Chapter 378
If so, then perhaps my actions weren't entirely in vain?
Chu Yuanqing thought that perhaps even she, now, couldn't fully understand her past self.
In the images given by the Divine Sentient Body, he is always alone, holding Laevateinn, which represents Yayoi's death. He conjures up the Liuli Holy Light Dragon as a memorial, indicating that Liuli also sacrificed herself.
The Black Sun Tower's magic leads to the ultimate end of annihilation, and it's also related to Xiao Xuan. If it's for commemoration, do Morizuki and the Black Sun represent two comrades-in-arms?
Charlotte is still alive, but she hasn't come, indicating that the situation is so urgent that the two need to separate to explore the Gap World.
So, what were your feelings at that time as you painstakingly built the Calembert Empire, bit by bit, and went through countless hardships to save a mere illusion?
Chu Yuanqing felt that it couldn't be any grand reason; she was just comforting herself, trying to convince herself that by saving a world, she could also live up to everyone's expectations, defeat the remaining Disaster God, and create a truly beautiful future.
And after many years, she really did it.
Just a few more steps and I could leave with peace of mind.
So...
The Pure White Witch lowered her gaze to the branches that had spread into her palm, a complex smile spreading across her face. As Emperor, she was asking for a reward for the first time for the new generation of children:
"Intelligent Body, I need your help."
"Can you bring all these children to the Empire?"
"I want them to receive the best educational resources, and ideally, become independent mages within six months."
Before he could finish speaking, the Giant Thought Tree that encompassed the entire world sent down branches from the domes of various regions, as if bestowing a divine miracle, and captured all three thousand Little Idol, bringing them back to the Saint Roland Academy located in the center of the empire.
At the same time, the branches of thought fork out an equal number of clones, acting as tutors.
Thus, under the decree of the Divine Emperor, Zhiti, excited to the point of raising the graduation standards infinitely, truly began this intensive training.
Volume 1: 351. Emperor Qing Bao, a qualified bad woman. (5K)
Saint Roland, the sacred temple.
This trial ground, which opens only once every three years, is where the empire has gathered many blessings from the gods, using faith as a bargaining chip. As long as one passes the trial, one can receive the corresponding baptism, and even obtain the inheritance of ancient magic and legendary treasures.
It can be said that the temple is not only a dreamland for commoner mages to rise in status, but also a landmark building where the Giant Thought Tree resides. It is heavily guarded year-round and can only be viewed from afar.
But yesterday, the Divine Emperor who had disappeared for a thousand years and was almost forgotten by time announced his return to the world with that Eden that embraced the Milky Way and burned eternally. He also issued a decree to the intelligent beings, selecting more than three thousand geniuses to be trained in the temple.
The Magic Net was in an uproar, and hundreds of billions of people in the empire were engulfed in fervor. Before this crisis, which was different from that of the gods and demons, had even officially spread, the Divine Emperor arrived across the ages, as if he had foreseen it all along, or as if he could not bear to see the people suffer.
"Your Majesty, we love you dearly!"
"His Majesty's return means that many of the alchemical techniques he left behind will see the light of day again, the empire that has been without a master for a thousand years will take off once more, and our homeland will become even stronger."
"So, when will the Emperor's photo appear on the Magic Net? His Majesty's appearance and gender have never been recorded, making it an eternal mystery, haven't they?"
"I'm going to cry. Not getting into the Saint Roland Academy will be the biggest regret of my life. That's the closest place I've ever been to His Majesty."
"Actually, it doesn't matter much. Even if you pass the exam, you won't get to see His Majesty. I estimate that only the three thousand or so lucky ones selected for the Temple will have that kind of luck."
The people on the Imperial Magic Net harbored very complex attitudes toward those lucky individuals chosen to enter the Temple. Most of them were undoubtedly envious and jealous, but on the other hand, they also had a subtle sense of witnessing the rise of a powerful figure.
After all, regardless of talent, being favored by the Emperor already puts one far ahead of ordinary people; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that one is guaranteed a place on the path to becoming a legendary mage.
It should be noted that the Three Covenant Families and the three first sages all received instruction from that emperor, and even their inherited magic and unique skills originated from Emperor. This shows how incredibly lucky this opportunity was.
