Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 86 Hero
"Hero?"

Lu Mingfei's lips moved slightly, his voice light and airy, like drifting dust.

"……I?"

His eyes were empty.

In his short twenty years of life, which felt like he was rolling in the mud, he was branded with the titles "good-for-nothing," "loser," and "weight"... these harsh or mocking labels.

hero?

Such a dazzling and heavy crown has never, and should never, belong to Lu Mingfei.

Even after the massacre of Norton, the King of Bronze and Fire, when the winds of the entire Kassel College instantly reversed, and those gazes turned from contempt to admiration, worship, and even fear... he remained clear-headed.

That night, he sold a quarter of his life to save one friend and killed another with his own hands.

That power, enough to fight the Dragon King in close combat, was never his own.

If one day, the second Dragon King awakens from his slumber, the old fogies of the school board will wave their hands and casually push him onto that doomed altar—

"Lu Mingfei, go slay the dragon."

Could he possibly risk another quarter of his life to fill that bottomless pit?

Of course, the probability of this happening is extremely low. Lu Mingfei of today is no longer the soft target he once was. His heart pounded in his chest, the power of a storm coursed through his veins, even when facing the behemoth that is the Secret Party, which dominates the world…

He also had a sliver of confidence—a sliver of confidence that he could successfully escape.

What are you doing? That's the world's largest and most mysterious hybrid organization. Who knows how many deadly trump cards those old foxes hiding in the shadows are lurking around? If you can't win, run away. What's wrong with that?
He swallowed the dragon's heart, grasped the storm's blade, and gained the power to tear steel apart. However, when the shadow of death truly loomed, when life was reduced to its last remaining thread, those dazzling shells would peel away, revealing his most core, his most primal self—

That cowardly, timid, cautious, and even somewhat cunning loser. That soul named Lu Mingfei, whose first reaction in dire situations is always to find a way out, has not yet undergone a true transformation.

However, just as his thoughts were in turmoil, the old knight spoke again—

“Yes,” he nodded, “you.”

"Even though you'll definitely use your immortality to kill him, so what?"

The old knight shrugged:

"The weak prevailing over the strong is the same as the strong prevailing over the weak. Facts speak louder than words. Do you think that old bastard Gary would suddenly push open his coffin lid and jump up to say 'it's unfair'?"

He sneered:
Save your breath. The word "hero" doesn't care what you think in your heart, nor does it care whether you think you deserve it! It's branded on your actions!
How do you think history is written? Do historians read through a hero's diary, scrutinizing every word for his guilty conscience? Fool!

Your legs stride into the eye of the storm, your hands raise your sword to strike the demigod's skull, and the inscription on the stone will only read—'In such and such a year, the demigod Grik perished at the hands of the Faded One, Lumingfei, and his allies'! That's enough! That's what makes you a 'hero'!

The old knight's spittle almost landed on Lu Mingfei's face; his chest heaved, and his tone grew increasingly impassioned.
"This is the indomitable path trodden by a mortal body! Did you hear me?! Stop whining like a woman about your pathetic little thoughts!"

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, but then swallowed the words back down.

In the end, he simply knelt on one knee and respectfully performed the Storm Knight salute to the impassioned old man before him.

"Yes, Master."
-
Lu Mingfei finished kneeling in greeting, but did not immediately rise. He hesitated for a moment, then lightly traced a line in the air with his finger—

The broken body, exuding overwhelming power, lay on the cold church floor.

He was a majestic monarch, and though he had lost his life and was now just a crimson skeleton, he remained so solemn. His massive winged bones folded behind him like a screen, the texture of the bones like red copper repeatedly forged in fire.

The skeletons look like human figures, but there are significant differences when you look at the details.

The skull's eye sockets were inlaid with crystalline golden eyeballs, like a pair of glass beads. Its body was composed of nearly a thousand delicate bones, some fused together, others forming organs never before seen in any other living creature.

He was dead, yet he remained in his final posture. His arms were outstretched, grasping the wing bones behind him, like Jesus nailed to the cross.

Dragon bone cross.

At the moment of Norton's death, he was surprised to find that His body was deemed a being that could be included in the space—despite the different laws of the world.

This is something the Secret Service went through great lengths to salvage in the Three Gorges, but no matter what, they could only find the remains of Samson, the Dragon Attendant.

Who would have thought that Lu Mingfei would take this thing? After all, he was almost completely naked when he was rescued.

