Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei, Starting as a Seeker of the Law

Three days later, on the banks of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Mans stood on the bow deck, watching the people coming and going at the dock. The river breeze, carrying moisture, ruffled the hem of his dark coat.

"Professor, what are we waiting for here?" came a voice behind him.

The speaker was a young woman who looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. She was wearing a black trench coat, had slightly brown skin, and her features were distinctly Latina beauty features. Her black hair was neatly tied up at the back of her head.

She didn't quite understand the professor's thinking. She had been dispatched by the Executive Department as part of this operation, but just as she was preparing to roll up her sleeves and earn credits, she discovered...

Her mission was canceled?

So what's her purpose in coming here? Sightseeing?

"Waiting for an answer, Selma." Mance didn't turn around, his gaze still fixed on the dock entrance. "Or rather, waiting for a variable to arrive."

Selma Lorea, a Class B Specialist in the Operations Department, specializes in medical assistance, mission coordination, and data analysis. She was ready to participate in the first dive of Operation Bronze, but now she can only stand here, watching the ship that should be busy sailing empty.

"So the mission really was canceled?" she couldn't help but ask. "Then why are we still stuck here?"

Mans finally turned around, his face expressionless, but his eyes held a complex emotion that Selma couldn't decipher. "The mission being canceled doesn't mean it's over. Some things... once they start, there's no stopping them."

"Can't stop?" Selma was even more confused. "But it can move..."

Just then, footsteps were heard coming from the dock pier.

Two figures walked up the gangway one after the other. The boy in front was dressed casually, as if he were going for a walk in the park. He looked up and saw Mans, smiled, and there was an indescribable feeling in his smile.

Following behind was Chu Zihang. He was still dressed in all black, with only a guitar case slung over his back, his face as cold as ice.

"Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang." Mans nodded to them. "Welcome aboard the 'Moniach.' Angers has already instructed that this operation will be entirely under your command."

Lu Mingfei stepped onto the deck and looked around. The tugboat was more...simple than he had imagined. The deck still smelled of fish and engine oil, and traces of welding repairs were visible everywhere.

This is clearly a fishing vessel that was illegally welded.

But thinking about it, it makes sense, since this is within China's borders. It's true that Kassel has influence in China, but that doesn't mean they can just send warships in. To conduct underwater search operations in Bronze City, they need specialized equipment.

The safest way is to buy the fishing boat months in advance and modify the interior under the inconspicuous hull.

"Professor, you're too kind." Lu Mingfei smiled. "I know nothing about shipping, so I'll have to trouble you with the specifics of the work."

As he spoke, he turned to Selma and smiled politely. Selma nodded in response instinctively, but a sense of unease crept into her mind.

She had never heard of Lu Mingfei, but she knew Chu Zihang by heart. The new president of the Lionheart Society, and a ruthless figure in the executive department, he had completed numerous missions as a newcomer.

Why would someone like this follow Lu Mingfei? Could he be the son of some high-ranking official in the academy?

But that doesn't make sense. Even if he's from a high-ranking family, he can't expect Professor Mans to obey his orders directly.

This is about slaying dragons, not fishing.

But clearly no one present was aware of Selma's doubts. Professor Mans spoke first, "As per your previous request, all personnel on board have been replaced with members from Kassel and have signed confidentiality agreements. What's next?"

The confidentiality agreement was a normal procedure, and Mans' decision was not surprising. However, in addition to signing the confidentiality agreement, he also demanded a significant reduction in the number of personnel on board.

This confused him.

We can't just send a few people to slay a dragon, can we?

That's right, slaying dragons.

All the professors in Kassel, including Mans, knew all too well the 130-year-old headmaster and the fury that festered beneath his still-youthful appearance.

There can only be one reason why he would give up searching for the Bronze King's palace.

Slaying the dragon.

"Where should we go next?" Mans looked at the river. They could no longer see the dock, and the whole boat was moving forward upstream on the Yangtze River.

"What's next?" Lu Mingfei pointed to the river in the distance. "Of course, it's to prepare for the aftermath."

"Clean up the mess?"

"That's right, let's get ready to retrieve the dragon's corpse."

Lu Mingfei stretched, carefully looked around, and nodded. "This is the place. We can stop here."

Mans raised his arm and gestured toward the cockpit.

The propeller at the bottom of the boat stopped spinning instantly and pushed in the opposite direction, fixing the entire boat on the river surface, with only the hull swaying slightly with the current.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, a door made of flames materialized in front of Lu Mingfei. Without turning around, he stepped straight into it.

The next second, the boy's figure appeared on the river surface.

—Not standing on a boat, but stepping directly onto the surface of the flowing river.

The river surface beneath his feet was as smooth as flat ground, without even a ripple. The sunlight stretched his shadow long, casting it obliquely on the river's surface.

"Don't get too close." Lu Mingfei's voice came from the fire door that had never been closed, reaching everyone's ears. "From now on... just watch closely."

Mans opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found himself unable to make a sound. It wasn't that he was being silenced, but rather some kind of invisible pressure—like the instinctive stiffness of a rabbit facing a tiger.

Spatial Words of Power?

No, he didn't even hear Lu Mingfei chanting the dragon script, so this...

Chu Zihang stared wide-eyed as the fire gate closed. He looked at the figure on the river, his golden eyes trembling.

Lu Mingfei reached into his pocket and pulled out a test tube containing a bright red liquid.

He looked down at the river at his feet, his eyes seemingly piercing through the tens of meters of water and the thick layers of soil, looking directly at the bronze city that lay dormant beneath the soil.

"Wake up, open the door for me."

As he spoke, the boy poured the liquid from the test tube into the river. The liquid flowed into the river and was diluted and dispersed by the river water in an instant.

This is Old Tang's blood, which Lu Mingfei used to awaken the sleeping Dragon Servant.

Both dragons are undoubtedly dormant in the Bronze City, awaiting the return of their supreme ruler.

Lu Mingfei didn't want to dig a hole in the soil of the Bronze City himself; he wanted to walk in openly and honestly.

Tell someone to open the door for him!

In just a moment, the river began to churn.

It wasn't just a localized churning; the entire body of water was shaking. Centered on where Lu Mingfei was standing, the river water within a radius of a hundred meters arched upwards, and waves as high as five meters rolled outwards.

"Bronze City!?"

On a fishing boat far away, Mans exclaimed through his binoculars.

Keep in mind that this is the Yangtze River. It's easy to create waves, but to create waves of at least five meters or more... the force required goes beyond the scope of conventional meteorological or hydrological phenomena.