Lu Jingming cast a deep gaze at Miyabi in the arena.
Her black hair fell like a waterfall, her aura icy and aloof as frost, as if she kept people a thousand miles away.
And yet, the pair of striking fox ears on her head sharply contrasted with that chill, lending her an undeniable cuteness.
Her outfit was both modest and bold. In particular, her legs wrapped in black stockings were long, strong, and beautifully contoured—hard to look away from once your eyes were drawn.
Though a bit on the short side, Miyabi was surprisingly voluptuous—the sort who couldn't see her toes when she looked down.
Her incisive swordsmanship, rich combat experience, and bone-chilling frost power all proclaimed that her strength was not to be underestimated.
For Meng Hongchen to draw this top-tier combatant from the world of Zenless Zone Zero—the youngest Hollow-hunter in history—one had to admit her luck was excellent.
Miyabi's fierce opponent was likewise a Servant, whose Master was Wang Qiu'er, watching from the other side.
This Servant, like Miyabi, was a grind fiend who honed herself through constant training and battle: the mightiest Valkyrie of Schicksal—Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina.
When two women who were both beautiful and strong met, it was only natural sparks would fly.
Ever since they met, Miyabi and Durandal had often arranged to train and spar together, as if each had found her best rival and partner.
Their friendship heated up quickly, to the point it seemed even deeper than the bonds between their respective Masters.
Compared to Miyabi, who stood only about 1.7 meters even with her fox ears, Durandal was much taller.
She stood straight and valiant, exuding a unique aura that was both dashing and beautiful.
At the moment Durandal wore the blue-and-white Valkyrie battlesuit Bright Knight: Excelsis, gripping the Sixth Divine Key, Black Abyss White Flower.
The smooth, glowing lines of that blue-and-white armor paired perfectly with the eerie radiance of Black Abyss White Flower, lending her even more heroic presence.
If Black Abyss White Flower in Durandal's hands weren't merely a weapon rather than a martial soul, those who saw it might well have mistaken her for some blood relation of Lu Jingming—his elder or younger sister, perhaps.
After all, on the Douluo Continent, martial souls often signify bloodline inheritance; those who share the same martial soul usually have some ancestral link by blood.
Though Durandal was only a memory construct, her capabilities were all intact.
The Black Abyss White Flower she held might not match the overwhelming power of the original, but the Authority of Withering and Creation within it was the real thing.
Lu Jingming still remembered the especially amusing expression on Gu Yue's face when she saw Durandal wield Black Abyss White Flower, which made him chuckle on the spot.
"Partner, I can't wait to get in there and fight. Any way to make that happen? Have your sister's Servant fight me!"
While everyone was focused on the spectacle in the arena, someone could no longer hold back.
The speaker was a young man standing next to Xiao Hongchen. He wore gray, had short orange hair, a red mask slanted across his face, and a slender build.
At this moment, his eyes burned as he stared fixedly at Miyabi and Durandal. It wasn't simple appreciation of beauty, but the blazing fighting spirit of a man who had spotted a worthy opponent.
Xiao Hongchen—whom he'd just called "partner"—twitched at the corner of his mouth when he heard this.
His Servant was indeed strong, but an out-and-out battle maniac who'd practically challenged every strong fighter he could find lately.
He didn't even spare Jingliu; that time, Jingliu beat him half to death without effort, and he never dared challenge her again.
According to him, Jingliu reminded him of his master and brought back unpleasant memories. Besides, the gap was simply too big—such fights didn't get his blood pumping as fair bouts would; they were one-sided steamrolls.
Though obsessed with fighting, this young man wasn't simple-minded.
He knew how to adapt; to achieve his aims he'd use methods other than a straight-up fight when needed.
Even so, deep down he still preferred the straightforward thrill of battle.
He could also rein in his urges and not be entirely ruled by instinct.
This young man was the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers—Childe, Tartaglia—summoned as Xiao Hongchen's Servant.
On the very first day he was summoned, he unceremoniously gave his own Master a beating, under the pretext that only by fighting could they understand each other, build trust, and become friends.
Though Xiao Hongchen was relatively weaker, Childe just barely acknowledged him as his Master, deciding that while weak, he had room to grow. Thus Xiao Hongchen earned the title "partner."
Looking at Childe, Lu Jingming couldn't help thinking of his teacher, Skirk—that cool, sword-wielding woman so like Jingliu.
If master and disciple went at it, it would be quite the show—one to savor.
"My sister's Servant won't do. Why don't you go fight him?" Xiao Hongchen glanced at Lu Jingming—who happened to be holding his little sister—and a wicked thought sprouted; he couldn't help egging Childe on to challenge Lu Jingming.
In his view, whoever won would be fine by him.
To Xiao Hongchen, both of them were pretty insufferable.
One only cared about fighting and even dared lay hands on his own Master; the other was the scumbag who stole his sister's heart.
If not for the disparity in strength, he would already have challenged Lu Jingming to a brawl.
In Xiao Hongchen's eyes, if Lu Jingming weren't so much of a flirt, then with his strength, talent, and background, it wouldn't be impossible to accept him as a brother-in-law.
But Lu Jingming had far too many close female companions around him; Xiao Hongchen felt Meng Hongchen wouldn't be happy with him.
As a noble himself, he was all too familiar with the chaotic private lives of the nobility and their cold-blooded fickleness. So he firmly opposed Meng Hongchen being with Lu Jingming.
He didn't care about other people's romances, but he absolutely refused to watch his sister become like some noble's ignored wife or concubine, without status and suffering in silence.
Lu Jingming understood this concern very well, and so had a fairly favorable impression of this would-be brother-in-law—at least he could tell Xiao Hongchen genuinely cared about Meng Hongchen.
As for Xiao Hongchen's worries, Lu Jingming figured he wasn't a traditional noble of this world and wouldn't do something so heartless.
He might be affectionate, but he was sincere to every girl and took meticulous care of them; he would never let them suffer grievances.
Of course, girls getting a little jealous now and then was only natural—and he couldn't really prevent that.
"Partner, that's your brother-in-law, right? You got beef with him?"
Though battle-obsessed, Childe was a shrewd Fatui Harbinger; he immediately sensed Xiao Hongchen's little scheme.
"He's not yet! Well, are you going to fight or not?"
Hearing Childe, Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched again, his expression instantly becoming quite a picture.
"Fight? Of course I'm fighting. I could feel the fighting spirit on that brother of yours from afar. He's clearly a tough opponent—way stronger than you, partner."
Naturally, Childe would never refuse a bout with a strong foe. Even knowing Xiao Hongchen was using him, he didn't mind in the least.
Not only that, he didn't spare Xiao Hongchen with his tongue either, slipping in a sly jab.
Xiao Hongchen's face contorted at that.
What do you mean "way stronger than me"? As if he were weak.
Back in the day, he was the number-one genius of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!