novelraw Chapter 158: Why Not Transform?
Chapter 158: Why Not Transform?
For Jiang Si, the path of using a Miracle Seed to transform into a Complete Witch was one he was destined to walk.
No matter what kind of power it was, he never had too much of it.
As a Nascent Soul, the Black Dragon had pretty much reached its limit. The pre-transformation realm would likely remain stuck for a long time at the early Blooming stage he achieved after breaking through to [Peak Great Perfection (abbreviated)] using the three foundational paths of [Beginning (abbreviated)], [Middle (abbreviated)], and [End (abbreviated)].
Even if he used the Complete Witch transformation's profound function to manifest the Nascent Soul's true form, due to its innate incompleteness, he couldn't use demonic sense. No matter how much demonic power he accumulated, it would just be an extra few dozen or hundred revolutions within early Blooming. Without reaching the extreme realm, he couldn't break through. He'd be left with a body full of demonic power but a rank that couldn't ascend.
This might be a bit absolute, but Jiang Si felt his understanding of Blooming was quite on point.
It seemed similar to Bai Mei's situation, but the two were fundamentally different. Bai Mei was a proper graduate-level sword cultivator who had been accumulating mana and comprehending sword intent while in the extreme realm all along. She was nothing like this stupid Disaster Beast, the Black Dragon, that even an elementary school teacher would find annoying...
But there was no need to be too harsh on it. After all, it was just an amateur Nascent Soul.
In the future, the Calamity Dragon transformation would only become increasingly useless. When you got down to it, the Calamity Dragon only offered pure physical enhancements like strength, speed, and defense. As for his own body, which was constantly being strengthened by mana, reaching or even surpassing the Calamity Dragon's strength was just a matter of time.
As for the path of putting three Golden Cores inside his body like before and cultivating several more Nascent Souls...
What a joke! His body wasn't a garbage dump where you could stuff anything!A few stinking heretical Nascent Souls, coming to his body to beg for food, were they?
Don't even think about it. Direct execution.
Although he would eventually walk the path of Full Bloom, for Jiang Si, he wouldn't rashly attempt Full Bloom without absolute certainty.
Every time like this, he felt a slight longing for Reversal, the Hundred Lives Book, and the Spring Autumn Cicada.
Although a person ultimately has to rely on themselves, having more cheats means more paths. Who would complain about having too many cheats?
If only he had a chance to start over, he would definitely try Full Bloom first to see what the specific situation was like.
As for Xilan, having her return to the Witch Association to gather more information was also a good thing.
Keeping her locked up would be a waste. Not making full use of Xilan's intelligence network would be a disservice to her efforts.
Leading Xilan out, the journey was completely unobstructed.
After all, Bingtang was there. Her icy eyes were like torches, monitoring the areas and personnel related to the Azure Cloud Sect in Beihai twenty-four hours a day.
Of course, most of the time it was just for record-keeping, but she would definitely pay close attention to his own movements.
Naturally, there wouldn't be any scenarios like inner sect disciples he didn't know blocking his path.
This smooth, unimpeded journey made Xilan marvel, thinking he was a genius. When they got out, she said with a face full of admiration, "Has Simo Tu-sama already captured the entire Azure Cloud Sect in one fell swoop?!"
For a moment, even Jiang Si had to admire Xilan's trust.
Having personally witnessed the strength of two true-transmission disciples, and even knowing Shion's power, she could still confidently say something like that.
Her trust in Simo Tu had clearly transcended everything her eyes could see.
Commonly known as, a brain-dead fan.
"No, I just made it so they can't discover us."
"Simo Tu-sama is truly kind-hearted, actually sparing the lives of those little bitches!"
"No. Even for me, facing a siege from the Azure Cloud Sect would likely result in a major defeat."
Without transforming, with only his physical body and Calamity Dragon form, forget about a siege from the Azure Cloud Sect.
Bingtang alone would be enough to give him a hard time.
Add Bai Mei to the mix, and it would be a complete feast.
