Chapter 353: Family Reunion, Happy End
"Two Kekes together makes 'big brother,' doesn't it?"
When Qinghua heard Lady Bingtang's words, she found it so amusing she nearly fell over.
Then she turned her head to look at the pondering Bingtang, the corner of her mouth twitching. "Lady Bingtang, what do you mean by that?"
"Look, 'Keke' plus 'Keke' actually spells 'Ge' [brother], so two Kekes together make 'big brother'..."
"Don't explain the joke!"
Qinghua couldn't help but shout loudly, "That totally doesn't suit Lady Bingtang!"
Bingtang, who had been so enthusiastic just moments ago, immediately slumped her head. "Huh? So it really doesn't suit me after all?"
"It's not that it doesn't suit you..."
So Qinghua had no choice but to change her tune. After all, she didn't want to see Lady Bingtang feeling sad, especially since she had been so excited about telling the joke—she had probably been thinking about it for a long time...
"Actually, it was still kind of funny."
Qinghua grinned and let out a forced chuckle, convinced that her smile looked natural enough. "It's just that it sounds weird coming from Lady Bingtang's mouth, you know? Because in everyone's eyes, Lady Bingtang tends to be more serious and reserved..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Bingtang grabbed her cheek and pulled it. "I am not serious and reserved. If it weren't for you all always making me angry, I've always been quite easygoing, haven't I?"
"Mmm hmm, Lady Bingtang is the gentlest and most approachable..."
"You sound like you have a complaint."
"No, no, absolutely not!"
Bingtang patted her head. "Good, no complaints then. Otherwise, I'd have to confiscate your game account, and that would be a headache for me too."
Qinghua broke out in a cold sweat.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.
My whole life has been like walking on thin ice...
She muttered to herself, even quietly complaining a little about Lady Bingtang's strictness.
Commanding thousands upon thousands of puppets to suppress the Heart Image Remnants, Qinghua simply said, "Actually, Qinghua is just curious. Didn't Lady Bingtang used to dislike jokes like this? Back then, you wouldn't even look at the joke books I bought."
"In the past, I did find them very boring."
Bingtang calmly examined the situation outside as she spoke. "But lately, I've suddenly found them quite interesting, things like bad jokes."
"Oh, lately?"
"Yes, lately."
Sitting in the Illusory Moon Cavern Dwelling, Qinghua looked at the memorial tablets of the sect's ancestors.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she asked softly, "Is it after the Sect Master met Miss Lu Ya?"
Everyone in Azure Cloud Sect actually knew about the Sect Master's encounter with Miss Lu Ya and the fact that the two seemed to be old acquaintances.
The decisive battle above Chongxu hadn't been kept secret either. They had essentially observed the entire thing and heard the words exchanged between the two. Including Zhang Rong'ai, who had come to Chongxu—by contacting the Saint Hall, she could also purchase the recordings of the battle and dialogue between the Shion AI and the End.
The advantage of Chongxu was that no matter who it was, their movements would be recorded. Everything would be digitized and would never disappear. No matter how secret the matter, as long as you had money, you could buy the right to know.
The fact that Lu Ya was the Sect Master's childhood friend, and that they had a good relationship, had sparked considerable discussion among the true-transmissions.
Although Bingtang eventually suppressed it, many true-transmissions still harbored a quiet sense of discontent in their hearts.
First, this An Shiyu suddenly appeared, claiming to be a childhood friend of Jiang Si from the past—fine, whatever, she wasn't very aggressive anyway, and most importantly, her strength was mediocre, so she probably couldn't get close to the Sect Master anyway.
But then, the very first Witch, the creator of Chongxu, suddenly showed up, claiming to also be the Sect Master's childhood friend...
How many childhood friends did the Sect Master have!
And not only were they childhood friends, they had known him longer than any of them, and their strength was nothing to scoff at either—being able to fight a serious Sect Master to that extent, even among the true-transmissions, very few could do that.
This made everyone feel even more threatened.
In fact, Tiyana had made her reckless move precisely because of this, setting off a whole chain of events.
