Why are the magical girls in your area male?

Yuan Qing chuckled lightly, took a step forward, and assumed a sword-wielding stance.

His mind began to focus, and his eyes gradually became sharper.

Jokes aside, since it's a friendly competition, we should take it seriously.

"The momentum is good, but it's not enough, Yuan Qing."

"Ok?"

"We must treat this sparring match as a life-or-death struggle."

"...?"

"We both know that your strength is far greater than it appears now. If we don't take this seriously, we could suffer a terrible defeat."

Yuan Qing did not answer.

Even if the other party doesn't say anything, he has no intention of going easy on them.

But should we treat it as a life-or-death battle...?

It was just a friendly exchange; wasn't her use of that word a bit of an exaggeration?

As if sensing Gensei's hesitation, Shiori Shiomi ran her fingers along the branch, revealing a meaningful smile:

“I know what you’re worried about, Yuanqing.”

"Although I'm just a minor president of the association..."

"On weekdays, I am mostly responsible for handling some management tasks."

"However... I do have some experience with the matter of using force."

"So, don't worry, just bring it on with the intention of killing me."

The moment the last word fell—

Yuan Qing's pupils suddenly contracted!

An overwhelming sense of pressure, almost solidified, erupted from Shiori Shiomi without warning!

In that instant, Yuan Qing unconsciously felt a strange sensation.

The air froze, the moonlight dimmed, and the tinkling sound of the fountain disappeared.

It was as if she was the only person left in the entire world!

So far, Yuan Qing has only felt this terrifying sense of pressure from one other person.

That was the old king from the Trial of Kings, whom he had just fought before!

No, that's not all!

It's no exaggeration to say that this little girl has an aura...

even......

No less than that old king!

Yuan Qing unconsciously swallowed, his pupils began to tremble violently, and the cells in his body roared with extreme excitement.

Even he himself didn't realize that his body was trembling violently at that moment.

Tense, excited, thrilled, blood boiling, and full of fighting spirit!

Although my body was still standing on the floor, my soul felt as if it had fallen into an endless ocean, surrounded by raging waves.

Countless turbulent currents surged and swept across the area, and his wisp of soul was like a small boat, swaying endlessly in the tsunami, at risk of being capsized at any moment.

But the more this happened, the more excited he became!

"President..."

"I am here."

Please enlighten me.

"it is good."

The moment Shiori Shiomi uttered her "okay," Gensei stomped his legs forward with a sudden burst of energy!

Because he is not constrained by reality, his power can be fully unleashed!

The moment the floor shattered, his body had already become a blur, and the branch in his hand was like a sharp sword, stabbing straight towards Shiori Shiomi's delicate neck!

The distance between the two sides was gradually reduced.

Ten meters, five meters, one meter.

One foot, one inch, half an inch...

As her branch drew ever closer to the other's neck, Shiori Shiomi still showed no intention of moving.

For a fleeting moment, Yuan Qing even thought that his move was about to succeed.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he seemed unable to make any progress in that final half-inch.

The branch was like a needle piercing into an invisible swamp; the deeper it went, the greater the resistance became.

Then, Shiori Shiomi finally moved.

She "slowly" raised the branch and "slowly" pushed aside the branch that Yuan Qing had extended.

Her movements were extremely slow, elegant, precise, and without the slightest unnecessary movement.

Just like a slow-motion close-up of the female lead in a movie.

Compared to her, Yuan Qing's speed was already lightning fast; he was the one who was faster.

But no matter how fast he was, he could never catch up with Shiori Shiomi's "slowness"!

Gensei's speed and Shiori's slowness occurred simultaneously by this small pond in a highly contradictory way.

Immediately afterwards, Shiori Shiomi did the same thing as the former king.

Yuan Qing watched as Shiori Shiomi, who was only half an inch away from his branch, gracefully strolled up behind him step by step.

With each step she took, she left a shadow in the same spot.

Dozens of afterimages, like a comic strip, "drawn" her movement trajectory.

Then......

"Clap."

The sound of branches slapping against the back of my neck came from behind me.

The next second, the slow motion started to speed up, and the slowed-down time returned to its original state.

Yuan Qing stumbled forward and almost fell.

