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

Jiang Si was slightly surprised that Bingtang could hold her own against Iris.

Although Jiang Si had never underestimated Bingtang, within the entire Azure Cloud Sect, Yumo had the best magic control precision, and someone else had the largest magic reserves. Bingtang wasn't outstanding in either of these areas.

Her ability development, however, was among the top in the entire Azure Cloud Sect, partly because Jiang Si had helped brainstorm quite a few ideas.

In Jiang Si's own classification system, Magical Girl ability development was divided into three types: Spirit Arts, Magic Techniques, and Spells. Spirit Arts were used during the Sprout stage, Magic Techniques were developed or evolved from Spirit Arts during the Seedling stage, and finally Spells during the Blooming stage.

Each ability was further divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human.

Jiang Si was quite fond of this skill classification system, though its only problem was being too complex to promote effectively within the Azure Cloud Sect.

Currently, only a few disciples could understand it.

Bintang had numerous Spirit Arts and Magic Techniques, and their grades were quite good.

But she was ultimately still a Seedling-stage Magical Girl. Jiang Si had sparred with Bingtang many times before - she was quite outstanding for the Seedling stage, almost catching up to his own strength back when he was at that level.

However, the gap compared to Blooming stage was significant. If she really faced a Blooming-stage opponent, Jiang Si wasn't very optimistic about her chances.

Not only had Bingtang never beaten him once, but in his view, her progress was quite slow, too far from reaching Blooming stage.

He never expected he would misjudge her.

Of course, it was also possible that this Iris Blooming-stage Magical Girl had inflated strength.

Large sects had countless disciples who relied on large quantities of pills to boost their realms, and there were many so-called Saint Sons and Saint Daughters who used their elders' methods for forced realm promotion just for the sake of face, resulting in unstable foundations and uncertain futures... most of them would eventually be defeated by true talents who challenged across realms, becoming stepping stones.

This wasn't uncommon in web novels, but Bingtang still had some distance from being the kind of genius who could defeat Blooming-stage opponents in his eyes, so he hadn't considered this possibility.

After Bingtang left, Susan went to handle the scene cleanup, and Peony also caught a ride home to sleep. The takeout he had ordered for himself was all saved.

Not bad.

Jiang Si collected his thoughts and refocused on his inner core.

Since testing the inner core's limits that day, Jiang Si had discovered it had begun entering a dormant state.

It could occasionally activate a bit of power, but most of the time, the inner core would forcibly enter a state of suspended animation, completely unresponsive.

After Jiang Si injected large amounts of contaminated magic from Grief Seeds, he could actually feel this inner core beginning to take form.

Of course, it was taking the form of a Disaster Beast.

Although the inner core hadn't broken yet, the Disaster Beast form inside had completely taken shape.

Jiang Si guessed that before the Disaster Beast was born, the inner core actually couldn't prevent itself from providing magic to the host body.

It probably needed to ensure the host's quality so the Disaster Beast would be more powerful when born.

Judging from the maximum magic the inner core had previously provided, even if a normal person trained themselves to the point of passing out, they probably couldn't use up all the contaminated magic the inner core continuously extracted from surrounding negative emotions.

Therefore, when this inner core was created, the issue of insufficient magic supply wasn't considered at all.

Then it encountered him, and the drained inner core almost collapsed.

To protect itself, the inner core prematurely hatched the Disaster Beast. Once the Disaster Beast hatched, the inner core would no longer provide magic externally, locking in magic loss to ensure its own existence wouldn't be digested.

The drawback was that this prematurely hatched Disaster Beast form would likely have little intelligence, and complete birth would be impossible.

A malnourished Nascent Soul... no, it should be called a False Infant!

After several failed attempts to control the inner core, Jiang Si understood he lacked the proper cultivation method.

After all, this inner core wasn't a native one and needed corresponding techniques to control it properly.

Finding techniques to manipulate inner cores might be difficult, but Jiang Si remembered the Witch Association had methods for controlling Disaster Beasts.

He could adapt them as cultivation methods for the inner core.

Considering this, the Witch Association really had many things he needed.