But through it all, Lady Bingtang had always appeared calm and collected. From what they heard in previous conversations, she had handled Miss Lu Ya with grace, and she had even been consistently proposing that Miss Lu Ya be appointed to a position in Azure Cloud Sect, to give her more contact with the Sect Master.
Everyone admired Lady Bingtang's magnanimity and bearing, remaining completely at ease even in the face of such a dangerous enemy.
And then today, they heard Lady Bingtang start telling the same kind of bad jokes that Miss Lu Ya liked to tell the Sect Master...
"Anyone can like bad jokes. It's not necessarily because of her influence."
Bingtang defended herself briefly, but then she admitted one thing: "But it is true that after hearing the bad jokes Miss Lu Ya and the Sect Master told each other, I realized that bad jokes are actually quite interesting."
Qinghua pouted. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
Bingtang said with a smile. "The Sect Master told me before about a bad joke he and Lu Ya told in the past [Pseudo-History]. It was particularly funny."
"What?"
"'Great Dao Fruit' and 'Dao Fruit' are only one word apart."
"...That really is pretty cold."
"Heh. When the Sect Master told me this bad joke, he was actually quite pleased. You could tell he was very satisfied with this joke he came up with."
Then Bingtang added, "So, my 'Keke' joke isn't inferior to his 'Dao Fruit' joke, is it?"
"They really are a match made in heaven—the Sleeping Dragon and the Phoenix, equal in talent and skill..."
Then she watched as Lady Bingtang happily acted like a little girl—oh, wait, Lady Bingtang was already a little girl.
She pulled out a small notebook and jotted down the joke. "I'll tell it to the Sect Master next time."
Oh well, as long as Lady Bingtang is happy.
"But where did the Sect Master even go? He just suddenly disappeared, and we still have to deal with all these Heart Image Remnants..."
"Who knows."
Bingtang said warmly. "He's probably off meeting some new soulmate or childhood friend again, on a date."
Her tone carried no resentment, and was even very gentle, like a sigh of concern.
But somehow, Qinghua felt a chill run down her spine.
"Before the Sect Master comes back from his date, we need to guard the new world well. We can't let him down."
Qinghua nodded frantically, like a chick pecking at rice.
In reality, after the Sect Master had suppressed the entire Dark Chaos with a single move before,
Even though Shion had completely disappeared, these Prohibition Zone Sovereigns were still wavering.
Because they weren't sure if this contemporary Great Emperor was fishing again.
The last time he'd let his aura leak and caught the entire Weave Realm Travelers and a bunch of Incubators in his net—many had witnessed that.
Now, with his momentum at its peak, he suddenly disappeared.
It inevitably made people wonder if Shion was using the same old trick again, trying to lure out all the remaining unruly Magical Girl remnant souls for a mass execution.
Qinghua couldn't help but marvel. So the Sect Master's deliberate fishing expedition against the Weave Realm Travelers and Incubators back then had also been with this layer of consideration in mind.
Just how far could those eyes see...
But ultimately, these remnant souls of ancient Full Bloom Magical Girls weren't all that afraid of death either.
For the sake of their own worlds, they still possessed courage and perseverance that rivaled those of contemporary Magical Girls.
Upholding the miracle of saving the world, they appeared again in the new world, calling out to each other, and even fixed their sights on Jiang Keke.
Not many people knew about her identity as the sister of the contemporary Great Emperor.
But clearly, this group of Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls, deceived by Black Keke into filling the front lines, were still seeking revenge.
"Don't run, Keke!"
"Even if I burn this body to ashes, I will never forgive you!"
"Liar! Give us back our world!"
And although Keke was a bit bewildered, not knowing what heavenly crime she had committed,
A bunch of Full Bloom Magical Girls were chasing after her, wanting to kill her.
But she didn't dare to stop and reason with them either. She could only temporarily shake off Silver Lotus and the others and flee all the way towards Chongxu.
Fortunately, because Black Keke had already replaced her, Silver Lotus and the others couldn't recognize her at all, saving her a lot of trouble.
If Yiyi still recognized her, even if she risked her life, she would probably catch up and face this group of Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls together with her. If she couldn't protect Yiyi, Yiyi would turn into pieces of Magical Girl idol...