Not to mention Qinghua still had Shion's puppet, which could directly turn him into a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
"That means a great victory, right? Simo Tu-sama is too humble. Those little yellow-haired girls couldn't possibly be your match. I know you don't want to expose your true strength..."
I said I would suffer a major defeat. Are you deaf?
Jiang Si thought about it but ultimately didn't say it out loud.
Xilan was still useful.
After escorting her all the way out of Beihai, Jiang Si casually tossed a gun over. Made by Ruo Yun, the quality wasn't bad.
After catching the gun, Xilan was stunned for a moment. After checking it and finding it was a real gun, she immediately became excited. Then, remembering something, she said awkwardly, "I can't afford the bullets..."
Jiang Si threw two large bags of bullets over.
Xilan immediately knelt and kowtowed, "Dad!"
When leaving, Xilan looked back every three steps.
She was even more clingy than Keke, shedding tears, looking like it was a life-or-death parting.
"Simo Tu-sama, you must be careful!"
"Remember to keep my affairs in Beihai a secret, to avoid members of the Witch Association coming to cause trouble for me."
"Yes!" After a pause, Xilan added in a small voice, "Then... can I say that Simo Tu-sama is still alive?"
"Of course."
Jiang Si waved his hand, "If anyone dares to bully you, use my name to pressure them back! I permit you to falsely wield my authority to do anything! My subordinates, Simo Tu's people, cannot be bullied by others!"
"Yes!"
With this promise, Xilan happily ran off.
Her retreating figure was exactly like a little pig frolicking in the bright spring sunshine.
For Jiang Si, if anyone dared to provoke Xilan, he would have a legitimate reason to kill members of the Witch Association.
It would also strengthen Xilan's trust.
Killing two birds with one stone.
My wisdom is truly terrifying.
If this continues, I might become a useless person dependent on wisdom.
I still need to cultivate properly. These are all external things, heresies and crooked paths!
He also had Bingtang escort Xilan to prevent her from being intercepted by the Disaster Control Bureau halfway.
Xilan was so weak that even the Disaster Control Bureau's Magical Girls could easily capture her.
He used to always doubt what use the Disaster Control Bureau actually served, but after visiting the Witch Association once, Jiang Si no longer had those doubts.
An excellent matching mechanism made the existence of the Disaster Control Bureau feel as natural as breathing.
Rather than improving yourself, it's better to find an evenly matched opponent.
The struggle of the lower cultivators has always been like this.
After seeing Xilan off, Jiang Si first went to the school.
He didn't know how long it had been since he last entered the school. As soon as he walked through the gate, almost everyone still recognized him.
At first, Jiang Si thought they just had good memories.
"Isn't that the Azure Cloud Sect's live-in son-in-law..."
"Truly enviable. I wonder which will happen first: Bai San's 'The Live-in Son-in-law Demon' finishing or the Azure Cloud Sect's live-in son-in-law and Shion getting married."
"Get lost. Expecting that earth-shattering author who stops writing to finish his work? Might as well believe Bai San is a beautiful girl..."
"He's practically a web novel protagonist."
"Not so, not so. Your purity is too low. What Azure Cloud Sect live-in son-in-law? It's all just fantasy after being violently coerced into selling one's ass. The Azure Cloud Sect is all Magical Girls, so naturally they need a male figurehead. What live-in son-in-law? He's just a top-tier house servant..."
"Shh! Do you have a death wish?! He's the one who dared to kill those little thugs, and no one came after him for it."
"Teacher Zhang is so amazing. Back then, he actually dared to yell at Jiang Si..."
"You think he'd dare try that again now?"
He had become a famous person.
But hardly anyone dared to come over and talk to him.
Not only because of his relationship as the boss of the Azure Cloud Sect's Magical Girls, but also because Jiang Si killing that tumor had already spread into an urban legend and campus horror story.
Who would dare provoke a guy who kills without batting an eye and doesn't get held accountable?
They weren't the idiot side-character villains from Bai San's web novel masterpiece 'The Return of the Plastic King: The Mad War God'.
The return of the Soldier King was nothing compared to this.
Although there was a lot of discussion, some nosy students would still gather to watch.
