteemed name in any language, but it must be spoken aloud." Ji paused, deciding to make it sound more formal and majestic.
"the governor above the styx."
"the supreme undead lord."
"The Ruler Of The Authority Of Death."
"You must recite all three of the above sentences for me to respond and to locate your position."
Ji had been smiling from beginning to end, but Ronald Tang didn't think that smile was kind at all. On the contrary, he could only see thick death.
Is this form of description serious?
Chapter 60: The Incomplete Him
"It's hard to imagine. That was a Dragon King rarely recorded in history, a First Generation Species. To think we actually had the ability to contend with a First Generation Species."
After a night of rest, Nono and Zero sat on the living room sofa, full of energy, watching TV, though their attention was clearly not on the screen.
"He didn't have his dragon body, and his state was indeed not very good." Zero's mysophobia seemed to have improved significantly; at least she wouldn't place a cushion under herself before sitting down now. She shook her head, pointing out Norton's problem, and then said to Nono with an expressionless face: "Also, it was mainly Lu Mingfei fighting him. You blocked him at the very beginning, but later, you were swept away by a tail during a sneak attack."
"Uh, at least I wasn't hurt much. The defensive capability of these dragon scales is much stronger than I thought; they can even cushion the impact." As she spoke, Nono raised her hand to show her black scales. "It's just that they don't look very good. I prefer the grey-white ones mentioned in the potion knowledge."
"Why didn't you mention this yesterday? You were very quiet when we were in the Bronze City." Zero felt that, given Nono's personality, she should have brought it up directly in the Bronze City.
"The atmosphere didn't feel right, and the person in question was walking right in front of us at the time." Nono probably felt it would have been a bit awkward to say it then.
Perhaps wanting to deepen the relationship between companions, Nono took the initiative to ask Zero: "Zero, how is your acting and digestion going?"
Zero shook her head slightly. "The digestion progress is a bit slow; there's no suitable method for now, but my starting point after the promotion is very high."
"What do you mean by a high starting point?"
Zero made a recalling gesture and then said to Nono: "Ji said this is because of acting in advance, so the potion will digest directly. Hasn't he told you?"
"There's such a thing... Hey, when do you think Ji and Lu Mingfei will be back? Will Lu Mingfei be sequence 5 when he returns?" Nono seemed very interested in the Promotion Ritual, though she had only been promoted for a day or two, and there was no movement in her potion digestion yet.
Today, early in the morning, Ji and Lu Mingfei opened the bronze gate and went to the Spirit World. Xia Mi was taking Old Tang and Constantine, who was still an egg, to settle into their new home, so only the two girls were left at home.
"Mhm, likely." Zero's spirituality had a special intuition about this matter. Something might happen to Lu Mingfei, but it shouldn't be a bad thing, especially with Ji protecting him on the side; that's what she thought.
...
"Master, how much longer do we have to walk? Didn't you say moving in the Spirit World is very fast?" Lu Mingfei had been moving in the Spirit World with Ji for a long time. He couldn't distinguish directions and could only follow behind Ji.
"We need to find the key information of your projection in the Spirit World. This isn't a matter of speed; it actually depends quite a bit on luck, given how much information there is in the Spirit World." Ji raised his hand and pointed casually at the surroundings. Lu Mingfei only saw some strange-looking creatures and various colorful lights. Those creatures spontaneously kept their distance from them. Lu Mingfei remembered Ji saying before that one shouldn't look around randomly in the Spirit World, but Ji wasn't stopping him now.
Ji's hand did not lower. He finally pointed in a specific direction. "I am taking you to various places where it might be, but I think it should be this next place."
Lu Mingfei asked curiously: "You said that Spirit World coordinates also correspond to real-world coordinates, right? Where is that?"
"Siberia."
Siberia. Why would my key information be in Siberia? Is that the memory I once lost?
Lu Mingfei had once had many strange dreams, but as a Sequence 6 of the Darkness Path, he was unable to manipulate his own dreams. This was very strange. He had only spoken to Ji and the 'younger brother' who rarely appeared by his side, but neither gave him the answer he wanted.
Not long after, or perhaps it had been a long time, Ji stopped. They were in a place completely indistinguishable from other areas, but in front of them was an irregularly shaped transparent fragment floating in the air, with a texture that looked like glass.
Ji pointed at the fragment in front of them and said: "This is the key information of your projection in the Spirit World. You can choose not to touch it and consume the potion directly; after all, the ritual only requires convergence to trigger spiritual resonance." He lowered his hand and looked at Lu Mingfei: "Or you can choose to touch it, to see what exactly you recorded in the Spirit World, to see your past."
Lu Mingfei walked to the front of the fragment and slowly reached out his hand. When he was about to touch it, he pulled back slightly. He turned to look at Ji, and Ji was also smiling at him.
From the moment he met Ji, Ji had almost never made any expression other than a smile. He was very curious why Ji could keep smiling; perhaps it was an alternative 'poker face'. Was Ji's smile spontaneous? Was there something hidden beneath that smile?
"Once you've decided, go ahead. Retrieve your past. Don't get lost. Believe in yourself, and believe in me. I will be concocting the potion while watching over you." Ji began to take out various strange materials that Lu Mingfei couldn't understand. He saw a tooth among them, and his spirituality told him it was his own tooth. He didn't know how Ji had obtained it.
Stopping himself from thinking about Ji's smile, Lu Mingfei felt that exploring Ji's inner heart should be left to Xia Mi. After nodding to Ji, he directly touched the fragment.