Chapter 62: Bud Level

In fact, regarding Anya's death, Lin Yun knew very little as well.

Because he was neither at the scene nor able to see the body. All the information he received came from the oral accounts of the junior magical girls.

But even so, at that time he still could not understand how Anya could possibly die.

A Flower Card magical girl whose combat power had been recognized stood at the peak of magical girls; moreover, what about the "Strongest Flower Card"?

Simply guarding Fang Ting City was, for Anya, like a leisurely stroll in a backyard garden; let alone any danger, she was likely the true disaster for the Remnant Beasts.

Yet her death was so decisive and easy it felt unreal, as if a towering mountain that had stood before them one second had silently turned into flat ground the next.

Anya had died; deep red blood bloomed from her chest, like a mandala flower planted on a cherry blossom tree. She closed her eyes, a satisfied and happy smile on her face, as if she had seen something beautiful, and fell into a sweet slumber.

Only the path to this dream was a one-way street; once Anya walked upon it, she could never turn back.

Lin Yun never got to see this final meeting.

When the other magical girls arrived, horrified and grieving over Anya's death and trying to carry her body away, Anya's body turned into fine particles of mana and scattered before their eyes.

She left not a single trace in this world.

Ultimately, the only thing that could record her existence was that small tombstone.

This was also the reason Lin Yun could not let Lin Xiaolu see Anya's body at that time: because there was no body at all, and he could not explain to Lin Xiaolu why.

At that time, Lin Xiaolu found his behavior incomprehensible, even angering. Now that she has learned the truth, she begins to feel that she herself did something wrong back then.

Several days passed after Lin Yun and Anya's wedding anniversary.

Because Lin Xiaolu learned the fact that her mother was a magical girl, she had been distracted for several days in a row, absent-minded about everything.

Lin Yun continued the final handover for his resignation, preparing to devote himself fully to the affairs of the magical girls.

Moko carried out its Sower business half-heartedly; most of the time it stayed at home watching the two Newcomer magic trainees, and only occasionally went out to search for new magical girls.

According to what it said, it seemed to have found similar traces in the Li Xing District, so it had some hope for this.

As for Xia Liang, the more talented of the two Newcomer magic girls, in these days she touched the bottleneck of the Seed and Bud level at a speed that would leave anyone dumbfounded.

Then, as expected, she welcomed the opportunity to construct her True Form on this day.

A magical girl's True Form is a concept that sounds mystical but is actually very concrete. In terms of actual composition, it is a special structure that combines the magical girl's mana and soul, with the mana source as its core.

It is the foundation of all subsequent abilities of a magical girl; whether mana constructs, spells, or anything else, one must possess a True Form. It is also the source of a magical girl's life; no matter how severe the injuries a magical girl's body suffers, as long as the True Form is undamaged, these injuries can recover with time and mana.

Similarly, this also means that once a magical girl's True Form is destroyed, that magical girl's life has reached its end.

This is precisely why magical girls need to protect their mana sources: after all, the mana source is the core of the True Form; if the mana source is damaged, the True Form will also be severely affected.

And what Xia Liang is doing right now is related to this: she is to construct a new True Form with her mana source as the core.

The time was ten o'clock at night, the location was Xia Liang's home; when the study session was halfway through, she seemed to have a sudden inspiration and suddenly told the two that she felt her state had arrived.

Under Senior Cuique's instructions and Lin Xiaolu's bored gaze, she began her attempt to construct her True Form.

Holding her Seed of Heart in her palm, Xia Liang closed her eyes and quietly felt the surge of mana within her body.

Consciousness is the outward manifestation of the soul; capture and follow the flow of mana, letting one's consciousness form similar waves with the mana; afterwards, guide the mana in reverse, manipulating the frequency of its waves to match one's own consciousness and soul.

After the waves of soul and mana gradually overlapped, use the mana source as the core to conduct two-way communication, merging them into one, thereby forming new power.

Gradually, the Seed of Heart in her hand began to glow with a light different from before.

Like a seed in the soil breaking its tip under the nourishment of water, the originally round shape of the Seed of Heart changed, transforming from a regular sphere into a shape like a water droplet. A tiny tip stood atop the gem, looking rather cute.

Of course, when reaching this step, the Seed of Heart was actually no longer a Seed of Heart; it should receive another name—Bud of Heart.

Hibiscus-purple mana spread out in circles from the Bud of Heart, enveloping Xia Liang; the fluctuations of mana cast a shadow of Xia Liang, which vanished in an instant and remerged into Xia Liang herself.

Lin Xiaolu, lying not far away, couldn't help but rub her eyes: she didn't know if it was her illusion, but vaguely she seemed to see two Xia Liangs, only one of which was transparent like a phantom.

Senior Cuique crossed her arms and quietly watched the process of Xia Liang constructing her True Form, nodding from time to time, once again sighing in admiration for Xia Liang's talent.

Constructing a True Form successfully on the first try; she didn't know how many such records existed in the Magical Realm, but it was indeed the first time in her life she had seen it.

Twenty-two years ago, in the Fang Ting City magical girl squad, among the four main members of the first batch, the fastest record for constructing a True Form was Su Shengzi: she used three attempts. The slowest record was Anya: she tried a full seventeen times.

Of course, the fact that Anya spent the most attempts was not entirely a matter of talent. In fact, her talent as a magical girl was high; it was just that she was the first in the squad to reach the Bud level bottleneck at that time.

The lineup of Fang Ting City back then was even shabbier than today—they didn't have a senior mentor like Senior Cuique, only a few clueless little newcomers. Only that rabbit fairy named Bobo could provide some cultivation knowledge, but its teaching level, if not lofty and far-reaching, could be said to mislead students.

Recalling that she spent a full ten attempts to construct her True Form under the teaching of that stinky rabbit, Senior Cuique couldn't help but sigh that the present is not like the past.

As the hibiscus-purple light faded, Xia Liang, standing within it, opened her eyes, held the flawless Bud of Heart in her hand, and gave a playful smile to Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu.

Obviously, she succeeded.

And constructing a True Form, reaching the Bud level, also meant the next step—she would awaken her mana construct.