"It's just an illusion!"

Just as Magical Girl Qianying was stunned by the sight of a single person forming an army of Magical Girls,

the voice of her leader sounded in her ear, finally bringing Qianying back to her senses.

The leader of the Great Forest Realm had maintained a private communication line with her, precisely to exchange intelligence at critical moments,

like during the earlier ambush.

The unique covert communication technology of the Great Forest Realm far surpassed that of the Mirror Kingdom in terms of concealment; those within the mirror space would absolutely be unable to detect it.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at that group of Magical Girls.

Feeling slightly frantic in her heart: "But these are all Blooming-level Magical Girls!"

"That's the biggest flaw!"

The leader's words, however, calmed her down. "Think carefully, Qianying, the strongest Magical Girl of our Great Forest Realm. Calm down and think properly! How could anyone possibly create so many Blooming-level clones at once, and so quickly!"

Qianying finally calmed down.

Right, this situation was basically impossible.

While using her magic to dodge and neutralize the magical attacks coming from all directions, she began to follow the leader's words and think.

Upon careful consideration, the initial Seedling individual clearly displayed extremely high precision in controlling Seedling-level mana.

If she didn't use Seedling-level mana daily, she couldn't possibly have such precise control.

For example, herself—after advancing to Blooming, as time passed, if she tried to use Seedling-level mana again, her control would be quite poor.

No matter how skilled the opponent was, she shouldn't be able to control Seedling-level mana with such precision that she could fight on par with her own Peak Blooming, even moving freely within her Masterpiece.

That level of control precision... do you think you're Shion?

"Calm down, then find the flaw! Among these Magical Girls, there must be one real one, the rest are fake! As long as we find the real one, we win!"

Right, calm down. As long as we find the real one, we win.

As long as we find the real one...

She unleashed Masterpiece Number Eight again. This time, she no longer considered the fight with Simo Tu, pouring all her mana into it with full force.

Thunder instantly filled the entire independent space, leaving no gaps, saturating every corner.

Nowhere left to hide!

Illusions definitely couldn't withstand her full-power output, so she would clear away all the decoys in one go!

"Let's see where you can hide..."

Her confident, triumphant smile and pronouncement were choked off the moment she looked up.

Not a single one of the countless Magical Girls in the sky had been shattered by her thunder!

Each one was releasing mana comparable to Blooming, and their control precision still showed no flaws. The lightning surrounding these Magical Girls was instead being manipulated by them.

They even twisted your lightning into Blooming-level spears.

This meant the opponent wasn't just highly skilled at controlling her own mana; she also possessed extraordinary mastery over the unfamiliar mana of others—in short, her understanding of mana had touched its essence...

Most importantly, every single Magical Girl in the sky had done this!

Some even held two lightning spears in their left and right hands. Nearly a thousand lightning spears were now aimed back at her.

"Didn't you say there was only one real one?! Where are the fakes?! Where the hell are they, I can't see any!"

Qianying, with nowhere left to dodge, roared in her heart, her defenses crumbling!

The leader being cursed at was momentarily speechless.

Feeling a little aggrieved.

How is this my fault?

Normally, seeing someone split into so many Blooming Magical Girls at once, common sense dictates it must be an illusion, right?

I was just reasoning based on common sense. If she doesn't play by common sense, that's not my problem, is it?

It's like watching a magic show. Seeing someone cut in half, you'd naturally think there's some trick, some illusion involved.

But then you tell me they were genuinely cut in half at the waist and then glued back together!

It's not magic, it's actual magic!

Who the hell could have thought of that?

Just a moment ago, we were considering how to find the real one. Now... now we have to consider how many of these are fake!

In the meeting room, the leader stared at the laughter as dense as the thunder, feeling a chill in her heart.

Then, the countless Magical Girls in the sky spoke in unison:

"Being able to bear witness to my ultimate technique, you can consider your death worthwhile."

"This move is called: Three Thousand Thunder Strikes!"

Lightning spears fell like rain!

Continuously churning and splashing mud obscured the view, and as the ground cracked open into abysses, the sky of that independent space also began to shatter.

After all, as a temporary independent space for combat, it wasn't very stable. Under such large-scale bombardment, the entire space quickly collapsed!

Completely scattered and vanished by the spatial turbulence.

The entire meeting room fell into a deathly silence.

The screen no longer showed the battle, so everyone—including Shui Shengquan—turned their gaze towards Simo Tu.

Simo Tu himself was very strong; there was indeed nothing to say about that. Everyone knew and was mentally prepared.

Even if Simo Tu went up and defeated Qianying, no one would be surprised; they'd probably just think, "As expected."

However, Simo Tu had merely casually pulled out one of his subordinates—perhaps a student, or perhaps just a subordinate—

a Magical Girl willing to submit to Simo Tu, who had effortlessly defeated Qianying, and clearly still had strength to spare, not having used her full power.

