Chapter 236: Anecdotes of the Sacred Sect and the Demon Gate Crisis

When Yumo suddenly opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling, she sat up with a jolt.

Then she stared blankly out the window.

Outside she could see the square from before; by now there weren’t many people left.

The evening breeze brushed the branches outside, one leaf drifted down with the wind, floated to the window, and then shattered.

“Awake?”

A gentle voice came from beside her, and Yumo couldn’t hold it in.

Her nose stung, and her eyes reddened.

Bingtang had only just sat down when Yumo lunged forward and clung to her, beginning to sob.

After a moment’s surprise, Bingtang helplessly wrapped her arms around Yumo and patted her back. “What’s wrong? Who upset our little Yumo?”

“I—I lost, Lady Bingtang...” she hiccuped, saying it in a way that sounded utterly pitiful.

Bingtang stroked her head, a little exasperated. “Silly girl, you can’t call it losing. It was mutual destruction. At the time, Keke’s Buddha’s Fury Lotus holding on was already incredible.”

To be honest, even Bingtang, when she saw that Buddha’s Fury Lotus land, thought it might be the end.

The seven-colored flaming lotus—even if Keke’s overall strength lagged far behind,

just the mana attribute count alone could artificially elevate the Buddha’s Fury Lotus by a whole tier.

That move, according to the Sect Master, was a true counter-attack capable of leaping two major realms. It truly rivaled the three-colored Buddha’s Fury Lotus the Sect Master had once used.

Back then, after Kingfisher got hit, her damage overflowed into her domain and shattered instantly; she fell to the ground gasping for a long time.

If not for the Sect Master’s astonishing power, whoosh, most of the flames would have been taken away with one sleeve.

Probably not even a feather would have remained...

Generally speaking, it’s a bit hard for a true-transmission to withstand the Sect Master’s full strike,

especially back when Dandelion and Thousand-Pinweed refused to yield and both dealt fatal blows.

Yumo’s barrier was broken, Thousand-Pinweed’s mana nature got disrupted and she couldn’t defend.

At that point, being knocked out of transformation and losing wouldn’t have been surprising.

Yet those two true-transmissions, by sheer precision in manipulating mana and by forcing massive amounts of mana into defense, held on.

Bingtang even noticed the Sect Master’s leg trembling a bit upstairs.

Obviously she was surprised.

Running out of mana afterward was unavoidable.

After all, to hold out so long under a seven-colored Buddha’s Fury Lotus, the mana consumption is terrifying.

Even so, the two squeezed out their last mana to fight to the end, and even when their reserves were nearly depleted they still wanted a decisive result.

Among the seven true-transmissions, aside from Bai Mei, few could have done better than they did.

In the end they had no mana left, so they didn’t even notice Four Leaf and Six Leaf approaching, and got knocked out cold—those things don’t matter now...

What the Sect Master valued most was their adaptability mid-fight and their final resilience.

All in all, the assessment was very high; even Keke, who unleashed the seven-colored Buddha’s Fury Lotus, didn’t receive as high praise...

“Sorry, sorry Sect Master, I know you definitely didn’t want Thousand-Pinweed to win...” Yumo sobbed in the Sect Master’s lap, and Bingtang was stunned by that one sentence.

Then she remembered that the two of them were knocked out by Double Leaf and had no idea who actually won.

Each probably assumed the other had won.

Thinking of that, Bingtang burst into a small laugh.

Yumo cried even harder.

“Bi-Bingtang-sama, you’re laughing. Yumo—Yumo will be disliked now, boohoo...”

“It’s fine.” Bingtang pinched her soft little cheek. “How could Sect Master dislike you? You performed beautifully; Sect Master was full of praise for you!”

The little girl, still sniffling, blinked and then instinctively touched her hairpin to make sure it was still there before calming down and whispering, “Really?”

“Mm, when have I ever lied to you?” Bingtang smoothed Yumo’s somewhat messy hair, then tucked her in and covered her with a blanket. “Sect Master kept saying you did very well and showed great resilience. You have a bright future.”

With the blanket obscuring half her face, Yumo peered out with only her eyes showing; her lashes fluttered. “Sect—Sect Master wouldn’t say that...”

“But that’s what she meant. I could tell. The important thing is you didn’t let Thousand-Pinweed win; she was pleased.”

