If one were to judge based on the seventy-six years of life Lu Kang had truly lived, he should have reached a state of being unfazed by honor or disgrace, indifferent to life and death, ready to fight if challenged.
But in reality, after exiting the simulation and sealing away that period of memory, Lu Kang's mentality was still that of the seventeen-year-old youth who joked around with Waver at the Clock Tower. Only when necessary would he call upon the memories of those seventy-six years—to constantly associate, to constantly recall.
So, faced with such a situation, he would of course be eager to try. He wanted to test the power he had obtained in this 'modern' era of 1993.
A humming sound grew more and more intense within the El-Melloi manor. The activated magic workshop continuously surged with natural magical energy from the leyline beneath it. Looking out from the great hall, one could clearly see that the previously normal corridor had completely changed its appearance. Distorted light, a disorienting field of vision, and a domain where wind and fire converged like a flowing river of lava was constructed in the narrow space. A roaring hellhound moved wildly, letting out ferocious growls.
Opposite Lu Kang, the abruptly risen Kayneth frowned deeply. As the master of the workshop, he could clearly feel the threat of the presence outside it. However... they had not directly entered his domain. They were merely mobilizing mystery from the outside, a provocation—a provocation against a Magus Lord, here in London, within the jurisdiction of the Clock Tower!
"The wild dogs of the Department of Policies are truly rampant!" The proud Kayneth laughed in fury, a vein throbbing on his handsome forehead. The man, bathed in the light, made no effort to hide the fire in his heart.
Facing his enraged eyes, Lu Kang just sneered. "I've long heard that the 'Enforcers' of the Department of Policies, relying on the oldest family in the Clock Tower, the Barthomeloi, act with impunity. They say they're one of the twelve departments, but in reality, they don't give a damn about any of the others."
"Now it seems—I've underestimated them. To dare provoke a Lord of the 'Brand' rank... calling them wild dogs is an understatement. I'd call them 'dire wolves'!"
Kayneth glanced at Lu Kang, his eyes dark. "A rather crude provocation."
"But—"
"A promise is a promise. I will certainly fulfill it. In the domain of the Clock Tower, no one can harm you..."
"No," Lu Kang interrupted Kayneth's words. He slowly stood up. "Teacher Kayneth has misunderstood. This time, I have no intention of provoking you."
Kayneth was taken aback. Then he saw Lu Kang wave his hand and heard him say, "I just mean to say, when faced with the provocation of dire wolves, one should beat them down with a stick. Beat them until they're scared—that way, you can prevent the next provocation."
As his words fell, only the echo remained. The youth's final syllable still hung in the air of the living room, but his figure had vanished before Kayneth's eyes.
He's disappeared—? No. Is it an illusion?
Using an illusion to leave behind an afterimage while I was angry, but his real body has long since left this place. This was the characteristic of the instant-cast basic spells of the 'Magecraft of the Mind'. Kayneth's eyes flickered, and he quickly made a judgment. And in the time it took to make that judgment, he had also glimpsed Lu Kang's departing figure.
He had appeared outside the door! Outside the courtyard. Beyond the manor grounds!
In an instant, he had passed through the winding domain and space of the activated magic workshop, bypassing the awakened and vigilant spiritual hellhound. And so, Kayneth's intention to teach the wild dogs a lesson was also abruptly halted. He observed the scene outside through the means of his workshop. He also wanted to see what this successor of the Magecraft of the Mind, who had just had his 'second awakening', could do.
At this moment, under the bright daylight, the wild grass swayed. The afternoon sun poured down, dyeing the leaves of the grove a brilliant gold. Lu Kang, tall and slender, his clothes billowing, slowly walked out from the El-Melloi manor, which seemed to be in another dimension of distorted light and shadow, and onto the small path he had taken to arrive.
The trees on both sides of the road swayed, and solemn figures stood in the shadows.
—Enforcers from the Department of Policies.
They seemed to have guessed someone would come out. And they seemed to have been lying in wait for a long time.
Lu Kang tilted his head and smiled. He thought to himself that this was indeed a good opportunity, a good time to re-establish the Magecraft of the Mind in reality under the name 'Lu Kang'. And on this small path, interwoven with shade, a figure also emerged from the group of waiting Enforcers. A person dressed all in black, clearly the leader, spoke in a deep voice, "Lu Kang, student of the Department of Spiritual Evocation—the Department of Policies, in accordance with the law, is conducting an internal investigation on you."
"Please cooperate with our work and come with us to the department headquarters!"
The so-called Department of Policies, as its name suggests, was different from any other department. It did not teach students but was more like the 'student council' that exists in every school—an organization with immense power, responsible for supervising all the students and even the lecturers of the Clock Tower. Such a reason would be difficult for a normal student to refuse.
But Lu Kang shook his head. "The law? Internal investigation? Who doesn't know that the Department of Policies, backed by the Barthomeloi family, has always disregarded the law?"
"I know what you want to do." He let his hands fall to his sides, his gaze deep. "If you want me to go to the Department of Policies, it's actually very simple."
