Chapter 194: Chapter Sixty-Six

The greatest strength of the "Explosion" technique is its power; the high-energy concentration of mana is sufficient to easily blast through a mana barrier of an opponent at the same level.

At the same time, its greatest weaknesses are range and stability. It can only be activated with oneself as the center, and the activation time is almost impossible to extend. Once the Favo runes construct the structure of the Explosion technique, it will collapse on its own even without activation.

This causes the "Explosion" technique to become a rather niche technique, because its cost-effectiveness as an attack method is simply too low—a technique that requires being at an extremely close distance to the enemy and still necessitates layering several mana barriers on oneself while releasing it just to retreat unscathed; calling it "humorous" is already an understatement.

The most common use of this technique is for magical girls, when they feel unable to defeat a Remnant Beast, to use it for mutual destruction. With the resolve to kill a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred themselves, they expend all their mana in an attempt to deliver a fatal blow to the Remnant Beast. Precisely for this reason, most magical girls have a hard time looking kindly upon this technique when discussing it.

However, a considerable number of magical girls who believe "firepower is justice" persistently improve the original "Explosion" technique, constantly attempting to remedy its inherent flaws. Their efforts resulted in the creation of more advanced techniques, expanding the "Explosion" technique into a true technique category, thereby establishing the entire Explosion school of techniques.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with Xia Liang at present.

She learned the Explosion technique not out of interest, nor because she wanted to die together with the enemy, but because she needed to form a unique combination technique belonging solely to herself.

Combining Explosion techniques with Diversion to remedy the lack of offensive power inherent in Diversion, as well as the shortcomings of Explosion techniques themselves—this was Senior Cuique's advice to Xia Liang.

Although this advice stemmed entirely from Senior Cuique's speculation without any practical verification, Xia Liang chose to believe it and completed its prototype within just a few days.

And now, this combination technique, which only has a prototype, is making its first appearance before others.

Maintaining the Magical Armor while using a technique within the body, and even one like "Explosion" which consumes a considerable amount of mana, made Xia Liang feel as if the mana in her body had been drained in an instant; the feedback from her True Form was an intense sensation of weakness.

But with the arrow already on the string, it had to be released; once the technique was triggered, she no longer possessed the ability to stop it.

"Is it really okay? Shouldn't we prepare to intervene?" Outside the arena, Senior Cuique looked at Aso Enka again: "If this move is unleashed, even if your team members can endure it, the surrounding residents will complain to us."

"... Then let's use a barrier to protect the arena slightly."

Aso Enka, who had been pretending to be profound all this time, finally spoke: "This move is interesting. Did you invent it?"

"It can only be considered a proposal."

Senior Cuique shook her head: "Until this child actually realizes it, I am not certain if it will succeed."

"Just from the mana flow, one can feel the destructive power. If this move can be mastered proficiently, the assessment should indeed pose no problem."

Aso Enka praised: "Truly impressive. One cannot feel at all that this is a child who only became a magical girl half a year ago; the completion level in every aspect is too high."

"Are you just praising our team member here? What about that child named Mimosa?"

Senior Cuique glanced at her sideways again: "This kind of power is not something a normal Leaf-rank can handle; it will be stronger than a general Explosion technique. Aren't you worried about her safety?"

"Safety...?"

Reciting these two words proposed by Senior Cuique, Aso Enka slowly curled the corners of her mouth, and then, finally, turned her head to look at Senior Cuique: "Sister, do you know what rank Mimosa achieved in the practical exam when she obtained her White Badge certification at the beginning of this year?"

"Practical exam?"

This phrase slightly triggered some memories in Senior Cuique.

In her memory, she herself had only participated in one qualification certification exam, which was the White Badge certification passed during her time as a newcomer, and because her own abilities were underdeveloped at that time, she ultimately passed with only an average score.

If she were to handle the combination technique Xia Liang is using right now, she probably would not have been able to do it; back then, her Magical Armor should not have been able to withstand an attack of such power. The best course of action would have been to dodge after judging the opponent's attack intent.

Aso Enka naturally knew all this; in fact, her ranking when she achieved her results back then was even slightly lower than Senior Cuique's. Therefore, bringing up this metric at this moment must not be without purpose.

— "Judging by your expression, you have probably realized it too; that child ranked very high, she was third."

And this was the answer Aso Enka gave.

At the same moment these words were spoken, the battle within the arena had officially entered its climax.

"I hope the effect isn't too outrageous..."

Gazing at the glaring magenta mana light before her, Xia Liang couldn't help but swallow; then, with forceful hands, she pushed the fully activated Favo runes in her hand forward.