But for the selected Little Idol, this whole thing seems incredibly surreal.
After the Divine Sentient Body "arrested" the Magical Girl, it only said three sentences:
"You are the chosen ones, selected by the Emperor, bearing the hopes of humanity. This once-in-a-millennium favor will change your lives."
"Therefore, from today onwards, the Empire's resources will be unconditionally allocated to you, and the Holy Temple will no longer serve as your classroom, but will no longer be open to the public."
"Finally, to repay the Emperor's kindness, you should all become legendary mages within six months."
These Little Idol, who had only been in the utopia for a few hours and hadn't even recovered from the feeling of being captured and brought to the temple, were hit with a triple bomb of information, leaving them all bewildered.
Huh? Me, the chosen one selected by the Emperor?
Huh? Reaching the top of the world in half a year, becoming a legend? Me?
The absurd feeling of being summoned by the king and ordered to set off immediately to defeat the Demon King right after entering the starting village and being unable to even defeat the goblins was quite shocking to the children.
Fortunately, a certain Qing Bao, who was unwilling to appear as Emperor, arrived in time at the sacred hall and took over the right to speak from Zhiti.
Thus, the great, pure Emperor, ignoring the horrified expressions of the Little Idol Liang Xiaoxiao, Lin Bao'er, Chen Yining, Ji Shuzhu, and Ruan Wutong below the stage, revealed a gentle, reassuring smile and announced:
"This training camp will last for six months, and you can think of me as the head instructor."
"I believe that a considerable number of you have already personally experienced the terror of the Calamity Beasts, but rest assured for now, you will not have such an experience again until you are truly able to stand on your own."
"As for the intelligent entity that brought you here, it will become your personal AI, mentor, and database. You can ask it anything you don't understand or don't know."
"However, there is a fundamental difference between mages and Magical Girl, and I will arrange special training for you all based on this."
"Until then, everyone should just follow the guidance of the intelligent body and attend classes at the Saint Roland Academy. There's no need to be too nervous; you can treat it like going to a foreign country as an exchange student."
This statement successfully soothed the hearts of the Little Idol, brought the training camp back to its expected state, gave it a proper training camp feel, and provided everyone with a "normal" academy life.
However, this leads to a very crucial problem.
Although the people on stage directly mentioned the training camp, clearly indicating they were senior members of the Countermeasures Bureau and there was nothing suspicious about them, since the Emperor had taken a liking to them, there was no reason for them not to show up.
So...
Below the stage, many Magical Girl naturally filled in the blanks with the correct answer. Their resistance to good looks decreased again, and their eyes couldn't help but sparkle as they secretly sized up the mysterious head instructor.
The girl's cool, braided hair draped over her shoulders, the pure white color exuding an extraordinary holiness. Her long, curled eyelashes drooped, and her bright golden eyes, like those veiled in frost, revealed an angelic gentleness. Her natural, downward-looking posture also conveyed an Emperor majesty, making people dare not look directly at her.
Therefore, one's gaze naturally falls to the very bottom, and "by sheer coincidence," one sees the delicate texture of the black pantyhose that outlines the beautiful shape of the legs, and the shapely, firm thighs that are faintly visible beneath the skirt.
Feeling that the gaze directed in this direction was somewhat abrupt, she inadvertently looked upwards again and noticed the slender waist cinched by the blazer, and the well-developed, beautifully shaped full curves.
Ultimately, feeling "embarrassed" and weighing the pros and cons, they gradually began to appreciate each other's stunning good looks with a sense of righteous indignation, and couldn't help but tug at their companions and whisper among themselves, which in turn created a wave of "loudly plotting".
Well, this directly led to the Pure White Witch, who wanted to talk more, feeling extremely embarrassed and handing the situation back to the Intelligence Body, while she herself dragged her concubine and acquaintances away.
Let's go back to the present.
The meticulously planned attack by the Cult of Disaster Gods was aborted due to the sudden appearance of the Divine Emperor. All the Magical Girl were teleported back to the temple, and the eternally burning Eden Ring Belt forcibly severed the authority transmitted by the Disaster God.