The silly girl’s dewy eyes curved like crescent moons.

“Yes!”

After all, when they were told to fight for the two quota slots,

Shion had specifically ordered they must not let Thousand-Pinweed win.

Yumo probably cried because she feared failing the task the Sect Master assigned.

If Thousand-Pinweed had won, the Sect Master would indeed have been disappointed...

Fortunately, Yumo ultimately lost to Four Leaf and Six Leaf, which wasn’t a big problem.

After calming Yumo, Bingtang went over a few tactical mistakes from the fight—

for example, insisting on tanking the Buddha’s Fury Lotus to find Thousand-Pinweed’s flaw and clinging to that idea until the end.

It was precisely Double Leaf’s induced flaw that led to that thought, and after being hit by Perception Obstruction they never recovered.

Of course, under that high-pressure confrontation with Thousand-Pinweed, such problems were hard to avoid. Once mana control has a flaw, Perception Obstruction will exploit it.

The real error was prioritizing defeating Thousand-Pinweed even before confirming Double Leaf’s disappearance.

That strategic mistake should be avoided.

After a while of debriefing and discussion, Bingtang rose and placed the prepared lunchbox on the bedside table, along with Yumo’s favorite orange juice, telling her to eat when she was hungry.

When she stepped out, she saw the Sect Master in the corridor.

Leaning against the wall, Shion was facing Four Leaf and Six Leaf, her expression calm as she said:

“You did well, but remember to avoid arrogance and impatience. If it weren’t for this forest field aiding your mysteries, you wouldn’t have found the opening from the start to successfully influence the other true-transmissions.”

Even the victorious disciples couldn’t escape the Sect Master’s criticism.

“And,” Shion paused, leaning against the wall by the window, “the final strike was problematic.”

From a distance she looked like a solemn middle school teacher scolding elementary students.

“Although it was intra-sect competition, since your magical outfits were not broken, you should have obeyed Dao Master’s tradition: thrust the magic wand from behind through the chest.”

Bingtang covered her forehead, walked over, and said, “At the time Thousand-Pinweed and little Yumo were both in bad shape; it wouldn’t be surprising if their magical outfits were dispelled.”

“No harm done, I was there; it wasn’t fatal.”

Shion earnestly patted the two girls on their shoulders. Double Leaf’s height was roughly similar to Shion’s. “Remember, inside the sect you might get away with it, but against enemies outside the sect you must respect Dao Master’s tradition. This world’s heavenly path has gaps, which gives you the chance to step outside traditional cultivation methods and attain the Great Forest Wood. Otherwise, the supreme Wood fruit position will not even grant you entry-level techniques.”

“Since our Azure Cloud Sect also venerates the Ancient Sage Dao Venerable ancestor, we should have the Sacred Sect’s teachings. If you take the Great Forest Wood path, then a sneak attack must pierce from behind through the chest, to honor the stolen ancestor Dao fruit! That must not disgrace the title of ‘World’s Number One True Sovereign’ you inherit!”

The two girls, though not fully understanding, obediently nodded repeatedly.

Bingtang patted their heads. “Go back to sleep; don’t stay up.”

As champions, there wasn’t much more to criticize about them.

From quickly formulating a plan and using the terrain to set up the initial advantage;

to infiltrating Hongmian’s team and staying away from the battle center;

to asking Keke to produce the seven-colored Buddha’s Fury Lotus;

to repeatedly using Perception Obstruction to guide two hard-to-trap true-transmissions into making mistakes,

and then forcing them to take the seven-colored Lotus,

driving two full-health true-transmissions into exhausted states,

and finally succeeding with a sneak attack to win—

there was basically nothing to fault.

Only the final strike’s failure to pierce from behind left Shion a bit regretful.

She could only give them ninety-nine points—the missing point deducted for that last kill method.

Regardless, Shion was quite pleased with Double Leaf for inheriting her combat wisdom and strategic view.

Only after Double Leaf ran back to sleep did Bingtang quietly ask, “You’re not going to keep criticizing them, are you?”

Shion snorted coldly. “Do you think I’m the kind of mediocre teacher who only picks faults?”

“Of course you are. You’re just afraid they’ll forget.” Bingtang laughed loudly. “Didn’t I praise them for doing such wickedly well? Overpowering the weak with strength is hard, after all.”

