Chapter 352: Morpheus System, Walking the Dog

Time passed.

The Divine Emperor’s tour still had no news, but the training for the little idols officially began.

The staff at Yves Saint Laurent Academy no longer had the time to teach over three thousand students, yet many powerful Magicians from across the empire, known for their strength and reputation, volunteered to apply even before Sophon issued the royal decree.

Among them were retired national-level professors who no longer engaged with the world, registered in Sophon, as well as Magicians who had fought against the Army of Demigods, killing millions with war magic and holding unique titles and techniques, showcasing a wealth of talent.

Therefore, before the magical girls even finished organizing their classes and schedules, there were already hundreds and thousands of qualified Magicians ready to sign up as teachers, soon enough creating a one-on-one teaching model.

The training in real life lasted 15 days, but because time moved almost ten times faster, everyone could spend less than 150 days inside, roughly about half a year.

Thus, figuring out how to make the best use of this time, balancing work and rest, while learning magic and maintaining their idol charisma, became Esther’s main task.

While dancing could be restored to its original level with extra practice, it wasn’t easy to shake off six months of living as a trainee and not being on stage for six months.

The final solution discussed was to establish a “media office” within the empire for Holy Sophon, and to have Dream Weaver Rabbit bring back the equipment to set up a think tank where they could choose dance music freely, along with various tools and supplies.

Then, apart from the magical girls not participating in the “Dazzling Stage,” the other little idols were grouped according to their original teams. Depending on the situation, several groups were combined into one class, where they would receive education and training, leading to fiercer competition!

First, in classes, assignments, quizzes, midterms, and monthly tests, they could all earn credits. The top thirty classes in credits for the first month could debut through the office and start idol activities in the empire, with opportunities to perform on stage every week.

As for the other classes, the top group could also debut, but those left behind would have to wait for next month’s rankings.

Dream Weaver Rabbit was very skilled in this classic competition mechanism, bringing the training back to the flavor of “Dazzling Stage.” It made Chu Yuanqing remember when Liang Xiaoxiao trained hard, and Xie Qingxuan spent 12 hours a day in the intense competition, not to mention the other little idols.

However, unlike the past pure selection, elimination, and toughening mechanism, the core reason for this was to help everyone maintain their idol spirit.

So, on the surface, it was very competitive, but secretly there were many reward mechanisms to ensure that all magical girls would debut within three months, a very clever operation.

For this reason, Chu Yuanqing granted Dream Weaver some control over Sophon and appointed her as the producer, responsible for handling the details of the debut while she began to fulfill her duties as the chief instructor.

Because time was tight, she created three Magic Clones.

One of the tasks was to deal with Little Yu and take on the other captain-level witches.

Well, it was a very simple idea: no matter what you wanted to teach, as long as it was about battle, just give it a good hit first. In the pressure of life and death, one would always learn something.

The captain after Xie Qing Yu was more fortunate because, with the power of Holy Sophon—Tree of Thought, the [Morpheus’s Magic Mirror] was greatly enhanced in the Ideal State, making it unbelievably capable of perfectly deceiving divine beings.

In other words, legendary Magicians like the three Tower Masters would become puppets within this technique, as would the other captain-level witches.

This illusion that surpassed the beauty of flowers and water could serve as a perfect training tool, even making up for some magical girls who could not fully awaken, could not use [Blooming Flowers], and could not easily die hundreds of times.

The Pure White Witch felt as if she had discovered a great treasure when she uncovered this effect of Holy Sophon, and she was in a very happy mood.

Then, just like placing the core of [Morpheus’s Magic Mirror] into the operation of the Mirror Tree, she placed the Magic Mirror in the roots of thought of the sanctuary, connecting directly to the Golden Sea.

Thus, the magic essence corridor was responsible for providing energy, while the will of Sophon wove levels of different difficulties using a lot of real battle data against the captain-level witches, according to Honey Qing’s requests, placing the Pure White Witch at various stages.

