Dragons begin with courage

"This..." Lu Mingfei's expression stiffened. "This is the Seven Deadly Sins? The divine weapon used to slay dragons and even kill the Dragon King?"

He couldn't help but glance at the Murasame sword at Chu Zihang's waist. Though simple, the blade always gleamed with a luster like autumn water, and the clear, resonant hum it emitted when drawn was enough to send chills down one's spine. But these seven swords before him—it was hard to say.

"Doesn't it look disappointing?" Chu Tianjiao grinned and reached out to grasp one of the swords, which resembled a Japanese katana.

He took it out of the slot. The scabbard felt heavy in his hand, and the rust on the guard was clearly visible. Chu Tianjiao casually swung it, and the blade sliced ​​through the air with a dull whistling sound, completely lacking the lightness that a sharp blade should have.

Then, he walked to the corner of the training field where test materials were piled up, where there were several special steel test blocks of different thicknesses. Chu Tianjiao chose the thickest one—it was a solid cube with sides of 20 centimeters, marked on the surface as "HY-100 special steel, tensile strength 690MPa".

This type of steel is commonly used for the pressure hulls of submarines.

Chu Tianjiao gripped his sword with both hands, assuming a standard Iaijutsu starting stance. Lu Mingfei held his breath, expecting to witness some earth-shattering attack.

The next second, the blade flashed.

clang--!

A piercing clang of metal clashing rang out, sparks flying. Lu Mingfei instinctively closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, the sight before him stunned him—

Only a shallow white mark was left on the steel block, no more than two millimeters deep, and it did not cut through the metal as expected.

"..." Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

This is awkward.

"Don't you think this thing is so difficult to even cut vegetables, let alone slay a dragon?" he asked.

Lu Mingfei nodded honestly. Let alone dragon scales, this blade probably couldn't even cut through the hardened skin of a hybrid.

"Because what you see is not the true 'Seven Deadly Sins'," Chu Tianjiao's voice suddenly became low and solemn, "They are still asleep. Or rather... waiting."

He stretched out his right hand, brought his index finger to his lips, and bit the tip with his teeth. Bright red blood immediately gushed out, starkly visible under the pale light.

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. He saw Chu Tianjiao slowly smear the drop of blood onto the hilt of the katana—not just smear it randomly, but draw a complete, distorted symbol along the fine, almost invisible lines on the hilt.

The moment the last stroke was completed—

thump.

A deep heartbeat came from inside the blade.

"This is dragon script?!" Lu Mingfei recognized the blood-stained symbols as dragon script, the ancient script used by the dragon race, similar to the power of words.

Boom, boom, boom.

The heartbeat grew clearer and stronger. At the same time, the old, rusted katana began to change.

The rust on the blade peeled away like molting skin, revealing the dull, night-like metallic color beneath. The faint patterns on the tsuba gradually lit up, flowing with a molten gold-like luster. The scabbard trembled slightly, emitting a deep, dragon-like hum.

Chu Tianjiao gripped the hilt of the knife tightly with both hands again. This time, his movements were very light and slow, as if he were holding not a knife, but a nightmare that could wake him at any moment.

He walked back to the special steel test block.

Without any preparation or stance, he simply and casually placed the blade against the surface.

Clang—!

A clear, yet piercing metallic hum rang out, short and sharp, like glass being shattered in an instant.

Lu Mingfei didn't even see what happened. He only saw a flash of cold light disappear, and the 20-centimeter-thick special steel test block, capable of withstanding the pressure of the deep sea, was neatly split in two. The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting a human face.

This is the true nature of the Seven Deadly Sins.

This is... the power to kill the Dragon King.

Chu Tianjiao slowly sheathed his sword. The light on the blade gradually dimmed, and the flowing golden patterns disappeared back into the darkness. He placed the katana back into its slot in the sword case, turned to look at Lu Mingfei, and saw the boy's shocked face reflected in his golden eyes.

"Now you understand?" Chu Tianjiao's voice was soft, yet every word carried immense weight. "The Seven Deadly Sins is a true dragon-slaying weapon, requiring dragon blood to awaken it. That's all I know for now. Whether the bone flask and the Seven Deadly Sins hold any other secrets, you'll have to discover for yourself."

"Choose, Lu Mingfei," Chu Tianjiao said. "Is it to be a loser for life, waiting for fate to knock on your door, or to grab a knife, knock on fate's door yourself, and even cut the threads of fate?"

Lu Mingfei lowered his head and looked at his hands. Those hands, which had once only held a mouse and textbooks, were now trembling slightly.

But he knew that what was trembling was not fear.

Something deeper is awakening.

He raised his head, looking at the seven sleeping, deadly weapons in the sword box, and then at the silent bronze jar on the table.

"Where should I...begin?" he asked.

Chu Tianjiao smiled. In that smile were the heroism of a warrior, the gentleness of an elder, and a sense of relief that he had finally waited for this moment.

"Starting at five o'clock tomorrow morning, I will teach you how to face the enemy, while Zihang will begin teaching Bloodlust."

Chu Zihang said, "However, with your current physical strength and bloodline control, forcibly attempting a blood surge will only cause your blood vessels to burst first. I need to teach you basic bloodline guidance and willpower tempering first. It will take at least a month before you can attempt your first shallow awakening. I think you should have guessed that you only have two months left."

Lu Mingfei wasn't a fool. He could naturally understand that although he seemed to have rejected Kassel College's "Bronze Project," would those hidden hands in the shadows so easily let go of this "key"? He had only escaped the two months of special training led by Caesar, but two months later, when the Bronze City officially opened—

A storm is coming.

However, the next morning, something unexpected happened that left Chu Tianjiao and his son dumbfounded: Lu Mingfei couldn't draw his sword.

"Damn it, I forgot he's only been in Kassel for a little over a month, and the physical training for the mixed-race hasn't even started yet..." Chu Zihang's face showed a rare expression of speechlessness. Lu Mingfei didn't have the strength to lift the heavy Seven Deadly Sins!

"Lu Mingfei! From now on, you will need to undergo hellish physical training every day until you can lift the sword case! Train until you die, or you'll die!!!"

Therefore, Lu Mingfei initiated a hellish training mode.

Not only Lu Mingfei, but also all the student council members led by Caesar and all the Kassel Executive Department agents assigned to the Bronze Gate mission at Kassel College began a two-month intensive training program. Lu Mingfei was originally supposed to participate in this training, but he skipped it—not only the training, but also his regular classes.

Unexpectedly, Kassel College acted as if it didn't know Lu Mingfei had left the college. There was no punishment or search, and two months passed in extreme quiet and peace throughout the entire college.