Previously, Jiang Si only thought about extracting some useful information from the Witch Association's core members, but now that the Magical Girl advancement path was temporarily blocked, and only the path of seizing contaminated magic from Disaster Beasts remained available.

The Witch Association became very important to him.

Merely capturing some Witch Association core members to inquire about related cultivation methods could no longer satisfy Jiang Si's needs.

He needed all of the Witch Association's technology, which might contain other paths to the Great Dao.

Cultivation methods themselves were never evil - evil lay in the users. Even something like the Human Emperor Banner refined from thousands of mortals, if used properly, could be a righteous path to save the world.

Of course, the Azure Cloud Sect was a renowned orthodox sect. They needed to let these demonic sects complete their refinements first, then seize them after avenging the deceased to avoid karmic ties and remain worthy before heaven and earth...

He didn't trust sending sect disciples to join the Witch Association, since the disciples' strength and mental fortitude were insufficient, they were too young, and they might inevitably be influenced after entering heretical paths.

Most importantly, it would probably be difficult to transmit the most original Witch Association techniques and technology.

It was more appropriate for him to personally take action, join the Witch Association himself, and obtain his great opportunity.

However, the threshold for joining the Witch Association was somewhat high and complicated. He needed to make complete preparations to avoid being discovered...

While considering when to join the Witch Association later, his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it - it was indeed Bingtang calling.

"How was my performance just now, Sect Master Celestial Being?"

The moment the call connected came a somewhat proud inquiry.

During their previous practical training sessions, Jiang Si had frequently criticized Bingtang for being too far from Blooming stage, saying she probably wouldn't be able to fight back if she encountered a Blooming-stage opponent.

Now that Bingtang had finally proven her Sect Master wrong, she naturally wanted to settle accounts.

But instead she heard the Sect Master say: "Not very satisfactory."

Bingtang was stunned. "R-really? What aspect wasn't satisfactory, Sect Master?"

She actually felt somewhat wronged inside. Previously, Jiang Si always said she couldn't compare to Blooming stage and would definitely lose if she encountered it.

Now that she had successfully defeated a Blooming-stage opponent, he still wasn't satisfied - so unreasonable...

"The main problem is, I didn't hear you say sufficiently appropriate lines." Jiang Si pondered for a moment. "The situation at the time was very suitable for Cultivation Quote number twenty-six: 'Spread our sect's prestige, pay respects to our ancestors.'"

In the Azure Cloud Sect, Qinghua, Four Leaf, and Six Leaf looked at each other, then quietly asked, "What's Cultivation Quote number twenty-six?"

Yumo beside them took out a small notebook and flipped through it. "'At the peak of immortality, proud between heaven and earth, where I, Anlan, exist, there is heaven.' Note: Anlan can be replaced with your own name."

"Oh oh, so that would be 'At the peak of immortality, proud between heaven and earth, where our Winter exists, there is heaven.'" Qinghua nodded in understanding. "As expected of Sect Master Celestial Being, it's indeed very suitable. Lady Bingtang's mistake was quite serious, forgetting to say such crucial lines."

Six Leaf: "Lady Bingtang's face is red."

Four Leaf: "I think she's probably angry..."

Over there, Bingtang said expressionlessly, "Just that?"

Jiang Si nodded. "Just that. Other than that, I underestimated you, Bingtang. I never thought you could already spar with Blooming-stage Magical Girls without being at a disadvantage. It seems my vision and experience are still far from sufficient. I take back my previous words and apologize to you."

Bingtang, who had been planning to keep a stern face, had her expression melted by Jiang Si's words.

Pursing her lips, Bingtang said quietly, "It's not that exaggerated. It's just that the Bureau's Magical Girls have somewhat inflated strength..."

"That makes some sense too."

"I was just being polite! You're not allowed to take it seriously!"

"Oh." Jiang Si was already accustomed to her quick mood changes. "Indeed, not inflated strength, just unable to match the foundation you've accumulated through hard work."

Bingtang glanced at Yumo beside her who looked full of suspicion, bit her lip, and maintained her expression to avoid appearing embarrassed. In front of sect disciples, Bingtang always paid attention to her demeanor.

