Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity Chapter 71

"This is so great, this is so great!"

Qinghua controlled Dandelion and let her lie in the air.

The ability to manipulate wind was so useful — you could treat the wind like a pillow and lie on it comfortably. It was enviably relaxing.

So this is what Yumo felt like before.

Qinghua flipped over, sat up straight, and began to seriously observe the surroundings.

Earlier she had been controlling Dandelion’s body and struck an extremely indecent-looking frog-kick pose in midair. Yumo had immediately burst into tears beside her, and Lady Bingtang had scolded her for it.

Now she dared not mess around, sitting upright and carefully taking in the scene.

Most of the inner and outer disciples had already been located, so there wasn’t much danger. Although some districts had been ravaged by Disaster Beast vines, because Qinghua was controlling Lady Winter, they could not only monitor every corner of Beihai,

they could instantly freeze those Disaster Beasts.

Lady Winter’s ability was just unbelievably useful!

Qinghua finally understood why every time she slacked off, Lady Bingtang always saw through it clearly.

With a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree, no-dead-angle view like this, there was nowhere to hide!

Of course she could also see how the Sect Master rescued his younger sister and crushed that A-level Disaster Beast with a single finger.

Seeing the Sect Master personally protect and teach Keke made her a tiny bit swoony.

How great it would be if she were the Sect Master’s sister.

Then Lady Bingtang definitely wouldn’t dare scold her; maybe she’d pamper her instead.

She could use the excuse of matchmaking Lady Bingtang and the Sect Master into a couple to manipulate Lady Bingtang.

Just imagining clever, fussy Lady Bingtang caring about this made Qinghua giggle with delight.

Have Lady Bingtang recharge her account, grant paid leave, send sect disciples on errands at will…

As she imagined it, Qinghua grinned foolishly.

That would be so satisfying.

As for dating the Sect Master, please allow Qinghua to politely decline.

She was, after all, the Azure Cloud Sect’s legendary top-tier flirt — she already had enough in-game lovers and didn’t need the Sect Master.

Her total dating experience added up to fifty-three years!

Even if there were no romance option in the Sect Master’s route, she could still figure out his strategy with a combo of normal attacks, chained hits, and cleaves!

To avoid hurting Lady Bingtang and to preserve the peace of Azure Cloud Sect, Super Qinghua had to keep restraining herself, restrain, restrain.

Of course, if the Sect Master insisted on pursuing her, it wouldn’t be impossible…

While daydreaming and cleaning up nearby Disaster Beasts, she kept an eye on the Sect Master’s direction.

She had planned to help if the Sect Master lost control and magic overflowed, so the houses wouldn’t be ruined.

But the Sect Master’s magic control was terrifyingly precise.

When the Great Barren Imprisoning Heaven Finger was pressed down, it literally crushed a whole building while leaving surrounding structures intact.

Light as lifting, swift as an arm.

It was even more exaggerated than Yumo’s control.

Qinghua had rarely seen the Sect Master act before and had assumed that, however strong, he couldn’t be much more precise than Yumo.

Yumo’s precision with magic control was already uncanny, yet the Sect Master surpassed that.

There was no catching up in this lifetime — give up, give up...

An A-level Disaster Beast was incinerated in one strike, and with nothing left for her to help with, Qinghua planned to pretend to be very busy and use Dandelion’s body to slack off.

After all, Lady Bingtang couldn’t transform right now and couldn’t observe Qinghua’s every move.

She immersed her consciousness — no, rather her spiritual awareness — entirely into Dandelion’s body and lay on the soft wind to sleep, while maintaining the appearance of diligently scanning the area.

She had pulled an all-nighter gaming yesterday; if she didn’t catch up on sleep, she wouldn’t have the energy to play tonight...

"Boom!"

Just after Qinghua closed her eyes, a surging tide of force blew her off course! She nearly crashed into a rear apartment floor.

She steadied Dandelion with her wind control, her whole face pressed to the glass, and saw a family of three sleeping inside the building.

She stood up and looked toward where the sharp magic was surging. The thick white mist was even cleaved apart by that sword-like strike as if the sea itself split open; only after the magic dissipated did the white fog on both sides surge back and pour into that ravine.

Qinghua immediately used Lady Winter’s ability to stream the scene live back to Azure Cloud Sect.

"This is bad, this is bad! Lady Bingtang, another expert just arrived in Beihai. Should we notify the Sect Master..."

"Can’t you handle it yourself?"

Hearing Lady Bingtang’s voice of tough love, Qinghua made a pained face. "I’m good at gaming, not fighting. If I lose, won’t the two puppets I spent a year making be gone? Anyway the Sect Master is there — it’s just a one-finger thing, it won’t trouble him that much, right, Lady Bingtang…"

"Hmph, then what did the Sect Master establish Azure Cloud Sect for? To pay the wages of you slackers?"

