Chapter 1651: with translation of chapter title

NO. 266: It can also be

In the horse racing world, the stories of champions are always extraordinary.

Or rather, precisely because they are extraordinary, they are regarded as champions, with countless followers chasing their stories, countless expectations weighing upon them, hoping for the champions to go further.

To go further.

This step is precisely what divides them into different nodes; from this step onward, there are those who, desperate for relief, merely wish to witness the rebirth of legend.

After the champion departs, the weakened myriad things seek a new reliance, which is understandable, yet not everyone in this world needs to rely on the champion's radiance to see their own path.

Undoubtedly.

On the racetrack, people's pursuit of victors is essentially a pursuit of a symbol, a reference.

A reference that lets one find one's 'position', see the 'ascent' path, withstand the pressure of 'heat forging', and not lose oneself amidst 'convection' and 'running side by side'.

It is a star, also a dream, and even more, authority.

But those who continually chase the greatest authority, the most dazzling blazing sun, convinced they must run like that champion, drawing courage from it to persist—do they still remember their original star?

While the champion is undoubtedly the focus of all eyes, the star that guides one into this field is not always the champion, just as those underperforming horse girls also have fans and can likewise become stars in some viewers' eyes, becoming their path and direction.

And at that initial starting point, who made you take that first step, and where does that step lead?

This is precisely the question Aomo poses to the faceless agent.

Never having regarded oneself as a direct enemy, even now attempting to cooperate under these developments, willing to push oneself onto that divine throne—the Chasers of Light Club—its agent's behind-the-scenes speaker is indeed akin to Aomo.

What everyone is obsessed with is not merely a single horse girl.

Even the obsession could be detachment from the entire horse girl collective, an accessory that most horse girls possess.

Otherworldly essence, dream crystallization, ultimate longing, the legendary flower nourished by the whole tribe, an important component guiding the federation's sports culture… thus, although each sees a different core, they all devote themselves wholeheartedly, with unchanging fervor.

So Aomo's question is not merely doubting the other's original intention; it is the most direct provocation.

—Can you truly risk everything for your original intention, at this juncture daring to commit a great taboo to realize your dream?

—Will you abandon your wildest dream because of the anger I have provoked?

And that earlier curious question is even more directly pointing—aside from me, who else can you find who is more newsworthy, more miraculous as a trainer embryo to sculpt?

—Could you still find a more radiant athlete to aid her success, forging a brilliance surpassing myth and fairy tale?

He formed an unretractable provocation through those successive questions, yet they are also facts.

For any dream-chaser, you merely need to list the obstacles on their path to realizing dreams one by one, and that is the harshest fact.

And such facts may perhaps provoke arguments, cause some innocent objects to suffer, but ultimately they must make a choice:

Should they, in the midst of the association's searches and arrests, with allies (the Beast Cult) executors also captured and interrogated, rely solely on cutting tails to preserve the organization's obvious tension by going all in?

No matter what they think, the Beast Cult side will surely explode.

Unless they can still survive by cutting tails, picking out plans where failure doesn't matter and won't be entangled by interests, otherwise their cooperation ends here.

Those monster enthusiasts who ought not to care much about horse girls lack the leisurely pace to establish such a viewpoint.

Their daily busyness mostly involves trading monster organs, capsules, cards, living things, and technical theft, as well as…

Peeping, comforting/attacking this world's friends and family?

Such clueless people are probably also few among the Beast Cult, where madness runs rampant.

Aomo also didn't expect to get news from the police; he merely had to make time each day to stay in touch with acquaintances in the monster trade circle, confirming there were no doubts about recent market or transaction trends.

As a group long keeping their tails tucked, their concealment has always been stronger than that of the Chasers of Light Club.

If not for hoping to handle things lawfully without leaving trouble, Aomo would have long ignored the Carrot Knights and assassinated his way in himself.

Initially confronting this organization because of Sirius, now gradually reaching the center of the horse racing industry, one should realize that opposing such an organization will be an endless, long-term process.

After all, the legend they seek to forge, regardless of origin, will ultimately shake the very core of the horse racing world.

And he has already arrived here; although it involves some subtle quick‑fix methods, nowadays no one cares about that anymore.

Conflict is unavoidable; even their attempts to help themselves are something Aomo does not welcome.

Aomo never cared about his own achievements, nor even those of the horse girls.

He only cares about the horse girls themselves.

Their psychology, their desires, and the brilliance blossoming under that drive—you can wholly define Aomo's concern as merely the essential nature of the horse girls.

