All three magical girls had been sent away.
Luo Shuangyue quickly ran to the side to cancel her transformation.
If she didn’t, she really was about to “bloom.”
She had already changed clothes before coming out this time, so after the transformation was undone, her appearance didn’t change much.
This outfit was actually pretty faithful to the original—just a bit too thin.
In this blazing summer heat, Luo Shuangyue could barely handle it.
And then there were the killer high heels.
Flying in the sky was still manageable, but when walking on the ground, Luo Shuangyue had to exert all her strength just to avoid falling.
About an hour later, Siam and Xia Mo returned to the park at nearly the same time.
After the previous two rounds of special training, Xia Mo had already gained a decent mastery of high-speed flight.
A hundred laps only left her slightly out of breath.
But for Siam, it was her first time undergoing this kind of training.
Although she only ran ten laps, flying in the sky and running on the ground were two entirely different things.
After just ten laps, this catgirl’s legs were already starting to give out.
As for Linglan—poor kid—she hadn’t even flown halfway through.
By the time she finished, the metaphorical flowers would’ve long withered.
“You’re back? Come sit down over here and tell me what you’re good at and which direction you want to grow in.”
Sitting on a bench in the shade with a book in her arms, playing the part of a literary girl, Luo Shuangyue looked up and waved at Xia Mo and Siam.
“Senior Bai Ye doesn’t seem as sharp as before?”
Xia Mo observed curiously.
She still felt unsure in her heart, but Siam had already blurted out the thought directly:
“Senior, you seem a lot gentler than earlier?”
“Gentle? I hope you’ll still think so later.”
Luo Shuangyue gave Siam a slight smile.
Siam suddenly had the sense that she might’ve said something wrong.
That expression on Senior Bai Ye’s face… so scary!
It was like a devilish teacher suddenly deciding to double the amount and difficulty of the homework.
So terrifying!
“Alright, come here quickly. Don’t waste any more time.”
Siam was practically on the verge of collapse, so Xia Mo ended up being the first to share.
Her strengths weren’t much different from other magical girls.
The only real distinction was that while others fired white or red magic blasts, hers were purple.
Very ordinary. So ordinary it was almost featureless.
“You’ve already got one foot into the budding stage, but if you can’t find your path, you’ll be stuck here forever.”
After hearing Xia Mo’s explanation, Luo Shuangyue gave her blunt opinion.
Xia Mo had accumulated enough strength; what she lacked now was self-exploration.
If she couldn’t find her own path, she wouldn’t be able to break through her bottleneck.
“Why did you become a magical girl? Without a strong wish, you can’t trigger resonance with magic.”
“…I became a magical girl because I wanted to be someone like you, Senior Bai Ye. I wanted to do everything I could to protect those who tremble in fear during monster disasters—those who can only hope for magical girls to save them.”
Xia Mo’s eyes wavered, and she blushed as she answered softly.
Saying something like this in front of the person you admire… it was still a bit too embarrassing.
“That’s too broad. All magical girls want to protect others. What you need to figure out is—how exactly do you want to protect them?”
Luo Shuangyue nodded.
Sure enough, her Xia Mo was still far too kind.
Plus, her mother had left such a deep impression on her.
With those two factors combined, Xia Mo was practically a natural-born magical girl saint.
If the magical gem didn’t choose her, that would’ve been the real surprise.
“I can’t help you with that part. Every magical girl’s breakthrough is very subjective. But generally, they break through during a moment of crisis.”
Luo Shuangyue had looked into data on magical girls above the budding level using Jiyè’s channels.
Out of ten, seven or eight only broke through when they couldn’t defeat an enemy, when their teammates were falling one after another—
And then suddenly, through sheer force of will, they exploded and broke through.
In simpler terms, it was basically “sacrificing teammates to fill the rage meter and achieve a breakthrough.”
Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud.
So instead, Luo Shuangyue just patted Xia Mo on the shoulder, encouraging her and saying,
“You’ve got talent. I hope you can find your own path soon.”
“Living in my shadow forever isn’t a good thing.”
After settling Xia Mo, dealing with Siam was much easier.
This catgirl’s traits were very distinctive — she probably wouldn’t face any obstacles breaking through to the Initial Bloom stage.
Magical girls like her were rare.
Their breakthroughs were generally easier than others, but that ease came at a price.
Their humanity was more easily corroded by ***, and the stronger they got, the more likely it was to happen.
Right now, Siam just had a few quirky speech habits, but as her power grew, she’d gradually start behaving more and more like a cat — to the point where she might one day believe she was a cat.
“Your strength lies in close combat. Use your high agility to take down enemies. I remember there’s a Full Bloom-level magical girl in the Golden City of the desert named ‘Bastet.’ You can study her fighting style for reference.”
“Mm-hmm, meow~”
“I’ll arrange specialized training for you later. Now go get some rest — your legs are trembling.”
Luo Shuangyue reached out and ruffled Siam’s hair, secretly comparing her to Jiuyue in her mind.
If we’re talking purely in terms of cat-like qualities, Luo Shuangyue still thought Jiuyue felt more authentic — her ears and tail were soft and fluffy, like a real cat.
But Siam was a mechanical cat. Her ears were hard!
Totally missing the softness a catgirl should have.
About an hour later, while Xia Mo and Siam had already begun their next round of training, Luo Shuangxing finally came flying back, wobbling through the air.
“I… I’m back!”
She shouted — and then promptly flopped down onto the grass with a plop, lying there like a dead fish, not moving a muscle.
Luo Shuangyue walked over and crouched beside her, poking her cheek.
“Linglan, you’re not allowed to rest yet. We’ve still got plenty of training ahead.”
“I’m gonna die. I’m seriously going to die!”