Dragon Clan: I am Lu Mingfei, the Intelligence Strategist, the God of Concepts!

Chapter 218 Elder Nicholas, Stop Playing Games
Night, on the outskirts of the Gottingen territory, under a thick tree,
Lu Mingfei's eyes lit up with a dazzling golden light once more.

Li Gu immediately raised his hands, took a small step back, and wore a gentle and friendly smile.

"Don't be nervous, I mean no harm."

Lu Mingfei remained silent for a moment, as if infected by his demeanor, his golden eyes dimmed.
Li Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Generally speaking, one can roughly judge the strength of a dragon-blooded creature by looking at its golden eyes. The closer the eyes are to the color representing the 'element' at the source of its bloodline, the stronger it is.

For example, the King of Bronze and Fire symbolizes the element of fire, and the golden eyes of this lineage will have a red 'red gold' texture.
The element that aligns with the Sky and the King of Wind is wind. The more powerful the bloodline, the more their golden eyes will have a hazy, gas lamp-like halo, signifying the flow of wind within them...

This pattern generally applies to hybrids, pure-blooded dragons, and dragon subspecies.

This is the conclusion reached by Li Gu after many years of research.

Lu Mingfei's golden eyes were completely unblemished, containing only pure gold, symbolizing 'spirit', with a purity and brightness that Li Gu had never seen in his life...

"He must be a descendant of the White King! He's actually a super hybrid of the White King's lineage!"

Li Gu secretly made a judgment.

I once heard that during the Tang Dynasty, the bloodline of the White King, who lived in a remote island country, was scattered abroad. I never expected that in addition to the physically powerful royal blood monsters, a 'different kind' with pure spiritual talent could also be born.

He could naturally tell that Lu Mingfei's physical strength was not exceptionally outstanding; at least it was still some distance from that of a super hybrid, far inferior to his own back then.

However, when it comes to spirit... Li Gu believes he is no less than any human.

As an ancient scholar who has been immersed in the 'Creation World' for hundreds of years, coupled with his profound knowledge, even the next generation of dragons, or the weak first generation that has just been reborn from its cocoon, may not be able to surpass him in this aspect.

This is the confidence that comes from perseverance!
Thinking of this,

Li Gu's smile grew increasingly harmless, and coupled with his handsome and approachable face, he was practically the epitome of honesty and reliability.

"can we talk?"

Lu Mingfei smiled in agreement: "So, who are you?"

Li Gu solemnly declared, "I am a disciple of the great Nicholas."

“Mr. Lu, you must remember that statue, right? The Oliveira family statue.”

"Oh!"

Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow slightly, remaining perfectly still, and asked in a perfectly measured, wary voice, "You mean, that legend is true?"

“Of course it’s true. My master has always been a man of his word. Three days ago, he told me that his promise to Oliveira had come to fruition, and he specially sent me to guide you to become the new successor of the Flamel lineage, to jointly explore the path to immortality,” Li Guyi said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Three days ago? Nicolas Flamel was still alive?"

Li Gu nodded and said, "You must have heard of the great Flamel. In March 1417, Nicholas died at the age of 87. His former residence and the tomb he donated were covered with strange symbols and incomprehensible reliefs, which attracted alchemists from all over the world to dig for his legacy. Later, tomb raiders dug up his coffin, but found it empty. In the following centuries, people from all over the world have witnessed his appearance..."

"These stories are all true. Nicholas Flamel was the greatest alchemist in human history, and he is still alive today, having never tasted death."

"And you, my friend, your talent has attracted the attention of the great Flamel, and you have the opportunity to become that one in a million lucky one, to become the twelfth disciple of the Venerable Master."

"..."

Lu Mingfei was secretly alarmed.

Why does this sound a bit sinister? They come here under a pseudonym and start bragging and talking about immortality all the time.

...Lu Mingfei had long since completed his observation of Li Gu, clearly recognizing the disparity between friend and foe. He had anticipated that the old monster Nicholas Flamel would come looking for him, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Masterpiece, vessel, sacred body, android... does it mean something similar to a shadow warrior?

Looking at Li Gu, who was speaking eloquently, Lu Mingfei fell silent.

