Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

He had always thought that this was a lie the man told him to leave, but now he felt somewhat dazed.

“Senior brother.” Lu Mingfei’s voice immediately snapped him out of his daze. “I know you’ve been searching for clues about Odin. Whatever we find, we should let each other know as soon as possible, okay?”

"Okay." Chu Zihang nodded solemnly.

“We can end our conversation now. Norma’s prolonged offline presence will attract attention.” Lu Mingfei was satisfied with the outcome of the conversation.

After Chu Zihang left, Lu Mingfei opened his laptop.

He accessed the academic affairs system of Kassel College, where each professor and student had a separate account, and each account corresponded to an identity code in Norma's database. Norma was responsible for maintaining and managing the entire academic affairs system.

Lu Mingfei's student file has been deleted by Angers, and he has theoretically lost his login privileges, but the visiting professor's temporary account can still be used to log in.

The visiting professor's personal homepage is almost blank, containing only his name and registration date. Many functions that are available to regular professors are grayed out and inaccessible.

He opened the course management page, where there was an elective course called "Practical Combat Course I".

This special elective course is not scheduled with other courses at Kassel College; instead, the instructor, Lu Mingfei, arranges the venue and time himself.

It was the start of the second semester, and the class schedule had just been arranged. For the first few weeks, the classrooms were almost always occupied, leaving Lu Mingfei with virtually no options. The only opening was two weeks later, for the first class in the evening in a secluded classroom. Lu Mingfei didn't mind; he checked the box to request the class and submitted it.

After doing all that, he opened the student assessment management page.

There were about fifty students inside. Only a few people signed up when Free Day started, but the number of people signing up on the last day of Free Day was completely full.

Lu Mingfei found Fingel's name and then gave him full marks in the "Class Participation" column.

In the practical combat course, the daily performance accounts for 70% of the grade, the assessment grade only accounts for 20%, and the remaining 10% is attendance. The assessment method section is currently blank and is determined by the instructor. Generally, it includes things like project assignments, group discussions, pre-class presentations, and papers. However, since the practical combat course is a major category of practical courses, Lu Mingfei was able to set the final assessment method as an internship task.

He shut down his computer, thus completing the tasks he needed to accomplish during his trip back to Kassel College.

According to Angers' plan, after attending the board meeting, he would become a senior executive in the executive department, not only freeing him from attending classes at the academy but also allowing him to receive a salary from the executive department.

However, for Lu Mingfei now, that salary is barely enough to make ends meet.

......

Before Lu Mingfei set off for Italy with Angers, the last thing he needed to do was return the books from the library. The library at Kassel College had once been his only source of information about dragons and alchemy; now, he had the intelligence provided by Lu Mingze's team and Angers' influence.

He borrowed a trolley from the dormitory manager and pushed a stack of books taller than himself to the library.

Once inside the library, he patiently categorized and put all the books back. The library was nearly empty; it was only the beginning of the semester, with a few upperclassmen buried in their books, preparing their theses or graduation projects.

However, as he put the alchemy-related books back on the shelf, he saw a familiar face in the reading area by the window.

The girl with a ponytail, wearing headphones, rested her chubby cheek on her hand, her expression focused. In front of her was a hardcover book with a dark green cover. Her fingers gently turned the pages, her brows sometimes furrowing, sometimes relaxing.

The girl's presence was like a ray of sunshine, illuminating a corner of this classically styled and old-fashioned library.

Perhaps sensing Lu Mingfei's gaze, Xia Mi suddenly turned her head and looked at him.

She blinked, paused for a moment, then her face lit up with surprise and delight. She waved and called out, "Senior Brother Lu..."

Halfway through her shout, she realized her behavior was inappropriate and quickly covered her mouth.

Loud noises are prohibited in the library.

Lu Mingfei waved to her and continued returning books. After putting away the current few books, he still had other book sections to go to.

Xia Mi skipped over because Lu Mingfei needed to find the books in this area according to their categories and index numbers; the ground was covered with books that he had categorized.

"Senior brother, why don't you go to the borrowing and returning area?" Xia Mi asked curiously.

“The school’s janitors are still on vacation in Australia, and I have too many books,” Lu Mingfei replied.

"Let me help you," Xia Mi said, picking up a book from the ground.

She walked along a row of books on the shelf, her fingers tracing the different alchemy books with their varied covers, before finding an empty space and inserting the book into it.

Working together, Lu Mingfei quickly finished returning the book on alchemy.

"Senior Brother Lu, are you very interested in alchemy? You haven't read all these books, have you?" Xia Mi realized halfway through that Lu Mingfei wasn't looking up books for a specific alchemical experiment or to write a paper in a particular field.

