Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity

Qingman had just finished her report and returned to her own home.

Although she hadn't been back for a long time, the result was still the same: the room was very clean, with almost no dust to be seen.

Her father wasn't actually a neat freak; the one with the cleanliness obsession was her mother.

In Qingluan's memory, when she was little, most of the time it was her mother complaining to her father about why he didn't clean up properly.

Then her father would put on a cheeky grin and go clean.

When he was with her mother, her father always smiled a lot. In fact, Qingluan rarely saw her father get angry or furious.

He never seemed rushed either. As a shareholder in a large enterprise, he had long achieved financial freedom and possessed a certain amount of power. No matter what he encountered, he always appeared calm and in control.

Until the day her mother passed away.

Her father was at a loss and as agitated as a greenhorn.

In the past, although her father rarely got angry or furious, it wasn't like it never happened. For example, there was a time when the family was out shopping and he found out someone in the company had leaked secrets to a competitor.

Her father would press his lips together, shake his head. Although he would still show a smile when facing her mother, when he turned away, his expression would turn somewhat cold.

Later, after returning home, he would sit on the rocking chair on the balcony, rocking leisurely back and forth. In the sunset, he looked like a lion lying in wait.

Although he didn't speak or make any sound, she could feel that vast, overwhelming anger and killing intent just by watching him from behind.

Mature people always restrain their emotions, whether it's anger or sorrow.

You always thought that was the case.

Until your mother passed away, you realized that even adults are not always able to restrain all their emotions.

There are always times when they break down.

Her father's breakdown was no different from anyone else's: agitated, furious, kneeling before her mother's body, holding her hand, constantly begging her not to leave him behind.

At that time, Jiang Ming was still young and didn't understand what death meant. She just thought it was an illness, something that could be cured by going to the hospital.

Just like before.

Only later did she learn that the dead cannot be resurrected.

Death means permanent loss, forever without a mother, never to see, touch, feel her mother's warmth, or hear her voice again.

She attended the funeral in a daze. Her father never once looked at her.

Only after the funeral ended, everything settled, and they returned home, did her father look at her.

He seemed still immersed in the recent funeral, like withered eyes with red veins, like bloodshot pupils. His gaze was full of bloodshot lines, so frightening.

So oppressive, so utterly despairing, yet hiding a venomous tiger.

Young Jiang Ming didn't understand what her father was thinking. She just clung to her mother's photo frame, the girl's pale fingers gently stroking the face in the photo, avoiding everything that was about to come.

Later, Jiang Ming realized what that terrifying feeling in her father's eyes, which she couldn't comprehend at the time, actually was.

It was later, when she encountered a similar look.

That she remembered.

It was killing intent.

Ah, so at that time, her father truly, genuinely, wanted to kill her.

But her father ultimately didn't do it. He just grabbed the cat she was raising at the time and slammed it heavily onto the ground!

"Why did you have to care about some cat! It's all your fault! It's all your fault for killing her!"

The cat was beaten to death by her father.

Its head was even stomped to a pulp by her father's crazed feet.

Qingying was terrified at that time.

She had never faced such immense fury from her father before.

Her father rarely got angry with her. Even if he was about to, her mother would be there to stop him, or complain a few words.

Many things would always pass by so lightly.

That day, she realized for the first time that without her mother, her father's anger would not pass by so lightly.

She cried as she went to clean up the cat's body, burying it in the backyard.

Without her mother, and having lost her cat, Qingluan had no other friends at that time either. She could only cry in her bedroom, holding the doll her mother had bought for her.

Until she met Little White and became a Magical Girl.

Continuously saving others, then meeting more Magical Girls at the Disaster Control Bureau, and making her own friends.

As for the hatred towards her father, Qingying didn't care that much anymore.

Taking off her shoes, changing into slippers, as she closed the door, Little White popped out of her bag.

It didn't like staying in the Miracle Seed. Under normal circumstances, Qingying kept it in her bag.

"Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing! Iris is looking for you! She keeps saying she wants to talk to you. Hurry up, she's been nagging constantly."

"Got it, right away, right away."

Qingying responded, then in her slippers, she went *pat-pat-pat* back to her bedroom.

