Dragon Clan: I'm too lazy to talk to you, you're not worthy to listen!

People are always sleepy. It seems that during that period, I lost a lot of sleep, and those lost sleep were fragments of my soul.

So much so that in the days that followed, no matter how much I tossed and turned in bed, I still felt sleepy.

—Dragon Raja: The Passing Years

The next morning, Lu Mingfei was awakened by an alarm clock.

He rubbed his eyes, washed up, and then went to the testing location as instructed.

Lu Mingfei rubbed his temples, feeling as if he had forgotten some memories of last night. "It seems like something terrible happened last night. What was it again?"

The entrance test consists of several parts, including physical fitness test, bloodline test, knowledge assessment, etc. However, Lu Mingfei's identity is special, so he only needs to focus on the bloodline test, which is commonly known as the 3E test. Other tests are not usually taken too seriously by mixed-race people.

A recording, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper.

Lu Mingfei performed very poorly in the physical fitness test, even falling short of half of the average adult men, but an unexpected situation occurred during the bloodline test.

The white paper was completely covered with dragon patterns. An ordinary person could usually write one or two, but Lu Mingfei wrote six dragon patterns: black, white, yellow, red, gray, and blue, six colors of dragon pattern badge marks.

The professors in charge of the testing immediately became serious.

“This…this is impossible! His bloodline purity is so high!” a professor exclaimed in surprise. He was white-haired and obese; he was Professor Guderian.

Lu Mingfei stood there blankly, facing the strange looks from everyone, not knowing what had happened.

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "Oh no, am I going to fail to even pass and be sent back to China?"

At this moment, Principal Angers rushed over.

He looked at the test data, the paper covered with dragon patterns, and a hint of surprise flashed in Angers' eyes. "Interesting, really interesting. I didn't expect to welcome such a promising new student this year."

The bald Manstein, chairman of the disciplinary committee, and Professor Guderian exchanged glances after hearing Principal Angers' summary.

They had all been in the monitoring room observing the exam. Lu Mingfei appeared unusually calm during the exam, seemingly unaffected by the "Word of Power: Emperor".

In the world of hybrids, there are only two bloodlines that are not significantly affected by the "Word of Power: Emperor" and will not exhibit strange behavior.

The first bloodline is that of the Black King Nidhogg, and the second bloodline is that of the White King after being baptized by the "Word of Power: Oracle".

However, since Principal Angers had spoken, it was no longer appropriate for Professors Manstein and Guderian to continue expressing their doubts and speculations about Lu Mingfei's identity.

Lu Mingfei was taken to the principal's office.

Angers sat behind his large desk, smiling as he looked at Lu Mingfei.

"Young man, your lineage is special, which means you will receive more attention and training in the academy."

"But at the same time, it also means you will shoulder greater responsibilities," Angers said.

Lu Mingfei asked somewhat nervously, "Principal, what exactly happened? Why is my bloodline special?"

Angers stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the campus. "In the world of mixed races, the purity of bloodline determines a person's ability and potential."

Your bloodline is extremely pure, which means you possess great power, but it may also bring some trouble.

Dragons are very interested in hybrids with high-purity bloodlines.

Lu Mingfei felt like his head was about to explode. "I still don't understand. I'm just an ordinary person. How did I suddenly become like this?"

Angers smiled. "Everyone has a side that no one knows about. From now on, your life will take a completely different path."

At Kassel College, you will learn how to control your power of words and how to face the challenges to come.

Lu Mingfei: "Can someone like me really possess the magic that those senior students wield?"

On his way to the exam, Lu Mingfei saw the Word Spirit training grounds, where students using Word Spirits could create large fireballs, summon water spheres, and even fly freely...

Angers raised his hand and tapped his gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "Yes, most hybrids can awaken Word Power. I believe it won't be long before you can awaken Word Power too."

Lu Mingfei, regarding your 3E exam results, I'm assigning you a bloodline rating of S!

"S-rank?" Lu Mingfei felt that this rank was set somewhat hastily, and even thought that perhaps the ranking order of this academy was based on bloodlines arranged from the letter A to the letter Y. "Principal, may I ask which tier of ranking this S-rank is in?"

