Nerfing Shion twice

"Holy crap, why is she here?!"

Even with all the precautions taken, Jiegeng almost didn't make it through when the explosion lit up the sky.

Dragging Qingluan and Iris along, Iris kept yelling, "Where's your Absolute Defense? Why didn't you activate it after all this time!"

"It's already open."

"Ah?"

"Otherwise, how do you think we survived—"

Jiegeng coughed, and it felt like her internal organs were on fire.

When coughing, hot, dry breath is constantly exhaled from the mouth.

Even dried-up blood.

Twelve-Colored Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus.

In terms of power, it's somewhat beyond specifications.

I never imagined that at a time like this, my master would still have time to create a twelve-colored instant-exploding lotus for her.

Could it be that Master thinks extremely highly of me?

Iris, who was being held by Jiegeng, suddenly cried out, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you laughing at!"

"I was just thinking about happy things."

"You're a monster! Your Absolute Defense has been breached!"

"Not surprising," Jiegeng said with a faint smile. "Master has already broken through it before."

The Iris fell silent instantly. "That's Absolute Defense against causality—"

Jiegeng's magic has two uses.

One type is for offense, with arrows that are guaranteed to hit. Most of the magic she developed was designed around the effects of arrows.

Since we don't need to consider accuracy, we only need to consider the additional effects after a hit: Purification, Damage Over Time, Tracking, Two-Hit Kill, Bite of the Dust, Frame Drop/Packet Loss, NetEase Cloud Music Depression Time, Truth or Dare Explosion, Passive Response, Binding.

Automatic clothing change, 3000 times increased sensitivity, automatic lap pillow, hypnosis, servant transformation, transparency, memory erasure----

The second use is for defense.

Once Jiegeng's magic has set up a defense, it is theoretically impossible to break through.

Because it must be blocked first before it can unfold.

It is still an effect of causality.

However, it's not so effective when facing a sect leader. After all, forcibly breaking through the law of causality with power and magic is something a sect leader can do with ease.

However, from the very beginning, Jiegeng never intended to use this move to block the Twelve-Colored Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus.

Just keep the distance.

The swords above unfolded in concentric circles, locking onto Jiegeng's position. Almost every sword possessed a power that terrified Iris and Qingluan.

Those countless longswords, like a sky full of stars, even appearing cheap, each one representing the entire life of countless magical girls.

"Didn't you say that Shion can no longer use magic?!"

Under Iris's questioning, Jiegeng shrugged, "How should I know? You saw that the Shion didn't need magic anymore, which means the Yarrow was successful, but it's normal for problems to arise."

Two or three more swords rained down. Jiegeng was about to draw her bow when the longsword suddenly accelerated in mid-air!

Jiegeng's pupils contracted slightly.

The arrow and the longsword collided at extremely close range, and the explosion knocked three more people off their feet.

[Star Pattern Descent: Wings of Foam.]

The three of them fell to the ground and with a "thud," they turned into foam. Enveloped in the foam, they floated away lightly in the impact.

Qingluan put away the card, glancing at Shion who wasn't in a hurry to catch up, and recalled, "Although my memory of transforming into Shion is a bit blurry, I do remember that at a certain moment, all the magic in my body was sealed, and I couldn't use any of it—"

"That means it's working."

Amidst the torrential rain of swords, Jiegeng took a deep breath and drew her longbow to its fullest extent once more.

This time, however, the dozens of arrows from the longbow were larger than her!

Arrow Thirteen!

With a loud shout, dozens of arrows shot out of the air, splitting into pieces in mid-air. In a short while, their number was comparable to the rain of swords in the sky!

Both Qingluan and Iris were dumbfounded. Iris immediately clapped her hands, "Amazing, Jiegeng! You're actually on par with your master!"

Qingluan exclaimed in surprise, "I thought it would be defeated in one move—"

"I'm not that bad! Besides, this is an assessment. My master won't go all out from the start, otherwise how will I defend myself?"

"How come you've already had to defend your thesis?!"

"After all, this is graduation."

Jiegeng caught her breath, put away her longbow, and then pulled the two of them along, "Let's go!"

Qingluan, clutching the Iris of Iris, followed closely behind Jiegeng: "Can we really escape by running around like this?"

"There's no escaping it." Jiegeng's fighting spirit grew stronger. "And there's no need to escape!"

Iris suddenly panicked. "Damn it, you don't need to! We have to escape!"

"Iris."

