"Don't worry, little Wutong. Let's go to Mingdu. Think about it—the stage for the Holy Grail War has already been set. The Lu Jingming you want to see will definitely go."
Vita narrowed her eyes with interest, as if she could already see the spectacular play about to unfold in Mingdu.
She saw the current situation on the Douluo Continent with great clarity.
She knew that the soul master tournament in a few months was essentially the opening ceremony of the Holy Grail War.
In such a major, pivotal event, if Lu Jingming was as important as she imagined—at the center of everything—he would absolutely be in Mingdu.
If not, then Tang Wutong's father had misjudged, and so had she.
So the answers lay in Mingdu. Vita was eager to see this mysterious Lu Jingming—just what kind of figure could stir the continent into upheaval?
After all, she didn't believe the Douluo Continent or its so-called God Realm alone could summon her memory body across universes.
To observe a foreign universe—one not parallel but a wholly different cosmos—was staggering.
In Vita's understanding, even an End-level being could not do that.
"Alright, I'll talk with my godfather and god-uncle and assemble a team to enter the tournament under the Clear Sky Sect's banner."
Tang Wutong thought for a moment and nodded. Vita made sense.
If Lu Jingming was that important, he might become a Master and join the Holy Grail War.
And St. Freya Academy, a two-time champion soul master academy, would certainly enter. That would make Lu Jingming's appearance likely.
…
"Hee-hee, mahjong!"
On Shrek Academy's scenic Sea God Island, at the lakeside pavilion where inner court disciples usually relaxed, a stone table lay scattered with jade tiles that looked like mahjong.
A petite, lazy-aura girl in dark teal-black attire tossed a tile down with a triumphant smile.
"Ah! Qingque, how is your luck so good?"
Xiao Xiao looked glumly at her hand. She had lost several rounds in a row, each time to Qingque's winning hand.
"Luck is one factor, but calculation matters more. Qingque is really amazing—not surprising for a Servant."
Ning Tian, cross-dressing with short golden hair, looked full of admiration.
The game—Imperial Jade of the Grand Terrace—was brought by Xiao Xiao's Servant, the girl named Qingque.
Unexpectedly, the game had swept through Shrek Academy in no time.
Ning Tian had studied it deeply. Though it relied a lot on luck, powerful calculation was equally critical.
As the young lady of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Tian was adept at multitasking and no slouch at calculations. But compared to Qingque, she still fell far short—hence more losses than wins.
"Oh, it's just luck, luck! Let's keep going." Qingque chuckled and deftly started shuffling again.
She thought this otherworld was fantastic—no work, no fear of being caught slacking by Lord Diviner, and as a memory body, no need to explain anything to parents or discuss headache-inducing future plans. She'd never had any plans anyway.
This was her dream life: play tiles and loaf every day, carefree and at ease.
"Is this really okay for us?" Xiao Xiao looked worriedly at Ning Tian and Wu Feng.
Ever since summoning Qingque, she'd been dragged into long sessions of Imperial Jade by her, feeling like her cultivation time had dropped a lot.
"It's fine, Master. Work-life balance! Life can't be only cultivation!"
Sensing Xiao Xiao's hesitation, Qingque hurried to reassure her—she didn't want to lose a tile buddy.
She wasn't entirely wrong. With her powerful calculation, she had already computed Xiao Xiao's optimal cultivation schedule and kept it under control—without slowing her growth or making her so tense that she'd get diminishing returns.
"But aren't we supposed to prepare for the Holy Grail War?" Xiao Xiao still hesitated.
She knew the academy had invested heavily in the Masters—offering rare treasures and soul bones unconditionally—to boost their strength and win the Grail.
But looking at her Servant Qingque, who didn't seem good at fighting and just wanted to loaf, she felt guilty. The academy had given them so much.
"Ah, Master, I'm not good at fighting. You're not seriously sending me against those scary Servants, are you? The academy has other Masters and Servants. Let them worry about the Holy Grail War. We'll cheer from the sidelines!"
Qingque quickly derailed Xiao Xiao's urge to train hard.
Fight in the Holy Grail War? No way.
She knew those Servants were monstrous. With her small arms and legs, she'd barely make a splash.
She'd cast the lots for herself and Xiao Xiao: as long as they held to the principle of not initiating, not refusing, not taking responsibility, they'd be safe.
If they got dragged into the core battles, they wouldn't even know how they died—that was a dire omen!
Just from what she could divine, her heart thumped with fear, not to mention dangers she couldn't foresee.
"Xiao Xiao, some Servants really aren't fighters. Don't push Qingque too hard. Let's do our support role well. I think the academy will understand."
Ning Tian liked Qingque and quickly spoke up for her.
"Alright."
Xiao Xiao hesitated but nodded.
She recalled Bei Bei and others—their Servants were very strong. Thinking it through, there was no need to force Qingque into battle.
The academy was full of experts, and there were many Masters, plenty with powerful Servants.
Together, they held a great advantage in this Holy Grail War; there was no need to worry too much.
One Qingque more or less wouldn't change much.
Take Ning Tian here—she was also a Master. Her summoned Servant—the Saint—had a very special ability: she could see Servants' data and receive Revelations, making optimal choices by intuition. The academy valued her highly.
Ning Tian was already outstanding, and her Servant excelled in combat, command, support, and defense—well-rounded and brilliant.
By contrast, Qingque seemed much weaker—quite mediocre—leading to some disappointment at the academy.
But Xiao Xiao always felt her Servant was putting on an act. The loafing was real, but that mediocre ability deserved a big question mark.
As if sensing Xiao Xiao's suspicious glance, the corner of Qingque's mouth twitched.
