Dragons begin with courage

Lu Mingfei's voice was hoarse: "Senior brother, it's not that I don't want glory, but I don't want to die inexplicably in some Dragon King's lair. I'm only eighteen years old, I've never even had a girlfriend, and I don't even know why my parents left... There are still so many things I don't understand."

He turned to Fingel: "Senior, you said that in Kassel, the most important thing is to survive. I'm making that choice now."

Fingel opened his mouth, but in the end just patted him on the shoulder: "Fine, you have your reasons. Anyway, Lionheart will protect you, and Caesar can't touch you."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the dormitory door.

Lu Mingfei and Fingel exchanged a glance. Who could it be at this time?

The door opened, and Chu Zihang stood outside. He had changed out of his training clothes and was wearing a simple black jacket, carrying an inconspicuous travel bag.

"Senior brother?" Lu Mingfei was somewhat surprised.

Chu Zihang nodded, his gaze lingering on Fingel for a moment before turning to Lu Mingfei: "Pack your things, come with me back to China."

"China?" Lu Mingfei was stunned. "Now? Even the Lionheart Society can't stop Caesar?!"

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. Was this what TV dramas called "running away"?

"Special training." Chu Zihang's answer was as concise as ever. "Real combat training, not simulations in the academy. You need it, especially after you rejected the 'Bronze Project'."

Lu Mingfei's heart skipped a beat. How did Chu Zihang know so quickly? He looked at Fingel, who quickly waved his hand: "It wasn't me! I just hung up the phone, and Chairman Chu..."

"I have connections within the academy," Chu Zihang said calmly. "You may not go to Bronze City, but you can't forever avoid facing real danger. Life in Kassel is destined to be far from comfortable."

A strange light flashed in Chu Zihang's eyes. He knew that Lu Mingfei could no longer cultivate peacefully as he had the previous month.

Normally, Lu Mingfei, a freshman who has only been here for a month, would not be assigned any tasks, but now he is not only assigned one, but also an S-level task.

That means Lu Mingfei is being watched.

Lu Mingfei remained silent for a few seconds. He naturally sensed something was wrong; he was already under the shadow of some unsettling influence.

His rejection of the S-rank mission doesn't mean he can live a peaceful life in the ivory tower. The shadow of the dragons is everywhere, and his S-rank bloodline, like a lighthouse in the night, will inevitably attract those things.

"Where should we go for special training?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"You'll find out when you get there." Chu Zihang glanced at Fingel, who was drinking cola beside him, as he spoke, clearly not wanting to tell Fingel, "There you'll find what you need to know, and there's also the 'training ground' that's best suited for your current stage."

"I'm heartbroken. I'm also Lu Mingfei's senior brother, and my heart is with Lu Mingfei too." Fingel pretended to be crying his heart out, almost as if he wanted to rip out his heart to prove his loyalty.

"You have twenty minutes to pack." Chu Zihang glanced at his watch. "I've already applied for emergency leave permission. My flight is at midnight."

Without further hesitation, Lu Mingfei turned around and began stuffing clothes and necessities into his suitcase. Fingel hesitated beside him, then finally sighed, pulled out an unopened bag of compressed biscuits and a few energy bars from under the bed, and stuffed them into Lu Mingfei's backpack.

"Eat on the road." Fingel, unusually serious, added, "Chinese food is delicious, but it might not be hot enough when you're on the road. Take care, Brother Lu."

Lu Mingfei nodded vigorously: "Thank you, senior brother."

Fifteen hours later, the plane landed, and Lu Mingfei realized something as soon as he got off the plane.

"Going home?!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed upon seeing the familiar airport. Wasn't this the airport in his hometown?

The setting sun painted the sky orange-red, and the air was filled with a familiar aroma, a mixture of dust and the smell of food. Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, a strange pang of sorrow rising in his heart. Just a few months ago, he was an ordinary high school student here, worrying about grades, his crush, and his aunt's nagging every day. Now, he had stepped into another world, wielding power that could easily kill ordinary people, and bearing the mission of "slaying dragons" on his shoulders.

When I returned again, I had a special feeling.

"I'm not going home," Chu Zihang said. "Come with me."

Lu Mingfei followed Chu Zihang, growing increasingly puzzled. This place was far from his home, and he had never ventured deep into this area before. The dilapidated streets, the peeling paint, the occasional stray cat darting by… everything seemed eerie and desolate.

Finally, they stopped at a factory with the words "Black Prince Group" written on it. It was an old three-story red brick building with most of the windows broken and the iron gate rusted so badly that it was almost integrated with the door frame.

"Here?" Lu Mingfei looked around. "The training ground?"

Chu Zihang didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the rusted iron door and pressed a button on an inconspicuous corner. With a slight mechanical whirring sound, the iron door slid open to the side, revealing a brightly lit, downward-facing passage.

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. The interior of the corridor was completely modern, with silver-gray walls, non-slip floors, and ceiling lights emitting a cold white glow. Compared to the dilapidated exterior, it was like another world.

"Come in." Chu Zihang walked in first.

Lu Mingfei followed closely behind. The iron gate closed silently behind them, isolating them from the outside world. The passage wasn't long, ending at a heavy blast door. Chu Zihang placed his palm on the recognition panel beside the door; iris scan, fingerprint verification, and password input—after triple authentication, the door opened.

The sight behind the door made Lu Mingfei hold his breath completely.

It was a huge underground space, at least half the size of a football field, with a ceiling height of over ten meters. The walls were covered with some kind of dark sound-absorbing material, and the floor was a specially made non-slip and impact-resistant layer. One corner of the space was filled with various training equipment—from the most basic barbells and sandbags to complex multi-functional training racks, reaction testing devices, and even several advanced simulation chambers that Lu Mingfei had seen at the Kassel Equipment Department.

But the most striking feature is the huge area in the center of the space, separated by high-strength glass. Inside, it displays—

arms.

These were no ordinary weapons. Lu Mingfei saw a gigantic, menacingly shaped saber, a composite bow with a dull metallic sheen, and even a lance over two meters long with circuit-like patterns wrapped around its shaft. Each piece exuded a chilling aura, like a slumbering beast.

Besides these weapons, on a workbench not far away, there was a strange bronze jar and a huge black box.

If Ye Sheng were here, he would definitely recognize it at a glance as the thing he found in the Bronze City!

A man wearing overalls, with his back to them, was squatting in front of an open black metal box, holding tools in his hand, intently adjusting something.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around.

Lu Mingfei would never forget that face—although it had aged considerably since four years ago, with wrinkles around its eyes and graying temples, those eyes, those eyes that always carried a hint of cynicism yet concealed a certain sharpness, were none other than Chu Tianjiao's.

"Yo, you're here." Chu Tianjiao grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, still with that same carefree attitude. "Kid, you've grown quite a bit taller."