Upon hearing this, Angers looked slightly puzzled, because in the conventional understanding of the level field, "S" is usually an abbreviation for the English word "Super." He really didn't expect Lu Mingfei to ask such a question, but he still patiently explained:

“Originally, S-rank was the highest rank in the academy, but now it’s temporarily ranked second.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingfei looked puzzled. "Huh? Why are we in second place now?"

Angers: "Yesterday I upgraded the rank of S-rank executor Ye Jingchen from S-rank to SSS-rank."

To be honest, I'm not afraid of being laughed at. Even my own rating is not as high as his now.

Ha ha. "

Lu Mingfei: "..."

Angers: "Even if you don't trust me, you should trust the college. In most cases, the college will consider your needs and take care of you in every aspect of your lives. For now, go back to your dorm and wait patiently for the course selection and the school's arrangements."

"Okay, I understand." Lu Mingfei nodded, agreeing with Principal Angers' words in a daze.

After leaving the principal's office, Lu Mingfei felt very conflicted. He didn't know how to face all of this newness.

Rain streaked across the spire of the clock tower, weaving a hazy gray net on the stained glass.

Lu Mingfei waded through the puddles toward his dormitory, his rain boots crushing the reflections of the Gothic spires on the water's surface. Those broken spires looked just like the dragon horns that had broken off in last night's nightmare.

Hey! S-rank!

The paper airplane, wet with rain, hit Lu Mingfei on the back of the neck.

He turned around and saw a blond head peeking out of a second-floor window. The student council president, named Caesar, was swirling a champagne glass. Water droplets condensed on the rim of the crystal glass fell to Lu Mingfei's feet, splashing up water with a mocking arc.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed Caesar was actually trying to get to know Lu Mingfei, this newcomer. To receive such attention from Principal Angers, he must be no ordinary person.

However, Caesar simply couldn't bring himself to approach a young man like Lu Mingfei, who looked so frail and weak, so he chose this comical approach to try and start a conversation.

Lu Mingfei touched the back of his neck with his other hand, grabbed the paper airplane, and saw the writing on it:

"Student council, we're waiting for you. — Caesar Gattuso"

Looking up again in the direction he had just been, trying to find Caesar, he discovered that the blond, blue-eyed man had already vanished from the spot.

Actually, compared to Lu Mingfei, Caesar preferred to associate with Chu Zihang, who was also from China. He felt that Chu Zihang had the aura of an elite from China, unlike Lu Mingfei who was so weak and listless. However, since Chu Zihang and Ye Jingchen were getting a little too close, Caesar gave up on the idea.

Fingel ran from the direction of the cafeteria, his oil-stained pajamas wrapped in a Kassel College overcoat, looking like a golden retriever soaked by the rain.

Lu Mingfei looked at the tall man with a ponytail and asked, "Excuse me, senior, do you know which direction the student council will go?"

Upon hearing this, Fingel put his arm around Lu Mingfei's shoulder, his warm breath brushing against the boy's ear: "Ignore those peacocks; they can't even swipe their access cards to the ice cellar archives."

"What is the Ice Cellar Archives?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled.

Fingel realized he had let something slip and quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "I've probably been under a lot of work pressure lately, and I misspoke. Anyway, the student union is a waste of time. Instead of wasting your time there, you'd be better off going to the freshman social event to meet some girls and find a pretty girl to spend four years with on campus. That's much more practical than all that fancy stuff!"

“Hmm…that makes sense, senior is really farsighted.” Lu Mingfei agreed with Fingel’s words, but didn’t take them to heart. “Um, senior, I’ll be at my dorm soon, so you don’t need to see me off.”

Fingel's face broke into a strange smile. "Damn it~ My dorm is here too."

"Huh?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback. "Senior, you wouldn't happen to be my roommate whom I've never met before, would you?"

Fingel: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be, hehe."

The wall lights in the dormitory corridor suddenly turned on and off.

As darkness descended for the third time, Lu Mingfei saw a strange image reflected in the glass of the fire hydrant:

His own shadow grew a tail covered in scales, while Fingel's shadow was slicing open his spine with a dagger.

"What's wrong?" Fingel noticed his stiffness.

"No... the heating is on too high." Lu Mingfei quickened his pace, his damp wool socks slipping inside his leather shoes.