Now, not only have all the amplification buffs disappeared, but the black tide that provided the calamity energy behind them has also become a rootless source, and will sooner or later be completely surrounded and wiped out by the Imperial Legion, unable to cause much trouble.
Even the Tower Lord and the Oath Clan Head who had been "turned" came to apologize that day. If the Pure White Witch hadn't stopped them in time, they would have turned themselves into Philosopher's Stone.
An unexpected incident occurred here.
Although Chu Yuanqing used the identity of "Lucy Tiffany," neither August nor Dilia accepted the hypothesis that Lucy Tiffany was the Emperor.
To be precise, they are denying the possibility that "Lucy Tiffany becomes Emperor in the more distant future, reverses time and space to return to the Second Divine Age, creates the Golden Law, and establishes the Calembert Empire."
After denying it, they all remained silent on the question of "where is the real Lucy Tiffany?" and didn't ask any further questions.
Chu Yuanqing found it difficult to explain the misunderstanding, but her empathy as a father led her to tell the lie that "Lucy Tiffany is safe and will be back sooner or later."
At this point, the Three Covenant Families were won over, and the three tower masters were brought in to serve as the children's mentors in teaching magic to Little Idol.
Charlotte, now freed from her restrictions as an adjudicator, uses the Giant Thought Tree's ability to teleport freely across the continent. Accompanied by her Little Cotton-padded Jacket (accessory), she wreaks havoc, touring the continent and experiencing the exotic customs of another world.
Another bishop of the Cult of Disaster Gods has been killed in battle.
As for the rest, including the Thousand Faces who were transported to outer space, they all seemed to know that things were hopeless and stopped showing themselves. It is highly likely that they used the Tower of Babel to lead their followers away from the ideal country.
Thus, the attack plan, which the Cult of Disaster Gods had been working on for a long time and mobilized all their forces for, and which was supposed to cause large-scale casualties and greatly damage the <Flash Dance> project, was shattered by Emperor Qing Bao's mechanical deity.
Theoretically speaking, Chu Yuanqing should be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
But what followed was a constant stream of visitors eager to meet the Emperor, along with hundreds of billions of people who shared the same sentiment. Public opinion in both the Magic Net and reality was boiling over, with everyone yearning for the great Emperor to tour the entire country.
At the very least, we should make a pilgrimage to Saint Roland, and then use alchemical equipment to broadcast it live to the Magic Net, so that the people of the empire can witness His Majesty's return.
Saint Roland, Rose Street, a villa nominally belonging to Tiffany.
Chu Yuanqing sat on the sofa, her exquisite and alluring face flushed with embarrassment. She slapped away the mischievous little hand of the Saintess Maiden, maintained her indifferent expression, and pursed her lips, saying:
"Not see."
"I refuse to see you no matter what."
The young girl's frosty blue eyes were filled with laughter. She was embracing the pure Emperor with an air of self-righteousness, exuding a soft and passionate aura, like a concubine who could bring ruin to a country, and she said with righteous indignation:
"No way! How can we miss something this interesting!"
"Your behavior is like playing an RPG and then not carrying over any experience or skills after completing the game a second time—it's absolutely outrageous."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingxuan's fluffy ears twitched, and her platinum blonde hair swayed rhythmically. Her face remained expressionless, and she awkwardly adjusted her tail behind her rear end with her small hands. She looked every bit the cool, sassy, and stunningly beautiful beast-eared girl.
All I can say is that the tail and ears give this usually aloof and taciturn Great Demon King a lot more subtle and readable expressions, making him doubly adorable and making you want to reach out and pet him.
Well, but currently, the only one who actually does this is the fearless Saintess.
The Golden Haired Doggy blinked, her expression unchanged as she wagged her tail and honestly said:
"I also want to see Xiao Qing go on the pilgrimage."
Although she had never played the game and didn't understand Charlotte's analogy, based on various knowledge and principles found online, the innocent Xuan Bao understood a certain principle.
That is, the Emperor's identity can also be part of the play, which can not only greatly increase the stimulation, but also make the Qing Bao more alluring.