Jiegeng glanced at her. "I might need your help."

"Hey!" Qingluan immediately waved Iris's severed arm, "Didn't you see she's lost an arm? And in such a short time, don't expect Iris to be able to revert to her transformation!"

"It's alright," Iris reassured Qingluan. "So what do you need me to do?"

"Don't die."

"Don't talk nonsense at a time like this!"

Boom!

Amidst the ripples of sword energy, the largest flower bloomed.

When Qingluan looked up, she thought she was seeing things.

Amidst the layers upon layers of sword energy, a beam of light suddenly appeared. It wasn't until the moment it landed that it was discovered to be a sword.

A colossal sword of unbelievable size, capable of cleaving even the Milky Way in two!

"How can we stop them!"

Iris immediately asked Jiegeng, "This is beyond the syllabus, isn't it? Don't your teachers know not to involve irrelevant people in the exam?"

"Now that you're here, you're all examinees. Perhaps in the sect leader's eyes, you possess a prestige no less than that of a true disciple—and since you are a true disciple, you shouldn't be timid, but rather forge ahead without hesitation!"

Qingluan, staring at the greatsword that was almost upon her, could only ask urgently, "So how do we stop this sword—"

Jiegeng shook her head. "I don't know."

Iris: "I didn't know you were still pretending!"

Seeing that it was too late to escape, Qingluan and Iris couldn't help but close their eyes.

We're doomed.

The sword strike, almost impossible to avoid, carrying the force to cleave the universe, crashed down upon us!

Then a fierce wind howled, and the faces of Qingluan and Iris were distorted by the wind. The sharpness of the sword brought a stinging pain to their eyelids, but for a long time, the sword did not fall!

Both of them cautiously peeked out with one eye, afraid that if they made any sudden movements, the greatsword would fall and smash them to pieces.

Upon seeing this, the two suddenly became bolder.

The greatsword was now tightly bound by a dense array of chains, which looked extremely taut and were even sparking as they rubbed against the blade.

The chain ended at a strange plain.

Iris glanced over instinctively, then jumped in shock, "Holy crap, so many Keke corpses! Where am I? Is Keke alright?"

"Can't you worry about yourself first?" Qingluan said helplessly, tugging at her friend who was trying to walk over. "Don't run around!"

Don't worry, Keke is fine.

Jiegeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. "These are all her old corpses. It's too complicated to explain, so you'd better not ask what happened. I'm extremely irritable and annoyed right now, and if you ask, I'm afraid I might lose my temper and shoot you both with an arrow."

The Qingluan and the Iris immediately covered each other's mouths.

Although they wanted to say that they had enough time to talk so much nonsense and explain everything clearly, the person in front of them was their only support at the moment, Qingluan and Iris dared not offend him.

High above, atop the giant sword bound by chains, Shion slowly descended, standing on the hilt. Gazing at the chains, she remained calm and observed, her leisurely demeanor hardly suggesting she was there to kill.

Qingluan and Iris finally believed that Jiegeng was right, or that Shion's previous words were not a lie.

This is just a test.

Although it was almost the end of the world, although everything was in ruins and countless people died.

But for the Azure Cloud Sect, at least for the true disciples and Shion, this was merely a minor sect graduation exam.

The chains binding the giant sword began to crack inch by inch, but Shion showed no intention of getting off.

He simply pressed down on the greatsword once more.

Jiegeng whispered again, "Remember, don't die."

Neither Iris nor Qingluan dared to speak, but they nervously stared at the giant sword above. Iris took the opportunity to nod.

Both girls were startled when the chains snapped and the greatsword fell a section of its length.

After all, there was nowhere to hide here; if the giant sword fell, it would mean certain death.

"If you're so capable, wait until I can transform, Shion! So you're really afraid of me! Afraid of my transformation, huh? You're going to take advantage of my inability to transform and try to kill me! You're so despicable! I really misjudged you, Shion! You're not worthy of being my rival!"

Even Jiegeng, who had been on Iris, couldn't stay serious after Iris's shout.

But she immediately realized that her words were effective.

Because Shion did pause for a moment, Ziguang glanced at Qingluan and Iris.

It only lasted for a fleeting moment.

There's absolutely no reason to listen to Iris and stop to wait for her transformation!

Iris immediately retorted confidently, "Look, I told Shion she was afraid of me, and you all said my mother flew away. See, isn't she afraid of me? Even when I humiliated her, she didn't dare wait for me to transform—"

"Allow the mother Iris to return."