"I—I do work, Lady Bingtang!" Qinghua immediately protested, feeling wronged. "I’m multitasking right now, controlling Dandelion while also controlling Lady Winter. Do you know how hard that is?"

"It’s like using your left hand on the keyboard and right hand on the mouse at the same time to play a game, while also holding a controller with both hands and using two thumbs to manipulate the joysticks — one slip and the left brain attacks the right brain, the right gives up. It’s exhausting!"

"I might not even be able to sleep tonight. You can’t say that, Lady Bingtang! Qinghua demands an apology! Lady Bingtang!"

Lady Bingtang sneered. "Fine, I apologize. From today on, you’ll control two puppets on patrol every day, and I’ll double your salary. How about that?"

"Ah, I was just joking before, Lady Bingtang. How can you have zero sense of humor? If you keep this up the Sect Master won’t like you..."

"Come back and spar with me when this is over."

"I’m wrong, I’m really wrong. I’ll go solve that troublemaking expert right now! Watch closely, Lady Bingtang. Is an expert all that scary? Super Qinghua is more than looks — I’ll chase her away!"

"That’s your senior sister."

Lady Bingtang said coldly, "Don’t go get yourself struck by lightning if your senior sister won’t even open her eyes for you."

"Huh?" Qinghua, controlling Dandelion, opened her mouth wide. "Our senior sister is that strong?"

"The Sect Master admires her the most. You lot, he doesn’t put much stock in."

Hearing some sourness in Lady Bingtang’s tone, Qinghua stayed silent, afraid another wrong word would get her in trouble.

"You must train properly. Even if you can’t match your senior sister, don’t be so far behind."

Not just Qinghua — Yumo beside her felt her heart skip a beat.

When Lady Bingtang got serious, they were in for it...

"Also, the Sect Master wants to end this farce. You don’t have anything to do next. Come back, Qinghua."

"Don’t say it like you’re calling a Pokémon, Lady Bingtang."

As Qinghua prepared to withdraw the puppet, she saw Lady Shion suddenly raise her hand in the distance.

Then countless dense purple threads began to spread from her fingers.

Those purple strands wound through the city’s white mist and even crawled over the vines.

Qinghua widened her eyes at the expanding Magical Net.

Each strand wasn’t crude; they were delicate like blood vessels, the magic flowing inside pulsing like life.

Until they encompassed the whole of Beihai.

Qinghua looked up. The sky filled with purple vessels, like some mysterious circuit vibrating with a strange rhythm.

Then, at some point, as if a balloon popped,

Qinghua could no longer tell where the rupture began.

Every pulsing vessel collapsed!

A massive amount of magic sprayed out like blood, from streams to rivers to finally an ocean!

Purple magic washed over every corner of Beihai!

The thick white fog quickly evaporated under the burn of magic; whether sewers or unseen corners of walls, the purple energy permeated everywhere!

Qinghua watched a family asleep in a nearby building as the vines inside and outside their bodies ignited in magic and were finally reduced to harmless ash explosions.

The fog cleared, and the air brightened.

That violent purple ocean of magic came fast and went fast, fading with a passing breeze.

What a cleansing.

Qinghua stared blankly through Dandelion’s perspective and also used Lady Winter’s ability to scan the whole city.

There wasn’t a trace of fog left, and no vine survived.

"Leave the rest for the Disaster Control Bureau to deal with. Come back and bring some food, Qinghua."

"Oh, oh oh..."

For a split second, she almost died of relief.

When Lady Shion suddenly unleashed that massive amount of magic across Beihai, Qinghua had thought Lady Shion was mad.

Keke had been so scared she lay still on the ground.

When she finally looked up, she saw Beihai reborn into daylight.

The white fog was gone, those disgusting vines disappeared, and aside from a building leveled to the ground behind them, Beihai looked as it had before.

People slowly began to wake — shouting, screaming, cursing, laughing — all coming in waves. When Lady Shion hauled Keke up, a car drove quickly along a cracked road nearby.

Some people had fallen into mysterious pits that suddenly opened up.

"You really aren’t a witch persona?"

Facing Lady Shion’s question, Keke shook her head immediately. "No, no, I’m very clear-headed, Teacher. I’m determined. I didn’t get affected by Polluted Magic!"

Lady Shion looked at her and suddenly pressed her hand on the shoulder that had been covered by the witch’s Magical Outfit.

Before Keke could react, a little sting came from the shoulder.

Looking down, she saw a small wound on the shoulder.

Lady Shion’s index finger pressed gently on the cut; the delicate fingertip picked up a smear of fresh red.

Then she put the blood-dipped fingertip to her mouth.

She tasted it as if sampling something, tilting her head, and after a long moment nodded, "Looks like it’s fine."

If Keke had turned into a perfect witch, her blood would have been soaked with Polluted Magic like Twins. Keke’s blood did retain some Polluted Magic, but overall it was normal, so she wasn’t a witch.

