Stepping into the Endgame

Is this a typo?

As Keke sat in the back of Sister Bingtang Tang's car, flipping through a book, she pointed somewhat strangely to a line of text, "Crumple the paperweight into a ball... is this a mistake?"

That's right.

"But a paperweight isn't paper, is it?"

"Jiang Si personally demonstrated it for us; it's possible," Bingtang said with a smile as she drove. "So you're right."

"It's alright now----"

Keke immediately became quiet.

After talking with the Incubators, she originally planned to go directly to the Magical Kingdom.

But Bingtang Tang Jie just suddenly showed up, it felt like her brother had called her over as soon as he left.

The Incubators immediately ran away, looking like a mouse in front of Sister Bingtang.

These Incubators seem to be quite afraid of the Azure Cloud Sect members, I don't know why.

A doll of Ms. Shion was hanging at the front of the car, swaying with the vehicle; it looked cute and novel.

With the air conditioning on, the car was filled with a faint fragrance. Keke n't quite place what it was; it smelled like flowers, but it was probably some kind of perfume, just too natural.

"This guy even showed you how to crumple a paperweight into a ball!"

"Yes."

As Bingtang drove, she looked at Shion's quiet and soft face in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty and affection.

Although the Blue Flower Magic Puppet are not bad, they ultimately lack the lifelike quality of a living person.

Keke Shion, and it wasn't just using the sect leader's original body; the aura of a living person was very obvious.

"Hehe, it's quite an experience to have Keke -sister control the sect leader----"

"I knew bodyswap was the right thing to do," Blue Flower whispered from the passenger seat next to him. "Lord Bingtang, how about we just take them both down together, brother and sister conquering them together, body swap and gender bender, monogamy----"

"Stop talking nonsense."

He gently pinched Blue Flower's cheek with one hand to quiet her down.

Yumo, who was sitting next to Keke, kept swaying her petite body with the car, bumping into Keke, and then she even lay down on Keke's lap.

Keke certainly knew Senior Dandelion; she had the most contact with Senior Dandelion before, but she hadn't run into him since going to the headquarters.

Now I feel quite rusty – even though we didn't talk much during our initial training.

As Yinlian's nemesis for most of her life, Azure Cloud's true disciple, who has never lost to Yinlian, is quite famous outside.

Don't let her seemingly timid appearance fool you; she always seems hesitant and timid.

However, when they encounter witches from the Witch Association, Calamity Beast, or even World Weavers, they are absolutely ruthless in their attacks.

In reality, within the Azure Cloud Sect, the other magical girls generally wouldn't kill indiscriminately if they held back.

Many witches from the Witch Association were defeated and thrown into the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau for witch trials. Especially now, the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau is practically a puppet organization of the Azure Cloud Sect, and most of the Azure Cloud Sect's true disciples would throw unsuspecting criminals to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau for processing.

After all, some crimes do not warrant death, and it is best to let the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau investigate and judge them themselves. The Azure Cloud Sect also encourages this approach.

To avoid adding burden to the Azure Cloud disciples.

Miss Dandelion was the only exception.

She never sent a bad person to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau.

They were all killed.

Especially when the World Weavers caused chaos, Dandelion not only killed them all, but also used strong winds to carry the numerous corpses of the World Weavers around.

So Keke was still a little scared sitting next to Miss Dandelion.

Within the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, Dandelion weren't exactly famous, but they were the subject of many terrifying rumors.

Dismemberment enthusiasts, serial killers, blood-stained Dandelion, Calamity Beast disguised as magical girls, terrorists who won't be tried even if they accidentally kill someone.

Yinlian went to great lengths to tell her all sorts of negative rumors Dandelion Dandelion, making them sound incredibly terrifying. In fact, some people in the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau even considered Dandelion to be more frightening than Shion.

Keke kept wondering if she would suddenly attack her.

After all, she had swapped Shion- sensei's body, and Dandelion respected Bingtang Sister and Shion- sensei the most.

Someone like me, an ordinary magical girl, would probably be very angry if I, a mere magical girl, stole Shion- sensei's body.

So when the Dandelion landed directly on her lap, Keke was startled and didn't dare to move.

Bingtang Tang Keke tell that Coco was nervous, so she comforted her, "Don't worry, we're just controlling Magic Puppet. Our real bodies are still in the Azure Cloud Sect. After all, we can't let anyone know that even our Azure Cloud Sect can't withstand the soul replacement from the Magical Kingdom."

Yumo curled up like a kitten, rubbing against Keke's thigh. Blue Flower turned around, lay on the passenger seat, and looked at Yumo, "Hey, hey, hey, that's enough! Don't drool on the Sect Master's thighs!"

