Dragon Raja: Oh no! Lu Mingfei has been diagnosed with depression!

As night fell, a huge copper pot was set up on the terrace of the temple called Xingshen Temple. Inside the pot, beef rolls and cabbage were simmering. White steam rose and the aroma filled the air, making people's mouths water. However, no one around the long table touched their chopsticks.

The dinner was proposed by Masamune Tachibana, who felt that the Japanese branch had not properly entertained the distinguished guests from headquarters the previous night, leaving everyone disappointed. Therefore, he specially asked the family's head chef to prepare the dinner tonight, determined to make everyone at headquarters feel the warmth of the branch.

However, he himself was not present. It is said that he had to deal with an underground gang conflict. The other party was a very large gang, and only he had the prestige to mediate such a conflict. Therefore, he had to ask Genjiro to receive the distinguished guests from headquarters on his behalf.

But is this really a reception?

Fingel looked at Caesar and Chu Zihang in horror. The two of them had walked in together, supporting each other, and their faces were expressionless. After sitting down, the two of them drank sake by themselves.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Caesar and Chu Zihang's faces seemed a bit rounder than in the morning.

Sitting opposite them was Genjiro, who was also silent, with a solemn expression. He was wiping the ancient sword on his lap, but his eyes were fixed on a certain place, looking as if he might suddenly draw his sword and start slashing someone at any moment.

Fingel's face twisted as he followed Genji's gaze, only to see an even more bizarre scene: Lu Mingfei was still sitting in the head seat, where three people were crammed into a space that was originally meant for one person.

On his left was the head of the Uesugi family writing in his notebook, and on his right sat the pretty junior he had just picked up that morning. Lu Mingfei had his arms around both of them, and every now and then he would turn his head to respond to the head of the Uesugi family, and then turn his head to look at Zero with a puzzled look.

Ling didn't offer any explanation. She placed her hands gracefully on the mat. When Lu Mingfei looked at her, she tilted her head to meet his eyes, but didn't say anything. The two of them just stared at each other.

Wow! Boss Lu, you're actually frowning! Do you even know what kind of royal treatment you're receiving?! When two beautiful women are throwing themselves at you, don't worry about anything else. If you're uncomfortable sitting there, get up and let me sit down!

Fingel glared at Lu Mingfei through gritted teeth, wanting to take his place, but every time he lifted his buttocks, he was forced back down by several piercing gazes.

Genjiro's, Zero's, Chu Zihang's... Caesar even reached out and pressed his hand on his leg, while personally pouring him a cup of sake, trying to shut him up with sake!

Fingel was numb. The atmosphere at the dinner was so strange. Everyone looked at each other without saying a word, and they understood each other perfectly with just a glance. Only he was sitting there restless, unable to connect with these guys.

Fingel could no longer bear this feeling of being excluded. He took a shaky sip of sake and suddenly thought of an excellent topic:

"By the way... Chairman and President, weren't you supposed to spar with the young master today? How did the spar go?"

"If you are interested, you can also request to spar with Genjiro."

Caesar twirled his wine cup without making a sound, glancing sideways at this guy who liked to bring up the most awkward topics. "I believe that even if Genjiro is busy, he will still find time to spar with you."

"The task assigned to me by the patriarch is to receive everyone from headquarters. If Fingel-kun wants to spar with me, I do have plenty of free time."

Genji raised his head and said calmly, "I heard that Fingel-kun repeated a year at headquarters for four years. I believe he has honed himself into someone as resilient as a sword during those four years, hasn't he?"

"Rumors shouldn't be trusted!"

Fingel was taken aback, wondering which villain dared to plot against him. "I'm a civilian officer! Civilian officers never go to the battlefield! They only need to command from the rear!"

"There are also examples in history of civil officials fighting on the battlefield."

Chu Zihang said, "For example, in the Han Dynasty, there was no strict separation between civil and military officials, and many scholars and civil officials could directly lead troops into battle."

Fingel was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, "I know you're very knowledgeable, President, but aren't we teammates? Don't undermine me at a time like this. Do you really want to see me get beaten to death by Genjiro before you're satisfied?"

Caesar and Genji chuckled softly, and the oppressive atmosphere lingering in the mist dissipated.

Genjiro put down the ancient sword in his hand and looked at Caesar and Chu Zihang:

"I will be in charge of arranging your schedules in the coming days. Is there anything you would like to do or any places you would like to go?"

"Lu Mingfei told me that you have many sword masters, and if possible, I would like to learn swordsmanship from them."

Chu Zihang said that although Caesar and Genjiro tacitly did not mention the sparring during the day, the scene of Genjiro fighting two against one still made him realize what it means to be powerless.

So this is the difference between the top team in headquarters and the top team in a branch? Even he and Caesar together couldn't defeat Genjiro. Fighting someone like that requires keeping every nerve on edge; any lapse in concentration will lead to their defeat.

In fact, Genjiro didn't use any advanced swordsmanship. When the enemy rushed up, he would swing his sword down with great force to force the enemy to defend, and then take the opportunity to kick the enemy away.

Chu Zihang and Caesar spent the entire afternoon repeating the cycle of falling to the ground, getting up, rushing out, and then being kicked to the ground again.

"Then I'll learn swordsmanship with Chu Zihang."

Caesar shrugged and exchanged a glance with Chu Zihang. He understood the meaning in Chu Zihang's eyes. At this moment, saying that he wanted to learn Japanese swordsmanship was tantamount to admitting that he was inferior to the people in the Japanese branch.

Given his past personality, even if he were kicked away a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand times, he would get up again, draw his sword, and slash at the enemy. It might seem a bit childish, but that was the pride that Caesar followed.

So many years have passed, and Caesar always thought he had grown up and could control his own destiny, and that he should live a life of high spirits and great pride from now on.

But it wasn't until he met Lu Mingfei that he realized this wasn't growing up, it was just teenage angst. Actually, he sometimes thought Lu Mingfei was also teenage, though we won't criticize the older brother, but later in the story, Caesar learned a lesson through real-life examples—

Only the strong have the right to be proud! The weak are the ones who suffer from adolescent delusions!

"Actually, I should have realized it sooner. They've always treated me like a child, which is why they say I'm rebellious. If I were truly strong, they wouldn't think that way."

Caesar took a sip of sake. "Back then, they should have called me Chairman."

"Many people will call you that."

Chu Zihang stared at him for a long time, then raised his glass. "I'll call you that too."

"Then, President Chu, you mustn't let your guard down in the days to come. If I surpass you, your Lionheart Club will have to be inferior to the student council members."

Caesar and Chu Zihang clinked glasses, then Caesar turned to look at Lu Mingfei:

"Is there anything you want to do, or would you like to learn swordsmanship with us?"

"Me?"

Lu Mingfei looked up and thought for a moment, "If possible, I'd like to go out to sea to fish."