Chapter 20: Go and Capture the Tang Monk

Coco becoming a magical girl did not have much of an impact on Jiang Si’s life.

Since returning from the Disaster Strategy Bureau, their daily routine had remained unchanged; they went to school as usual and handled their own food, clothing, and travel independently. However, after Silver Lily likely learned about his visit to Hyacinth, she must have told Coco. That evening, as he finished his meal and prepared to leave, Coco, who was heading into the kitchen to cook, spoke up abruptly as they crossed paths.

"Mind your own business."

In truth, it hadn't been meddling. Having no desire to explain, Jiang Si returned to his room and began to sense his own mana. Having absorbed the mana of a B-class disaster beast, it was more surging and immense than ever, yet it still remained within the framework of "Full Bloom."

To Jiang Si, the so-called "Bud" and "Seedling" stages were essentially equivalent to the foundation-building phase in cultivation. Both levels were focused on continuously increasing the total amount of mana and familiarizing oneself with its circulation. As long as one accumulated enough experience over time, any magical girl could advance from a Bud to a Seedling. It was as if becoming a magical girl was a form of empowerment, suddenly elevating a mortal to the early stages of foundation-building. The only difference was that the foundation-building body could only be attained through transformation.

During these stages, whether as a Bud or a Seedling, one was merely drawing from the mana of the Miracle Seed. It was only upon stepping into "Full Bloom" that the process truly began. Jiang Si referred to this as the Golden Core stage. Only by entering Full Bloom did a magical girl truly begin to control the Miracle Seed, or even reshape it to make it bloom. The only issue was that the Miracle Seed was outside the body rather than inside, which made it an unconventional Golden Core. But that was fine; Jiang Si called it an "External Core."

He remembered many cultivation novels that described unorthodox methods where an External Core was used to forcibly enter the Golden Core stage. As long as one continued to grow stronger, this External Core would eventually become an Internal Core, or assist in reshaping one's own. Although, when he explained this theory to Ice Candy—a girl who had been exposed to his various cultivation teachings for three years—she still found it a bit far-fetched.

But Jiang Si felt he had found the pattern. After the Golden Core came the Nascent Soul, which corresponded to "Full Opening" after Full Bloom. It likely required the seed to be completely broken open, transforming into a human form or something else. Thus, to break through to Full Opening, one had to complete the morphological change of the Miracle Seed. Over the past six months, Jiang Si had tried many methods, but no matter how much mana he absorbed, it was difficult to trigger a morphological change in the Miracle Seed. Perhaps it required some external force or his own personal enlightenment.

Beyond searching for Miracle Seeds, the magical girl power fusion project within the Qingyun Sect was also progressing, though it was slow due to a lack of research into the fundamental nature of mana. Breakthroughs could not be rushed; haste makes waste. From his previous life to today, the one thing Jiang Si did not lack was patience. He had walked through dead ends before; now that the path to heaven was so clearly laid out before him, what was there to be anxious about? It was merely a matter of walking faster or slower. Sooner or later, he would reach the end—the very pinnacle!

He tried circulating his mana through his body for one cycle before letting it disperse silently. He could feel that some mana had permeated his flesh and blood. Little by little, he would eventually achieve a sanctified body.

Just as his hopeful and pleasant practice session was drawing to a close, he heard a loud "clatter" downstairs, followed by his sister’s pained cry.

Finished with his practice and preparing for bed, Jiang Si pushed his door open and glanced down. Coco had fallen to the floor, and the dumbbell he used for training had crashed into the television cabinet where she had been standing. The dumbbell wasn't expensive; he had made it himself. The iron blocks on either side were uneven because it was hard to move gym equipment into the house for the Qingyun Sect's needs, so he had improvised with makeshift gear.

He hadn't used that barbell for half a year because it no longer helped increase his strength. A while back, he had considered adding more weight, but the old man who did the welding wanted a hundred yuan for the extra iron. A total rip-off. It had been gathering dust and rust in the corner of the living room for a long time, especially since the air had been so humid lately.

Coco looked up at him, then scrambled up, her worn-out slippers—toes poking through—clattering as she ran to the television and moved the barbell back to the corner.

"What are you doing?"

"Post-meal workout."

"I thought you hated working out?"

"Mind your own business," Jiang Coco said, clutching her waist. She must have strained it.

Jiang Si grabbed a plaster from the cabinet under the TV—one his parents had bought years ago for bruises. It was actually meant for him, as his parents had been afraid he’d get hurt from his intense training. He had never used it. He had perfect control over his body and knew exactly how to train to the limit without causing injury. If one wanted to enter the path of body cultivation, this was a required lesson. An injury that took ten days or half a month to heal was an immeasurable setback to training, and Jiang Si, who prioritized efficiency, would never allow that.

"Since I'm going to be a magical girl, I have to get stronger," Jiang Coco said, looking at the plaster Jiang Si had tossed at her feet, her tone still cold. "Don't you have any equipment a human can actually use?"

"It’s 105 kilograms. That’s within the range of an ordinary person."

"What kind of beast do you call an 'ordinary person'?" Picking up the plaster, Coco leaned against the wall and slowly returned to her room. "I’ll find my own stuff tomorrow."

