"Is this... a Heart Leaf?"
Larkspur could naturally distinguish the appearance of a Heart Gem at different Blossoming stages. She had seen Bai Jingxuan's Heart Gem a few days ago, and it had still been a Heart Bud then. In other words, her latest Blossoming had happened within the last couple of days.
"It only became like this today."
Bai Jingxuan nodded, undoubtedly confirming Larkspur's guess. "Although I felt like I was about to Blossom a few days ago, I still wanted to wait until I had truly done it before telling you, Teacher."
Her explanation made Xia Liang, standing beside her, nod in understanding as well.
"So that's why. No wonder you refused to come shopping with us this morning. You were hiding away and cramming at the last minute."
Having figured it out, a faintly affectionate smile appeared on her face. She reached out and rubbed Bai Jingxuan's cheeks. "You could have just told us. It would have been safer if we could watch over you while you Blossomed. Why were you being so impulsive?"
She was indeed somewhat surprised, but not overly shocked. After all, Bai Jingxuan had become Bud Rank five months ago. Xia Liang herself had gone from Bud Rank to Leaf Rank even faster than that.
Unfortunately, she was judging others by her own standards. She did not realize that for ordinary magical girls, progressing step by step from manifesting a Magic Armament to eventually becoming Leaf Rank was a process measured in years. Anyone who could rise from Bud Rank to Leaf Rank within a year could be called a rare genius, let alone someone like Xia Liang or Bai Jingxuan, who had reached Leaf Rank in five months. Few would believe it if they heard it.
Of course, this was partly due