She griped inwardly—why was her Master like Lord Diviner, always thinking she was capable and trying to increase her workload?
She was a pitiful, weak, helpless little diviner!
She really had no great skills; fighting was too much trouble to even consider.
More than the Holy Grail War, she just wanted to sneak in some leisure time and play Imperial Jade. She wanted to treat this experience as a dream, with no desire to dig deeper.
"Sigh, I wonder what will happen at this soul master tournament. My eyelids keep twitching."
Xiao Xiao sighed helplessly.
Even she sensed something out of the ordinary.
Shrek Academy had been acting strangely—on high alert. They'd formed soul master legions, and the Soul Tool Department was all-in on equipment. That proved the severity.
Coupled with the imminent Holy Grail War, it wasn't hard to guess that this tournament in the Sun-Moon Empire would be different from any before.
"This tournament will be very different and very dangerous. The academy will deploy many strong people. All we Masters must go."
Ning Tian's expression grew solemn.
Her Servant had told her that the Revelations showed the Sun-Moon Empire had prepared a big gift for everyone.
Though the specifics were unclear, the Revelation read great misfortune.
Of course, even dire omens weren't absolute—there could be a way through. And Revelations weren't always perfectly accurate, so Shrek wouldn't abandon the event.
"Damn, if only I could become a Master too—I could protect Ning Tian!"
Wu Feng clenched her fists tightly, full of frustration.
She hadn't been chosen as a Master. After seeing the power of Ning Tian's Servant, she knew she had no place in the Holy Grail War and couldn't protect Ning Tian—how could she not feel disheartened?
"Wu Feng, you can't force this. Look around—many inner-court seniors stronger than me weren't chosen as Masters. Even the Sea God Pavilion Elders—none of them were chosen. So don't blame yourself."
Ning Tian shook her head gently, comforting her.
She understood Wu Feng felt bad, but it wasn't something anyone could decide.
"Okay, okay, let's not think about unhappy things. Let's keep playing!"
Qingque, seeing the topic drifting away from tiles, grew anxious and quickly spoke up.
She didn't want the game to break up—the tiles-and-loaf life was her joy in this world.
But right then, motes of strange light flickered in the air, and a girl in silver-blue armor appeared behind Ning Tian.
She had long legs wrapped in black stockings, held a holy standard in her hands, her golden hair braided neatly down her back, and the majestic ample chest upon drew the eye.
One glance, and Qingque wailed inwardly—there goes our Imperial Jade session.
"Master, the academy has summoned all Masters to convene at the Sea God Pavilion."
Her voice was crisp and pleasant like an oriole's, gentle yet firm.
As she spoke, her blue eyes glanced, unintentionally, at Qingque.
Her ability was special—she could see a Servant's true name.
But in this otherworld, it wasn't very useful; this world didn't have their myths, so what if she knew a name?
However, with that ability she could roughly gauge a Servant's strength.
For example, that languid Mr. Jing Yuan gave her a sense of power greater than gods.
As for Qingque, while she didn't feel very strong, the Revelation warned her not to underestimate her.
"Jeanne, I told you—don't call me Master. Call me Ning Tian!"
Ning Tian turned to her Servant with a hint of exasperation.
Jeanne was an impeccable Servant—a kind saint, gentle and easygoing, able to charge in battle, support allies, and excel at defense.
She also had outstanding leadership and could command armies—a paragon.
Her one small flaw was being too literal—too rigid about rules and not very flexible.
Ning Tian sometimes thought that if her Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had a guardian like Jeanne, it would be ideal.
Too bad she was a Servant. Still, no one said a Servant must vanish after the Holy Grail War.
As long as they weren't destroyed, Servants could continue to exist—provided the negative energy that sustained them didn't run out.
Qingque had long planned exactly that—loaf around playing Imperial Jade every day, and when she got bored, bow out on her own terms.
"Alright, Ning Tian."
Jeanne smiled helplessly. She kept forgetting this was another world, and Ning Tian wasn't like the traditional magi of her own.
She found this world peculiar. What sustained her wasn't mana, but a seemingly dangerous energy.
It was somewhat like the Angra mainyu she knew, yet bound by some mighty force so it didn't corrupt their minds, serving only as fuel for existence.
And although this world lacked mana particles, her abilities worked fine—even Revelations functioned.
But she could clearly feel that the one responding to her Revelations was not the being she devoutly worshiped, but a higher consciousness of this world.
Thinking carefully, everything about being summoned here for a Holy Grail War was strange. There were no familiar class divisions, and most Servants summoned were unknown to her.
Everything felt unfamiliar and odd. But as a saint, Jeanne had no special wish to realize via the Grail and no intent to claim it.
She simply wanted to protect Ning Tian and other innocents in this bizarre Grail War.
So she was happy to cooperate with Shrek Academy. From what she learned, Shrek had always upheld continental peace and formed supervisory teams to punish evil.
Though the academy had its problems, Jeanne approved of its ideals.
She hadn't fully understood this world, so she didn't fully trust Shrek yet.
But one thing was clear: the Sun-Moon Empire intended to stir up war. Jeanne would unhesitatingly stand with Shrek.
She knew well how horrific war's consequences were—the ones to suffer in the end were innocent commoners.
Though limited, she wanted to do her part.
"Well, looks like the game's off. I knew nothing good would happen when you showed up."
Qingque spread her hands helplessly, full of regret.
Since the academy had summoned the Masters, Servants had to follow, and Xiao Xiao certainly couldn't be absent.
"Sorry!"
Jeanne looked apologetic. She, too, felt bad that her arrival had interrupted their game.