Shion turned her head. “I already praised them.”

“That’s good. Don’t let Four Leaf look too mature—she actually remembers these things the most. If you don’t praise her, she’ll brood secretly and gorge on small cakes like a hamster. Six Leaf is carefree, but if she sees her sister sad, she’ll hurt, too...”

Bingtang babbled on, seeming to know each true-transmission and even inner sect disciple inside out.

Shion inwardly admired Bingtang’s memory for remembering such trivial things.

When they left the building, not far away they saw Thousand-Pinweed, who had just woken up, practicing various small spells by the lake.

“This defeat hit Thousand-Pinweed pretty hard.”

“It should have. Heterodox is heterodox. Even if she reached true-transmission, coveting the championship was wishful thinking.”

Although Shion’s face was expressionless, the gloating in her tone was audible; Bingtang heard it. “A little shame can spur her on; not all bad.”

She couldn’t help adding, “Stop thinking about that useless Harry Potter magic; you would have won sooner.”

Bingtang couldn’t help but smile and grabbed the Sect Master’s hand, swinging it. “You performed excellently, but Thousand-Pinweed didn’t mean to annoy you.”

“She did mean to; don’t plead for her.”

“Thousand-Pinweed just wants you to pay attention to her.” Bingtang watched Thousand-Pinweed practicing seriously in the moonlight, looking for ways to deal with the altered mana properties. “She’s a child starved for attention, always invisible since childhood. Even in Azure Cloud Sect she was unremarkable.”

“It was only after practicing Harry Potter-style magic that she caught your eye and received praise, which made her the focus among disciples. Then she tried desperately to become a true-transmission, constantly mentioning Harry Potter to make you pay attention—like a child misbehaving to get noticed by someone they like.”

“Overthinking.” Shion sneered. “She’s simply trying to compete with me.”

“Aiya!” Bingtang pinched the Sect Master’s arm and tweaked her little finger. “Don’t be so biased against Thousand-Pinweed. Didn’t you agree to let her open a Harry Potter branch sect?”

Shion snorted and turned her face. “A makeshift measure.”

“If you agreed, no backing out.”

Seeing Shion silent, Bingtang knew her little plan, hooked her pinky with Shion’s, and said, “Pinky swear—don’t give Thousand-Pinweed trouble over the Harry Potter branch later.”

Shion could only turn her face away. “Understood.”

Bingtang breathed easier.

When Thousand-Pinweed cheerfully said Shion had agreed to her opening a Harry Potter branch, Bingtang had been uneasy.

After all, the Sect Master rarely agrees to such things; if she does, she’ll still find fault later,

so it was necessary to give some warning beforehand.

Better to prevent Thousand-Pinweed from crying over disappointment later.

The relationship between a true-transmission and the Sect Master isn’t always smooth. As Vice-Sect Master, Bingtang had to ensure harmony between Sect Master and true-transmissions to avoid conflict...

Even the Dao path requires careful management of relationships.

“I spoke with people at the Disaster Control Bureau. Many Disaster Control magical girls were eliminated this round; I asked whether they could give our true-transmissions a few extra quota slots.”

Bingtang was surprised. “You’re not bluffing, are you?”

Shion looked at her, a little speechless. “Do you underestimate my negotiation skills?”

“No, no...”

How could she underestimate nonexistent things?

“In short, Jincha talked with their foreign magic liaison, and asked those failed magical girls if they would voluntarily give up their makeup exam opportunities and hand their slots to true-transmissions.”

Seeing Bingtang’s worried expression, Shion clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin in a true Sect Master pose. “Rest assured, I told Jincha we only accept voluntarily relinquished slots, so that word won’t get out and harm Azure Cloud Sect’s reputation—nobody can say we bully Disaster Control Bureau magical girls.”

Bingtang finally relaxed.

After all, the Mental Landscape trial chance is precious to any magical girl.

Taking others’ qualifications outright would be improper, and the sect still has future quotas;

they’re not savages.

Besides, the Disaster Control Bureau’s magical girls are cute and friendly; bullying them would trouble Bingtang.

Fortunately, the Sect Master wasn’t the kind to bully children...

Watching Thousand-Pinweed practice small spells, Shion secretly interfered a few times. Thousand-Pinweed didn’t notice at first; a few spells failed and she was puzzled.