He borrowed a wide variety of books.

“I’ve browsed most of them.” Lu Mingfei’s gaze swept over the bookshelf.

He borrowed and read through all the books that interested him.

However, his gaze suddenly fell on one of the books. It wasn't there when he last came, so he couldn't be mistaken. He needed to filter the books he wanted to read, so he had looked at all the covers and titles.

Chapter 89 Book

It was a book called "The Story of Alchemy." Lu Mingfei took it down, flipped through it, and found that it was a book that compiled important alchemical artifacts and corresponding research conclusions excavated from prehistoric times to the 20th century.

The Kassel Institute excavates dragon remains around the world, and its professors study the artifacts unearthed, publishing their findings in the institute's journals. However, since dragon-related sites are scattered globally, alchemical artifacts generally incorporate local cultural influences.

For example, alchemists in Eastern Europe used alchemical potions and a silver metal refined through alchemy to combat Deadpool, which in folklore became known as using holy water and crosses to subdue vampires. In East Asia, ancient Chinese alchemists created alchemical talismans or tokens that could be activated by language; these were generally referred to as magical artifacts by the common people.

The only commonality among these diverse items is that they are related to dragon alchemy.

Professors who study this field are generally busy people, and no one would be interested in compiling a comprehensive collection of introductions. There is basically no connection between the alchemical items, meaning that the content of the book is disjointed. It lists the work of the archaeological team and other professors, without any theme or system.

"Senior brother, don't flip through so fast, I think I saw my alchemy teacher's name," Xia Mi said, peeking out.

With Lu Mingfei's current memory, he could remember it after reading it once, and most of the photos in this book were close-up pictures of alchemical items, some of which looked like they were taken directly in a closed space like a tomb, without needing to stop and think.

"Do you want to see it?" After Lu Mingfei finished reading, he closed the book and handed it to Xia Mi.

After Xia Mi took the book, she suddenly asked, "Senior brother, you seem to be very good at alchemy. I'll most likely be in the alchemy department after I enroll. Could you tutor me then?"

Lu Mingfei did not answer immediately.

"I'll treat you to a meal." Xia Mi put her hands on her hips. "My pretty junior sister is treating me to a meal."

When she called herself beautiful, it was actually a form of self-deprecation. In Lu Mingfei's judgment, Xia Mi's looks were good enough to compete for the title of the next school beauty.

“I won’t be at the academy often starting this semester,” Lu Mingfei explained. “Most of the alchemy exams are experiments, so I can’t teach you much.”

"That's a pity." Xia Mi stuck out her tongue. "Luckily, I can still find Senior Brother Chu."

Lu Mingfei originally wanted to tell her that Chu Zihang wouldn't be at school often either—he planned to take Chu Zihang back to China to investigate the Nibelungen, all he needed to do was have Angers assign Chu Zihang a task.

But he didn't say anything. Xia Mi was just a junior he'd met twice. After she enrolled, she'd have plenty of seniors willing to teach her alchemy.

He packed up the rest of the books, said goodbye to Xia Mi, and left.

Once Lu Mingfei's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs, Xia Mi leaned against the tall bookshelf behind her, opened the book, wiped off the things attached to a few of the pictures, closed it, and casually put it back on the bookshelf.

She hummed an Irish folk song, looking relaxed, and returned to her seat, listlessly flipping through the alchemy book that she had just been struggling to understand.

......

Since Constantine and Fingel had both cancelled their student status, neither of them needed to attend classes. Before leaving, Lu Mingfei allocated some funds to Fingel, telling them that they could go to China to meet up with Lao Tang after he returned. Lu Mingfei's next step was to investigate Odin's Nibelungen.

On the day of departure, they still left on the principal's private plane.

After arriving at the airport, I transferred to a Gulfstream business jet to travel to Italy.

The black Gulfstream G550 roared deafeningly, tearing through the clouds.

This ultra-long-range business jet is designed specifically for billionaire businessmen, celebrities, or political figures. Traveling on this private jet, they can fly across the Atlantic while only sleeping for a few hours, boarding in the New York night and waking up in the Parisian dawn. It is designed to be extremely quiet; typically, when flying in the stratosphere, VIPs cannot even perceive the engines running. The designer describes its flight as "like a giant blue whale swimming in the deep sea."

But this Gulfstream was extremely noisy; besides the roar of the engines, you could even hear the sharp whistling of the wings tearing through the air while sitting inside. Above was the brilliant Milky Way, below was the pitch-black sea, hidden in the black clouds, which resembled the ocean, like a tiger shark charging at full speed towards its prey.

