DD Black White [246-247] (Patreon)

Chapter 246: Raiden Mei

Inside Lu Jingming's body, the soul power aura began to spin madly, faster and faster, as if forming a huge vortex of soul power.

Finally, at the center of this vortex, a crystal-clear, gleaming nucleus slowly took shape.

The nucleus emitted a radiant glow, like a rare and precious treasure.

Looking closely, within the nucleus, a miniature black Abyss Spear could be vaguely seen.

That was his martial soul projection. When this spear grew to its peak, it would become his life-bound weapon.

Once he ascended to godhood, this spear would become his divine artifact.

This kind of artifact was completely different from those forged later—it possessed immense potential for growth, evolving endlessly as Lu Jingming grew, with almost no limits.

In other words, the Black Abyss White Flower that grew alongside him could well surpass the original, becoming an even more powerful weapon.

Moreover, since it was a life-bound weapon, it was perfectly compatible with Lu Jingming, like an extension of his own body, allowing him to bring out its full power.

Lu Jingming sat silently in meditation, focusing on the wonderful changes happening within his body and martial soul.

He knew well that condensing a soul core meant he was no longer an ordinary human. Both his life form and lifespan had become vastly different from ordinary people.

However, Lu Jingming didn't really care much about the extra century of lifespan. What mattered more to him was the evolution of his martial soul and the transformation of his physical body.

Now that he had broken through to Soul Sage and successfully condensed his first soul core, Lu Jingming's combat strength had undergone another qualitative leap.

At this point, even a Title Douluo could no longer pose a real threat to him, and even Super Douluo would have a hard time troubling him.

Those who could threaten him were probably only Ultimate Douluo.

But even then, it would be just a threat, nothing more.

In this era, his strength was far beyond the norm. Compared to Huo Yuhao from the original story, who also condensed his first soul core as a Soul Sage, Lu Jingming was much stronger.

"Speaking of which, now that I've broken through to Soul Sage, there are still two years until the next Sun Moon Empire Soul Master Tournament. With my current cultivation speed, I may not reach Soul Douluo, but I'll be close. Is there even a point in participating? Wouldn't that be bullying?" Lu Jingming thought with a wry smile.

After condensing the soul core, it would automatically operate, constantly enhancing his cultivation.

Combined with the abundant cultivation resources in Haiyuan City, by the time the next tournament came, he really might break through to Soul Douluo.

Moreover, with his help, Jinhsi, Castorice, and others would definitely also condense their first soul cores and become Soul Sages.

With Saint Freya Academy's current lineup and strength, participating in the Mingdu Soul Master Tournament would be overkill.

Other contestants would probably want to cry when they saw their roster.

"Well, with the Holy Grail War now, who knows if the Sun Moon Empire will even hold the tournament? Worst case, I'll just let Wang Qiu'er lead the team." Lu Jingming shook his head, no longer troubled by the issue.

He really didn't have much interest in such bullying competitions anymore.

Besides, Haiyuan City had long since changed and no longer needed the tournament champion title for influence.

Having the title was nice, but not having it didn't matter to Haiyuan City at all.

Unknowingly, both he and Haiyuan City had grown into giants, exerting a terrifying influence across the whole Douluo Continent.

If his parents, who died so early in this world, could see this, they would surely be gratified.

Although he couldn't fulfill his filial piety to his parents in this world, he could pass on the Lu family bloodline and make it flourish.

Just as Lu Jingming broke through to Soul Sage and condensed his first soul core, he keenly sensed something unusual.

Instinctively raising his hand, his gaze fell on the Stigmata Mark, where a vivid red mark had suddenly appeared, flashing with a mysterious red glow.

"Wow, am I the second one?"

The moment he saw the red mark, Lu Jingming, as the initiator of the Holy Grail War, immediately recognized the Command Seal he had designed.

At first, he felt a bit puzzled, but quickly understood.