Halfway there, the door to her father's bedroom suddenly opened.

She immediately pressed Little White back into her bag.

Looking up, a middle-aged man who had aged considerably stood at the doorway. Seeing Qingying, he also seemed a bit dazed.

Qingying also stood there, pausing for a moment before saying, "Dad."

The middle-aged man nodded, looked at her again, and said, "You're back."

"Mm, I'm back."

A rather meaningless conversation. Actually, this kind of somewhat distant interaction wasn't new; it had been going on for quite a while.

Just as she was about to return to her room, unexpectedly, her father called out to her again, "What have you been doing these past few days?"

She had been supporting Jiangming City for the past few years, but it wasn't like she never came home; she just rarely returned.

It's just that her father seemed to have never noticed she hadn't been home for a long time.

After all, he spent most of his time at the company. Her father himself rarely came home. Even when he did return, father and daughter wouldn't talk much and never visited each other's rooms.

But still, not noticing his daughter wasn't home for so long was pretty rare, right?

"I went to Jiangming to study."

Qingying had indeed attended school in Jiangming, though most of her time was still spent supporting the Disaster Control Bureau against Disaster Beasts.

In fact, the Disaster Control Bureau should have sent someone to inform her father long ago about arranging for her to study in Jiangming. It wasn't some secret.

He probably just never remembered it.

"Why, go to Jiangming?"

"The school arranged it, said it's better there."

The disheveled middle-aged man scratched his head, which hadn't been washed in a long time. "Oh, I see. What grade are you in this year?"

"I'm in my second year of high school."

"Already in high school..."

It was unclear whether it was a sigh of emotion or awkwardness.

"I'll go back to my room now."

In the end, there was nothing good to say. Actually, nowadays, most of the time between father and daughter was just silence.

She didn't really want her father to know she had become a Magical Girl now. As for why she didn't want him to know...

Qingluan wasn't sure either.

Maybe it was resentment, or maybe she just thought it would be troublesome.

"Oh, right."

Her father suddenly called out to her again, "A few days ago, I saw on the news that quite a few people died in Jiangming. It seemed chaotic."

"Mm, so I came back. I won't be going to Jiangming anymore."

Her father breathed out again, then nodded, "That's good."

"Oh, right, your mother's death anniversary..."

Just as her father was about to say something more, the Incubator in the bag finally couldn't hold back and popped its head out again. "Xiao Qing, Xiao Qing! Iris is starting to get so frantic she's yelling randomly! She wants us to contact her immediately!"

Qingying was startled and instinctively tried to stuff Little White back in, but it was too late. Her father had already seen it.

She tried pressing it back twice, but the Incubator refused to go back. She finally had to give up.

The man stared blankly at the white Incubator. As he reached out to touch it, Qingying instinctively protected Little White and took a step back.

Fortunately, to other people's ears, the Incubator's cries all sounded like "meow meow meow," otherwise it would have been exposed.

The Incubator didn't know what was happening either. It just knew the atmosphere seemed a bit tense, but the Central Bureau was urging urgently. It couldn't stay in the bag any longer; it didn't want to stay there anyway—it was dark and stuffy...

Qingluan's father was also stunned by his daughter's action, his hand hanging awkwardly in the air.

But he quickly withdrew his hand, "You... got a cat again."

Although the breed looked a bit strange, it was basically a cat.

Qingluan lowered her head, "Mm, its name is Little White."

"The same name."

The man muttered, then just sighed, "If you're keeping it, then keep it. Ask Auntie Yang to buy some good cat food."

"Okay."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Qingluan felt that her father seemed a bit different too.

Compared to before.

"And." Her father finally said one more thing to her, "No matter how good the relationship is, a pet is ultimately just a pet."

"People are the most important, daughter."

This time, Qingluan didn't reply to her father. Instead, she hugged Little White, returned to her room, closed the door, leaned against it, and sniffled.

Little White looked at her with some concern, "Xiao Qing..."

Qingluan hugged her Incubator, "It's okay, I won't abandon you."

"Mm."

Having lost her mother, having lost her own cat, with her father hating her, for Qingluan, it was Little White who accompanied her, chatting with her day and night, telling her about the wonders of being a Magical Girl, filling her with anticipation and longing for tomorrow.