Simple Mode: Holding the mercury sword, The Song of Silver and Tin began to play, where only blade fights occurred, and the use of other techniques was forbidden. The magic threshold was set to [light a lamp], recommended for magical girls in the [lighting] stage to challenge.

Normal mode: The mercury sword was set free to reconstruct, the Mirror Tree took root on the surface, [Mirror Reflection] marks filled the air, various [Silver Mirror] series spells were unlocked, and the magic threshold was set to [Pool]. It was recommended that magical girls challenge the “Fully Blooming” stage.

After that, there was a difficult mode suitable for the [Fully Blooming] challenge, a hell mode that matched with a captain-level witch, and a Martial God mode specially developed for children like Liang Xiaoxiao who wanted to learn the exquisite skills of Honey Qing.

The Pure White Witch spent 37 hours successfully creating a heartwarming virtual combat system, which had a higher realism than the Countermeasures Bureau’s [Astral Instrument] combined with the [Dream Weaver] system, perfectly solving the problem of having no one to help train while she was away.

As a branch of this, Holy Sophon freely created more levels. Within two days, they were initially opened to magical girls in the sanctuary, introducing a ranking list, credit rewards, and daily task mechanisms.

One could say that she single-handedly added a heavy layer of gloom to these children’s future lives.

That night, Yves Saint Laurent.

Chalkiness Tower, laboratory.

The girl with lead-gray hair mixed with white strands tied into a ponytail had a delicate little face blushing with shock, and her spiral gray eyes reflected a very special blood-red starry sky.

Liang Xiaoxiao did not yet know that her teacher had prepared nightmares for her; she was lost in this scene hidden within the tall tower, murmuring:

“Teacher Chu, is this… true?”

Chu Yuanqing did not answer; she snapped her fingers, and a “star” fell from the sky. It carried a great energy but made no sound, silently tracing a path in colorful and strange hues before landing in front of the two.

At a close distance,

Liang Xiaoxiao could see the true shape of the “star.” It was a half-transparent magic essence that formed an irregular circle, like a layer of crystal, wrapping around a vividly alive, terrifying monster inside.

Chu Yuanqing explained:

“Yes, each star is like this. It’s a living specimen that Delia captured from the Black Tide using time magic and froze in place.”

“I asked Sophon to select a suitable category for you, while removing individuals from the [Calamity God] series, leaving 79 types of disaster beasts as the foundation for your genetic upgrade.”

The girl felt a chill of fear. Her will was tougher than most, but every time she remembered the experience of merging with the Blood Throat Gene, her mind would still conjure terrifying phantom pains, and she would sometimes have nightmares about it.

The feeling of having her genes collapse and reorganize repeatedly, changing the essence of her soul and destroying, renewing, and transforming all her flesh and bones was something that no ordinary person could endure.

After Liang Xiaoxiao experienced it once, she did not cry and ask to quit; instead, she chose to continue on the path of a knight. She was already quite remarkable, but she still could not imagine what kind of determination it would take to merge all 79 types of Disaster Beast Genes.

The little girl quietly swallowed and asked,

“Teacher Chu, didn’t you say that merging genes must be done carefully, and that rushing into evolution could cause the gene chain to break, turning one into a real monster?”

Chu Yuanqing calmly admitted this and then continued,

“I also said not to let the quality and quantity of disaster aura rise to a level that even Holy Glory cannot control.”

“These points are all correct. That’s why I want you to merge more Disaster Beast Genes here.”

Liang Xiaoxiao did not understand the logic for a moment, so she asked honestly,

“I don’t understand.”

Chu Yuanqing had a warm, bright look in her eyes. Her pink lips curved into a comforting smile as she replied,

“Before we enter, I told you that the Ideal State is special; it is both a dream and a reality, a secret realm of time born from coincidence and miracles.”

“So, different from the outside, you have more chances to make mistakes.”

Liang Xiaoxiao seemed to understand, yet not quite, and said frankly:

“But here, I only have one life; if I fail, I will die, right?”

