"Why aren't you shocked..."

Jiang Keke, covering her face, hadn't actually cried yet. She was just asking with some confusion.

"It's nothing new. The captain already pulled that trick."

Hearing Shion's response, Jiang Keke fell silent for a long moment. Finally, she gritted her teeth hatefully. "Damn it, that captain, even dead he has to get in my way! I was supposed to shock you all in one go, then smoothly steer the conversation to my advantage..."

Shion slapped Jiang Keke's swollen left cheek again. Suffering a double blow, Jiang Keke immediately crouched down, covering her head.

After looking her over again, Shion finally spoke slowly:

"It's not a disguise?"

"If it were a disguise, how would I dare stand before you?"

Jiang Keke jumped up, not minding the redness on her face. She spread her arms and spun around. "Teacher Shion should be able to tell, right? No matter what kind of disguise, it can't fool your eyes, can it?"

As her black robe fluttered, Keke's smile was no different from when she was a child showing off a newly learned dance to her parents.

That's right, inside and out, the girl before her was undoubtedly Jiang Keke.

Most importantly, she could clearly sense that Keke was still at the Saint Hall.

She was even still arguing with the Saint Hall people about the treatment of the Chongxu residents.

Yet here was another Keke...

"Aren't you surprised, Teacher Shion? Didn't think your Keke could pull this off..."

Before she could finish her words, her other cheek met with another sharp "smack."

Keke, who had been grinning smugly, was stunned speechless by the slap.

Tears welled up in her eyes, a conditioned reflex from the physical pain.

Then, shocked and wide-eyed, she stared at Shion. "Why..."

"Not good."

With that, Shion directly grabbed Black Keke's ear. "Look at what you've turned yourself into!"

"Who told you to dye your hair, and with highlights too? You look like a delinquent! Think you're cool?"

Her ear nearly torn off, Black Keke was yanked onto her tiptoes, tears streaming. "No! No! This hair part, it changed color on its own when I gained power!"

"And the highlights? Don't tell me the highlights changed on their own too?"

"The highlights... the highlights..." Black Keke gasped, "I thought the highlights looked good..."

Shion nearly twisted her ear off!

Black Keke immediately started crying. "I was wrong, Teacher Shion, I was wrong!"

"And another thing."

Shion pressed directly on a pattern on her face. The blood-red pattern was very vivid, making Keke look more mature and even a bit sinister. But Shion dug into that pattern, using her mana to almost erase it.

"Tattoos, tattoos! How many times have I told you? If you get a tattoo, I'll break your legs! Who let you get a tattoo!"

Then she pressed on the corner of Keke's eye. "And this crow's feet design? What is this, colored contacts? If you don't want your eyes, you can gouge them out. You look neither human nor ghost. Do you know what grade you're in right now? What will your classmates at school think of you? If you can't wash it off, it'll be a lifelong shame, understand?!"

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

Black Keke raised her hands. "I'm not Keke, actually I'm not Keke..."

"If you're not Keke, then who are you?"

"I'm Alice! I'm a counterfeit Alice from the Mirror Kingdom!"

"Bullshit. I've seen all the Alices from the Mirror Kingdom. My young friend Itaen, whatever else you might say about her, is traditional, plain, and honest. She at least has basic taste. There's absolutely no way she'd stick all this messy crap on an Alice."

With that, she grabbed Black Keke's ear again and kicked her on the ass. "Learning bad things and lying on top of it."

Black Keke was genuinely crying now.

She hadn't expected Shion to be so unreasonable. Claiming to be Keke meant getting beaten, and claiming not to be Keke also meant getting beaten!

But seeing that claiming not to be Keke got her hit even harder...

She had no choice but to change her tune. "I am Keke!"

A slap landed on her ass, making Black Keke see stars.

This woman really wasn't holding back!

"That's enough!"

She immediately changed her attitude, her tone turning somewhat stern. "A sister should not be humiliated!"

Another slap, and both of her butt cheeks were swollen.

Black Keke, tears streaming, hurriedly pulled out her Miracle Seed.

