Chapter 109: Shion Descends, Turning the Tide!

Xingxuan had been worried lately, worried because the Witch Association kept picking fights with the Azure Cloud Sect.

But the Central Bureau said not to intervene for now.

They would only step in when the Azure Cloud Sect could no longer hold out.

Her seniors had also told her the same: the Azure Cloud Sect was a free Magical Girl organization and didn’t fall under the Bureau’s jurisdiction. If it couldn’t handle the Witch Association on its own, then dissolving that kind of free organization and bringing the Magical Girls into the Bureau would be safer.

You couldn’t exactly call the Central Bureau wrong, but Xingxuan always felt the Bureau didn’t want an organization like the Azure Cloud Sect to challenge its authority, or maybe they were just jealous of the combat strength of the Sect’s Magical Girls.

After all, the Magical Girls here jumped across ranks in battle as easily as drinking water. Newbies who were supposed to be Seedlings could fight B-class Disaster Beasts and Complete Witches without breaking a sweat.

If that’s the case, it makes the Bureau look useless.

At the Bureau many Magical Girls were discussing how the Azure Cloud Sect trained its members.

Besides a single mental landscape technique from the Bureau, most of the time the Bureau didn’t provide training methods. Seniors taught juniors through experience, helping newcomers get stronger and quickly master combat techniques.

In South China, seniors sometimes gifted powerful cards to boost a Magical Girl’s combat ability.

But overall, training rarely increased raw power by much.

Combat technique, learning new spells, and proficiency in magic, though not useless against Disaster Beasts, weren’t decisive; most fights still came down to how much mana you had and direct brute strength.

Those special techniques and spell proficiency often mattered more when fighting other Magical Girls, so not many were trained specifically in them. The Bureau never forced that kind of training.

Only Golden Sparrow would frequently urge them to grow stronger and protect themselves.

Of course, since Xingxuan wanted to become a titled Battle Demon, she had been searching for ways to get stronger from the start, making her somewhat different from other Bureau Magical Girls.

In truth, Xingxuan never felt at home with the Bureau.

To her, the Bureau was like a martial spirit hall.

Official, it helped with awakening martial spirits and gave some subsidies to rookie spirit masters, which was helpful early on.

But later it often became the biggest villain and enemy.

A voracious reader of Battle Demon Continent, Xingxuan had long planned to leave the martial spirit hall and join another free Magical Girl organization.

However, most free organizations were cliquish clubs, not formal enough.

She didn’t want to stay in the martial spirit hall, but if she joined an organization, it should at least be a lower third-tier sect like Xiangjia Sect, not something casual.

Free Magical Girl organizations were mostly roadside clubs, with little capacity to take on the Bureau.

So at first she assumed the Azure Cloud Sect was similar to other free organizations.

When the Central Bureau said they’d wait until the Witch Association put pressure on Azure Cloud Sect before stepping in, Xingxuan was anxious.

What if the Magical Girls there got hurt?

Those Witch Association members were ruthless, and Xingxuan had tasted hardship before; she couldn’t help worrying about Azure Cloud Sect’s Magical Girls.

So during that time she secretly followed and tracked some distant Azure Cloud Sect members.

The Azure Cloud Sect had many outer disciples. In many East China cities, some Magical Girls who didn’t want to join the Bureau chose the Azure Cloud Sect.

But most were just a Seedling with a few rookie Magical Girls in a small team, not many people.

For example, the rookie Magical Girl Xingxuan was watching right then.

A very ordinary Sprout Magical Girl, she had just joined the Azure Cloud Sect not long ago.

She had registered at the local Disaster Control Bureau and had just refused the Bureau’s invitation, saying she wanted to join the Azure Cloud Sect and be a Magical Girl with her friends.

What? Treating it like an extracurricular activity, so relaxed.

She hadn’t expected to run into trouble now.

Although she was an inexperienced newcomer, she had the Azure Cloud Sect’s name, so the Witch Association had targeted her.