Chu Yuanqing gave an example:

“It’s different; in the Ideal State, whether it’s the Disaster Beast Gene or the Holy Glory you gain from magic essence, they are all gifts given to you by this secret realm of time.”

“They first exist as nothing, as things that do not exist, then they become magic essence and other things; the process is from nothing to something, and each time you make it real, it uses an equal amount of tokens.”

The Pure White Witch stated clearly:

“And I can give you the power to choose what you want and what you don’t want.”

“If the blended genes are flawed, unsuitable, or not perfect, then it is better not to materialize them, and repeat this until the end.”

“So, this place is the most suitable dreamland for a knight to be born.”

Liang Xiaoxiao was a bit stunned upon hearing this.

If she remembered correctly, the collapse of the Ideal State was already destined.

In other words, if she missed this opportunity for training over the past six months, even if she realized it later, she would not have the conditions to try and make mistakes in such a luxurious way.

On the other hand, even if Chu Yuanqing did not say it, she understood how many hardships and crises one would face on the path of exploring the system. Without the support of the Ideal State, it was unknown how many lives would be risked to make it work.

The girl’s mind flashed with memories: the helplessness of first encountering a disaster beast, the scene of friends losing limbs and blood mist filling the sky, being chased by the black tide, relying on others transformed into a wall of flesh and blood, barely stepping into the teleportation array, and escaping narrowly.

The last image lingering in her mind was of a group of friends studying magic in the sanctuary, clearly separated from them, as if two paths were drawn, intertwining light and shadow.

Giving up was certainly easy; even if one chose to retreat, someone as gentle as Teacher Chu would probably not say much, but once she actually did that, she would likely be quickly left behind by others.

Do not mention the captain and Little Shuzhu; even Wutong and Baor had shown great talent in controlling magic essence and forming magical circles, receiving praise from the mentor who came to teach.

She was different; absorbing magic essence did not increase her Holy Glory much, and forming magical circles felt like listening to a foreign language, like a baby trying to understand advanced math.

The realm of [Heart Flow] that she entered with Chu Yuanqing only allowed her to take a few extra steps, enabling her to stand outside the hall where geniuses gathered and catch a glimpse of their world.

It turned out that all the chosen candidates for the Ideal State had talents she did not possess. To join their world, she had to work much harder and pay a bigger price.

Perhaps she should feel fortunate, fortunate that Teacher Chu was willing to give her the chance to pay that price.

“I can do it anytime.”

Chu Yuanqing did not know this child’s inner journey; she only received that straightforward response. She turned to look at Xiaoxiao’s face and nodded, saying:

“There is no need to rush; the Imperial Laboratory is still in the process of being set up. When you become more familiar with this power and make Holy Glory stronger, you can come here to try it out, and Sophon will assist you then.”

After saying this, she continued to show Liang Xiaoxiao around the magical laboratory, asking her to come daily for blood sampling, leaving behind a Magic Clone to supervise her training. The real her then left Chalkiness Tower and returned home.

Chu Yuanqing walked into the master bedroom. She sat on a little velvet sofa, and with her delicate fingers, she unbuttoned her coat and took off the special Yves Saint Laurent suit, shedding her tiredness too.

The girl lazily and relaxedly lowered her gaze. She used her fingertips to lift a few strands of white hair that had fallen on her cheek, picked up the warm rose tea from the coffee table, took a sip, and softly whispered:

“It’s finally over.”

The Morpheus system could solve most of her training problems for her.

Liang Xiaoxiao also had customized a training plan and the final goal of the training. The first was to familiarize herself with disaster aura, control herself, and try different combinations of genes, while the latter was to clear the Simple Mode of Morpheus.

Chu Yuanqing just needed to check in occasionally like a shepherd and see the progress, so she could relax and let others handle things.

It was worth mentioning that the little idols would stay in the Ideal State.

Charlotte would take her place and debut with everyone in the Empire, performing on tour. Currently, the five of them were nominally in the same class, but they mostly did not attend.

