Night, inside the hotel.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
"Why does she always text me right when I'm about to go to sleep?"
With nothing pressing to do, Lumina parted ways with Feixiao and Lingsha at the Alchemy Commission and strolled along Luofu Street for a while before returning to her hotel.
After a quick meal, she went back to her room.
Having showered and settled into bed, just as she was about to close her eyes, her phone's Special Group notification tone rang.
After a brief grumble, Lumina hurriedly grabbed her phone, afraid to waste even a second.
The message was from March 7th.
Given the late hour, March 7th's message was likely to be about venting her frustrations over something.
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, I've somehow become Yunli and Yanqing's apprentice!]
[Lumina: Somehow? Yunli and Yanqing's apprentice? That does sound rather odd. Can you explain in more detail?]
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, it's like this...]
March 7th recounted everything that had happened at the Seat of Divine Foresight.
[Lumina: I see. But this doesn't sound like a bad thing, does it?]
[March 7th: Mmm, it's definitely not bad! In fact, it's a good thing!]
"A good thing...?" Lumina murmured, propping her chin on her hand as she pondered. Her eyes darted around, and a faint, malicious smile curled at the corners of her lips.
"I recall that March 7th needs to defeat at least one opponent, right?"
"So, if—and I mean if—March 7th's first opponent were me..."
Lumina's mind began to fantasize. She imagined March 7th, filled with the expectations of Yunli and Yanqing, entering the Wardance Ceremony with unwavering confidence. What expression would she make when she discovered her opponent was Lumina herself?
Pfft...
The mere thought of the various expressions that might flash across March 7th's face made Lumina burst into laughter.
Snapping back to reality, Lumina's thoughts returned to her phone conversation. She glanced upward, pondered for a moment, then cradled the device in both hands as she typed a message, deleting and revising it carefully.
[Lumina: Little March, since you're also participating in the Wardance Ceremony...]
[Lumina: ...then I won't hold back when we meet~]
The message hung in the air, undelivered. March 7th, clearly stunned by Lumina's words, hadn't yet recovered enough to reply.
Unfazed, Lumina kept her gaze fixed on her phone, patiently awaiting March 7th's response.
[March 7th: ???!!! ]
A moment later, March 7th finally sent a reply.
Three question marks and three exclamation points perfectly conveyed the turmoil in her heart.
Lumina could already picture the scene: on the other side of the screen, a beautiful girl, clad only in a pink bunny pajama set, lying in bed and cradling her phone. The moment she saw Lumina's message, she would burst free from the covers and spring up in shock.
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, does this mean you're also going to participate in the Wardance Ceremony?!]
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, you're not joking, are you?!]
March 7th didn't know the full extent of Lumina's power, but based on the ring she'd given her and how Lumina had effortlessly blocked Sunday's Ultimate from afar, she suspected that all the Wardance Ceremony participants combined wouldn't stand a chance against her.
[Lumina: Of course I'm not joking.]
[Lumina: And it's not just me—Feixiao will be participating too!]
Lumina smiled and sent another bombshell, leaving March 7th stunned into silence for quite some time.
[March 7th: Th-th-th-th-this...]
Five "this" followed by an ellipsis perfectly conveyed March 7th's shock and hesitation, setting the stage for her later resolve.
[Lumina: Don't worry, Feixiao and I won't use Path power. We'll fight you fair and square, relying only on our martial arts and swordsmanship. ]
[ "Fair and square indeed—except for Path power, we'll use everything else," Lumina added silently. ]
Seemingly fair, but far from it.
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, do you think I'm stupid or something? ]
[March 7th: Even without Path power, we're no match for you! ]
Though March 7th might seem ditzy, she understood basic logic.
For example, Sister Lumina had lived through countless Amber Eras, her experience and insight far surpassing those of anyone participating in the Wardance Ceremony.
And General Feixiao—a martial arts expert who regularly leads troops into battle—how could they possibly stand a chance?
[Lumina: Hmm? ] Lumina frowned at March 7th's message, a flicker of confusion arising in her heart.
When did this ditzy March 7th become so sharp?
Any normal person would have noticed the catch, but this was March 7th! How had she figured it out?
"Something's not right... something's definitely not right..."
Lumina muttered to herself, a growing sense of unease flickering in her heart.
This March 7th was already starting to deviate from the impression she had of her.
If I keep underestimating her as that gullible March 7th and lose my advantage, things could get really bad...
She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
Lumina's expression gradually turned serious as she resolved to revise her perception of March 7th from this moment forward.
At the very least, she couldn't keep seeing her as the March 7th who could be tricked ten times with a single piece of candy.
Hmm, let's adjust that to nine times with a single piece of candy then.
-
[Lumina: Don't worry, March! If you encounter me or Feixiao during the Wardance Ceremony, win or lose, you'll automatically advance.]
[Lumina: Just think of Feixiao and me as your guiding masters.]
Though she said this, a thorough beating was still in store.
Lumina had never "thoroughly beaten" a beautiful girl before.
When the time comes...
Lumina clutched her phone, her mind conjuring images of herself, a reclusive martial arts master, soundly defeating March 7th and then offering her guidance.
Ding-ding-ding!
[March 7th: Whew... that's a relief. ]
[March 7th: I absolutely have to win at least one round! If I get matched against Sister Lumina or General Feixiao right away... Master Yanqing and Master Yunli would be so disappointed. ]
"Master Yanqing... Master Yunli?" Lumina muttered, her mind suddenly sparking with a new idea.
Her fingers danced across the screen, quickly typing out a message.
[Lumina: Hey March, where's your gathering spot? ]
[Lumina: I'm free tomorrow, so I could teach you some martial arts. ]
[March 7th: Sister Lumina, really?! ]
March 7th's reply came almost instantly after Lumina sent her message, the speed of her response betraying her overwhelming excitement.
[Lumina: Of course. ]
Half true, half false. The "nothing's wrong" part was true; the "teaching martial arts" part was a lie.
After all, Lumina didn't know any martial arts at all.
If physical prowess, Path power, and other factors were eliminated, leaving only martial skill to determine the victor, Lumina was certain she couldn't even defeat March 7th...
But no matter. Yanqing and Yunli would.
Tomorrow, she'd go under the pretense of teaching March 7th martial arts, then secretly observe and learn Yanqing and Yunli's swordsmanship.
With her keen eye and natural talent, even if Yanqing and Yunli weren't specifically teaching her, Lumina was confident she could learn it just by watching!
Mere swordsmanship? This was as easy as picking up a fallen leaf!
[March 7th: Hmm... I'm not entirely sure where exactly it is.]
[March 7th: I'm at the xxxx residence. Sister Lumina, you can come find me here tomorrow, and then we'll go look for Yanqing and Yunli together.]
[Lumina: Sounds good.]
With the exact location secured, Lumina had achieved her objective.
After a brief exchange with March 7th, she ended their conversation with a simple "Good night."