He discovered a problem: when he was deciphering the statue that day, he knew that Nicholas had 'seen' him, but Nicholas didn't seem to realize that Lu Mingfei knew he had been seen.

...As for Charlotte, this noblewoman probably had no idea that Nicholas 'saw' her.

interesting.

They actually came directly to Gottingen's territory and blocked the gate.

"You don't look like a local?" Lu Mingfei asked without changing his expression, continuing to probe for information.

Li Gu understood the unspoken meaning in Lu Mingfei's words and immediately smiled slightly: "Your master left countless gifts for the world. Some are little surprises, given to those who are destined to receive them. As a master of alchemy, he always wanted to benefit the world regardless of nationality or race, and to use alchemy to make people live a better life."

"Some gifts have a heirloom nature, such as the statue of the Oliveira family. They require even higher talent and mental strength. Once successfully triggered, a disciple will be sent out to take the test. If the opportunity arises, then everyone will be happy."

"What if we're not meant to be?" Lu Mingfei asked deliberately.

"Why force it if fate hasn't brought us together yet?" Li Gu said with a calm smile.

"Your teacher is truly benevolent."

Lu Mingfei chuckled, naturally not believing this explanation.

They promised to send out disciples for a second assessment, but they actually sent imposters... Could it be that all the so-called disciples are imposters? This is a pyramid scheme scam...

However, on the other hand, the Holy Palace Medical Society is truly full of talented people; even the first Nicholas Flamel was among them, bearing the title of 'Sage'.

No wonder we've never found any clues about this organization among the smaller mixed-race factions before. Even the cunning Herzog was just a pawn. I can't imagine what other experts might be inside.

"I don't think I need to become an apprentice."

Lu Mingfei shook his head.

He didn't ask himself if he was 'destined' for this; Li Gu's appearance here already spoke for itself.

Think for a moment,

Lu Mingfei said, "I've heard of the lineage of the Secret Party's Flamel 'Mentor', but it seems to be just so-so."

This is his honest opinion; he doesn't seem nearly as good as Arnold, the King of Bronze and Fire.

Li Gu's smile remained unchanged: "The 'mentor' lineage you mentioned inherited alchemical knowledge from the 14th and 15th centuries, but many of their theories were later overturned by the master and were not updated in time. You can think of them as 'collateral' descendants who have forged their own path. It's not that it's bad, but the flaws are obvious."

"Those who become disciples of the master are considered 'direct descendants' and inherit the latest achievements in alchemy. The great Nicholas never spared any effort in teaching his disciples."

"Oh, by the way, Sir Isaac Newton, who once had close ties with the Gottingen family, was the fourth disciple."

"Newton..."

Lu Mingfei was genuinely surprised. Newton naturally fit the description of the kind of 'super hybrid' with an extraordinary mind that Jormungandr had mentioned. Why were Nicholas's standards for accepting disciples so high?

But then I suddenly remembered...
According to Charlotte, Newton's scheme was of profound significance... Although Lu Mingfei felt it was unlikely he could handle it alone, once this path was opened, future alchemists might indeed be able to follow in his footsteps and develop a way to understand the 'Dragon Rune Rules' entirely through technology.

Unfortunately, this path was nipped in the bud from the very beginning.

With Newton's death, 'science' returned to practical application, delving into superficial phenomena, summarizing laws from these phenomena, and then widely applying them to other phenomena...

The exploration of the 'Dragon Script Rules' will not be completely stopped, but it will at least be delayed for hundreds of years.

Rules are the underlying principles governing this magical world.

What role did Nicholas play during this period?
"...Assuming that Newton was indeed a disciple of Nicholas, he still expressed a great deal of concern about the 'Shadow' in his manuscripts, which ultimately led to his death, and Nicholas himself was a member of the 'Shadow';
Assuming Nicholas was exaggerating, it goes without saying that the whole "accepting apprentices" scheme was ill-intentioned from the start.

Lu Mingfei pondered for a moment, his expression showing excitement for a brief instant, before calming down again.

He still didn't nod immediately.

