After all, it was Elysia. Lu Jingming honestly couldn't think of anyone who could refuse to be her friend.
Just like Mobius. On the surface, she was full of disdain for Elysia, but wasn't she an "Elysia-fan" at heart?
It was like how there are only Rex Lapis fans and twisted Rex Lapis fans in Liyue. In the Elysian Realm, there were only "Elysia-fans" and "twisted Elysia-fans."
He could even imagine that if Elysia came back with him to Haiyuan City, it wouldn't be long before she became friends with everyone, even people with vastly different personalities like Jingliu, Herta, and Ji Yingying.
"By the way, Shui Bing'er, are you guys still participating in the Soul Master Grand Tournament?" Lu Jingming asked, his face full of curiosity.
Based on the feedback he'd received from the World Tree Stigmata, the Douluo Continent was in an uproar. Everyone was preoccupied with their own troubles.
In such a situation, would Spirit Hall and the two great empires really have the energy to host the tournament?
Shui Bing'er was momentarily stunned. She then shook her head helplessly and said with a wry smile, "I'm not so sure either, but given the current situation, I'm afraid it won't be held."
After all, that Corruption Point was already posing a serious threat to Heaven Dou City. The Heaven Dou Empire was too busy dealing with its own problems to even think about preparing for the tournament. If the Corruption Point wasn't dealt with soon, Heaven Dou City itself might cease to exist.
"True." Lu Jingming nodded, lost in thought.
The tournament had been forced to stop, and the plot had already been completely rewritten by him. Without the tournament, Xiao Wu wouldn't expose her identity, and Tang San and the others wouldn't be hunted by Spirit Hall. In that case, would that classic scene, "My love, revive!", ever come to pass?
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. With the full cooperation of the three elemental academies—Heavenly Water Academy, Divine Wind Academy, and Blazing Fire Academy—the Jade Chamber was quickly constructed.
Lu Jingming took a large number of low-level Soul Tools and Simulated Universe login devices from his storage Soul Tool and placed them in the Jade Chamber for sale. Of course, he also had Stigmata and some advanced Soul Tools, but those were his ultimate products, which he would release slowly.
In this half-month, Elysia had fully adapted to this new world and had become fast friends with the girls of Heavenly Water Academy. Their relationship was incredibly good. Shui Bing'er's team, in particular, was practically overflowing with affection for Elysia.
Elysia was truly thriving at Heavenly Water Academy. Even Huo Wu from Blazing Fire Academy was captivated by her charm, leaving Feng Xiaotian to shed tears of envy.
And the Soul Master Grand Tournament, as everyone expected, was forced to a halt.
In this half-month, the Heaven Dou Empire had assembled tens of thousands of soldiers and invited powerful cultivators like Lightning Douluo Yu Yuanzhen from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, as well as Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, and Poison Douluo. They once again launched a fierce attack on the Corruption Point.
They had believed that with this more powerful lineup and a well-coordinated Soul Master legion, they would be able to wipe out the Corruption Point in one fell swoop.
However, reality dealt them a brutal blow.
Lightning Douluo Yu Yuanzhen and Sword Douluo were severely wounded. More than half of their army was lost, and the Heaven Dou army had to retreat in disarray.
It turned out that over the past half-month, the Corruption Point had spawned even more powerful negative energy monsters—the "dark" versions of Zhang Lexuan and Keqing, who also possessed the power of a Title Douluo.
Lightning Douluo Yu Yuanzhen's spirit was suppressed by "dark" Jinhsi's temporal dragon and "dark" Gu Yue's silver dragon, in addition to the dead dragon Polyxenes, who could also suppress him. As a result, his strength was cut by more than half, and he was gravely wounded.
Sword Douluo, on the other hand, took a direct hit from the Spirit Fusion Skill, "Sacred Spear's Bloom," and was lucky to escape with his life after losing an arm.