The Witch Association specialized in bullying the weak.

Xingxuan didn’t immediately jump in because she wanted to see how the Azure Cloud Sect would protect its newbie.

After all, an organization’s reliability was measured by whether it could protect newcomers.

If it couldn’t even protect rookies, then the organization had no reason to exist.

“Run, keep running!”

Unfortunately, in the end that Sprout Magical Girl was forced to cancel her transformation and was cornered by three Witch Association members, trembling, yet no support appeared.

Sighing inwardly, Xingxuan mentally marked the Azure Cloud Sect with an X and prepared to act.

Just then the Sprout Magical Girl trembled and pressed a button.

Before Xingxuan could insert her card, the heads of the three Witch Association members dropped to the ground.

Mouth agape, she looked up and saw a Magical Girl in a green magical outfit holding a small notebook, seemingly unfazed by the three dead Witch Association members.

“Number 0132, assessment failed. Please continue to improve.”

The Sprout Magical Girl answered miserably, “Yes…”

After speaking, the green-clad Magical Girl turned and flew away.

Her cards almost fell from her hand. Xingxuan stared at the disappearing Magical Girl, stunned, then finally looked at the rookie who was getting back up from the ground.

She jogged over and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah…” The Magical Girl hung her head dejectedly, “I’m fine, I just failed the assessment. No chance for promotion this time, boohoo. I thought I could get a raise, I already planned to buy the latest Orila mini bag…”

Xingxuan felt a little choked, “Ass-assessment?”

“Yeah. Azure Cloud Sect’s assessment these days—if you can deal with the Witch Association, you can be promoted from an auxiliary member to an outer disciple, and then you’ll get a pay raise…”

The Magical Girl paused, then eyed Xingxuan, “Wait, who are you?”

“I’m Disaster Control Bureau Magical Girl Xingxuan. I followed because I was worried you’d get hurt. This assessment is too dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous. Just call for a true-transmission senior.” The Magical Girl shook the red button in her hand, “Every member has one. If something goes wrong in the assessment, press it and a true-transmission senior will appear, and the assessment ends. Anyway, I failed…”

Xingxuan’s heart stirred.

What a well-organized group, such thorough procedures!

But she was worried, “Are you allowed to tell me this?”

The Magical Girl shook her head, “It’s fine. The seniors in the sect said anything they let us know can be told to outsiders. Things we can’t know, auxiliary members can’t learn, sigh…”

She looked dejected again. Xingxuan followed her and pressed on, “So tell me, what’s a true-transmission senior?”

“A true-transmission is one of the seven most powerful Magical Girls in Azure Cloud Sect. Big shots. They’re powerful, high status, and their salaries are beyond our imagination. Everyone wants to be a true-transmission, but there are only seven fixed slots. Even if others have the strength and contributions, they can only be honorary true-transmissions. To replace a true-transmission, the Sect Master must approve…”

The more Xingxuan listened, the more excited she became!

Isn’t this the Shrek Seven?

The Shrek Academy I’ve been looking for—so it was right next to me all along!

She grabbed the rookie’s hand:

“Senior! Take me into Shrek Academy! I want to take the entrance exam!”

“Huh?”

……

“How are there so many Magical Girls!”

Above Beihai.

Xilan wanted to cry. Because she had acted rashly and been targeted, the group of Magical Girls now treated her as their attack target.

She couldn’t run. She stood beside Jiang the Demon Butcher, “You really screwed me over, Jiang the Demon Butcher!”

“I’m going by Simo Tu now.”

“Whatever you call yourself, what do we do now!”

“Didn’t you notice?” Jiang Si tilted his head and coldly looked at the Complete Witch, “The Magical Girls in front of us are all puppets.”

Hearing Simo Tu say this, Xilan—already transformed into a witch and blocking the continuous mana bombardment—did notice something odd about the Magical Girls’ mana.

