Chapter 1158

NO. 63: Qianming Representative (3K)

There once was such a generation.

Between that generation and the next, two Triple Crown winners appeared seamlessly.

That generation injected new vitality into the on- and off-track scenes that had been sluggish for years.

That generation was called the beginning of the golden era, starting with a horse girl who broke common sense.

That horse girl was called Mr. C. B/Qianming Representative.

Indeed, anyone would think this name should be translated as 'Mr. CB' or even 'Mr. Xipi', but as a unique horse girl, Qianming Representative's special quality was evident from birth.

——A special notice from the Three Goddesses.

【This child is called MR. C. B, but she should be regarded as Qianming Representative】

The initials of Mr. +Chigira Bokujo/Qianming Ranch make Mr. C. B, essentially meaning 'to become the representative horse of Qianming Ranch'.

Obviously, this is a spiritual continuation of the horse's soul, and also a continuation of the expectations of its hometown people: 'Someday, when a horse worthy of expectation appears in a lifetime, let's give it this name.'

This is the name of the representative ranch's famed horse, merging with its deeds; after its soul reached a new world, the girl who merged with it also inherited that one‑time‑only extraordinariness.

In fact, because most horse girls' formal names are English, those born outside Hongying District also have a name that matches the local script and culture.

Just as the formal name of the desert hero should be directly transliterated as ZennoRobRoy/Zhen nuo·Luobu·Luoyi, and the formal name of Aimu Zhiji should be directly transliterated as something like 'Qinpei Zhinu yi', the definition of a horse girl's local name should preferably be a meaning‑based translation, with direct transliteration as a fallback.

Not only must the intended meaning be carried out, but appropriate refinements should also be made.

A god‑like mischievous name is no excuse to give up struggling; even a simple, clear meaning‑based translation has room for embellishment, just as AdmireVega/Qinpei Zhinu yi is written as Aimu Zhiji, and ManhattanCafe/Manhattan coffee is written as Mancity Chazuo.

When these girls are named at birth, they likewise receive the Three Goddesses' instruction, giving their already‑un‑name‑like names at least a somewhat respectable variation.

As for names like 'Don't underestimate me, chew chew bite bite, ah ao ao ao'…… they are truly beyond even the gods' help.

Generally, one can only hope to achieve some decent results, after which they can re‑register with the URA Association a more formal title that does not lose the original meaning.

Yes, that is quite contrary to common sense.

Unlike most Terra citizens, whose name changes are handled by local authorities, horse girls' name changes are the responsibility of the URA Association.

After all, a horse girl's name usually concerns racing, and more importantly concerns the divinely bestowed 'grade'.

The latter directly concerns the 'skill qualification' needed to cultivate the Three Goddesses' Source Energy Tree, so it should remain unchanged as much as possible.

In such a situation, Qianming Representative is undoubtedly among the more fortunate.

Although the term 'Representative' is still not like a personal name, she does not mind it.

This changeable, wind‑like, free‑spirited girl had already shown a carefree, spontaneous side from childhood, and her outstanding running talent let her enter the gates of Central Turesen early, to mingle with peers whose names were similarly subtle to hers.

Although at that time her full development came rather late, her early height and build were considered petite, and her hooves were fragile, often splitting and bleeding while running.

But those disadvantages stemming from her physique ultimately could not conceal her sharpness.

In early internal training she already displayed comprehensive excellent qualities; in the later formalization, her physique, height, and speed all made rapid progress, and after encountering the trainer in charge, she stepped onto the Satsuki Sho track.

A racecourse soaked by heavy rain, a run that early on fully revealed its disadvantages.

Only the Qianming representative, who surged forward madly as the straight approached, passed Gechengwangpai from a mire, blocked the audience's high hopes for the 'short-distance front pioneer' Meluomosni, and in one fell swoop shattered the stagnant atmosphere.

By the time of the Jidong Derby, she, among 21 runners, took the 19th position and stepped onto the first bend.

It drew a stir from the audience stands.

In the industry consensus at the time, to win a race of such intensity as the Jidong Derby from this position was considered impossible.

Yet she indeed succeeded.

Chasing straight ahead from an almost completely lagging initial state, it was a reenactment of the previous race.

The Qianming representative further shattered convention completely, and such a pace will accompany her into the final leg of the classic Triple Crown—the Kikuka Sho.

A run that deviated from the plan, a run that made the audience gasp and prompted the trainer to exclaim 'What are you doing?!'—the violent acceleration before the slope, when everyone thought she would lose speed on the uphill due to that stamina consumption and then be overtaken by the rear group and fall to the back—yet she did not ease her pace.

She remained in the lead, Benz, continuing to widen the gap with those behind, allowing the commentator's shout of 'The earth! The earth springs up! It's the Qianming representative!' to be recorded in history.

That final kick, dubbed 'breaking convention, seamless,' allowed her to become the annual representative, further establishing her place in one of the association's heroic biographies; in an era that had gone years without a Triple Crown winner, the Qianming representative was the Triple Crown horse many racing fans saw with their own eyes.

Her fame thereby reached the peak unattainable by anyone at that time, and although after her long recuperation she was slightly inferior to Gechengwangpai in the autumn daily King's Crown races, the time of her three-wave final kick remained unbelievable.