This was far more intimidating to the others than if Simo Tu had acted himself.

If it was just Simo Tu alone, they could still think of ways to avoid him or seal him away. Difficult, but not unsolvable.

Now, Simo Tu had proven he wasn't just outstanding in personal strength.

He actually had a subordinate who could form an army alone...

For any of the old worlds, this was not good news.

With such a powerful alliance with the Mirror Kingdom Prince, the old worlds would truly become a one-party rule under this Mirror Kingdom couple in the future...

Just as everyone fell silent, only White Fox straightforwardly asked, "Teacher, is this what 'challenging above your level' means? It's not quite like in the books..."

Simo Tu's tone was indifferent. "Challenging downwards is still challenging a level, isn't it?"

"If you still have to challenge enemies stronger than yourself after advancing, then what was the point of advancing? Advancing is precisely for downward compatibility. Fighting lower-level opponents is also challenging your past self. In essence, it's a form of rapid training to elevate those of Lower Cultivation, a bestowed opportunity."

White Fox nodded with utmost seriousness, committing the content to memory.

"Remember, don't study rigidly, study dead books, or you'll just end up dead from studying. You need to learn more from your Super White Fox senior," Simo Tu added. "When the time comes, I'll have her do a set of the Platinum Edition 'Five Years Tomato, Three Years King Bean' practice exams."

White Fox was stunned. "Teacher, do I still need to do practice exams?"

Simo Tu snorted coldly. "Without practice exams, how will you know you are 'learned and erudite'? Without practice exams, how will you understand the application of the word 'by chance'? Without practice exams, how can you reach the state of 'mastering the ways of the squid'? Without practice exams, a belly full of knowledge is just a single page of a book!"

"When I was your age, I never shrank back, avoiding the edge of learning. Only by breaking through ten thousand volumes of books can one become an enemy of ten thousand!"

White Fox's pen for taking notes trembled.

Then, Qinghua shattered the void, dragging the unconscious Qianying, who had already de-transformed, and very smugly waved her hand as if responding to fans, even blowing a kiss towards the Sect Master's position.

"Boss, Super White Fox has fulfilled her mission!"

However, in response to Qinghua's friendly gesture, Jiang Si coldly asked, "Why did the first puppet lose?"

Qianying immediately broke out in a cold sweat. "Th-th-th-this, White Fox did it on purpose, meow..."

"Go back and train more."

"Please don't, boss, I really can't take it anymore..."

Seeing that the Sect Master couldn't be bothered with her, Qinghua cried for a while but found it useless.

Angry, she grabbed Qianying's face and slapped it several times in a row.

Of course, she couldn't tell the Sect Master that the opponent used underhanded tricks, causing her Seedling puppet to fail—in the Azure Cloud Sect, losing was losing. There were no excuses. In battle, there weren't that many 'underhanded' methods; no one stopped you from using them.

But it was indeed her own carelessness. The Seedling puppet was originally brought out to play the pig to eat the tiger, but she accidentally ended up actually playing the pig...

The final remedial measure was also a complete failure. It didn't move Sect Master-sama, so she couldn't play games when she got back...

Over there, the leader of the Great Forest Realm watched as Qinghua held Qianying, whose face was soon swollen from the slapping, and could no longer sit still. Finally, she spoke up, "That's enough, isn't it? Our Great Forest Realm has lost. We admit defeat. Return Qianying to us, and we will leave immediately..."

"When did I say you could leave?"

Jiang Si adjusted his mask. "You didn't think the challenge was free, did you?"

Qianying snorted. The four hundred-some puppets that had disappeared earlier now walked out from all directions of the meeting room.

They walked towards the members of the old worlds.

Everyone's faces were exceptionally grim. Shui Shengquan's expression was particularly ugly. "Simo Tu-sama, this meeting is to discuss countermeasures against Shion..."

"Is that so?" Simo Tu sneered. "I thought it was a criticism session targeting me."

As he spoke, apart from the Great Forest Realm, the other three old worlds that had obtained Full Bloom quota slots also sent out their guards.

All were Peak Blooming-level Magical Girls. Three gray-white Magical Girls stood in front, ready for battle.

However, Qinghua's puppets had already walked over.

"Excuse me, meow."

Before anyone could see anything clearly, the three gray-white Magical Girls had simultaneously de-transformed and were instantly slammed into the wall!

Four Qinghua puppets each grabbed a member of the old worlds and lifted them up.

They were precisely the four old world members who had secured the Full Bloom quota slots from the Prince.

This time, even Shui Shengquan didn't dare to speak.

"The Prince is ultimately young, with white hair hanging down like a child's, a mere three-foot-tall child in her actions and style, lacking deep consideration. This allocation of Full Bloom quota slots to you is somewhat unreasonable."