Though numerous, their movements were slightly stiff. Even though their spells differed, the mana flow was nearly the same.

Critically, many of them, though masked, were clearly the same person.

“But this is too realistic! And so many of them!”

They could almost be an army. If the Witch Association had this capability, wouldn’t the Bureau be finished?

“Ants, no matter how many, are still ants.”

Simo Tu just shook his head, then waved.

Polluted magic condensed in his hand, forming a large bow!

Xilan widened her eyes at the polluted magic flowing into a bow.

How did he do that…? Even as a Complete Witch she couldn’t control polluted magic this quickly or lightly.

“Heh, did you think Super Qinghua would let you succeed!”

Dozens of Magical Girls quickly closed in on Simo Tu, unleashing vast amounts of pure mana that enveloped Xilan and Simo Tu!

Even as a Complete Witch, Xilan felt her polluted magic inside her surge wildly as if about to explode!

Desperately suppressing the rampaging polluted magic, Xilan retreated. Behind her rose dozens more Magical Girls who seemed to share one mind; each grabbed a weapon and pierced through her body, knocking her from the sky and pinning her to the ground!

On the other side, the pure mana interference caused the large bow in Simo Tu’s hands to begin melting into droplets of black liquid that fell away.

“Ke ke ke, this is Super Qinghua’s full power. Prepare to die!”

As hundreds of Magical Girls readied mana barrages to fire simultaneously, a cold voice suddenly sounded from underground.

“Where are you looking?”

Xilan froze and followed the sound, seeing on a tall building a youth in a trench coat drawing a dark-colored longbow to full tension.

Simo Tu, trapped by hundreds of Magical Girls, slowly melted and turned into polluted magic that dripped away...

“Shit…run!”

A shriek came from one of the Magical Girls.

The hundreds of Magical Girls in the sky quickly tried to scatter,

But it was already too late.

The long-accumulated polluted magic arrows fired brazenly!

The arrows streaked like meteors across the sky, and every Magical Girl puppet touched by them exploded!

A continuous, thunderous barrage ripped the air as dark meteors carved lines like fireworks, igniting a blazing scar across the sky!

When the windblown trench coat of the youth fluttered down and his bow dissolved, the sky was left with a deep ravine!

This was the Witch Association leader capable of standing firm in East China, even in Beihai.

This was Simo Tu!

Xilan’s inner light abruptly dimmed.

With someone who could wipe out hundreds of upward-rising Seedlings in one strike, plus her ability to merge with objects and hide her aura,

They could certainly defeat all Magical Girls and conquer the world!

The two puppets that had been restraining Xilan immediately released her to put distance between them, but Simo Tu leapt down from the sky, grabbed a puppet’s head with one hand, and smashed it deep into the ground!

The puppet’s mask shattered, revealing vacant, broken eyes, and then the puppet began to disintegrate.

Watching the puppets dissolve into magic, Xilan looked up at the youth opposite her, her pupils filled with worship and longing.

“…”

“It’s Si.”

“Simo Tu! Please let me follow you!”

Jiang Si appraised her for a moment, “Weren’t you originally assigned to support East China?”

“It’s not support anymore!” Xilan gripped his hand, wildly excited, “Now I want to be your official subordinate! I want to conquer the world with you!”

“You should go back and complete the paperwork first.”

“I’ll terminate my contract with my supervisor immediately!”

“……”

.....

Azure Cloud Sect, Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling.

Bingtang, who had been leisurely watching the show, saw that Complete Witch grab Jiang Si’s hand and passionately proclaim her desire to follow him. She sighed softly.

“The Witch Association is getting more excessive.”

Beside her, Qinghua, whose puppet had just been completely destroyed, nodded repeatedly, “Yes, it’s outrageous!”

“If this keeps up, people will laugh at us.”

Bingtang propped her chin on the back of her left hand, eyes narrowed as she stared at the screen where the Complete Witch appeared almost lifelike, “Show your full power, Super Qinghua.”