"No, no way!"

"Damn it, I want some too! Lord Bingtang Tang, I want to go to the back and lie on the Sect Master's lap too!"

"You sit still and behave yourself."

"Eccentric----"

"Next time, the sect leader will personally compensate you."

"Yay!"

This time, it was Dandelion's turn to be dissatisfied. She complained that she was just tired and accidentally climbed on top of it, and so on.

Amidst the bickering and commotion, Keke finally relaxed.

Actually, Senior Dandelion is in a similar situation to when she was at the General Administration.

As long as she's not facing an enemy, she's quite cute, and she's about the same size as Shion- sensei.

"Uh, so everyone in the Azure Cloud Sect also had their bodies replaced?"

"I'm ashamed," Bingtang Tang said, shifting gears and slowing the car down. The conference building ahead was already close by. "Everyone has been replaced, but if word gets out, it will likely cause chaos. It's a major problem that even the Azure Cloud Sect can't handle, which will weaken everyone's and the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau's confidence and reliance on us, affecting the Azure Cloud Sect's future work. So we need to keep it a secret."

Keke can understand this pretty well.

After all, even within the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, there were some doubts about the Azure Cloud Sect.

The Azure Cloud Sect has only recently stepped into the limelight to manage the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau, and there have been many conflicts and misunderstandings before. It's impossible for the distrust and suspicion among the people to disappear completely in a short time.

However, with Shion present, the strength and achievements of the Azure Cloud Sect could suppress the vast majority of doubts.

If people knew that the Azure Cloud Sect couldn't actually handle the soul swapping in the Magical Kingdom, and if many people knew that the Magical Kingdom might be superior to the Azure Cloud Sect...

Chaos and infighting within the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau are probably inevitable.

The vehicle quietly drove over the speed bumps and entered the gate.

"Therefore, for this meeting, Keke needs to act even more convincingly. Of course, this isn't difficult, because Shion doesn't usually show much emotion. Just sit there with a straight face, don't move, and follow my lead. You don't need to answer any questions. If I ask you a question, just look at me, and I'll answer it for you."

It's super easy!

Keke was still somewhat skeptical of what her brother said.

After all, my brother might have some misunderstandings about Teacher Shion and the Azure Cloud Sect. He can't possibly stay at the Azure Cloud Sect every day, can he?

But now it seems that's Return to Truth.

She felt relieved.

Dandelion, lying on Coco's lap, had her face covered by her hood, so Coco couldn't actually see her features. However, Keke could vaguely sense that the girl's heart was beating very fast and was a little hot.

Do you have a high fever?

Just as she was starting to doubt, Dandelion suddenly grabbed her hand, startling Keke.

But he didn't do anything dangerous; instead, he took her hand and placed it on Dandelion's head.

It was as if it was actively urging her to touch her head.

Just like a kitten, so cute!

Keke as she wished, stroking her head and listening to her make comfortable purring sounds, and a wonderful sense of accomplishment and conquest rose in her heart.

That incredibly powerful Dandelion senior who everyone feared, who haunted Captain Yinlian, and whom she had never defeated.

A killer of villains who will make any enemy shed tears of blood.

They are so obedient and docile in my hands.

There are so many lovely and talented girls around Ms. Shion.

She was initially quite happy, but when Keke thought about this, she felt a little melancholy.

I am probably not special at all.

"Sister Bingtang."

Remembering her brother's request, Keke n't help but speak up.

Bingtang, addressed as Keke, smiled gently and happily, as soft as melting ice water. After all, it wasn't just Keke's name; Keke Shion's body to address her in this way added a unique flavor.

"Yes, I'm here, Keke, what is it?"

"My brother said he hopes I can kill Shion- sensei. If I can't kill Shion, he'll never come home again."

Keke was still very nervous when she said those words.

She thought everyone would suddenly get excited, or at least react in some way.

But in the end, nothing happened.

Senior Dandelion was still lying on her thigh, rubbing against her thigh, his face almost touching her lower abdomen. His breathing made Keke feel a little itchy, and she kept contracting her abdomen.

Blue Flower was still biting the leather of the passenger seat with envy, jealousy, and hatred, muttering things that Keke, like "Those who sneak away first are all losers, you're so smug----"

Bingtang Tang Jie's face still held a faint smile, as if she had heard something completely ordinary.

This caused all of Keke's mental preparations to fall flat.

Does nobody care?

"Of course I care," Bingtang retorted, then asked, "But what does Keke herself think?"

