Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 14 Lost Home
After discovering that Lu Mingfei had a wealth of practical experience but a poor foundation, the old man used a near-cramming method to cram a large amount of systematic sword techniques into him and then forced him to practice intensively every day.

Then, the old man impatiently pulled Lu Mingfei to begin practical training.

The training was suffocatingly rigorous. Countless times, Lu Mingfei considered escaping under the cover of night while the old knight slept using a blessing teleportation technique, or committing suicide with his sword during training.

But he persevered in the end.

He didn't even know what he was thinking. He hadn't joined the Knights voluntarily; it was practically forced upon him. He knew nothing about this old man.
There are countless reasons to run away, but only one reason to persevere—

Lu Mingfei no longer wanted to live a cowardly life.

The old knight's teaching methods were ruthless, but Lu Mingfei didn't hate him at all.

On the contrary, Lu Mingfei was very grateful to the old knight and had long regarded him as his dearest teacher.

Because he could sense that the old man was teaching him with all his heart and soul.

Dark as ink.

The campfire crackled among the ruins of the Dragon Feast Church, illuminating the weary faces of an old man and a young boy.

Lu Mingfei slumped onto the stone steps, gazing at the unfamiliar starry sky of the borderlands with utter despair. The old knight silently polished his twin swords, his silver beard and hair gleaming red in the firelight.

"Old man," Lu Mingfei suddenly spoke, his voice tinged with apprehension, "Is the Storm Knights really down to just you?"

The old knight paused, the firelight reflecting off the sword's blade dancing in his eyes, revealing a complex expression.

He remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking:
"do not know."

Lu Mingfei looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t know,” the old man repeated. “If it were years ago, before the Ring of Law was broken and before the people on the ground went mad, for me to call myself the Storm Rider would have been pure suicide.”

"Since the fall of the Storm King, the Knights have fallen apart. A large number of knights and soldiers have been labeled as criminals and exiled to the border, where they are jokingly called 'Knights of the Lost Land'."

"In the end, only two people remained to guard the capital, Stoneville: Generals Oreg and Ingwell, known as the Twin Wings of the Storm King."

Oreg submitted to the Blessed King and eventually returned to the tree as a hero of the Golden Tree; while Ingwell guarded the kingless capital day after day.

The old knight sighed deeply:
"After the War of Shattered Arms broke out, the Knights of No Master pledged allegiance to new masters, and some even turned on each other. I understand them, but they have betrayed their creed and are no longer worthy to be called Storm Knights. The Storm Power among their descendants has also dissipated."

I heard that the kid from Moen City can't even use a single Storm Technique. We're probably the last Storm inheritors.

So the name of the storm will disappear completely from the history of the borderlands after all of us are dead, and no one will remember it.”

"Later, after Ingwell's death, that despicable, ugly, and weak demigod Grek, a mere man disguised as a woman who escaped the royal city, actually seized the throne of Stoneville. How pathetic!"
Stoneville, that should have been a sanctuary shrouded in the "veil of storms."

"So you forced me to practice swordsmanship so that I could avenge you?"

Lu Mingfei probed.

"madness!"

The old knight slammed the scabbard into the ground, sparks flying everywhere.

"A knight's sword is wielded only to uphold his creed! The Golden Family may be corrupt, but the will of the storm should not be extinguished!"

"If I wanted revenge, I would have already stormed Stoneville with my twin swords. But that would have been pointless. The era of Storm and Ancient Dragon is over. We can reminisce about it, but it can never be relived."

I've spent so many years hiding and sitting here in solitude, all so that one day the world will still know the name of the Storm, not for revenge!

"Then," Lu Mingfei scratched his increasingly messy hair, "why did you pick me of all people?"

The old knight sneered:
"How many people do you think are still alive in this world? After the Dharma Ring shattered, ninety percent of people lost their minds, and the remaining ten percent died in several wars. Even I myself am about to die of old age."

Only the strong, demigods, and faded beings like you can live and walk in this world.

Those whose colors have faded—there are probably fewer than a few dozen in the entire border region. If you hadn't suddenly intruded on the island, where would I have been supposed to find anyone?

He stared intently at Lu Mingfei, his gaze sharp and piercing.

"To tell you the truth, brat, the reason I initially took you in was because I valued your bloodline. You're practically a living, humanoid ancient dragon."
But later, the reason I taught you so much was because there was something deep inside you... that stubbornness—the kind of determination that makes you grit your teeth and get back up even when you're terrified.

Lu Mingfei stared blankly. He recalled how he had been knocked down and gotten back up time and time again, and the sigh hidden beneath the old man's angry curses when he kicked him.

"Old Man"

Lu Mingfei said quietly:

"What do you mean by saying you're about to die of old age?"

“Literal meaning,” the old man chuckled, “most of the knights of my generation are dead. Stormwing died young, Neo joined the Holy Tree, and O’Neill is nowhere to be found.”

As he spoke, his deeply lined face grew even more somber.

Lu Mingfei then realized that this tall and imposing old knight was actually an old man in his twilight years.

Perhaps on that day, he came to remember his deceased friend; perhaps on that day, he came to the church, wanting to quietly wait for his death.

No, perhaps it will be more painful than death. He will gradually lose his mind and wander around like those deformed, powerful, and immortal people, like a living corpse.

Lu Mingfei didn't want to discourage the old man any further, but he couldn't help but say:
"Old man, I'm not one of your kind. What if I can't learn your storm combat techniques at all?"

The old knight paused, his silver-white beard gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

"Then keep practicing."

His voice was cold and unapproachable, like a rough, hard rock.

Practice until you can do it.

What if you can never learn it in your entire life?

Lu Mingfei asked cautiously.

"Then continue practicing in the next life."

The old knight turned around, his deeply lined face reflecting the flickering firelight.

Lu Mingfei was stunned.

The old man tapped the ground lightly with his sword sheath, making a sound that brought Lu Mingfei back to his senses.

"I don't know what you, you brat from the East, are thinking about all day long."
Do you think the old man is crazy? I confirmed this long before I started teaching you; the power within you is almost identical to that of the ancient dragon.

"I don't know about lightning and fire, but the old man has dealt with storms his whole life. I know perfectly well whether you can use them or not."

"Extra training tomorrow."

He suddenly stood up, his tall shadow looming over Lu Mingfei.

"Since you still have the energy to overthink, it means you haven't exhausted yourself enough. Practice the arrow step, the spinning slash, and the ready stance three hundred times each."

"Again?!"

"Four hundred times."

"I was wrong! Three hundred times is enough!"

The night wind swept ashes across the ruins. Lu Mingfei gazed silently at the old man's hunched yet upright back.

(End of this chapter)