Simo Tu sat in his chair, looking at the four old world members who had been grabbed by Qinghua, their heads pressed onto the table, unable to move.

"Hand over the Full Bloom quota slots. I will handle the distribution."

"Simo Tu! You are a hen trying to crow at dawn!!" The leader of the Great Forest Realm sneered, forcefully raising her head. "This alliance is the Prince's alliance! You dare act so wildly before you've even ridden over the Prince's head! Do you think we will yield..."

*Crunch!*

A clean, sharp punch.

The leader of the Great Forest Realm was smashed into the underside of the meeting table, her head exploding.

White Fox walked over, tore off her own sleeve, and used it to wipe the blood and filth from her teacher's hand.

Jiang Si didn't pay her any mind, simply reaching into the corpse of the Great Forest Realm's leader to pull out a Miracle Seed.

Possessing the Full Bloom rank that replicated Iris's Miracle Seed, though currently blank, as long as power was infused, it could achieve the same things as Iris's Miracle Seed.

Then he looked at the others.

"Next."

...

Mirror Kingdom, Central Region.

When the Prince emerged from the bath, her clothes clung tightly to her body, almost revealing the color of her skin.

In her haste when entering, she hadn't changed her clothes. Now, with her entire outfit wet and sticking to her, it naturally felt uncomfortable.

The sound of water as she stepped out of the bath was incredibly clear, even somewhat jarring to the ears. The sensation of water being squeezed in her shoes as she stepped on the floor felt like stepping on soft bubbles, making her own consciousness feel as if it were floating on cotton.

Halfway there, she reached her bedroom.

Her bedroom wasn't very feminine. It contained almost nothing: a bed, a table, a stool, and then a huge mirror. Nothing else.

Like a giant prison cell.

She looked at herself in the mirror—her soaked clothes and body, water continuously dripping down from her temples and sleeves.

She felt slightly unfamiliar.

Sitting on the stool, she gently tugged at the already soaked knee-high socks clinging to her skin. When taking them off, there was a sensation of peeling. Her hands and feet felt uncoordinated and strange. She even had to painstakingly pull the socks pinched between her toes.

Her body felt somewhat strange. When she touched her own foot, there was a feeling that it wasn't her own.

[Reminder: Your fiancé is planning to reallocate the Full Bloom quota slots. Please proceed to handle the matter, Prince-sama... Wait, your brainwave signals are showing disorder... Magical influence... Removing...]

The system voice in her ear began to blur. The Prince shook her head, feeling somewhat dizzy.

She remembered encountering the Magical Girl from the Azure Cloud Sect earlier, then escaping.

After that, she entered the Mirror Kingdom's medical pod for brain treatment. The opponent's ability had affected her brain. Without magic, she could only use technology to eliminate the influence.

In fact, looking at the results, it wasn't a serious problem. It just strengthened her dependence on Simo Tu, sharing intelligence with Simo Tu, and the final breaking of the engagement.

Although she didn't know why the Azure Cloud Sect was so obsessed with making her break off the engagement, the relationship between her and Simo Tu was hardly connected by a mere marriage contract. The feelings between them...

"My daughter."

The self in the mirror suddenly spoke.

Revealing a kind and gentle smile, one she would absolutely never show.

"You've done very well, my treasure. You've worked hard all this time."

"From now on, you are no longer the Prince of the Mirror Kingdom, but the Queen of the Mirror Kingdom."

Then, the Prince discovered she wasn't on the opposite side of the mirror.

She was inside the mirror.

She watched as that unfamiliar version of herself smiled, then slowly removed all her wet clothes, changing into new, splendid attire.

It was the magnificent attire of the Mirror Queen.

A white-gold trailing gown and the Crown she always carried, luxurious and dignified, completely different from herself.

Or rather, they were originally two different people.

"Because, from now on, I am you. We are the Mirror Queen."

[System entering silence.]

The originally silent Mirror Kingdom seemed to come alive.

All the Alices, devices, and silent machines everywhere cheered together!

As if welcoming the Queen's return.

Only the main system remained silent.

Trapped in the mirror, the Prince watched her mother occupying her body, just desperately shaking her head, trying to clear her mind.

Her memories remained blurry and unclear, as if she had forgotten something important.

"You are my final insurance, my child."

The Mirror Queen sat before the mirror, looking at her own young, exquisite, and beautiful face, revealing a satisfied smile. "I knew long ago that the conflict between the Mirror Kingdom and the new world would most likely end in defeat. Those little things aren't that simple. Just like the technology they gave us back then, the world they come from must have even greater power."

"So I had a child with a man from the new world. Child, you are a hybrid of the old world and the new world. When all the citizens of the Mirror Kingdom were sealed, you could escape because of your new world bloodline. You are the only Mirror Kingdom citizen who could possibly survive and live in the new world."

