Chapter 106: The Immortal Flame Spear

The feeling of terror came quickly and passed just as quickly. Although the flames clung like maggots burrowed into bone and could not be shaken off, they did not alter Gungnir’s nature. At least, they could not destroy it in a short time.

The Flame Spear was no ordinary weapon. Then again, how could Odin’s Gungnir be ordinary?

Still—

This was only the result of a single collision. After repeated impacts, it was difficult to imagine whether Gungnir could continue to maintain its full power.

Gungnir was immensely powerful. Once thrown, it would strike its target without fail. Yet it possessed one weakness—not exactly a weakness, but close enough: Gungnir could lock onto a given target only once.

Because almost no one could withstand it, this flaw was effectively meaningless. But Lu Mingfei was different. The Flame Spear in his hands was an alchemical weapon that unleashed astonishing power at the cost of self-destruction. Even after colliding with Gungnir, it showed not the slightest damage.

Under these circumstances, if Lu Mingfei used the Flame Spear to block Gungnir’s throw, he might truly be able to stop it.

Everyone said that Xia Mi was weak, but only Odin, who had experienced countless cycles of reincarnation, knew that she was a hidden god of internal warfare. If he chose to forcefully kill Chu Zihang, Xia Mi would leap straight from the Maybach and engage him in a life-and-death battle between Dragon Kings, then emerge victorious through sheer violence.

“In the name of immortality.”

At that moment, he held the shaft of the spear with one hand and pressed the other against its burning tip. Amber light gradually suffused the Flame Spear. The weapon, which had been growing weaker, seemed to recover its former vitality.

Under normal circumstances, a person about to lose his greatest support should seize the final opportunity to launch a frenzied assault, desperately searching for a chance to turn the tables. But he was different. From the very beginning, he had been fighting perfunctorily, as though his mind were occupied with something else.

His strength and technique were both inferior to Odin’s. He relied on the Flame Spear’s undying fire. Sooner or later, he would suffer if he continued to clash head-on. And if Odin found an opening, Nono would die as well.

“…”

The Flame Spear and Gungnir collided once more, and the battle gradually entered its most intense phase.

He secretly flexed his fingers. A great number of Dead Servants surrounded Chen Motong from every direction, while he continued his leisurely life-or-death battle with Lu Mingfei.

Besides, judging from Lu Mingze’s tone, the power of immortality seemed to be useful for more than simply granting objects additional properties. There appeared to be other applications—ones that could crush Odin outright.

Mirror Eyes! Right, Mirror Eyes! Mirror Eyes, save me!

“The attack power has decreased.”

I should have slept more when I had the chance.

Wait. The undying flames were the result of me instinctively releasing my power. Perhaps I can sense the rhythm of my instincts, find a way to activate the power of immortality, and use the power of the Mirror Eyes to analyze and deconstruct it.

A slightly deranged smile appeared on his face. The dragon genes within his body seemed to have been ignited by the flames as well. Like a fearless madman, he charged toward Odin.

“Bang!”

“Can’t save you. You’re finished. Wait for death!”

He had also considered attacking Sleipnir directly, but Odin could sense his intentions and perfectly block every attack with Gungnir. He was the bravest of warriors, with far more combat experience than Lu Mingfei. As long as he remained steady and dragged things out, Lu Mingfei could do nothing to him.

Battles between Dragon Kings were fought hand to hand, because each could cancel out the other’s Dragon Words. For most Dragon Kings, this counted as a considerable restriction.

Chen Motong looked at the Dead Servants steadily closing in around her, and the sense of danger in her heart grew ever stronger. Lu Mingfei was still locked in a bitter battle with Odin, while the Flame Spear in his hands had already reached its limit. Asking Lu Mingfei for help would only hold him back. Chen Motong could not bring herself to do something so vile.

If he could one day cultivate the power of immortality to its utmost limit, perhaps he would be able to attain true eternal immortality.

Lu Mingze’s voice rang out again, and Lu Mingfei’s expression changed dramatically in the middle of the battle.

“What?!”

At the same time, Lu Mingfei noticed the change in Odin’s gaze. He exhaled softly and walked toward Odin step by step. His pace grew faster and faster, until he gradually broke into a run, then a full sprint.

“Boom!”

“Mad bastard, gambling with your life.”

No. That was not it. On a deeper level, the reason I can fight Odin to this point and pose a genuine threat to him is that he cannot erase my flames. He cannot inflict any further obvious damage on me. The defense granted by immortality is extremely powerful. Even Odin cannot deal me a fatal wound.

And that is not all.