"Is he really Azure Cloud Sect boss Shion's boyfriend? Their kids won't be shorter than Li Yi from the next class over, will they?"
"How dare you recklessly discuss the bloodline inheritance of a Great Emperor."
"Read less of Bai Family's Third Sister..."
But in reality, no one dared to get close.
It was originally break time, and the hallway was crowded. When Jiang Si walked through, everyone consciously made way for him.
And so, he easily walked all the way to the principal's office.
The principal was still somewhat capable. He said he had arranged a special classroom for him. When the college entrance exam came, he wouldn't have to wait slowly every day like the other students.
He could finish all the exams in one day, without wasting too much time.
The one who came to deliver the exam admission ticket along the way was still that Teacher Zhang.
Compared to before, Teacher Zhang looked much more normal, not as gloomy as before.
With a full-faced smile and careful caution, he called out "Brother Si," cheered him on for the college entrance exam, not only bringing the admission ticket but also some notes he had made himself, many of which were his predictions for this year's math questions.
Jiang Si didn't waste time either. He took the admission ticket and left the school.
The college entrance exam wasn't far off, just a week away. He hadn't been reading much lately, so he planned to ask Bingtang for some past exam papers later to practice.
Jiang Si disdained using any underhanded methods in this regard.
Since he promised that couple that as long as they didn't interfere with his training, he would get into a decent university,
naturally, there was no reason to break his word. No need for any strange, unorthodox tricks. He just needed to rely on his own strength and crush through it openly and honorably.
If, after living an extra lifetime, he still needed to borrow immortal methods to surpass these mortals, then wouldn't all his years of immortal cultivation have been for nothing?
After leaving the school, Jiang Si headed straight for the outskirts of the city.
He found a remote place.
Xilan's potions weren't that many. In fact, he couldn't waste too much. There were only two bottles in total.
The minimum dose required for one transformation was ten milliliters. One bottle here was about two hundred milliliters. If used sparingly, it could last for many transformations.
Jiang Si didn't immediately use his own seed to transform. Instead, he used the white Miracle Seed he got from the Disaster Control Bureau.
The one that told him not to attempt Full Bloom.
Taking out a syringe, he injected ten milliliters of the potion and placed the Miracle Seed on the center of his forehead.
The polluted magic power mixed with his flesh and blood began to boil.
He could clearly feel the Miracle Seed continuously producing mana, and that pure mana, when passing through his flesh and blood saturated with the potion, was transformed into polluted magic power.
Perhaps it couldn't be called polluted magic power, because it didn't have such strong negative emotions. It was more like the nature of the pure mana was changed into something similar to residue.
This residue-like mana didn't have a rejection reaction with the polluted magic power;
instead, it quickly integrated into it.
However, Jiang Si quickly noticed a problem.
The negative emotions within the polluted magic power were constantly being reduced. It seemed the depth of assimilation wasn't enough, or perhaps the dose of the potion was too small.
Relying on this potion to assimilate pure mana to enhance the polluted magic power, the operation of the polluted magic power itself wasn't much different from when transforming into a Magical Girl.
But as the negative emotions of the polluted magic power became increasingly diluted, the Complete Witch transformation also became more and more difficult.
In the end, when Jiang Si's entire body was covered in the Magical Outfit,
the potion had already lost its effect.
Ten milliliters indeed wasn't enough, but increasing the dose further would be too wasteful.
He'd wait until Xilan got more potion and sent it over. For now, he just needed to test whether he could transform.
Since it was already considered a success, there was no need to continue wasting potion.
Jiang Si reached out and looked at the armor condensed from polluted magic power on his body. This polluted magic power had taken on a grayish-white color.
The overall Magical Outfit was still the same as Shion's, except it had neither purple nor gold.
Only a grayish-white skirt remained. When she used mana to construct a mirror like Bingtang's, she could see that even her pupils and hair had turned grayish-white.
Grayish-white Shion.
No matter what seed he used to transform, or what power he used to transform, his appearance wouldn't change.