One cannot help but acknowledge that the Triple Crown winner's strength remains, only that her early-course stamina planning was insufficient.

Thus, in the subsequent autumn Emperor's Prize, that victory was an additional success, further raising expectations that she could advance the title of four-time champion even further—

—but now everyone knows that this was the final glorious moment of that brown-haired horse girl.

One week after that race, Ludaofu Xiangzheng won the Kikuka Sho.

She, with an undefeated record, became the Triple Crown winner of the following year, driving countless horse-girl fans into frenzy over the feat of consecutive Triple Crown winners.

Perhaps only once in a lifetime could one witness the showdown of Triple Crown horses, which was more tangible and moving than the Guan Yu vs. Qin Qiong battle of the Dream Cup, and it made them eagerly anticipate the arrival of the Jidong Cup.

The Jidong Cup, the highest honor horse race of the Jidong region, the second leg of the autumn Triple Crown, allows any out-of-region horse girls to participate, even those from extraterrestrial realms (such as the Heaven's Gate City) G1 races.

Thus, the champion of the Jidong Cup is often taken by horse girls from other regions, even extraterrestrial realms.

Which Triple Crown winner is stronger? Will this champion be local? At the time, all horse-girl fans awaited the outcome, their discussion even breaking out of the niche, and even passersby who didn't follow the horse-girl scene were equally curious about the result—

—The victor is our Gechengwangpai!

Yes.

'The Jidong region's ace'—that's when they rose to fame in one battle, also causing the Jiement District racecourse to fall into silence.

Fans of the two Triple Crown winners later kept making excuses—for instance, the Qianming representative attributed it to poor condition after the daily King's Crown and autumn Emperor's Prize battles; likewise, Ludaofu Xiangzheng similarly failed to win the championship due to physical discomfort from fatigue in responding to challenges……

In later races, the latter's excuse did hold up, but what complicated feelings arose was that the proof of the latter's standing was precisely built upon the former's failure.

At the Arima Kinen, Ludaofu Xiangzheng, the Qianming representative, and Gechengwangpai gathered again on the course, and the result was that Ludaofu Xiangzheng surpassed Gechengwangpai, while the Qianming representative could not even keep pace with Gechengwangpai.

The following year, the Irish Champion Stakes.

Her best distance, yet she had lost her past achievements; the phrase 'the first five-time champion horse girl in the years following the Divine Praise' became Ludaofu Xiangzheng's notation.

One year prior, a similar title still rested on the Qianming representative's head.

Her peak period is indeed in the past—no matter how much enthusiasm one draws from her indomitable running, fans inevitably sigh thus.

The existence of Ludaofu Xiangzheng became an insurmountable high wall, and as its career continued, its battle record grew stronger and ever higher.

And at the same time.

The Qianming representative, whose physique had always been poor, also set a retirement date due to illness not long after.

The farewell ceremony in the rain still had enough popularity to astonish, appearing nothing like that of a player with a continuous string of losses.

But would that be enough to satisfy?

Then would that be acceptable?

Bury the incomprehensible pain, cross over the unspeakable sorrow, choose to give up in the name of reconciliation, and no longer look at the fans' messages.

Whether it be encouragement, blame, or pity, among others.

【The past I can't remember, the time you forgot might still be in someone's hands, but what about regret? And what about that blood and tears? Can you forget them?】

Everything is merely a wound that adds to the pain.

In the realm of horse girls, the strength of victors always differs, but the weakness of the defeated is always the same.

Dreamers are no longer dreamy, the suave cannot be suave, and the belligerent can hardly remain belligerent.

But regardless of victory or defeat, the spirit of the strong is hard to extinguish; it will ignite in some inadvertent moment of obsession, driving them to try every means, to tread various paths, to obtain the result they ought to pursue.

In this process, perhaps one will master skills that can earn various certificates, but those astonishing achievements, in their eyes, ultimately amount to nothing more than side products not worth noting.

The goal never shifted, the obsession never changed.

Once a horse girl who broke the norms, now she still wants to break the norms again, and even have the junior who likewise fell to the bottom rise again just as she did.

Because she is still young.

Compared to oneself, who can only barely manage to retrace past steps despite all efforts, that junior still has more leeway and potential waiting to be tapped.

Also, they have far more opportunities than I do to return to the Saichang.

Then, when she sees that golden flame ignite, the girl's lips will likewise curl up.

Watching the opponent easily catch up to me and even surpass my stance, it feels as if I have returned to the past.

Seeing one strong after another, the back of the horse girl who was once regarded as the strongest in Jidong area in history.

Where is she, like that, looking at me right now?

Perhaps she is in the student council, relying on that cheating-like machine, as if standing beside me.

The past I can't remember, and so on……

The forgotten time, and so on……

Never mind the blood and tears; I can't forget all of this at all!

Even this chilly, refreshing wind is the same!!

Everything seems to slow down at this moment; that step entering the finale, among the wood chips, splashes out water like a crown.

One's own path must still be decided by oneself.

That final step, which makes the earth rise like a mountain, will also unfold again now!