“Damn it.”
The pink-haired girl concealed herself amidst the black Steel Ruins, grinding her molars in frustration as she glared downward.
Having witnessed Jiang Yao being suddenly ambushed and knocked down by a demon, and just now casually crushing a Dark Wizard with her hand, Jiang Lingwei was itching to rush over and smash that disgusting pretty boy into pieces.
But she couldn’t.
Magical Girls were not weaklings. Even if they were, they had no choice but to grow stronger.
Whether for others or for their own lives.
So Jiang Lingwei had to let Jiang Yao gain this experience.
Counting down internally as her magic power drained completely, Jiang Lingwei’s fingers dug almost into her flesh.
(Endure… hold on… this is her trial… her trial alone.)
(Only by passing the trial can one truly grow.)
In the darkness, Jiang Lingwei silently counted down the seconds.
Her gaze fixed tightly on that pretty boy, not wavering for a moment.
(Hmph…)
She didn’t know how long she would have to endure.
As a senior Magical Girl, she ought to hold back. The juniors needed to face difficulties themselves. To put it bluntly, if they died because of it, there was nothing to be done.
But…
Clenching her Thorn Staff tightly, feeling the flow of magic within her body, Jiang Lingwei slightly lowered her stance.
She was not just any senior.
She was a Magical Girl Mom.
(Too fast.)
Just as Jiang Yao’s mind registered that thought, the next second she was lying on the ground.
The sensation of dancing with magic had been so wonderful moments ago that she had let her guard down.
She hadn’t dodged.
But she had her reasons.
Who would have expected the boss to hide among the cannon fodder and launch an attack—like a Homeroom Teacher sneaking into a group of students in uniform during roll call just to catch those chatting?
It was completely unfair. This was cheating!
“Cough… ah…”
Struggling to breathe, the girl tried to lift her head.
The one stepping on her was a demon.
Jiang Yao quickly assessed the situation in her mind—his foot pressed firmly on her chest, applying some special technique that made it feel like there was almost no air in her lungs.
Only air flowed out of her mouth, but she couldn’t inhale.
(This little Mudong City of mine has had demons showing up two weeks in a row now?)
Generally speaking, demons should be a rare sight, right?
While pondering a way out of this predicament, Jiang Yao stared intently at the demon pressing her down.
“Looking at you, you seem quite resentful, don’t you? Magical Girl? Heh.”
The pretty boy sneered contemptuously:
“You’re insignificant. Hand over the Taigu Weapon, and I’ll let you go—along with your even more useless ordinary human mom.”
(Taigu Weapon? What’s that?)
Jiang Yao had thought he would spew some nonsense, but the way he came straight to demand something left her confused about the current situation.
The pretty boy lifted his foot slightly; he knew the point of the interrogation was to get the other to talk, not to suffocate them.
(Hahaha.)
Contrasting his mocking expression, inside, Chu Xiong was grinning until his face twisted.
Despite the name, he looked exactly like a pretty boy—almost effeminate.
Growing up, he was popular with girls but ostracized by boys.
Deep down, Chu Xiong harbored a dream of being a “real man.”
His constitution was naturally weak, possibly because he was born prematurely. Chu Xiong was thinner than other kids his age and frequently fell ill.
Calling him frail and sickly was no exaggeration.
Everyone mocked him; his parents disliked him too, preferring their athletic son who had died young.
His father thought he was going to die at any moment and that medical expenses were wasted. His mother was superstitious, believing he was a punishment for her, given her difficult pregnancy and near-death early birth.
Chu Xiong tried everything—gym workouts, running, swimming, basketball—but remained fragile.
He was at a loss, yet unwilling to give up.
The memories of childhood teasing, discrimination, and isolation were always before his eyes. Since his name had “Xiong” (meaning male/hero), why was he so weak?
He didn’t understand. He just wanted to be strong and not look so feminine.
