Douluo Dalu: I'm Summoning Game Characters

Lu Jingming secretly breathed a sigh of relief when Han Ruoruo stopped Wu Ming. This kind of overly familiar "big sister" was so enthusiastic that he found her a bit hard to handle; dealing with her was truly taxing.

Only then, with the situation slightly calmed, did he have the leisure to carefully observe the members of Shrek Academy.

Besides Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming, the five older individuals possessed impressive strength, their depths indiscernible to Lu Jingming for a moment. However, the younger reserve team members of Shrek Academy gave Lu Jingming a strong sense of déjà vu.

Apart from Ma Xiaotao, the strongest aura belonged to a blond youth. Lu Jingming had seen this person's information; this was precisely Dai Yueheng, easily recognizable by his dazzling golden hair and his innate confidence and domineering aura.

Looking at the black-haired youth with painted facial patterns and a somewhat feminine appearance, Lu Jingming guessed he was Gongyang Mo. The seemingly honest and simple black-haired, short-haired youth was likely Yao Haoxuan.

Then there was the cold-tempered, dark-red-haired Chen Zifeng, and a seemingly unremarkable young girl who, upon closer inspection, turned out to be an undeniable beauty—Xixi. Lastly, there was a black-haired girl who was the complete opposite of Ma Xiaotao.

Her face was exquisite, her temperament aloof, like a princess of snow, exuding an icy aura that pushed people away. This was clearly Ling Luochen.

Although these reserve team members were still young, Lu Jingming, relying on his memories of them, accurately identified each of them. After all, each of their unique temperaments served as distinct labels, making them easy to differentiate.

Without much idle chatter, Shrek Academy, led by the Heaven Dou Empire's reception staff, checked into the luxurious top-floor suites of the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel. From start to finish, Yan Shaozhe never made an appearance, clearly entrusting all matters to Han Ruoruo.

This was undoubtedly also a form of training for the contemporary Shrek Seven Monsters, allowing them to accumulate experience and grow rapidly while handling trivial matters.

At the same time, Zhang Lexuan took St. Freya Academy's documents to the registration desk. The accompanying teacher this time was Jingliu, and Lu Jingming, as the sole reserve member, came along.

After all, without this identity, they wouldn't be able to stay at the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel. This grand hotel was specifically prepared for participating teams; if accompanying personnel could freely check in, even with its immense scale, it would likely be unable to accommodate everyone.

Unlike the renowned Shrek Academy, St. Freya Academy only occupied the second floor of the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel.

Although the environment here was not bad, it was indeed considered a more ordinary room within the hotel. However, even so, compared to ordinary hotels outside, this place was still top-tier.

After all, the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel was the Heaven Dou Empire's premier hotel, and even its most ordinary rooms were not for ordinary people.

St. Freya Academy was, after all, a newcomer with little reputation, so it naturally couldn't compare to renowned institutions like Shrek Academy, the continent's top academy.

But Lu Jingming and the others didn't care about this; they had full confidence. After this tournament concluded, even if St. Freya Academy couldn't surpass top institutions like Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, it would certainly join the ranks of top academies, making a name for itself in the Douluo Continent's soul master world.

Time flew by; several days passed in the blink of an eye. The opening day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament drew closer. Participating teams from other academies arrived one after another.

Even the most distant Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had checked into the top floor of the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel, enjoying the exact same treatment as Shrek Academy.

After all, as the perennial runner-up to Shrek Academy for ten thousand years, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy held significant status in the soul master world, and the Heaven Dou Empire naturally gave them ample face.

In these past few days, Lu Jingming had been exploring Heaven Dou City with his little fox, touring the ancient city thoroughly. After his excursion, he inwardly evaluated the city, finding it far inferior to his own Haiyuan City. 

Heaven Dou City was indeed massive, its area more expansive than ten Haiyuan Cities combined, and with its ten-thousand-year history, it exuded an ancient and profound aura everywhere.

However, its various buildings and urban facilities were far behind those of Haiyuan City. The people of the Heaven Dou Empire harbored a far greater aversion to soul tools than those of the Star Luo Empire, which severely hindered their soul tool technology development.

In Heaven Dou City, not to mention soul tool trams, even automatically heated soul tool air conditioners were extremely rare.

Only in high-end establishments like the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel were these daily-use soul tools available, and ordinary residents of Heaven Dou City, even if they wished to use soul tools, had nowhere to find them.

After enjoying himself, Lu Jingming's heart was filled with disappointment. If even a core imperial city like Heaven Dou City was like this, one could imagine the state of other cities in the Heaven Dou Empire.

His initial desire to travel across the entire Douluo Continent now dissipated like foam, vanishing without a trace.

Compared to the highly developed world of his previous life, the technological level of the Douluo Continent was truly too backward. Once the novelty wore off, only a sense of tedium remained.

With a feeling of waning interest, Lu Jingming returned to the Heavenly Vault Grand Hotel. Compared to their arrival, the hotel's first-floor lobby was noticeably livelier.

After all, over a hundred participating teams had checked in, making for a bustling scene of people coming and going.

Lu Jingming was just about to head up to the second floor to return to his room when, suddenly, a faint, elegant fragrance wafted towards him, and a graceful figure instantly blocked his path.

"Brother Jingming, long time no see. Do you still remember your sister?" A clear, bell-like voice rang in his ears.

Lu Jingming was surprised and instinctively looked up. He saw Xu Jiujiu standing before him with a beaming smile, a smile like warm spring sunshine, yet also seemingly carrying a hint of a different meaning.

"How could I? I could forget anyone, but I'd never forget Sister Jiujiu!" Lu Jingming quickly shook his head vigorously, inwardly reminding himself that this was the wealthy benefactress and a powerful backer in the current stage; he absolutely could not easily offend her.

After all, St. Freya Academy's ability to participate in the tournament was largely thanks to Xu Jiujiu's significant efforts.

"Is that so? I thought someone had forgotten me. After all, besides asking people to help me, you've never come to visit me even once!" Xu Jiujiu's voice carried a hint of resentment, her expression like that of a lovelorn girl abandoned by a heartless man, making one feel a touch of pity.

Lu Jingming immediately felt a wave of awkwardness. Thinking about it carefully, it really was true.

When he had asked her for help, it was only through sending letters, and he had never personally visited Star Luo City. Recalling it now, such an action was truly inappropriate.