In Jiang Si's view, the Magical Girl form was the Dharmakaya, the [Body] among the [Six Natures], an indispensable foundation for cultivation in this world. It was just a matter of what power was used to assume this form.
But grayish-white...
The feeling of mana weakness caused by the insufficient potion was also a long time coming. He felt so weak, only about the strength of early Seedling, eight revolutions or so.
In this state, probably even Keke could bully her at will.
Back near the ocean in Anyang City, the Magical Girl who tried to stop him from returning seemed to have grayish-white...
And also the existence that attacked him in the spatial turbulence.
Seemed to have grayish-white mana too.
This residue-like, ash-colored power... seemed to also exist within the power of the Mirror World.
He couldn't help but think of the Gray Tomb that all sorts of people in the myriad heavens infinite novels liked to use as their old home...
This thing should be another type of power, but Jiang Si found it wasn't very useful.
At the very least, it wasn't useful when transforming into a witch.
That's about it.
After canceling the transformation, Jiang Si felt the power in his body again. Transforming had actually weakened him.
His physical body had now stepped into the Blooming level. Even without relying on mana, he was [Half-Step Nine... (middle omitted) Peak Great Perfection]. Yet after transforming, he was only Seedling.
What a joke.
Unless he wanted to self-seal for a challenge, there was really no need to transform into the witch state.
Feels like he'd need to inject a whole bottle to get the enhancement effect of a Blooming-level seed.
But as one of the combat options, needing to inject drugs itself was quite cumbersome.
He had to find a way to optimize it.
The first thing he thought of was actually the Black Dragon. If there was something that could help him inject drugs at any time without worrying about rebellion, then the Black Dragon was the most trustworthy.
But waking it up was hard to say whether the pros outweighed the cons.
While still calculating in his heart whether it was worth it or not, he ran into two girls coming towards him on the road.
"Brother!"
Looking up, Keke was smiling brightly, waving her hand as she ran over and immediately hugged him.
As clingy as when she was little.
Pressing on her forehead, he pushed her away. Jiang Si glanced at the girl behind her. "Work restored?"
"Yiyi helped me get it sorted!" Keke immediately turned back and pulled her friend. "Because you disappeared for so long, Yiyi was also worried about you, so she insisted on coming to see you today."
Over there, Li Yi, though a bit blushing, still looked up, blinking her eyes as she observed Jiang Si.
Jiang Si nodded. "You've seen me. Go back now."
"Hey!" Keke immediately grabbed her older brother. "Don't be like that! She came all this way with difficulty. Brother, you're too hurtful!"
Li Yi nervously hugged her small bag—she had actually specially changed clothes today. Because she was so small, choosing clothes wasn't easy.
This time, she changed into a light pink high-neck top and a short skirt, hoping she wouldn't be seen as a child while also showing off her cute side.
Keke said she had an advantage in cuteness, so showing more of that side was better.
Although Li Yi had always tried her best to avoid being seen as a cute little girl, this time she tried a different style... seems the effect wasn't very good.
Jiang Si didn't really look at her much either, which made her feel a bit discouraged.
"Yiyi plans to buy some clothes today. She can't decide, so go with her to take a look."
"Am I that familiar with her?"
Li Yi felt a bit hurt.
"Geez, go shopping once and you'll be familiar."
Keke not denying that point hurt her even more...
"Can't you go with her?"
"I have to prepare for Teacher Shion's special training this afternoon!"
Why does it feel like I'm being rejected by both sides?
Keke pulled his hand, shaking it like when she was little. "Please, big brother, just this once, okay?"
Ah, why is this a sibling exchange? Feels like I've been stabbed several times...
Li Yi covered her bleeding heart, feeling like she was about to die.
Wants to go home...
Oh, she no longer has a home to return to. Should be wants to go back to the Disaster Control Bureau.
Clothes or whatever, it's fine not to buy them.
While lost in random thoughts, over there, Jiang Si actually nodded and agreed. "Fine. One hour."
So we are still buying clothes!
Li Yi immediately felt the slight hurt from before was just a drizzle.