For this reason, Ning Fengzhi brought Sword Douluo to Lu Jingming, offering to trade a portion of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School's assets within the Heaven Dou Empire for Lu Jingming to restore Sword Douluo's arm.
After Lu Jingming accepted the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School's assets, the Jade Chamber instantly became one of the largest merchant guilds in the Heaven Dou Empire. Moreover, with the backing of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School and Prince Xue Qinghe, plus the three elemental academies, no one dared to covet the Jade Chamber.
After this defeat, the Heaven Dou Empire was on edge. Some nobles had already packed their bags, ready to flee Heaven Dou City at any moment. In such a tense situation, who had the mind to host a Soul Master Grand Tournament?
The Heaven Dou Empire, having suffered a devastating defeat, had thought about seeking help from Spirit Hall, but Spirit Hall was also in deep trouble. "Dark" Chiyuan was putting immense pressure on them, even causing Qian Daoliu to consider recalling Qian Renxue so she could undergo her divine trial ahead of schedule.
Aside from the Heaven Dou Empire, the situation in the Star Luo Empire was slightly better, as they had not encountered such a powerful Corruption Point. Still, they were exhausted from dealing with the problem.
With no other choice, the Heaven Dou Empire could only send its army to clear the negative energy monsters on the outskirts of the point to contain its expansion. As long as they didn't venture deep into the Corruption Point, they wouldn't be attacked by those powerful copies. This was the only good news amid a sea of bad.
Although this was only a temporary solution, as the Corruption Point would continue to expand as long as its core was not destroyed, the Heaven Dou Empire had no other choice. They had already sent their top fighters to attack once, and if their retreat hadn't been so timely, they would have been completely annihilated.
Moreover, the Corruption Point was getting stronger by the minute, and no one knew how powerful it would become. Therefore, the only thing the Heaven Dou Empire could do was to contain the Corruption Point's spread while preparing to abandon Heaven Dou City.
At this point, Lu Jingming had decided to return to Haiyuan City. His original purpose for coming to this parallel Douluo Continent was to watch the Soul Master Grand Tournament and join in the fun.
But now, that plan had fallen through. Even if the tournament were to continue, Tang San probably wouldn't participate. With his father, Tang Hao, on the verge of death, he had no mind for a competition. He was currently hiding with Tang Hao in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, trying to figure out a way to exorcise the death energy from "dark" Yuyaku.
Without Tang San's participation, the tournament had lost its appeal for Lu Jingming, and his enthusiasm waned.
He bid farewell to Shui Bing'er and the others, leaving Elysia in this world while he went back home.
Returning to the dimension where the Thousand Realms Unification resided, he casually gave the Herta puppet standing guard a pat on the head before quickly making his getaway, just before she could pull her crystal hammer out from under her skirt.
"You have a loathsome scent on you!" The moment Lu Jingming left the dimension, Mobius suddenly appeared, blocking his way.
She frowned, examining Lu Jingming from head to toe.
"You summoned her?" Although Mobius said it as a question, her expression clearly showed that she already had the answer.
The corner of Lu Jingming's mouth twitched. How could one be so devoted? He had just returned, and Mobius had already tracked him down by her scent.
"The terrifying 'Am-Elysia-men!' Oh, wait, I'm one too. So, no problem," he muttered to himself.
"You've come at the right time. Here, this is a gift she wanted me to bring for you," Lu Jingming said with a smile, taking a pink dress from his storage Soul Tool. Looking at its size, it was a perfect fit for Mobius.
Upon seeing the pink dress, Mobius's mouth twitched as well. "You can keep that and wear it yourself," she said through gritted teeth.
She turned to leave, but Lu Jingming keenly noticed a fleeting smile on her face.
"Mouth says no, but the body says yes. Snake, a tsundere act isn't in style anymore!" Lu Jingming shook his head helplessly.
Mobius was clearly happy, but she still insisted on putting on a disgusted face. He figured she had probably guessed that Elysia was in a parallel world, but she wasn't in a hurry to meet her. For her, knowing that Elysia was here was enough.