While they were still muttering to themselves, the greatsword above snapped all the chains and crashed down!

Iris and Qingluan immediately hugged each other and squatted down.

Jiegeng breathed a sigh of relief, abandoned her defense, and stood up straight, looking at her master at the very top of the greatsword.

"Welcome, Master. Let's begin the assessment here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the garden at the End the road was illuminated by a gray-white magical power!

A huge and complex formation unfolded, resembling the Bagua formation, but with many different patterns added.

The way the magic flowed was unfamiliar to Shion.

The next second, the greatsword beneath Shion's feet shattered with a loud "bang"!

Shion a casual grab, thousands of longswords gathered in her hand. Just as she was about to unleash another strike, the gathered swords exploded once more!

Iron filings danced in the air. Shion tilted her head slightly, gazing at the lit magic circle. All the sword energy disintegrated and shattered under the illumination of this magic circle, never to reassemble.

"I've been thinking about this on the way. I don't think the Yarrow's ability will fail. After encountering your sword energy a few times, Master, I'm even more certain."

Jiegeng smiled slightly and gestured with one hand, "Master, you really can't use magic anymore, can you? The crudeness and power of this sword energy are far inferior to what you usually unleash."

The Qingluan and the Iris stared at each other in bewilderment.

What the hell? This is nothing like what he usually does. It means he can summon a sword array that covers the entire universe without even using his full strength, and he can slice the entire universe in half with a casual sword strike.

If you used your usual sword energy, wouldn't you be flying into the sky?

What else is there to say? Just order it!

Jiegeng hadn't expected her words to undermine Qingluan and Iris's confidence. She simply looked at her master and continued, "Then we must consider, if Master can't use magic, what kind of magic did he use to cast it—"

Shion raised her hand and slapped down with her palm.

The purple palm that covered the entire universe was about to press down when it suddenly disintegrated in mid-air!

"Once we know what magic you used, it'll be simple."

The surface of the Void Mirror was covered with a light grayish-white layer. Shion glanced again at the array engraved on the Land of the End.

Shion took a step forward, her magic pressing down on Jiegeng, rendering her unable to move. Holding the Void Mirror, she intended to break the seal.

"Although the true disciples don't like to team up, it happens occasionally."

Jiegeng was pressed down to her knees, barely managing to lift her head to look at her master, "There will also be some close disciples who will temporarily cooperate."

Just as Shion took a step forward, the Void Mirror in her hand suddenly cracked!

Familiar Shion kept appearing on it.

That was the Sanskrit she had once taught Tiana.

Throughout the entire lineage, only Tiana seriously studied this thing and developed many interesting abilities.

One of the abilities that left a deep impression on Shion was...

It undermines the very concept of a weapon.

As Tiana stepped into the trap, her magic circle had already locked onto the Void Mirror.

The Void Mirror in her hand shattered instantly, its terrifying power leaving a thin, bloody gash on Shion's cheek.

Shion took a deep breath while holding the broken Void Mirror.

I haven't even had a chance to warm it up yet----

Jiegeng felt a release and immediately stepped back.

The aura emanating from Master had become even more terrifying, faintly radiating genuine killing intent!

In fact, no magic is needed. Shion only needs to carefully shape her magic into the shape of a weapon and throw it out, and it will be a sure kill for anyone!

"Iris!" Jiegeng immediately shouted at Iris, "Didn't you say you wanted to be a little magical girl since it's the end of the world? Here you go!"

"What?! You've finally figured out what magical girls are all about?!"

Iris was immediately excited, "How do we do it?"

"A magical girl's unique combination attack: Hold my hand!"

"Okay!"

Qingluan watched as Iris grasped Jiegeng's hand, and magical resonance began to emanate from both of them. Iris, who was originally unable to transform, suddenly began to glow.

He then immediately asked, "And what about me? And what about me?"

"You just watch from the side," Jiegeng said casually.

Immediately afterward, Iris looked up at Shion and saw that Shion had already locked onto them and was preparing to unleash her magic. Iris exclaimed with boundless confidence, "Shion, accept the miraculous strike of the strongest Iris and the bond between your companions—"

Before she could finish speaking, Jiegeng draped the Iris over her bow, "Prepare to fire the Human Cannon!"

"?"

Iris suddenly realized she couldn't move.

"Human Cannon, Level One Ready-"

"Human Cannon, Level Two Ready"

"Human Cannon, fire!!"