After all, he had been helping Douluo Planet grow stronger all along; in a sense, he had basically replaced Huo Yuhao as the Child of Destiny in this world.

Therefore, it made sense that he would possess this destiny and be selected as a Master.

However, Lu Jingming also understood that the amount of destiny didn't necessarily determine the selection order.

Otherwise, there's no way the first Master would be Bai Xiuxiu, the fourth-generation female protagonist.

"Perfect, time to draw a card and test my luck!"

Lu Jingming's interest was instantly piqued.

Back in his previous life, his favorite part of gacha games was drawing cards—the anticipation and excitement for the unknown was flooding him again.

Although he had no intention of truly participating in the Holy Grail War (even the Grail itself was built by Herta under his instructions), that didn't stop him from joining the fun.

Summoning a Servant didn't mean he had to join the war—simply experiencing the summoning was enjoyable enough.

He was curious who he might draw from that vast memory bank.

According to his preferences, he would love to summon characters like Kiana, Archeron, Furina, Kamisato Ayaka, Lisa, the Shorekeeper, Hu Tao, Citlali, Skadi, etc.

However, the rules only allowed one choice, so it was all up to luck.

No matter who he drew, he had already decided that after the Holy Grail War ended, he would materialize them.

Furthermore, for the victor of the Holy Grail War, he would also help them become real.

"Let's go, one shot!" Lu Jingming agreed to the Grail's invitation without hesitation.

In an instant, the Holy Grail system activated, and a blood-red summoning array slowly unfolded in Herta's laboratory.

The array emitted a mysterious glow, linking with the planet's ley lines.

As the array connected with the ley lines, the planet's negative energy was drawn out, slowly condensing into a memory body in a strange, indescribable way.

"Whoa, golden legend!" Lu Jingming cheered as he glimpsed a golden light flickering in the array.

For added fun, he had Herta program the Grail with several seemingly unnecessary but actually fun features, including summoning effects.

Based on his knowledge of character rarity, he divided the summoned memory bodies into gold, purple, and blue ranks.

Although this division didn't precisely reflect the strength differences—some blue-ranked characters, such as certain heroic spirits from the Type-Moon world or operators from Arknights, were still quite formidable—it was just his personal, subjective classification for fun.

At this moment, seeing the golden light, Lu Jingming was instantly overjoyed.

There were so many gold characters that he'd be happy with any of them.

Of course, if he drew his waifu, that would be perfect.

Soon, as the light faded, a figure slowly appeared before Lu Jingming.

A waterfall of purple hair, a katana at her waist, and a face somewhat reminiscent of Raiden Shogun—these familiar features immediately caught Lu Jingming's eye.

"Yes! It's Archeron!" At first, seeing this familiar appearance, Lu Jingming was so excited his heart almost leaped out of his chest. Did he just draw the version's top-tier DPS in one shot?

But a closer look revealed something off.

Why was Archeron's outfit different from what he remembered?

The woman before him wore silver-white armor with black accents and black semi-transparent stockings—completely different from any of the Archeron, Raiden Shogun, or Raiden Mei outfits he remembered.

She had the gentle rice-cooker wife face, long straight purple hair, and a beautiful katana at her waist, but the outfit was all wrong!

Was it Mei? But that didn't seem right either!

Lu Jingming was dumbfounded, his mind a complete mess.

"You don't seem very happy to see me?" Just then, a mature yet gentle voice drifted over, like a spring breeze with a hint of chill, snapping Lu Jingming out of his daze.

"You are… Aunt Mei!" At the sound of that mature, gentle voice, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Jingming. Of course—there was another version of Mei who dressed like this: Mature Raiden Mei from post-Honkai Odyssey.

"Shing!"

Almost instantly, the katana was drawn, the tip crackling with electricity, stopping just a centimeter from Lu Jingming's nose.

Raiden Mei looked calm, but there was a trace of anger in her gaze as she stared at Lu Jingming, her tone clearly questioning: "What did you just call me?"