But in the eyes of Yiyi right now, she was just a mysterious Witch.
Although she was a bit worried, the safety of Beihai and the situation at the Disaster Control Bureau were a higher priority.
So Keke was completely carefree... well, she was still a little heartbroken.
"Keke!"
The passionate shouts from behind, like those of obsessed fans chasing an enemy, left Keke no time to feel heartbroken.
She could only flee for her life.
In her Witch Transformation state, she had actually blown up two Heart Image Remnants along the way.
But because her Polluted Magic was insufficient, and the Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls were simply too many, she had no choice but to flee towards Chongxu.
As long as she could connect to Chongxu's Mana Reservoir, even if she couldn't defeat so many Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls, she could ensure she remained undefeated.
Most importantly, this group of Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls, who could only exist by clinging to Heart Image Remnants, would very likely shatter directly if they entered Chongxu, the largest Mental Landscape Space...
However, Keke didn't know what would happen to Chongxu, so she was still thinking about how to safely use Chongxu's Mental Landscape to destroy these Heart Image Remnants next...
"You can't escape, Keke!"
However, just as Keke reached the mountainous region, even more Heart Image Remnants covered the area.
Originally, these Heart Image Remnants were all damaged. Whether they were replacement-type or expansion-type, their range was very small, and they were full of gaps, making it impossible to seal off the space completely.
But because Keke's escape route had led her into the mountainous region, the numerous Heart Image Remnants merged together by relying on the vast mountain range, completing a seal and forming a massive, completely sealed-off Mental Landscape Space!
Keke's plan was thus ruined.
If she couldn't reach Chongxu, all her plans were moot...
The multitude of Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls surrounded her, like vengeful spirits seeking retribution. "Keke! Keke! Keke! You said, you said that when the future came, one day you would give us back, give us back the world's essence, let our worlds revive!"
"But none of the world's essence has recovered at all! It's even been decreasing! Even our original worlds have been devoured more than half! How do you explain that!"
"Back then, everyone gave up everything for the sake of the future! Now you've destroyed everything, Keke!"
Although she didn't know exactly what was going on, Keke could more or less guess.
It was probably something Black Keke had done.
But what surprised her was this.
Black Keke had originally taken away her name, to the point that Yiyi couldn't even recognize her now.
But this group completely recognized her, even perfectly mistaking her for Black Keke.
She was stuck with all the blame. The friends she had finally made, the big brother she had finally reconciled with—they were all taken away...
Even though Keke had already become strong enough, being questioned by a group of unfamiliar Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls,
She still felt a little wronged and wanted to cry.
After transforming into a Witch, these negative emotions no longer needed to be suppressed. In fact, the more negative emotions she had, the stronger she became.
So Keke simply started crying directly. "I don't know anything at all! You've got the wrong person!"
Her Polluted Magic skyrocketed wildly, even forcing the surrounding Heart Image Remnants to shrink back a bit!
Although Keke started crying immediately, her tears flowing like pear blossoms in the rain, a pitiful sight that would soften anyone's heart, the Magical Girl remnant souls all felt a pang of sympathy and even hesitated for a while, wondering if they should wait for her to finish crying.
But in the end, they still couldn't bear the thought of being deceived, of having their worlds destroyed.
The numerous Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls still reached out, preparing to grab Keke and take her into their own Heart Image Remnants to slowly interrogate her...
Clang!
The clear sound of a sword's chime. A sharp burst of Sword Energy flashed by.
The space formed by the fusion of numerous Heart Image Remnants covering Keke was suddenly split open with a neat crack!
Not just the space, but the mountain body that the Heart Image Remnants were relying on was also split vertically!
That deep, bottomless ravine stretched all the way, and even the sea of clouds on the distant horizon was completely parted, unable to heal for a long time.
Immediately after, Keke felt something lift her up, and then she was carried out of the Mental Landscape Space.
Her eyes were still blurry from crying. Keke looked up.
A somewhat familiar figure appeared in front of her, dressed in white robes that rustled in the strong wind.
She rubbed her eyes for a good while before she could react.
"Miss Bai Mei..."
