Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

"No, no, no, have you forgotten? To recognize your contributions, we specially approved a five-gram Philosopher's Stone."

"The Philosopher's Stone? Isn't that poison?" Lu Mingfei asked doubtfully.

"It seems you haven't studied 'Introduction to Alchemy' beforehand. There are five elements in the periodic table of Words of Power: earth, fire, water, wind, and spirit. The spirit element is the only one that is not under the control of the four monarch powers. Although we are not very clear about the specific reasons, the Philosopher's Stone, which is formed from the spirit element, can indeed easily kill dragons."

Angers explained in detail: "But as the pinnacle of alchemy, the Philosopher's Stone is certainly not only used as a poison. Furthermore, the Philosopher's Stone is not highly poisonous to humans; if you swallow it whole, it will appear in your toilet the next day."

"What other functions does it have?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“Since it’s a spiritual element, it’s naturally related to the spirit.” Angers took a sip of tea and said slowly, “For example, a hidden weapon, similar to the Chinese pear blossom needle, do you know what that is?”

“I definitely know that. Hidden weapons concealed in sleeves are common in martial arts stories. Assassins use special movements to trigger the mechanism of the hidden weapon, which can then shoot out needles coated with deadly poison.” Lu Ming made a hand gesture like Spider-Man shooting a web. “Could the Philosopher’s Stone be used to make needles for hidden weapons? Because it’s very hard?”

“Your imagination is rich, but it’s not.” Angers shook his head. “As a crystallization of spiritual elements, it can be connected with your spirit.”

"Connected together?" Lu Mingfei thought, "Does that mean I can give it commands with my mind?"

"That's roughly the idea. An assassin's Pear Blossom Needle requires an action to trigger it, but if the Philosopher's Stone is added during the creation process, no action is needed. You can mentally command the Pear Blossom Needle to be fired. However, the connector created by the Philosopher's Stone must be in direct contact with your body during the process."

"I think I understand." Lu Mingfei stroked his chin, pondering carefully.

He did have one thing he wanted—the Shinobi Prosthetic Arm.

To be precise, it was the hook claw in Renyi's hand that made him always have the urge to jump off the cliff when he was walking on mountain paths.

"Discuss the specific details with Professor Mans. I suggest you study Magic Mechanical Design seriously so you can draw your own blueprints. After all, sometimes the requirements and the finished product are not satisfactory." Angers handed over the red seal.

Lu Mingfei lifted the engraved copper lid, pressed his thumb on the red sponge, and stamped the document.

He really wanted a grappling hook; it would make things much easier, like if someone blocked his way in the academy, he could just leap onto the roof and disappear without a trace.

“There’s one more thing.” The principal put the document away. “When the ‘Kuimen’ project started, didn’t I promise you that your winter break internship would be canceled? According to the agreement, your internship course will get a 4.0 GPA when your grades are entered at the end of the semester, but you still have to write a paper.”

“You can choose any paper topic. Of course, you're not required to submit it now; you can hand it in to Professor Guderian after the holidays.” The principal rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward. “Any other questions?”

The two looked at each other, and Lu Mingfei hesitated.

He was really stressed about writing another paper, but thankfully the deadline for this paper was quite long.

After a pause, he asked, "Principal...why does the Dragon King...look so much like a human?"

“You used to think that dragon slaying meant killing a giant monster, but dragons can indeed appear in human form. They are still a different race, and their understanding of the world is different from ours, so they cannot be viewed as human.” The principal handed over a photograph. “We have collected some information about Norton when he was a human.”

In the photo, Lao Tang is playing cards with a group of people. The background is a coffee shop, with sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“You and Fingel met him online. Nobody knows who his biological parents are. He was adopted and dropped out of high school to earn money by doing secret jobs.” The principal said softly, “He probably never told you that his profession is a hunter, and he takes jobs that are on the fringes of the law, such as tomb raiding.”

"Has he always been the Dragon King?"

"According to the Ice Sea Fragment, the brothers lived in the Bronze Palace in Northern Europe, but from a certain day before Christ, no records of them could be found. Now it seems that they traveled across Eurasia to China, and in the process they did not reveal their identities. It is unknown how many years it took them to reach their destination."

Angers continued:

"At that time, Wang Mang usurped the power of the Han Dynasty, and China fell into war. My brother, under the pseudonym Li Xiong, used the power of the Dragon Clan to control the warlord Gongsun Shu in Sichuan and pushed him to the forefront to declare himself emperor. Baidi City, the white is actually the color of metal. Gongsun Shu used a certain metal as his lucky charm. The Chinese meaning of Baidi is actually 'King of Metals'."

"Why would they do this? Aren't dragons and humans... mortal enemies?"

