Chapter 367
"... The biggest problem is that there's no problem! Don't be so gentle to strangers, Brother Fang Ming!"
"Anyway, I feel like that bear in the Sky Screen is about to fall too."
Aurora muttered to herself.
Xiao Chun's expression became even more vigilant. "We need to keep an eye on Stella in real life..."
"You guys are overthinking it. This isn't a romance anime. Stella wouldn't just... [say something like that]."
"Alright, Brother Fang Ming, shut up."
"Uncle, you'd better not say anything. Hmm... leave the missions involving Magical Girls like wind and birds to us."
The two Magical Girls, who initially disliked each other, surprisingly raised their hands simultaneously with remarkable coordination, silencing Fang Ming and preventing him from continuing.
Even from an outsider's perspective, Fang Ming was still too slow to grasp things at times.
He simply doesn't understand how powerful a gentle and loving persona can be for a girl, especially since this girl has been hurt before, sold by her parents, used for experiments, and whose only 'sister' whom she considers family is someone she can barely see.
Stella is that kind of person.
Perhaps her life was quite good before, at least in that wretched place in the Americas District, her life was relatively fulfilling.
But ever since she was sold by her family, the so-called 'love' has been far away from Stella.
Despite being subjected to experiments and torture by the Aurora Society, Stella was able to avoid becoming completely corrupted, thanks in large part to her Magical Girls aptitude. The Emotion Seed symbolizing light dispelled the negative emotions within her.
It was Lesos's 'internet call therapy' that prevented Stella from completely succumbing to darkness.
For a girl like this, it's obvious how important a person's kindness is.
Even if Stella hasn't fallen for him yet, Sky Screen Xiao Bai definitely holds a place in her heart.
Who knows, Stella's feelings for Sky Screen Xiao Bai... Fang Ming might gradually shift towards a romantic relationship in the future!
Xiao Chun and Aurora can't control Stella in the Sky Screen, but they can control the one in reality.
Not only Stella, but they must be wary of any Magical Girls appears in the future!
Viewers always say that Fang Ming is a "man who builds a harem in Magical Girls anime." It used to be just a joke, but now it seems... that title is actually quite accurate!
Xiao Chun and Aurora's reactions left Fang Ming speechless.
However, thinking of the 'Record Bear' from another world, and the Xiao Bai pillow that the other person would hug even when sleeping, Fang Ming couldn't help but fall silent.
Fang Ming had always overlooked this issue.
So, it seems that the Record Bear is... a fan of Xiao Bai?
If Record Bear really is Stella, then judging from the current situation, something must have happened in the future for Record Bear to become Xiao Bai's fan.
Thinking about it this way, Fang Ming realized that what Xiao Chun and Aurora said wasn't impossible!
Um...
Fang Ming shut his mouth and fell into deep thought.
[The Sky Screen didn't explain what Stella's method actually was.]
The camera then shifts to Yu Muqiu.
The Magical Girls have begun a new round of special training. This time, Yu Muqiu is trying to see if she can unlock the second stage of her Shining Form without relying on the Magic Network.
And naturally, Yu Muqiu did not succeed immediately.
It's as if something's missing—whether it's his mood or some other power— Yu Muqiu's advanced form only ever gets halfway through before reverting to his Shining Form.
Without using the Magic Network, it's impossible to enter the Second Shining Form.
The same applies to the other Magical Girls. Even though Xiaoxia and Xiao Chun used the power of hope from the Magic Network, they were unable to enter their Second Shining Form.
Compared to the Shining Form, which can be awakened simply by having sufficient emotions, aptitude, and the will to protect, the difficulty of awakening the Second Shining Form is almost doubled.
The Magical Girls suddenly found themselves in a bottleneck.
"Huff... huff... Damn it! How am I supposed to get into the Second Shining Form?!"
During a training break, Chen Xiaoxia lay on her back on the ground, completely disregarding her image.
She was breathing heavily, and complaining as she spoke.
After a whole day of training, she still hadn't grasped the knack of entering the Second Shining Form.
On the other hand, Xiao Qiu, although still unable to enter the new form without leaving the Magic Network, has at least reduced the time to enter the new form from ten seconds to two seconds.
And the duration of the effect is also significantly longer than before.
Sometimes that's how it is; once you get the hang of something, training becomes easier.
Those who fail to grasp the basics, no matter how much training they receive, cannot reach the state they desire.
Listening to Chen Xiaoxia's complaints, Kelly felt embarrassed:
"I'm sorry, we really don't have much information on this, so you'll have to rely on yourselves... I'm truly sorry."
"Ultimately, what exactly is the advanced Shining Form?"
Xiao Chun, who had also finished training, took a sip of water and asked a question that sounded like a inquiry, or perhaps a question to herself.
Xiao Chun could still understand the power of the Shining Form.
It is based on the existing Emotion Seed, and by stimulating one's own emotions, it unleashes an even more powerful force.
Overall, the solution lies in addressing one's own Emotion Seed.
The Shining Form that can be upgraded... Xiao Chun couldn't understand what it was, because judging from Xiao Qiu's performance, the change in the Emotion Seed didn't seem to be significant.
If the Emotion Seed its Shining Form is the 'budding of emotion', then the advanced Shining Form, instead of allowing the bud to blossom further, strengthens other aspects.
Xiao Chun couldn't understand Yu Muqiu's advanced form, so naturally she couldn't find the secret to taking the Shining Form to the next level.
"Hmm, it's okay even if I don't awaken the advanced form!"
