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

Bingtang was in a terrible mood.

Having lost to Yumo by just one move in the Heaven and Earth Board game, it was hard to feel good about it.

She remembered there was a guaranteed winning strategy for Gomoku, but today's match was rushed, and she had forgotten to review it beforehand, leading to a careless loss against Yumo.

That girl seemed to have secretly memorized the unbeatable tactics, which was why she had been so confident earlier when requesting the Heaven and Earth Board match.

She had fallen for the trap.

Yumo was becoming increasingly cunning—how could this be allowed to continue? As the Vice-Sect Master, she was actually struggling to keep up.

This was practically rebellion...

Of course, half of Shion's magical power was immense. Even if divided between two puppets, as long as no intense battles accelerated the mana consumption, it could easily last two or three days.

But Bingtang certainly didn't want it to run out in just two or three days...

Asking Jiang Si for mana once or twice was manageable, but doing it repeatedly probably wouldn't work.

However, seeing how happy Yumo looked, she eventually let it go.

Well, it wasn't like she had none—two or three days would have to do.

Today was naturally the day to inspect Qinghua's results. Initially, Bingtang had worried that Qinghua might unevenly distribute the mana between the two puppets.

But it turned out the mana allocation between the two puppets was exquisitely precise—you could say there wasn't even a hair's breadth of difference.

"Oof, Yumo kept bothering me all night—I need to catch up on sleep. But I feel like my precision in mana control has improved quite a bit..."

After handing over her work, Qinghua muttered to herself, found a corner, wrapped herself in a blanket, and immediately fell asleep.

Qinghua had effectively dropped out of school. Among the true disciples, her academic performance was a complete mess—even the teachers paid her no mind. Bingtang had initially considered pushing her to study properly,

but realizing she truly wasn't cut out for it, forcing her would only torture both of them, so she abandoned the idea.

Currently, Qinghua had taken up some part-time work online. She enjoyed it and could earn some money, so there was no need to force her through the grind of studying.

Combined with her salary from the Azure Cloud Sect, as long as she didn't squander it recklessly, she would have no worries about food and clothing in the future.

The real concern was Qinghua's spending habits—among the true disciples, she was the most unruly.

Four Leaf, Six Leaf, and Yumo had already gone to school. Since Yumo had supervised Qinghua all night, she'd probably be catching up on sleep in class...

Not that it mattered much. The Azure Cloud Sect had designated makeup study sessions, as missions to clear Disaster Beasts often led to missed classes. To prevent falling behind, Bingtang would personally hire tutors for them.

As for Bingtang herself, since Jiang Si wasn't attending school, she hardly bothered going either. She had one-on-one tutors at home, and she had already completed all high school courses back in middle school.

If Jiang Si weren't still in high school, she would have already started university. According to her family's plan, after finishing university, she would immediately return home to take over the family business and find a live-in husband to settle down peacefully.

Of course, if Jiang Si were the one marrying into her family, Bingtang thought it might not be out of the question...

To be honest, her family probably wouldn't mind. A child from an ordinary family marrying in, combined with Jiang Si's complete disinterest in money or corporate power, would actually suit her family's intentions perfectly—no complications.

But Jiang Si would definitely never agree...

Plus, there was now the Azure Cloud Sect enterprise. Although Bingtang had built it from the ground up, she never considered it hers—this was Jiang Si's venture. Was she just a partner?

With such a large company and such formidable strength, how could he ever become a live-in son-in-law?

She manipulated Shion's puppet to sit down in front of her, then clasped its hand.

The feel of the puppet was quite different from a real person, after all. Mana had no temperature—the scorching sensation when Shion used mana came from her own manipulation of it.

Essentially, once mana lost its master's control, it had no temperature.

Although, because of its appearance, Bingtang always felt the texture was rather pleasant.

Qinghua's skills were still trustworthy.

She touched the fingers of the Shion puppet, pinched its nails—even the spaces between the fingers were almost indistinguishable from a real person.

But when she pressed her palm against it, it felt more like touching a wall.

