With the World Tree authorityLu Jingming controlled, he could instantly sever the energy flow in the leylines and foil Celenova's plot.
Though he could intercept Celenova's gains, Lu Jingming chose not to.
His fingertip lightly traced the void, and the patterns of the leyline network lit up before him like countless glowing blood vessels. He could clearly "feel" the flow of negative energy—the desire for destruction from every explosion, the despair brought by every death, the resentment bred by every betrayal... these dark forces were slowly converging along the leylines, ultimately flowing to two endpoints: Celenova and the Holy Grail. The negative energy absorbed by Celenova strengthened her power. The negative energy absorbed by the Holy Grail was purified, reversed into positive energy, and fed back to the planet beneath their feet.
"Sacrifice the small self to complete the great self..." Lu Jingming murmured softly, his tone devoid of emotion.
This phrase was once an excuse for the powerful to oppress the weak, but now it had become a principle he personally upheld. The Soul Masters and commoners who died in Mingdu, the Soul Beasts wailing in the crucible of war—their sacrifice was an unmitigated tragedy for the individual. Yet, on the timeline of the planet, it might truly be the necessary "nourishment."
He was no saint, not even a good person. To achieve the goal of elevating this planet and building a future capable of holding more possibilities, he had tacitly allowed this disaster to happen. The faces of the sacrificed flashed in his mind, blurry as if they had never existed—he didn't even know their names.
This was reality. The ambition of the powerful was always built upon a foundation of white bones. The only thing he could do was guard his own bottom line.
"At least..."
Lu Jingming clenched his fist, and the World Tree Stigmata pattern on his hand glowed faintly. "I will bring back these commoners who died in Mingdu."
As for anything more, he couldn't and didn't want to do it.
The sound of explosions from a distance drifted on the night wind—the battle between Feixiao and the Doomsday Beast was still raging. Lu Jingming looked in the direction of the extra-dimensional space opened by Celenova, a meaningful curve hooking up his lips. He could roughly guess the Annihilation Monarch's scheme. After all, he had considered this path before. It was only because Celenova was not her true self and had limited power that she needed slaughter and destruction to accumulate more strength to achieve her ultimate goal.
"I can feel it. This planet is undergoing a metamorphosis."
Hysilens's figure appeared behind Lu Jingming at some unknown point. Her sea-breeze-like aura carried her words, her tone laced with an inexpressible complexity.
"Is this the result you wanted?"
Lu Jingming chuckled, unsurprised by Hysilens's perceptiveness. As a demigod who commanded part of the ocean authority, it was natural for her to sense these changes. The ocean was the source of the planet's life. When a planet evolves, the ocean, as the source of life, is bound to change first.
"A demigod of the ocean, indeed,"
He turned around, meeting Hysilens's gaze. "That's right. I want to make this planet stronger—strong enough to bear a broader future."
"The energy concentration in the deep ocean is climbing,"
Hysilens slowly stated her findings, her voice complex. "This change is spreading toward the land and will cover the entire planet before long. Even the ocean's area is expanding, but not by engulfing the land—the planet itself is 'growing.' New elements and substances are being born, just like... a seed breaking its shell."
Her gaze toward Lu Jingming grew increasingly complex. To the Soul Masters, commoners, and even Soul Beasts who died in the flames of war, Lu Jingming was undoubtedly the instigator of this disaster, a villain whose hands were stained with blood. But for the continuation of the planet's civilization and for the beings who would benefit from it in the future, he was like a pioneer cleaving through chaos.
Hysilens suddenly remembered her own past. To pioneer the Voyage of the Flame-Chasers, she once slew sixty thousand enemies on the battlefield. Were those lives that fell beneath her sword not stepping stones for the Voyage of the Flame-Chasers?
She had no standing to criticize Lu Jingming; in fact, she vaguely agreed with this "necessary evil" deep down. For a more worthy future, sacrifice was never avoidable—at least that was true for them, the "players" standing outside the chessboard. She didn't know Lu Jingming had a hidden revival plan; otherwise, her view of him might have been even more complicated.