He recalled waking up last night to find a dragon-scale-like sweat stain on his pillowcase—the shape of which was exactly the same as the distorted emblem on the test strip.

The moment I pushed open the door, a damp, sweet-smelling smell wafted out.

Lu Mingfei's retina retained hallucinations:

Chu Zihang stood in front of his bed. Drops of blood from the tip of the village rain knife were seeping into the mattress, blooming in the cotton wool like cornflowers in a portrait by Meneke Kassel.

"Your class schedule." The real-world Chu Zihang handed over a tablet, the screen's cold light illuminating the dark circles under his eyes. "Dragon Genealogy is scheduled for 3 AM. Professor Schneider said this time is suitable for 'special bloodlines' to stay awake."

Lu Mingfei noticed that the third button on his senior's shirt was buttoned in the wrong place.

This boy, who was always as straight as a knife, had some kind of dark red powder on his sleeve, which drifted into the air with his movements, carrying the acrid smell of burning ancient books.

The sound of water came from the bathroom.

Lu Mingfei felt like he was losing the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. He covered his head and murmured, "I can't tell the difference, I really can't!"

Fingel hummed the Nibelungen off-key, and the rising steam spilled out of the frosted glass, condensing into claw-like patterns on the mirror surface.

Lu Mingfei wiped the mirror with his sleeve, but before the fog could gather again, he caught a glimpse of a terrifying scene—twelve golden eyes staring at him through the fog.

"Your razor." Chu Zihang's voice startled him so much that he almost dropped the mirror.

When Lu Mingfei took the razor, he noticed that the back of the blade was engraved with a miniature alchemical matrix, and the patterns were rising and falling with his pulse.

Three hundred white candles floated in the Dragon Genealogy classroom late at night. Professor Schneider's mechanical eye swept over Lu Mingfei:

"Today we'll talk about the White King's rebellion."

His metal fingers swept across the projection screen, and suddenly blood gushed from the Tokyo Tower amidst the blizzard, extinguishing the seventeen candles in the front row.

Lu Mingfei's pen suddenly began to wander wildly across the parchment.

When he awoke, he found himself covered in tangled wings and claws, with a dragon in the deepest part of its body, its umbilical cord connecting it to his destiny.

The professor's iron hand pressed against his trembling wrist:

"After class, go to the ice cellar for a memory cleansing."

The basement of the medical department was filled with the contradictory scents of formaldehyde and jasmine tea.

When Professor Masafumi Tomiyama handed over the bone china cup, Lu Mingfei noticed a half-exposed chain tattoo under his white coat—perfectly matching the relief on the surface of the brainwave analyzer in the testing room.

"Just a standard sedative." The doctor's smile was particularly chilling against the backdrop of the green liquid.

As Lu Mingfei was receiving the seventh drop of medication into his vein, he heard the sound of fingernails scratching a metal door coming from the next room, the frequency of which perfectly matched his heartbeat.

The rainstorm suddenly intensified at 2 a.m.

Lu Mingfei awoke with a start from the drug-induced drowsiness to find the sheets soaked in some kind of sticky liquid. He followed the water stains to the bathroom, where the pupils of the person in the mirror were frantically switching between gold and silver, and he heard the little devil's murmurs in his ears:

"Brother, it's time to practice shooting. Don't be afraid. I told you, anything could be fake, only you are real."

The locker suddenly exploded.

Lu Mingfei was panting heavily. The "Greed" of the Seven Deadly Sins lay quietly on the velvet lining, and blood was seeping from the bandage wrapped around the hilt of the knife.

As Lu Mingfei's fingertips touched the scabbard, the emergency lights in the entire dormitory building turned on simultaneously, and the alarm blared through the rain.

Chu Zihang was right across from Lu Mingfei's dormitory. When he broke down the door, he saw Lu Mingfei kneeling in front of the weapons cabinet.

The boy held an unsheathed sword in his hand, his bangs falling to cover his eyes, his voice sounding like it came from the abyss:

"Senior brother, I think I... can hear a dragon's heartbeat."

A thunderclap cleaved the night sky outside the window.

In that fleeting flash of lightning, they both saw the strange image reflected in each other's pupils:

A colossal bronze tree is growing beneath the Kassel College, each branch laden with the dried corpses of hybrids, while the embryo atop the tree pulsates with Lu Mingfei's breath...