Okay, except for Thousand-Pinweed...

Although she didn’t sense Shion, Thousand-Pinweed quickly realized something was interfering with her magic, put some distance between them, freed herself from the Sect Master’s interference, and continued practicing at the center of the lake.

“So, how many extra slots?”

“Two.”

Bingtang hesitated, then said, “Qinghua can’t participate, she’s not here.”

“Understood.”

Shion was nonchalant. “Give Thousand-Pinweed one slot. I want to see how she fails.”

Her gaze fixed on Thousand-Pinweed in the lake center; she continued to interfere with her mana in a different way, guiding Thousand-Pinweed to find alternative uses for her magic.

Bingtang found it amusing.

Shion still cared a lot about Thousand-Pinweed’s universal ascension.

For Shion, seeing capable, ambitious disciples unable to ascend was unacceptable.

And Thousand-Pinweed was unquestionably a disciple who could transform fundamentally after gaining a domain...

With splashes and ripples scattering moonlight across the lake, Bingtang smiled softly:

“I’ll thank Sect Master on Thousand-Pinweed’s behalf.”

“It’s not my doing. The Disaster Control Bureau simply gave extra slots.”

Bingtang said no more, leaning close to Xilan and enjoying the tranquil night. “Remember to go check on Keke.”

“We’ll see.”

When the Prince found Xilan, she was sprawled on the ground, almost out of breath.

When the Prince painstakingly rescued Xilan,

the first thing the revived witch said was:

“Simo Tu-sama is awesome! I knew he wouldn’t abandon me!”

The Prince was too lazy to argue.

Originally, Xilan had watched Simo Tu throw her into an isolated space and didn’t expect anyone to care. If Simo Tu hadn’t had Yun Ke ask her for help, the Prince wouldn’t have bothered.

Xilan stuck too close to Simo Tu.

As a lackey, she had no sense of proper distance—clinging to him at the drop of a hat.

She acted like a prized dog.

Who knows if she was scheming to climb into Simo Tu’s bed and secretly bear his seed,

hoping to rise by motherhood to the position of New Witch Association’s matron.

The Prince had seen many like this.

Born into royalty and often by her mother’s side, she’d encountered plenty of people trying to secure future status through relationships. Similar to Simo Tu now.

As Simo Tu’s fiancée, the Prince had to handle things carefully.

If some bastard child came of it, the Mirror Kingdom would be a laughingstock.

But she couldn’t act too obvious either, or Simo Tu would think her petty and jealous.

As the Mirror Country’s princess, she was confident she wouldn’t be usurped; still, exceptions happen, and proximity between men and women can lead to unexpected outcomes.

Better to avoid giving Xilan a chance to climb into Simo Tu’s bed.

Though she thought Simo Tu wouldn’t be so desperate as to make a move on Xilan—apart from looks, Xilan was hardly a catch...

After handling Xilan, the Prince continued monitoring the old worlds from her mirror space.

At this point, most old worlds were preparing wedding gifts for her grand wedding.

The Prince planned to tie the Full Bloom Plan to her wedding.

On her wedding day she would complete the plan, break the world blockade, counterattack the New World and the Disaster Control Bureau, kill Shion on the spot, and restore the Mirror Kingdom’s glory!

Blood of mundane purple, all bow before me!

Her wedding anniversary would become the founding day of the New Mirror Kingdom—memorialized for eternity for her and Simo Tu’s grand wedding...

Just as the Prince was dreaming of the future, she received word from the people she had sent to rendezvous with Simo Tu.

The driver who jumped from the Witch Association to the New Witch Association had actually been bribed by the Prince.

After leaving the Central Bureau, he had been requesting transfer into the independent mirror space.

The Prince didn’t refuse; she opened permissions and let the Old Driver in.

“Prince-sama! Prince-sama, Simo Tu—Simo Tu said he’ll return later, we don’t need to rendezvous!”

The Prince looked at him coldly. “Translate for me: what does ‘return later’ mean?”

The Old Driver gaped.

“How much later?”

“Just... wait until their Mental Landscape trials finish, probably.” The driver stammered. “The New Witch Association’s sabotage failed. Maybe Simo Tu was trapped inside and can’t get out for now...”

“How do you know that?”

The driver trembled.