Though Lady Shion still didn’t understand why Keke would pretend to be a witch, she had no interest in investigating further.

People were starting to gather, and she didn’t plan to waste time here.

"Go back and practice properly."

Keke only heard that one instruction before Lady Shion vanished from sight.

Instinctively she tried to follow, but she stopped quickly.

The exhaustion and pain from the witch transformation and becoming a Magical Girl still lingered in her body.

She steadied herself on a bent telephone pole and breathed hard.

Then she touched the small wound on her shoulder.

Clearly Lady Shion hadn’t meant to harm her; the cut was small and didn’t hurt much.

Recalling Lady Shion’s fingertip touching the wound — the faint sting and numb itch — Keke felt like her right arm wouldn’t lift.

The Teacher must only have done this to her...

No, also to Jiang Si.

And with Jiang Si, she must have done many things she didn’t know about.

If Jiang Si really married Lady Shion, would she be able to see more sides of him she hadn’t before? Could she keep being coddled...

These oddly hopeful thoughts popped into her head and she shook her head.

She pressed the wound on her shoulder again.

It didn’t hurt much now, so she put her fingertip in her mouth to taste it.

There was nothing special — just ordinary metallic bloodiness and a bit salty.

Although a little Polluted Magic remained, there wasn’t a strange taste.

She felt relieved.

If she had become a witch, turning into Twins with blood and flesh soaked in Polluted Magic, that would be disgusting...

After savoring the taste of her blood for a moment, Keke staggered home and called Li Yi.

"We’re okay. Iris senior saved us."

"The Disaster Control Bureau is chaos."

"Damn it, Twins got away! I’ll catch her back!"

"Wait, Keke, my Miracle Seed at the Bureau is missing..."

She blurted out a lot, and Keke could hear that the Bureau was indeed busy.

Susan kept scolding, and the Incubators buzzed around chaotically.

Total mess.

Soon Li Yi said she had to go and hung up.

For a moment Keke felt grateful; because of Jiang Si and Lady Shion’s relationship, she was barred from officially entering the Bureau. Otherwise she’d likely have been dragged there to help.

She had once thought it was punishment; now it seemed mostly benefits and no drawbacks...

She stretched and exhaled, looking at the sky.

The distant remnant sun sank bit by bit into the horizon’s abyss. The blood-tinted dusk stretched shadows long. Distant stars were beginning to appear. A cool evening breeze brushed her face and relaxed her body.

She had survived the Witch Association and even disrupted their plan.

Although most of the work had been Lady Shion’s doing, Keke had been brave too.

"You did very well. You’re already great. You’re a hero who saved Beihai, Keke."

No one praised her, but she praised herself and felt happy seeing the people she’d helped survive.

She limped on and found a place to try transforming again.

The witch’s Polluted Magic influence had almost disappeared, and her own magic had clearly risen to Seedling rank.

Her control and perception of magic had also greatly improved.

She could sense the residual magic left by Lady Shion’s outburst.

She might be a Seedling-tier Magical Girl now.

She wasn’t completely sure.

She jumped a little, gathered her magic, and lifted herself. She could now fly freely in the sky.

Much more convenient than riding a broom.

Keke happily made two laps in the air, but a child on the sidewalk saw her and shouted for everyone to look at the Magical Girl.

Startled, Keke hastily flew back near her home.

When she landed, Jiang Si was jogging back nearby.

She intended to ignore him and head home, but immediately realized she had no right to be standoffish with the man responsible for her parents’ death.

For some reason, she was a little afraid to cancel her transformation.

She turned stiffly and looked at Jiang Si. "A-are you okay..."

Jiang Si only shot her a warning look and didn’t answer.

He seemed to find her words tiresome.

Her chest tightened.

Even if she was in the wrong, that attitude made it hard to speak properly...

So she silently fell into step behind him, working through her emotions. Just as she wanted to speak, she noticed a remnant of Polluted Magic when Jiang Si exhaled.

And a faint metallic scent of blood.

Her own.

Because she hadn’t exited transformation, her magic perception was abnormally sharp.

There was no mistake.

Realizing this, Keke felt awkward.

Many thoughts flashed through her head.

Half an eternity later, at her doorstep, she finally mustered the courage and asked with a dry voice:

"Why does your mouth smell like Lady Shion?"

Jiang Si instinctively touched his lips.

He’d rushed here earlier and forgotten to clear the Polluted Magic from his mouth.

Even so, Keke’s sense being heightened since she’d become a Seedling made her unusually perceptive.

Is the witch transformation what increased her ability?

He thought that if witching could boost power, it might be worth testing sometime.

It was worth trying.

Keke asked again, "Did you two... kiss?"

It took Jiang Si a long while to understand what she meant.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Mm."

Keke took a deep breath and finally found the nerve to ask softly, "D-did you... stick out your tongue?"

Are you alive?

Witch.