"A-anyway, at Iris's level, I can handle it. I just don't know if she has more, uh, trump cards hidden?"

"No need to take risks. Leave it to me."

Bingtang felt she had regained the initiative and said teasingly with a smile: "Oh, are you worried about me?"

"Yes."

After all, without Bingtang, he, Jiang Si, couldn't maintain the Azure Cloud Sect's operations at all.

After his reply, there was no response for a while from the other end. "Hello? Why aren't you speaking? Did you call just to say this?"

"Sister, Lady Bingtang is steaming from her head. Is it cold air?"

"Probably hot air?"

"Sect Master, Sect Master is so bold. Yumo wants an answer like that too..."

"Ah, I told you Lady Bingtang hasn't dated enough. Why be shy at a time like this? Don't space out. The correct option now is definitely to press the advantage and make the Sect Master enter Lady Bingtang's route..."

Various chattering voices came through chaotically from the other end, and Jiang Si couldn't distinguish who was who.

While considering whether to hang up first, he felt a chill from the phone rapidly climbing from his ear to his forehead, making him instinctively move the phone away from his ear.

Then he realized it was just an illusion, and the Azure Cloud Sect on the other end of the phone had instantly fallen silent.

He faintly seemed to hear someone transforming, but it was hard to confirm through the phone.

He could only ask: "What's wrong? Is there a problem over there?"

"Ahem, nothing, I just spaced out for a moment. Sorry, I'll make them quiet down first."

Winter looked at several frozen disciples, cold air spreading throughout the Azure Cloud Sect, turning the water curtain into an ice curtain.

The dropping temperature returned somewhat reddened cheeks and earlobes to normal, and emotions also calmed down.

She didn't know how many times she was grateful her ability involved low temperature...

"So what did you call about?"

"It's about the mana crystal extracted from that Bison Disaster Beast, which is the Grief Seed." After Winter regained her composure, her speech became fluent again. "Through retrospective analysis we discovered it's the completed form of the Calamity Egg."

"Released by the Witch Association?"

"Probably done by Witch Association members, but we haven't discovered any Witch Association member movements yet," Winter said gravely. "If the minimum completed form of all Calamity Eggs is class B Disaster Beasts, then there's trouble. We don't know how many Calamity Eggs are still in BH City. If they all complete, large numbers of class B Disaster Beasts suddenly appearing would be difficult to handle."

"Fortunately, they forced the Calamity Eggs to mature early a few days ago. Many semi-finished products were not only easier to handle but also served as warnings for us. The Azure Cloud Sect needs to make more preparations assuming BH City will see large numbers of class B Disaster Beasts."

"How is your training going?"

Jiang Si suddenly asked. "The puppet combat training needs to accelerate progress, quickly build foundations to advance to Blooming stage."

"Uh, working on it, working on it..."

Winter glanced back at the changed Shion puppet, then looked down at the Shion puppet lying on her lap, her tone somewhat guilty. "We'll definitely advance to Blooming stage as soon as possible."

"Mm, I've always trusted your work. Later, help me find the specific rituals for joining the Witch Association."

"Oh oh..."

A sense of guilt immediately rose in her heart, feeling like she was betraying Jiang Si's trust.

After hanging up, she canceled her transformation, and the other girls recovered from being frozen. Qinghua sneezed and rubbed her hands, appearing frozen, while Four Leaf, Six Leaf, and Yumo all acted as if nothing had happened.

Bingtang would naturally pay attention to moderation and wouldn't actually hurt anyone. Qinghua was mostly just pretending.

Her magic reserves were currently the largest among the several people.

"The Sect Master said he hopes we can advance to Blooming stage as soon as possible."

Bingtang looked at the girls glancing at each other, sighed, and touched her puppet with both reluctance and regret:

"Anyway, let's start quickly. The Shion puppet combat practice."

...

"Aiyo, aiyo, the Disaster Beast control method is only this much."

Sitting in a fast food restaurant, watching the resolved Disaster Beast from afar, Twins looked disappointed.

"This basically has no value to exchange for the Azure Cloud Sect sparing my life."