"I'm really not messing with you anymore! I'm really not!"

"And these socks, one long and one short, both different! Still being such a nonconformist!"

"Have you had enough?!" Black Keke finally couldn't take it anymore. Her tone turned fierce. "Gray Embers Rekindled!"

She never thought the day would come when she'd be forced to transform just from being beaten!

"With my broken body, become the blazing sun!"

Right now, she felt closer to a broken body than ever before.

Shion's few beatings had nearly taken half her life out of her.

She'd thought the transformation invincibility frame would force Shion back, letting her create some distance, recompose herself, and steer the conversation back under her control.

She hadn't expected Shion to not retreat at all!

Even though her aura was clearly declining, even though as a leaking Full Bloom, using more power meant her life was draining faster...

The other woman wasn't afraid at all!

Ignoring her transformation invincibility frame, Shion pressed in on her and slapped her ass again!

Black Keke sneered. The transformation's invincible effect frantically resisted Shion's beating. Even a peak Full Bloom was helpless against an invincibility frame, let alone a leaking one like Shion...

"Smack!"

That slap pierced through the invincibility frame and landed heavily on her ass.

Black Keke almost screamed!

This wasn't a Magical Girl!

Just a little more, just a little more and she'd have been beaten out of her transformation state!

Black Keke didn't know if Shion had held back because she was afraid she'd actually kill her, or if Shion simply didn't have the strength left to beat her out of her transformation.

Either way, the moment the transformation succeeded, the pain vanished instantly, letting Black Keke breathe a sigh of relief.

Tears of emotion welled up.

She'd survived!

This Keke here... she actually survived this kind of beating? No wonder she was so tough!

You've really suffered, Keke over there. What kind of hellish life is this...

Then Shion paused for a moment, and Black Keke waited anxiously, her heart pounding.

"Now, now do you believe me? I really am Keke..."

"When did I ever say you weren't?"

Black Keke was stunned. The heat radiating from her body didn't affect Shion at all. Even after transforming, with her super-high stats as a Magical Girl, being held down by Shion meant she couldn't move an inch.

The other side's stats were just higher...

"Do you usually beat Keke like this?"

"Keke is usually very well-behaved. Why would I beat her?" Shion said coldly. "I'm beating you because there's something wrong with you. Reflect on that, instead of dragging others down, understand? I'm doing this for your own good."

"We're not that close!"

Any Magical Girl with some skill could basically tell that Shion was leaking.

As a Full Bloom Magical Girl, far superior to a Blooming one, inheriting a part of the world's origin as a blooming miracle flower, one generally didn't lose control of their power—only a very few Magical Girls who weren't strong enough would have their consciousness scattered by the vast mana of a Full Bloom.

And the Mental Landscape could lock in the mana of a Full Bloom Magical Girl to the greatest extent, preventing rapid loss due to Full Bloom.

Therefore, the so-called "leaking" doesn't actually cause a significant drop in combat power.

What it reduces more is lifespan!

Every attack and action consumes life force at an accelerated cost.

The more desperately one fights, the faster one dies!

Until the life force dwindles to the point where one can't even attack with full strength, and the upper limit of the mana bar starts to collapse.

This is also the reason why most Full Bloom Magical Girls die.

However, Black Keke looked at Shion, seeing the -1s, -1s, -1s flashing on her body. She was actually willing to reduce her lifespan just to beat her up!

For a moment, Black Keke was genuinely laughing through her tears.

Then she was just crying.

"Never mind. Correcting you is worth it."

This madwoman would rather die than not give her a thorough beating!

"The Incubators are coming now!"

Seeing that Shion was about to start again, Black Keke panicked. "Wait, the Incubators are here! They can feel you leaking too! We're allies, Shion!"

Shion just slapped her again, making the other side of her face swell up too. "Call me Teacher."

Although it was a bit aggrieved, at least she wasn't being told to call her "Dad." "Teacher Shion, let's form an alliance..."

"First, take off all those accessories, wipe off those tattoos and eye makeup, and dye your hair back!"

