Seeing Lu Mingfei suddenly dive into the water and head toward the dim depths below, Caesar stared at the splash that rose and quickly settled again.
He let out a long, heavy breath, as if he were trying to expel every bit of pressure that had piled up in his chest.
The oppressive force Lu Mingfei had given him just now had been terrifying—so strong it had almost felt like facing a Dragon King.
Now, with Lu Mingfei gone, that crushing presence finally faded. Caesar gradually recovered his usual composure. The tension in his muscles eased, and his breathing steadied.
He turned slightly, his gaze landing on NoNo. He opened his mouth, about to speak, then hesitated, carefully choosing his words in his head. After a moment, he asked softly,
"NoNo… what do you think just happened to Lu Mingfei?"
But when he looked at her, he found NoNo staring blankly in the direction Lu Mingfei had left, and the blush on her face still hadn't faded.
His heart lurched.
A bad feeling surged up hard enough to make his scalp prickle, and he asked again—louder this time,
"NoNo, what was that change in Lu Mingfei just now?"
The second question was loud enough to snap NoNo out of it. But she still seemed not to have caught what he'd asked, because she blinked and said,
"Hm? Caesar, what did you just say?"
Caesar didn't answer.
He just looked up at the sky with tears glinting at the corners of his eyes.
Yeah… he was probably going to get cheated on someday.
…
Once he left the ship behind and returned to the icy water, Lu Mingfei finally processed what Harry had just used his body to do.
"Ahhh, Harry!" Lu Mingfei screamed in his mind, his voice frantic with panic and dread. "What did you do with my body just now?! You… you actually touched NoNo's… there, and you even bossed Caesar around like you owned him!
"It's over, it's over, it's all over! How am I supposed to face them after this?!"
Harry was speechless.
He hadn't expected Lu Mingfei to be even more insecure than he'd been before—clearly in love with the scarlet-haired girl, yet burying it so deep he couldn't even muster the courage to confess, let alone chase her. When Harry forced his body to take a step forward, Lu Mingfei's first reaction wasn't happiness.
It was terror.
But Harry had been there. He'd crawled out of insecurity himself, and he'd even helped Peter do the same once.
So he knew the last thing Lu Mingfei needed right now was mockery. What he needed was confidence—enough to face life, and enough to face feelings.
While Harry drove Lu Mingfei's body deeper, agilely slipping through the cold water and searching for the dragon's trail, he spoke to Lu Mingfei in a calm, steady voice.
"Don't panic. What's done is done. No amount of fear will change it.
"Instead of spiraling, grab the opportunity in front of you.
"Look—I already cracked open the situation for you. Next, be bold and go after NoNo.
"You're not lacking in anything. And now you're my Lender. Your future is guaranteed to be bright—you're destined to become one of the strongest people in this world.
"Also, you're good-looking. Standing next to NoNo, you're more than enough.
"So, kid—go chase love."
"R-really?" Lu Mingfei didn't quite believe it. "In your eyes… am I really that good?"
"Of course," Harry answered without the slightest hesitation. "Believe in yourself. You're absolutely worth it."
Lu Mingfei's heart jolted.
He'd never imagined anyone could evaluate him that highly.
But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
He was Harry's Lender now—meaning his future was limitless.
And if he had Harry behind him, wasn't he already starting from a higher point than Caesar?
After all, Caesar relied on the Gattuso family.
Lu Mingfei had Harry.
If he worked hard, surpassing Caesar wasn't some unreachable fantasy. And if he could do that… pulling NoNo away from Caesar's side might not be completely hopeless either.
Was surpassing Caesar really that hard for him?
The more Lu Mingfei thought, the more excited he became, his breathing turning rapid.
Just imagining learning truly powerful magic made it feel like a piece of cake.
In that moment, thinking about the future, something in the former loser completed a crucial transformation.
…
Harry soon guided Lu Mingfei's body deeper, his mental force sweeping outward until he locked onto the target he'd been hunting.
What appeared before them was a grotesquely warped creature.
Below it was the body of a massive dragon, over ten meters long. Its face was carved with golden reliefs—smooth lines, exquisite craftsmanship—luxurious and regal against the dark water.
Harry had never seen a dragon that looked quite like this. In this world, dragons clearly sat at the absolute top of the food chain, and had even developed a civilization not inferior to humanity's—otherwise it wouldn't have dressed itself in such extravagant gold ornamentation.
And yet its strength was the glaring flaw.
