The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Competition finally concluded successfully amidst much excitement and fanfare.
As the participating teams gradually departed, the bustling Haiyuan City slowly returned to its former tranquility.
The streets and alleys were no longer as crowded as they were during the competition. The boisterous cries of vendors and the fervent discussions gradually subsided into quiet. The entire city seemed to awaken from a grand carnival, returning to its everyday rhythm.
According to the established rules of the competition, the top three academies received corresponding rewards, all prepared by Haiyuan City. However, with St. Freya Academy's triumph, the most precious reward originally prepared for the champion was saved.
Lu Jingming was exceptionally generous this time. He awarded three 10,000-year Stigmata to the runner-up, Shrek Academy, and the third-place Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy also received one 10,000-year Stigmata.
This wasn't just a reward; it was also a promotion of the Stigmata.
Lu Jingming had already decided to gradually launch the sale of Stigmata to the entire soul master world, with Qunyu Pavilion at its core. He planned to introduce Stigmata of various durations, including 10-year, 100-year, 1,000-year, and 10,000-year, to meet the needs of soul masters of all levels. As for the extremely rare 100,000-year Stigmata, considering its scarcity and preciousness, it would only appear at the annual Tianquan Auction. This was intended to attract the attention of numerous soul masters and enhance Qunyu Pavilion's reputation and influence in the soul master world.
In the process of advancing the Stigmata plan, Lu Jingming realized that Ningguang alone would struggle to manage the numerous complex affairs, and her energy would inevitably be spread thin. Furthermore, the emergence of the Stigmata was bound to create a stir in this world, attracting attention from various factions, which would require more human and financial resources to address. At this time, Lu Jingming was not short on True Power. After comprehensive consideration, he decided: it's you, Wang Xiaomei.
When Keqing and Ningguang learned that Lu Jingming was going to summon Ganyu, they immediately rushed over with great interest. With wisps of True Power slowly being consumed, the Authority of Truth quietly activated. In an instant, a magnificent power, turning illusion into reality, descended, and strange ripples appeared in space. Under everyone's gaze, a figure gradually materialized from nothingness, becoming clear from blurry, then real.
Ganyu, who appeared, had soft blue hair neatly tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, naturally falling to her waist. It swayed gently with her movements, exuding a nimble beauty. The playful ahoge on top of her head subtly quivered, adding a touch of cuteness and playfulness to her cool demeanor. She wore a short white qipao, exquisitely tailored, with intricate gold patterns meticulously decorating the lapel and cuffs, showcasing an elegant and luxurious aura. The ice-blue gem at her waist complemented her overall attire. Beside her black Qilin horns, she wore unique hair ornaments resembling folding fans. The white-to-blue gradient sleeves on her arms, along with black tights and gold-patterned garter bands, displayed her elegance and beauty to the fullest.
Lu Jingming gazed at Ganyu before him and couldn't help but inwardly praise. He had to admit, that woman's taste was truly exceptional. Ganyu's overall graceful, tranquil, cool, and pure demeanor was as holy and flawless as ice and snow. Such a temperament was in no way inferior even to Gu Yue's.
"Ganyu, how do you feel?" Lu Jingming smiled, looking at Ganyu who had just arrived in this world, then turned to look at Keqing, who was also beaming with joy. A smile unconsciously formed at the corner of his mouth. At this moment, he secretly rejoiced, having finally gathered the long-desired "Xingqiu and Keqing" combination. As the saying goes, "having both Gan and Ke [referring to Ganyu and Keqing]," it was truly gratifying.
"I feel… very peculiar. Is this another world?" Ganyu slowly opened her clear blue eyes, which were filled with curiosity. Her voice was tranquil and gentle, like a clear spring flowing in the mountains, extremely approachable, as if it could instantly calm the restlessness in people's hearts.
On the Teyvat continent, while visitors from other worlds were not uncommon, this was Ganyu's first time setting foot in another world herself. This novel experience made her feel both wonderful and fresh. However, during the process of being materialized into this world, she had already received detailed information about it, so she wasn't entirely unfamiliar with her surroundings. Moreover, being able to see Keqing and Ningguang, two familiar faces, here brought her some comfort. At least she wouldn't feel alone and helpless in this strange world.
"This is great! With Ganyu, work efficiency will increase by at least tenfold!"
Keqing truly lived up to her reputation as a "workaholic." Her first reaction upon seeing Ganyu was to comment on increased work efficiency. She confidently stated this, and immediately claimed a tenfold increase, causing Lu Jingming's lips to twitch slightly. While he certainly hoped Ganyu would assist with affairs, his primary motivation was his fondness for Ganyu herself, not merely to turn her into a workhorse!
