The eerie Corpse Cathedral, the strange dream, the peculiar sheepskin notebook.
For some reason, as Lu Mingze stared at the notebook with its darkened cover, a faint voice echoed from deep within him, softly urging him to open it.
Logic told Lu Mingze that this notebook was ominous.
Just moments ago, he had carefully examined the bronze table and confirmed it was empty. Yet now, out of nowhere, a notebook had appeared. From a cautious perspective, the best choice was not to touch it.
After all, in a dream brimming with such strangeness, who could say whether this notebook was harmless?
But the voice lingering in his heart was like a Faustian whisper, tempting him to open the sheepskin notebook with its blackened cover.
"Uh… maybe we should just take a look?"
Lu Mingfei, noticing Lu Mingze staring silently at the notebook, offered a timid suggestion.
"Brother, you're way too naive. What if it's a trap?" Lu Mingze sighed, sometimes feeling helpless as he looked at Lu Mingfei. To scare him on purpose, he said, "It could be like Pandora's Box—once you open it, the devils inside will escape and tear us both to shreds."
"Uh… then maybe we shouldn't open it after all," Lu Mingfei immediately chickened out, shrinking his neck as he muttered, "We should probably figure out how to get out of here. That's what really matters."
With Lu Mingfei's interruption, Lu Mingze felt himself calming down. After a moment of careful thought, he said, "No, let's open it."
"What? Didn't you just say it's like Pandora's Box?" Lu Mingfei protested, wide-eyed. "What if devils really come out?"
"Then we're screwed."
Lu Mingze shrugged, exasperated. "Aren't you always playing games? Right now, the only quest clue is this notebook. If we don't open it, we can't progress. What else can we do?"
Despite the eerie and unsettling atmosphere, Lu Mingze's words made the situation feel oddly like a scene from an online game.
With the humor breaking the tension, Lu Mingfei gradually relaxed. He grinned cheekily and said, "Well, if a devil does come out, you'd better protect me!"
"Got it, big brother," Lu Mingze sighed dramatically, pretending to be helpless. "After all, you're my only client. If you die, who am I supposed to trade souls with?"
On the surface, Lu Mingze seemed casual, but deep down, he couldn't shake his nervousness.
However, to avoid scaring Lu Mingfei too much, he deliberately put on a playful attitude so that his 'timid' older brother wouldn't be scared out of his wits.
"Are you ready, brother?"
Lu Mingze's tone seemed calm, but his golden eyes burned with vigilance as he carefully opened the leather-bound notebook.
The ordinary feather quill tucked inside the cover fell out as the pages turned, rolling onto the bronze table nearby. Its tip was clean, as if it had never been dipped in ink.
Yet neither of them paid any attention to the feather quill. Their eyes were drawn entirely to the two characters engraved on the notebook's cover.
"Dragon Clan?"
Lu Mingfei softly read the words aloud.
For some reason, those two simple words stirred a storm deep within him, like thunder roaring in his soul.
Silent tears slid down his face, as though an overwhelming sadness was consuming him.
It felt like a flood of cold water surging forth to drown him entirely, mixed with a fierce hatred and violent anger—an immense pain that could only be extinguished by destroying the entire world.
"Brother..."
Lu Mingze, of course, noticed his brother's strange reaction.
Snapping out of his sadness, Lu Mingfei instinctively wiped the corner of his eye, startled by the cold tear. "Why... why do I feel like this?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's because of a dream."
Lu Mingze lowered his gaze, deliberately avoiding eye contact, not wanting his brother to see the deep sorrow hidden in his own eyes.
"What is the Dragon Clan?" Lu Mingfei asked.
A faint voice seemed to whisper to him from somewhere, telling him this term was deeply connected to him.
"Do you remember what I told you about the Fourth Domain?" Lu Mingze said calmly. "On the known tree of life, besides the domains of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes, the Dragon Clan is the Fourth Domain of life."
Hearing this, Lu Mingfei's eyebrows twitched violently, and his mouth slowly fell open. "You've got to be kidding me, right? The Dragon Clan? You mean like the dragons from novels?"
"Yeah, something like the dragons in Western legends," Lu Mingze took a deep breath, organizing his emotions before continuing.
"As for a detailed explanation, let's wait until those people arrive. They'll tell you, brother. For now, though, I'm more curious about the contents of this notebook."
Seeing this, Lu Mingfei could only suppress his confusion and turn his attention back to the notebook.
A left-behind child, Lu Mingfei, who was staying with his uncle's family, stumbled upon Cassell College after his poor performance in the college entrance exams.
At the darkest moment of his life, he encountered the only glimmer of hope—a girl named Nono. She filled the void in his lonely and yearning heart.
In the end, he agreed to enroll at the academy and learned the hidden truth: dragons existed in this world, and Cassell College was a place dedicated to the mission of slaying them.
No one could have known that Lu Mingfei and his little devil, Lu Mingze, would embark on a path of no return, beginning with tragedy.
Afterward, Lu Mingfei enjoyed a single day of freedom and met Chu Zihang and Caesar. He secretly harbored feelings for Nono, but she belonged to Caesar.
All he could do was pretend to be indifferent while silently yearning for her attention countless times.
Soon, Lu Mingfei set foot on the path of dragon-slaying. His first destination was the Bronze Ancient City, where the legendary King of Bronze and Fire lay in slumber.
However, it was a tomb for a Dragon King, and Nono, who accompanied him, fell into a desperate situation, teetering on the brink of death.
In that critical moment, the timid Lu Mingfei finally made up his mind. He struck a deal with his little devil, Lu Mingze, sacrificing a quarter of his life in exchange for the hope that Nono had once given him.
"Is this… the future?!"
Lu Mingze's pupils shrank as a storm of emotions raged in his heart.
Beside him, Lu Mingfei was muttering under his breath, "Are you kidding me? The version of me written here is such a loser! Isn't this just pure simp energy?!"
Yet, for once, Lu Mingze didn't respond to his complaint. Instead, his bloodshot eyes were fixed on the notebook, his gaze unyielding.
No one understood better than him that the contents of this notebook seemed to be their future.
But wasn't this just a little too outrageous?
Lu Mingze could never have imagined that one day, he would see a notebook documenting the future.
No, perhaps a better way to put it—it was more like a script!
Yes, a script!
The kind that described the male protagonist overcoming hardships and ultimately growing stronger!
"What happens next?!"
At this moment, Lu Mingze's mind was in complete chaos. He couldn't resist the urge to flip to the last page and see the 'script's' ending.
"Sorry, but the next part isn't something you can casually read."
Just then, a hand suddenly appeared, gently closing the notebook.
The voice was soft and warm, like the gentle sunlight of spring, pulling both Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze—still shaken by what they had just read—back to their senses.
A hazy figure, seemingly composed of countless forms merging together, sat on the towering chair. Its slitted golden eyes were pure and clear, reflecting an endless, deep ocean.
The gaze was warm and serene as the figure chuckled lightly and said, "Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingze, welcome to my divine kingdom. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
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