Jiegeng finished chanting at lightning speed, and only then did Qingluan react. However, Jiegeng had already released the bowstring!

"I'll throw your Iris!"

He whispered to himself, "Don't die!"

The Iris burst forth!

"Damn it, what you're saying has absolutely nothing to do with what you're doing! Wait, wait, wait! How am I not going to die?!"

With its arm severed, Iris could only struggle helplessly in the air like a fish out of water, heading straight for Shion's magical spear!

Qingluan was also startled and was about to fly after her, but was firmly held down by Jiegeng, "Don't get in the way!"

The Iris over there was already on the verge of death, yet it still burst into laughter.

"Shameless as it may be, it suits me just the way it is! Shion, your strictest mother has arrived!"

"All Phenomena," though there was no Miracle Seed, Iris was already emitting a dazzling blue light, "Weightlessness!"

Before Qingluan could even rejoice at her friend's recovery and transformation, she heard Jiegeng behind her click her tongue, "Tsk, not this!"

She was slightly curious, but before she could react, Iris had already been pierced through the heart by Shion's magical spear!

The invincibility frames during the transformation seem to completely disappear!

"Iris!"

Qingluan tried to rush over like a madwoman, but was held down firmly by Jiegeng. "Wait a little longer!"

Shion strolled past Iris, heading towards Jiegeng.

The Iris, which had been pinned to the ground, suddenly sprang up and grabbed Shion's wrist.

"I'm not dead yet!"

With a backhand slash, Shion severed Iris's newly recovered right hand once more, intending to decapitate her this time.

But her opponent grabbed her long sword with his other hand.

Shion turned to the side, glancing at Iris, Iris was gripping a long sword, her hand dripping with blood, yet she smiled sassily, "I told you, you should be afraid of me, Shion. Those who do bad things should be afraid of magical girls!"

The blood on Iris's hand gradually turned milky white.

Immediately afterwards, the magical longsword in Shion's hand began to melt little by little, and the milky white power was even continuously seeping into her magical armor, interfering with the flow of her magic.

She was all too familiar with this power, and gazed into the depths of the Land of the End.

However, no sound came from inside, as if the giant beast had fallen into a deep sleep.

However, the power continued to dissipate and flow into the Iris's body.

"Regret making me your enemy, Shion! This is the strongest magical girl's strongest attack!"

A punch carrying immense force slammed into Shion's body.

It was as if the Beast of the End had struck personally, causing Shion to take a step back, and even blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Iris herself was stunned for a moment, glancing at her fist. Although the magic had inexplicably turned milky white, it didn't matter to Iris. After a brief pause, she burst into laughter.

"Haha! I told you I always let you have your way. Now I'm really angry, Shion. Prepare to face the wrath of Iris, haha----"

Qingluan stared in disbelief, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Jiegeng simply gazed excitedly at the results, "That's right, just like that—"

However, before she could finish speaking, Iris's laughter abruptly stopped.

Iris, whose body was covered in milky white power, was grabbed by the neck by Shion, and purple magic power burned wildly on Iris's magical armor.

The milky-white power was gradually released through combustion.

Then, Shion casually tossed it into the depths of the Land of the End.

"Since you like it so much, I'll give it to you."

"The Iris isn't yours!"

Qingluan immediately turned and chased after the depths of the Land of the End, trying her best to drag her unconscious friend out.

However, Shion had lost interest in them as well.

Because the Jiegeng has already drawn its bow to its fullest extent.

This time, the bow no longer possesses harmless magic.

The milky-white power, which began to continuously generate eyeballs, gathered on the longbow and transformed into an arrow that even Shion sensed was in danger.

"Although many people don't know this news, Master, I know that you fought the Beast of the End for a long time, and that the Beast of the End could break your defenses."

Shion turned her head to look at her. The arrow, which was related to cause and effect, was hit first and then shot. Even for her, it was not so easy to catch.

but.

Just as Jiegeng released the bowstring, Shion didn't move at all, yet the arrow grazed past Shion!

The bowstring hummed, making Jiegeng's head buzz as well. Behind Shion, the arrow exploded into a huge firework, and the wind howled, making Shion's dress flutter wildly.

Even with just a breath of magic, Shion's magical armor began to fluctuate unpredictably.

If it hits head-on, even if it doesn't inflict a fatal wound, it will definitely not be pleasant—but the problem is...