In truth, she could feel it. Two Kekes.

Because Keke's Miracle Seed hadn't been lost. In fact, to argue with the Saint Hall people, Keke had already transformed into Magical Girl Ruri and was even using magic.

Earlier, for the sake of the Chongxu people and their fight with the Lu Ya AI, although Keke couldn't fully understand the freedom the Chongxu people wanted—after all, Keke was still young, not the brightest, and had a fairly happy life, apart from losing her parents, so she couldn't really grasp the pain of having unspeakable hardships.

But whenever she saw someone suffering injustice and persecution, Keke still had the guts to step up and argue.

Especially the fierce battle with the Lu Ya AI back then had earned her a considerable reputation, giving her a lot of say in the Saint Hall and Chongxu.

Although Shion had deliberately avoided Keke along the way, she was actually always keeping an eye on her little sister.

From a rookie who used to always hide behind others and shift responsibility...

She had gradually become a strong person who could take the lead in fighting against injustice.

It made her very gratified.

After all, when it came to strength, Shion had never worried. She's my little sister. She's talented, and she has the hard work and seriousness to realize that potential.

There's no way she'd be weak.

The most important thing was to cultivate a strong heart.

To understand her own power, to control her own power, and to use her power generously for the right things.

Keke had undoubtedly been moving toward the ideal Shion had in mind. For a little sister like that...

Although she never said it out loud, she was very satisfied and proud in her heart. She was just always worried that praise would make Keke slack off, because for Keke, an oppressive education style worked better...

So, seeing a Keke who wasn't learning the right way, Shion had no qualms about laying into her.

My Keke can't grow up like this.

Keke needs to know what happens if she turns out like this!

Identical mana, identical appearance, identical soul.

Although she had initially denied it, thinking the Keke before her was just some kind of illusion...

In truth, it was only because she had confirmed that her sister wasn't here.

Not because she had seen through anything.

Whether it was the soul or the feedback from the mana, it all told her that the person before her was Keke.

There was no deception.

Shion looked up.

Even though she was trying her best to conceal it, the continuous loss of life force and the collapse of her mana... From her once abundant mana to now, her aura was so weak that outsiders thought she might not live much longer. Even whether she could still maintain her Full Bloom level seemed uncertain.

Some beings couldn't resist sniffing around.

She sneered coldly, looking at the Incubators flying in from all directions. Her heart stirred with excitement.

In ancient times, there was the Void Emperor who used himself as bait to trap the Undying Mountain, and later the Eternal Emperor who fished the Primal Ancient Mines.

Now, here she was, Shion, leaking aura to lure in small fry.

"Magical Girl Shion."

That Incubator called out her name. The President of the Witch Association also fell silent, turned her head, and narrowed her eyes at the Incubator.

As it walked step by step, the Incubator's form kept elongating and changing, eventually transforming into a beautiful girl.

A natural transformation, not even needing a Miracle Seed.

With just a single thought, it could possess power almost equal to a Blooming Magical Girl.

With each step, its green Magical Outfit became more condensed, clearer, and gradually turned pink.

Its aura also soared wildly, eventually reaching the level of a Full Bloom!

Even the girl's pupils became brighter and more lively, as if a real Magical Girl had awakened.

But her face revealed a cold, contemptuous smile.

Then her gaze swept across all of Chongxu.

"Pay your debt!"

Her tone was almost shrill.

Shion was about to step forward, but Black Keke beside her reached out to stop her.

"Wait, Teacher Shion, you're still losing your health bar limit. Leave this small fry to me!"

She had been trying to get a little closer, to ease the tension a bit.

But instead, Shion's face grew even colder, and she raised her hand again.

Frightened, Black Keke immediately crouched down, covering her head.

With a cold snort, Shion finally just flicked Black Keke on the forehead.

Sending her tumbling backward several times.

The Incubator, having just transformed, charged at them, but Shion reduced it to ashes with a single punch!

The Celestial Emperor's Fist!

Anything it touched was either dead or injured!

