"Senior Tangtang, I don't feel anything either. Don't worry."

Su Fang comforted Tang Keren while glancing at the two who hadn't spoken yet, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

Airwen, who was wiping her sword nearby, caught her meaning and shook her head: "I still can't achieve Full Bloom."

Meanwhile, Lin Guang stared at her own status panel, frowning slightly.

【Game Character: Mengmengxiang】

【Game Character Abilities: ★Magical Girl Transformation★ (C), Magic Power (D+), Magic Aptitude (D+)】

【Comprehensive Rating: (D+)】

It looked completely unchanged.

But at this very moment, the surging power within her body made Lin Guang keenly aware that the boost from this blessing was identical to the last one.

Another 2 meng of power.

This wasn't just stacking magic power—it was an increase in both total magic power and magic aptitude. Yet the panel still showed an overall rating of D+?

Honestly, this struck Lin Guang as a bit bizarre.

She felt that now she could probably take on that Nightmare Seed-level tea party girl and her two upper-rank dangerous species attendants all by herself.

And this still wasn't C-?

Could it be that she was missing some key transformative factor?

No wonder Phoenix said magical girls had no clear tier system against demon beasts... If this was how it always worked, then it really couldn't be graded.

How could you even grade this?

The unique Nightmare Seed demon beasts she'd encountered in these trials all possessed bizarre, almost conceptual-level special abilities. Compared to them, the magical girls' spells seemed plain and straightforward.

Lin Guang kept her hands busy, feeding Zihan in her arms one spoonful at a time. After thinking for a while without finding an answer, she looked at Su Fang: "I don't feel anything either."

Zihan had eaten most of the fish soup and felt like she'd regained some strength. She sat up straighter in Lin Guang's arms and spoke softly: "Maybe collecting one more fragment would do it?"

Su Fang blinked her emerald-green eyes, uncertain: "Probably?"

"..."

Zihan took a deep breath, steadied herself against Lin Guang's arm, and tentatively stood up. Though her legs were still wobbling, her gaze was resolute.

"If we've rested enough, should we continue the expedition?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to her again.

She adjusted her thick glasses, widened her left eye, and tried to appear energetic: "Even though I can't see very clearly right now, I should still be able to transform! The third blessing was really helpful!"

"I'll give it my all not to hold anyone back!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, everyone frowned.

Su Fang blurted out: "No way!"

Tang Keren was equally decisive: "Absolutely not!"

She stood up and walked over to Zihan, bringing her beautiful face uncomfortably close, and said without mercy: "What you need right now is proper rest. Ideally, you shouldn't even transform, or your condition might worsen."

"You know we've already collected three Fragments of Hope! The Sacred Tree must have recovered quite a bit. What more could we ask for? We can get the remaining two later!"

She turned to look at the silver-haired girl beside her: "Airwen, let's head back."

Airwen looked into her golden eyes, her own dark irises flickering briefly. She glanced at Su Fang and Lin Guang—Su Fang's emerald-green eyes clearly showed worry and a desire to go home, while Lin Guang remained as noncommittal as ever.

It seemed no one objected to Tang Keren's words.

The silver-haired girl lowered her gaze, paused for a few seconds, and showed a complicated expression.

But in the end, she nodded.

"Alright."

Seeing everyone's firm attitude, Zihan could only hang her head in disappointment: "Then... then I'll do my best to keep up and walk as fast as I can..."

"No need."

The next moment, the Cherry-Haired Girl had already crouched down in front of her, presenting her slender back: "Get on."

Zihan stared at that delicate silhouette, hesitated for a moment, then obediently climbed onto her back.

"Sorry... for causing you more trouble."

"Hold tight."

...

Thirty-six hours later.

Four-colored spirit outfits blazed with light in the eternal night as the girls' graceful figures pushed through the black fog, pressing forward relentlessly.

Finally.

A familiar scene appeared before them.

Looking at that forest shrouded in black fog—the site of their former intensive training grounds—Su Fang let out a long breath and showed an expression that was practically moved to tears.

"Thank goodness..."

Though it had only been a few days since they left, seeing this forest now felt so warm and familiar, like spotting a landmark building at their doorstep.

The Sacred Tree's domain wasn't far now. Home was within reach.

The atmosphere lifted again.

Home.

What a beautiful word.

"We're almost there. I swear, I've never been this exhausted from Outer Realm exploration in my entire life..." Tang Keren drifted forward like a Spirit, her feet never touching the ground, her pink-highlighted twin ponytails swinging. "I'm going back to eat desserts!"

Zihan, on Lin Guang's back, spoke weakly: "Tangtang, you've been eating nonstop these past few days. Your mouth never stopped moving."

"Shut up! You ate with me, didn't you!"

Tang Keren flashed an excited grin. "When we get back, I'm going to eat at the shop. I'll livestream while eating, and I'll talk about all the amazing things we did. You all have to be in my stream with me and help me gain tons of followers!"

"Sure!"

Su Fang's face lit up with a pure, unreserved smile. "This time when I go back, I'm going to tell my mom that I've met so many incredible seniors and gotten so much stronger—"

She took a deep breath and shouted: "I'm going to tell her that I've become a magical girl!"

As she spoke, the Sacred Tree Leaf in her hand glowed brighter, its tip guiding the way, leading them home.

That massive wall of light was now right in front of them.

After saying that, Su Fang excitedly turned to the silver figure beside her: "Senior Airwen, what do you want to do when we get back?"

She suddenly felt a flicker of confusion: "Senior Airwen?"

Airwen's expression seemed uncertain, flickering between emotions. Her gaze wasn't fixed on the road—it was unfocused, as if lost in thought.

"..."

She said softly: "I should be... preparing for the next time."

The next time?

Su Fang froze for a moment, then caught on.

She meant the next recovery of Fragments of Hope, the next Outer Realm expedition, right?

The silver-haired girl's shimmering eyes drifted across the void after transforming until they met those crimson eyes.

Their gazes locked in the air, both silent.

"..."

Su Fang watched their eyes meet and felt an inexplicable sense of unease rise within her.

She was about to say something when suddenly, she felt a hard-to-describe strangeness.

"...?!"

The next moment, her steps unconsciously slowed down.

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