Thus, when a dark entity noticed his obsession and promised that if he truly submitted, he would receive a powerful body, free from the troubles of shallow women and scornful men, Chu Xiong agreed without hesitation.
Then, Chu Xiong drank a cup of Primordial Blood.
The dark red liquid flowed down his throat and into every limb. Dark Power erupted as many of his organs vanished, replaced by parasitic growths that stored magical energy.
His arms gained strength, his thighs now concealed magic.
He heard whispers from the darkness calling his name.
Then, Chu Xiong realized the changes in himself.
He remembered looking into the mirror and feeling uncontrollable emotions.
Because he had become even more of a pretty boy!
He was broken. Chu Xiong truly broke down. He no longer cared about dignity or humanity, but things only got worse.
[Don’t worry.]
The voice from the darkness said:
[This city holds a Taigu Weapon. Go and bring it back.]
[Your new body will appear in the process.]
Then, a Dark Wizard clad in a gray robe, holding a Thorn Staff, stepped forward and coldly nodded at him.
Chu Xiong knew this was just a subordinate of the dark entity.
Under that black veil, who were the true masters of this evil magic?
And had he betrayed humanity?
Every time he thought of it, Chu Xiong’s heart ached. The mocking voices, the harsh echoes, clanged endlessly in his ears.
To hell with humanity. To hell with Magical Girls. He would become the man his name promised—no matter what!
A true “Xiong”!
He had set his sights on the abandoned Steel Factory on the outskirts. After the Great Dark Calamity, the population sharply declined. The suburbs were mostly abandoned except for important grain-producing areas guarded by special teams.
Mudong City was clearly not one of them—just an unremarkable small city.
The dark entity told him the Dark Wizard would identify the Taigu Weapon; he only needed to find something similar.
With the help of the second demon, the Steel Factory was soon transformed into a massive demon lair.
The wizard even raised a full Undead Army.
No wonder Chu Xiong’s smile was crooked—everything was going so smoothly.
Another competitor who had started early in this city was defeated by a Magical Girl after a long layout, giving him much more time and energy to prepare this trap.
Moreover, this Magical Girl seemed incapable of hiding her movements; opening a box was as easy as searching Baidu.
Besides, he had a hostage.
Next, as long as this Magical Girl revealed the location of the Taigu Weapon, everything would be…
“I’ve never heard of any Taigu Weapon.”
Jiang Yao said calmly, her fingers twitching slightly.
“Heh.”
Chu Xiong pressed down harder with his foot, stomping on Jiang Yao’s body. With a flick of his right foot, he kicked Jiang Yao’s magical armor—the Saint Knight’s Sword—flying.
It stopped only after smashing through several crystals.
“Listen, don’t try any tricks.”
Chu Xiong looked down. “This is a Domain I spent a whole month crafting. Didn’t you feel your power weaken? Hahaha, this is Dark Power! No Magical Girl can resist this mighty force!”
“Because inside your Domain…” Jiang Yao felt a sharp pain in her chest; some ribs were probably broken from the stomp.
But she persisted:
“…so, I’ve already lost?”
“Otherwise?”
Chu Xiong didn’t understand the Magical Girl’s mindset. Her power was fully suppressed by the Domain, and he was constantly stepping on her, but that didn’t matter. He just needed to complete his task, be reborn, and receive his new body.
“Let go… I…”
The girl weakly pounded her fists on the leg pressing down on her chest.
“Hey, hey.”
Chu Xiong grew impatient.
“Is that an attack? Hmm? Are you crazy?”
“Let me go… let’s fight again…”
“Who said we’re fighting again?”
Chu Xiong loathed it and raised his foot, ready to deliver another harsh stomp to the still defiant Jiang Yao.
But—
“Is this your Domain?”
A Purple Crystal Tree sprouted from behind him, piercing his throat.
“Sorry, this is mine.”
Jiang Yao said softly.
From the very start, Jiang Yao had fallen upon the Purple Crystal Land she had originally created.