"I... of course I wouldn't want to kill Ms. Shion."

"Yes, we all think Keke would think that way, and," Bingtang smiled, "The Sect Master probably agrees too, otherwise Jiang Si wouldn't have dared to defy Shion Master Ziyuan and say such a thing."

Keke was stunned; she really hadn't expected that Ms. Shion might have agreed to this.

That's true. For Shion- sensei, there's no possibility of her being killed by herself, so there's absolutely no need to worry.

Dandelion suddenly bumped her forehead against her lower abdomen, then quickly curled up and pulled her head back. "Sorry, it was an accident—"

Keke thought she did it on purpose.

In the end, all he could do was press down on Dandelion's forehead, "But, but, I don't want to be separated from my brother either."

It seems like this has been going on for a while now.

It seems like this is always how I push myself to move forward.

Keke was actually a little unhappy.

She constantly uses the threat of breaking up to pressure herself.

The same thing happened a few days ago with Black Keke, the same thing happened a few days before going to Chongxu, the same thing happened a few days before marrying the Prince, the same thing happened a few days before that when I secretly went to the Mental Image Remnants with Teacher Shion, and the same thing happened a few years ago after my parents were buried...

Although she really depends on her older brother and doesn't want to be separated from him, she always uses this method, which is like threatening him by exploiting his weakness.

My brother really doesn't care about living with me; he just uses me as a tool.

I couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

If this continues, she really will hold a grudge.

Fun fact: Keke wasn't actually that magnanimous!

"Hmm, although Jiang Si was very strict, perhaps he just hopes you can surpass Shion Master Ziyuan?"

"I can't do it----"

"That's a huge taboo! You absolutely mustn't say it out loud."

Blue Flower immediately spoke up to remind her, "Jiang Si should hate hearing that the most."

Dandelion nodded again, "Yes, we must always hold onto the spirit of surpassing everything, of being invincible."

"Whether you can surpass it or not is something you can't force. Everyone has their own limits, just like with favorability ratings; some people just can't reach that level."

"Yes, but if this leads to the conclusion that it's absolutely impossible, that's absolutely unacceptable!"

"Just because there's a limit to how much affection you can gain, does that mean you shouldn't even try to win her over? That's a terrible mindset!"

If you don't even dare to think about it, then there's absolutely no possibility of it happening.

1

Coco listened to Blue Flower and Dandelion's conversation, each saying a sentence, Keke was lost in thought for a long time before muttering to herself, "These two have a really good relationship."

But that's more or less understandable.

She took a deep breath, and her expression finally became serious.

"I understand. I will try my best and believe that I can surpass Ms. Shion."

Actually, Keke occasionally had such thoughts in her mind.

He thought he might be able to catch up with Shion- sensei, or even surpass Shion, and surprise Shion.

However, she herself felt it was unrealistic and never dared to say it out loud.

But now, encouraged by the true disciples of Azure Cloud, she immediately brought up this idea and no longer felt embarrassed.

Because, this is probably what my brother was hoping for, right?

Bingtang Tang nodded with satisfaction, "That expression is great, it really looks like the sect leader's."

Both Dandelion and Blue Flower Porcelain looked at Keke's face and said, "They really do look alike."

"Now, I don't have to worry about being exposed—"

Keke touched her face, looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror, and relaxed.

Then Bing Bingtang asked, "But if we don't kill Sect Master Shion, Jiang Si won't come back to see you. What should we do? Do you have any ideas?"

The car stopped in the parking lot. Outside the spacious courtyard, some reporters could be seen crowding around Golden Tea from the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau as she headed into the building.

Keke was pulled out of the car by Senior Dandelion. She looked at the building, listened to the wind, and took a deep breath.

"I won't kill Shion- sensei, but I will defeat Shion- sensei, defeat Shion- sensei, and then bring my brother back. If he doesn't want to, I'll beat him until he does."

As she spoke, Keke suddenly laughed with ease.

"Then it's decided!"

After all, that's how my older brother has always taught me.

He'll be happy if I do this, won't he?

As Keke, now completely open-minded, walked towards the conference building with everyone from the Azure Cloud Sect, a group of reporters quickly surrounded them.

"How does the Azure Cloud Sect view the recent predicament of magical girls?"

"Please wait a moment."

"Has the Azure Cloud Sect found a solution for the soul swapping issue?"

Please wait patiently for the press conference----

"Are the recent rumors about Jiang Si's romantic relationships with every girl in the Azure Cloud Sect true?"

Just as Bingtang Tang was politely declining all questions, only the comment from a gossip reporter made her stop in her tracks.