The Sprout-rank Magical Girl from back in South China, who had fought her on equal footing and whom she had ultimately won against by a narrow margin...
As for what happened in the Mirror Kingdom, when her brother went crazy and cut her down with a single sword strike, Keke couldn't quite remember.
Bai Mei also turned her head, smiled slightly, her right empty sleeve fluttering wildly in the wind. "Long time no see, Keke."
Keke's pupils contracted. "You, your arm!"
Bai Mei's right sleeve was completely empty. There was no arm to be seen at all!
But after a Magical Girl's transformation, injuries could be healed. However, it wasn't absolute. Some injuries couldn't be recovered. Some spells, or the abilities of Disaster Beasts, could also destroy a Magical Girl's recovery capabilities.
There were actually quite a few Magical Girls who bore permanent injuries.
Now, seeing that empty right sleeve, and the bloodstains on her white robe, Keke's heart couldn't help but shake.
How could she have been wounded like this! Most importantly, she actually needed a Magical Girl wounded like this to come and save her!
"It's nothing."
Bai Mei waved her right sleeve. "Just a little self-punishment."
Keke was stunned. "Huh?"
"Before, I was sneak attacked and sealed by a junior sister... oh, I suppose she counts as a friend. For me, that was an utter disgrace. To ensure I never make such a low-level mistake again, I cut off one of my own arms, to make sure I never forget this lesson."
Keke was dumbfounded for a long time.
Was this a mental patient who had just escaped from the Magical Girl Sanatorium...
For some reason, Keke inexplicably felt that
She resembled her big brother.
That incomprehensible train of thought, and that indescribable, but reassuring sense of security.
She really did resemble Jiang Si, like she had been stamped from the same mold—another Jiang Si.
"Get out of the way!"
Accompanied by the roars of the numerous Full Bloom Magical Girls, Bai Mei also raised an eyebrow.
"Keke is my little sister. No matter what grievances you have, let's sit down and talk things out properly first."
Keke suddenly realized something.
"Huh, Miss Bai Mei, you still recognize me?"
"Of course." Bai Mei patted her head. "Don't worry. A sword cultivator takes their body as their sword. They should cut through all crooked paths and heresies. That includes magic that can affect perception. Besides, my instincts tell me it's not as good as the Four Leaf and Six Leaf technique."
Before Keke could ask any more questions about how she had managed to do that,
The Magical Girls opposite had already lost their patience. "This has nothing to do with you! If you don't get out of the way, we'll beat you up too!"
Bai Mei raised an eyebrow, holding her sword as she walked forward. "Then you'll have to ask my sword first."
However, just as she took a single step, the sword in her hand, along with the scattered Sword Energy, suddenly dissipated!
One of the Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls shook her head. "A Sprout rank, that's all. Although we don't know what's up with that sharp mana of yours, you can't defy the rules of Full Bloom. If your mana couldn't even take form from the very beginning, what would you do?"
Keke was shocked and hurriedly tried to block Bai Mei's front.
But Bai Mei held her back with one hand, while her other empty sleeve fluttered, and suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared!
In that instant, Keke had an illusion.
It wasn't a person standing beside her.
But a straight, sharp sword!
Even the hand blocking her made Keke's skin tingle with a stinging sharpness!
And for some reason, Keke had a feeling
That this precious sword was still slowly being drawn from its sheath, an illusion.
Meanwhile, Bai Mei's tightly shut right eye even started to bleed, giving off a mad impression that drawing the sword was destroying her own body, breaking herself down to be reforged into a sword!
Just as Keke was at a loss, not knowing whether she should stop her, a hand gently pressed down on Bai Mei's shoulder.
"Isn't this sword strike supposed to be saved for your master?"
The sharp blade that had just begun to emerge was suddenly pushed back into its sheath with a clang.
Bai Mei's sharpness instantly dissipated. The sword in her hand suddenly turned back into a walking cane, which she propped on the ground to support her body, like a sickly young girl. She couldn't help but cough a few times.
But this time, the blood wasn't flowing from her mouth, but was continuously streaming from her tightly shut eye.
"Lady Bingtang."
