Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity Chapter 62
"Just a mere handgun."
Jiang Si twisted his neck. "How could it compare to your sword?"
Abandoning her strongest weapon, turning instead to a toy to scare people.
Truly disappointing.
Just bullets, taking them head-on wouldn't be a problem. His physical body's strength was sufficient for bullets to only penetrate the superficial layers, unable to shoot through deeper muscles.
If he coordinated with the inner core's tainted magical power, directly deflecting the bullets wouldn't be an issue either.
But there was no need for that.
The bullet speed wasn't fast; he could track it.
"Fire."
But she quickly locked onto Jiang Si nonetheless.
Not using her eyes to lock on—this girl was originally a blind person with closed eyes—but using perception to lock on.
Namely, the mind's eye.
For a moment, it actually gave Jiang Si a feeling of being unable to evade.
So I can only start accelerating from the moment she fires? Interesting. For Jiang Si, it indeed presented a bit of a challenge.
A cool breeze blew past. Jiang Si twisted his feet slightly, preparing for instant explosive force.
The distance between the two was too close. To compete with bullet speed at this range without using magical power, even Jiang Si felt a sliver of pressure.
A withered leaf drifted down from a nearby branch. The white-haired girl's finger applied slight pressure.
Jiang Si instantly bent his waist and knees, half his foot sinking into the ground, like a leopard ready to pounce, containing visibly obvious explosive power.
Just as the withered leaf touched the ground!
"What are you two doing outside the sect?"
Bingtang had walked over from the side at some point, casually taking the handgun from the white-haired girl's hand. "How many times have I said, don't play with water guns, don't play with water guns! You bought another water gun, Bai Mei! How much did it cost?"
Somewhat angrily, she pulled the trigger at Bai Mei, the water inside spraying all over the white-haired girl's face.
Being scolded like this by Bingtang, the white-haired girl only replied in a flat tone, "Not much, just three thousand."
So Bingtang, exasperated at her lack of ambition, rapped her sharply twice on the forehead. "Three thousand! For a one-to-one replica water gun? You're even more wasteful than Qinghua!"
"I earned it from my part-time job."
"Just because you earned it from a part-time job means you can spend it recklessly?"
"Sorry..."
After lecturing her for a bit, Bingtang finally turned to look at Jiang Si, who had almost stamped a hole in the ground. "And what is the Sect Master doing?"
Jiang Si nonchalantly pulled his foot out, patting his trouser legs. "Nothing, just exercising."
Meanwhile, the girl called Bai Mei opened her mouth slightly, her always calm voice finally gaining some fluctuation. "Sect Master?"
Only then did Bingtang realize. "Oh, right, the last time you met the Sect Master was three years ago. It's normal you wouldn't recognize him. Jiang Si has changed quite a bit compared to three years ago..."
They saw Bai Mei silently retrieve the handgun from Bingtang's hand,
Aimed it at her own head.
And fired frantically.
...
BH City, inside the Azure Cloud Sect.
A girl with closed eyes faced the wall, continuously apologizing:
"Sorry, sorry, Master..."
Bingtang, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled her over, casually grabbing a dry towel to wipe the sweat from her head. "Alright, alright, your master is over here."
Sitting there softly and weakly, Bai Mei gave off the impression of someone about to completely vanish.
Bai Mei, fifteen years old. The first Magical Girl taken in by the Azure Cloud Sect three years ago, and also the first true disciple.
As a girl who had been ill since childhood with limited time left, abandoned by her family in a park, when Jiang Si and Bingtang brought her back, Bai Mei wasn't a Magical Girl yet.
So thin she was practically skin and bones, small and short, looking like she could pass away at any moment without it being strange.
After Bingtang called her family's private doctor over for treatment, they learned Bai Mei had a congenital disease. While not immediately fatal, even with proper care she wouldn't live past her twenties or thirties.
And if Bai Mei hadn't met them back then, she probably would have truly died within a few more days.
At that time, the Azure Cloud Sect didn't have any other Magical Girls, and Disaster Beasts didn't appear frequently, so they let Bai Mei stay at the sect temporarily.
Although she looked pitiful, the Azure Cloud Sect wasn't a welfare institution after all, and neither of them had the ability to care for a seriously ill child.
After Bingtang had the private doctor treat her, she planned to let her stay for a while, and after she recovered, send her to an orphanage.
But on the day they found an orphanage and planned to send her away, Bai Mei secretly ran off.
Grabbing a wooden stick, she went to challenge a Disaster Beast.
When the Azure Cloud Sect was first established, Jiang Si was very enthusiastic about telling stories of the sect's predecessors fighting Immortals in his fantasies. On one hand, it was to help Bingtang understand the Azure Cloud Sect's origins and legitimacy.
On the other hand, he hoped Bingtang would also pursue the Great Dao with him.
Unfortunately, compared to that vague and uncertain Great Dao, Bingtang was more interested in just being by Jiang Si's side building the Azure Cloud Sect together, showing little interest in pursuing the Great Dao or tempering her physical body.
Instead, Bai Mei became completely fascinated by it.