Keke tried her best to keep a straight face and didn't dare to speak, afraid of giving herself away.

Bingtang tossed a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a gentle smile, "It's absolutely true. There's a huge fight within the Azure Cloud Sect over who gets to date Jiang Si first."

Jiang Si stopped in front of the World Tree, looking at the withered leaves.

That's pretty much what Black Keke said.

If things continue like this, not only the Beihai, but the entire world will likely face its inevitable end.

Keke the savior specially chosen by the World Tree.

When Jiang Si thought of this, she immediately thought of Black Keke.

A cycle of reincarnation that keeps restarting.

From the very beginning, Jiang Si had doubts about where Black Keke's abilities came from.

The ability to continuously reincarnate in this world is clearly not something that Black Keke awakened on her own.

After all, if such a possibility really existed, wouldn't it make him seem like he had failed in his teaching if his own Keke hadn't developed that ability? That's absolutely impossible; he had already developed Keke to the fullest extent.

If someone had such potential, Jiang Si couldn't possibly have missed it.

The fact that he didn't discover it proves that Keke herself didn't possess such an ability; it was acquired later.

And the ability to reincarnate within the world----

It obviously couldn't have come from anywhere else except the World Tree.

The Beast of the End is eternally proven, existing simultaneously in the past, present, and future, to the point that it cannot reincarnate, because it exists and is unique at any given moment.

Moreover, such frequent cycles are probably impossible to achieve if the World Tree does not agree.

Although Jiang Si could only see a corner of the World Tree, this withered and decaying corner of the World Tree still made him feel its immense power.

The root of this world, the Qidian of everything, and also the End Point of everything.

Even Jiang Si, standing in front of this corner of the World Tree, felt her own insignificance.

This is probably what is known as the Heavenly Dao in the Immortal Realm of cultivation.

Jiang Si felt no fear, only a surge of excitement.

To unite numerous witches, magical girls, and those remnant souls to defeat the Heavenly Dao and destroy the World Tree —that is my mission.

Jiang Si strode forward, intending to approach the World Tree directly and see what it looked like inside.

Jiang Si.

However, a call made him stop in his tracks.

Jiang Si turned his head and saw an Incubators wagging its tail, staring at him seriously. "Or rather, buddy, you can't go any further."

After a moment of silence, most of the enthusiasm on her face dissipated, and Jiang Si, disappointed, stared at it silently for a long time.

This sound, this movement, even the way the person was addressed.

Without a doubt.

She even looked like this before, having seen it together with Black Keke.

"You are the one. Why are you here?"

"Of course I'm worried about my son."

The Incubators swayed and blocked his way. The ancient World Tree trembled slightly, and some branches kept wrapping around the Incubators.

Subsequently, the Incubators gradually transformed into the appearance of the father.

"If we go any further, not only will your son and you be in danger, but your sister and others will also suffer. Brother, what exactly are you trying to do?"

They changed the way they addressed each other several times, but it was still pretty much the same as before.

Jiang Si looked at the father in front of her.

Did the World Tree foresee this and prepare the father in advance, or was it simply good luck?

unknown.

But there's one thing: the person in front of me isn't just my father.

More importantly, he was not under control.

Jiang Si could naturally distinguish this as well. The person he was talking to was his father himself, who had not been brainwashed, controlled, or was not part of the collective consciousness of the Incubators.

Jiang Si didn't rush to answer her father's question, but instead asked, "Where's Mom?"

"Your mother is in the Magical Kingdom. They're currently at the Magical Kingdom, and she has to go help."

The boy simply sat down on the thick old tree root. "National War?"

"There are three countries in the Magical Kingdom, and they hold regular wars. The victor steals the fate of the loser's kingdom. In short, our country has lost many times, and it's about to be taken away—"

What national destiny?

"So when the Magical Kingdom opened its gates this time and brought in new magical girls, a bunch of people rushed to snatch them up, hoping to find suitable newcomers to fight in our place and win the national war—"

Jiang Si turned her gaze to Keke on the other side. Sure enough, the Incubators were indeed taking them to some national arena.

"Anyway, your mother is still busy over there, so she can't come over. I had to come and chat with you myself. It's easier for us to talk. Jiang Si, you want to become stronger and become the one you always talked about, the one who will dominate all ages, right?"

He had told his father from a young age what he was working so hard for.

We must continue to grow stronger, continue to strive, and continue to move forward.

All for that one goal.

"But I've always been curious, son, you want to rule the world unto all ages, but what will you do after that? Don't you have any other motives?"

Why would there be other motives?