Back at St. Freya Academy, Lu Jingming immediately spotted Jingliu sitting alone in a pavilion, a flask of wine in her hand.
Lu Jingming walked up and unhesitatingly took the flask from her hand. He didn't care about any "indirect kiss" and drank straight from the spout.
Jingliu's fingers twitched. She had to suppress the urge to draw her sword.
While she didn't care about things like indirect kisses, this disciple of hers was incredibly bold, making no secret of his desire to 'deceive and betray' his master. Compared to him, Jing Yuan was a respectful and filial disciple, even though he had once tried to kill her when she fell into her Mara-Struck state.
"Teacher, drinking alone is so boring. Let me keep you company," Lu Jingming said, wiping the wine from his lips. While he wasn't particularly fond of drinking, he had to admit that Jingliu's taste was excellent.
"According to this world's standards, you're not even of legal age yet!" Jingliu said, taking the flask back.
The flask was a Soul Tool that could hold a large amount of wine and also had the magical effect of improving its quality. A Soul Tool with such a special function naturally came from Herta. Of course, this was something Lu Jingming had begged and pestered Herta to make specifically to show his 'filial piety' to Jingliu.
However, the way Lu Jingming and Herta got along was quite strange. Sometimes Lu Jingming would ask Herta for help, and other times Herta would ask Lu Jingming. Neither of them cared about saving face; they seemed to be in a secret competition, where if one person asked the other for a favor once, they would find a way to make the other person ask them for one in return. This unique way of getting along had become a game between them.
"Teacher, it's really nice having you guys with me!" Lu Jingming rarely drank, so his alcohol tolerance wasn't good. At the moment, he wasn't using his soul power to dispel the effects of the alcohol, letting the slightly tipsy feeling wash over him.
The corner of Jingliu's mouth curled up. She had drunk far more than Lu Jingming, but she showed no signs of being drunk. With the physique of a Xianzhou native, this amount of alcohol couldn't get her drunk, even if she didn't use her soul power to get rid of it. She wasn't like a certain general with a poor tolerance and a strong craving for alcohol, nor was she a "newbie" like Lu Jingming, who wasn't a frequent drinker.
Though a bit tipsy, Lu Jingming's mind was still clear. The words he spoke were from the heart. Only in front of Jingliu, or a big sister like Changli, would he show his true self.
As a transmigrator, he felt a sense of detachment and lack of belonging in this foreign land. If he hadn't been able to summon Jingliu and the others with his Authority of Reality, he couldn't imagine what he would have become—maybe he would have become unrecognizable, one of those "I don't eat beef" guys who lost his humanity. Although he couldn't be called a purely good person now, he at least held onto his bottom line.
Robin and the others, who had been summoned with him, also kept him in check with their principles and kindness, preventing him from completely losing his humanity.
Take the experiment he did in the parallel world this time. If it weren't for Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Raiden Makoto, why would he have gone to the trouble of giving those who died from the Corruption Point a second life? In the eyes of outsiders, it might have been fake, but for those involved, it was their real life. Even if they were to find out it was all an illusion, many would probably choose to be lost in it, convincing themselves it was real.
Buoyed by the alcohol, Lu Jingming's courage grew. He walked in front of Jingliu, leaning slightly forward, his gaze falling on the black cloth covering her eyes.
"Teacher, you've gotten rid of the 'Cute-Struck' affliction, so why are you still wearing this eye mask?" Lu Jingming asked. Whether he was doing it on purpose or the alcohol was to blame, he had misspoken, calling the 'Mara-Struck' condition "Cute-Struck."
The corner of Jingliu's mouth twitched. She had been about to correct his slip of the tongue, but seeing that Lu Jingming was already drunk, she couldn't be bothered to argue. She simply replied, "I'm used to it."