The one who had arrived was none other than the Vice-Sect Master of Azure Cloud Sect, Bingtang, who was in charge of discipline. "It was just a momentary impulse."
"You sword cultivators are always having sudden epiphanies. Now you want to waste your trump card on a momentary impulse. Your master would be disappointed."
Faced with Bingtang's scolding, Bai Mei could only honestly admit her mistake. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Leaving the stunned Keke aside, she stared blankly at the Magical Girl Winter, her mind in a jumble again. So Lady Bingtang and her big brother had been this close all along, huh? No wonder. Her big brother couldn't possibly be messing around with other girls in Azure Cloud Sect, only to get busted by Teacher Jiang Si, right?
The Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls opposite them, for the most part, also recognized the ice-blue Magical Girl in front of them.
It was the ice from this Magical Girl that had bonded the world together earlier, preventing the new world from collapsing.
Although she hadn't achieved Full Bloom, her strength was completely on par with Full Bloom, making all the Prohibition Zone Sovereigns, who had long since cut themselves down, extremely wary.
However, Bingtang paid them no attention. She simply reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of Bai Mei's eye, then tasted it. "Why did you switch to your eye? Isn't that uncomfortable? And this doesn't seem to be ketchup?"
"Edible food coloring, Lady Bingtang." Bai Mei patiently explained. "It's also mixed with 0.2% sodium hyaluronate eye drops, no preservatives. It's actually therapeutic for the eyes. Of course, the main reason is that ketchup doesn't dissolve in the eye..."
As for accidentally putting some fire chicken noodle sauce in her eye instead of ketchup, it was probably better not to mention that for now.
"Why didn't you use your nose?"
"Hot sauce up the nose is uncomfortable." Bai Mei answered honestly. "And it's not cool. It's kind of dirty."
"You're quite particular."
The Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls, who had been staring blankly at each other this whole time, finally couldn't hold it in any longer. "We're going to attack now! We're really going to attack now! You two need to leave immediately!"
Only then did Bai Mei turn her head to glance at the numerous Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls. "So, what do we do, Lady Bingtang? It's still quite troublesome, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Bingtang nodded, then snapped her fingers. "So, I'm leaving it to you, Qinghua."
Keke and Bai Mei both looked up at the same time, and the hostile Magical Girls also noticed the anomaly and looked up.
A dense, glittering canopy of stars, a dazzlingly bright radiance covering the entire sky—all Magical Girls above the Blooming rank!
"I'm coming, I'm coming, Lady Bingtang! I've initiated! I've initiated!"
A colossal mana twisted reality, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground.
Boom—!
The blasted wasteland turned into charred earth, from which a crystal-clear seed sprouted, radiating starlight in all directions.
"[Sprout]."
Accompanied by a soft cry, the seed fell onto the charred soil, cracked open, sprouted, and grew wildly, in the blink of an eye forming a strange green plant.
A brilliant, translucent, flowing luster, like a heavenly treasure, not of the mortal world.
A figure was stepping onto that green plant, walking over step by step. With each step, her aura climbed!
"[Seedling]."
The crystalline green plant grew into a towering flower tree at a visible speed. A shout summoned countless new leaves.
The dappled light and shadow made the surrounding environment bizarre and dazzling, and the figure of the approaching girl became clearer within the leaves.
Starlight sprinkled down from these leaves, and the charred soil was instantly covered with lush, swaying green grass. The rustling sound of the grass was like countless girls singing softly.
Amidst this chorus that filled the mountains and fields, a huge flower bud appeared at the top of the flower tree.
"[Blooming]!"
The next second, the flower bud burst open, spraying out a seven-colored brilliance that concealed the faint silhouette of the girl within. A halo of light spread out in layers, and countless flowers bloomed on the grassy ground beneath the tree, all facing the flower tree.
"[Cycle Sea]!"
In an instant, petals rained down from the star-surrounded flower tree like a shower.
Countless fallen leaves turned into yellow mud, only to give rise to new sprouts on the tree.
This cycle repeated, as if in a moment of samsara, as if oceans turned to mulberry fields, allowing the even more luxuriant canopy to cover and protect the fruits left by the cycle.
At this moment, the world was left only with the sound of falling leaves and scattered petals.