Of course, the most impossible thing to ignore was that perfect face.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt she could still see traces of Jiang Si's features in the facial structure.

However, many details had subtle changes, making the overall difference quite significant.

After all, Jiang Si's looks could only be described as delicate and refined, not particularly feminine.

She reached out to adjust the puppet's hair strands. Hmm, the hair's texture felt much more realistic than the skin.

She had previously considered putting makeup on Shion and had even taken quite a bit from her family's vanity table. But after looking at Shion's eyebrows and eyes,

and attempting a few strokes, she felt she was overcomplicating things...

No matter how she applied makeup, it seemed superfluous, even ruining the overall beauty.

After wiping off the makeup, Bingtang fell into deep thought.

Would taking the puppet out shopping now seem too eager? It might make her request for mana from Jiang Si appear ulterior.

But if she didn't take the puppet out now, once things got busy later, she'd have even less time...

If it were really for training, Bingtang was a bit reluctant—battles consumed mana quickly, and then it might not even last two days.

But even if just for show, combat training was necessary; otherwise, she wouldn't have a reason to ask Jiang Si for mana later.

It would be better to wait until Jiang Si came to the Azure Cloud Sect and then demonstrate it to him...

If only it could be preserved permanently.

Speaking of which, Jiang Si had once mentioned that the Great Dao of cultivation encompassed all things, including the path of puppets and soldiers.

Although Qinghua's puppets were impressive, they were like rootless water or trees without soil—ultimately, a lower cultivation mindset.

If materials could compensate, they could undoubtedly advance further.

This involved the crafting and puppet arts among the Hundred Cultivation Arts. In the future, it could permanently provide sect disciples with personal trials from the Sect Master—beneficial in every way without a single drawback.

It definitely wasn't due to personal selfishness; for the sect's sake, she had to find a way to preserve the Shion puppet permanently...

She lay comfortably on the Shion puppet's lap, looking up, and reached out to touch the puppet's chin—so tender it felt like it could squeeze out water with a little pressure. She wondered how Qinghua achieved such fineness.

She had interacted with the previous Shion puppet, and back then, the skin details were actually much less refined than now.

Through puppet-making and Yumo's supervision, she had truly elevated her precision in mana control by a large margin.

Her fingertips brushed over the puppet's lips, feeling like she was touching jelly.

It made Bingtang doubt whether Shion's actual lips were this springy. Had Qinghua added some extra flair?

Her long-untrimmed nails accidentally scratched the puppet's lips, though the mana quickly repaired it.

But even such a tiny waste of mana made Bingtang a bit heartbroken. She rummaged through her bag for nail clippers.

She initially thought of trimming them herself, but after glancing at Shion, she felt it wasn't necessary...

She handed the nail clippers to the puppet, manipulating it to trim her nails.

Admiring the puppet's focused expression—if it were Shion herself, it would probably be similar.

Then another thought occurred to her.

Since it was a puppet, toenails should be no problem either...

Immersed in fantasies of what else to do later, the mirror left by Four Leaf beside her lit up.

After a leaf pattern appeared inside, pieces of information were transmitted one after another.

The new Magical Girl from headquarters was at the Blooming level—Bingtang already knew that. But suddenly visiting Jiang Si's home—and recruiting him into the Disaster Control Bureau?

Upon learning this, her precision in controlling the puppet dropped momentarily, almost clipping her skin.

Shortly after, she received news of a class B Disaster Beast sighting. Bingtang quickly left the Azure Cloud Sect and rushed to the scene immediately.

Her nails were only half-trimmed, with a notch even left on her index finger.

For someone who usually pursued perfection, this was utterly glaring.

Her mood was truly awful.

Today was one of the rare times she had some leisure.

So when Iris knocked the Disaster Beast over, she lost interest in hiding.

"This is Azure Cloud Sect territory, newcomer."

Iris carefully observed the other party.

Standing atop a building transformed into an ice sculpture, a blue Magical Girl surrounded by snowflakes.

Winter.