Slowly withdrawing her fist, looking at the stunned gazes of the crowd, Shion said calmly:

"I harmonized the Dao with eternity through life and death. Even if I failed, I was only one step away. How dare you mere beings claim to touch the ultimate path of Full Bloom?"

Then she looked at Black Keke, her expression turning cold.

"If you want to eat the fish, you catch it yourself. I spent all this time baiting them in. Trying to steal my catch? I'll deal with you too."

"I'm wrong, I'm wrong..."

Looking at Black Keke admitting her fault, Shion took a deep breath. Though her mana was still collapsing, her eyes suddenly flashed with brilliant light!

A large amount of the mana that had been leaking was suddenly sucked back in like a storm.

The life force that had been draining quickly was now slowing down to a crawl, like a mud oxen entering the sea.

Awareness emerged from the bitter sea, breath settled in the dantian, and she subtly approached the state of a golden body leaking slightly!

Not to mention those Incubators that had approached because of Shion's weakened aura...

Even Black Keke, who had noticed Shion's crazy mana leak from the very beginning, even her life decreasing as she beat her up, was dumbfounded.

Just a moment ago, she looked like she was about to die!

Shion walked step by step toward the many Incubators.

Each Incubator transformed rapidly.

"Indeed, the Dark Supremes can undergo ultimate sublimation and step into the Emperor realm."

Looking at the almost Full Bloom-level Magical Girls, Shion mused internally about the inflation.

These Incubators casually pulled out Full Blooms.

A bloodthirsty smile spread across her face. "I've been waiting for you. For a contemporary Celestial Emperor like me, you old turtles' biggest difficulty is that you refuse to come out of your shells. Since you've stepped out of the Forbidden Zone of Life..."

A chilling grin spread across Chongxu, and the Incubators' bodies began to explode one by one!

Shion suddenly appeared beside the last Incubator, reaching out and gripping its head tightly.

"I'm here to bring you misfortune."

...

"From now on, I will make the Forbidden Zone of Life perish, and usher in the Celestial Emperor Calendar!"

New World, Beihai.

Dragon Lord Shion, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

Looking around, she found her true-transmission disciples busy at work.

The originally planned banquet was naturally left for Thousand-Pinweed and the others to handle in Chongxu.

There was no point in having the Sect Master's leak-and-fish operation here in the New World.

With Azure Cloud Sect here, there were no major enemies on this side. The so-called Dark Supremes were mostly on the fused world in Chongxu, or inside the World Tree and the Magic Kingdom.

The local Incubators had low authority, and few could even transform. Most of them had already been controlled by Four Leaf and Six Leaf using Perception Obstruction, so they couldn't serve as Dark Supremes anyway.

What these Azure Cloud Sect disciples were busy with was the upcoming wedding.

So Yumo and Qinghua were still picking out their dresses—Lady Bingtang had finally softened her heart and agreed to let them come to the wedding. They might even be able to be bridesmaids next to the Sect Master.

Of course, Qinghua was mainly going for the food...

Everyone was generally immersed in their own affairs. Bingtang was planning the banquet and wedding. Yumo was in a corner, constantly comparing the dresses she'd chosen, sometimes giggling to herself, sometimes agonizing for a long time, sometimes blushing.

She was mostly lost in her own world. Although Qinghua was lying in bed, her external Puppet was still gaming like crazy...

Six Leaf was, as usual, lying on Dragon Lord Shion's tail, swinging on it like a swing. Four Leaf had been watching from the side, and was just cautiously about to climb onto the big tail herself...

When the Sect Master suddenly opened her eyes and said she was going to usher in the Celestial Emperor Calendar.

Startled, Four Leaf fell to the ground with a thud.

The few true-transmissions all looked confused, but only Bingtang's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at her Sect Master. "Congratulations, Sect Master, on a successful hunt."

Shion nodded slightly. "The Magic Kingdom is already getting impatient. We'll be able to find their location sooner or later. But the matter of the Celestial Emperor Calendar is no small thing. You need to coordinate with Thousand-Pinweed and the others to announce its unification across all worlds."

"Yes, I'll prepare immediately."