The reason was that the great Pure White Emperor chose to bring in three Tower Masters to take turns teaching his lovely daughter, so there was no need to attend regular classes.

As for the rest of the group, Charlotte’s role as the Adjudicator meant that even the Tower Master was not qualified to teach her. Little Sakura, Honey Xuan, and Liuli were all studying their own Patronus Magic and would be good students in due time.

Yes, Xie Qingxuan had successfully “Fully Bloomed.” The Flower of the Soul she had bloomed was a beautiful golden tulip, symbolizing glory, victory, and beauty, which fit her perfectly.

However, it was strange that the color of her magic was completely different from the Flower of the Soul; the former was pure black, while the latter was bright gold.

Chu Yuanqing’s thoughts were swirling as she smelled the aroma of rose tea, her mind becoming more chaotic, like falling into a pile of snowflakes. Her eyelids grew heavy, and her awareness slowly faded.

Just as she was about to fall asleep,

A series of knocking sounds came from outside the door.

The Pure White Witch suddenly awoke. Dazed, she set down her teacup, which was about to spill, and watched the Golden Wolf Princess, dressed in a pitch-black gown, enter the room. The princess naturally sat beside her and instinctively sniffed the scent of tulips coming from her. Therefore, this scent must have come from the magic emanating from the Golden Wolf’s blood.

The girl had luxurious platinum hair like satin, styled in an elegant updo that revealed her delicate skin and the graceful lines of her shoulder blades and back. But what attracted the most attention was the elegant curve, overflowing with joy, and the generous display of spring colors in the snowy land, reminiscent of the alluring scenery of deep mountain valleys.

Xie Qingxuan looked at the somewhat slow-reacting Honey Qing, who blinked her innocent eyes and straightforwardly teased, “This is for Little Qing to see; do you think it looks good?” Chu Yuanqing perked up a little; she pressed her pink lips together and quietly scooted over. Of course, it looked good.

Honey Xuan was perfectly shaped and sized, right on the perfect line between being a little too much and just a little too little, usually dressed conservatively. With sports bras and binding clothes, fans could only guess a D cup, hidden very deep. So wearing something like this looks very formal, as if it could be worn outside, but if it ends up becoming a trending topic for its risqué nature, it becomes especially enticing.

Also, while not everyone likes an aloof flower, an aloof flower can indeed be very alluring when it crosses the line. Great Devil was exactly this type. Not to mention, this person only thought about wearing it for her and wearing it for others, which gave off a kind of pure and innocent vibe.

Chu Yuanqing didn’t understand this, but Charlotte understood it very well. She understood it so much that she could analyze everyone’s traits, cute points, and strengths, claiming it was to help her discover the beauty of the girls around her, with great confidence.

“Beautiful.” Chu Yuanqing didn’t really want to say it because if she did, Honey Xuan would wear even more unsuitable clothes. But if she didn’t compliment, maybe the other person would seriously reflect and try something more daring.

Xie Qingxuan showed a happy little expression after hearing the answer she wanted, and her fluffy ears twitched a few times. The Pure White Witch, witnessing this adorable scene, couldn’t help but pet those fluffy ears, marveling at their softness and comfort. Her fingertips felt a little warm, and she became a bit addicted, improving her technique as she began to stroke the golden retriever’s tail, which started to wag wildly.

Even though… even though she should restrain her desires and not touch Little Xuan’s ears casually, the Golden Wolf Princess’s skin was a noble limited edition, and it would disappear once the Ideal State was gone! Chu Yuanqing had only played [Shining Line], but that didn’t stop her from appreciating the charm of a limited pool. After stroking the noble beast ears, she felt more awake. Her pretty face flushed with a rosy hue, and she exclaimed, “So cute.”

“Can I touch your tail?” Xie Qingxuan obediently swung her tail over and let it rest on the Pure White Witch’s smooth thigh. As she felt the other’s fingertips brush against her, a shiver ran down her spine, and her mind tingled slightly. Her eyes misted over, her lips moved as she quietly asked, “Little Qing, do you remember the reward you promised me?”