The father burst into laughter, "Oh, you brat! I thought you were going to say it was to resurrect us and give your father a better life!"

"They're already dead."

"Tch." He couldn't help but roll his eyes, but in the end, his father chuckled. "I knew you'd say that, you brat. Your reason for being able to rule for eternity is just that—to rule for eternity. You don't care about anything else at all."

"After achieving absolute dominance for all time, there will be no regrets."

"Didn't you ever think about failure?"

"Failure?" Jiang Si said calmly. "Of course I never thought about it."

"Shouldn't you consider that if you fail, all those regrets will be irreparable?"

"If we fail, we'll perish," Jiang Si interrupted her father. "I'll be nothing more than a handful of dust; I have no regrets."

Jiang's father was speechless.

He originally meant to say that after he and your mother died, you didn't attend the funeral and were so heartless to Keke, which they all knew.

He only thought about becoming the sole ruler of all time and making amends for all of this.

What if it doesn't work? Wouldn't everything be over?

Unexpectedly, for his own son, failure meant he himself was nothing more than a handful of dust.

He also understood Jiang Si's thoughts.

If they fail, Jiang Si will only die a little later; there will be no difference, and there's nothing to regret.

For Jiang Si, fame during her lifetime and after her death were probably irrelevant.

After all, if she failed, Jiang Si would deny everything about herself.

For him, there was no way out, and he didn't even think about what would happen if he failed.

Faced with his son like this, he felt a pang of emotion and heartache. "Is it a problem with our parenting?"

"Of course not."

Jiang's father looked at him with some anticipation, thinking that his son had finally grown up.

They've learned how to comfort people.

"Education is a prerequisite for having received any education," Jiang Si said matter-of-factly. "When have you ever educated me?"

"Damn it, I shouldn't have had any expectations of you in the first place. It's infuriating to hear, but I can't argue with it."

"As for you, it's my fault for not raising you properly."

Jiang's father immediately slapped the tree root under his buttocks, "You brat, you want to drive your father to his death!"

Is there a problem?

After sulking for a while, Jiang's father finally sighed, "No problem, you're my father."

"In the past, I would just listen to it as a joke. Although I thought it wasn't a bad thing for you to have a big dream, I never thought that one day you would actually be able to achieve it."

Jiang's father looked up at the enormous World Tree.

"Jiang Si, more than a son, I feel like you're my good buddy, my brother, and sometimes even more like an elder. But ultimately, you are my son, so this time I want to give you a command in the name of your father."

Jiang Si didn't say anything, she just looked at him calmly.

"Give it up, son. Don't try to dominate everything. This is for your own good."

Withered leaves fall, and the myriad worlds turn into grayish-white Remnants.

"They're already dead."

Jiang Si stood up calmly and indifferently, "Dead men shouldn't speak."

You'll regret it.

"The Immortal Venerable regrets, but I do not—"

"Can you please stop talking like that?"

Jiang's father's tone suddenly turned angry as he interrupted Jiang Si, "Stop talking like that! Why do you keep imitating others, imitating online novels, imitating your parents? What's so interesting about that? If you don't know how to communicate, start learning from the beginning and learn to communicate with others in your own way!"

Don't always imitate others or use their words to answer questions! If you don't know how, I can teach you. No matter how ugly, stupid, or ridiculous it may be, what people want to see is your own way of expressing yourself. As long as it's your own way of expressing yourself, that's fine!

Jiang Si listened quietly to her father until he calmed down. "Why is imitating others not one's own way of expression?"

He looked at the other person and said, "Isn't what you teach imitation? Isn't your way of communicating also imitation? Did you spring from a stone and learn to communicate on your own?"

After the other party was completely speechless, he slowly said, "Also, don't use my father's body to teach me a lesson, you stray dog."

Jiang's father gradually reverted to his Incubators form, shrugged, "Alright, alright, it really doesn't work. Even just switching bodies midway is detected in a second. It's too difficult. Hello Jiang Si, I am the manager of the cluster consciousness. You can call me Alpha."

Jiang Si grabbed the Incubators's head and, expressionless, slowly squeezed it.

"Your father has simply returned to the collective consciousness. Don't worry, he's not in any danger, nor will he disappear. We don't intend to be your enemy; we're just here to negotiate."

The consciousness group known as Alpha said with difficulty, "We can help you achieve your goal of unifying the ages, and all you need to do is help us reclaim the world's origin and continue the operation of the World Tree, how about that?"

Jiang Si released her grip.

The Incubators then turned its head and smiled, "Sign Contract with us and achieve eternal dominance!"