Bingtang spoke while tilting her head slightly to look at her Sect Master. "Also, the wedding we agreed on... it's about to start, isn't it?"

The wagging speed of the tail increased slightly. Dragon Lord Shion nodded. "No problem."

With the three corpses now, there was no need to worry about splitting forces. And now that she had retrieved her heart from her previous life...

The issue of Witch Shion was also resolved.

Not only could she transform at will without needing potions, but Witch Shion's strength had also been slightly improved.

After all, being compatible with the original heart, combined with the power of the Time Dao Fruit, she was finally barely able to rival the other two corpses. Her combat power had reached the Soul Union stage, above the Nascent Soul Transformation stage.

Previously, the weakest of the three corpses was Witch Shion.

If she hadn't anticipated that this witch's power would be crucial in the future, and hadn't walked this witch's path of the Dao, she would have been completely helpless against the Time Dao Fruit now.

Magical Girls can borrow a sliver of the Time Dao Fruit's power to Full Bloom, but they can't actually control the Time Dao Fruit.

It was similar for Dragon Lord Shion. A pure witch was needed to truly utilize the Time Dao Fruit.

However, there was still much to explore and develop regarding the usage and functions of the Time Dao Fruit. Shion wasn't in a hurry.

It was a crucial matter. That Black Keke from the Witch Association clearly knew more about the Time Dao Fruit.

She needed to get that intel first, to avoid any mishaps...

"Oh, right, Sect Master, what do you think of this wedding dress?"

Shion glanced at it. "Not bad."

"Does the Sect Master like it?"

"It's acceptable."

Bingtang looked at that wedding dress, involuntarily recalling the last conversation between Lu Ya and the Sect Master.

"If you like it, say you like it. If you don't, say you don't. Don't say 'acceptable' or 'not acceptable.' I can't understand that, Jiang Si. I don't understand~"

It was, in fact, a truly touching way of speaking.

Even Bingtang found it quite touching when she thought about it.

But unlike Lu Ya, she would never, under any circumstances, ask the Sect Master such a direct question.

If it was acceptable, then it was acceptable. There was no need to answer whether she liked it or not.

It wasn't a matter of fear or worry. In fact, if she asked the Sect Master like that, the Sect Master would be equally willing to give a direct answer.

It was just that both the Sect Master and Bingtang herself were used to it.

Used to answering "it's acceptable" instead of "I like it" or "I don't."

There was no need to go further and confirm.

Bingtang wasn't sure how big the gap was between herself and Lu Ya. Maybe she really wasn't as good, or maybe the gap wasn't that big.

But she wasn't anxious.

And she didn't feel she needed to change the way she communicated with the Sect Master, to adopt a style like Lu Ya's.

Bingtang just had to interact with the Sect Master in her own way.

That was how they had walked this path, and it was how they would continue.

There was no need, and no reason, to change into Lu Ya's style.

"As long as the Sect Master likes it."

Therefore, with the same response, Bingtang just smiled warmly, giving a gentle reply, and put the wedding dress away with a smile.

But Shion still added a comment. "It's a bit small."

"It's fine. It's for a puppet."

"Which puppet?"

"Secret~"

And while Bingtang playfully hid her little scheme, the Sect Master didn't pry.

Then she took out a suit from the cabinet and patted her Sect Master's dragon horns—she always liked to touch them casually. They felt great to the touch.

But it seemed a bit ticklish for the Sect Master, so Bingtang didn't dare let her get too sensitive. After a little squeeze, she said, "For now, let's exit the transformation, Sect Master. Try on the clothes."

There was no objection. Jiang Si's mind was mostly still on the Chongxu side, thinking about what to do after cleaning up the Incubators, and the matter of Black Keke needed consideration too.

Witch Shion was now an important corpse, capable of using the Time Dao Fruit, so Jiang Si planned to have Dragon Lord Shion leave her body and head to Chongxu to hold the fort.

While thinking about this, her multi-core processing was occupied, so she let Bingtang do as she pleased.

She took off her clothes and changed into the suit Bingtang had specially tailored for him.