Thus he can comfortably console Bourbon, console Chazuo, encourage Suzi, because from the start he never expected any Triple Crown, any x‑crown champion.

He only wishes to witness their radiant form, and that radiance admits no falsehood; it is forged solely through hardship and peril, shaped in the scorching heat of tempering.

So he says, he wants to witness their strongest form.

Whether for the high‑school group brimming with potential, or for the adult group that theoretically has no more exploitable potential and can only improve their mindset to challenge the ceiling that all top contenders face, he will offer the same words.

"Say it again—according to the tactics I told each of you, have you definitely memorized the data I gave you?"

"Of course I remember… but… as a strategist, someone surely already has a champion in mind, right?"

His gaze flicked to a certain horse girl who had been devoted throughout the latter half of her career, perhaps her future life would hold similar competition; Qianming's representative asked in a light, offhand manner, without a trace of heaviness.

But at this moment, everyone had a fleeting glance toward the not‑slow‑reacting Ludaofu Xiangzheng.

The winner of the Dream Cup, short distance, victorious without dispute—only in the eyes of the spectators.

As of now, about 16 competitors are thinking of avenging past shame.

Yes, including the two who just joined: one is a life‑loser, obsessed with challenging and standing side‑by‑side with his childhood friend; the other heads straight for the champion, without hesitation, making Aomo's personal investigation these past two days very clear.

Yes.

After that, Aomo personally shuttled about, making high‑intensity teleportations, and did not let the puppets idle.

Unwilling to merely watch, yet not accepting the Chasers of Light Club's results, it naturally becomes a further specialization of the old trade of information gathering.

"Of course not; I made this summary based on the standard that each of you must win a championship—each of you has mastered the traits of the other three, and when facing off, how to exert yourself depends on your own ability."

Aomo waved his hand, then drew a light screen, set it to public, and directly displayed the banner above, which had as its background an unusually styled four‑winged red dragon that looked exceptionally fierce.

"At the same time, the Royal Knight Beast Aikesa, garrisoning the Border Gate district network, will also oversee the Saichang system's safety; you should all understand what that means."

"That thing the witch beast mentioned, the one nearly a kilometer long?" Tianlangxing furrowed his brows, "Is there a threat letter for this match?"

"In reality, it's usually shown as a few hundred meters," Aomo first corrected this Dragon Emperor size problem that even everyone in Boundary Gate District loves to complain about, then answered, "Threat letters like that are something every GI tournament group receives plenty of; no matter who signs them, they're worth paying attention to, but the Dream Cup will obviously be given sufficient importance."

"Furthermore, the Light-Chasers Club hasn't been exposed yet."

"Or is it safe?" the clean-nosed Bai Ren asked.

"Although I wanted to say that bunch might have given up, she also knew she couldn't say that to Aomo."

"Aomo also indeed nodded right away."

"When running with all your might, don't forget to watch out for potential dangers; although their goal probably won't be achieved through violent means that ruin the spectacle of the race, we still can't overlook any possibility."

"Moreover, there could also be other criminals seeking revenge on society," Ludaofu added.

"After all, the Dream Cup is a more conspicuous event than the Arima Memorial; having experienced that attack last year, and after several months of fading, any criminal aiming for notoriety would surely not miss this opportunity."

"Alright."

"Although I thought it was an exaggeration to worry that directly assuming it would bypass all checkpoints and affect the Saichang, Tianlangxing also knew what kind of person a trainer is, and ultimately just shrugged."

"So just bring the cards and then head in, huh?"

"Need company?"

"We're all adults now; Aomo didn't bring company for the short Dream Cup either, so this question was just a casual joke, but this time it was met with unanimous stares."

"What do you say?"

"... Let me inform Xiaoqi and them."

"Don't stand on ceremony; you can settle it directly with monster cards!"

"It was as if they were saying, 'Hey, come inside with me,' under everyone's gaze—Aomo was about to poke the light screen when Tianlangxing grabbed his hand, then Chengtian Bai Ren grabbed his other hand, Qianming and Ludaofu followed behind, four horse girls plus one trainer, reenacting the scene from the Gaoyue Prize."

"They directly escorted him into the staff passage."

"Even a certain laughing opera tyrant turned around and went to the staff passage, and immediately noblewomen, golden masters, and even Dazhenhan followed suit, pulling, tugging, or greeting the trainer to go this way, leaving countless people bewildered."

"They suspected this was some kind of ritual."