Among the stories Jiang Si told, her favorite were the so-called sword cultivators. Aloof and cold, pressing forward unwaveringly, and most importantly.
Sword, Master!
Although Bingtang tried hard to remember all those messy cultivation paths Jiang Si talked about, she simply couldn't retain them. The other Magical Girls either didn't understand or weren't interested.
Only Bai Mei deeply believed everything Jiang Si said and diligently trained according to the methods he described.
On the day they prepared to send Bai Mei away, the little girl didn't have any extra thoughts.
Because she simply didn't feel qualified to stay here, and knew she was a burden—even her own parents didn't want her.
How could she expect two strangers to be willing to accept her?
Moreover, Lady Bingtang had already found a doctor for treatment, provided many medicines for free, and given her food. Even if they were sending her away, they had found a proper orphanage for her.
From beginning to end, Bai Mei never considered asking to stay at the Azure Cloud Sect.
So when Bingtang and Jiang Si decided to send her away, Bai Mei wasn't sad, just thought it was natural.
When Bai Mei went to find the Disaster Beast back then, she didn't have any other thoughts either—she just wanted to take a final exam.
To fully demonstrate everything she had learned from Jiang Si, kill a Disaster Beast, as a thank you gift for her teacher.
In terms of results, she actually succeeded.
Because she really did slay a Disaster Beast.
But in terms of process, completely wrong.
Her training wasn't sufficient; she completely failed to display the mighty power of sword cultivators that Teacher Jiang Si described.
The wooden stick she held broke with just one strike.
A true sword cultivator, even holding just a single strand of hair, should be able to achieve sword energy like a rainbow.
Bai Mei didn't know if that counted as despair back then, but she truly experienced an impulse she had never felt before in her life.
She wanted to become stronger, wanted to prove to Teacher Jiang Si that she could accomplish what he said.
Wanted everyone to witness what kind of elegance the realm sword cultivators could reach!
The intense wish summoned a miracle—she obtained her own Miracle Seed.
Although somewhat different from what she imagined, she ultimately achieved her goal.
A magical sword cultivator—barely counts as a sword cultivator, right?
Even after becoming a Magical Girl, Bai Mei actually hadn't planned to stay.
But because she became a Magical Girl, Bingtang proactively invited her instead, making her the Azure Cloud Sect's first true disciple.
Of course, the title of true disciple was something she begged and pleaded for.
Because Bingtang didn't really like it back then, and Jiang Si didn't think she qualified as a true disciple. It was Bai Mei, wanting to become a true disciple and inherit Jiang Si's sword cultivation legacy, who pestered them for five or six days before Bingtang agreed to the title.
Not long after, due to her illness, Bingtang used her family connections to send her to a major hospital in neighboring Jiangming City.
Because the medical level there was higher and more specialized in treating the genetic disease Bai Mei had.
Only today did she return to the sect for the first time.
Therefore, when she saw the grand sect seal outside the sect had changed again, Bai Mei lingered outside for a long time until she encountered Jiang Si.
Not only did she fail to recognize her own teacher and start a fight, but she ended up using a water gun to scare the Sect Master...
Simply utterly disrespectful.
After quite a while, when Bingtang saw she wasn't so despondent anymore, she moved closer, handed her a cup of tea, her tone slightly heavy. "Your eyes can't see anymore? Last time you messaged, didn't you say your condition had improved a lot?"
Bai Mei, with tightly closed eyes, seemed somewhat confused. "No, my eyes can see."
Bingtang was taken aback. "Then why have you been keeping your eyes closed?"
"To cultivate the mind's eye."
Bai Mei said very seriously. "Master said, if you always rely on your eyes to see, you'll develop dependency. For sword cultivators, the most important thing is cultivating the heart, using the mind's eye to see, not the physical eyes. So I've been keeping my eyes closed these past few years."
Bingtang looked speechlessly at this first true disciple. "Is it useful?"
"I can see more clearly."
Turning to look at Jiang Si, sure enough, his gaze towards Bai Mei was full of appreciation.
Actually, three years ago Jiang Si already greatly admired Bai Mei's pure heart for seeking the Dao.
As master and disciple, their relationship could even be considered quite good.
When Bai Mei left back then, he specifically instructed her not to slack off in the future, that the Great Dao was arduous, and without progress there would be regression.
After Bai Mei left, he even said to Bingtang with great regret that it was truly a pity such fine talent couldn't be personally witnessed growing up.
And then he forgot all about her completely in three years.
Bai Mei's appearance could be said to have changed very little over three years, especially her white hair and that sickly pale, almost translucent skin.
Quite distinctive features, and yet he still couldn't recognize her.
He truly hadn't cared at all...
Of course, Bai Mei wasn't much better.
Returning to the Azure Cloud Sect after three years, her first thought upon encountering a stranger was to drive them away, even pulling out a three-thousand-yuan ultra-realistic handgun to scare them, unwilling to open her eyes for even a look.
What a fine pair of master and disciple.
But Bingtang was used to it; the two were already like this three years ago.