"If you want to stay in this world, or help Jiujiu contend for a God Position,"
Lu Jingming didn't want to dwell on the heavy topic, shifting the subject. "Go hunt the other Servants."
Hysilens nodded in agreement and then turned to leave. She would have done this even without Lu Jingming's instruction. While the God Position was no longer unique and more than one Servant could remain, the slots were still limited, and competition was inevitable. She was unwilling to attack her allies, so she could only target the enemy Servants. This ocean demigod, who once annihilated tens of thousands of enemy troops in one battle, was both a God of Slaughter and a God of War. She was among the top-tier of all summoned Servants. Except for a few overpowered existences like Feixiao, Jing Yuan, and Celenova, few could match her.
Lu Jingming had reason to believe that, barring any accidents, Hysilens would be one of the final victors—of course, this was also because she was Xu Jiujiu's Servant and "one of their own."
"Go. Step onto the stage."
Lu Jingming's voice was like an invisible horn, echoing in the ears of Servants like Durandal and Klydelia. "Your script has begun. All actors are present."
"I was waiting for you to say that."
Klydelia put away the golden chessboard and pieces before him upon hearing this, a calm smile curving his lips. His gaze turned toward the returning Hysilens.
"My Sword Knight, as always, ride out with me and return in triumph."
"As you command, Caesar."
Hysilens saluted, her elegant posture brimming with surging battle intent. Her sword was drawn, its sharpness fully exposed.
"Do I have to go too?"
Raiden Mei's figure appeared behind Lu Jingming. She was aware of her unique status—as the planner of the Holy Grail War and Lu Jingming's Servant, she didn't necessarily need to be on the battlefield.
"You will move with me,"
A strange look flashed in Lu Jingming's eyes. "And we'll go see a 'friend,'" he said. "Should... she be considered a friend?"
He had discovered Vita among the Servants this time. Mei might know her, but whether they were friends was debatable.
"A friend?"
Raiden Mei frowned. Were there Servants other than Durandal and Songque from the same world as her?
"You'll know when you see her," Lu Jingming laughed. Given Vita's reputation as a "bad woman" in the Honkai world, Mei probably didn't want to see her.
"I don't like riddlers."
Raiden Mei stared at him intently, her eyes seemingly weighing the best place to make a cut.
"Fine, it's Vita."
Lu Jingming's mouth twitched. To avoid finding strange "things" in his food next time, it was best not to offend this Cooking Master.
"Her?"
Raiden Mei's tone was instantly filled with disdain. No one liked people who enjoyed playing tricks on others, especially when they made you their source of fun. But disdain aside, hearing a familiar name in an alien world still caused a subtle ripple in her heart. Taking this opportunity to "teach" Vita a lesson didn't sound so bad after all.
Meanwhile, Gu Yue summoned Wang Qiu'er and said in a deep voice, "Qiu'er, you take Durandal and go too. You must have sensed that something is missing from you. Go kill her and become a complete individual."
Wang Qiu'er was stunned, then nodded. "I understand."
After breaking through to Soul Sage, without a certain God King's secret manipulation, she could finally clearly sense her incompleteness—the missing piece was in Mingdu. By devouring the other person, she could become completely whole, a truly independent individual.
Gu Yue's eyes were profoundly deep. The time was right. Sea God Tang San was preoccupied and unable to interfere with the Douluo Continent. Tang Wutong only carried a wisp of the Sea God's Divine Sense at most. If Wang Qiu'er could kill and absorb Tang Wutong, she could replace her existence—meaning the Imperial Golden Beast and Tang Wutong would merge, but with Wang Qiu'er as the dominant personality. Wang Qiu'er's self-identity was always that of a Soul Beast, the Imperial Golden Beast. Even after achieving completeness, she would never acknowledge Tang San. If the Sea God wanted her to call him "father," he would surely be met with the merciless piercing of the Golden Dragon Spear. This was precisely Gu Yue's revenge against Tang San for plotting against the Imperial Golden Beast and the Soul Beast race.
"Miss Durandal, Qiu'er is entrusted to you."
Gu Yue looked at Durandal. Wang Qiu'er and Tang Wutong were evenly matched. The variable lay with the Clear Sky Sect and Tang Wutong's Servant. But Wang Qiu'er wasn't fighting alone—with Gu Yue and Lu Jingming as backup, the chances of victory were high.