“Eek, Lady Bingtang, isn’t this enough…?”

“I said full power, Super Qinghua. Bring out your final killer move.”

“U—use that? Now? In front of the boss?”

“Right here. Decide it in one go, Super Qinghua.”

“But the boss, he can’t transform, can he?”

“I have my limits.”

Qinghua stuck out her tongue, “Ah, you want to do it yourself, huh.”

“Win, and you get one year paid leave.”

“Damn, Lady Bingtang, why didn’t you say earlier? Captain Qinghua is already prepared!”

Bingtang smiled faintly, “Go all out. Our Sect Master himself said so.”

Qinghua trembled slightly at Bingtang’s sweet smile and didn’t dare speak.

So cold.

Boss, good luck, meow.

Before long, over Beihai, all the exploded puppet mana began to converge.

Xilan, who had been planning to pull Simo Tu away, stopped. Jiang Si also turned to look.

The dense mana kept gathering until, in the dust, a Magical Girl appeared, smaller than any previous puppet.

Countless mana poured into her.

Her purple-gold long dress fluttered in the wind, her face was sculpted to artistic perfection, expressionless, her gaze indifferent as she looked at the two of them

as if gazing at trash.

Xilan was startled by her features—such a face would stun even those who had seen many Magical Girls—

but she sneered coldly, thinking the girl reckless.

If hundreds of Magical Girls couldn’t shake Simo Tu, now they only sent one!

Just as she turned to let Simo Tu deal with her, the adult voice behind them spoke softly:

“Feel lucky.”

“You brat.” Simo Tu glanced sharply at Xilan, then looked to the sky, “And to the young friends of the Azure Cloud Sect.”

“You will sit in the best seats and enjoy the following spectacle!”

At those words, the world suddenly brightened!

A massive purple expulsion cloud flashed and filled the entire sky; the tiny purple Magical Girl stood atop it like a demon queen in the heavens!

The earlier disdain vanished without a trace, and Xilan felt her heart sink.

Her aura was even more dangerous than a true-transmission!

I’m going to die, I’m going to die...

While panic gripped her, Simo Tu suddenly grinned:

“Heh.”

“So lofty, Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect.” The youth stepped forward, hands behind his back, “Shion!”

“Your days of sitting atop the mountain are about to end! Return Beihai!”

A fierce wind lashed out, the masked youth’s coat flapping wildly. Under the dazzling purple celestial fire, his arrogant voice resounded across the scene:

“From today onward, it’s my turn to stand above the heavens!”

Rampaging mana charged forward!

The terrifying momentum made Xilan tremble as she looked to Simo Tu,

but under the fox mask came a confident, hearty laugh.

Why not fear him?

Xilan couldn’t understand, yet she saw Simo Tu step forward another pace, polluted magic erupting around him, shielding her behind him.

Xilan was deeply moved.

“So there really are people who would fight for the Witch Association with their lives...” She watched the adult leave his back open without hesitation to face the most dangerous attack. For the first time she clearly felt she wasn’t among those Witch Association members who fled in danger to save themselves.

Something inside her seemed to ignite; Xilan suddenly felt less afraid.

“Maybe having someone worth trusting isn’t so bad.” She clenched her fist and released polluted magic. She decided that, however the future turned out, she would choose to believe.

The Magical Girl’s hand in the sky simply grabbed.

A purple mana javelin fell into her palm.

It locked onto the two of them.

Xilan stepped forward, intending to fight side by side with Simo Tu!

To show by action that she wasn’t a coward!

But when she turned, she found Simo Tu had already sprinted a hundred meters ahead.

He was running crazily outward!

“Retreat! Shion is invincible!”

What the…?

Before her words finished, purple light flared again in the distant sky.

Silently, the javelin sliced through the sky.

It struck behind the two of them.

Overwhelming mana engulfed them, erupting into a mushroom cloud that soared into the heavens!