Sparring

The three magical girls argued for a long time, yet still could not settle on a satisfactory team name.

Given enough time, they could have chatted until dawn without stopping to rest.

But they still had important business today, so Qingyin interrupted them.

She postponed the matter of naming the team and told them to discuss it slowly later.

Introductions were only a small part of getting to know one another.

Knowing the strength of all three and making a proper assessment of their combat ability was far more important.

Misjudging their strength and sending them into a mission beyond their capabilities was the worst possible outcome.

In peaceful times, no one would, nor should anyone allow the new generation of magical girls to charge one after another into certain death.

An overwhelming gap in strength against an enemy, along with deep self-blame and helplessness, could shatter a magical girl's confidence and breed inner demons.

Magical girls were born from the desire to accomplish something despite being powerless.

If they still felt powerless after becoming magical girls, then their convictions were more likely to collapse when faced with extreme situations.

"I need to assess your combat ability," Qingyin said, pointing a finger at herself.

"You three will fight me."

Real combat experienced firsthand was more accurate and efficient than any assessment on paper.

The magical girls displayed different reactions.

"Yay! We get to spar with Sister Qingyin!" Feiyan reacted happily.

Yalin gave no response. She had never seen Qingyin demonstrate her strength, nor had she ever sparred with her.

In her understanding, practice fights between magical girls were common. She was used to them and found nothing surprising about it.

Only Yuyan was reluctant. She asked tentatively, "Do we really have to fight Sister Qingyin?"

When Qingyin had rescued them, she had punched straight through the ground.

That overwhelming strength remained etched in Yuyan's mind. This fight felt like an egg smashing against a rock.

If they just needed to demonstrate their strength, surely there were methods other than sparring? It would hurt.

"Being afraid before the battle even begins does not make a qualified magical girl," Youyue interjected, offering a simple reassurance.

"Don't worry. Your Sister Qingyin knows her limits."

Magical girls were products of the heart, and their power was as well.

When a magical girl lost confidence and stopped believing she could succeed, no miracles would happen.

Magical girls were miracles incarnate.

Fearing battle before it began, falling into despair, and resigning themselves to fate were among their greatest taboos.

"I can't wait any longer!" Feiyan immediately activated Magic Dress Fusion.

It fit Qingyin's label of her as a battle maniac perfectly.

All three magical girls had completed the beginner stage of magical girl training and could perform a basic Magic Dress Fusion.

Qingyin had already seen Feiyan's fused form, so she focused her attention on the other two magical girls.

Yalin's Magic Weapon was a cold weapon—a long spear. The color of her ears and tail changed, making her beastkin traits more obvious without sacrificing human beauty.

At least she did not become covered in thick fur from head to toe. Qingyin found excessive beastification a little hard to accept.

Compared to Yalin, Qingyin could not quite make sense of Yuyan's Magic Dress Fusion.

Her fused Magic Dress seemed to wrap her in a coat, hiding her inside like a rice dumpling.

Was it social anxiety?

Not only that, her hands were empty. She had no Magic Weapon.

It was fine. She would find out after the fight.

"Finished fusing your Magic Dresses?" Qingyin held her manifested Magic Weapon like a brick and casually weighed it in her hand.

"Begin."

The battle was not intense.

But it was exceptionally brutal.

"Ow."

"Oww."

"Ow, ow."

The three magical girls lay scattered across the ground, having completely lost their glamorous magical girl poise.

There was no need to worry whether sparring outdoors would damage the environment.

Qingyin effortlessly blocked every attack they launched, then crushed all three of them as easily as eating and drinking, without the slightest effort.

What she had not expected was that this magical girl squad had an unexpectedly solid composition.

Feiyan had her gunlance at long range, Yalin had her spear at medium range, and Yuyan handled close-range offense and defense with her fists.

They had long-, medium-, and close-range combat covered, with plenty of firepower. With some practice together, they would indeed make a good team.

Moreover, Yuyan's defense was enough to withstand one of Qingyin's casual slaps without being knocked down. She was fully qualified for the front line.

"It hurts, it hurts..." Yuyan curled up as she endured the pain in her body.

In this world, injuries were not rare. Rather, they were commonplace and something one experienced often.

Magical girls, even more so, had to temper themselves through injury.

That was why their bodies recovered faster, endured more punishment than ordinary people, and there were even healing-type magical girls.

But Qingyin's damned control over her strength left all three of them hurting badly enough to lose their combat ability, yet without any visible wounds. The bruises were so minor that if they waited a little longer before calling a doctor, they would heal completely.

"Sister Youyue, didn't you say Sister Qingyin would go easy on us?" Yuyan complained to Youyue in grievance.

"She already went easy on you." Youyue shirked responsibility and pointed at Feiyan.

"If you don't believe me, ask Feiyan."

Faced with Yuyan's watery eyes, Feiyan nodded.

"When she fought me before, it felt like she used even more strength than this time."

"So mean, so mean..." Yuyan muttered repeatedly.

"Bullying the young with age, auntie, auntie, bullying the young with age..." Yalin also kept venting her dissatisfaction.

Ignoring the three aggrieved magical girls, Qingyin turned to Youyue and took the initiative to ask, "Do you recommend anything for dinner in the Otherworld?"

"The food here isn't much different from outside, but if you want my recommendation, I'd say barbecue." Youyue said with a grin.

"The barbecue here is good?" Qingyin asked.

"No, I just feel like eating barbecue." Youyue pointed at herself without the slightest shame.

"Then it probably does not taste bad." Qingyin nodded slightly.

Qingyin understood the basic principle of giving someone a sweet date after a slap—using both kindness and severity, rewards and authority.

She had never eaten pork, but she had seen pigs run.

She walked over and crouched in front of the three magical girls. Trying her best to sound gentle, though she still looked cold and impassive, she said, "Don't resent me. You all did well. As a reward for the test, I'll treat you to barbecue."

The three magical girls each turned their heads away. Not one of them met her gaze.

Had she gone too far? Why were they so angry? Qingyin did not understand.

"Barbecue! Thank you, Sister Qingyin!" Yuyan was the first to get up.

"Thank you, Sister Qingyin!" *2

The other two magical girls rose at the same time. The three gathered together and walked ahead, seemingly trying to hide something.

They wanted to pretend they did not know something, yet their embarrassment made the act especially clumsy.

Qingyin slowly stood up and tilted her head toward Youyue.

After thinking for a moment, Youyue slowly approached, leaned close to Qingyin's ear, and laughed. "I think a beauty trap works better than a favor."

"Hm?" Qingyin did not understand.

"Although Qingyin is a highly capable executive, so you probably do not like wearing skirts in everyday life, you should still pay a little attention to that when you're in magical girl form." Youyue said, waggling her eyebrows.

"I understand." Qingyin immediately realized.

Did she really understand? Youyue instantly began to doubt it.