Xia Mi is extremely cautious. She has been resurrected for a long time and has accumulated power equivalent to that of a young Dragon King. She is in no way inferior to him after he devoured multiple dragon bones. It is only that she is the King of Lust and Love, and has never used her strength properly. If she became ruthless and devoured the dragon bones of other Dragon Kings, even Odin would find her troublesome.

“Thirty seconds is enough. Everything, or nothing.” Lu Mingfei answered softly.

Thus, the boy’s agile figure, wrapped in the phantom of flames, dodged repeatedly beneath the attacks of Sleipnir and Gungnir. From time to time, he met the weapons head-on, launching fierce counterattacks.

Fortunately, the flames on the Flame Spear in Lu Mingfei’s hands had gradually weakened. They were far less violent than when it had first appeared. It might not be long before the Flame Spear went out completely.

That was Lu Mingze’s voice.

Lu Mingfei’s eyes lit up. He carefully analyzed Lu Mingze’s words, searching for a way to break out of his predicament.

Wait. Immortality?

At this point, Lu Mingfei and Chen Motong were not yet especially close. Thus, when her life was in danger, he remained relatively rational. He understood that before certain people, the more desperately one wished to protect something, the less likely one was to succeed.

“What a troublesome opponent.”

And the time was… probably thirty seconds!

The core of the Flame Spear was an explosive fire possessed of unparalleled power. It could even burn Gungnir, leaving flames upon the divine weapon that would continue burning eternally. Even Odin could not extinguish them.

But there was nothing he could do. He did not know how to use it.

After a brief sigh, Lu Mingfei glanced from the corner of his eye at Chen Motong, who was driving the Maybach through the swarm of Dead Servants, ramming her way forward. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He pointed the Flame Spear at Odin and said, “Next, let us continue the battle!”

Odin narrowed his eye as he looked at Lu Mingfei, faintly puzzled.

But unlike before, time did not stop during this exchange. Lu Mingfei could only think while fighting. Before the Flame Spear broke down completely, he had to understand the true core of his own power and find a way out of this predicament.

Perhaps this is my destiny!

“Hmph. Driving a Maybach?”

He had originally thought Lu Mingfei’s personality would be softer and easier to bully. He had not expected the boy to gamble Chen Motong’s life directly, wagering her life against the possibility of gravely injuring Odin.

Odin turned his gaze toward Chen Motong, and a cold smile slowly curved his lips. Lu Mingfei could indeed block Gungnir’s attacks—but what about Chen Motong? Could she withstand Gungnir?

Lu Mingfei’s weapon was extremely unstable. How long it could continue to exist was itself a problem. Using Gungnir against it would clearly be a poor trade. But if he threw Gungnir at Chen Motong and forced Lu Mingfei to protect her, wasting the remaining duration of the Flame Spear, perhaps he could easily defeat him.

Is the core of my power explosion?

The burning flames never go out. Is that also a form of immortality? It is simply a form of immortality I have been using unconsciously.

“What? You said you’ve never slept? Oh, then you’re doomed. Listen to yourself—staying awake like an idiot. Are you sick? You awakened the power of immortality without sleeping? You’re waiting to die! The inheritance of immortality offers only one chance, and you missed it so perfectly!”

Most importantly, the method this fellow used to repair the Flame Spear appeared utterly unreasonable. He seemed to be using some absurdly powerful force to restore it in a manner that defied all common sense.

“Think carefully. What, exactly, are you relying on to fight Odin back and forth? Is it really the Flame Spear? Think about something deeper. Think about what you most need to master right now.”

Odin widened his single eye in astonishment as he watched the Flame Spear in Lu Mingfei’s hands return to its peak condition. He had imagined many ways Lu Mingfei might continue fighting, because the boy’s reaction did not resemble that of someone with no backup plan. But he had never imagined that Lu Mingfei could simply repair the Flame Spear.

The Flame Spear and Gungnir collided once more. The flames atop the Flame Spear were gradually fading. Thirty seconds were almost up, yet even after comprehending the core of his own power, Lu Mingfei still had not found the key to victory.

“Damn it. There’s only half a minute.”

Under the current circumstances, the Flame Spear was the foundation of Lu Mingfei’s battle. If he lost it, defeat would not be far behind.

Thank goodness this fellow is a hopeless romantic.

Without a Dragon King protecting you, you cannot escape.

Odin thought this with confidence. He would not easily let Chen Motong go, but neither would he kill her. She was the daughter-in-law he had chosen. At most, he would rewrite her memories and send her away.