Behind the girl standing atop the tree, thousands upon thousands of Magical Girls spoke in unison!
"Ee—!"
Like some mysterious language, neat and uniform, it resounded through heaven and earth, sending chills down the spines of the numerous Full Bloom Magical Girl remnant souls.
Because looking far and wide, all the Magical Girls who had appeared in East China, North China, West China, and South China were all resonating with the cyan-colored Magical Girl standing at the top of the tree!
The most crucial thing was—
[Peerless Craft], [Star Pattern], [Demonic Path], [Contract].
[Hidden Sound], [Arcane Calculation], [Three Talents], [Five Greats].
A full eight completely different types of magical mystery brilliance, which should have interfered with each other, were now interwoven together, covering the entire land.
The mana, spirit, will, and even souls of these Magical Girls were completely unified. This resonance formation, which was extremely difficult for Magical Girls and had a massive amplification effect, instantly elevated the power of the single Magical Girl to its absolute limit!
Its name was—
She still felt a little aggrieved and wanted to cry.
The moment the words fell, a cluster of unviewable celestial light erupted from the entire world with a bang. Qinghua, who had truly acquired Full Bloom power, spread her arms wide within the radiance:
"This is, the Pure Land!"
Using all the puppets as reference points, imitating a Mental Landscape, this was the Mental Landscape Super Qinghua had created herself.
The Pure Land, activate!
Watching all the Heart Image Remnants be completely swallowed by the Pure Land, and even the gazes of the Magical Girl remnant souls gradually became vacant, beginning to follow the Qinghua puppets above in the "Ee" chant,
A glint of sword light flickered in Bai Mei's eyes. "What a Pure Land! Qinghua truly has the bearing of a Snow Mountain Buddhist World-Honored One!"
"This is only an incomplete state."
Bingtang smiled slightly, watching the Pure Land continue to spread.
Continuously devouring all the Heart Image Remnants in the new world.
"The completed ultimate puppet is probably meant to be prepared for your master as well."
Bai Mei nodded. "Bai Mei will also work hard, so as not to disappoint Master."
Behind them, Keke finally couldn't help but ask, "Master... you mean, you're preparing this for Teacher Shion? Why?"
"Because of the Azure Cloud Sect's true-transmission assessment."
Bingtang gently explained. "All true-transmission disciples have to prepare their own trump cards, their strongest moves. Ultimately, they have to fight against Shion, and Shion will give them a score. If they can't satisfy the Sect Master, they'll have their true-transmission title revoked."
"Quality over quantity."
Bai Mei also added.
"So every true-transmission is desperately preparing their ultimate trump card, a card that can defeat, or even overcome Shion."
Bingtang opened her umbrella and smiled slightly. "Everyone is working very hard. Some of the results, hmm, I think can cause the Sect Master no small amount of trouble and injury. They'll definitely give the Sect Master a surprise."
Keke was dumbfounded. Although she knew the Azure Cloud Sect had a fierce style of conduct...
Wasn't this a bit too fierce?
What if they actually hurt Teacher Shion...
"But you..."
Before she could finish, Qinghua's Pure Land, relying on the puppets spread throughout the new world, had already devoured all the Heart Image Remnants.
Bingtang turned back to look at Keke again and ruffled her hair.
"You need to work hard too, Keke. Don't disappoint Shion."
Bai Mei even nodded. "I look forward to your performance. I hope to fight you one day."
Keke looked up blankly.
At the sky full of puppets, and that ultimate Qinghua puppet that had stepped into Full Bloom, even appearing to be approaching Teacher Shion in her eyes.
For a moment, her heart felt incredibly heavy.
Did I have to take the test too?
When would she ever escape from exam-oriented education...
...
"Material soulification?"
In the passage of the Magic Kingdom, Jiang Si asked back. "What is that supposed to be?"
"Literally, what else could it mean? But this thing isn't from the End Beast's side..."
Black Keke paused mid-sentence, then looked up. "Turning matter into souls, or turning souls into matter. After all, humans in this world have souls. The soul itself is a kind of energy source. Magical Girls' souls are especially tough and make for an even better energy source. It's the same for both the Incubators and the End Beast..."