This Gulfstream, modified by the Equipment Department of Kassel College, is nicknamed "Sleibnir." Sleibnir is the eight-legged winged horse ridden by Odin, the chief god in Norse mythology, and it always streaks across the sky like a fiery meteor. Its only drawback is its excessive noise; in the Equipment Department's view, ultimate speed is the epitome of exquisite craftsmanship, while comfort is optional. Their job is to manufacture dragon-slaying weapons; weapon craftsmen never consider comfort.

"Have you ever seen a tank equipped with zoned air conditioning, heated cushions, and massage seats?" Director Akadullah said confidently.

This Gulfstream is the principal's prized possession, and he rarely uses it. Angers only takes this treasure out of the hangar when attending auctions around the world. One reason is to maintain the academy's prestige, and the other is that he needs to take some "forbidden items related to dragon civilization" back to the academy after the auction. Private planes are easier to pass through security. Otherwise, Angers would rather compromise and take a regular flight.

With this flight, Lu Mingfei's two-meter-long hound tusk no longer had to go through the academy's transport process.

Angers was still wearing a black suit with a red rose adorning his chest. When he looked solemn, he resembled a funeral attendant.

When Lu Mingfei first enrolled, Angers told him the story of the first Lionheart Society, a tragedy that ended with the Secret Party's refusal to release the investigation results, known as "Summer's Lament," which was also the reason why Lu Mingfei later chose to believe Angers.

The old playboy persona was merely a mask he used to disguise himself; in his heart, there was only a lonely avenger, always carrying a sharp iron blade.

The dragons took everything from him and taught him the cruelty of the world. From that moment on, he transformed into the most terrifying dragon slayer in the world.

Such a pure person is trustworthy.

"Are you nervous?" Angers noticed Lu Mingfei's gaze. "You are about to face the most powerful figures among the hybrid races."

“They are the ones who are nervous.” Lu Mingfei turned his gaze to the window. “Those who are driven by ambition fear warriors.”

"So ambitious kings always hang the wandering knights." Angers' tone was laced with sarcasm.

Lu Mingfei knew who the king he was talking about was. This principal was cultivating his cronies, intending to control the entire Kassel College so that he could mobilize the most elite team when slaying the dragon.

Now the king is dissatisfied.

Chapter 90 Rain

Portofino, Italy.

Lu Mingfei and Angers strolled side by side. Angers wore a long black wool overcoat and an elegant cashmere scarf, while Lu Mingfei wore the winter uniform of Kassel College, with only a black overcoat issued by the executive department over it. On one side of the winding path were houses built into the hillside in a staggered pattern, and on the other side, one could see the frozen harbor and the sea.

Portofino was originally built as a tourist port town; in Italian, Portofino means "small border port."

All the houses here are painted in vibrant colors: pale green, yellow, and brown, to create a striking contrast with the green hills and turquoise sea. Even the government's public facilities are full of personality and character, deliberately using bright and vivid colors.

The two saw very few pedestrians on the road. Summer is the peak tourist season here, and many famous political figures, financial tycoons, and celebrities from all over the world are happy to choose this pleasant town for vacation.

“Now is not the best time to come here.” Angers looked at the desolate sea in the distance. “In another four or five months, we will be able to see the sea, sails, green trees, huge rocks, orange wooden boats and all kinds of bright flowers complementing each other. It will be very beautiful, just like the spring in Yangzhou described by your ancient poets.”

"The beauty of Yangzhou lies not only in its scenery, but also in the poets who live there." Lu Mingfei still remembers his middle school Chinese teacher's teaching: "The poet is not on the boat to Yangzhou; he watches his friend's sail disappear into the horizon, with only the vast river in front of him."

“Oh.” Ang Zhe nodded, as if his thoughts had flown to a faraway place, “a misty phantom, where willow catkins drift like smoke, flowers bloom in profusion, and there are his friends.”

He too had such a phantom buried deep in his heart, fleeting and ethereal, yet containing all that he had.

He stopped, lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke, which dissipated in the cold wind.

“Mingfei, if we can kill all four monarchs… I mean, if. The day the last Dragon King falls in a pool of blood… that is the day the hybrids start fighting each other.”

“I know.” Lu Mingfei also stopped, the hem of his black trench coat fluttering. “It was an inevitable result, decided from the day the hybrids were born.”

Angers was taken aback. "You really learned a lot during your time in China."

“Now, I also have a mixed-race force behind me,” Lu Mingfei said frankly. “They are temporarily loyal to me and have provided me with a lot of intelligence.”

Angers shook his head. "But true intelligence isn't necessarily correct."