Back in her room, she waited for a while until she heard her brother return to his. Only then did Coco push the door open and creep back out. Looking at the heavy black iron mass, a flicker of determination crossed her face. "I don't believe this!"

She took out her Miracle Seed and initiated her transformation, keeping her voice to a whisper. A fiery red light bloomed, bathing the living room in a crimson glow. She hurriedly reigned in her mana, suppressing the leaking power to a minimum, and glanced up to ensure Jiang Si hadn't noticed. Only then did she reach out and grab the iron mass again.

With a sudden burst of effort, she heaved the barbell up.

"Nothing special..."

She wanted to say that, but even with her mana suppressed and using her magical girl body, she felt the staggering weight and difficulty of lifting the iron. She had seen Jiang Si use it to train before—lifting it effortlessly, even holding it with one hand while reading a book.

Is he even human? If someone told her that her only living relative was actually a disaster beast, she wouldn't even doubt it.

Or perhaps, she was just too weak. As a fledgling Bud-stage magical girl, her mana volume and precision were both terrible. After parting ways with Teacher Ziyuan, she and Silver Lily had conducted tests, and the results were not optimistic. Among newly awakened magical girls, she was considered quite weak. Silver Lily had comforted her, saying that Bluebird’s initial abilities weren't outstanding either, yet she still became a top-tier magical girl.

But Coco never considered herself that kind of person. If she wasn't outstanding, she would never be outstanding; there was no possibility of a comeback or a sudden rise to fame. But she had to become stronger. If she couldn't get stronger, she might never see Teacher Ziyuan again, and she wouldn't be able to catch up to her or become her good friend. The thought of becoming friends with Teacher Ziyuan made Coco’s heart burn with renewed intensity.

Calling upon her mana and controlling it with precision, she began to use the heavy iron mass to genuinely train her abilities.

***

Early the next morning, Jiang Si came down from his bedroom to see the dented floor and the slightly deformed barbell. He had, of course, sensed Coco transforming into a magical girl yesterday; that idiot had no idea how to control her mana leakage, so it was impossible not to notice.

For the first time, Jiang Si wanted to ask her: "Why do you have to spend all night tossing that barbell around with mana instead of sleeping? Even if you want to practice mana control, there’s no need to fiddle with it all night." He had been jolted awake several times by the sound of the barbell crashing down.

As Jiang Si emerged, Coco also came out of her room, sporting dark circles under her eyes. She glanced at the mess she had made of the floor and looked away. "I was careless yesterday..."

Careless for an entire night.

"Go to Second Uncle’s house this afternoon and ask him to help fix the floor. He owes the family 160,000 yuan; he won't charge for patching a floor."

"Okay." Coco nodded. "Sorry."

"Next time, do it in the yard."

"I know."

Cold as she was, and despite their arguments, when she made a mistake, Jiang Coco would honestly admit it. In that regard, his sister’s rebellious phase had never been very severe.

He grabbed his school bag, took a leftover steamed bun from the kitchen, added some cold leftovers from the night before, and headed to school. Today was Saturday, so Coco, being in middle school, didn't have classes. But Jiang Si was a sophomore in high school, and they had supplementary classes on Saturdays. Jiang Si usually skipped class, but he never missed the Saturday sessions.

Because the school was sparsely populated on Saturdays—only sophomores attended, as juniors were busy preparing for the college entrance exam—it was easy to encounter isolated students. This gave local hoodlums an opportunity. The location of the Fourth Middle School was remote, and these hoodlums would come to show off, making it hard for the school to catch them. They were Jiang Si’s best practical training targets. Although they were a bit weak, he could clearly feel his progress in actual combat. It wasn't easy to find punching bags that could fight back.

Also, there was no math in the morning session, so he planned to sit in. It wasn't that Jiang Si couldn't understand math; he knew high school math by heart, and his scores couldn't break through the ceiling anyway. Since his math score didn't pull down his total, attending was just a waste of time.

Of his high school subjects, the ones he forgot the most were Chinese and English; even if he memorized them, they were easy to forget if he didn't look at them for a long time. He was fine with math, physics, and even chemistry; a little review usually brought back the feeling of solving problems. He wasn't sensitive to memorizing text, but once he understood formulas and equations, he rarely forgot them.

He had to maintain a decent score, at least enough to get into a top-tier university, because in the top universities in Beihai, there were programs specializing in the fundamental nature of magical girl mana. The research there was quite deep, with high-level papers and reports that were far more efficient than them fumbling around on their own. Second-tier universities wouldn't cut it—the theoretical level of magical girl studies there was basically trash. As for vocational colleges, they weren't even qualified to study magical girls in Beihai.

So, Jiang Si’s goal was to keep his total score high enough for a first-tier university to learn about magical girl powers and related knowledge. The materials available to the Qingyun Sect were too superficial; to know the cutting edge of magical girl theory, he had to get into a university, as much of the research was directly sealed by the Disaster Strategy Bureau and not made public.

Ice Candy’s connections in academia were also somewhat limited. On one hand, her family didn't interact with university staff; on the other, the disciples of the Qingyun Sect weren't even old enough for college—yes, even Susan, the mole, was a high schooler, though she had dropped out to focus on her work at the Disaster Strategy Bureau.