It was because of Little White that she managed to survive that most difficult period.

So, she would absolutely never give up on Little White!

Holding Little White tightly, Qingluan swore this to herself.

However, soon Little White cried out again, "Hurry, hurry! Iris is going to throw another fit!"

Qingying then remembered the contact from the Central Bureau.

She quickly called Iris. As soon as the call connected, the other side yelled, "Qingluan! You actually dared to leave me hanging for so long! I'm going to break off our friendship!"

"Sorry, my dad just called me over."

"No way! This reason doesn't convince me!"

"Dad probably wanted to tell me to go sweep mom's grave tomorrow. Tomorrow is my mother's death anniversary."

"...I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. So what's the matter that's so urgent?"

"Oh, oh, right!" On the other end, Iris's voice suddenly became high-pitched again.

On this side, Qingluan was taking off her clothes, changing into more comfortable everyday wear, while listening.

"Hulin City blew up! You know Yaoyao, right?"

"Yaoyao?"

"Magical Girl Xingxuan."

Qingman then realized, "I remember her. That junior who's obsessed with Battle Demon Continent, always talking about ten-thousand-year soul rings and stuff."

"That's her! She discovered a lurking Witch Association in Hulin City! Someone went to take stock: over three thousand Disaster Beasts, with more than two hundred being class B! A plan and infiltration spanning over twenty years! Once it erupts, it'll be a full-scale Disaster Beast assault!"

"Hulin City would probably become hell in an instant! It's just too terrifying."

Qingluan lay spread-eagled on her soft bed. The girl's petite figure sank into the mattress, as if returning to her mother's embrace. A familiar perfume scent wafted over—the one her mother loved to use.

After her mother's death, she often sprayed her mother's perfume in the room. It gave her the feeling her mother was still with her, allowing her to sleep. Little White also jumped onto her stomach, lying there obediently.

After petting Little White, Qingluan said, "That Little Xingxuan is really amazing. She'll probably get a promotion this time, and her salary and benefits will improve too."

"Yeah, but Xingxuan said the Witch Association in Hulin City wasn't discovered by her, and the Witch Association cadre wasn't taken down by her either. It was an organization called the Saint Hall. I'm not familiar with East China. Qingluan, have you heard of the Saint Hall?"

Qingluan thought for a long time, then shook her head, "In East China, I've only heard of the Azure Cloud Sect. Never heard of any Saint Hall. Is it a recently emerged organization?"

"Probably not. If it just appeared recently, how could it have discovered the Witch Association's twenty-year plan? Most likely it's an old organization, but it's been hiding too well."

"Could it be related to the Azure Cloud Sect?"

"Not likely. The Azure Cloud Sect disdains using such methods. You've seen it; their leader likes to be direct, never hides her identity. With such formidable strength, what's the point of hiding? Although the Saint Hall destroyed the Witch Association's twenty-year plan, Xingxuan said they use Polluted Magic. To be honest, anyone who uses Polluted Magic is an idiot. Maybe it's just dogs of the Witch Association fighting each other."

Qingluan nodded, "That makes sense."

"Anyway, don't let this shady little roadside organization get mixed up with our Azure Cloud Sect. The Azure Cloud Sect is the righteous path's leader! And besides being tall, Miss Shion is the perfect, strongest Magical Girl of my dreams! Being associated with such an organization would be an insult to the Azure Cloud Sect! I absolutely won't allow it!"

"You're from the Disaster Control Bureau, Iris."

"Well, you want to join the Azure Cloud Sect too, right? I can also switch jobs."

"Don't joke around," Qingluan said softly. "Don't talk nonsense. I just want to try; I don't know how it'll turn out yet."

"Anyway, after this Heart Image Remnant incident ends, let's go check out the Azure Cloud Sect. I heard there are seven True Disciples in the Azure Cloud Sect, the seven strongest Magical Girls. Maybe I'll become a True Disciple as soon as I enter, since I can use Mental Landscape after all. But Qingluan, you'll have to work hard..."

She smiled helplessly, not taking Iris's joking words to heart.

