“3E exam?” Lu Mingfei was dumbfounded. “What 3E exam?”
“A small test. It might be a headache for others, but for an S-Rank student like you, it’ll be a breeze.”
“What does it cover? Is it a standardized test? Multiple-choice and true/false questions only?”
“It’s just the dragon language—Draconic,” Professor Guderian said casually.
Lu Mingfei choked. “You said I could skip foreign languages! Draconic? Dragon writing? How can something like that exist?”
“Draconic isn’t a foreign language… Draconic is one of your native languages; you have dragon blood,” Professor Guderian said. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to study it. Draconic is passed down through the bloodline. Since you’re S-Rank, with an incredibly pure dragon bloodline, when you see Draconic, you’ll naturally understand it.”
Professor Guderian placed both hands on Lu Mingfei’s shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. “Mingfei, focus, listen to every sound I make!”
A series of curled sounds, unlike anything Lu Mingfei had ever heard, emerged from Professor Guderian’s mouth. It was an unimaginable way of pronunciation, a hoarse and deep sound that carried a kingly majesty, like the tolling of a church bell.
Lu Mingfei was stunned, staring blankly at the ceiling, a sorrowful expression spreading across his face.
“Praise the awakening of my king; destruction is rebirth,” Professor Guderian explained. “Mingfei, did you feel the voice of the ancient Dragon King? Seeing your expression, I know—you understood!”
He turned to Finger. “Look, this is the strength of an S-Rank! When you were still A-Rank, you didn’t have this sensitivity to the dragon language.”
Finger waved a hand in front of Lu Mingfei’s vacant eyes. “Yo, looks like he’s had a mental shock, maybe experiencing some ‘Vision’ effect? Are dragon language symbols appearing in his mind?”
“Understand my foot! You must have made a mistake… I really tried to understand, but I still don’t get it!” Lu Mingfei’s face twisted in despair. “Are you sure you didn’t recruit the wrong person? There are others named Lu Mingfei in China, you know.”
“You… you didn’t understand?” Professor Guderian was stunned. “Then why do you look so sad?”
“I’m sad because I don’t understand it, and if I can’t understand it, I won’t pass the test.”
“No… really? You didn’t have any hallucinations? None of that… sense of being summoned by a great ruler?” Professor Guderian was taken aback.
“I felt like you were singing…” Lu Mingfei said cautiously.
Professor Guderian, after a moment of frustration, suddenly regained his scholarly calm. He gripped Lu Mingfei’s shoulders, firmly saying, “The first case! This is the first case! Interesting! Very interesting!”
“What first case?” Finger asked.
“The first dragon-blood descendant to not respond to the Dragon King’s call!” Professor Guderian examined Lu Mingfei, like he was appraising a rare specimen. “You’ve mutated!”
“You’re crazy,” Lu Mingfei retorted.
“Listen to me—reverence for the dragon language is passed down through the dragon bloodline. Any dragon hybrid would respond to this ‘Emperor’s’ world spirit. But you have a genetic mutation, so you’re not sensitive to it. You’re one of a kind!” The old man was excited. “Is this why you were rated as S-Rank?”
“Wait! There’s another possibility, which is that I’m just an ordinary person, right?” Lu Mingfei argued. “Isn’t that explanation much more reasonable?”
“Impossible! The principal would never make a mistake in bloodline assessment.” Professor Guderian rubbed his hands in anticipation. “You must be extraordinary!” But then his face fell. “But what about tomorrow’s 3E exam? Who else will believe that you’re not lacking in bloodline, just mutated?”
“I believe it!” Finger raised his hand. “He looks mutated just by his face!”
“This is tricky… it might affect my professor evaluation,” Professor Guderian scratched his head.
“Professor evaluation? What’s that got to do with it?” Lu Mingfei was puzzled.
“Well, I haven’t yet been promoted to a tenured professor here,” the old man admitted somewhat sheepishly. “I’ve been at the college for over ten years and I’m still an assistant professor. The principal took care of me by assigning you to me, saying you were an unprecedented S-Rank student with unparalleled potential. He said that nurturing you into an outstanding student would be as easy as the New York Yankees winning next year’s MLB championship. Then I can be promoted to a tenured professor.”
“What nonsense is this? Didn’t you say you were originally a professor at Harvard?”
“Yes, but to transfer from a tenured professor at Harvard to a tenured professor at Cassell College, I had to successfully mentor a student.”
Lu Mingfei’s vision darkened. “So… I’m an S-Rank student, and my mentor is an assistant professor with no teaching experience?”
“You can’t put it like that. When I transferred to Cassell College, I mentored a student—his name is Finger…” The old man patted Finger, who stood to the side with an innocent look.
“Oh… So that’s why I got assigned to a dorm with this weirdo Finger?” Lu Mingfei suddenly understood.
“I understand you—you feel hopeless… but face the reality,” Finger sighed. “You really are in a group led by a useless professor, with a senior brother who’s been in college for eight years without graduating, being hunted by all the boys in school. And let me tell you one more depressing piece of news.”
“What?” Lu Mingfei said, “Go ahead! How could it get worse? I don’t believe it!”
“The girl you keep mentioning—Nono or Chen Motong,” Finger whispered into Lu Mingfei’s ear, “she’s Caesar’s girlfriend!”
“Now I believe it…” Lu Mingfei said, feeling a slight twitch in his heart, and suddenly, an emptiness spread inside him.