Speculations About Shining Form

She still clearly remembered the time Chen Xiaoxia followed her. The fact that Xiao Chun didn't confront her about it then didn't mean Xiao Chun had forgotten about it.

This time, Xiao Chun genuinely had something she couldn't let Chen Xiaoxia and Yu Muqiu know about, which is why her tone was a bit harsher.

"... That's too serious! Fine, I won't go then..."

Chen Xiaoxia mumbled in response.

Seeing that she still seemed unwilling to give up, Xiao Chun smiled and said to Chen Xiaoxia, "If I find out you're following me, not only will I cut ties with you for three days, but I'll also send Uncle Yu and Uncle Chen all the embarrassing things that haven't been exposed on the Sky Screen. So... think it over, Xiaoxia."

"!!!"

"...?" Yu Muqiu, who was caught in the crossfire, innocently pointed to himself. "Why am I included?"

"Because you didn't keep an eye on Xiaoxia, anyway... remember that, I'm leaving now."

After saying this, Xiao Chun hurriedly left.

Fearing Xiao Chun's 'threat', the two remained where they were, looking at each other, but neither dared to chase after her.

"Hello?"

"The call took a bit long to connect."

"There's no other way, I have to appease those two idiots," Xiao Chun said, then asked the person on the other end of the phone:

"You've decided to meet me? Where?"

"... Fang Ming said you have something to tell me, what is it?"

"It's not convenient to talk on the phone. If you want to meet me, I'll come over now to tell you. But if you don't want to meet me now... then I'll tell you when we meet."

Xiao Chun responded with a smile, her tone as gentle as ever.

Xiao Bai was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone before simply saying, "I'll be waiting for you in the woods where we met yesterday."

Click.

After saying that, the other end of the phone hung up.

"Heh, still so cold and impersonal." Xiao Chun chuckled as she looked at the phone in her hand.

It's clearly not normal that I laughed because of a phone call from Xiao Bai, even though I was beaten up by him just yesterday.

But Xiao Chun didn't think so. She simply raised her hand again, looked at the light in her hand, then clenched her fist and took a deep breath as if she had made a major decision.

It then transformed into a green light and disappeared into the sky.

She once again broke free from the official 'protection' and went alone to the place where she had met Xiao Bai the day before.

The forest where Xiao Bai appeared had been thoroughly searched by officials, who then withdrew after confirming there were no more clues.

After all, no one thought that Xiao Bai and Song Niandong would go back together.

Moreover, the Investigation Department is currently understaffed.

Thanks to this, no one except them knows about Xiao Bai and Xiao Chun's meeting.

Walking through the woods, standing where the barrier had appeared yesterday, Xiao Chun looked around but couldn't find Xiao Bai. She called out loudly:

"You can come out now. I'm still all alone today."

A gust of wind blew by, but no one answered.

After waiting for about a minute, Xiao Bai finally emerged from behind one of the trees and met Xiao Chun's gaze.

The two looked at each other in silence, and finally Xiao Bai spoke up and asked:

"What exactly is it? You want to meet with me to talk about it?"

"I'd like to talk to you about Shining Form... but before that, could you come over here for a moment?"

"?"

Xiao Bai frowned, scrutinizing Xiao Chun intently, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing Xiao Bai's rather wary look, Xiao Chun explained:

"They won't do anything to you, or... are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid of a Magical Girls who has just activated her Shining Form."

Xiao Bai, taking a step forward to approach Xiao Chun.

One step, two steps...

Xiao Bai walked forward and finally stopped two meters away from Xiao Chun, which was already considered very close.

But Xiao Chun didn't seem satisfied yet. She slowly walked forward, getting closer to Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai's pupils contracted slightly, as if she wanted to back away, but in the end she stopped in place, letting Xiao Chun approach her.

Until--

He suddenly hugged her!

"!!!"

Xiao Bai's eyes widened instantly, and she grabbed Xiao Chun's shoulders with both hands, trying to break free from the other's embrace.

Xiao Chun suddenly said:

"If you don't want anyone to find out we're here, you'd better not do anything. I'm just going to hug you for a little while... that's all."

"..."

Why does this sentence structure sound so familiar?

Xiao Bai's body was a little stiff, but in the end she let Xiao Chun hold her.

It's just a hug; it won't cost you anything.

Xiao Chun was still holding Xiao Bai, her hands slipping under Xiao Bai's armpits, her face pressed against Xiao Bai's neck, when she suddenly took a deep breath, as if she were sniffing something.

Finally, he said, "Indeed, although the smells are slightly different, the fragrance is the same..."

"?"

What are you talking about? What smell??

Xiao Bai's heart was pounding uncontrollably; she had a feeling that Xiao Chun already knew something.