After all, normal suits just didn't fit Jiang Si properly. After the custom order, Bingtang wasn't sure if it could bring out the Sect Master's handsomeness and mature, steady temperament.

So she wanted to have him try it on first.

"Are you done yet?"

Jiang Si, who had been obediently letting her dress him, finally asked after a long while.

"Almost, just wait a bit longer..."

After putting it on, there were still some issues with the trouser legs. She measured the distance and recorded it, then noted some flaws with the jacket.

After recording all the problems, she planned to have it remade.

Just as she was about to help Jiang Si take off the new suit again, the Sect Master grabbed her hand.

Hmm, it did make Bingtang's heart flutter a little.

Although they had been together for a long time, the Sect Master rarely took the initiative to hold hands...

So she gently turned her hand over, interlacing her fingers with his.

"For an annulled marriage, wouldn't it be better to dress more plainly?"

"This one is expensive. The Sect Master can take it home after the ceremony, and you can wear it many more times."

"Good point."

Although they weren't exactly short on money, the Sect Master almost instinctively reacted to any little opportunity for a bargain.

This was what you'd call a poor person's mindset. Rich in body, poor in heart, a fallen Dao Heart...

As she straightened his collar and adjusted his sleeves, she inwardly marveled at how handsome he looked, then asked again: "Sect Master, in the future, you must bring Miss Lu Ya back to Azure Cloud."

The nearby Yumo and Qinghua both opened their eyes, looking at their Lady Bingtang.

What's this, Lady Bingtang? Are you betraying us?

In truth, the matter between the Sect Master and Lu Ya was basically an open secret. After the battle in the sky, the Sect Master had directly told them about it, including his past relationship with Lu Ya.

In Yumo and Qinghua's—especially Super Qinghua's—minds, this kind of super childhood friend who drops in out of the blue was a major threat to the Sect!

Showing up and kicking everyone out of the finals before they even started, how was anyone supposed to compete?

In a galgame, that would be a final hidden character you could only unlock after completing all the other girls' routes.

But the Sect Master hadn't even made a dent in the other girls' routes before this one popped up and triggered the game over screen...

In any case, they had to keep their distance!

They never expected Lady Bingtang to personally open the door and invite the wolf into the house, wanting Lu Ya to join Azure Cloud Sect!

"Why?" Even Jiang Si was puzzled. "Azure Cloud doesn't lack her as a combatant."

"Of course, it's not about her combat power. It's just that I think, as a fellow Daoist so close to the Sect Master, it would be best for her to come to Azure Cloud and have more contact with the Sect Master."

Qinghua was horrified.

What's going on? Since when did Lady Bingtang become such a saint...

Or had she been crushed by Lu Ya and given up on her love for the Sect Master?

"That's not necessary..."

"Oh, my." Bingtang leaned forward, tugging at his collar, her face almost touching his. "I don't want you to have any regrets or any possibilities of regret. After all, the Sect Master is the leader of the righteous path, a legendary Celestial Emperor. Naturally, he should have a perfect life, right?"

Her icy-sweet scent wafted straight into his face. Jiang Si thought for a moment. "There's nothing to regret..."

"Then let it be my wish. Please, Sect Master, grant your humble servant, Bingtang, this small request."

The nearby Yumo and Qinghua both coughed. Qinghua even covered Four Leaf and Six Leaf's eyes, pretending not to see anything.

Although Bingtang didn't mind begging the Sect Master like this in front of others, if you actually acted like Lady Bingtang didn't care, you'd be in for a rude awakening...

"Bring Miss Lu Ya back. We want to be friends with her, get to know her better."

And Jiang Si never refused Bingtang when she pleaded with him so humbly.

"If the opportunity arises."

Bingtang immediately broke into a smile. "Thank you for your hard work, Sect Master."

When the Sect Master went to work out, Bingtang didn't rush him to take off the suit.

She just went back to her spot and continued working.

Before long, Qinghua sidled up and whispered, "Why, Lady Bingtang? Why do you have to let Lu Ya join Azure Cloud? I disagree!"