"But, you are too foolish, my child."

The Mirror Queen let out a long sigh. "From beginning to end, you have never satisfied me. Compared to your siblings, you are more dull, slow, and insensitive to emotions. Your body is almost entirely flaws. So, although you are the only one from the Mirror Kingdom who might survive, you are absolutely not the one who can restore the kingdom."

"I set the final insurance in the medical pod. Whether you entered to become an Alice, gain power, or heal injuries, as long as you lay in the medical pod, one day, I would appear and seize your body to restore the Mirror Kingdom..."

Her dizzy head finally began to recover some memories. Inside the mirror, the still-soaked Prince fiercely raised her head, finally seeing clearly that splendid and dignified version of herself.

Or rather, her mother.

"Look at your state, how pitiful." The woman sighed. "Not a hint of a ruler's capacity, strategy, or bearing. You have nothing. You only have that insignificant ambition. In your hands, the Mirror Kingdom would never have a day of prominence."

"You really are long-winded." The Prince pressed her hand against the mirror surface before her, revealing a scornful sneer.

No matter what, the Prince always maintained her arrogance.

The Mirror Queen outside was slightly taken aback, seemingly surprised. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Have you obtained all the permissions?"

The Mirror Queen fiddled with the system interface, tilting her head. "I thought you had some backup plan. All permissions are in my hands..."

"What about this one?"

Some red button was pressed.

The Mirror Queen's pupils slightly contracted. That wasn't the Mirror Kingdom's original self-destruct system...

Was it something the Prince added recently?

All the Mirror Kingdom devices that had just come alive, those machines and systems, began flashing with red light.

The main system also started flashing.

[Warning, warning: System entering self-destruct mode. Self-destruct countdown: fifty seconds.]

[Forty-nine seconds.]

The Mirror Queen's originally flippant expression finally turned serious. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"If you don't return my body, I'll destroy the entire Mirror Kingdom."

"You think you can threaten me? As long as I'm alive, the Mirror Kingdom will not perish..."

As she spoke, she saw the Prince inside the mirror punch the mirror surface, shattering it!

From the shattered mirror, the Prince stretched out a bloodied hand, grabbing just one of the mirror shards.

Then the Mirror Queen discovered her own body involuntarily grabbing a mirror shard as well.

"When did I say you could live? My mother."

The mirror shard was forcefully stabbed into her temple. Amidst the spurting blood, both the Prince inside the mirror and the Mirror Queen outside simultaneously knelt down.

The Mirror Queen's entire body trembled violently. She struggled to raise her head. In the shattered mirror fragments, several wretched versions of herself were reflected.

On her pained face, covered in blood, there was even a trace of panic and confusion.

"Do you really know what you're doing?"

"Either return my body, or let's die together, letting the Mirror Kingdom disappear forever from history."

"You have no reason to take such a risk."

"Because I'm not taking a risk."

The Prince revealed a cold smile, looking at her mother with bone-deep pride and disdain.

"Look at your current state, Mother. Truly ugly and unbearable. Letting the Mirror Kingdom fall into your hands is what truly has no future."

When she returned to her body outside the mirror, her mother's consciousness data also returned to the mirror, just staring at her fiercely.

The Prince nonchalantly pulled the mirror shard from her temple. All the systems' self-destruct sequences stopped.

Then, a robot brought bandages and medicine to dress her wound.

"From the very beginning, it was my one hundred percent victory, my mother."

"You cannot bear to part with the Mirror Kingdom, even less can you bear to part with yourself."

The Prince used her blood-stained fingers to smear her own lips, like lipstick, then gently smeared it on her mother's lips in the mirror. "As for me, I can abandon anything."

"You are truly a madwoman." The Mirror Queen murmured. "I underestimated you, Itaen."

"Thank you for your recognition. Unfortunately, however, you have disappointed me."

The Mirror Queen snorted coldly. "If it were the old you, you could never have done this. What exactly happened?"

Smiling, she used the main system's permissions to seal the mirror, forever imprisoning her mother's final data.

The Prince, with her bandaged wound, stood up and walked outside.

The revived Mirror Kingdom, and the true permissions belonging to the Mirror Queen,

were all now in her hands.

She picked up her Crown and sat on the throne,

performing the final coronation for herself.

[Congratulations: You can proclaim yourself Emperor!]

Sitting quietly on the throne, the Prince just indifferently looked down at everything beneath the Mirror Kingdom—those transparent glass products,

those machines, Alices, including those devices that had never operated under her command before, all now activated.

The long-dormant Mirror Kingdom finally began to truly revive!

Gently licking the crimson on her lips with her tongue, remembering her mother's final question, the Prince tilted her head, resting her right hand on her head and Crown, and said with a faint smile:

"Why go to such lengths..."

"Can't let him marry an old hag, can I?"