Lu Mingfei felt like he was on fire.
He looked down at his hands and his body, suddenly realizing his sensation was correct. He really was on fire!
Wisps of flame clung to him from head to toe, as if radiating from his very bone marrow. Yet, the fire wasn't particularly hot; instead, it felt like a magnificent garment draped over him.
He gradually recovered from his initial panic. Zoran hadn't lied to him. If this was a deal with a demon, then as the party representing the demons, Zoran was indeed a man of his word.
To be honest, Lu Mingfei found it hard not to believe him. Zoran simply had a face that looked incapable of deception. A man like that would simply crush any obstacle in his path to achieve his goals; lies were likely something from an entirely different universe to him. The aura Zoran carried made that crystal clear.
As the flames dissipated, Lu Mingfei examined himself again. On his outstretched wrists and fingertips, fine, grey-green scales began to swarm out in dense clusters. He hurriedly reached up to touch his face; from his jawline, scales were growing upward toward his cheeks.
"Is this... Dragonization?" Lu Mingfei muttered.
When a hybrid's lineage breaks past the fifty-percent "Critical Limit," the body naturally manifests dragon-like characteristics. The further one pushes past that limit, the more pronounced the draconic features become. The price, however, is uncontrollable power and a side effect akin to a berserker rage. Fundamentally, the dragon lineage is bloodthirsty.
But now, he had entered a state of Dragonization as naturally as breathing. Uncontrollable power surging in his body? None. A clear head? Still there! It was as effortless as downing half a bottle of cola.
Moreover, this was happening right under the Night Watchman's school-wide Yanling. He had transformed into a "Dragon Boy" just like that? He didn't feel even a shred of suppression.
Lu Mingfei stole an incredulous glance at Zoran. This man might truly be a demon, a philanthropist powerful enough to act on every whim, handing out power today and tossing out blessings tomorrow. Could it be that a piece of trash like him really could be polished into something great?
He grabbed his phone from the bed, checking his reflection in the black glass of the locked screen. He froze for a moment, waving a hand around his eyes.
"No golden pupils... not even those..."
Dragonization is a state reached after breaking the Critical Limit; the more the dragon lineage dominates, the more vivid the golden pupils should be. High-lineage hybrids can even use their golden pupils to exert pressure on those with lower lineages. But here he was, clearly dragonized, yet his eyes remained the same, carrying that familiar hint of "clear-eyed stupidity."
Lu Mingfei looked at Zoran with a questioning gaze.
"Lu Mingfei," Zoran said calmly, his hands folded in front of him with effortless composure. "You need to understand one thing."
"What thing? I'm listening!" Lu Mingfei blinked.
Zoran replied, "Only hybrids need golden pupils. A King only needs to sit upon his throne."
Zoran pressed his palm downward, and a sudden gravitational force pushed Lu Mingfei back onto the edge of the bed. In an instant, Zoran's words pulled him into another world. The soft sheets beneath his rear seemed to transform into a hard, cold throne. As he gazed out at the cosmos, a phantom silhouette of a green monarch loomed, dominating the world. A magnificent aura originating from another world's primordial era shook his soul.
That monarch, whose head brushed the heavens and whose feet trampled all living things, cast His gaze upon him. Lu Mingfei was stunned. He suddenly realized that the name he had just called out belonged to this very monarch. This wisp of Fire Demon Chi was His blessing.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen dragons before; he had just come face-to-face with the legendary King of Bronze and Fire. But the magnificent aura of this obscured monarch before him made even a Dragon King seem like something that would tuck its tail and flee in shame.
If you trace the dragon lineage back to its source, it all ends with the Black Dragon, Nidhogg. He created everything; He is the source of all dragons. In mythology, Nidhogg has coiled around the roots of the World Tree since its birth, gnawing at them until the final destruction of Ragnarok.
Lu Mingfei shivered. He instinctively swapped the legendary progenitor Nidhogg with this green monarch in his mind. If myths were true, and it were this being, He could probably pull the World Tree out of the ground and spin it like a pinwheel.
Lu Mingfei suddenly realized a terrifying problem. The demon hadn't lied. He really seemed to have placed his faith in an outer deity. He watched Evangelion and had faith in Rei Ayanami, but Unit-01 never actually fell from the sky for him to pilot. He had accepted the Fire Demon Chi and traded the corresponding price; this monarch was actually watching him!
No joke, Lu Mingfei felt as if he had been truly looked upon, across infinite time and space. Had he become the other's... thrall?
His head felt a bit swollen. Coming back to his senses, he saw Zoran staring at him with a faint, knowing smile.
"After learning to fly, the first time you land to walk, your steps always feel a bit hollow. The same is true after contacting a higher level of power," Zoran explained indifferently.
Lu Mingfei gulped, frantically chanting "Retract!" in his mind. The scales vanished from his skin like a receding tide.
"Is it too late for me to regret this?" he asked with a miserable face, feeling like he had unknowingly put himself on clearance and sold himself cheap.
"Of course. But the Demon Chi in your body isn't under my control. Even if it were to be taken back, He would have to come and get it Himself," Zoran laughed.
"Never mind, never mind!" Lu Mingfei waved his hands frantically. That being coming to get it Himself sounded like Ragnarok was about to arrive. If that guy accidentally crushed some unlucky folks on His way over, wouldn't Lu Mingfei become a villain for the ages? He'd probably end up like a medieval witch tied to a stake, with hybrids whipping him with saltwater-soaked lashes while screaming:
"Lu Mingfei! You're the one who brought the outer evil god to this world?! Now the whole world is ruined!"
At the thought, Lu Mingfei shook his head violently. The little devil was gone, and a demon had usurped his place, but the demon before him was quite elegant, one couldn't find the heart to hate him. At least he had actually given him a spark.
"That outer evil... gah, I mean!" Lu Mingfei shut his mouth quickly. He rapidly adapted to his new role, pressing his palms together in a prayer-like gesture. "Who is... my Lord?"
Zoran smiled and shook his head.
"Then, Professor, how do you have his... uh, that inheritance? No, the Demon Chi?" Lu Mingfei looked at Zoran with burning eyes. He had a feeling this man wasn't ordinary either. His life philosophy was simple: when you find a sturdy thigh, you must cling to it for dear life. He had already grabbed one, but as the saying goes, one thigh can be snapped, but two cannot. A man has two hands; he can hold two thighs. More thighs meant more paths in life.
"You are quite interesting," Zoran remarked, giving his assessment. Despite being a loser, this kid's self-awareness was truly peerless.
"It's very simple," Zoran said softly. "Because I asked him for it, so he gave it."
"You... asked him for it???" Lu Mingfei didn't react for a second. "You asked, he gave, and then you gave it to me. It sounds so natural."
A second later, Lu Mingfei blurted out: "Natural my foot! That guy is strong as a god! Don't tell me you two are like best buds and he just gives you whatever you want."
"Naturally." Zoran squinted slightly, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes. He said calmly, "Because he is my brother."
Lu Mingfei froze.
In the very next heartbeat, his reflexes acted faster than his brain. With a thud, he dropped to one knee and delivered a passionate declamation:
"Father! I, Mingfei, have drifted for half my life, only regretting that I never encountered a worthy lord until now!"