"Xiao Wutong, don't be in such a hurry. Let's head to Ming Dou City. Think about it: the stage for the Holy Grail War has already been set up. The Lu Jingming you are so eager to meet will definitely go there."
Vita slightly narrowed her eyes, an amused expression showing, as if she could already see the spectacular drama about to unfold in Ming Dou City.
Vita had a remarkably clear understanding of the current situation on the Douluo Dalu continent.
She knew very well that the Soul Master Tournament a few months from now was, in reality, the opening ceremony of the Holy Grail War.
In such a major and crucial event, if Lu Jingming was as important as she imagined—a central figure in all the changes—then he would absolutely appear in Ming Dou City.
Conversely, if he didn't show up, it would mean Tang Wutong's father was mistaken, and her own speculations were wrong.
Therefore, all answers would be revealed in Ming Dou City. Vita was eagerly looking forward to seeing the mysterious Lu Jingming in person. She was too curious about what kind of powerful, capable individual could stir up such dramatic changes on this Douluo Dalu continent.
After all, Vita didn't believe that this Douluo Dalu, or its so-called God Realm, possessed the ability to summon her Memory Body to this foreign world.
Observing a different universe—and not just a parallel one, but a completely distinct one—was simply too astonishing.
In Vita's understanding, not even someone as powerful as the Herrscher of the End could achieve such a feat.
"Alright, I'll go discuss it with my Great Father and Second Father. We'll put together a team and participate in the Soul Master Tournament under the name of the Haotian School (Clear Sky Sect)."
Tang Wutong pondered for a moment before slowly nodding. She felt Vita made a valid point.
If Lu Jingming was truly that important, he would very likely become a Master and participate in the Holy Grail War.
Moreover, the St. Freya Academy, being a Soul Master Academy and the champion of the previous two tournaments, would certainly participate in the Soul Master Tournament. Thus, the probability of Lu Jingming appearing was quite high.
"Hehe, Hu! (Win!)"
In the scenic Sea God Island of Shrek Academy, inside the waterside pavilion where the inner court disciples usually rested, a scattering of jade tiles resembling Mahjong lay on a stone table.
A petite girl with a lazy aura, dressed in black and cyan clothing, gently played one of the tiles, a smug smile on her face. This was Qingque.
"Ugh! Qingque, how is your luck so good?"
Xiao Xiao looked at the tiles in her hand, utterly frustrated. She had lost several rounds in a row, and Qingque had successfully won every time.
"Luck is only one part of it. The rest is all thanks to calculation ability. Qingque is really amazing, worthy of being a Servant."
Ning Tian, disguised as a boy with short golden hair, looked at Qingque with admiration.
"This game, called Celestial Jade , was brought by Xiao Xiao's Servant, the girl named Qingque."
Unexpectedly, the game quickly became popular throughout Shrek Academy in a short time.
Ning Tian had thoroughly studied the game and found that while it relied heavily on luck, powerful calculation ability was also indispensable.
As the Young Mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile School, Ning Tian was skilled in multitasking, and her own calculation ability was not low. However, compared to Qingque, she was clearly far behind, which was why she lost more often than she won.
"Not at all, it's all just luck, just luck! Let's keep going," Qingque chuckled, expertly shuffling the tiles again.
She felt this foreign world was absolutely wonderful. Here, she didn't have to work, didn't have to worry about being caught by the Divination Master, and as a Memory Body, she didn't have to worry about explaining things to her parents or discussing those bothersome future plans—since she never had any plans anyway.
This current life was everything she had ever dreamed of. Playing tiles and slacking off every day; life was truly carefree and leisurely.
"Is it really okay for us to be doing this?" Xiao Xiao looked at Ning Tian and Wu Feng with some concern.
Since summoning Qingque, she was often dragged into playing Celestial Jade with her, and she felt like her cultivation time had significantly decreased.
"It's fine, Master. Work and rest in balance, you know. Life can't just be about cultivation!"
Qingque keenly sensed Xiao Xiao's hesitation and quickly offered reassurance, not wanting to lose such a good card-playing companion.
What she said was actually reasonable. With her powerful calculation ability, she had long ago calculated Xiao Xiao's optimal cultivation time and was controlling it. This ensured that Xiao Xiao's cultivation progress wouldn't be delayed, nor would she suffer diminishing returns from being overly tense.
"But aren't we supposed to be preparing for the Holy Grail War?" Xiao Xiao was still a bit hesitant.
She knew that the Academy had invested heavily in their Masters, providing all sorts of precious natural treasures and Soul Bones unconditionally, all with the goal of helping them increase their strength and ultimately win the Holy Grail in the war.