But to Xiao Bai's surprise, after only a short hug, Xiao Chun suddenly let go of her and smiled at her, saying:

"Alright, let's get down to business."

She smiled at Xiao Bai, as if nothing had happened.

But her smile was less distant and more friendly compared to before.

This made Xiao Bai's heart sink.

Because she knew.

Xiao Chun has likely already confirmed some things.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Speculation on the Shining Form

"You...!"

Xiao Bai stared intently into Xiao Chun's eyes, hoping to glean something from them.

What she really wanted to ask was, "Do you already know who I am?"

But since Xiao Chun didn't bring it up herself, Xiao Bai couldn't really say it out loud either.

What if I've misunderstood? What if Xiao Chun doesn't actually know my identity, and she's thinking about something else entirely? If I speak up, wouldn't I be committing adultery?

Therefore, after thinking it over, Xiao Bai decided to skip this topic for now and follow up with Xiao Chun's question:

"What is this 'serious business' you're talking about?"

"Didn't we talk about it before, about the 'Shining Form'?"

As Xiao Chun spoke, she asked Xiao Bai, "You don't mind if I activate the barrier, do you?"

"Random."

Xiao Bai continued speaking indifferently.

But seeing Xiaobai's indifferent Xiao Bai, Xiao Chun couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle for some reason before waving her hand to set up Magic Barrier.

A verdant barrier covered the forest, a projection similar to reality yet subtly different, encompassing the two of them.

Xiao Chun stood still, took a deep breath, and suddenly looked up at Xiao Bai and said:

Do you want to know what Shining Form is?

"Hmm? You know?"

"I didn't know before, but ever since the Sky Screen appeared, I've actually been thinking about the source of power for this form."

As Xiao Chun spoke, she placed her hands, one on top of the other, on her chest.

She closed her eyes, magic surging around her, one second... two seconds... one minute... two minutes...

When Xiao Chun's expression began to become unnatural and cold sweat began to pour out, that distinctive mark, that Shine light, finally emerged from her body.

When Xiao Chun opened her eyes again, her eyes, the same color as her own, shone with a vibrant green light, a light that was captivating and Shine like starlight.

This is Shining Form!

Xiao Chun's Shining Form!

However, compared to the first sudden opening, this opening...

"... It's taking so long." Xiao Bai frowned.

Xiao Chun nodded and said, "That's right, you should have noticed that the time it took to activate Shining Form this time... was very long."

"Why? Is it because I forced you yesterday..." Xiao Bai asked, her voice filled with guilt.

If it was truly because she pressured Xiao Chun too much yesterday that Xiao Chun's Shining Form was incomplete, then she is truly to blame.

But to Xiao Bai's relief, Xiao Chun immediately answered Xiao Bai question:

"No, it has nothing to do with that. Even without you, I will try to activate Shining Form in the next battle."

"... ah?"

"Didn't I tell you? Ever since the Sky Screen appeared, I've been investigating the origins of the Shining Form."

Xiao Chun explained, and said to Xiao Bai:

"Just as shown in the Sky Screen, Xiaoxia and I... are still somewhat unwilling to accept that our combat strength has not caught up with Xiao Qiu's, so... I have been thinking about how to improve my combat strength."

"Afterwards, I asked Xiao Qiu how she activated the Shining Form, and Xiao Qiu's answer..."

"According to her, it 'gushed out with a whoosh' or 'became incredibly powerful with a bang'... Hmm, hard to understand, right?"

Xiao Chun couldn't help but laugh out loud at this point, then said seriously, "But it is precisely because of this that I am certain that one of the conditions for activating the Shining Form is that one's emotions must be in a state of 'surging'."

"... surge?"

"Yes, for example, being persistent about certain things, feeling unwilling to accept certain situations, caring about certain people, or simply wanting to become stronger and defeat enemies. Any of these situations can actually meet the prerequisites for activating Shine."

"But it can't be that simple, right?"

"That's right. If it were that simple, the 'Shining Form' wouldn't be a legend."

Xiao Chun explained, and continued, "So the second condition is 'talent'; you must have the talent to activate the Shining Form."

"That's really... a very realistic condition."

"Not only that, it's also quite cruel, because..." Xiao Chun said with a complicated expression, "If you only have ordinary talent, then you will never be able to activate the Shining Form."

Xiao Chun's words startled Xiao Bai, who immediately asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Do you know how many Magical Girls Nino and her group of Magical Creatures have signed contracts with across countless worlds?

Xiao Chun raised this question.

Xiao Bai, of course, didn't know, so she shook her head.

Xiao Chun replied:

"The answer is 'over ten thousand,' including the Magical Girls from the Destruction Magical Creatures' Homeland, as well as the Magical Girls who have made contracts with them throughout history. The number is close to one hundred thousand. And do you know how many of these Magical Girls have activated their Shining Form?"