“If the plan failed, you’d be exposed easily.” The Prince watched him, her tone icy. “How did you get out, and how did you get this information?”

“I—I have some connections...”

“Didn’t I tell you if Simo Tu couldn’t return, you’d be dead there too?”

Xilan, who had been grabbing food nearby, heard that her boss might not return, leapt up and ran over.

“What? My boss won’t come back!”

“No, no!” The driver was sweating. “He’ll come back, he definitely will.”

“Reason?”

“Someone guaranteed it...”

“Who?”

While the driver hesitated, Xilan viciously pressed a knife to his neck. “Speak! Or I’ll skin you!”

“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”

The Prince drew a long breath and thought of some unpleasant images. “Azure Cloud Sect? Shion?”

The driver shuddered so hard he almost wet himself.

How did she know?

But he dared not admit it; he had promised Shion not to say!

The Prince and witches were scary, but Shion was even more dangerous.

“You—how would you think of them? If I’d met Shion, I’d be dead! When has she ever shown mercy to our Witch Association...”

“Ah.” The Prince flicked her chin. “Hand over his phone.”

Xilan immediately pulled out the phone. Before the driver could react, the Prince said, “Open the Magical Girl Idol Project and see if Shion is there.”

Xilan opened the game on the phone and cried out, “Holy crap, full-luck! Even the weapon is maxed; you’re a fan of Shion, traitor!”

The driver choked on his words. “I’m just a meta player; full-stat Shion is invincible. You can clear a stage with one solo round...”

“Then why isn’t Swimsuit Kingfisher listed?” Xilan instantly pierced his lie. “Swimsuit Kingfisher, height 137 cm, weight 56 jin, self-destruct damage boost each time 350x, beautiful, charming, powerful—the trifecta. A top-tier pick in the Human Rights card! Top of the Magical Girl Idol Project for two years straight; not just the meta’s answer, but Earth’s answer, the universe’s truth! Many dungeons are even tailored to her—called the Kingfisher Idol Project. Yet you didn’t pull a single one! You say you’re a meta player? You’re totally a timing fanboy!”

“I—I just started, can’t I chase new banners...”

The Prince was stunned. “Wait, how do you know all this? You play too?”

“Know your enemy and you’ll win a hundred battles!” Xilan said righteously. “I’m not playing for fun; I’m checking magical girls’ data.”

So she researches the official made-up info in the game.

“He’s obviously a Shion fan who only pulls Shion and hardly plays. He downloaded the game just because of Shion!”

“Not necessarily a fanboy.” The Prince said, “Azure Cloud Sect said that with a full-luck Shion, meeting an Azure Cloud Sect magical girl can save you once.”

“Having a full-luck Shion means you’ve seen an Azure Cloud Sect magical girl and could survive. You getting Simo Tu’s message shows you had contact with Azure Cloud Sect—Simo Tu needed Azure Cloud Sect’s connections to enter the Disaster Control Bureau.”

The Prince reasoned through it line by line, making the driver nearly suffocate, “Who did you contact at Azure Cloud Sect? Who told you Simo Tu would return later?”

Xilan growled, “Speak! Or I’ll peel your skin off!”

“I’ll tell! I’ll tell...”

The driver had no choice. “It was Shion. Shion... Magical Girl Shion made me tell Prince-sama that Simo Tu would return later. She warned me not to say Shion told me that. I really couldn’t help it...”

Xilan worriedly glanced at the Prince. “Prince, about Shion—my boss...”

But the Prince seemed not to hear. The glass cup in her hand shattered in an instant beneath her grip!

Sharp shards pierced her cream-white skin, red seeping from her clenched fist.

Drops fell to the mirror space floor.

“Shion, huh. Shion.”

She remembered that girl standing on Simo Tu’s head. She inhaled deeply.

She did know.

Sending Simo Tu to the Central Bureau meant he had to rely on Azure Cloud Sect’s connections, and in the end he had to swallow humiliation and bow to Shion again.

She knew it in her heart—just didn’t want to face it.

Now Shion had someone deliver a message saying “he’ll return later.”

The mockery and provocation were plain.

The Prince’s pride flared, but she slowly calmed and said lightly:

“Fine. If you despise him, let him stay a little longer.”

Wait until the small wedding day—then we’ll see who’s crying!