Li Gu had anticipated this 'normal behavior' and immediately sighed:
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth. I have high hopes for your talent and look forward to becoming your fellow disciple. However, accepting a disciple is not a trivial matter. It's a two-way selection. It's normal for a genius to be confident. It's impossible for them to bow down just for a title. I was the same way back then..."

"How about this, you can ask a question that's bothering you, and I'll try to answer it for you on behalf of your teacher. Consider it a small gift as a token of our meeting. Of course, it would be best if it were related to alchemy or spiritual matters, since your teacher isn't an omniscient being."

Li Gu smiled and said, "If you are satisfied, you can consider it further; if you are not satisfied, you may leave now, consider it a good deed."

"..."

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but think to himself, "It really is like a pyramid scheme."

They'll give you a little something first, then try to recruit you?

However, this is a good opportunity to test... this refined 'sage' gentleman.

After staring at Li Gu for a while, Lu Mingfei thought for a moment and asked, "I've been researching the Path of the Fire Sword recently, have you heard of it?"

"of course."

Li Gu's smile brightened. "Perfect timing, our lineage has a deep understanding of the Path of the Fire Sword."

Lu Mingfei asked calmly, "At what level are you?"

"Creation World".

Li Gu said frankly, "The realms of the Path of the Fire Sword are divided into four worlds from high to low: the Divine Realm, the Creation Realm, the Formation Realm, and the Material Realm. Under the guidance of our teacher, we are all at the Creation Realm level and can comprehend all the primal elements at this level, thus honing ourselves through these primal elements."

"And the teacher himself comprehended the mystery of the 'Abyss'."

Lu Mingfei nodded.

Within the Path of the Fire Sword lies a concept called the 'Abyss,' which lies between the highest realm of divinity and the realm of creation below, protecting the purity of the uppermost realm of divinity.

Seeing the abyss is equivalent to comprehending most of the mysteries of the Tree of Life, and is also known as the 'primordial essence of knowledge'.

At its core is a dragon script that appears to involve underlying rules—'visdovmr'.

Due to their inherent flaws, dragon-blooded creatures are almost incapable of overcoming this obstacle...

and many more!

Lu Mingfei was clearly taken aback, and quietly brought up Li Gu's panel again, glancing at a few lines of text.

【Combat strength: 5】

This guy... doesn't have any bloodline in him!
Nicholas does not contain dragon blood!?
Uh, no.

The body 'Li Gu' is merely Nicholas's shadow clone...

Do not!
It doesn’t seem right!
Lu Mingfei's gaze immediately went upwards.

[Name: Li Gu/Nicolas Flamel]

At this moment, it finally dawned on him: Li Gu's name format meant that the person before him was definitely not an ordinary clone created by an alchemical golem.
It was Nicholas himself!

Holy crap... what the hell is going on?

Lu Mingfei's heart immediately grew a little heavy, and he tentatively asked:

"Then tell me about it?"

Seeing this, Li Gu revealed a confident smile:

"To be honest, after my master deciphered the secrets of the 'Abyss,' he conducted research for many years and realized a problem: can humanity truly cultivate to the highest 'Divine Realm' through the Path of the Fire Sword... Mr. Lu, do you think it's possible?" "I don't think so." Lu Mingfei shook his head slightly.

Under the tranquil moonlight, in this lush green forest, two people, each harboring their own secrets, unexpectedly began discussing the path of the Fire Sword.

"Why do you think that?" Li Gu asked with a smile.

“Because I am in the ‘Creation Realm’,” Lu Mingfei said calmly.

"Very good, your talent is even greater than I imagined."

Li Gu's face showed excited approval; this reason was enough for him.

"I can tell you definitively that the Path of the Fire Sword is a cultivation method, but as you can probably sense, it requires a long period of accumulation to achieve results."

"In other words, the Path of the Fire Sword is most suitable for long-lived species, such as dragons, which have no lifespan limit. As long as dragons do not enter cocooning and continue to cultivate the Path of the Fire Sword, they can obtain powerful spiritual strength..."

"As long as you keep living, you can grow indefinitely?" Lu Mingfei frowned, suddenly thinking of Odin.

"Of course not."