The fast food restaurant was basically empty. It was too close to where the Disaster Beast had appeared, and people had been evacuated immediately, leaving the fast food restaurant without not just customers, but also the boss, chef, and waitstaff.

She pulled two skewers from the pickup window - one sausage and one fish tofu - and hopped out the door.

Walking on the empty streets gave her a sense of the joy and thrill of walking alone in an apocalyptic world.

After casually eating a few bites of the skewers, she threw them away, then took drinks from a nearby store. After a few sips, finding them not to her taste, she threw away the bottle caps, walking while splashing drinks on the ground.

She even poured drinks on her feet wearing slippers to wash them.

Although it felt somewhat uncomfortable and sticky, the pleasure of wasting made up for it.

She was practically a born super villain!

Twins thought.

Being able to do such malicious things would definitely make many Magical Girls furious.

Especially Lady Winter.

She might even grab her ears and fiercely spank her butt.

Back when she wasted food in the Azure Cloud Sect, Lady Winter had punished her like that.

Well, no matter how angry Lady Winter got, when actually taking action, she was still very gentle.

Even though it was punishment, after hitting her, she would still ask if she was hurt, if it was very painful or something.

Instead, it made Twins feel guilty herself.

Reaching the river, she soaked her sticky feet in the river water, constantly kicking the water, somewhat troubled.

Dealing with the Azure Cloud Sect wasn't really possible.

The Azure Cloud Sect's Shion was terrifying, fierce, and elusive. If she dared to attack Azure Cloud Sect disciples, she might turn around and bump into Shion.

She would have nightmares.

During her time living in the Azure Cloud Sect, Twins had actually rarely seen Shion, but her first time seeing Shion, how the other had smashed Witch Association members into various strange shapes, was deeply engraved in her heart.

Monster, devil, madwoman.

Even after searching through all her vocabulary, she could only find these three, but they weren't entirely fitting either.

Non-human.

Even though she grew up in the Witch Association and had seen all kinds of Witch Association members, including so-called cruel ones.

But Twins knew that no matter how cruel someone was, they actually had some reaction to killing.

Either excitement, or panic, or disgust, or confusion.

But that Shion had none at all.

Killing was like stepping on an ant - no emotional fluctuations whatsoever. Whether they begged for mercy, bravely resisted, or pretended to be pitiful and cried.

Shion killed them all without burden, smoothly, naturally, and casually.

Precisely because she had seen enough madmen in the Witch Association, she felt deeper fear toward Shion.

Because having no reaction to killing was the most terrifying reaction.

Those who laughed madly or took pleasure in killing ultimately still treated killing as something special, either to show off or to prove their own uniqueness.

But Shion was different. Shion never thought killing was anything special - to her, it was probably as ordinary as eating and drinking.

She just did it casually.

Only after seeing Shion did she realize that most of the so-called abnormal madmen and psychopaths in the Witch Association were pretending to be abnormal.

The one who truly had perceptions of the world, even of life, completely different from normal people was actually Shion. She was pretending to be human.

Even though Twins grew up in the Witch Association, from that person she could only feel inhuman terror.

So Twins couldn't understand why Lady Winter liked her so much, always clinging to her side. When Shion was present, her eyes only held that inhuman monster, with no room for anyone else.

Look at me more.

Clearly completely different in nature from Shion, such a gentle Lady Winter was completely unsuited to stay by that non-human's side.

Troubled, kicking the river water, Twins sensed the surrounding Calamity Eggs. She needed to make more commotion, otherwise the captain would trouble her again. Best to go near the Disaster Control Bureau.

She was very interested in that Iris. Blooming-stage Magical Girls - even the Witch Association rarely captured them. If she could bully a Blooming-stage Magical Girl, even the captain couldn't say anything about it...

Under the warm afternoon sun, sitting by the river, Twins turned her head, watching another pitiful little girl sitting under a distant tree, holding pink letter paper in her hand.

The other was currently gazing distractedly at the river surface.

Twins stood up and hopped over closer.

"Hello, cute little sister. Are you interested in our great creator?"

Li Yi, staring blankly at the sparkling river surface in the distance, replied with an absent-minded expression:

"Do you give out eggs?"