But looking at her Servant, Qingque, who didn't seem to be skilled in combat and just loafed around all day, Xiao Xiao felt a little guilty, especially considering all the benefits the Academy had given them.
"Oh, Master, I, Qingque, am not skilled in fighting, you know. You're not thinking of making me fight those powerful Servants, are you? Besides, the Academy has other Masters and Servants, right? We should just leave the Holy Grail War for them to worry about, and we can cheer them on from the side!"
Qingque quickly tried to discourage Xiao Xiao's idea of seriously preparing for war.
Are you kidding me? Making her participate in the Holy Grail War?
She knew that those Servants were all formidable characters, like demons and spirits. If she charged in with her weak limbs, she probably wouldn't even make a ripple.
She had already divined her own and Xiao Xiao's fortunes: as long as they adhered to the principle of "no initiative, no refusal, and no responsibility," they would be safe.
If they were truly drawn into the core conflict, they wouldn't even know how they died. That was a reading of Great Misfortune!
Just the result she divined scared her heart into a frantic rhythm, let alone the unknown dangers she couldn't divine.
"Xiao Xiao, some Servants truly aren't good at combat. Don't push Qingque too hard. Let's just do what we auxiliary personnel are supposed to do. I believe the Academy will understand."
Ning Tian was quite fond of Qingque and quickly spoke up in her defense.
"Alright then!"
Xiao Xiao hesitated but finally nodded.
She couldn't help but recall the Servants of Bei Bei and the others, who were all indeed very powerful. On second thought, there really was no need to force Qingque onto the battlefield.
The Academy was full of experts, the number of Masters wasn't small, and there was no lack of powerful Servants.
With everyone united, they held a huge advantage in this Holy Grail War, so there was no need to worry excessively.
One more Qingque didn't add much, and one less didn't hurt much.
For instance, Ning Tian herself was a Master, and her summoned Servant—the Saint—had a very special ability. She could not only discern a Servant's data but also receive Revelations, allowing her to make the optimal judgment based solely on intuition. Because of this, she was highly valued by the Academy.
Ning Tian was already outstanding, and her Servant was even more exceptional, being excellent in combat, commanding armies, support, and defense.
In contrast, Qingque did seem inferior and quite ordinary, which was why the Academy was a little disappointed.
But Xiao Xiao always felt that her Servant was playing a role. The lazy nature was probably real, but the ordinary ability? That needed a huge question mark.
As if sensing Xiao Xiao's suspicious gaze, Qingque's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
She silently complained that her Master was just like the Divination Master, always thinking she was capable and trying to increase her workload.
She was just a poor, weak, and helpless little diviner!
She really didn't have much talent, and fighting was something she wouldn't even dare to think about—it was simply too much trouble.
More than the Holy Grail War, all she wanted was to steal some leisure time and play Celestial Jade. She only wanted this experience to be a dream and didn't want to delve too deeply into it.
"Sigh, I wonder what will happen during this Soul Master Tournament? I have a constant twitch in my eye." Xiao Xiao sighed helplessly.
Even she sensed that something unusual was happening.
After all, Shrek Academy's recent actions were highly abnormal: they were on high alert, had formed a Soul Master Legion, and the Soul Tool Department was fully engaged in producing Soul Tools. All of this demonstrated the seriousness of the situation.
Combined with the imminent Holy Grail War, it wasn't hard for her to conclude that the Soul Master Tournament hosted by the Sun Moon Empire this time would be vastly different from previous ones.
"This tournament will be very different and extremely dangerous. The Academy will dispatch a large number of powerhouses, and all of us Masters have to go."
Ning Tian's expression also became solemn.
Her Servant once told her that the Revelations indicated the Sun Moon Empire had prepared a "great gift" for everyone this time.
Although the specifics were unknown, the Revelations showed the result was Great Misfortune.
Of course, Great Misfortune didn't mean there was no room for reversal or that it was a total dead end. Moreover, Revelations weren't always perfectly accurate, so Shrek Academy wouldn't choose to give up because of it.
"Darn it, if only I could be a Master too, then I could protect Ning Tian!"
Wu Feng, standing nearby, tightly clenched her fists, her expression filled with unwillingness.
She had not been chosen as a Master. After experiencing the powerful strength of Ning Tian's Servant, she knew very well that the Holy Grail War was not something she could participate in, nor could she protect Ning Tian in it. How could this not leave her feeling discouraged?
"Feng-mei, you really can't force things like this. Look, there are many inner court seniors in the Academy who are more powerful than me, and they weren't chosen as Masters either. Even the old folks in the Sea God's Pavilion—not one of them was chosen. So, you not being selected truly isn't your fault."
Ning Tian gently shook her head, comforting her with a gentle tone.