Jiang Si looked at the distant Fourth Middle School, his thoughts already drifting to college. He planned to try taking the college entrance exam at the end of his sophomore year; dragging it out for another year felt too long.

"No money? You're dressed so well, how could you be broke? Don't be so tense. Let's just be friends, we'll treat you later..."

A familiar voice came from not far away. It was still a distance from the school—the hoodlums didn't dare get too close—but there were always secluded parts on the way to school. If a student was late and tried to take a shortcut, they were easily caught by this group.

Jiang Si didn't recognize the boy surrounded by the three hoodlums, and he didn't need to. He walked straight toward them.

"Limp."

"Limp" was the leader of the three, and he walked with a noticeable limp. It was a result of a kick from Jiang Si, and it still hadn't healed. He was thin, with almost no fat on his face—like a monkey—yet the malice in his eyes made anyone who looked at him afraid. He had been to the station before; he had slashed people, even cutting off someone’s arm. That was why he was famous on the streets—he was ruthless.

Actually, in the vicinity of the Fourth Middle School, his influence had once been the greatest, and he was followed by a dozen lackeys every day. Among his peers, he was undoubtedly a terrifying presence.

Hearing someone call him "Limp," he turned around, the malice on his face barely contained. "Who the hell is looking for death!"

However, when he saw Jiang Si, he froze. The malice in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a momentary clarity. The two lackeys beside him immediately released the student from the Fourth Middle School, who bolted toward the campus. No one stopped him.

The hoodlums bowed and scraped, offering smiles to Jiang Si and even offering him a cigarette. "Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, what brings you to school today?"

"Supplementary class." Jiang Si glanced at Limp. "Come."

Among all the hoodlums, Limp had the most guts. Even after being beaten by him countless times, he remained defiant and still dared to fight. That was why Jiang Si’s first words to him were always the same: "Come, fight."

Limp subconsciously took a step back, his throat bobbing. He had fought Jiang Si three times. Each time, he had been beaten miserably and lost all face. His dozen lackeys had dwindled down to just two who were still willing to follow him. He looked back at his last two brothers, hung his head in silence, and said, "No more fighting."

*Slap! Slap! Slap!*

Three crisp sounds echoed, and a handprint appeared on each of their faces. Jiang Si had slapped all three of them with one motion, then clapped his hands. "Fine, one slap each. This is my turf, and the students of the Fourth Middle School are under my protection. If you come to cause trouble again..." He lowered his voice. "...I’ll kill you."

For hoodlums like these, only such blunt intimidation was effective. Of course, if there were no consequences, beating one to death would be even more effective. This wasn't a hobby of Jiang Si’s, nor was it about justice. It was an agreement he had with the principal. As long as he kept the nearby hoodlums from bothering the students, the school would be lenient with his absences.

It had started because they had offended Jiang Si, and after he’d broken one of their fingers and made them cry for their parents, the principal had finally gotten a vent for his own pent-up anger. Thus, the principal made the deal: as long as Jiang Si kept the hoodlums at bay, he could skip as much class as he wanted. Not many people in school knew of this, and whenever teachers demanded that the principal expel Jiang Si, the principal would brush them off, insisting on "educating every student."

After the threat, the other two lackeys turned pale and laughed nervously. "We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare."

Limp’s face turned from green to red, his hand pressed against his burning cheek. The force of that slap had stunned him; it felt like a scorching hot iron plate had been slammed against his face. It stung.

After Jiang Si left, the two lackeys said awkwardly, "Sorry, Boss, I have something to do at home, I'm heading out."

"My mom and dad beat me up last time, told me to stop being a hoodlum and found me a job. I probably can't hang out with you anymore, Boss."

They each found their own excuses and walked off without waiting for a reply. Limp stood there for a long time, his eyes reddening, before he walked deep into the alley and smashed a brick against the wall with all his might! He then kicked the wall repeatedly in a frenzy.

"How miserable."

A raspy female voice suddenly came from nearby, startling Limp. An old woman in a black robe walked out of the alley wall... Out of the wall?

Limp rubbed his eyes, only to find she had indeed walked right through the wall.

"When an ordinary person encounters a monster who uses the power of a magical girl like that, there’s no way to fight back. It’s not that you’re too weak, or that you didn't try hard enough—it’s just that the two of you started from different places. It’s very unfair, isn't it?"

Limp stared at her, his gaze drifting, then he nodded. "Unfair..."

The woman took a seed from her robes. It was pitch black, filled with lament and resentment, exuding an ominous aura.

"As long as you gain power—the power to defeat him—you can take back everything you’ve lost. You can even trample him under your feet and wash away all your past humiliations. The price is just a little bit of pain. Do you... want it?"

Limp hesitated for a moment, then Jiang Si’s face flashed through his mind. His gaze instantly turned fanatical. "I want it! I want it! I want it!!"

"Take it."

The witch watched as the seed was planted in his forehead and began to sprout, a grin spreading across her face. "A semi-finished product, but it’ll do. Go and bring Jiang Si to me."