Besides Shion, the most famous and powerful Magical Girl in the Azure Cloud Sect.

She had read the reports related to the Azure Cloud Sect in Beihai. Most of the time, when the sect handled affairs, negotiated with the Disaster Control Bureau, or subjugated Disaster Beasts, it was this Winter who appeared, while Shion rarely showed up.

Or rather, when Shion acted, the Disaster Control Bureau seldom managed to record it.

The bureau had very comprehensive records on Winter's abilities, to the extent that even ordinary citizens in Beihai knew quite a bit.

Most importantly, her level was only Seedling.

"As an illegal organization, demarcating territory in front of official personnel is somewhat impolite, Miss Winter."

Iris slightly raised her head, her demeanor haughty. "I don't want to be rude, but you should call your leader over."

No sooner had she spoken than the giant elephant Disaster Beast tried to charge toward the city. Iris landed on the ground and gently tapped her magic wand on the earth.

The massive Disaster Beast sank into the ground, terrifying gravity relentlessly pressing it downward.

"With all due respect, your strength isn't at a level that requires Lady Shion to intervene."

"Is that so?"

Just as Iris was about to teach her a lesson, she suddenly discovered that the giant elephant Disaster Beast, half-buried in the ground, was actually roaring and running underground!

Soil flew everywhere, utility poles and trees collapsed and snapped. Even under the terrifying gravity, the Disaster Beast elephant charged madly onward, plowing a chasm through the ground!

Completely unprepared for a class B Disaster Beast to withstand her gravity suppression, in the blink of an eye, the beast charged right before her.

Iris took a step back, her magic wand glowing with dazzling cyan light, ready to intensify the gravity!

But when she looked up, the girl who had been standing on the high-rise had somehow arrived in front of her, even nimbly stepping onto the Disaster Beast's head.

Where her toes touched the beast's head, thin ice rapidly spread until the charging Disaster Beast completely lost momentum, stopping just short of the prepared Iris.

The giant Disaster Beast turned into a perfect ice sculpture in an instant. Looking back, even the ground torn up by the beast along the way was frozen.

A chilling air swept over her. Iris took a sharp breath, her originally confident and relaxed expression turning serious.

This was utterly impossible for a Seedling-level Magical Girl!

"Your mana control seems a bit rough, to let a class B Disaster Beast break free."

Frowning, she ignored the provocation.

Snowflakes continued to fall. Iris sensed her mana circulation becoming sluggish.

Wasn't her ability only low temperature and ice control?

Why was it freezing mana circulation as well?

"Masterpiece, the second: the Crushing Lost Land."

An invisible force field expanded from around Iris, causing all falling snowflakes to reverse and fly upward!

Even Winter was somewhat impressed.

To achieve this level, both mana capacity and control were impressive.

This was the first time she had seen such proficiency in a Magical Girl outside the Azure Cloud Sect.

It seemed headquarters wasn't as useless as she had thought.

No wonder headquarters was confident enough to send Magical Girls from each branch for advanced training every year.

Feeling the mana in her body flowing smoothly again, Iris smiled casually.

"Just as I thought—the culprit blocking mana circulation is your snowflakes. What a baffling ability. How could a basic ability develop an effect that freezes mana?"

Winter didn't respond, simply cupping snowflakes in her hands and blowing them outward.

Dense ice needles shot forth like a storm!

Masterpiece, the sixth: Storm of Pear Blossom Needles!

Iris released her magic wand. The cyan wooden wand transformed into a ring of light, enveloping the nearby ground.

"You say my mana control is rough?"

Instead of covering every corner with gravity manipulation, Iris targeted each ice needle individually, precisely and meticulously applying gravity fields!

This maneuver was like using a wheat awn to pick off each needle—no other meaning, just to show off her absolute control over mana to Winter!

Among her peers at headquarters, no Magical Girl had better mana control than her!

However, the next second, every ice needle precisely grazed the edges of the gravity fields. Each needle adjusted differently, perfectly and narrowly evading the gravity restraints.