Odin looked at the Gungnir in his hand, a third of which had been devoured by the undying flames. Then he looked at the completely intact Flame Spear in Lu Mingfei’s hands. An unusual feeling began to gather in his heart.

But this immortality was not true immortality. It was merely a state called immortality. Once his power was exhausted, everything would return to its original condition.

“You have only thirty seconds.”

Only one chance?

Lu Mingfei’s expression grew even grimmer. At the same time, he could not help wondering inwardly: Why can Lu Mingze read my mind too? He clearly could not before. Otherwise, that little secret of mine would have been exposed long ago.

“Yes, exactly. You really are clever. Think about the being you once dreamed of in your dreams. The dreams of dragons are the inheritance of the power of immortality. After all this time, you should have inherited quite a lot of it, shouldn’t you? Use the power of immortality to crush him effortlessly!”

Looking at Chen Motong behind the wheel, Odin could not help recalling the child who had once driven a Maybach out of Nibelungen. His name was Chu Zihang. If Xia Mi had not been sitting on the roof of that Maybach, Odin would never have let the child escape.

Lu Mingfei looked at the Flame Spear in his hands and felt the immense depletion of some force within his body. He gradually began to understand the concept of immortality. He could actively or passively imbue a certain substance with the concept of immortality.

But Xia Mi did not care. She had no exclusive Dragon Word to use in the first place. Her battles relied on absolute control over force and a grasp of the weaknesses of all things. In close combat, she possessed an enormous advantage.

Retreating again and again, Chen Motong slammed into the Maybach behind her. The crisp impact rang through her mind like the tolling of a dusk bell and a morning bell. She quickly opened the door, climbed inside, and drove the Maybach, its wild fire roaring, straight into the swarm of Dead Servants. Shouting all the while, she ran one Dead Servant after another beneath the wheels.

Unfortunately, it did not work very well.

Odin glanced once more at his weapon. The flames on Gungnir had grown increasingly fierce, and even the hand gripping the shaft felt the searing heat. If they continued like this, Gungnir might become a second Flame Spear, and anyone who touched it would be burned by eternal flames.

A deep voice sounded nearby. It was Lu Mingfei’s voice.

Odin could not accept such a gamble.

“Bang!”

That was why Odin guessed that the Flame Spear was not Lu Mingfei’s true support. He must have another trump card. So Odin was in no hurry to attack. It would be enough to wait for an opportunity to seize the instant when the Flame Spear exploded.

“Damn it!”

“Clang!”

For fuck’s sake, I have always been playing Dream Tapir with Furina. Ever since I awakened my power, I have barely slept properly even a few times! If I had just slept normally, awakened my power, and used the force of immortality, I could have crushed him effortlessly? But the problem is that I have never slept properly!

What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?!

And just then, a familiar, gentle voice sounded beside his ear.

Odin cursed inwardly and abandoned the thought.

Lu Mingfei’s expression gradually darkened. Odin was stronger than he had imagined. His technique was superb and his temperament steady. The plan to attack the eight-legged steed could not be carried out smoothly. If he were dragged along until the Flame Spear went out, he would be doomed to lose.

She would rather die at the hands of the Dead Servants than drag Lu Mingfei, who was protecting her, into hell with her. If he did not need to protect her, he might have a chance to escape. Perhaps her death would even be a good thing for him.

Chen Motong was very important to him. She was the bride he and his family had prepared in advance for Caesar.

Is the core of my power immortality?

Gungnir clashed with the Flame Spear, and flames collided with thunder once more. This time, Lu Mingfei did not continue to confront Odin head-on. Instead, he moved in a weaving pattern, striking in sudden bursts.

Although Lu Mingfei was not as strong as Odin, Lu Mingfei wielding the Flame Spear posed a threat to him. If Odin threw Gungnir at Chen Motong and was left empty-handed, Lu Mingfei would inevitably run him through with the Flame Spear, leaving him gravely wounded. Clearly, that would be a terrible trade for Odin.

This alchemical technique…

Even Odin, who had mastered six of the seven alchemical kingdoms—Conceptual Armament, Elemental Transposition, Temporal Reversal, Spatial Creation, Life Forging, and Causal Separation—found it utterly outrageous. Though it appeared absurd, this was Jiang Nan’s own depiction of the seven alchemical kingdoms.

“So that’s how it’s used.”

What?

The dreams of dragons are the inheritance of the power of immortality? What?

“The Dead Servants are closing in.”

If they continued fighting like this, Lu Mingfei would not be beaten to death before Gungnir was completely covered by flames. Odin did not want to risk his life by continuing to fight while holding a Gungnir shrouded in fire.

So… should I run? Right now?

The End