"I don't know, but they must have had a very important purpose. Unfortunately, no one knows now. Twelve years after they arrived in China, Emperor Liu Xiu defeated Gongsun Shu and the two brothers. In the moment before their death, they completed the cocooning of their souls and waited to be born in the prepared eggs."

Ronald Don looked only twenty years old, but he was probably much older, because he left before the Three Gorges Dam was built, somehow arriving in America, living in human society for twenty years, convinced he was human, until his brother awakened him.

"Are they dead? Or did they cocoon themselves?" Lu Mingfei looked up.

“He’s dead. Your first shot was very accurate. His brother was pierced before he could even cocoon. After that, perhaps Norton was too angry and never chose to cocoon. Besides, he had to prepare the ‘egg’ before cocooning. I think they probably didn’t have any spare eggs.”

Lu Mingfei remained silent.

“There’s no need to be too sad,” Angers comforted. “We never knew in the past whether dragons had brotherly affection or anything like that, but now it seems they do; they do have similarities to humans. But we took a stand from the beginning; this is a war between two races.”

“I think they’re quite pitiful too,” Lu Mingfei sighed. “Principal, what is the ‘Fragment of the Ice Sea’? Does it record Norton’s past?”

Lu Mingfei was eager to learn about Norton, or rather, to understand what kind of life Old Tang lived thousands of years ago.

He had just heard the principal mention this document and wanted to ask if he could borrow it to take a look.

"The Ice Sea Scrolls are ancient scrolls that we obtained from a site in the Glenland Ice Sea ten years ago. They are pottery jars containing ancient parchment and papyrus scrolls. The text is mainly in Hebrew, with a few in Greek, Aramaic, Nabataean and Latin."

Angers stood up and patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder: "It is probably something recorded by people at that time. Since Hebrew is no longer used, it needs to be deciphered and organized by experts. Due to its age, much of the content of the Ice Sea Scroll is unclear or lost. Experts are doing their best to restore it, but in the past ten years, we have only restored a small part, and some are still guesses."

"The Fragments of the Ice Sea also contain prophecies about the end of the world. When the black dragon Nidhogg gnaws through the roots of the World Tree, the end of the world will come. It also mentions the four monarchs, but only briefly. Most of the content is still being deciphered, and restoration will be a long-term task."

"The deciphered parts are in the academy's database, and you can access them with your S-level account privileges."

"I understand, Principal. I've finished asking my questions." Lu Mingfei nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be going now.” Angers tidied up the documents on the table and left Professor Mans’s office.

It was 1:20 p.m., and Lu Mingfei still had class at 2 p.m., so Professor Mans made the most of the time to tutor him, starting with the most basic things.

The biggest difference between Magic Mechanics and ordinary mechanics lies in their power source.

"Magic motion" is the key term. Even the simplest magic-powered machines involve the field of alchemy. The biggest challenge of this course is how to add "magic motion" to ordinary machines to create optimized machines.

The name sounds sophisticated, but in the end, it still inevitably involves mechanical drawing.

"Have you decided on your thesis topic yet?" Professor Mans asked.

"How's the Prosthetic Arm?" Lu Mingfei asked tentatively.

“Sure.” Professor Mans nodded. “This is also one of the research topics of my team. Ordinary prosthetics cannot be manipulated at will. Magic-powered prosthetics are a good direction. The ultimate goal is to link thoughts and move at will. Theoretically, it can be achieved, but it requires the Philosopher’s Stone, which is too expensive for anyone. I will send the relevant materials to your email. Please review them carefully. Write a 2000-word draft and outline today, and I will check it tomorrow.”

“Okay, Professor.” Lu Mingfei took out his phone, glanced at the 2GB of text and image data and videos, and sighed.

He then rushed to the teaching building to attend his first-level Alchemy Chemistry class.

When get out of class ended at 4 o'clock, he returned to his dormitory, turned on the TV, and hurriedly watched TV series to complete Lu Mingze's task.

After having takeout for dinner, he took his student ID to help Ye Sheng prepare for his marriage proposal ceremony. He was extremely busy that day.

The two arrived at the front of the Norton Building, a U-shaped building with the main entrance in the middle and buildings on both sides surrounding it, creating a sense of oppression.

The entire building is made of white granite bricks, surrounded by manicured flower beds. Facing you are large floor-to-ceiling windows that reveal the fireplace and marble floor inside. A complete bearskin and huge antlers hang on the wall, giving it a very European aristocratic feel.

Before coming here, Lu Mingfei had used his student ID to get the key to the Norton Building.

Pushing open the door, the crystal chandelier lit up. The room was somewhat empty, with only some antique tables, chairs, and vases placed against the walls.

The student council's belongings were all taken away, but Caesar wasn't being stingy by taking them. He wouldn't mind buying another set. However, he considered Lu Mingfei a rival, and leaving his things behind would make it seem like he was deliberately infringing on Lu Mingfei's territory.