The purple light immediately pierced through the Diversion spells arranged in a column, illuminating the entire mirror-formed track at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, and blasted toward the direction where Mimosa was located.

Throughout this process, Mimosa had simply held her wand, standing still and watching quietly.

Contrary to what Senior Cuique thought, she had no intention of dodging at all.

Rather, although the duel with Xia Liang had only lasted a few rounds, she had not moved a single step from start to finish.

She watched the light of the technique in Xia Liang's hand bloom, and then, amidst the ear-splitting sound of impact, slightly opened her mouth and whispered:

"Protect me, Pal Eye."

As her words fell, the wand in her hand had transformed into a small tambourine; she grabbed the tambourine with her left hand, and then, with the tips of a few fingers of her right hand, lightly and briskly tapped upon it.

"Bang!"

A crisp sound rang out, accompanied by the simultaneous appearance of an extremely faint light red mana; this mana spread rapidly like ripples on water, and then, visibly to the naked eye, canceled out a portion of Xia Liang's technique.

Although it only canceled out a portion and did not eliminate it completely, this was already enough.

With her continuous tapping, the tambourine continuously emitted more mana patterns; whenever this mana touched Xia Liang's technique, it would dissolve a portion of the energy within the technique, thereby continuously reducing its power.

And this entire process was completed in merely one second.

One second later, when Xia Liang's technique blasted to Mimosa's front, the technique structure, which had become incredibly loose, no longer possessed its previous momentum and was easily blocked by Mimosa using several layers of overlapping mana barriers.

Until this process ended, she still had not moved a single step.

At the same time, Xia Liang, whose mana had been largely drained by this explosive combination technique, could no longer maintain her transformed form; her mana clothing dispersed, and she collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily in large gasps.

"So... tired."

Unable even to speak, Xia Liang propped herself up with both hands, facing the floor, feeling sweat slide down her cheeks and finally drip onto the ground, her mind completely blank.

She couldn't even think about victory or defeat, nor could she attend to the fact that her "ultimate move" was easily countered by her opponent on its first appearance; she could only pant uselessly like this.

After all, the fatigue of the True Form cannot be alleviated by breathing at all.

"Can you use it again?"

Standing opposite her, Mimosa tilted her head: "If there is a second shot, it will be difficult."

"... No more."

Blinking her eyes, Xia Liang answered honestly.

She could feel that she actually still had some mana left, but right now she truly couldn't even move; bluffing would be meaningless.

Although she had thought before the duel that the opponent would not be simple, she truly did not expect her opponent to be so powerful.

A normal Leaf-rank magical girl absolutely could not handle it, and even an Egg-rank Remnant Beast would likely be blasted to death by a single shot, yet the opponent received it with such ease.

However, she actually found it unexpectedly easy to accept. Rather, ever since she learned that her opponent was a "senior who advanced to Leaf-rank a year earlier," she knew she would most likely lose.

If she could, she actually didn't want to lose either; after all, it was rare to find time to be alone with the junior senior, and under his long-overdue individual guidance, she had perfected her combat style. For such a memorable moment, it would be even better to conclude it with a victory.

Now, though...

Keeping her head bowed, Xia Liang slightly turned her gaze toward Cuique, who stood nearby with furrowed brows and a look of concern.

... In that case, it doesn't seem like a loss after all.

Thinking this, she took a few more breaths, then finally slowly raised her head, grinned, and looked at the Mimosa before her with a smile.

"I concede."

Decisive and crisp, utterly refreshing.

"Next pair: Bai Mei versus Bai Ji... Please, both contestants enter the arena!"

Moke's voice rang out in the training ground once more, though it sounded far less booming than before.

The first match of the competition ended with the defeat of the Fang Ting City team.

Regarding this result, Lin Xiaolu felt only tension, her palms sweating.

In her view, the undisputed strongest on paper of the current Fang Ting City team was Xia Liang.

Although she had always been somewhat unwilling to admit it to the other, limited by her own species' Flowering progress, her strength development was undoubtedly inferior to the other's.

Now, Xia Liang had lost so easily, without even forcing the opponent to go all out, and the opponent didn't even seem to be the strongest from the Bai'an City team.

Secretly glancing at Bai Ji walking out from the neighboring team, she slightly clenched her fist, repeatedly telling herself in her heart to stay calm.

Although the people from the Bai'an City team hadn't said it outright, there was a high probability that Bai Ji was the strongest among them. And next, she would have to face this opponent herself.

Furthermore, since Xia Liang had already lost a point right at the start, if she couldn't win next, the entire Fang Ting City team would lose.

