After leaving the Extreme North, Skirk took Bai Xiuxiu toward Dragon City.
Dragon City was the closest city to the Extreme North, and they needed to resupply there.
The journey to the Sun Moon Empire was long. They needed a detailed map to guide their way and to prepare all kinds of supplies.
As a servant, Skirk only needed negative energy to maintain her existence—these supplies weren't necessary for her.
But Bai Xiuxiu was different. She needed normal food to keep her body functioning.
They also needed to get the latest news on the Holy Grail War in Dragon City to prepare for their next moves.
Although Dragon City was covered in thick snow, the bustling crowds showed no sign of decreasing—the city was still as lively as ever.
Skirk and Bai Xiuxiu entered the city with the crowd. Strangely, they weren't questioned or stopped by any guards.
Skirk was stunningly beautiful, like a fairy from a painting, and Bai Xiuxiu, though young, was already an exquisite beauty. Normally, they would draw a lot of attention, but in reality, almost no one paid them much heed, and the guards at the city gate ignored them.
All this was thanks to Skirk's technique for lowering her presence.
This secret art not only reduced others' awareness of them, but also made people quickly forget about them after brief contact.
To avoid trouble, Skirk always maintained this technique and kept Bai Xiuxiu under its cover as well.
This technique had saved her from much trouble. After all, a breathtaking girl and a cute, attractive loli walking together would surely attract greedy eyes and unnecessary trouble.
Upon arriving in Dragon City, Skirk traded valuable soul beast materials and rare metals obtained in the Extreme North for some Gold Soul Coins.
It wasn't a huge sum, but enough for their journey.
They wandered the city market, shopping until their soul guide storage was packed full, finally satisfied and ready to leave.
Just then, Bai Xiuxiu noticed a crowd gathering outside a restaurant in the distance. People were chattering, seemingly excited by some novel event.
Naturally curious and innocent, Bai Xiuxiu had always suppressed her true nature because of her hatred and obsession with getting stronger. But now, with Skirk by her side, some of her pure nature peeked through.
"Teacher!"
Bai Xiuxiu looked up at Skirk with big, watery eyes, full of anticipation, clearly wanting to join the excitement and see what was happening.
"Just this once."
Skirk never liked crowds or trouble, otherwise she wouldn't always keep her presence lowered.
Crowds like this were just asking for trouble.
But Bai Xiuxiu's pitiful expression made it impossible for her to refuse.
"Yay! Teacher, you're the best!"
Bai Xiuxiu cheered, dashing toward the crowd like a runaway husky.
Skirk shook her head helplessly, but followed at a steady pace, always keeping an eye on Bai Xiuxiu, ready for any trouble.
Bai Xiuxiu squeezed through the crowd, finally making it to the front, and was stunned by what she saw.
On a restaurant table, plates were stacked high—a shocking amount.
At the table sat a petite, snow-skinned blonde girl, her golden hair dazzling like sunlight, her blue eyes as clear as jewels.
At that moment, the blonde girl was fully immersed in eating—every plate on the table was her masterpiece.
No wonder so many people were watching—a beautiful girl with such a huge appetite was a striking contrast.
Bai Xiuxiu could see the blonde girl savoring her food with delight, her movements elegant but astonishingly fast, as if she could never be full.
Whenever the food was especially delicious, the single ahoge on the blonde's head would perk up playfully, dancing with joy.
Next to the blonde was a pink-haired girl.
The pink-haired girl watched the blonde with her mouth agape, as if witnessing something unbelievable.
At this point, Skirk also joined Bai Xiuxiu.
However, her attention was not on the blonde, but on the pink-haired girl—specifically, the bright red Command Spell on the back of her right hand.
Although the design was different from Bai Xiuxiu's, Skirk instantly recognized it as a Command Spell from the Holy Grail.
This was proof of being a master, the link between master and servant.
The moment Skirk approached, the blonde, immersed in her meal, suddenly had her ahoge stand straight as if shocked by electricity.
Her eyes, full of happiness a moment ago, turned sharp and cold, like two chilling blades, staring straight at Skirk.
"Qiuqiu, be careful, that's a servant!" The blonde reacted instantly, jumping to her feet.
With a flash of light, her simple dress was replaced by blue and white armor.
In the blink of an eye, she transformed from a sweet girl to a majestic king.
At the same time, she quickly mimed gripping a weapon in front of her—as if she held a sword, though no one could see it.
"Eh!"
Nan Qiuqiu instinctively hid behind the blonde, knowing her servant, Artoria, was a king from another world and incredibly powerful.
Even her mother Nan Shuishui, a Title Douluo, and Grandpa Tianlong, a Super Douluo, were no match for Artoria.
