At this moment, the man who walked out from the shadows behind the Tsar's seat wore an extremely grim expression.
His tall figure, like Lu Kang's, was clad in a black priest's robe—only his collar was slightly disheveled, the fabric full of wrinkles. He had thick long hair and a beard; beneath the hair, a pair of deep green eyes seemed to contain bottomless magical power. Even now, with a displeased face, those eyes still continuously emitted signals that drew others in!
Just as Lu Kang had said—
Grigori Rasputin.
That was the man's name.
A "江湖骗子" (charlatan) who rose from the lowest strata of the Tsarist Empire by disguising himself as a faith-wielding ascetic.
This was what Lu Kang knew.
He also knew that this very charlatan would later contribute "a force" to toppling the empire in its twilight. The man named Rasputin used so-called "divine arts" to cure Nicholas II's youngest son Alexei, thereby gaining absolute trust from Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and gradually devoured the empire's upper echelons.
During his reign of power, he brutally expelled and killed countless capable officials and innocent civilians, stirring widespread fury!
Of course, that was the original trajectory—the "future" without Lu Kang.
Now that he had arrived, everything would be different!
Lu Kang also wanted Nicholas II's support.
Therefore, he and Rasputin were political enemies!
"Lord Grigori, you…" After a moment of daze, Nicholas II recovered and could not help speaking. The emperor in military uniform gripped the armrest; his thick, neatly groomed beard and face were full of shock and rage!
"Breaking into the palace without permission—guards—" the steward below also spoke.
But the next second, neither the steward nor Nicholas II could utter another sound even when they opened their mouths.
Not only could they not speak.
They even felt their bodies frozen, unable to move!
The specks of light floating in the air coiled around them, locking them in place.
During this, Grigori Rasputin did not turn around, nor did he explain to the emperor. He simply walked in front of the throne, looking down at Lu Kang below: "How did you discover…?"
The light gauze curtains that had fallen again swayed silently, stirring the specks of light that drifted like fireflies. The man above wore a stern, gloomy face; the youth below simply clapped his hands.
"Were you about to say your actions were extremely secret?" Lu Kang abandoned his previous calm demeanor. "Indeed, as you said—you did it almost flawlessly. Your hypnotic power is the most superb illusion I have ever seen!"
"I noticed nothing at all—"
"Dizziness is merely a sign of overwork; forgetfulness is something everyone experiences—especially these past two days. His Majesty Nicholas has probably been working day and night to receive 'masters' from all over the country, hasn't he?" The youth's smile was playful.
"As for why His Majesty subconsciously believed he was hypnotized by you—it's simply because you really did hypnotize him!"
"It was his body giving him an instinctive warning!"
"You framed me?" Rasputin's brows tightened.
"Of course I framed you," Lu Kang sighed. "Who told you to be so stupid and expose yourself?"
"A 'mage' who claims to be a believer in God!"
The Rasputin before him was undoubtedly a mage who wielded true mystical power. He was no believer in God; that was merely the façade he used to transcend class restrictions.
What he used to deceive Nicholas II was nothing more than the most common illusory magecraft employed by mages!
Although Rasputin's illusions were superb, to Lu Kang they were full of flaws—
Because compared to using magecraft to deceive others' trust, he firmly believed in the power of words.
For example, the words he had spoken to Nicholas II.
Or the phrase "the older, the stronger."
The same words, spoken in different places and heard by different people, always carried different implications.
That was the power of language.
Using speech as "chains" was undoubtedly also a form of magecraft!
It was the magecraft of "suggestion" and "guidance"!
"Mutual, 'Little Sage' mage!" Rasputin's beard twitched at the corner of his mouth. Clearly he had also heard of Lu Kang's title. He turned around—Nicholas II, who had heard their entire conversation yet could not move, wore a dark expression.
"Your Majesty, please wait here patiently." Rasputin bowed slightly, seemingly respectful, yet his words were completely treasonous: "Later, I will make you forget all of this thoroughly!"
The speechless Nicholas II snorted, his tightly furrowed brows pressing even lower!