Bingtang then looked at Yumo, who also shook her head slightly.

So Bingtang sighed. "Because I want Miss Lu Ya to come to Azure Cloud Sect and become a happy, ordinary girl."

"What's ordinary about her?"

"That's for the Sect Master to judge."

"Her happiness... what about ours?"

"The Sect Master's happiness comes first."

Qinghua stared at Bingtang, dumbfounded. "Lady Bingtang, what's wrong with you? You're acting like someone who's already cleared the game, in sage mode. You're that indifferent?"

"Silly girl."

Bingtang tapped Qinghua's forehead and said helplessly, "You'll understand someday."

The more distant something is, the more special it is.

An ordinary girl only seems ordinary when she's close by.

Only then does she not seem so hard to rival.

But.

Bingtang gently tapped her lips with the tip of her pen, looking at Jiang Si, who was habitually pumping iron.

The wedding dress... that was definitely coming first here.

...

Keke had actually been in a pretty good mood lately.

Although there had been another riot in Chongxu, the Saint Hall, along with the Nightwatchmen and the Witch Association on the second level, had eventually released many Chongxu residents under the pressure.

Seeing everyone leave happily, Keke naturally felt happy too.

But the Saint Hall was being exceptionally domineering, insisting on keeping people.

At first, Keke wanted to get stronger at the Saint Hall, so she just helped with the persuasion.

Then the Saint Hall people stopped pretending.

Seeing the Saint Hall forcibly imprisoning some Chongxu residents to use as batteries, Keke finally couldn't take it anymore and completely fell out with the Saint Hall!

She fought all the way from the Night Without Borders Plaza into the Inner Sect headquarters of Chongxu, alerting both Hyacinth and Ruo Yun.

But Keke didn't care.

She had stayed at the Saint Hall before to give them some face.

Now that the Saint Hall wasn't giving her, Keke, any face, then she wouldn't be polite!

She had long been displeased with the Saint Hall's exploitation of the Chongxu people. Now that she had made up her mind to break with them, she settled old and new scores together, beating the Saint Hall squads all the way down the line.

It felt damn good to vent!

After all, calling them "Saint Hall squads," the only ones who could actually hold their own were Ruo Yun and Hyacinth from the Central State Demon Squad.

And even the two of them together might not be able to stop her, let alone the fact that she had Silver Lotus and White Fox as backup—White Fox couldn't transform, but she had weapons exchanged from the Saint Hall.

Plus her natural Blue Silver Grass, she could still provide interference and support.

So Keke wasn't afraid of them at all.

She struck when she needed to!

When she swept through everything and rescued the Chongxu people, she finally understood what her big brother had meant.

To know your own power, and to act based on that power as your reference point—that's the sign of a strong person.

Although when she heard that phrase, her relationship with her big brother hadn't mended yet, and she just thought Jiang Si had found some random nonsense online to show off.

But now, Keke fully understood the meaning.

She clearly had the power to save everyone, but she was always hesitant, leading to passively accepting things, and making everyone unhappy.

That was the mindset of a weakling.

If you have the power to save everyone, just do it. Know yourself, know what you can do, take your position, and do what needs to be done.

Before, Keke was always forced into action. Forced to transform into a Magical Girl, forced to fight the captain, forced to Full Bloom against her will.

She only thought about doing something when things had reached a desperate point.

She never thought that doing something in advance might make things better.

But now, it was different.

Keke had some confidence in her heart now.

Big brother, your Keke has become a true strong person! I can definitely help save you!

Of course, the happiest part was learning that the whole of Chongxu was actually just a large virtual world.

Everyone inside Chongxu was just a projection of their Personal Reality. Their true bodies were actually in the capsules outside.

So, back then, her big brother's sword storm wasn't actually a massacre at all! He hadn't killed anyone!

He was actually helping the Chongxu people break free from control!

Probably.

Either way, her big brother wasn't a bad person and hadn't done anything wrong.

This was also why Keke's mood had been getting better and better lately, to the point where she dared to actively fall out with the Saint Hall.