He touched the back of his neck and felt a slight pain coming from there.

Without a doubt, if it were a true life-or-death battle, he would already be dead.

He quickly turned around, only to find that Shiori Shiomi had already carelessly tossed the branch into the pile of weeds.

The moonlight flowed, casting a soft glow over her petite figure.

"Did that thing defeat you with this move?"

Shiori Shiomi crossed her arms, a half-smile on her face, and asked the other person a meaningful question.

Yuan Qing seemed to still be immersed in the previous "sparring".

Calling it a friendly exchange is a stretch; it was a one-sided "beating."

Is this only "one-tenth" of her power?

Is this little girl really not joking with me?

If even one-tenth of her power is this strong, how cunning would she be if she unleashed her full strength?

Whether it's a cardinal, a white finch, or that silly, beautiful bird named Helixi.

Despite being all A-level, Yuan Qing had never felt this terrifying, cramped "sense of spatial oppression" from them.

Are you kidding me...

Is this really the "one-tenth" of her power?

Is she really only an A-level? She's definitely hiding something!

Shiori Shiomi, you're really good at hiding your true feelings!

Hurry up, take off your clothes and let me see what's hidden under your huge treasure chest!

Could this be a screenshot of someone at the King rank?

Half a minute later, Yuan Qing came to his senses and showed a complicated expression.

He asked, "What exactly happened just now? What move did you use?"

“That wasn’t a technique, Gensei. I was just dodging and swinging my sword normally,” Shiori Shiomi replied calmly.

“Ordinary?” Yuan Qing frowned, his face full of disbelief. “Don’t kid me, President. I’m as fast as lightning, and you’re as slow as a snail, but I still can’t catch up with you.”

Shiori Shiomi stretched out her finger and gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear: "Don't be fixated on the conventional notion of speed, Genji."

If you want to become stronger, you should discover that everything in this world can be used by you.

"..."

"For magical girls, imagination is the foundation of magic; imagination makes everything possible."

I said, "There will be rain," and the rain began to fall. I said, "There will be light," and the light began to rise.

Besides the Flower of the Heart, this is what fundamentally distinguishes us from other awakened beings.

"Imagine?"

"If no one ever told you that you can't hit someone with a sword if it's too far away, what would you do?"

"......"

"Who defines fast? Who defines slow? After you've witnessed the lunar etched creatures, the shadow beasts, and the Awakened Ones with your own eyes, do traditional scientific knowledge and the laws of physics still possess the accuracy to measure the universe?"

After a brief pause, Shiori Shiomi continued, "Minamoto no Ao, don't trust your eyes, trust your feelings."

Abandon the concept of speed; the opponent's movements will become insignificant to you, appearing instead as clear trajectories. You don't need to be faster than lightning; you only need to be one step ahead, standing where the lightning won't strike.

Yuan Qing felt like he was listening to a foreign language.

But this part of the text felt somewhat familiar to him.

It's like I've heard it somewhere.

hiss......

and many more!

Isn't this an introduction to the "King" class's job advancement?

"The so-called journey is to become a king who can control all things and rule the rules."

"Everything in this world can be used by you."

He lowered his head, looking thoughtful, and after a while, he gave a wry smile: "President, I feel a little dizzy."

Shiori Shiomi calmly comforted her: "It's okay if you don't understand now. There's a reason why the skeleton you were supposed to be on equal footing with in the tower could use that move."

This is a great learning opportunity, you should definitely cherish it. As for sparring, if you need a coach, just come find me tomorrow night.

"..."

"Take a good look at it and I believe you can do it."

A rare tenderness and encouragement appeared in Shiori Shiomi's eyes.

If he hadn't been staring into her eyes the whole time and his mind hadn't completely gone blank, Yuan Qing would have thought it was just his imagination.

Shiori Shiomi turned around, her back to him, and said, "This world is not fair. Everyone's script is set from birth, and magical girls are no exception."

You should know that, including magical girls, all awakened beings, once they first gain their power, will never advance in rank again. A C-rank will remain C-rank forever, and an S-rank will remain S-rank forever.

"Ah."

"Of course, a very small number of people will break free from their shackles, awaken again, and gain power far exceeding their previous strength... such as Red Sparrow."