"Um, regarding work, there's no need to rush too much. A'Qing, you should also consider others more," Lu Jingming gently advised, a slight headache forming. In his opinion, rather than having them work themselves to exhaustion, he hoped Keqing and Ganyu could live more leisurely and enjoy the beauty of life.
"Eh, work? Don't worry, leave it to me!" Hearing the word "work," Ganyu responded almost instinctively.
This scene made Lu Jingming even more speechless, his heart filled with helplessness.
"Hehe!" Ningguang couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
She had long guessed that Keqing and Ganyu meeting would trigger such an interesting chemical reaction. She had come this time not only to welcome Ganyu but also to witness this amusing scene herself.
For Ganyu, a contract had already been forged between them the moment Lu Jingming summoned her. Since Lu Jingming had expended precious True Power to bring her from an illusory world into reality, she would wholeheartedly fulfill the contract and diligently work for Lu Jingming.
Seeing Ganyu so eagerly inquire about work-related matters as soon as she appeared, Lu Jingming felt genuinely helpless. After all, conducting the Stigmata sales business with Qunyu Pavilion as its core would inevitably attract the covetousness and greed of some lawless scoundrels. To ensure the safety and stability of Qunyu Pavilion, stronger forces were needed for guardianship.
Currently, Ningguang's strength was still relatively weak and difficult to cope with various potential crises alone. Therefore, when summoning Ganyu, Lu Jingming spared no expense in consuming a large amount of True Power, precisely so that Ganyu would possess sufficient power in this world.
This way, Ganyu could not only share the heavy workload of Keqing and Ningguang but also, with her formidable strength, deter malicious individuals, comprehensively protecting Ningguang and Qunyu Pavilion's safety.
Ganyu's martial soul was the Ice Qilin. She was currently at the ninety-eighth rank Super Douluo realm, possessing the Ultimate Ice attribute. As an auspicious beast, Ganyu's arrival would undoubtedly bring an endless stream of good fortune to Haiyuan City.
The reason Lu Jingming didn't directly elevate Ganyu to the ninety-ninth rank Limit Douluo level was that condensing a second soul core would exponentially increase the consumption of True Power. Comparatively, he preferred to let Ganyu break through the bottleneck and condense her second soul core through her own talent and effort. This way, it would both save Lu Jingming a large amount of precious True Power and allow Ganyu to better adapt to this world and enhance her own strength during the process of self-breakthrough.
After all, with Ganyu's exceptional talent, breaking through to Rank 99 was not difficult. At least compared to most Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent, her chances of success were much higher. The situation with Dan Heng was also similar; Lu Jingming expected them to achieve breakthroughs through their own abilities. They already possessed such talent and potential, and a ninety-eighth rank Ultimate Attribute Super Douluo was a force not to be underestimated, not inferior to a Limit Douluo, and even more powerful. For the current situation, such strength was already sufficient.
Suddenly, a pink figure abruptly sprang from the side, pouncing into Ganyu's embrace with lightning speed.
"Eh! Miko? Why have you become like this?" Ganyu's body first stiffened, clearly taken aback, but she quickly reacted. Recognizing the familiar aura, she identified the pink-haired fox in her arms as Yae Miko.
Lu Jingming, seeing this, awkwardly rubbed his nose, a hint of embarrassment on his face.
This was all due to his mischievous whim earlier. When he summoned Yae Miko, he had a scarcity of True Power at the time, which resulted in Miko maintaining her small fox form after appearing. Afterwards, he also hadn't helped Miko restore her original intelligent and elegant appearance.
Thinking about it now, it was a good opportunity to restore Miko to her original form.
"Um, Ganyu, when I summoned Miko before, I had a bit of an accident because True Power was really insufficient. The timing is just right now, so let's take this chance to restore Miko to normal!"
Lu Jingming quickly explained to Ganyu. As he spoke, he reached out and gently took the pink-haired fox from Ganyu's embrace.
Next, he infused True Power into the little fox's body, replenishing her strength to help her revert to her original form.
As wisps of True Power continuously flowed into the little fox's body, purple lightning began to flash and leap from her, circulating around her.
The next moment, the pink-haired fox's originally silly and bewildered eyes instantly changed, a spark of intelligence flashing within them.
She transformed into a dazzling bolt of lightning, vanishing instantly and completely from Lu Jingming's embrace.
Before the others could recover from this change, Yae Miko reappeared before them.