This meant that in that instant, the opponent not only manipulated all the ice needles with mana but also simultaneously altered their directions differently!

There were easily over a thousand ice needles!

Not only was the mana control astonishingly precise, but it was as if she could oversee the entire situation, multitasking with focused attention!

Iris stopped holding back. The cyan ring formed by her magic wand suddenly expanded, and the gravity field instantly covered the entire surrounding area.

All the ice needles simultaneously disintegrated within the gravity field!

Even if her mana control precision couldn't match the other's, it didn't matter.

As a Blooming-level Magical Girl, her mana capacity gave her an absolute advantage. No matter how refined the control, she could simply overwhelm it with sheer mana volume!

Iris's expression grew more serious. "I'll offer some praise—your mana control is truly impressive. Unfortunately, you're only at the Seedling level. If you were Blooming, I might indeed find it troublesome. But against a Seedling, I have no reason to lose! There's an insurmountable chasm between Seedling and Blooming!"

The gravity field expanded again, the gravity within suddenly becoming chaotic. The frozen Disaster Beast instantly shattered into pieces of ice crystals under the gravity!

Boom!

Winter fell from the high Disaster Beast head, her umbrella closed. When her feet touched the ground, a massive tremor echoed.

It was as if a mountain had landed.

The ice on the ground cracked, crisp snapping sounds spreading from Winter's feet all the way to the distant high-rise.

"Got you now."

Gravity firmly restrained Winter within. Iris clasped her hands behind her back. "Either come quietly with me to the Disaster Control Bureau, or call Shion—"

Cracking ice sounds erupted from Winter's feet, instantly spreading across her entire body!

Iris's smile froze. At first, she thought her gravity had injured the other.

But since they were in Magical Girl form, even if torn apart by gravity, there would be no life-threatening danger after reverting.

However, the next moment, the rising ice dust made her realize she was mistaken.

The shattered Winter was just an ice sculpture!

"Let me correct two mistakes for you."

An ice dragon roared as it charged from afar, howling winds accompanying its path!

Iris casually waved her hand, instantly tearing the massive ice dragon apart. But the shattered ice fragments reformed into ice spikes, densely trapping Iris within.

Gravity coverage forced all the ice spikes to plummet to the ground, yet the chilling air spread relentlessly across the surface, quickly climbing to her feet and ascending her body.

Ice spikes rose from the ground one after another, forming a cage that imprisoned her.

"First, I am not a Seedling, but a Half-Step Blooming. I remain at Half-Step Blooming not because I cannot break through, but because I choose not to for now."

The gravity around Iris twisted, forming a whirlwind that swept away all the ice debris.

She looked up at Winter, who had somehow retrieved a Disaster Beast Grief Seed from afar, then scanned her surroundings.

It was obvious—the Winter she saw was still not the real body.

The opponent had already left.

"Second, your strength is only at the early peak of Blooming. There is no insurmountable chasm between that and Half-Step Blooming."

Winter turned slightly, reopened her umbrella, elegantly twirling it as her figure gradually faded.

"You still have a long way to go, newcomer."

The snowflakes and ice in the world abruptly solidified, plunging the entire suburb into icy silence.

Gravity fields couldn't alter the profound icy chill.

By the time Susan arrived, Winter had already left. Seeing Iris frozen in ice, her heart skipped a beat.

She had initially thought only Shion in the Azure Cloud Sect could handle Iris and had worried whether Lady Winter might be at a disadvantage.

Now it seemed she had seriously underestimated Lady Winter...

Just as she was wondering how Lady Winter had won, the ice encasing Iris suddenly shattered and flew apart!

Iris landed without a word, merely staring into the distance in a daze.

Losing as a Blooming to a Seedling—even if she appeared completely unharmed, Iris must be deeply affected, right?

Thinking this, she was about to approach and offer some comfort as a teammate.

Unexpectedly, Iris suddenly turned around, looking at her with a serious expression:

"Team member Susan, what do Half-Step Blooming and early peak Blooming mean?"