"Though I don't quite understand, I will defeat all enemies!"
Durandal didn't know the relationship between Tang Wutong and Wang Qiu'er or the complicated schemes involved, but she only needed to defeat the enemy. She didn't need to overthink it. As long as the outcome was good, she could tolerate the process.
"Istaroth, will you go with them?"
Gu Yue then turned to the Servant next to her.
Istaroth shook her head languidly. "Not interested. It's boring."
For Istaroth, neither the Holy Grail nor the God Position held any attraction. She only wanted to use her authority to record the world; everything else was of little concern. If Gu Yue wanted a God Position, she might reluctantly motivate herself to help Gu Yue compete for the Holy Grail. After all, Gu Yue was the Master who summoned her, bringing her to an alien world to record a different history. This much return she was willing to give. But Gu Yue had already stated she didn't need a God Position. Her true form, the Silver Dragon King, was a God King-level God Position, bound to her bloodline and integrated into it. As long as one possessed the Silver Dragon King's bloodline, they essentially possessed the Silver Dragon King God King-level God Position, making other God Positions unnecessary. Gu Yue was uninterested in the Holy Grail, and Istaroth was also uninterested. This pair of Master and Servant had opted out of the competition from the start.
"Damn it! Who is it? Who dared to steal little Sparkle's director's seat? I'm so angry!"
Sparkle stomped her foot forcefully, her cheeks slightly puffed out with rage. Her fiery red outfit was like a burning flame, complementing her current bristling appearance. Before coming to Mingdu, she had meticulously planned the storyboards for every battle, down to the dialogue. She even worked through the night to write the chance-encountered Vita into the script, all ready to stage a "Holy Grail War Blockbuster" under her direction. But who would have thought that the damn Annihilation Monarch would just flip the table!
The Antimatter Legion swarmed in, instantly shredding her carefully designed plotlines. In one night, Director Sparkle was relegated from a strategizing mastermind to an "extra" chased by the war. How could she swallow this indignity?
"Hmph, so what if the script is torn?"
Sparkle clenched her fists, and a cunning light suddenly flashed in her light-red eyes, a mischievous smile curving her lips.
"Adult Sparkle won't be an actress who's told what to do! I'll go settle the score with that mastermind right now!"
She was no naïve simpleton. As a Masked Fool, how could she not see the deeper game hidden behind this Holy Grail War? Even existences like the Annihilation Monarch Celenova, and the two Emanators of the Hunt, Jing Yuan and Jingliu, were essentially just pieces dancing on a stage. Previously, she was too lazy to look deeply, as watching everyone follow her script was more fun. But now the fun was gone. Simply fighting other Servants or trying to chew on the hard bone that was Celenova was too boring. Compared to that, exposing the one hiding behind the scenes seemed like more fun.
Just as Sparkle turned to search for the supposed mastermind, her gaze swept over the half-collapsed clock tower on the street corner. "What's the fun in finding the mastermind directly?"
Sparkle's eyes grew brighter, like a child who had discovered a new toy. She clapped her hands. "How about... we change the game?"
She had found a better toy, one that could make this Holy Grail War more fun. It was more interesting than seeking out the mastermind. A Masked Fool never lacked fun; they just needed to create it themselves.
Her figure flickered, silently slipping into the ruins of the clock tower as if merging with the shadows. Her silvery, bell-like laughter echoed through the ruins. Instead of going directly for the player, why not become the most troublesome piece? The mere thought of the player's exasperated look made Sparkle want to laugh.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingming stood at the highest point of the Wuchang Celestial Platform. His heart suddenly stirred, and his brow furrowed involuntarily.
"Hmm?"
He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling as if someone was secretly talking about him.
"It can't be those two thinking of causing trouble for me, right?"
Lu Jingming sighed helplessly, and two faces instantly surfaced in his mind—Sparkle, with her light-red eyes always gleaming with mischief, and Vita, that bad woman. Neither of these two "Masked Fools" was easy to deal with. If they were to team up, they might pull off something completely mind-boggling.
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