"Then can I take it off?" Lu Jingming asked tentatively.
"Whatever," Jingliu said calmly. She had worn the eye mask for so long that she was used to it. It didn't affect her daily life, so even after getting rid of the Mara-Struck state, she had kept it on.
Having received Jingliu's permission, Lu Jingming carefully reached out and slowly untied the black eye mask. When he saw Jingliu's beautiful red eyes, a hint of infatuation flashed in his own. The combination of white hair and red eyes was no less captivating to him than Elysia's charm.
"Teacher, your eyes are so beautiful," Lu Jingming praised, but his gaze involuntarily fell on Jingliu's peerless face.
A helpless look crossed Jingliu's eyes. She had long known that this disciple had special feelings for her, and now, under the influence of alcohol, he wasn't hiding it at all. She regretted ever letting him drink.
Suddenly, while Jingliu was distracted, Lu Jingming's figure moved forward, attempting an ambush.
But Jingliu was as sharp as ever. Her eyes narrowed instantly, and an invisible surge of power erupted, sweeping out like a raging storm.
Lu Jingming flew backward like a cannonball, smashing into a decorative rock garden.
The sudden impact completely sobered him up.
Lu Jingming lay in the pile of shattered rocks, staring blankly at the clear blue sky. He instinctively touched the corner of his mouth, and a smile slowly spread across his face.
If he wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have touched something soft just now. Although it was only for a brief moment, he was sure his feelings weren't wrong.
In a way, this ambush had failed, but it seemed he had gained a little something from it.
As footsteps grew closer, a figure blocked his view and the sunlight.
"Little Ming, you're getting bolder. Aren't you afraid your teacher will really cut you down with a sword?" Zhang Lexuan crouched down and gently brushed the dust off Lu Jingming's face, her eyes full of a smile.
"Teacher wouldn't do it." Lu Jingming laughed lightly. He had already sensed that Jingliu had left, clearly not wanting to see her audacious disciple for a while.
"You, you've been planning this for a long time, haven't you? It's a shame it failed in the end," Zhang Lexuan said playfully, poking Lu Jingming's forehead with her finger. She had witnessed the entire ambush and, in her opinion, Lu Jingming hadn't succeeded.
"It's okay, there are plenty of chances. Besides, I still have you, big sister Lexuan," Lu Jingming said with an uncaring smile. As he spoke, he suddenly pulled Zhang Lexuan into his arms. Without waiting for her to say a word, he blocked her lips with his own.
After all, they hadn't seen each other in a while, and Zhang Lexuan was very cooperative. They had been through more intimate things, so she wasn't shy about a kiss.
A few minutes later, they broke apart, a strand of saliva floating in the air. Zhang Lexuan breathed slightly, her hair a little messy.
Lu Jingming licked the corner of his mouth, stood up, and cupped Zhang Lexuan's cheeks in his hands. He looked at her slightly dazed eyes and chuckled softly, "Don't worry, big sister Lexuan. In two more years, I'll be able to eat you."
He emphasized the words 'eat you.' In two more years, his body would be fully matured, and he would have no more reservations. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little impatient, as Zhang Lexuan wasn't the only 'delicious meal' waiting for him.
Zhang Lexuan's face flushed slightly, and she leaned gently into Lu Jingming's arms, feeling a sense of anticipation as well. After all, she had been waiting for a long time.
They embraced for a moment, sensing that someone was coming this way. After all, the recent commotion was enough to draw some onlookers. So, they stood up and left. As for the rock garden that Lu Jingming had smashed, the academy staff would handle it.
"Boom!" On the training ground of St. Freya Academy, Meng Hongchen's body darted back like a bolt of lightning, barely dodging a heavy, powerful strike.
However, the hard rock ground was not so lucky. A long, slender leg wearing a golden high heel slammed down, and a massive force erupted, creating a violent shockwave. The ground instantly cracked like a spiderweb, then shattered, forming a shocking crater.
