Chapter Thirty: Tide, I Have Returned!

"You've awakened, haven't you?" Chu Zihang recalled the information about Lu Mingfei in his mind and asked directly.

Before the mission began, Chu Zihang had already learned some details about Lu Mingfei from Norma. Although he didn't know that both of Lu Mingfei's parents were top-tier S-rank hybrids, he had gleaned from Norma the precious intelligence that Lu Mingfei's bloodline was of exceptionally high rank.

This didn't require any special briefing from Norma. After all, to win one against twenty-six so decisively—most hybrids, upon first awakening, would struggle to achieve that unless they used high-risk language abilities. To fight so effortlessly, as Lu Mingfei did, was truly extraordinary.

Moreover, as students at the same school, Chu Zihang knew Lu Mingfei and remembered him vividly. That night, he almost invited Lu Mingfei into his Maybach; fortunately, he didn't. Otherwise, his kindness might have inadvertently cost Odin his life.

Based on Lu Mingfei's outstanding performance, Norma speculated that his language ability might be Sequence 59, the Weasel, which would allow him to sense the sound of attacks, even those coming from behind, and dodge them with ease.

Of course, this was unlikely. His ability was more probably Sequence 72, Instant, which exponentially increased speed, explaining his ease in facing so many opponents and even counterattacking at times.

Given Lu Mingfei's bloodline, his most likely ability was Sequence 84, Zero Time. With a bloodline of such caliber, it was hard to imagine him awakening to something as lowly as the Weasel.

By common reasoning, the Weasel—a low-level ability—would not appear in the offspring of such powerful hybrids.

"Awakened?" Lu Mingfei pondered for a moment. He didn't know the procedure for hybrid awakening, but he could guess it meant unlocking some power in the bloodline, thus becoming suddenly stronger.

So he replied, "Perhaps. Lately, I've felt great—really great, to the point I can't imagine feeling any better."

"That must be your bloodline awakening. You're a hybrid with dragon blood—possessing intelligence and strength far beyond ordinary humans, and... language abilities."

As he spoke, Chu Zihang's gaze grew serious. He stared into Lu Mingfei's eyes and asked, "What is your language ability—your special power, the awakened superpower?"

"Such as?"

"...My ability is a bit dangerous. I can't demonstrate it in a confined space like this," Chu Zihang apologized.

"Alright, mine is rather weak—just simple control over water elements," Lu Mingfei replied with a harmless smile, scratching his head.

"Control... water elements?"

Chu Zihang was momentarily stunned. He had expected Lu Mingfei's ability to be Instant or Zero Time, but it turned out to be water control.

If that was the case, given his performance in the one-against-twenty-six scenario, his basic stats must be extremely high—so high that he could easily handle those enemies without even using his ability. In some sense, having such a high baseline right after awakening was simply astonishing.

No wonder he was a naturally gifted S-rank hybrid!

As for Lu Mingfei's claim that his ability was weak, Chu Zihang didn't believe it. With a bloodline strong enough to give such high stats, how weak could his ability possibly be?

Most likely, his ability was Whirlpool.

Abilities related to the king of the ocean and water were rare; there were few reference samples at school. Just as abilities related to the king of earth and mountains were scarce. Legend had it, the king of earth and mountains couldn't even find a suitable ability and instead used one from the line of the king of sky and wind.

"Like this," Lu Mingfei said, opening his palm. A crystal-clear sphere of water gathered in his hand, resembling a spiraling orb that didn't actually spin.

He had originally wanted to claim an ability with lightning or fire—no reason, really, just for style. Nothing was cooler than lightning and fire, but remembering that Fernina was a counterfeit water goddess, and possibly unable to control water herself, Lu Mingfei changed his story with a grin. Silently, he spoke to his mind:

"Hey, Fufu, someone's come to question me. I said my ability is water-based! Want to help me come up with some skill effects?"

"That's simple! Just spray water. As long as it's fast and the flow is strong, your ability is the strongest there is! No fancy tricks needed—true strength lies in simplicity, understand?"

"Got it, got it! What about the dragon language? Could you help me invent a chant?"

"Dragon language..." Fernina thought for a moment, then recalled Navillette, another dragon king who wielded water elements. She laughed and answered, "Simple—just chant: 'Tides, I have returned!'"

"A quick question—wasn't that Navillette's catchphrase?"

After spending some time with Fernina, Lu Mingfei could understand and guess many things.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just say—isn't this the language dragons use in battle? I borrowed it for your reference. Navillette certainly won't mind!"

"Alright, alright—I'll listen to you."

Lu Mingfei replied dotingly.

...

Chu Zihang looked at the water sphere, slowly raised his head, and gazed into Lu Mingfei's eyes. "Did you just not chant any dragon language?"

'Damn, I forgot to do it just now.' Lu Mingfei paused briefly, then quickly recovered and said, "I did chant, but not fully. The effect is a bit weaker, but it's enough to display the ability. It's just a demonstration—causing damage would be undesirable."

"Partial chanting, huh? Then I'll try practicing it myself when I get back," Chu Zihang nodded.

"..."

Lu Mingfei felt a surge of pressure and braced himself to explain, "Maybe don't, senior. Every ability has its own dragon language. If you break it down carelessly, it might turn into something new—or not even be dragon language at all. I only discovered by chance that mine could be partially chanted. I wouldn't recommend it."

"Hmm, you seem to know quite a lot. I thought you were clueless about dragon language," Chu Zihang nodded, then asked, "By the way, where did you learn it?"

'I made it up on the spot, man.' The smile on Lu Mingfei's face turned awkward as he explained helplessly, "It's hard to explain. You might not understand but—"

"No worries, I get it. Dragon language is inherited through bloodline memory. You're S-rank; you should naturally understand it upon seeing it. It's normal to find it hard to explain to others," Chu Zihang said calmly, waving his hand in understanding.

"Exactly," Lu Mingfei breathed a little easier, echoing his words.