Male lions have a strong sense of territory and will urinate every day to leave their scent and let other male lions know that the territory belongs to them.

When Norton House no longer belonged to Caesar, he would not leave his scent to provoke another lion, but instead clean out his belongings as a sign of respect.

"What do you decide to do?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“I have an idea,” Ye Sheng said. “You can host a costume ball in your name and invite the men and women of the college to attend.”

"There will be a voluntary event where women with partners will need to cover their dresses and hair, wear makeup masks, and not speak. They will sit in a row with the other female guests, and the men will need to find their female partners under these circumstances."

"That's so romantic! We can arrange for our staff to seat Aki in the pre-reserved seats. You can be the first to take Aki's hand, then kneel down and propose to her." Lu Mingfei nodded. "Absolutely fantastic!"

“No, I don’t want to do anything underhanded.” Ye Sheng shook his head. “I will find Aki myself, and I believe I will be the first.”

His eyes were firm, as if he had made up his mind.

"Great! That's the kind of spirit we need!" Lu Mingfei clapped. "So what should we do now? Plan the ball, or start the renovations? To be honest, I've never done anything like this before, I have absolutely no experience."

"Well... actually, I don't have any either." Ye Sheng looked embarrassed, then patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder. "But it's okay, Caesar does it all the time, and I think he does it quite well. The academy must have a professional team."

Lu Mingfei remembered the waiter who was a band conductor, could make milk tea, and delivered takeout every day.

"Wait, let me ask." He took out his phone and texted the waiter.

The waiter was very busy, and he had told Lu Mingfei not to call, but to send a message, and that he would get a response soon.

He replied within 10 seconds of sending the message, as quickly as ever.

“Mr. Lu Mingfei, I regret to inform you that the academy does not offer such services. Mr. Caesar’s parties are organized by him and his student council members. We only provide food and band performances, and we are not responsible for the venue setup. If you really want to hold a masquerade ball, you can consult Mr. Caesar. Of course, I can also help out, but I may not be able to do it as perfectly as Mr. Caesar.”

Chapter 112 Master Erii

Japan, Genji Heavy Industries.

Erii Uesugi hugged her adorable Rilakkuma, with the toys clinging tightly to her or simply stuffed into her clothing pockets.

She sat on the tatami in a duck-like position, her red sash falling to the ground, her fair feet peeking out from under her skirt, her toes twitching restlessly.

She was watching anime on the big screen, looking tense, clutching Rilakkuma tightly. Whenever an explosion or other sound came from the speakers, her toes would twitch.

Code Geass is a science fiction anime that tells the story of the Holy Britannian Empire conquering one-third of the world's territory and renaming Japan as District 9. It can be viewed as a super robot anime, but it also contains some religious elements and topics about divinity and immortality.

The protagonist, Lelouch, is an intelligent character. Although he is a bit chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), the intellectual battles and plot twists in this anime are quite exciting.

Judging by the standards of anime, Code Geass is certainly a very good anime, but Erii sees it differently.

In the eyes of this girl who has very little contact with the outside world, everything that happens in anime is real.

From childhood to adulthood, Uesugi Erii has been under strict surveillance, and her activities are basically confined to this room. Occasionally, Genjiro would take her to the cafeteria for meals, and doctors in white coats would regularly give her physical examinations, blood tests, and injections.

She usually only goes to the cafeteria once a week, where she can enjoy the view of Tokyo's nightscape through the glass of a private room, but she has to go back after eating.

She never went to school, but she had private tutors who would give her lessons every week, accompanied by Genjiro or Tachibana Masamune.

For this reason, almost all of her knowledge about the outside world comes from anime and games.

In her world, Japan is renamed District 9, and every day there are rebels fighting against the army of the Holy Britannian Empire in super robots. There are many sea kings in the deep sea, and a pirate named Luffy wears a straw hat every day to challenge the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy.

She had never seen the outside world with her own eyes, so her understanding of the world was very confused.

Humans cannot imagine things they have never seen.

For example, if you say any color, such as purple, you will immediately picture purple things, such as eggplants. But what if you were asked to imagine a color you've never seen before and describe it?

Because she can't believe it, Erii's world is a patchwork of worldviews from anime and games.

Do you know why snow is white? Because it has long forgotten what color it is.

The female protagonist in the anime said this to Lelouch in a casual tone.

They are immortal beings who cannot die, living from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

Lelouch said her name didn't sound like a human name, implying that she had forgotten her past. But this was actually her own attempt to forget the past, which she had never been able to do.

Erii nodded repeatedly and copied these classic quotes into her notebook.

Just like children memorize and copy down the lyrics of their favorite songs, she also has a special little notebook to record philosophical lines from anime.