Why did I miss?

"I told you before, Jiegeng."

Shion slowly took out a pitch-black jar from the space beside her. "You rely too much on magic. Practice your aim more, or you'll end up like this."

Even if you stand still, you can't hit the target.

"So that's how it is, the magic was sealed----"

Jiegeng finally realized what was happening, then sighed and sat down. "Master is too shameless."

"This is part of strength."

Shion tossed the jar back into her private space, then reached out to grab Jiegeng's forehead again. Jiegeng didn't resist, but just kept rambling on, "Although Master can do everything and can't hide anything from you, he's not perfect. For example, Master's memory isn't good. Most importantly, Master doesn't really pay attention to those he doesn't care about."

Jiegeng sighed, sounding somewhat sad, "Although this plan was designed to exploit your weakness from the beginning, it still makes me incredibly sad that it actually came true. It proves that you really didn't look at me carefully, Master, and you didn't remember my face at all, so of course you wouldn't recognize me."

After a pause, Shion finally realized what was happening. "Tiana?"

"Too slow!" Jiegeng, hands on her hips, seemingly annoyed. "It's pointless to recognize them so late!"

Shion turned her head sharply, only to see an arrow already right in front of her!

"I was the one who approached Iris from the very beginning, because Jiegeng is just too stupid. There's no way she could cooperate with Iris and Qingluan. Not changing her personality would be too crude and cruel, but changing her personality wouldn't be able to hide the aura of the Calamity Beast, so I had to come in person."

Just as Shion reached out to grab the arrow, her vision suddenly blurred.

In an instant, ice covered her entire body!

Absolute Zero.

It was almost indistinguishable from what Bingtang himself had performed.

The magic I gleaned from the Bingtang Mental Image Space is almost identical to time stop!

The movement slowed by only a moment, and the arrow pierced precisely through the pupil!

The arrow vanished swiftly after entering Shion's pupil.

A milky-white power surged and roared wildly through Shion's body!

"The probability of success for this plan is zero percent. However, as Master has said, nothing in this world is absolutely impossible, so even a zero percent chance is worth a try."

Tiana, panting, stood up, leaning on a nearby rock for support.

In the distance, the Jiegeng had already drawn its bow and arrows again.

The demonic power of the Iris Beast of the End was completely extracted from Iris and then gathered on Jiegeng's bow and arrow. She stood on the sun, golden and radiant, like Hou Yi.

"Because it was rather rushed, the plan wasn't very well-developed, and many parts were quite rough. In the past, I would never have taken the risk, but thanks to my mentor, I also overcame my habit of only acting when the success rate was extremely high. So this time, although the plan was somewhat unsightly and full of loopholes, it still managed to succeed, albeit barely."

The blonde, blue-eyed girl smiled smugly as she looked at the Freeze purple-clad girl.

More arrows fell from the distance!

"How is it, Master? Are you satisfied?"

Shion did not respond to her; instead, a dark Grief Seed bloomed in her hand.

"Heaven and earth are ruthless."

The pitch-black magic devoured the milky-white magic within her body. The Filthy Magic Power of the same origin no longer showed any rejection; instead, it gradually began to merge and be controlled by Shion!

The ice all over his body cracked and melted little by little.

"Let my Demonic Blood Stains the Azure Sky."

The pitch-black magic merged with the milky white, turning into gray-white, instantly staining the entire Land of the End. The magic array shattered, the valleys and plains became a vast sea, the gardens were stirred up by waves, and the starry sky transformed into the heavens.

The magical transformation simultaneously engulfed Tiana and Jiegeng in the distance!

The Witch Shion stood before Tiana, who was engulfed by Filthy Magic Power, and touched her eyeball again—the wound that had just pierced her eye had not disappeared, and her right eye's vision was obstructed.

Tiana, soaked in the grayish-white, Filthy Magic Power, shrugged. "Well, that's pretty much what I expected. Anyway, defeating Master in one go is impossible, so—"

Tiana reached out and touched Shion's face, where there were small scratches from the arrows.

But it can never be restored no matter what.

"This is a technique I developed after borrowing the power of the Beast of the End. I call it Death God's Embrace. The injuries you receive will appear simultaneously in the past, present, and future, and will never disappear. How about that? Now you'll remember me well and never forget my face, right, Master?"

Shion raised her greyish-white spear and nodded.

"Perfect score."

Then, a gray-white magic spear pierced through the entire Land of the End!