Chapter 89: The Four Great Loves of Qi, Body, Soul, and Heart

"Our Association doesn't have any clear-cut grading system."

"If we could create such a model, we'd have done it long ago."

It looked at the cherry-haired girl before it: "Those incantations you chanted last time—there's no inherent logic connecting them, yet they could mobilize your power, your emotions, and even make your magic power display special properties."

"Then let me ask you this: if someone else chanted that same incantation, would it work?"

Lin Guang was momentarily stunned, then shook his head.

How could it possibly work? That was the Path of Destruction from some damned anime—she was just referencing a meme.

And even then, these chants still had limitations for her.

After all, Mengmengxiang's body had a fire-based magic attribute, with a crimson color spectrum. She could simulate offensive Path of Destruction techniques like Azure Firefall and Crimson Flame Cannon, but chanting other binding and ghostly arts—even if there were visual effects—probably couldn't replicate those unique effects. Ultimately, even Lin Guang herself didn't believe it would work.

Maybe this counted as some kind of cognitive barrier.

Otherwise, she'd have started mumbling things like "Dimly revealing the turbid crest, the unruly and arrogant talent..." or at the very least, "Nine nets, polarized light, birds and bird calls, between the surface and inside," or "Dragon scales rebounding, paired meteors," and stuff like that.

But now?

All she could use was "Stove. Open."

The Phoenix sighed: "That's exactly the point."

"This thing only you can replicate. You can't even explain why it works, because the essence of a magical girl's power is almost purely spiritual—rooted in 'heart' and 'wish.'"

The Phoenix said seriously: "This subjective will and emotion varies greatly from person to person. It's incredibly hard to guide each other. Everyone's perception of magic power, their own understanding of its logic, are entirely different, isolated islands."

"If we had to put it in terms, this could be considered something like what certain age groups, with similar experiences, hobbies, or even the same type of psychological trauma, call a 'shared cultural experience.' It falls under cognitive science."

"Perhaps there really is some degree of commonality and pattern, but the number of magical girls is far from sufficient to summarize those patterns."

"Beyond rough classifications based on magic color spectrum tied to magic attribute and personality, and basic magic power intensity, there's no way to precisely quantify it. Therefore, no unified standard can be established."

"Even the silver-spectrum magical girls, who come closest to this concept, can only quantify their own power—they can't popularize it."

"At most, magical girls from similar spectrums can exchange experiences. That's the limit."

The Phoenix turned its head, but didn't shut the door completely: "At least, not with the Sacred Tree's and my current abilities."

"...I understand."

........

【You have died.】

【Mission Evaluation: E-Rank】

【Achievement Unlocked: Self-Destruction Explosion】

The twenty-first trial had ended.

The Low-Level Nightmare Seed guarding the second Fragment of Hope was a mechanical giant insect that could burrow through the ground. Its head was a massive reaction furnace. To protect Su Fang, Lin Guang had crawled into its mouth when the bug showed an opening and detonated together with it.

Anyway, it had been a while since she'd experienced the feeling of being blown into Mengmengxiang fragments.

To be honest... she kind of missed it.

Still, the good thing was that Lin Guang had already figured out a no-damage strategy for this thing.

The next moment.

In the dim bedroom.

Lin Guang climbed out of bed, walked to the desk, turned on the lamp, and immediately began writing furiously at a speed that normal people couldn't follow.

Provisional title: "Phantom Worm."

"Head power furnace—normal form isn't a weak point; attacking it gets absorbed into power instead..."

"Attacking during the charging phases of other rays has no effect. Only when charging the green decomposition ray does a vulnerability appear..."

Before long, she had finished writing down this monster's information and strategy.

Then, looking at the thick notebook in front of her, covered in dense, neat handwriting, she couldn't help but nod.

—As the ancients said: the victorious are arrogant, the arrogant are defeated, the defeated are sorrowful, and the sorrowful are victorious.

Since she had already lost three times in a row, she must have become a fighter among the sorrowful. If she could just encounter any old face a second time, she'd definitely beat them so badly they wouldn't recognize their own mother, then storm toward the location of the next Fragment of Hope.

Lin Guang reached out and flipped the notebook to the next blank page.

But she didn't start writing immediately. A flash of crimson light flickered in her eyes.

A small flame flickered at the tip of her left index finger, then extinguished.

Feeling the fluctuation and consumption of magic power within her body, Lin Guang sank into deep thought under the lamplight.

"........."

During the twenty-first trial—those ten days of training—Lin Guang had already thought deeply about what she should be doing.

In every trial, just seeing a new monster, figuring out how to counter it on the spot, recording the information, and hoping to pass without damage the next time she saw it...

On the surface, it might seem useful.

—But that was a loser's mentality.

What, she was supposed to die forever if she never met an old face? Get killed by first encounters every single time?

How could she tolerate that?

Thinking about it, as a top-tier player, she should have much more she could do.

And although the Phoenix's words were rather pessimistic, they unexpectedly gave her inspiration.

A power almost entirely based on heart and wishes—quantifying it was indeed incredibly difficult. Even the Magical Girl Association had no standard and couldn't establish objective criteria.

Lin Guang understood the difficulty of this.

Even with two A-rank abilities, she knew she couldn't figure it out in a short time through sheer persistence.

But looking at it from another angle, Lin Guang's starting point was never about establishing a completely universal standard.

According to the Phoenix... among silver-spectrum magical girls, someone had managed to quantify their own power?

There was no reason Lin Guang couldn't do it.

If she only took "Lin Guang" as the main perspective, starting from her own viewpoint, to judge, think, and even summarize a path uniquely her own...

From this angle, objective and subjective standards had the same effect.

She just wanted to understand herself as thoroughly as possible, so she could quickly grow stronger and complete the trial—nothing more.

So—

Lin Guang wrote in the notebook.

【What is my path?】

In the world of thought, her mind raced at lightning speed, then slowly closed her eyes.

At that moment.

The memories of these three long trials flowed out in her mind.

They weren't just countless images and sounds—they were sensory experiences that words could hardly describe.

"Ah..."

The gentle stream flowing everywhere within her body began to accelerate. The crimson magic power seemed to feel the leap of emotion, becoming imbued with a special vitality, burning and jumping with excitement.

Following that, words hidden deep in her memories began to surface rapidly, stirring within her thoughts.

Perfect Realm, Power Flow, Horsepower, Spiritual Pressure Output, Spiritual Pressure Manipulation, Slash-Punch-Walk-Ghost, Danger Level, Spiritual Pressure, Spiritual Might, Four Heavenly Gates of the Divine Gate, Hume Index, Heavenly Mind Awareness, Forbidden Domain, Energy Level, Speed-Strength-Precision-Endurance, Enveloping-Tightening-Forging-Release, Muscle-Sinew-Bone-Skin, Essence-Qi-Spirit Three Treasures...

When she opened her eyes again, the burning crimson flame had already transformed into an engine driving all phenomena, or a chain drawing in every inspiration.

Silently, the young man smiled.

"........."

The next moment, Lin Guang's pen, which had been hovering over the notebook, finally landed.

A few flamboyantly cursive characters appeared one stroke at a time on the notebook.

The first character was Qi.

The second was Body.

The third was Soul.

The fourth was Heart.

Then—

The last three characters appeared in sequence.

Four Great Loves.

Qi! Body! Soul! Heart! Four! Great! Loves!