So, Nan Qiuqiu had no doubt about her servant's strength, and immediately hid behind her.
The crowd, seeing the situation, quickly scattered.
In Douluo Continent, soul master conflicts were not uncommon, and ordinary people dared not linger.
Soul skills were dangerous and could easily harm bystanders—lives would be lost for nothing.
As the crowd dispersed, Bai Xiuxiu and Skirk stood in clear view of Nan Qiuqiu.
The sight of Skirk and Bai Xiuxiu stunned Nan Qiuqiu.
With soul master senses, two people with such temperament and appearance should have been noticed at once, yet she only realized they were there when they appeared clearly in her sight.
"Intuition, perhaps?"
Skirk frowned. In Teyvat, she'd met some wise people who, though they forgot her, could deduce her existence from clues.
But meeting someone who sensed her by intuition alone was a first.
"Presence concealment? Assassin?"
Artoria frowned as well, eyes full of vigilance, closely guarding Nan Qiuqiu behind her.
This Holy Grail War was already strange, and here in another world, there were no clear class distinctions.
If not for her instinct warning her, she would never have noticed these two.
So, she immediately suspected a high-level presence concealment skill.
"Teacher, what do we do?"
Bai Xiuxiu was nervous. Having grown up sheltered, she had little experience in the human world and relied on Skirk in emergencies.
"An invisible sword? Such powerful fighting spirit—a worthy opponent. Pity…"
Skirk couldn't see Artoria's invisible sword, but from experience and senses, she knew it was a sword and that Artoria's aura was strong—a veteran of countless battles.
She'd love to fight such an opponent.
But this wasn't the place.
A real battle here would cause massive destruction, possibly even level Dragon City.
Skirk was essentially kind—she didn't want to harm innocents or cause trouble, so she decided to run.
As soon as she made the decision, extreme cold gathered, and the air temperature dropped sharply, freezing Dragon City even further.
Blue-white sword energy tore through the ground, crisscrossing toward Artoria.
"Invisible Air!"
Artoria shouted, slashing down with her invisible sword.
A violent hurricane erupted, stones flying, clashing with the icy sword energy.
For a moment, the street was like a disaster zone, sword energy and wind raging, and the restaurant that had satisfied Artoria was destroyed in the aftermath.
Artoria stiffened slightly—she was one of the causes, after all.
Fortunately, everyone had already fled, or Skirk wouldn't have acted so decisively.
As the storm faded, Artoria's invisible sword finally became visible—a golden, ornate holy sword, inlaid with gems, radiating a sacred, majestic aura.
At this moment, Skirk used the chaos to open a violet-black spatial vortex.
She grabbed Bai Xiuxiu and, ignoring her scream, tossed her in.
"Don't try to escape!"
Artoria's eyes narrowed as she released her energy.
With a boom, she shot forward like golden lightning, appearing in front of Skirk.
Her golden sword slashed down with overwhelming force.
Clang!
The swords clashed, a violent shockwave erupting.
In seconds, their swords blurred into afterimages as they exchanged dozens of blows.
The stray sword auras sliced the street even further.
Nan Qiuqiu watched, dumbfounded—she couldn't even see the swords, only sparks and raging energy.
Sensing two powerful auras approaching fast, Skirk conjured another sword of ice in her left hand.
Crisscrossing sword lights flashed, and Artoria's armor was coated with frost, though she dodged all the blows by intuition, briefly forced back.
Skirk seized the chance, fell back, and let the vortex swallow her whole—gone in a blink.
"What happened here?"
At that moment, a bolt of lightning and a pink light flashed by, as a tall elder and a pink-haired beauty arrived.
They were the Tianlong and Nan Shuishui, the Title Douluos of Dragon City.
With such a powerful soul master battle, they had arrived at once.
After all, one of the presences was very familiar—the summoned king from another world, Artoria Pendragon.
"Qiuqiu, are you okay?" Nan Shuishui rushed to her daughter.
Seeing her daughter unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mom, I'm fine. It seemed to be another pair of master and servant, but they got chased off by Saber!"
Though there was no risk in this world of exposing real names, Artoria still had Nan Qiuqiu call her Saber.
"They didn't get chased off, they retreated by choice," Artoria said, picking up a pouch of gold coins left by Skirk, eyes thoughtful.
"Huh, they dropped money?"
Nan Qiuqiu stared at the gold coins in shock.
'They're not bad people,' Nan Shuishui thought, smiling as she looked around at the wreckage.
Leaving compensation after causing damage—not every soul master would do that.
"Indeed, I was too subjective. And if we really fought, I might not win."
Artoria realized the pouch was left on purpose—their intentions were clear.