She knew Wu Feng must feel bad about not being a Master, but this was genuinely not something an individual could decide.
"Alright, alright, let's not think about those unhappy things anymore. Let's keep playing cards!"
Qingque, noticing the topic was straying from the cards, grew anxious and quickly spoke up.
She really didn't want this game to break up, as playing cards and slacking off was her source of happiness in this foreign world.
But just at that moment, the air suddenly shimmered with strange light particles. As the light flashed, a girl wearing silver and blue armor appeared behind Ning Tian.
She had long, slender legs encased in black stockings, and she firmly held a holy banner in her hand. Her golden hair was neatly tied in a braid that fell down her back, and the proud "great justice" of her chest was particularly eye-catching.
Qingque only needed one look at the newcomer to inwardly cry out in dismay, thinking to herself that the Celestial Jade game was truly over now.
"Master, the Academy is summoning all Masters to the Sea God's Pavilion for a meeting."
The girl's voice was clear and melodious, like a singing oriole, her tone gentle yet firm.
As she spoke, her blue eyes inadvertently glanced at Qingque.
Her ability was quite unique: she could see a Servant's True Name.
However, in this foreign world, this ability seemed to have little practical use. After all, this world didn't have the stories of their original world; even knowing the True Name, what good would it do?
But through this ability, she could also roughly perceive a Servant's strength.
For example, the lazy-looking Lord Jing Yuan gave her a feeling of power far exceeding that of a God.
As for the Qingque before her, while she didn't seem powerful based on sensory perception, the Revelation she received told her never to underestimate her.
"Jeanne d'Arc, I told you not to call me Master! Just call me Ning Tian!" Ning Tian turned to her Servant, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Jeanne d'Arc was indeed an impeccable Servant: a kind Saint, gentle and easy to get along with, capable of charging into battle and supporting her teammates, with first-rate defensive ability.
Not only that, she possessed excellent leadership qualities, able to command armies in battle—truly perfect.
However, her only minor flaw was that she was too earnest and adhered too rigidly to rules, lacking flexibility.
Ning Tian sometimes wondered how wonderful it would be if her Nine Treasures Glazed Tile School could have a guardian like Jeanne d'Arc.
It was a pity the other party was a Servant, but thankfully, no one stipulated that a Servant must disappear after the Holy Grail War ended.
As long as they weren't eliminated, Servants could technically exist indefinitely, provided the negative energy sustaining their existence didn't run out.
Qingque was banking on this very loophole, leisurely playing Celestial Jade and slacking off every day. When she eventually tired of this life, she would simply self-terminate.
"Alright, Ning Tian!"
Jeanne d'Arc smiled helplessly. She was used to it, constantly forgetting that this was a foreign world, and Ning Tian was different from the traditional Mages in their world.
She found this world to be very peculiar. What sustained her existence wasn't Mana but a seemingly dangerous energy.
This energy was somewhat similar to the "Evil of the Present Age" she knew, but it seemed to be bound by some powerful force, preventing it from corrupting their minds. It merely served as energy to maintain their existence.
Moreover, this world had no Mana factors, yet strangely, all her abilities could be used normally, and even her Revelations were effective.
But she could distinctly feel that what responded to her Revelations was not the being she devoutly believed in, but some sort of high-level consciousness of this world.
Thinking about it, her summoning to this foreign world to participate in the Holy Grail War was already full of oddities. Furthermore, there was no Class division like in her original world, and most of the Servants summoned were unfamiliar to her.
Everything felt so strange and unfamiliar. But Jeanne d'Arc was a Saint; she had no special wish to be granted by the Holy Grail and had no intention of fighting for it.
She simply wanted to protect Ning Tian and other innocent people in this strange Holy Grail War.
Thus, she was willing to cooperate with Shrek Academy because, as far as she understood, Shrek Academy had always been committed to maintaining peace on the continent and had even formed an inspection team to punish evil.
Although the Academy had its share of problems, Jeanne d'Arc felt its core ideals were commendable.
However, she hadn't completely understood this world yet, so she didn't fully trust Shrek Academy.
But one thing was clear to her: the Sun Moon Empire clearly intended to incite war. Therefore, Jeanne d'Arc would undoubtedly side with Shrek Academy.
She knew the terrible consequences war would bring, and in the end, it was always the innocent people who suffered.
Although her ability was limited, she wanted to contribute her small part.
"Well, it looks like the game is truly over. I knew nothing good would happen once you showed up."
Qingque helplessly spread her hands, feeling deeply regretful.
Since the Academy was summoning the Masters, the Servants naturally had to follow, and Xiao Xiao couldn't be absent.
"My apologies!" Jeanne d'Arc apologized, feeling a bit guilty that her arrival had interrupted everyone's card game.
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