The Little Black Dragon was currently trembling as she clung tightly to the Emperor.
Because once separated from Jiang Si, the mother-daughter pair were in a state where they could dissipate at any moment. In this state, being spirits themselves, they found it somewhat difficult to solidify.
They could only stay close to Jiang Si, relying on his powerful Personal Reality to ensure they wouldn't disappear.
Jiang Si, naturally, didn't pay much attention to these two burdens. He just looked up at the distant Magic Kingdom.
Those ethereal, transparent floating objects.
"I see. So they're all, souls?"
"That's right, they're all souls."
Black Keke, however, showed a somewhat puzzled expression. "But shouldn't souls be devoured by the End Beast... Could it be that the Incubators replicated the End Beast's ability?"
"Is it possible that the End Beast was created by the Incubators?"
"Highly unlikely. If that were the case, with the End Beast gnawing at the World Tree so many times, they couldn't just be indifferent, completely unable to control the End Beast..."
"Creating your own father is also something a villain has to taste."
"Are you talking about web novels?"
"Universally applicable throughout history."
Black Keke pondered. "It is a possibility. But regardless, we can't go any further from here."
"Why?"
"Because once the body and soul are completely converted, it's irreversible."
Black Keke pulled Jiang Si, starting to back away. "The End Beast has already shown me the irreversibility of the soul-matter conversion. If we keep moving forward, and our bodies are completely converted into souls, we'll never be able to go back. We'll become dead people..."
Jiang Si fell silent, looking at the distant Magic Kingdom.
Although he couldn't get close yet, he immediately thought of a forbidden area outside the Seven Great Forbidden Areas—the Underworld.
Although it wasn't listed among the Seven Great Forbidden Areas, it had also triggered a Dark Chaos.
Most importantly, it was also a resting place for all spirits, a gathering place for the dead.
The Magic Kingdom was actually the Underworld.
He found a reference point in his mind and suddenly understood.
In his heart, he naturally planned to sweep away all the dark regions and reproduce the great feats of the Heavenly Emperor Ye...
"After we leave, how do you plan to deal with the Magic Kingdom?"
"We can strip the authority of material soulification from the End Beast. It shouldn't be a problem. Let me see... conservative estimate, I should die a few tens of thousands of times this round to take it down..."
"You're going to kowtow through tens of thousands of cycles?"
"Not like that, ugh, anyway, I can't explain it to you clearly right now, big brother. You don't need to know the details that badly. Anyway, just refer to your web novels. Anything the web novels have written, you'll understand. What they haven't written, it's a waste of time for me to explain now. Just know that I'll handle it in the next cycle."
Black Keke then consoled him again. "Don't worry. If there's no big brother in the next cycle, then I'll go to the cycle after that. No matter how many times, no matter how many cycles, I will definitely find a perfect ending with you in it!"
Jiang Si neither agreed nor disagreed, not saying much, as if he had tacitly accepted Black Keke's plan.
But the Little Black Dragon and the Emperor exchanged a glance and understood.
Their boss probably didn't think that way.
"So, big brother, you'll support me too, right?"
Black Keke asked one more time.
"Don't seek the future, don't seek the past."
Jiang Si answered her like this. "Only seek the present. That is what a Cultivator is."
Clicking her tongue, Black Keke didn't intend to argue with her big brother here anyway.
Anyway, when things later developed to an irredeemable point, she could just restart, and her big brother wouldn't be able to stop her.
Or rather, by then, her big brother might not even want to stop her.
Many people, before they encountered despair, thought they didn't need a restart or a cycle, that they could just pursue happiness in the present.
After all, in the next cycle, or the one after that, who knew if it would still have anything to do with them? Could that really be said to be them?
But when despair came, everyone would naturally accept this point.
As long as the next cycle, and the one after that, could be perfect.
As for whether it was still themselves, what did that have to do with them? There wasn't time to think about so much.
The only problem with Brother Jiang Si right now was that he hadn't seen enough despair.
He hadn't seen more despair yet.
But Black Keke also didn't want to make her big brother too desperate. As a little sister's gentleness, she still hoped that her big brother wouldn't end this cycle in too much pain.