Chen Xiaoxia suddenly sprang to her feet, her fighting spirit high, and declared, "As long as we all reach the Upper Rank, then even if that guy is Upper Demon, we won't be afraid!"
"... Our magical power is still quite a distance from being at the Upper Rank, isn't it?"
"That's why we need to train! Okay! Break time is over! Time to train! Ohh..."
Chen Xiaoxia shouted, and then entered the Dream World constructed by the Magic Network.
Xiao Chun sighed helplessly, closed her eyes, and entered the Dream World with Xiaoxia to begin their training.
After they all entered the training world, Yu Muqiu, who had just finished talking to her family, returned to the training site.
Seeing his two teammates already back in training mode, Yu Muqiu blinked.
"Xiaoxia and Xiao Chun are really working hard..."
Yu Muqiu sighed, then also wanted to enter the Dream World for training.
But when she caught a glimpse of Xiao Bai sitting there staring at the computer, she temporarily abandoned the idea.
Like a little rabbit, she hopped over to Xiao Bai's side and looked at the computer screen that Xiao Bai was looking at.
It's news about events in the Americas District.
Xiao Bai had clearly noticed Yu Muqiu as well. She didn't look at Xiao Qiu, but calmly asked:
"Aren't you going to continue training?"
"When we go to training later, isn't Xiao Bai coming with us?"
"I'm not in a good condition to train right now, so I'm making a training plan for you guys for the next few days."
Xiao Bai replied, while simultaneously pulling up her prepared schedule.
The Upper Demon could arrive at any time, so Yu Muqiu and the others need to ensure they maintain a certain level of combat strength while undergoing training to improve their abilities.
Incidentally, Xiao Bai also needs to have Aurora and Lower Rank- ranking Magical Girls set up Magic Network that covers the entire world.
No one knows where the next Upper Demon will appear in the world. If it is still not in the Central Continent District, even if Xiao Qiu can activate her Second Shining Form, she will still be unable to deal with the Upper Demon.
Unless Xiao Qiu can completely break free from the Magic Network's assistance within the next few days and enter the advanced Shining Form on her own.
There were many things to do and time was tight, Xiao Bai had no time to rest, let alone train.
Yu Muqiu looked at Xiao Bai with great tenderness. She raised her hand, placed it on the back of Xiao Bai's hand, and whispered:
"Xiao Bai, you should rest too, we..."
"Xiao Qiu," Xiao Bai interrupted Xiao Qiu, saying, "Now is not the time to rest. Now that we know the Upper Demon are outside this world and that they could find us at any moment, every minute and every second is crucial."
"..."
Yu Muqiu remained silent. She sighed, her twin ponytails drooping limply behind her head, and said, "... I know, but... I just feel like you're working too hard."
"It's not as tiring as you imagine."
"I see..."
Yu Muqiu said.
Suddenly, the intro to the ending theme started playing.
Yu Muqiu looked up, her face turning serious. She asked Xiao Bai, "Then... can I ask you a question?"
"What?" Xiao Bai looked up and met Yu Muqiu's gaze.
Yu Muqiu looked intently into Xiao Bai's eyes and asked, word by word:
"Xiao Bai, where is your true form?"
"!!"
In that instant, Xiao Bai's pupils contracted and dilated.
The pink-haired Magical Girls and the silver-haired Magical Girls stared at each other, speechless for a long time.
Finally... we enter the ending sequence.
Volume 4 <Magic Autumn> Movie and Season 3: Chapter 398 We must keep an eye on Brother Fang Ming!
(Hey! This ED broke just in time!)
(Xiao Qiu discovered it!)
(Of course they noticed, didn't you see they even gave Xiao Qiu a close-up of shaking hands with Xiao Bai just now?)
(This is probably to confirm whether the Xiao Bai here is the original body.)
(Xiao Qiu has grown up too. After what happened at the theater, she has a rough idea that the Xiao Bai here is just a clone created by Dongdong.)
(Not just Xiao Bai, but also Fang Ming... By the way, Fang Ming didn't seem to appear in this episode?)
(Was this intentional on the part of the production team?)
Fang Ming: "..."
The production team did it on purpose!
This clue is blatantly presented to you, and you only didn't think of it because there's no conclusive evidence yet; otherwise, Fang Ming's identity would have been exposed long ago!
"Oh dear, looks like this uncle's identity is about to be exposed."
Aurora said with schadenfreude.
Fang Ming rolled his eyes at her. "Otherwise, why do you think I ran away?"
Xiao Chun said with a grin, "At this point, even if your identity is exposed, it's not necessarily a bad thing for you, Brother Fang Ming. It's just... you probably need to explain things to Xiao Qiu properly."
Fang Ming's face fell at this, and he muttered in a broken voice, "... Otherwise, why do you think I ran away?"
He just couldn't figure out how to explain it, and he felt that he would lose face if this got out, so he secretly ran away!
But putting all that aside for now, it's only the second episode, Sky Screen has already revealed so much information. So, Fang Ming's exposure probably won't happen in the final episode this season.
It's estimated to happen before the final battle.
Is it around episode 8 or 9?
Well, episode ten is possible, but it definitely won't be episode eleven or twelfth.
After all, following the previous formula, the last two episodes usually consist mostly of action scenes, while the emotional struggles and dramatic scenes are usually resolved before that.
Therefore, Fang Ming doesn't have many days left.
"Never mind... I won't think about it too much. I'll try to get closer to Kazama and Tottori later, and then..."