Chapter 137: Alchemy Complete, Norton Arrives

In the world of Dragon Kings, inside a hotel room.

After twelve hours of profound and restorative sleep, Lu Mingfei had nearly fully recovered. He looked at the other bedroom where Constantine was still working overtime, a gentle expression of relief gradually spreading across his face.

It's good to be tired, it's good to be tired~
That way, my conscience can finally feel balanced~

With a relaxed and cheerful smile, Lu Mingfei strolled into Constantine's room and quietly observed his alchemy techniques, watching as he pondered and made adjustments to his alchemical creations.

'What is he actually thinking about?'
Lu Mingfei wondered instinctively.

He activated his Heavenly Evolution and Mirror Pupils to analyze the minute changes occurring within the alchemical artifact, comprehending the seemingly peculiar aspects of Constantine's methodology, and then dissecting his thoughts to deduce why he thought and practiced in such a manner.

This was a process of observation and learning.

However, this process did not go smoothly. Constantine spent a long time thinking, but very little time actually operating; he even resorted to pen and paper for calculations.

All sorts of papers littered the desk, and the alchemical blueprints scattered on the floor were covered in complex and mysterious patterns. Lu Mingfei could not understand what these patterns meant at all, nor could he comprehend why Constantine drew such things.

Isn't alchemy just the process of refining and forging?
What on earth is he calculating?
Why is Constantine's alchemy so vastly different from the alchemy I understand?

Lu Mingfei was utterly incapable of grasping these concepts. Even when the drafting paper for alchemical calculations was placed right before his eyes, he couldn't decipher what it represented. His lack of fundamental knowledge was his fatal flaw; pushing alchemy to its ultimate limits required a breathtaking and peerless intellect.

"I can't understand a single thing."
Lu Mingfei picked up a sheet of paper, stared at the patterns drawn upon it, and heaved a deep sigh.

Although he could guess that this was some kind of alchemical construction blueprint, he had no clue why it was drawn this way, nor why this particular sheet was one of Constantine's scratch pads. He didn't even know how to restore this alchemical structure, let alone how to turn the blueprint's design into a tangible alchemical object.

Taking a brief break, Constantine poured himself a cup of milk tea and sipped it slowly, his gaze gradually shifting toward Lu Mingfei as he asked, "Why are you looking at that thing? It's useless."

"Useless?"
Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. After all, there were plenty of such papers scattered around the room, so it was completely normal for him to have grabbed a discarded one.

He pondered for a moment, then wore an inquiring expression and asked, "I want to ask, what on earth is this thing you drew supposed to do?"

"It's a blueprint for reverse-engineering structural principles. Based on the construction of your Evil Eye, I reverse-engineered its foundational theories and structural principles," Constantine replied.

"Huh?"
"Have you ever heard of mirror prisms?"
"I know a little bit about them."
"That's good then."

Constantine smiled, set down his milk tea, and explained earnestly, "When a beam of light shines on a mirror prism, it refracts into strange colors resembling a rainbow. The fundamental principle of the Evil Eye in your possession is related to mirror prisms."

"Is—is that so?"
Lu Mingfei's expression turned somewhat dull. He had never imagined that the fire element had anything to do with optics, though perhaps it was due to its internal structural morphology; anyway, he couldn't make head or tail of these complex matters.

"Using the fourth law of alchemy and the seventy-third axiom, I performed a preliminary analysis, dissecting the principles of its internal spatial construction. I discovered that its internal architecture differs from the traditional Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind elemental theory, employing instead an elemental differentiation structure based on the principle of mirror-prism refraction."

"Quite a fascinating concept. The more I look at it, the more it feels like something not from this world. The alchemy of our world generally relies on the foundational Earth-Water-Fire-Wind elemental theory, coupled with an externally driven mental construct. This one, however, uses an element structure differentiated by mirror prisms..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"
Lu Mingfei quickly interrupted him, the corner of his mouth twitching as he spoke in the tone of a chronic underachiever: "Uhm, could you briefly summarize the difference between this and our current alchemical system? Keep it simple."

"Keep it simple..."
Constantine thought for a moment, then continued: "Simply put, the four elements of our world are the foundation of the world itself, differentiated from the perspective of the world. But the elements of your Evil Eye are seven elements differentiated from the perspective of light. The source of differentiation and the quantity are completely different, hence the structure is different as well."