"Mei! Isn't that right?" Cold sweat broke out on Lu Jingming's forehead as he tried to play it cool.

"Forget it, given your age, I suppose that's fine!" Raiden Mei sheathed her blade, sounding a little melancholy.

She was a bit annoyed—why was she summoned in this mature form? She would have been stronger if summoned eight years earlier, before losing most of her power!

Chapter 247: A Bewildered Raiden Mei

"Actually, the mature you is even more charming!" Lu Jingming, oblivious to danger, pressed on.

"Well, thank you for that!" A vein bulged on Raiden Mei's forehead as her grip on the katana tightened. She looked like she wanted to cut him down.

This guy really knew how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. She had been ready to let it go, but he just had to push it.

But Lu Jingming wasn't lying—he really thought the mature Mei from post-Honkai Odyssey had a unique charm.

Young lady Raiden Mei was great, but the mature, calm, and steady Mei was equally attractive.

"Let's not talk about that. Though I don't really understand what's going on, and a lot of things feel strange, all I need to do is win this so-called Holy Grail War, right? Are you ready?"

Raiden Mei put aside her earlier frustration, feeling an inexplicable fighting spirit rise up.

Lu Jingming looked at Raiden Mei with a strange expression. If he remembered correctly, Mei did have a bit of a chuunibyou (delusional hero) streak.

But she was in her twenties now—hadn't she graduated from that phase?

Sensing Lu Jingming's odd look, Raiden Mei suddenly realized she had gotten a bit too excited.

After all, being summoned to this strange world and told to participate in an epic Holy Grail War was both novel and thrilling. She couldn't help but get fired up, exposing her true nature.

She awkwardly coughed, trying to compose herself and return to her dignified, gentle, mature self.

However, her slightly red earlobes completely betrayed her nervousness.

"Actually—" Lu Jingming frowned, a hint of helplessness on his face.

He was afraid he'd have to disappoint the eager Raiden Mei.

The hot-blooded, life-or-death Holy Grail War she envisioned was unlikely to happen.

After all, as her summoner and the initiator of the Holy Grail War—and even the Grail itself was made by his side—Raiden Mei being summoned was equivalent to reaching the finish line from the start. There was no need to fight other Servants at all to enjoy the rewards reserved for the winner.

"Huh?" Hearing Lu Jingming's detailed explanation, Raiden Mei was stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief.

She never imagined her summoner would have such a special status.

She didn't need to go through any bloody, life-or-death battles—she could directly receive the victor's rewards. That was beyond her expectations.

Lu Jingming didn't hide any of this from Raiden Mei.

After all, he planned to summon the real Raiden Mei later—by then, everyone would be on the same side, with nothing to hide.

"So, what am I supposed to do now?"

Raiden Mei was at a loss. She had looked forward to showing off in the Holy Grail War, but now that she was told there was no fighting, she didn't know what to do with herself.

"It's already noon! How about… cooking?" Lu Jingming glanced at the time—it was almost lunchtime.

So he looked hopefully at Raiden Mei.

After all, Raiden Mei had always been the classic wife who cooks in his mind—not just in name, but in skill.

He'd always wanted to taste Mei's cooking, and this was the mature version—her culinary skills must be even better.

"Sure!" Raiden Mei smiled helplessly—cooking was one of her hobbies anyway.

She was curious and excited about what kind of dishes she could make with ingredients from another world, so she gladly agreed.

…

At this time, Meng Hongchen felt as if the sky was falling.

As usual, she had lovingly prepared a meal and brought a lunchbox to find Lu Jingming.

Her favorite thing was seeing his satisfied expression when eating her lovingly prepared food—it made her feel blissful.

But this time, when she arrived, she saw a heartbreaking scene.

Lu Jingming's table was already filled with all kinds of delicious-looking food, both visually and aromatically appealing. By comparison, her own food seemed to pale instantly.

And in the kitchen, a mature, beautiful woman with long purple hair was moving skillfully—clearly an experienced cook.