At this moment, she felt an immense burden pressing down on her.

What would happen if she lost? Was she getting further and further away from her mother? Would Cuique be even more disappointed in her? If Cuique was disappointed in her, then what exactly should she do?

Although the air in the training ground was perfectly clear, Lin Xiaolu felt as if she were almost suffocating.

At this time, Bai Ji had already walked to the center of the training ground, standing straight there, her gaze fixed directly on Lin Xiaolu. Obviously, she was curious why her opponent hadn't entered the arena yet.

Lin Xiaolu could only stiffly take her steps.

— "Bai Mei."

Just then, a somewhat cool voice suddenly came from behind her.

She turned back and found Cuique signaling to her.

"W-what is it?" she asked, but felt her voice was somewhat hoarse.

"No need to be nervous, and no need to care about winning or losing."

Cuique spoke with great seriousness yet a gentle tone: "Show your progress to the fullest, boldly expose your shortcomings, let me see the current you clearly; this is the purpose of the competition."

After saying this, she saw Lin Xiaolu just staring blankly at her, as if not listening at all, so she helplessly pressed on: "Okay?"

"... Ah, um, okay."

Only then did Lin Xiaolu slowly nod: "I understand, I will try my best."

She took a step again, walking to the center of the arena; this time, she finally met Bai Ji's gaze.

"Let Cuique see the current me clearly..." she murmured softly, as if she could truly draw courage from these words, her expression growing ever more resolute.

The radiance of the Heart Gem flashed, and the Magical Girl's outfit adorned her body. Then, she raised her hand, and a blue mana sphere shimmering with Gao Weiguang slowly coalesced in her palm.

"Let's start from here again." She looked at Bai Ji, her gaze burning.

Watching the mana sphere in Lin Xiaolu's hand, Bai Ji first felt slightly puzzled, probably not understanding why the opponent would choose a form that had already lost once to begin the contest. Then, as if realizing something, a hint of strangeness flashed across her plain expression, and inexplicably, she looked toward Asano Enka outside the arena.

All she received was Asano Enka's raised thumb.

"... I see. Then, as you wish." Pressing her lips together, she remained silent for a moment before lowering her eyes to respond.

Azure radiance circled her body; she recited the transformation incantation, completed her transformation, then raised her hand, her palm's mana sphere mirroring Lin Xiaolu's.

Their figures paused slightly, then, as if agreed upon, they simultaneously waved forward, throwing the mana spheres coiled in their hands.

Cyan and pale blue mana collided in mid-air.

Because it was a mana sphere, not a mana beam, the two sides' mana did not immediately dissipate after the collision; instead, they became entangled, even forming a stalemate.

However, this stalemate was only brief.

For in the blink of an eye, the cyan mana originating from Bai Ji suddenly began to tremble.

Like a roaring engine, that mass of mana vibrated at an extremely high frequency in a short time, then pushed forward with a trend almost capable of scattering Lin Xiaolu's mana.

"As expected, she can do it too..."

Watching this scene, Xia Liang below first looked slightly stunned, then sighed: "This is going to be difficult now, Xiaolu."

"The 'do it too' you mentioned, what does that refer to?" Cuique suddenly asked from the side.

"That one, you know, the technique that seems to suddenly change the nature of the mana."

Xia Liang pointed at Bai Ji, who was confronting in the arena: "Junior Senior, you saw it too, right? That child's mana flow suddenly started vibrating. The opponents I fought before were the same; for some reason, using equal mana could always tear through my mana."

"Did you see the essence of that technique?" Not evaluating Xia Liang's answer, Cuique simply continued to press.

"Essence? As for that thing, a little bit..."

Frowning slightly in frustration, Xia Liang said helplessly: "I can't possibly see through something like that after just two exchanges; Junior Senior, you're overestimating me."

Cuique said no more.

She actually didn't know what this unfamiliar technique was either; at least during the few days she was active as a Magical Girl, she had never seen such a use of mana in anyone's hands.

But she said nothing more, not even looking at Asano Enka beside her, even though she knew this thing was one hundred percent related to the other party.

She simply watched Lin Xiaolu in the arena, because she knew that if there was an answer, the best answer lay with Lin Xiaolu.

The two mana spheres under stalemate also showed new changes at this moment.

After the sky-blue magic trembled, the light-blue magic that had been steadily retreating suddenly halted its decline. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, its form began to become irregular as well.

The light-blue magic scattering in all directions seemed like a melting snowball, continuously collapsing inward from the surface, and then, from a certain moment, suddenly ignited.

The magic had transformed into fire.