"Although both sides possess the fire element, the fire element in Earth-Water-Fire-Wind and the fire in the seven elements differ entirely in their elemental action and composition. After careful observation, I found that while this structure is concise and makes it easy to unleash the power of natural laws, its upper limit is lower than the Earth-Water-Fire-Wind alchemy of our world. However, it is exceptionally well-suited for alchemical novices to replicate blindly."

'Are you implying that I'm an idiot?'
Lu Mingfei complained inwardly, but outwardly he kept smiling and continued to ask, "So, how is your alchemical modification coming along? Your brother is going to arrive soon, you'd better finish it early."

"I finished it ages ago," Constantine said as a matter of course.

"Eh?"
Lu Mingfei froze. He looked at all those drawings and patterns Constantine had been studying, and couldn't help tilting his head slightly as he asked, "Since you were already done, why did you draw so many things?"

"Studying the fundamental principles of alchemical composition—is that really such a hard concept to understand? When encountering things we don't understand, we alchemists must investigate their internal structures, enrich ourselves with knowledge, and step by step march toward the pinnacle of alchemy. That is my little secret for learning," Constantine answered sincerely.

"So... you were... studying?"
Lu Mingfei asked in disbelief.

"That's right. A long time ago, others had also thought of using the mirror-prism principle to differentiate and compose elements, but their understanding of light was insufficiently thorough. Consequently, the efficiency of those alchemical artifacts was far too low, and I consider them relics of a bygone era. This thing has sufficiently high efficiency, and there is much in it worth learning." Constantine took another sip of milk tea, a satisfied smile blooming on his face.

For some people, learning is a process of enjoyment.
For others, learning is a process of suffering.

"Next, I plan to further understand and analyze its internal spatial construction, deconstruct the alchemical circuitry, and see if I can deduce the Evil Eye structures of the other elements... I feel like I've found my purpose in life again. I'm so happy," Constantine said with immense satisfaction.

He could directly deduce the structures of other elements...
Lu Mingfei felt as though his heart had been stabbed once more. Previously, he had felt that although his alchemy wasn't at the absolute top tier, it was already quite impressive. After all, he had inherited the alchemical wisdom of the Earth and Mountain King; by any measure, he was at the Dragon King level.

However, he now understood that even among Dragon Kings, gaps existed. Compared to Constantine, Xia Mi's alchemical knowledge looked like that of an elementary school student, while he was an Einstein-level heavyweight.

They were both Dragon Kings, after all...
Forget it, forget it. For Xia Mi, a top-tier secondary-generation pure-blood, to know a little bit of alchemy was already pretty good. Comparing her to Constantine meant the problem definitely lay with me. How could a cute little shrimp like her have any flaws? She was already quite formidable as a secondary-generation.

Although I obtained her knowledge, there is still so much I need to learn.

After a brief spell of melancholy, Lu Mingfei finally voiced the question hidden deep in his heart: "Isn't alchemy just the process of refining? Why do you need to calculate so many things? Do these things have much to do with alchemy?"

"Not really," Constantine answered candidly.

"Huh? Then why do you still..."
Lu Mingfei was somewhat dumbfounded.

"But without this knowledge, I wouldn't be able to conceive those wild and unrestrained structures. I would have to rely solely on practice to verify their rationality, and the number of attempts required would increase exponentially. That is the most primitive path for an alchemist, and also the hardest one to walk," Constantine said, lowering his gaze.

At that moment, Lu Mingfei had an epiphany.
Wasn't what Constantine described precisely his own bitter experience of grinding the limiter earlier? Lacking knowledge of the principles, not knowing how to use algorithms to verify rationality, the sheer number of required attempts was despairing, and bugs popped up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain—his mental state had almost collapsed.

It was hard... truly hard.

"Then is your causality insertion ready? If you don't have a specific identity, the risk of meeting Norton is very high," Lu Mingfei said.

"It's already prepared. The identity I forged for myself is an orphan with no family and no assets, and you are my only friend. Many people already know this," Constantine replied.

"Then why didn't I feel any abnormality?"
"Causality has no effect on you. Your existence is like a reef in the ocean—regardless of wind and waves, you remain completely unmoved. However, other people have already accepted my existence," Constantine answered.

"Is that so?"
Lu Mingfei subconsciously recalled the time he fought Odin, when the little devil told him he wasn't a Dragon King, but rather a Dragon Sovereign—an existence transcending Nidhogg.