Keke immediately pushed Jiang Si over, then gave a small wave. "Be careful on the way. Disaster Beasts have been appearing more frequently lately. If there's any danger, notify me immediately."
"Mhm."
When leaving with Jiang Si, Li Yi looked back again at Keke hiding in the shadows.
For some reason, she felt Keke's smile was a bit lonely...
Next time, bring Keke along.
Thinking this in her heart, she glanced sideways at Jiang Si.
He also looked over. Just as Li Yi was starting to feel a bit embarrassed, Jiang Si spoke:
"Starting the timer now."
"At least wait until we get to the street!"
He wasn't here to accompany her shopping. Jiang Si's presence was like a death warrant. Li Yi felt like she was being rushed.
Everything was efficiency first. Not allowed to stay in one place for more than ten minutes.
Changed into a set of clothes. According to manga plot, she should hesitantly ask him if it looked good, if she should try another set.
But Jiang Si would only impatiently ask if she was done changing.
When she said she was done, as soon as she opened the door, Jiang Si would pull her out, scrutinize her, not giving her a chance to be shy.
Then he'd give a score, ask her if she wanted to try something else. If yes, he'd immediately shove two more pieces at her.
If no, he'd drag her out and find the clerk to check out.
The whole process didn't give her much chance to hesitate.
So much so that later, Li Yi became somewhat numb, feeling like changing clothes in front of Jiang Si wasn't something to be shy about.
After all, he wouldn't take a second look anyway...
Li Yi bought two or three sets of clothes that Jiang Si scored relatively high.
After buying the clothes, there were even twenty minutes left.
For Li Yi, this was quite rare. When she used to go shopping for clothes with her sister, buying one piece could take over an hour.
Even walking around the street for two or three hours without buying a single piece of clothing was normal...
After all, the main point was to go out and have fun.
Sighing inwardly, the opportunity Keke created for her was about to be wasted like this.
She couldn't be forceful in front of Jiang Si. The boy in front of her was too much like an elder.
When she made a request and was denied, it felt even more like the flustered feeling of being denied by an elder.
It gave Li Yi a feeling of being taken care of by a father—although in reality, her own father had never taken her out like this.
Keke once told her that since childhood, Jiang Si was more like a dad than a brother.
Now, being alone with him, Li Yi felt this even more deeply.
Strong decision-making ability, one-person rule, serious and unsmiling, but occasionally he would still show concern about her thoughts...
If she really lived in a normal family and had a normal father, it would probably be like this, right?
Li Yi thought.
Oh no. Clearly, Keke created an opportunity for her to have a date with Jiang Si, to get to know and interact with him more.
But she was getting a little immersed in this feeling of being taken care of by a father...
Patting her cheeks, Li Yi tried to calm herself down a bit.
First, figure out Jiang Si's thoughts about her...
"Want to go to a cold drink shop to rest for a bit?"
Unexpectedly, Jiang Si took the initiative to speak first. She nodded repeatedly. "Okay, old..."
Jiang Si looked back at Li Yi. "Old?"
"Old... senior!"
So dangerous! The word 'dad' almost slipped out.
What are you thinking, Li Yi!
If she said it out loud, it would be completely hopeless, right?
But if that's the case, then what exactly were her feelings for Jiang Si?
A projection of her longing for a father?
Actually, at the beginning, it was just a vague fondness. She paid attention to him because he was always standing out at school. Later, she found out he was very impressive and special, plus he was Keke's brother, so she gradually started caring more.
Then, upon learning about his relationship with Shion, the sour feeling that arose in her heart, being pestered by her sister to write some friendship letter... it all became increasingly blurry...
She also fantasized about whether Jiang Si might like her.
If it weren't for her sister's mischief back then, she probably wouldn't have fallen into this strange emotional state.
But her sister had already left, so don't blame her anymore...
Lost in random thoughts, when she sat down in the cold drink shop, she saw Jiang Si buy a couple's set.
Her pupils instantly dilated:
"? A couple's set is... a bit fast, isn't it?"
"It's cheaper."
"Oh."
Idiot, what were you expecting?!
Li Yi felt she had to calm down, otherwise she didn't know what other nonsense she might say.