"Just as Master said, in the first year, I couldn't help wanting to open my eyes, very unaccustomed to life with closed eyes. In the second year, I started being able to successfully live in darkness with the help of a cane. In the second half of the second year, even with closed eyes, I could faintly see some light through my mind's eye. By the third year, my mind's eye was already complete."
Bai Mei said with some pride: "Even without opening my eyes, I can already clearly see everything around me."
"Although your talent isn't great." Jiang Si finally commented. "But diligence can compensate for clumsiness. Not bad."
"Thank you for the praise, Master."
Even so, Bai Mei's demeanor remained neither humble nor arrogant.
Maintaining the pride and aloofness befitting a sword cultivator, though she immediately coughed twice, appearing extremely weak again...
Bingtang patted her back beside her and asked, "What important matter brought you all the way here this time?"
Bai Mei's expression finally turned serious, sitting up straight. "This time I returned mainly because there are three matters I wish to seek Master and Lady Bingtang's help with."
"Speak."
"The first matter." Bai Mei took out her phone from her pocket. Although her eyes were closed, her movements were quite fluid and quick. She opened a website and showed the content to the two of them.
"Regarding those stories about the sect's predecessors that Master told me back then, during my convalescence and cultivation, having nothing better to do, and to promote the great achievements of the Azure Cloud Sect's predecessors, I compiled them into volumes, wrote them as books, and published them online. Unexpectedly, there were many readers. But since I left in a hurry back then, Master hadn't finished telling me the stories. I could only write half before being unable to continue. Now many readers are urging and cursing, hoping Master can tell me how the second half of the stories go, so I can give everyone a proper conclusion."
Jiang Si looked expressionlessly at the sickly Bai Mei, then glanced at the book titles above.
"Fight Demon Continent", "Fight Demon Sky", "Coiling Dragon", "Slay Demons", "Mortal Demonic Cultivation Chronicles", "Mysterious Mirror Demonic Sects"...
I haven't even had time to plagiarize them myself.
This was originally one of his fallback money-making methods.
Transmigrating and becoming a literary plagiarist is practically the most classic, well-known method to make money and get ahead.
This world doesn't even have the original fantasy cultivation web novels—it's practically a natural paradise for literary plagiarists.
But, carelessness.
Jiang Si originally thought since no one would compete with him anyway, he could plagiarize later when he had time.
Busy with cultivation and sect affairs every day, he didn't have much time—though mainly because he didn't like writing novels.
He only liked reading; making him write was somewhat torturous.
He previously planned to plagiarize one book to earn some money first, but ended up writing only eight words in ten days.
Never expected someone would beat him to it, and it was his own true disciple.
If you've copied them all, what will I copy? Can you give me all the manuscript fees?
Thinking this in his heart, but naturally maintaining the Sect Master's dignity on the surface, he just nodded. "Fine, I'll tell you when I have time."
After a long pause, he added, "Give me half the manuscript fees, to commemorate the ancestors."
"Bai Mei understands."
Then Bai Mei took out a thick book, her expression slightly embarrassed. "Also, Bai Mei has been utterly captivated by the stories of the various predecessors. Originally wanted to write an original story myself, but repeatedly encountered setbacks, no one appreciated it. There are even some ungrateful people chasing after it with malicious reviews, too dreadful to look at."
What kind of failed author is this.
Jiang Si glanced at it. "Do you want me to revise it for you?"
Seeking death, truly. The number of authors Jiang Si has made cry is countless.
"Not exactly." Unexpectedly, Bai Mei gave a reserved smile. "Mundane people are foolish, unable to understand my art. But I thought, the Sect Master would certainly be able to appreciate and understand my work. So I brought all my works from these years for the Sect Master to appreciate."
Typical failed author mentality.
Also, I, Jiang Si, never read web novels with less than a million words and no popularity.
But since the book was already handed over, he reluctantly accepted it.
Bingtang nearby already looked headache-ridden, rubbing her forehead. "You came all this way just for these things?"
"Oh, there's one more thing I almost forgot."
Bai Mei said casually, "The number of Witch Association members in Jiangming City has recently increased for some reason. The four Azure Cloud Sect disciples I developed in Jiangming City have been scattered due to the Witch Association's encirclement and suppression. So I hope headquarters can provide us with some support."
...
Haven't you reversed the importance of matters?
Bingtang complained internally, then thought seriously for a moment. "Let Qinghua go. She doesn't have classes anyway. She can make a few more puppets these days before going..."
Glancing at Jiang Si, her eyes held a bit more hope. "If the Sect Master could provide some magical power..."
Jiang Si shook his head, personally extinguishing Bingtang's fantasy. "I'll go personally."
In web novels, when subordinates encounter enemies, sending only a supervisor one level higher, leading to layered outsourcing that turns them into stepping stones for the opponent's leveling up, is practically commonplace.
Since we're planning to handle it, let's do it thoroughly in one step.
Let me, Soul Emperor, personally block the Xiao family's door...
"Ah, right, Sect Master, could you look at my work now? Just a few chapters is fine."
Jiang Si randomly flipped through a couple of pages, then closed the book.
A pile of crap.