Because her big brother really wasn't a bad person and hadn't done anything wrong, there was no need for her to stay in the Saint Hall.

She could protect her big brother just fine at the Disaster Control Bureau.

Although Azure Cloud Sect had been controlling the Bureau very strictly lately, at worst, their Beihai branch could just become independent...

So on the way back, Keke had been discussing this with Silver Lotus. They could set up a new Disaster Control Bureau, no longer under Azure Cloud Sect and the Central Bureau.

The original Bureau had started from a club. They could do the same!

Start a Bureau by following the example of their predecessors!

Silver Lotus naturally found this idea tempting.

"So who's going to be the captain? If we break away from Azure Cloud Sect and the Central Bureau, we'll need someone who can keep everyone in line, or else everyone will just run away. So, Keke, how about you?"

As Shion's student, Jiang Si's sister, and the Bureau's prodigy new Magical Girl, she was arguably the most suitable for the captain's position.

Keke, imagining leading the Bureau to help her big brother, immediately puffed out her chest and agreed.

Keke was going to become a true Magical Girl, become everyone's hero, become her big brother's savior...

She fantasized about all kinds of grandiose titles in her heart, feeling quite proud of herself.

But she knew she couldn't get cocky. A Magical Girl couldn't be too full of herself, or she'd trip and fall. But after everything she'd been through, saving Chongxu, coming back to her familiar Bureau like returning home, and being convinced again that her big brother was a good person whom she could safely help...

Plus, having her good friend Silver Lotus by her side, she inevitably let her tail get a little high, making a few self-congratulatory jokes.

Anyway, once she got back, she would definitely humble herself and work hard!

Together with Silver Lotus and the usually dull White Fox, having solved the Chongxu problem, they planned to return to Beihai.

Ever since she failed to defeat Shion with Su's million-subsidy move, White Fox had seemed even more dazed.

Sometimes she wouldn't say a word all day, just silently following Keke and Silver Lotus like a ghost.

But both Keke and Silver Lotus actually took good care of White Fox.

Although she was hardly noticeable on the sidelines, after traveling together, White Fox had clearly grown a bit closer to them.

The three of them left Chongxu through official channels, which required over a dozen procedures. While handling the paperwork, they took a stroll through the Chongxu streets, bought some snacks, and thought about bringing some local specialties back.

But since Chongxu was just a Mental Landscape space, none of the specialties could be taken out...

"Hey, I've been hearing people say that Miss Shion started leaking after her Full Bloom. A lot of people say she doesn't have long to live..."

"Fake. No way."

Dealing with rumors during their stroll, Keke's attitude was clear. "Yiyi, don't always get carried away by rumors, okay?"

"Alright, alright. Anyway, I heard that Azure Cloud Sect is planning to head for the Magic Kingdom. Should we consider going too?"

"We probably can't go. Azure Cloud Sect won't give us slots either."

"The Central Bureau can apply... but it's been a long time since any application was approved."

Keke was holding her ice cream, Silver Lotus her cotton candy, chatting casually.

On the bustling street, the three were planning to cut through the snack street to check out some physical stores. Halfway there, White Fox suddenly stopped.

The other two immediately noticed White Fox's abnormality. "What's wrong? Come on, White Fox..."

Before they could finish their sentence, they followed White Fox's gaze and were struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

"Of course, right now they're eyeing your power. If the branches are exposed, it'll be different..."

Muffled voices drifted over. Pushing through the crowd, Keke instinctively took a step in that direction.

Teacher Shion's figure was particularly noticeable. But as others had said, she seemed... to have some mana leaking?

But that didn't matter. Teacher Shion wouldn't be in any danger...

What mattered was the girl across from her.

She looked exactly like herself.

That... that girl who was like a clone of her... wait, no, why was her face swollen like a pig's head?

...That pig-headed girl who didn't look like her was now smiling ambiguously, almost pressing herself against Teacher Shion:

"So? How about letting me take Keke's place as your student? I can do so much more, you know?"

Keke's ice cream fell straight to the ground.

"No!"