It was far too weak.
If not for that, it would have been nearly identical to the dragons Harry knew across the wider multiverse.
But the biggest problem wasn't the dragon's appearance.
It was that the dragon's mind wasn't in control.
It was being driven by a "human" fused to it—stuck to it like a parasite that had become the pilot.
Harry had observed this world long enough to know exactly who it was.
Lu Mingfei's friend, Old Tang.
Also the Bronze and Fire King.
Also Harry's target.
The instant Lu Mingfei saw that figure, he felt fear creep up his spine.
"Harry… can you really beat him? If you lose, I'm dead."
Harry just grinned—no explanation, only action.
The dragon charged.
Even underwater, it could command scorching fire as if the sea meant nothing. Wrapped in surging water, the Bronze and Fire King's face twisted with pure hatred as he reached out with claws, trying to rip Lu Mingfei apart.
Harry remained calm, standing motionless in the water, gaze steady as he watched the Bronze and Fire King close in.
Lu Mingfei's panicked screams kept echoing in his mind, but Harry acted as if he didn't hear.
Only when the Bronze and Fire King entered a hundred-meter radius did Harry finally move.
This wasn't dream-walking, so Harry couldn't use most high-tier magic.
But with the dragon power inside Lu Mingfei's body, Harry could still reproduce part of his true "stats" in a way that was brutally elegant.
He lifted Lu Mingfei's right hand slowly, extending it to the side—then curled his fingers into a loose fist.
In the next instant, the surrounding water seemed to freeze in place under an invisible force, then rapidly crystallized.
In the blink of an eye, a translucent, razor-lethal ice blade formed in his grasp, gleaming coldly and radiating murderous frost.
Harry held the ice blade and, within what Lu Mingfei's body could endure, pushed chaos magic and the draconic bloodline power to full activation—then slashed.
A frigid, razor-sharp wave of ice-blue sword force erupted from Lu Mingfei as the starting point and cut forward at terrifying speed.
Wherever it passed, everything ahead was frozen first—then split apart by the sharpened strike.
Against that kind of cross-dimensional impact, the Bronze and Fire King tried to dodge—
And got hit anyway.
His flesh froze instantly. Even the scales that sniper bullets couldn't pierce were ripped open like paper.
In less than a blink, the Bronze and Fire King was cut cleanly in two.
Yet not a single drop of blood flowed.
Because his dragon blood—hot as molten rock—had been frozen solid, too.
…
On the deck, Caesar and NoNo stared at each other. In the end, Caesar broke the silence first. After a moment of careful restraint, he asked quietly,
"NoNo… you and Lu Mingfei…?"
NoNo didn't hide anything. She told her boyfriend what had happened.
"Underwater, I gave Lu Mingfei my diving suit to save him. After that, when we reached the diving bell, we ran into a Dragon King.
"I thought I was definitely dead. Then Lu Mingfei suddenly… and the rest you already saw."
Caesar exhaled in relief. It wasn't as disastrous as he'd imagined. But there were still questions he couldn't swallow.
"Then where did your dress come from? And why did Lu Mingfei become… that?"
"This dress was made by Lu Mingfei with alchemy, using the river water as the material," NoNo explained, still sounding uncertain. "As for why he became like that… he told me it was his second personality."
Caesar stared at her, completely speechless.
What kind of explanation was that? Could it get any more ridiculous?
He couldn't help doubting it.
"Do you really believe that? Lu Mingfei went from loser to emperor overnight. Standing in front of him just now, I was more nervous than I am in front of the Principal. It felt like I could die at any second.
"And alchemy—don't tell me the Vice Principal could turn river water into a gorgeous dress that fast!"
NoNo frowned slightly and shook her head.
"I'm not fully convinced about the 'second personality' thing either. But the dress being made from river water happened right in front of me, so I believe that part."
"Right in front of you?" Caesar's expression tightened.
He suddenly understood how serious this was.
That meant Lu Mingfei's alchemical ability had already surpassed the Vice Principal—reaching a level that didn't make sense.
Damn it.
What could possibly have caused such a drastic change in Lu Mingfei in such a short time?
From what Caesar knew of the school board, once they learned about this change, they would definitely make a move.
And what worried Caesar even more was that the current Lu Mingfei didn't look like someone who could be pushed around.
Just as Caesar was about to ask more, a sudden chill ran through his entire body.
He looked around in confusion—
And he and NoNo saw it at the same time.
The world had been split open by a single sword flash.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810