“According to reports, the Astral Grand Competition will be held in one month and will last for a week. We are now interviewing Orphina, the Dean of the Andromeda Witch Academy, to learn some specific details.”
“Hello everyone, I am Orphina, Dean of the Witch Academy. This competition is open to all witches in the Witch Empire below the rank of Great Witch. As for the championship prize, I believe everyone knows it is the Light of Hope. This time, I will introduce the specific events of the competition…”
Su Ling scrolled through short videos while preparing dinner.
Seeing the familiar figure in the video, Su Ling tilted her head.
‘The Astral Grand Competition?’
As long as the witch was below the rank of Great Witch, they could participate.
That meant even an Ordinary Witch could join, right?
The video explained that the competition would begin in the form of fishing.
Points would be awarded for each fish caught, and the person with the highest score at the end would win.
“Fishing?”
Su Ling took a sip of the soup. Hmm, too salty.
However, when she heard that the ‘fish’ being caught were all Magic Beasts living in the Star Sea, she immediately lost her composure.
‘You call these fish?’
The venue for the Astral Grand Competition was in the Second Universe—the Beast Universe.
The Second Universe was the first major universe that the First Universe came into contact with.
It was said that six thousand years ago, the Second Universe was entirely populated by beasts undergoing genetic evolution.
These beasts possessed no intelligence and evolved continuously based on their genes.
Supposedly, some beasts that evolved to the extreme had physical masses that could even crush void dimensions.
Regardless, Su Ling couldn’t imagine what kind of monsters those were.
Fortunately, six thousand years ago, the Sequence Witch [Creation] stepped in and subdued the Second Universe.
However, after that decisive battle, all Sequence Witches except [The Original] and [Hope] fell into silence.
The current era was the era of the Sequence Witches’ silence, which was why the Great Witches had become the highest combat power today.
Su Ling turned off the short video and brought the cooked ramen into the room.
It had nothing to do with her.
Right now, she just wanted to finish paying off her debt to Tian Tian.
“Why won’t you let us be together!”
“Because she’s your sister! Your mother is her mother’s wife! And I am her grandmother’s sister! You cannot be together!”
Su Yao was watching a melodramatic soap opera with intense focus.
Setting the ramen on the table, Su Ling walked to the balcony and poured some cat food.
Hajimi’s appetite had been surprisingly large lately, and the cat food was almost gone.
It looked like she’d have to buy more.
‘Wait, was this plushie always this big?’
Su Ling picked up the plushie that was currently riding on Hajimi’s back and fell into thought.
Before, the plushie was only palm-sized, but now it seemed almost as long as her forearm.
‘Tsk, is it an illusion?’
And for some reason, she felt like the expression on the plushie’s face looked… guilty?
“I told you to take better care of it. Look, you’ve played with it so much it’s grown bigger.”
Su Ling tapped Hajimi on the head.
She assumed the stupid cat had just fluffed up the plushie, creating the visual illusion that it had grown.
“Meow-ow!”
Hajimi immediately became anxious.
But before she could do anything, Su Ling placed the plushie back onto Hajimi’s back.
‘What a weird fetish, actually liking being ridden by a plushie.’
Every time she looked at Hajimi, she found the plushie riding on the cat’s back.
Su Ling didn’t understand it, but she respected it.
“Meow!”
Hajimi was in despair. She had worked so hard to get it off!
“Mother!”
“I am not your mother! Woe is me, I won’t hide it any longer—actually, I am your biological daughter! You are my mother!”
“No—!”
Su Yao was watching the drama with tears streaming down her face. Su Ling’s vision went dark.
‘She can actually cry over this?’
She glanced at the melodramatic drama and felt her forehead covered in black lines.
She really wanted to know what the mental state of these witches was like.
“Ling Ling, actually…”
“Stop, stop, stop. With our looks carved from the same mold, how could we not be mother and daughter?”
Su Ling hurriedly cut her off.
Su Yao puffed out her cheeks, looking exactly like an angry little pufferfish.
“Hmph, Ling Ling isn’t cute at all.”
Could she not just play along for once?
Knock, knock!
The door was knocked at that moment.
When she opened it, it turned out to be Hu Mei.
Su Ling’s expression immediately soured.
‘Wait, isn’t today’s task already finished?’
“Are you free now? Haha, don’t worry, we just want you to act as a witness for them. We won’t extort you.”
Hu Mei laughed.
Behind her stood Tao Tao and Adela.
‘Wait, so you admit you were extorting me before?’
Su Ling didn’t bother arguing. she looked at Tao Tao and Adela, seemingly realizing something.
“So soon?”
“It didn’t need that much time to begin with.”
Hu Mei waved her hand.
In reality, she just felt there wasn’t much entertainment left and wanted to end it early.
“Fine.”
Su Ling went inside and put on her coat.
She sent an audio file to Su Yao and typed quickly.
‘If I’m not back by 2:00 AM, contact Tian Tian for me.’
She had no choice; it seemed the Witch’s Hut was the only thing she could rely on in the academy.
From the moment she saw Hu Mei, she had started recording.
She truly had a psychological shadow when it came to the Student Council.
“It seems your misunderstanding of us is quite deep.”
After comforting Su Yao, Su Ling finished dressing and headed out.
Su Ling rolled her eyes.
Anyone would have a psychological shadow after being extorted out of 500,000 without cause.
She followed Hu Mei’s group downstairs.
From a corner, an obscure gaze watched their departing figures with a hint of scrutiny.
Along the way, the usually noisy Tao Tao and Adela were exceptionally quiet.
Even Su Ling could feel the tension between them.
They arrived at the Student Council.
Black and White Impermanence had been waiting there for a long time.
“What is the result?”
White mist swirled, and a voice cold to the bone rang out.
It was White Impermanence.
Su Ling looked on in amazement.
Because, somehow, she could see the true form beneath that white mist.
It was actually a tall, big-chested older sister in white!
The white mist billowed as the woman stood there.
A wide-brimmed tall hat covered half her face, with the words “Wealth at First Sight” written in the center.
The face beneath the hat was pale without a drop of blood, her eyes slightly upturned and tinged with a hint of crimson.
She wore a white robe with wide sleeves that was tailored to the extreme.
A long tongue, white and glowing with a cold light, slid out from her cherry lips and hung down just past her massive “evil” assets.
Su Ling’s eyes went wide.
“Hmm?”
White Impermanence frowned slightly and glanced at Su Ling.
For some reason, she had an illusion that the beautiful young girl before her could see her.
But how was that possible?
This mist was a Star Nebula Body from the Third Universe.
Unless someone possessed very special mystical eyes, an Ordinary Witch couldn’t possibly see her true form.
“Ha, they’re a couple.”
Hu Mei’s tone was cheerful. She gave Su Ling a little push.
“She’s the witness. Isn’t that right, Junior Su Ling?”
The gazes of Black and White Impermanence landed simultaneously on Su Ling.
“Heh, that’s it?”
Black mist billowed from the side, emitting an extremely mature and charming voice.
But as Su Ling looked over, she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Pfft!”
Black Impermanence turned out to be a dark-skinned little loli only four-foot-three tall.
She had two short twin tails and was wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a black cloth wrapped around her meager “airport” chest.
This dark-skinned loli was currently standing on two clouds of black mist with her tiny feet, making her appear as tall as White Impermanence to outsiders.