After all, being by his side did give her a long-lost sense of comfort and warmth, like being at home.
The more she thought about it, the more she looked forward to the coming cycles.
Next time, she'd start over from home. If big brother was there...
To experience again what it was like to live in a home with a big brother. Maybe she could become like the current Keke too.
Tough, strong, even a bit calm and mature, yet still retaining that sincerity that could transform into a Magical Girl.
That's right, to Black Keke, the current Keke was actually her ideal state.
Able to make calm judgments, able to master the power of a Magical Girl and the power of a Witch, able to achieve Full Bloom.
And she also had a big brother.
It was enough to make anyone envious.
So in the next cycle, she would also experience it...
Of course, this was also preparation for her own growth. It wasn't like she was planning to steal the title of little sister ahead of time or anything...
In her heart, she began, for the first time in a long while, to plan what she would do in the next cycle.
Such selfish desires had actually disappeared a long time ago, even making Black Keke feel a bit unnatural. Thinking about it, she wondered if the plan was too loose or something.
But she still decided to enjoy a few cycles like this. After all, there were plenty of opportunities...
"Huh? An Incubator is coming over?"
Black Keke was startled and looked up together with Jiang Si.
Two Incubators were flying over, wobbling unsteadily, looking somewhat unnatural in their movements.
And these two Incubators looked a bit different from the others.
How should she put it?
Their expressions were too human. No matter how you looked at it, they felt like living people.
And the two of them were huddled together. You could tell from their movements, expressions, and some small details.
These two Incubators had a very close relationship, like family of some sort.
Black Keke instinctively wanted to attack, to kill those two Incubators.
After all, she had no good impression of Incubators. For them to come close at a time like this was probably dangerous.
So she decided to kill them first and ask questions later.
But Jiang Si beside her grabbed her, stopping her.
"Wait."
As if he had already seen through something, he said calmly.
Black Keke didn't know why, but a sense of unease suddenly welled up in her heart, like standing on the edge of a cliff, that fear of falling into an abyss at any moment.
Ever since she could cycle, she had rarely felt this way.
Because most of the time, she had her cycle as a safety net. There weren't many things that could make her feel fear or unease.
Even just a little bit felt very abnormal.
So Black Keke stopped her action and watched the two flying Incubators approach.
The closer they got, the stronger that familiar feeling became.
The feeling of fear and unease also began to grow, almost filling her chest. Even leaning against Jiang Si couldn't lessen it in the slightest.
"Huh, are you leaving, Jiang Si, Keke?"
The greeting after they arrived was also very ordinary, so ordinary that Keke didn't even react at first. Countless cycles of cultivated habit made her respond instinctively. "Yeah, we're leaving..."
Only then did she come to her senses.
Why was she responding to two Incubators?
Then, the two Incubators looked at each other and smiled gently. "Well then, take care on the road."
"That's right, that's right. The outside world is so dangerous. You two need to look out for each other. Jiang Si, if your sister gets sick, don't forget to make her ginger tea."
"Don't add too much milk or sugar. It won't be as effective."
"Eat well."
"And if you get your driver's license, you can buy a used car. It's cheaper."
"The house we have at home is fine. You don't need to buy a new one for your wedding. You can just make do with it."
"Oh, right. About your ID name, you can change it back now. Your mother and I aren't fighting anymore."
"Hmph. You just know you can't win against me, so you're giving up, right?"
"It doesn't matter. We're not kids anymore. I won't argue with you. Keke, Jiang Si."
The two Incubators tilted their heads, waving their little short hands at the two of them. "Go on now. Live well, get along well. Don't argue..."
As they spoke, the figures of the two Incubators began to flow away, merging with the Magic Kingdom.
Black Keke stood frozen for a long time before finally taking a step forward.
Her expression twisted slightly. She chased after them, almost running into the Magic Kingdom to grab hold of those two Incubators!
"Dad! Mom!"
Jiang Si grabbed Black Keke firmly, looking at the two Incubators.
Then he looked at the Magic Kingdom.
That's right. It was real.
They had twisted his parents' souls into Incubators.
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