"Defeat me here."
As the youth's voice fell, a fierce wind suddenly swirled. The lurking Enforcers in the shadows exchanged a glance. They showed no disdain or mockery, even if they might have felt it in their hearts. Every person who joined the Department of Policies was an elite of the Clock Tower, a spellcaster extremely skilled in combat. After graduation, they would all join the Enforcers of Sealing Designations, becoming an important member of the Mage's Association. They didn't think that a Clock Tower student who had seemed perfectly ordinary the day before could pose any threat to them. Even if he possessed the legendary Magecraft of the Mind from The Book of the Law.
But in that instant, they were still on high alert and quickly made a decision. In this moment, the wind moved. And the people moved even more!
The figures in the shadows rushed out. A cold light flashed with sharpness. Amidst the chilling edge, a mystic code was activated.
"Wind from the north, water the earth!" "Fire, bloom." "Fountain of water, lift the dust from the ground!"
The incantations of magecraft sounded in an instant. The pre-inscribed formulas on the Enforcers' bodies glowed with a bright light. Raging flames, like a scorching red lotus blooming in the void, fell from the sky, pressing down on where Lu Kang stood. The ground churned with dust, and a golden spring also welled up, like a golden lotus about to envelop him!
Compared to concepts, spellcasters proficient in combat have always preferred to use elemental magecraft that can cause substantial damage. Directly mobilizing the visible elements of the natural world to form an attack often has a greater effect! From the very beginning, they were using their full strength.
Beneath the elements, many close-combat magi also drew longswords or daggers, Mystic Codes, and activated the mystic formulas of cutting and severing concepts attached to them! They didn't seem to be afraid of hurting Lu Kang—the Department of Policies not only had formidable combat power but also extremely powerful healing-type magi. With the help of mystic means, as long as he wasn't instantly turned to dust, he could be restored to his original state.
And facing these magical attacks coming from all directions, Lu Kang stood firm. His deep brown eyes were filled with the light and shadow of water and fire. But then he closed his eyes. The light and shadow vanished from his eyelids.
And so—the wind abruptly ceased. The fire was directly extinguished! The water was instantly forced back into the ground, as if flowing in reverse.
Stagnation, suffocation, backflow. With a single thought, the Magecraft of the Mind, faster than activating a pre-inscribed formula, manifested in an instant!
With a cry, the spellcasters, whose formulas had been forcibly stopped, all felt the oppression of a higher mystery. Their faces turned pale, and they staggered back. Though surprised, they were prepared. The close-combat magi who had drawn their swords and daggers instantly charged forward! They took over from the elemental attack. From all directions, they simultaneously thrust their weapons at the youth who had just activated his magecraft. They were exploiting the time lag.
This was what it meant to be on high alert. No matter how weak the enemy seemed, the Enforcers of the Department of Policies would never underestimate any opponent!
However, a second later, as their blades fell, what they saw was not a severed torso, but an even stronger mystery and impact coming towards them! With a loud boom, the close-combat magi who had charged forward were sent flying before they even got close!
Layers of feathers bloomed. Layers of brilliance flickered. The student's outer coat that Lu Kang wore was interwoven with a fine, circuit-like silver—it was a mystic code, and it represented a sanctuary of magecraft! It repelled all external intrusions, unstoppable!
With a loud thud, deep within the El-Melloi manor, Kayneth, who had just sat back down, shot up again. The violent movement directly overturned the chair he was sitting on, but he didn't notice. He just stared intently at the scene outside the manor! He could, of course, see what the brilliant light shining from Lu Kang's body represented. It was a mystic code that formed a Bounded Field. It was a Mystic Code inscribed with a 'magic workshop'—a Sanctuary-type spell.
But if he remembered correctly, that outer coat, just a moment ago, was just an ordinary Clock Tower student uniform! Not only could he cast spells with a thought, he could also... in an instant... shape a powerful Mystic Code! Although it might only exist temporarily.
However, this was something the current Lu Kang could indeed do. Even if his magical energy was far from its peak, even if his body was not as polished as the soul-materialized projection, by relying on the exquisite control over mystery gained from seventy-six years of research, many things could be accomplished with minimal cost. Now, aside from Great Magecraft that required multiple people and long chants, he could basically perform any other spell instantly, briefly materializing and inscribing the formula onto an object!
Yes. At this moment, the memories of seventy-six years of life were fully displayed in his mind's eye. His appearance was still young. But the light flashing in his eyes seemed to have been weathered by the vicissitudes of time...
"He is like a saint, and also like a common man.""Like an old man, and also like a child.""The ultimate good and the ultimate evil, the ultimate purity and the ultimate commonness, the ultimate divinity and the ultimate demon."
The theoretical records from The Book of the Law were truly manifested in Lu Kang at this moment! And this scene was also like many years ago.
'He walks in the jungle of mystery. Along the way, he cuts through thorns and brambles.' —From "The El-Melloi Diary"
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