In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

Chapter 180 Lu Mingze: Don't touch my brother!

Darkness, warmth.

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but imagine himself as a child, going to the beach with his parents. His father had received some kind of work notice at that time, so only he and his mother actually went into the sea to play.

To be honest, that memory wasn't particularly pleasant. Back then, he couldn't swim and had a deep-seated fear of the seemingly boundless ocean. This fear reached its peak after he accidentally lost his swimming ring, fell into the deep ocean, was submerged, and was completely lost.

Just like now, the dark seawater surged in from all directions, creating a chilling, enveloping feeling around his body; the warmth of the sun-kissed ocean surface was only temporary, and as he continued to sink, this false warmth would soon vanish—

"Hmm? That's not right!"

Lu Mingfei subconsciously opened his mouth to inhale, and the dark, deep liquid poured in from the blue sky, but he did not feel drowning at all. It was as if he was born to adapt to this environment, but he had been away from it for too long and had forgotten how he should live here.

"This is... the Mother Sea? Have I been transformed?"

Lu Mingfei was momentarily dazed.

Indeed, this warmth came from his mother—when he was first submerged, Lu Mingfei didn't make any connection; it was only now that he realized it:

This "temperature" actually came from his memory, the feeling he experienced after falling into the water and being pulled out by his mother.

The temperature of the hot water.

"So, where did this modification happen? It wasn't just something that allows you to breathe underwater, was it?"

If that's all there is to it, wouldn't it be better to just apply a hydro-suspension technique?

Suppressing his urge to complain, Lu Mingfei looked around and quickly noticed the key point:

It wasn't completely dark here; in the far distance, a faint light still shone.

Lu Mingfei began to adjust his posture and swam towards that spot.

Tiamat lightly raised a finger, and another card floated out of the card holder.

Five weapons spun gradually on the card, slowly transforming into pure moonlight. Within that radiance, a figure materialized: "Hey! Who are you? How come my brother is lying on your lap!"

Tiamat uttered a sound, gently running her fingers through Lu Mingfei's hair.

"You're not allowed to touch my brother!!!"

Suddenly, Lu Mingze from the card emitted a deafening sound, but it couldn't wake Lu Mingfei. Tiamat, of course, wouldn't obediently follow orders, but continued her actions.

Her fingers began to stroke the still-childish lines of Lu Mingfei's face, gently caressing his skin with her fingertips, like sculpting. "Ahhh!"

Lu Mingze was trapped inside the magic card and could only let out a powerless roar.

Tiamat wasn't in a hurry to communicate, but instead gazed tenderly at Lu Mingfei's face.

Only after Lu Mingze had finally vented his anger and sullenly sat heavily on the moonlit surface did Tiamat finally begin to communicate: "@%#@————"

"What? Impossible!" Lu Mingze immediately crossed his arms. "That was left for my brother! Only he could—"

"Even if he really does give it to you, I won't give in! I'll only give it to my brother!"

Tiamat blinked, then suddenly covered Lu Mingfei's ears with her hands, her babbling becoming even more viscous.

Lu Mingze's expression changed rapidly, and he even turned and retreated, trying to escape. Unfortunately, there was nothing behind him, but a layer of pure white light that completely blocked his way.

Tiamat released Lu Mingfei's ear and reached out to Lu Mingze.

"Transformed into a beast? No, this path is not for my brother." Lu Mingze finally calmed down and shook his head firmly. "He is destined to be loved and to ascend that one and only throne."

"The path you take will not belong to him."

"the way----?"

Nayafili looked puzzled.

She naturally knew about the so-called "road," since every profession in the world has this concept when studied in depth.

On a broader scale, the priest must delve into the divine realm, and the paladin must uphold the oath; on a more specific level, even her current research on "summoning" will involve deeper studies depending on the preferred magical power.

She was just a little confused—did she have to choose the path she would stick to for the rest of her life from this moment on?

Isn't it a bit too early?

"Yes, a path." The aged halfling unfolded the book in his hands, showing Naya Phili the pages within. "Once one's skill reaches a certain level, one must choose a path to continue refining it."

-

"To say it's choosing a path is a more accurate way of saying it's choosing a direction."

Nayafili looked at the book. It didn't contain any profound sword techniques or blueprints for divine weapons; instead, it depicted one ferocious monster after another.

A gigantic, luminous being, a tiger lurking in the deep forest, a demon drinking blood on the battlefield, a giant fish appearing and disappearing in the ocean currents—

The halfling pointed to the exquisite painting above: "No one, except for true geniuses, can simultaneously comprehend all the skills—"

"Especially when there are several completely contradictory cases among them —"

"Do you ever have a similar feeling? When you first start learning how to fight, you feel that every fighting method has its unique features, but after studying it more deeply, you realize that they are actually not that different—"

"Although sword blades and axe blades differ in shape, they both rely on counterweights for striking; long staffs and spears, though differing in whether they are bladed or not, are generally used for piercing force."

Although the halfling had no weapon in his hand, just by looking at the two gestures he made, one could tell that he had been immersed in this art for many years. "Therefore, at this time, one can often master one method and then master all methods, making rapid progress in the use of weapons."

"However, learning is one thing, applying it is another."

The halfling stopped what he was doing and looked at Nayaphili with a kind expression. "That's precisely why you must begin to study your own path from this moment on."

"Because for a warrior, the ultimate outcome often depends not on you, but on your opponent."

Before Nayafili could even feel embarrassed about having her thoughts read, she was drawn to the halfling's words: "Depends on the opponent? Shouldn't it depend on one's own talent and effort—"

"Of course, that's one aspect, but the opponent is a more serious one." The old man coughed repeatedly. "If your purpose is hunting, your skill will stop at catching rabbits; if your purpose is to defeat dragons, even if you fail to defeat them, your skill will easily take down tigers in the forest."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

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