Tang Liuli looked at Xiao Xuan's trembling ears, then at the elf ears of the Sakura Girl next to her that had become pointed and elongated. She awkwardly puffed out her cheeks, remained silent, and pretended to be a fool.
Damn it, why does Xiao Xuan get animal ears and Yayoi become a fairy, but she doesn't get such a cute and fun new experience?!
The Green Eyed Cat remembered the Holy Dragon of the Fes Family and began to wonder if she could become a noble dragon girl and obtain a superior appearance patch.
Kiriwake Yayoi sat next to Qing Bao, displaying an innocent, refreshing smile like green tea, and said earnestly:
"I don't object to Xiao Qing refusing, but given the Emperor's reputation in Fanor, revealing his true face and name should garner even greater support than if the program were broadcast, right?"
Chu Yuanqing shook his head and replied:
"No, although that's theoretically correct, the essence of the ideal state is an echo of nothingness. It doesn't truly exist, and any gifts it can offer are marked with the highest price from the very beginning."
"Whether it's you absorbing Magic Element to replenish your own energy, or me absorbing the power of will, or even the remnants that coalesced in reality after the final echoes ceased, they all occupy the same share."
Tang Liuli continued thoughtfully:
"Therefore, if Xiao Qing absorbs the power of wishes on a large scale and appropriates it for herself, the Magical Girl's training in the ideal world will only yield knowledge and experience, and they will not be able to improve their magical power by absorbing Magic Element."
Chu Yuanqing nodded and said:
"That's the idea. The power of wishes that Emperor can bring is enormous, but the portion that can actually be transformed, if extracted all at once, is probably only comparable to the total of two episodes."
Simply put, it's unnecessary.
Even with this extra power of will, Chu Yuanqing wouldn't be able to live any longer to allow the lantern to repair more. It would be better to give the share to the other Magical Girl.
Furthermore, just as you can't withdraw all the money from a bank at once, otherwise it could easily cause a collapse of the cash flow, doing so rashly would greatly shorten the lifespan of the ideal state.
Seeing that the topic had gone off-topic, Charlotte immediately put on a serious expression and said righteously:
"I sent Xiao Qing on this pilgrimage not for the sake of any wish-granting power, but simply to act as the adjudicator and secure an opportunity for the enthusiastic masses to meet the Emperor!"
"Look, the whole empire is super excited about this, and everyone else is going to stay here for half a year, but Xiao Qing is only staying for two weeks. She'll be out and about the whole time, and after the pilgrimage, there won't be much of a chance to die. She can totally give it a try."
The great, pure Emperor grew increasingly hesitant as he listened, almost swayed by the Saintess's twisted logic.
Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment, then asked:
"If Xiao Qing goes on a pilgrimage, will she take us with her?"
Upon hearing this, the Green Eyed Cat stiffened. She briefly imagined going on a pilgrimage with Qing Bao, being stared at by hundreds of billions of imperial citizens. Her recently slightly overcome social anxiety instantly flared up, and she couldn't help but tremble.
If it weren't for the Little Sakura nearby sensing something was wrong and immediately stuffing the Liuli into Qing Bao's arms, a dark, wriggling cat-like insect would soon have been found on the ground.
The Pure White Witch was used to this. She let the Green Eyed Cat rest its head on her round, soft thighs, pinched its tender cheek, hesitated for a moment, and then replied:
"I haven't thought about that."
"Wait, I haven't decided whether I want to go or not yet."
Charlotte said matter-of-factly:
"I am the Arbiter, known as the Blade of the Empire, so it is my duty to protect you!"
"As for Xiao Xuan, Qing Bao, under the identity of Lucy Tiffany, has already been the subject of countless rumors about you on the Magic Net. If neither of you conceals your appearance and you go on a pilgrimage together, it will be another big news story."
Little Sakura felt that Charlotte was incredibly excited when she was talking about "big news," completely displaying an attitude of wanting to stir up trouble.
It's obvious that Miss Saintess doesn't mind being part of a love triangle in the rumors at all; she probably even finds it quite amusing.
Kiriwake Yayoi briefly imagined the scene of the Magic Net exploding and everyone talking about it after the pilgrimage, she couldn't help but feel so ashamed that she curled her toes to the ground.