Dragons begin with courage

Ye Sheng's throat bobbed, a mixture of guilt and lingering fear in his voice: "I'm sorry, Principal. Not only did we fail to protect the urn, but we also lost the 'Seven Deadly Sins'... He remembered the heavy black box. When he decided to sacrifice himself, he only gave the relatively lightweight urn to Aki."

"The chessboard has been forcibly disturbed." Angers put down his cigar, his fingertips touching to form a stable triangle. "Two key items are missing, a mysterious third-party player has appeared... We've lost the initiative, but we've also forced out hidden pieces. This may not be all bad."

His gaze sharpened once more, like a drawn folding knife: "Mans, Ye Sheng, your mission is far from over. The information you brought back, especially the structural details and crisis data from your firsthand experience, is invaluable. Next, I need you to dedicate yourselves fully to working with the Equipment Department's top analysis team and ancient text deciphering experts, using your memories as the skeleton and the fragments of ancient texts as the flesh, to reconstruct the core model of the Bronze City. Focus on all areas that may be related to 'Life Storage' and 'Supreme Forging'."

"You want to..." Professor Mans' voice was dry.

"One setback is not enough to give up." Angers' voice was as steady as a rock, yet contained immense power. "'The Bone Vial' and 'The Seven Deadly Sins' must be retrieved. Time is not on our side. The next entry into the Bronze City will be a fully armed conquest, not an exploration."

He paused, seemingly putting the topic of the mysterious man on hold for the time being, and did not continue.

"And that mysterious person..." His voice trailed off, and a more complex thought settled deep within his silver-gray eyes, not fully uttered.

The office fell silent again, with only the pendulum of the old clock dutifully cutting through the passing time, each step foreshadowing a denser storm gathering behind the clouds.

A month passed in a tense yet turbulent atmosphere at Kassel College.

For Lu Mingfei, this past month was a period of intense physical and cognitive reshaping. Outside of classroom learning, he spent most of his time at the Lionheart Club's training grounds and Norton Hall's private training room.

As for Nono's birthday, "Show Me the Flowers" passed peacefully due to the butterfly effect—Kassel wasn't invaded, and Old Tang didn't appear in Kassel, but the red-haired girl still blew out the candles on her birthday cake alone in a corner no one knew about. Lu Mingfei didn't even know it was her birthday that day.

Chu Zihang is the teaching assistant for "Introduction to Cold Weapon Combat" and also Lu Mingfei's "private tutor." Every clash between wooden swords or unsharpened training knives precisely corrects Lu Mingfei's movements, rhythm, and power generation. Chu Zihang's teaching, like his swordsmanship, is concise, efficient, and gets straight to the point, without any unnecessary frills, only the most practical killing techniques.

Susie was in charge of his firearms fundamentals and tactical movement. This senior was calm and precise, always able to pinpoint the slightest deviation in his gun-holding posture or the wrong choice of movement route. Other senior members of the Lionheart Society also shared their knowledge generously, gradually imparting to him the close combat techniques, environmental utilization methods, and even experience in dealing with different dragon subspecies that they had summarized in actual combat.

Lu Mingfei, this "S-grade" rough gem, has become the most valued "common asset" of the Lionheart Society. His feat of reclaiming Norton Hall and his crucial performance in the rescue mission have earned the Lionheart Society enormous prestige, subtly overshadowing the Student Council. Nurturing him is an investment in the future of the Lionheart Society.

That afternoon, in the dedicated training room on the basement floor of the Norton Building.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat and rubbing leather. Lu Mingfei was completely focused on dealing with a robotic arm equipped with a program that simulated a dragon-like attack mode. In his hand, a training knife modeled after the Murasame sword drew rapid arcs as he parried, dodged, and launched probing counterattacks. Compared to a month ago, his movements were much less clumsy and more shrewd, honed through rigorous training.

Chu Zihang stood by, arms crossed, observing intently, his gaze sharp as a ruler, scrutinizing every detail. Just as Lu Mingfei had skillfully deflected the robotic arm's simulated attack with a well-executed counter-attack, and was about to seize the opportunity to cut into the center line—

"Beep—beep beep—"

Lu Mingfei's phone suddenly rang.

Chu Zihang nodded slightly: "Rest."

"Yes, senior brother." Lu Mingfei, panting heavily, sheathed his sword, his back soaked with sweat. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face haphazardly, then pulled out his phone—the screen displayed the words "Fen Dog".

The moment the call connected, Finger's almost piercing scream erupted from the receiver: "Lu Mingfei! Something terrible has happened! Get back to the dorm immediately!!"

Lu Mingfei's heart tightened: "What happened? Did the website administrator ban your account again?"

"It's a million times worse than that!" Fingel's voice trembled with tears. "I just hacked into the academic affairs system—you've been assigned to 'Project Bronze'! Your name is on the mission roster!"

"Project Bronze? What mission? I didn't accept it!" Lu Mingfei asked blankly.

"S-rank mission! Infiltrate the Bronze City ruins of Dragon King Norton!!" Fingel practically roared.

"Nani?! What the fuck?!" Lu Mingfei's eyes widened in disbelief, and he almost dropped his phone.

An S-rank mission? A freshman who's only been in college for a month? Go to the Dragon King's lair? This isn't just forcing growth, it's throwing him straight into a steel furnace!

Chu Zihang's eyes suddenly narrowed, like the cold glint of a blade before it is drawn. He walked towards Lu Mingfei, his voice still steady, but with a hint of tension that was barely perceptible: "Go back and check the situation first. Training is suspended."

"Okay, okay, senior brother..." Lu Mingfei hurriedly changed back into his casual clothes, his mind a complete mess. Had he unintentionally offended the academy's higher-ups? Was this some kind of "exile and death sentence"?

Watching Lu Mingfei's hurried figure disappear into the training room, Chu Zihang stood still for a moment, then took out another pure black encrypted phone from his pocket. He pressed the speed dial button, waited for three long rings, and whispered into the microphone:

"Dad, you were right. Kassel really did want Lu Mingfei to enter the Bronze City." Chu Zihang said with a serious expression, "That Bronze City should be like the overpass back then, a Nibelungen."

"Okay, okay. I'll be coming back to China with Lu Mingfei. See you then." Chu Zihang hung up the phone and looked towards the door.

When Lu Mingfei rushed back to his dormitory, he saw Pacino, a student council member in a sharp suit, standing at the door of his and Finger's dormitory.

Seeing Lu Mingfei return, Pacino smiled and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, Lu Mingfei, I'm Pacino. Caesar invited you to the meeting at the Amber Hall regarding the S-class mission 'Project Bronze'."