He took out Norton's remains mainly to figure out some things.

Previously, Lu Mingfei had been constantly on the go, but now that he had obtained his first Great Rune, he finally had a chance to catch his breath.

He wanted to know what the connection was between his bloodline, dragons, and ancient dragons.

And what could be clearer than having a Dragon King appear and explain these things?
A sharp glint flashed in the old knight's eyes. He hesitated, then crouched down, his aged hand brushing against the jagged bones. The lingering, terrifying dragon's might on the mangled body still sent shivers down his spine—

He was also a knight who had performed the Dragon Sacrifice, his golden vertical pupils being the best proof. Yet, the Dragon Sacrifice user, who should theoretically be free of all taboos, was now filled with genuine fear!
This descendant of the storm, who had witnessed countless storms and even knew ancient secrets, was now unusually flustered in front of his young apprentice.

However, that loss of composure lasted only a few breaths.

Before Lu Mingfei could even open his mouth to explain, the old knight took a deep breath, and the shock in his eyes receded as quickly as the tide. He was, after all, an ancient man from a previous dynasty, and even this dragon bone, which was beyond his comprehension, could not shake the bottom line of his heart.

"Are they your kind?"

"Same race?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head:

"I don't think so, do I? According to history, the blood flowing in my veins does indeed come from them. They should be considered the source? I'm a descendant of their kind?"

The old man stared intently at the Dragon King's skeleton before him, feeling and pondering.

Then, he shook his head:

"It's not like how, despite sharing the same origin, there's no clear distinction between superior and inferior."

Lu Mingfei was completely confused.

He understood the concept of "same ancestry and origin," but what did "high and low" mean?
He thought for a moment and then asked frankly:
"What I really want to know is whether my kind is very similar to the ancient dragons? Because my race is a hybrid of human and dragon, and the other half of my blood comes from them."

The old man was stunned; now it was his turn to be confused.

He looked at Norton's skeleton, then at Lu Mingfei.

"His race is indeed similar to that of the ancient dragons."

The old man paused, seemingly considering his words:
"But his form of existence and level of power are probably closer to that of a demigod wielding a Great Rune. He is no longer an ordinary being of flesh and blood; he is more like a concept."

"As for you"

The old man hesitated.

After a moment, he slowly said:

"I don't understand what you are either."

?

Lu Mingfei was stunned.

Why is this old man swearing?

“Young man,” the old knight turned to Lu Mingfei, his voice low, “I’ll ask you first, do you know what the fundamental nature of life in the borderlands is?”

Lu Mingfei was taken aback by the question, frowned, thought for a moment, and then answered uncertainly:
"You mean... the soul, body, and will are united as one... like that?"

"Hmm, pretty much right, the summary is alright."

The old knight nodded, acknowledging it.

"The inherent laws of the borderlands are a trinity, united as one. Whether it is you, your kin, or the ancient dragons, your laws are similar, just like the relationship between the magic ring and the great runes."

In this respect, you are similar to them.

But your soul and will clearly possess human qualities, yet they are not entirely the same as theirs.

Lu Mingfei nodded, now he could barely understand.

The old man stroked the bones, which looked like they were cast in red copper, and said with a touch of emotion:
"It's actually a body that's close to a demigod. The power and spirit have been completely preserved in the bones. What a tenacious life!"

Lu Mingfei glanced at Norton's skeleton with a puzzled expression.

Since he couldn't form a cocoon, he should be unable to revive and should be completely dead.

The old man glanced sideways at Lu Mingfei, seeing through his thoughts, and snorted disdainfully:
"He's dead, of course, but his spirit isn't. Kid, I'm asking you, did he die after you killed Grek?"

"He was wriggling on the ground like a maggot but was unconscious. He must be dead, right?"

Lu Mingfei said somewhat uncertainly.

"wrong."

The old man slowly shook his head:

"After the Dharma Ring shattered, there was no more normal death on this land. What you call killing only destroys their bodies and breaks their wills, so they can be said to be dead, but their spirits are still trapped in their bodies."

Demigods, being such powerful beings, can retain their souls and wills even after losing their physical bodies. Grik became like that because you plundered his power and Great Runes, causing his utter decline.

"But this guy..."

The old man tapped his bones:
"In this world where there is no death, his spirit and power are still intact. You must take good care of them, lest they fall into the wrong hands."

(End of this chapter)