The scene before her—the man waiting leisurely, the woman lovingly preparing lunch—was like a loving couple, with the husband waiting for his wife's meal and the wife cooking with all her heart.

Meng Hongchen froze where she stood, her mind blank, unable to process what she saw.

Especially feeling the full wife aura radiating from Raiden Mei, Meng Hongchen couldn't help feeling discouraged.

Compared to her own youthful inexperience, Raiden Mei's mature charm made her feel inferior.

"Meng, you're here!" Lu Jingming wasn't surprised to see Meng Hongchen.

After all, she brought him food every day—it was a habit.

He had Mei cook not because he forgot about Meng, but to give Mei something to do and help her integrate into life here.

Besides, he'd already notified Firefly and the others—there was no need to worry about leftover food.

"Xiao Ming, who is she?" Meng Hongchen set her lunchbox aside, a hint of hostility in her gaze as she looked at Raiden Mei in the kitchen.

She wasn't just upset that her role as cook was threatened—she also felt Raiden Mei was a huge romantic rival.

Compared to a youthful girl like herself, a mature and gentle woman like Mei was far more dangerous to someone like Lu Jingming.

"She's Raiden Mei, the Servant I summoned." Lu Jingming smiled, showing Meng the Command Seal on his hand.

The news about the Holy Grail War had already spread among all the powers.

As the eldest daughter of the Hongchen family, Meng still had access to news channels even while at Saint Freya Academy, so she of course knew about the Holy Grail War.

"Xiao Ming, are you joining the Holy Grail War? It's too dangerous!" Meng Hongchen's face turned serious.

She recalled Jing Hongchen warning her via communication: the Holy Grail War was extremely dangerous—even Title Douluo could die if caught up in it.

After all, the reward was a godhood—such a huge temptation would draw even Ultimate Douluo into a deadly scramble.

With such risks, and Lu Jingming only a Soul Emperor (she didn't know he'd broken through to Soul Sage), joining was very dangerous.

This made her deeply worried.

"Don't worry—whether I join or not, no one can hurt me."

Lu Jingming smiled confidently.

At this point, there were very few on Douluo Continent who could threaten or detain him.

Plus, he wasn't alone—he had Jingliu, Herta, and many other strong allies. How could he easily fall into danger?

"Mm, I believe you!" Meng Hongchen's eyes shone—she loved confident Lu Jingming; he looked so handsome to her.

"Your girlfriend?" At this moment, Raiden Mei walked out of the kitchen with a steaming dish, placing it on the table. She glanced at Meng Hongchen, who seemed to see only Lu Jingming.

"Why, does it not look like it?" Lu Jingming smiled, pulling Meng Hongchen gently into his arms, looking at Raiden Mei with a grin.

"Hello, I'm Raiden Mei."

Raiden Mei ignored Lu Jingming and greeted Meng Hongchen warmly, exuding mature gentlewomanly charm.

"Hello, I'm Meng Hongchen."

Meng Hongchen, nestled in Lu Jingming's arms and beaming with happiness, took an instant liking to Raiden Mei, shaking her hand politely.

Soon, Firefly, Castorice, March 7th, Jinhsi, Robin, Gu Yue, and others all arrived after receiving Lu Jingming's call.

Raiden Mei, the reliable big sister, quickly bonded with March 7th and the others.

Especially with March 7th, whose lively, sunny personality reminded Mei of an old friend, warming her heart.

However, as they spent time together, Raiden Mei gradually noticed something odd.

Meng Hongchen's closeness with Lu Jingming was one thing, but what surprised her was that Castorice, Gu Yue, Robin, and Firefly all seemed very close to him too.

During the meal, they would thoughtfully serve food to Lu Jingming, sometimes even feeding him directly. These scenes left Raiden Mei completely bewildered.

Wasn't Meng Hongchen his girlfriend? Why were the others so close to him, and why did Meng herself act as if this was perfectly normal?