Li Gu smiled slightly, “There is an upper limit to growth, which depends on realm and aptitude. So when the spirit becomes strong enough, if you want to go to the next level, you must consider the issue of the ‘Divine Realm’. But the truth is that even pure-blooded dragons cannot enter the highest level of the ‘Divine Realm’, which represents infinity.”

"Of course, human lifespan is too short, so considering matters of the divine realm is a bit too far off."

Lu Mingfei understood Li Gu's implication and asked in a friendly manner:
“I have a question, Mr. Nicholas… how did he manage to live from the 14th century to the present day?”

As expected, Li Gu replied with a smile:
"That's a good question. If you choose to become a disciple of the teacher, you will share the secret to immortality."

"Has he reached the limit of the creative realm?" Lu Mingfei asked again.

“I don’t know the teacher’s secret,” Li Gu said calmly.

“…Please continue,” Lu Mingfei said.

"After realizing this obstacle, the teacher spent three hundred years conducting in-depth research and finally discovered that neither hybrids nor pure-blooded dragons could ever truly enter the 'Divine Realm.' The problem wasn't their own talent, but rather because..."

Li Gu paused for a moment, then slowly revealed the truth:
"Dragon's blood is poisonous."

Lu Mingfei immediately looked surprised.

...This time it wasn't a pretense.

He was genuinely shocked by Nicholas's statement that dragon blood was poisonous, in other words, that creatures with dragon blood possessed an inherent 'defect'.

This secret was the answer Lu Mingfei extracted from the 'database' using his [deep intelligence extraction privileges]... but unexpectedly, Nicholas was able to reach the same conclusion through his own persistence and effort!
Such talent is truly extraordinary!
"The barrier that separates the divine realm from the creative realm is precisely the 'spiritual' disharmony brought about by the dragon's blood."

"Spirit is everything to the alchemist."

Li Gu was very satisfied with Lu Mingfei's reaction. "My teacher was not satisfied with the status quo, so he spent a long time and finally found a way to solve the problem with the help of an old friend."

"A practical method to enter the 'divine realm' and obtain infinite world power."

"What?" Lu Mingfei held his breath.

I have to admit, these people who run pyramid schemes are really something else.

Who wouldn't be confused if they were in charge?
"Hehe, I might as well tell you. This method can perfectly solve the problem of mental instability in hybrids. The answer lies in two words: 'separation'."

Surprisingly, Li Gu didn't keep us in suspense on this core issue:
"The teacher has found a way to completely separate the human spirit from the dragon spirit, so that they can be unified and enter the gate of divinity."

“Separation…spirit? Not personality?” Lu Mingfei was taken aback.

“Yes, spirit.” Li Gu smiled slightly. “Not personality.”

"Personality is merely a manifestation of the spirit."

"..."

Lu Mingfei fell completely silent.

The friend you mentioned, could it be...?

He suddenly remembered 'pontine splitting surgery'.
At the time, I wondered why Odin would research this thing if he had nothing better to do.

Now it seems that it was a byproduct of another technology?
But... is that right?

Lu Mingfei remembered that the solution provided by the [Deep Intelligence Extraction Permission] was 'fusion'.

"How do we separate them?" Lu Mingfei asked tentatively.

“Hehe,” Li Gu chuckled without saying a word.

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath.

Got it, now it's all about paid content.

"If you choose to join us, you will receive this knowledge in the future."

Li Gu smiled and said, "Actually, we just want to find a group of like-minded friends. The path to truth is always lonely. Calling each other 'teacher' or 'senior brother' is just a way for us to stick together for warmth. This world is dangerous, especially if you want to pursue the truth."

Seeing Lu Mingfei's silent and conflicted expression,

A sense of smugness rose in Li Gu's heart.

All geniuses, in the end, cannot escape the fate of being pursued by knowledge.

No one can resist the allure of the truth, not even Nicholas in his time.

However, this is also for Lu Mingfei's own good. It's fortunate that he has only been in the industry for half a year, otherwise it wouldn't be long before Lu Mingfei would attract the attention of Hermes and his king.
Since it's all the same anyway, why not cross that door together with Nicholas...