She sucked hard on her cold drink. The chill shot straight to her brain.
It even gave her a headache.
She hugged her head and laid on the table.
"Drink slowly. No one's snatching it from you."
So embarrassing...
Li Yi didn't really want to lift her head. She really wanted to hard knock herself unconscious on the table.
After a long while, lying on the table, she turned her head sideways.
Looking at the street outside the glass with people coming and going, Li Yi finally caught her breath and asked in a small voice, "Jiang Si, why did you agree to go shopping with me?"
"Because Keke has been very annoying at home lately." Jiang Si didn't even think about it. "Avoiding her."
Alright, I knew it.
"Keke just wants to spend more time with you. She doesn't dislike you..."
"I know." Jiang Si checked the time. Ten minutes left. He'd directly transform into Shion later to give Keke special training, saving a lot of trouble. "That's precisely why she's annoying."
"Ahaha." Li Yi sighed and lifted her head. "Forget it. Anyway, this is also proof of a good relationship, right?"
Better than thinking she had a good relationship with her sister, only to find out she actually knew nothing.
"Of course. That's what family is like."
Jiang Si said calmly, "Annoying, but you can't leave them."
For a moment, Li Yi felt envy.
"Ah, if I were also your little sis..."
She didn't want to completely deny her sister's existence.
From childhood until now, her sister's care for her wasn't false.
So halfway through her sentence, Li Yi interrupted herself.
If it weren't for her sister, she might not have even lived until the time her sister came to hate her.
Li Yi also didn't hate the sister who defiled her seed.
She was just, very regretful and sad.
"Being your little sister would be a good thing." So Li Yi changed her wording.
But remembering what Keke said back then about envying her relationship with her sister,
now it seemed the opposite was happening. For a moment, her heart was also filled with mixed emotions.
"Jiang Si, do you think I..."
The words she wanted to say weren't finished when she saw Jiang Si suddenly stand up.
Before Li Yi could react, Jiang Si grabbed the back collar of her clothes, forcefully lifted her up, and threw her out!
A thick, sturdy tail instantly smashed the spot where Li Yi had just been sitting!
Screams erupted on the street in an instant. The piercing sound of vehicles braking sharply filled the air. The crowd began to scatter and flee!
By the time Li Yi got up from the ground, the surroundings were a complete mess with scattered glass shards, overturned tables, chairs, door frames, and pillars. Feeling somewhat dizzy, she scanned her surroundings. The people inside the shop were running out.
Outside the window, a ferocious-looking crocodile was roaring towards them.
Quickly sending out an emergency distress signal, Li Yi rolled to avoid the glass shards sent flying by the crocodile's impact. During the roll, she immediately pulled out her pistol, aimed at the crocodile's forehead, and pulled the trigger.
It only sparked a few times on the crocodile's body.
"Roar!"
The roaring Disaster Beast twisted its bulky body and charged in, heading straight for her.
Li Yi gritted her teeth. Just as she wanted to create distance, the Disaster Beast forcefully stomped the ground, making it impossible for her to stand steady!
Holding onto the nearby counter with one hand, she fired wildly with the other until the bullets in her pistol were all spent, still pulling the trigger repeatedly.
Damn it, can't get away...
Just as the crocodile opened its huge mouth, its sharp teeth about to bite down on her, for a moment, Li Yi was only somewhat worried.
Would Jiang Si be in danger? He should have run far away by now, right?
Hopefully he's okay. Otherwise, even if I die, I won't be able to give Keke a proper explanation...
Boom!
A massive impact from ahead sent terrifying wind pressure. Li Yi was again blown and fell behind the counter.
The petite girl struggled to get up and look.
The young man had one foot stepping on the lower jaw and one hand grabbing the upper jaw, forcibly holding the Disaster Beast crocodile's huge mouth open, preventing it from closing.
The crocodile Disaster Beast's huge body twisted, yet the young man, small like a nail, nailed it firmly in place ahead,
making it difficult to move.
Jiang Si turned his head to look at her, expression cold.
"Why didn't you transform."