Although the Four Great Monarchs were powerful, they ultimately inherited Nidhogg's power and will. Their strength naturally could not surpass Nidhogg's, let alone shake him, the Dragon Sovereign.

He also said... My honorific name was the Moon Drinker...

In the afternoon.
"Ding~!"
A crisp ringtone sounded from his phone. Lu Mingfei picked it up to check; the caller was Senior Sister Chen Motong. He answered immediately.

"Senior Sister, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you a question: why did I suddenly faint that day?" Chen Motong's voice came from the other end, sounding somewhat chilling.

Odin stepping on a car was the sort of story one might use to fool others, but trying to fool Nono? Forget it. She possessed profiling skills; with careful observation and thought, she could analyze eight or nine out of ten parts of what had happened back then.

So... she had profiled it out...
"That was an accident. I was fighting Odin, after all; how could I not use my full strength?" Lu Mingfei coughed twice and answered with a somewhat awkward expression.

"Couldn't you have stepped a bit further back? Was the front or rear of the car not good enough? Did you really have to knock me out from the roof?" Chen Motong said, brimming with grievance.

Her feeling was akin to teaming up with an ally to fight a high-difficulty boss, only for that ally wielding a long spear to charge in and smack the boss while accidentally knocking her out with the shaft of the spear. It was utterly absurd.

"Sorry, sorry, I really had no choice. If I had stepped on the front or rear and accidentally crushed the car, we wouldn't have been able to get out. You know what the Maybach looks like," Lu Mingfei explained helplessly. He was indeed in the wrong here.

"Hmph! Then do you remember what you promised me?" Chen Motong continued to press.

'Didn't I not promise you yet at that time?'
Lu Mingfei roared inwardly. However, he was indeed at fault for knocking Nono out while stomping on the roof of the car. Making an Evil Eye as compensation was quite reasonable; he might as well craft one for her.

Coincidentally, when he was grinding the limiter earlier, he had also studied the binding structure of the Evil Eye—that is, the locking mechanism. Using the limiter required locking onto Norton, and if the locking mechanism wasn't built right, it would blow up.

Compared to the limiter that inverted amplification into restriction, crafting a special Evil Eye with a binding mechanism just like the Eye of God was actually quite simple... Wasn't this thing just an otherworldly version of the Eye of God anyway?

"Alright, I can forge an alchemical weapon for you that allows you to use your Spiritual Speech. But you mustn't tell anyone else; the thing I'm making for you is called an Eye of God. The attributes currently available to master are only Lightning and Fire. Which one do you want?" Lu Mingfei said.

"I want the Fire-type Eye of God."
Unconcealed delight filled Chen Motong's voice. Making this phone call was precisely for the Eye of God; as for Lu Mingfei knocking her out by accident, she wasn't entirely incapable of understanding. Understanding was one thing, but letting him feel guilty and cashing in on an Eye of God didn't conflict at all.

If worst came to worst, and he didn't agree, she would just glare at him with resentful eyes every time she saw him in the future; this guy definitely wouldn't feel comfortable inside.

"Oh right, do you know about the Academy's mission to protect you recently?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Mhm, I know. He already arrived at my place at noon today. He seems quite reliable."
As she spoke, Chen Motong instinctively glanced toward the door of the ward. Norton had already changed into a suit, his basic appearance tidied up by the people from Cassell College. Wearing black sunglasses, he looked precisely like a meticulous bodyguard.

Calling Lu Mingfei over was the Academy's instruction, but because she trusted Lu Mingfei relatively more, she had smuggled a bit of her own private agenda into the phone call.

To be honest, Chen Motong truly couldn't believe that the man in the black suit standing at her door was the King of Bronze and Fire. This bore no resemblance whatsoever to the King of Bronze and Fire she had read about in ancient texts; the two descriptions were worlds apart, if not entirely opposite.

She had chatted with Norton earlier and asked why he came to work as a bodyguard. He had replied: Because the benefits are good and the pay is high, so he came.

Wait, is this really the King of Bronze and Fire? This guy might actually be a Dragon King? How could he be so ridiculously pragmatic?

"I get it. I'll come over later, and I'll bring a friend along—my best buddy," Lu Mingfei said, keeping his guard up slightly.

"Oh, is it Yan Qing? I know. He'll be entering Cassell College in the future anyway, so letting him experience things in advance... isn't really a big deal," Chen Motong said with a slight nod.

And on Lu Mingfei's face, a satisfied smile gradually emerged. Plan success!