"Clang!" Meng Hongchen's ice-blue twin swords strained against a golden long spear, but her face grew paler. Her hands trembled, barely able to hold her swords, and she was sent flying back like a kite with a broken string.
Just as she was about to regain her footing, the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
Instantly, she had a flash of inspiration. She pretended to be weak and defenseless, falling from the air. If she had really fallen, even with her strength, she would have been laid up in bed for a while. But she was certain that someone would catch her.
Sure enough, a figure instantly appeared behind her and a pair of arms wrapped around her slender waist, holding her steady.
"Miss Meng, it's not good to play games with your own body," Lu Jingming said with a hint of helplessness. How could he not see that Meng Hongchen was perfectly capable of landing safely? She had only pretended to be weak after seeing him. This kind of blatant attempt to get with him was truly inappropriate for any occasion.
"I knew you'd catch me," Meng Hongchen said, her eyes fixed on Lu Jingming, her face radiant with joy and happiness.
"Grind!" Just then, a harsh sound of grinding teeth came from the side. Lu Jingming and Meng Hongchen looked over, only to see Xiao Hongchen glaring at them with a dark expression, not saying a word.
"Oh, hello, brother-in-law, you're here too," Lu Jingming said, greeting him warmly.
"Who's your brother-in-law, Lu Jingming, you bastard! I will never agree to this!" Hearing Lu Jingming's title, Xiao Hongchen's composure instantly broke, and he stomped his feet and cursed angrily. He already didn't have a good impression of Lu Jingming, but his own sister was practically throwing herself at him, and even their grandfather supported it, which made him feel utterly helpless.
"Next! Do you want a turn?" At this moment, on the training ground, the golden-haired girl who had just sent Meng Hongchen flying pointed her golden long spear at Lu Jingming, her eyes filled with undisguised provocation.
"Forget it. If I make you cry, you'll just go and complain to Gu Yue," Lu Jingming said with a laugh, shaking his head.
"You...!" The golden-haired girl's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. She was so furious that she wanted to poke a hole in Lu Jingming with her spear.
"I'll go." Just as the golden-haired girl was about to retort, Ji Juechen walked onto the training ground, an iron sword in his hand. The burning fighting spirit in his eyes as he looked at the golden-haired girl was palpable, and his sword intent exuded a sharp energy.
The golden-haired girl keenly sensed this fierce sword intent, and her expression immediately became serious. She had been at St. Freya Academy for a while and knew Ji Juechen's strength, realizing that this person was a formidable opponent.
Watching the golden-haired girl and Ji Juechen fighting in the training ground, Lu Jingming fell into contemplation, no longer concerned with Meng Hongchen, who refused to get down from him.
This golden-haired girl's name was Wang Qiuer. In a way, Lu Jingming was the one who named her. To save himself trouble, he simply used the name from her original destiny.
That's right, this girl was the Imperial Beast of Fortune.
When Lu Jingming and Gu Yue returned from the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, Gu Yue had gone back to the Star Dou Great Forest. Upon seeing the Imperial Beast of Fortune, Gu Yue had keenly sensed that something was wrong.
She found that a wisp of divine consciousness that didn't belong to it was attached to the Imperial Beast of Fortune, and the beast also had an extra divine artifact—the Golden Dragon Spear.
The Golden Dragon Spear, like Gu Yue's Silver Dragon Spear, was the Gold Dragon King's companion divine artifact. And since the Gold Dragon King was sealed in the Divine Realm, the origin of the Golden Dragon Spear was self-evident.
Paired with the fragment of divine consciousness that had fully merged with the beast's soul, Gu Yue instantly knew that someone was secretly plotting against the Imperial Beast of Fortune.
Although she had a guess in her heart, Gu Yue immediately told Lu Jingming, choosing to rely on the man she had chosen.
And Lu Jingming didn't disappoint her. He knew exactly who was plotting against the Imperial Beast of Fortune.