This damned, treasonous scoundrel!
He cursed inwardly, yet was helpless. After all, he was the sovereign of a nation and had not lost his reason.
He thought that the "little sage" who had come from afar might be good or evil, but at least he appeared to be Rasputin's enemy.
The enemy of an enemy could become a friend. He could only hope this man could defeat the treasonous Rasputin and free him!
Rasputin turned back to Lu Kang.
He slowly stepped forward, descending the steps from the throne, treading on the gold-embroidered red carpet. His black boots left slight wrinkles as they moved.
"I have heard your name," Rasputin said as he advanced. His deep green eyes glowed. The light gauze curtains around them swayed more violently, as if echoing his advance.
The man continued, "'Little Sage' Lu Kang Luweist. To see through my illusions—you truly are formidable."
"But you have made a wrong choice."
"That is—stepping into this place—"
"Because here."
"It has long been remade into my magic workshop!"
As Rasputin's words fell, the light gauze curtains flared with flickering light during their rolling motion. Complex mystical runes were etched upon them, cold and gleaming like rivers of flowing mercury pouring out in all directions.
An invisible force descended.
A heavy pressure landed on Lu Kang, who faced Rasputin directly!
Just as he said, this place had become his magic workshop—the mage's laboratory, the territory ruled by the mage, belonging solely to him.
Rasputin had arrived in Moscow three days earlier.
Upon arrival he had immediately used illusion to hypnotize Nicholas II, making the Tsar trust him greatly. But illusion was ultimately only illusion—temporary. He had a deeper goal: to transform the Kremlin Palace, symbol of the Tsarist Empire's highest power, into his own territory!
That way he could constantly exert mystical influence on Nicholas II, turning temporary trust into permanent memory.
He could firmly grasp the empire's highest authority, act tyrannically, and enjoy the most luxurious treatment in the world!
He could also welcome all external enemies inside the palace and occupy absolute dominance!
This was exactly the situation Lu Kang now faced.
As a mage—
He had stepped into another mage's magic workshop!
"May God bless you, sir." Rasputin, walking down the steps, stroked his disheveled beard and revealed a sly, confident smile. "I shall now send you to meet God!"
The words fell a second time!
The mercury-like mystical runes flowed even more brilliantly, like a surging river. Even the air seemed to ripple with overlapping water sounds!
Water-element magecraft.
So-called illusions, being illusory, belonged to "water" among earth, water, wind, and fire.
Under the impact of this "water flow," Rasputin was confident Lu Kang would have nowhere to escape. A mage inside his own magic workshop was powerful and usually held overwhelming advantage against other mages!
That was what he thought.
That was what he believed.
Yet the next second, the surging "water flow" abruptly stopped. The moving mystical runes seemed to have their gears jammed. The ancient phenomenon recreated from the runes halted abruptly. In the frozen light, a hand pierced through space and pressed straight onto Rasputin's face!
Rasputin: "!?"
His eyes widened, staring at the palm that had suddenly appeared in his vision—and at the youth who now stood before him!
Lu Kang still stood tall, walking calmly within the mystical power condensed by the magic workshop.
Because his own body was also glowing with mystical runes—the black, heavy priest's robe he wore was also shining with the same mystery as a magic workshop!
Mystery clashed with mystery once more and vanished!
Rasputin's home-field advantage was instantly neutralized.
What remained was naturally a duel between mages.
Completely unprepared, Rasputin was caught off guard!
"You thought only you had home-field advantage?" Lu Kang's lips curled. One hand pressed on Rasputin's face, the other flipped his robe. "Magic workshop—I have been wearing mine at all times!"
Years ago, when he wandered everywhere and never stayed in one place, he had already completed a miniaturized recording of the magic-workshop ritual in order to always display the strongest power of a mage!
Taking advantage of the early 20th century, when mystery was still relatively dense compared to later eras, he had completed the magecraft outfit named "Temple."
That was precisely the clothes on his body—
He had "worn" the magic workshop.
Therefore, wherever he stood,
It was always his home field!