This display finally caused the expressions of everyone present to change.

If, on the Fang Ting side, Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan were merely shocked by the sudden change Lin Xiaolu had revealed, then on the Bai An side, whether it was the Mimosa and Wood Lily outside the arena or Bai Ji currently inside, their feeling at this moment was "shock."

"Do you see clearly now, sisters?"

Asao Enka, who had been taciturn from the start of the match until now, finally spoke: "This is the technique perfected over the past decade by me leading a group of colleagues from the Investigation Bureau, and it is also the capital that allowed me to be promoted to Flower Card."

"What is it called?" Senior Cuique, showing no exaggerated reaction to this, merely nodded lightly, her gaze still fixed on Lin Xiaolu.

"I usually call it 'Turbidification,' or in plain terms, 'Simulated Shift.'"

Also gazing at the flames within Lin Xiaolu's magic, Asao Enka said calmly: "In short, it is a technique that artificially distinguishes the base color of magic, causing the magic to exhibit special properties."

"Simulated Shift? Shifted towards which side?"

Hearing this, Senior Cuique could not help but frown: "This does not sound like a safe technique."

Because of the magic problems Bai Jingxuan had displayed previously, after asking Emerald many times, her understanding of the base color of magic had deepened significantly.

Previously, Emerald had also said that the base color of magic represents the true form, even the root, of its owner. Just as the base color of a Magical Girl is a Magical Girl, and the base color of a Remnant Beast is a Remnant Beast, this base color is usually extremely difficult to change. And people who possess two base colors are generally called "Shifters."

A typical example is the Claw Marks; these are people who have artificially shifted the base color of a Magical Girl towards a Remnant Beast, "Artificial Shifters."

From any angle, "Shifting" does not seem like a very safe matter; at the very least, the unified characteristic of both Bai Jingxuan and the Claw Marks is "instability."

"It is not shifted towards any side; the base color of the Magical Girl remains a Magical Girl, with no impurities mixed in."

However, Asao Enka lightly laughed and refuted Senior Cuique's view: "It is just that the magic of every Magical Girl is actually not entirely the same, just as everyone's Magical Armor is unique. Although using the power of the same system, everyone has their own characteristics."

"Turbidification is taking a portion of the magic from the aspect of 'commonality' and letting it evolve towards its own 'individuality,' allowing the magic to birth characteristics belonging to itself."

"That is why it is said to be merely 'Simulated Shift,' because the base color of the Magical Girl has not changed; it is just that the process is somewhat similar."

By the time the words reached this point, the confrontation between the magic spheres of Lin Xiaolu and Bai Ji had entered its final stage.

The trembling sky-blue magic and the burning light-blue magic, after a fierce collision, were ultimately won by the light-blue side; Jin Guangyan suppressed the tremor patterns, thereby burning them to nothing.

Lin Xiaolu had gained the advantage.

Even she herself had not anticipated beforehand that she would actually win in the same category.

But compared to her surprise, Bai Ji, standing opposite her, was in the most complex state of mind at this moment.

Unbelievable.

This was the portrayal of her mood at this moment.

No one would know Lin Xiaolu's state from a week ago better than she did; at that time, when she and Lin Xiaolu had a private match, she had used the Turbidification technique, combined with the shocked expression on the other party's face afterward. Obviously, at least at that time, Lin Xiaolu had completely not understood what Turbidification was.

And now, Lin Xiaolu could use this technique effortlessly; then, without a doubt, someone had taught her.

Among everyone present, no one else had this ability; only Asao Enka.

This was the first layer of Bai Ji's incomprehension; she did not understand why Asao Enka would privately teach the Turbidification technique to Lin Xiaolu.

But what was even more incomprehensible was actually why Lin Xiaolu could truly learn it.

This concept, currently spreading only within a very small scope, is actually a quite high-difficulty technique; as Asao Enka's "unique ultimate move" that she researched, generally it requires extremely high talent in magic control and long-term practice to fully realize it.

At the very least, Bai Ji herself took more than half a year to learn this move; Mimosa's time was not much shorter, and there was another team member in Bai An, namely Wood Lily, who herself has not yet mastered this technique even to this day.

So now, regarding this opponent who used Turbidification right before her, how much time did she take?

"You, did you learn the Mentor's Turbidification in just this one week?"

Thinking of this, Bai Ji could not help but voice such a question.

"You say Turbidification?"

Not knowing what kind of mood the other party held when asking this question, Lin Xiaolu's expression remained normal; she merely recalled slightly and found the answer to this question from her memory:

— "It seems to be three days?"

(End of this chapter)