She did want to join the Azure Cloud Sect, but she actually didn't really want to bring Iris along.

After all, no one knew what the inside of the Azure Cloud Sect was really like. What if it wasn't as good as imagined? Wouldn't that harm Iris?

It was all the Incubator's fault for blabbing and letting Iris know about this. Now it was a bit troublesome.

But no matter what, she had to go to the Azure Cloud Sect to look.

For a way to save her senior.

She didn't want to cause anyone else's death because of herself anymore.

Whether it was her mother, or her senior...

"Oh, I almost forgot to say, Qingluan, Senior Golden Sparrow said you've been selected as one of the members to enter the Heart Image Remnant. But don't get too happy too soon! Hurry up and train to develop your own Mental Landscape! Otherwise, even if you enter the Heart Image Remnant, you'll just be dead weight!"

"Iris should have been selected too, right?"

"Tsk, just missed it by a bit! Don't get cocky! I'll go find Senior Golden Sparrow for another test right away!"

After laughing and comforting her a few more times, she hung up the phone.

The Heart Image Remnant was closely related to Full Bloom. She had to figure out exactly what was going on.

Not just to save her senior; this was an issue every Magical Girl had to face.

"I hope it goes smoothly."

Qingying prayed like this.

However, the Incubator lying on her stomach then said, "It will go smoothly. At that time, even if there is any danger, as long as you're willing to achieve Full Bloom, or if Iris achieves Full Bloom, the witch in the remnant won't be a threat to anyone."

"Whether it's you or Iris, if you want to, you can both achieve Full Bloom."

Qingluan was stunned, looking at her Little White, "But... achieving Full Bloom is dangerous."

"But being a Magical Girl has always been dangerous. If achieving Full Bloom can save friends and defeat enemies, then you should achieve Full Bloom. Isn't that what our senior did?"

"If it comes to that..."

The Incubator rubbed against her cheek beside her, "Don't worry, Qingluan. I'll always be with you. I'm your best partner. No matter where you are, no matter what you become, I'll always be with you."

"...Little White, you'll be a good kitty from now on, right?"

"I'm not actually a cat, but if you like it that way, sure."

She held her seed, looking at the Incubator for a long time.

For the first time, she felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity.

Little White tilted its head, "What's wrong? Xiao Qing."

"Nothing."

All along, Little White had encouraged her to fight bravely like this. Nothing had changed.

It's just... why add Senior Iris...

Full Bloom.

Taking a deep breath, Qingying closed her eyes, turned over, and hugged the cloth doll her mother left behind.

She absolutely had to figure out the secret of Full Bloom.

.......

Red Crane felt like she had passed through an eternity.

When her consciousness recovered a bit and she opened her eyes,

the pain of her entire body being crushed by immense force still lingered throughout her.

When she opened her eyes,

she felt her surroundings were somewhat familiar.

Witch Association property, underground bar.

"Pair of threes!"

"Joker bomb! Crush!"

"Can you even play?! We're the peasants!"

"I don't care if you're peasants or landlords, you're going down! Airplane!"

"Don't mess around, don't mess around! This round is mine..."

Some noisy voices came through. Looking up, she saw a big toe pressing on her head.

The Twins, who had taken off their shoes, had their feet up on the table, and the big toe was pressing on her head.

Red Crane wanted to push it away, but found her body felt very strange.

Flipping over and looking at her reflection in the glass table, she realized.

She had turned into a little mouse.

"Ah!"

She couldn't help but let out a scream!

A gu insect, a captain made of vines, and the Twins—the three people playing cards all stopped their actions and looked at her.

"You're awake," Chilian welcomed her sarcastically. "Three-hour-one-second sister."

"You need more practice, Red Crane. Look at you, you died without even knowing who your opponent was from start to finish." The captain sighed with disappointment. "How many times have I told you, when you're out in the world, rely on yourself! Be cautious, then more cautious!"

The Twins retracted their feet, took a sip of the carbonated drink beside them, then reached out and tapped Red Crane's forehead.

"Welcome to the Witch Association Post-Death Debriefing Team. Now let's review, during your confrontation with the Azure Cloud Sect, as the biggest war criminal, how many forced errors and low-level mistakes you made!"