Unfortunately, Newton had absolutely no interest in this, preferring to spend his time and take risks to study 'science,' when clearly, once he crossed that threshold, 'science' would simply follow naturally.

Fortunately, he discovered a second 'outlier' who even raised the question of the Path of the Fire Sword... This was a preordained destiny.

However, even if Lu Mingfei's problem wasn't the 'Path of the Fire Sword', Li Gu was confident he could plant enough hooks for him, as alchemy and spirituality happened to be his areas of expertise...

Li Gu smiled and waited for Lu Mingfei's answer; in his view, everything was already a sure thing.

No one can resist the allure of knowledge.

a long time,

"I've thought about it, but I'll pass this time."

Lu Mingfei slowly raised his head, his tone friendly and polite: "Thank you for your knowledge. We'll meet again someday."

"...?"

Li Gu stood there dumbfounded, suddenly realizing that it seemed difficult to say, "Okay, then I won't bother you anymore."

He wasn't prepared for this at all!
"why?"

Li Gu looked completely bewildered.

"Elder Nico, stop joking around," Lu Mingfei said with a smile.

"..." Li Gu's expression froze.

"What did you call me?"

“I said, Elder Nico, stop playing around,” Lu Mingfei repeated with a smile.

Despite saying he would meet again someday, he didn't move an inch; Lu Mingfei had no intention of really leaving.

Li Gu's appearance here is clearly due to the feeling he had from that statue.

Behind it is the Göttingen family's estate.

It feels a bit unfair to let such a dangerous individual, who talks about immortality and godhood all the time, hang around here. To be fair, she does have some talent; after all, she took advantage of them so much. I don't want her to actually be taken away by some mystical guy...

"So, you're one of Odin's people. They've been keeping an eye on you for a while!"

Li Gu's face instantly turned gloomy, and his gentle and refined demeanor vanished in a second.

Lu Mingfei: "Hehe, didn't expect that, did you?"

"..."

Li Gu's dark eyes flashed with golden light, clearly indicating that he was extremely angry.
"How...how dare you deceive me like this?"

His slightest liking for Lu Mingfei vanished, and he immediately plummeted to rock bottom.

Initially, Nicholas was also one of Odin's men, just as he was Newton's mentor. Now he wants to be Lu Mingfei's mentor, and Odin's subordinate Hermes is his mentor.

But by a twist of fate, Nicholas had grown up, and Odin underestimated him.
He founded the 'Sages' faction within the Holy Palace Medical Society, and was in a 'competitive relationship' with Odin.

"You actually know about the Council of Elders... It seems Odin really values ​​you. I suppose he'll try to recruit you at the next meeting. But do you think that just because Odin is backing you up, you can be so disrespectful to me?"

In his rage, Li Gu's eyes once again shone with a golden light like a gas lamp.

A gale-force wind formed a tornado that roared through the forest, turning the leaves into countless sharp knives.

He used his powerful mental strength to simulate the effect of the Word of Power: Eye of the Wind King—

The so-called "spiritual power" is essentially about building bridges with the mind, following certain rules, and resonating with elements to generate corresponding effects.

Bloodline is merely a vessel.

Nicholas was one who truly glimpsed a sliver of the truth of the world.

This body is his true masterpiece, and naturally he will no longer be bound by the limitations of bloodline.

Once you understand it, you can unleash any power of words!
At the same time, countless hurricanes created invisible and intangible ripples.

It's actually a Word of Power from the combined realm of Wind and Spirit!
"Young man, you are challenging a king of the spiritual realm! Let me, your senior, teach you a lesson!"

While verbally issuing these words, Li Gu secretly mobilized his third source of spiritual power.
Like a dream, it attacked Lu Mingfei.
Odin's men... might be able to take it!

Negotiation is not possible.

The true test of skill can only be seen in practice.

Faced with Li Gu's sudden and deadly attack,
Lu Mingfei chuckled, his dark eyes also gleaming with golden light.

"Pursuing the divine realm is nothing more than a matter of numbers, right?"

pity.

What you are so persistently striving for, I already possess long ago.

(End of this chapter)