Chapter 54: Yuehua Finds Familiarity in Flash

“Alright, everyone, before tomorrow’s formal training, I need to assess your cultivation progress,” Yuehua said to the gathered magical girls.

“Polaris, since you’re right in front of me, let’s start with you,” she continued, extending a delicate hand toward Polaris.

Polaris froze for a moment, staring at Yuehua’s outstretched hand.
She released Jin Yan’s mouth, glanced at Yuehua’s hand, then up at her silver hair and blue eyes.
An overwhelming urge to call her “Mom” surged within her.

It wasn’t just that Yuehua looked strikingly like her mother—same silver hair, same blue eyes, similar features.
Yet something in Polaris’s mind resisted connecting Yuehua with Alice Phil, as if an invisible force was forcibly separating the two in her thoughts.

Jin Yan was right that day—I do look like Yuehua. Because I look like Mom, and Mom looks so much like Yuehua.

Cautiously, Polaris took Yuehua’s hand.
Yuehua pulled her closer, and Polaris, caught off balance, stumbled forward, nearly falling.
Yuehua swiftly caught her, pulling her into an embrace.

Polaris’s face was briefly overwhelmed by Yuehua’s soft curves, nearly “drowning” in their warmth.

Blushing, Polaris quickly pulled back, though Yuehua still held her hand.

Yuehua chuckled silently, thinking, This kid’s so shy.
Polaris loved rolling around in her mother’s arms, but with Yuehua’s Concealment active, Polaris didn’t recognize her.
Still, her honest reaction spoke volumes.

Yuehua pulled Polaris closer again, carefully examining her cultivation state.

Polaris was at Tier-Four Bud level, showing signs of breaking through to Tier-Five Sprout.
Her mana circuits were intact, and her mana reserves were steadily growing—remarkable progress for just a month.

Not bad for my daughter, Yuehua thought proudly, her face beaming with barely concealed pride.

“You have great potential, Polaris,” Yuehua said, releasing her hand.

Her gaze shifted to Jin Yan, Polaris’s close friend, and she beckoned her over.

Jin Yan’s eyes sparkled as she scurried to Yuehua’s side, standing next to Polaris.

Looking at the red-haired “puppy” wagging her tail with excitement, Yuehua couldn’t resist patting Jin Yan’s head, smoothing her hair.
Polaris’s friends are so full of energy, she thought.

“Senior Yuehua! I’m a huge fan of you and Senior Corona! Can I have your autograph?” Jin Yan asked eagerly.

“Didn’t expect to have a little fan,” Yuehua said with a smile.

“Where do you want me to sign?”

Thrilled that Yuehua agreed, Jin Yan rummaged through her belongings but found no paper or pen.
Her face fell, looking pitiful.

“Hey, don’t you have a notebook and pen in your bag? Go grab them from the lounge!” Polaris whispered.

“Oh!”

Jin Yan’s eyes lit up, ready to dash downstairs, but Yuehua, shaking her head at Jin Yan’s impulsiveness, grabbed her wrist.

“No need for paper. I can sign now,” Yuehua said.

Channeling her mana, Yuehua extended her left hand, conjuring an alchemical array that gathered dust from the air, forming a white card in her palm.

With a thought, her Moon Spear, Crescent, trembled and dissolved into countless motes of light.
Yuehua plucked a small, hairpin-like spear from the motes.

The hairpin’s tip glowed with mana, and with a gentle stroke, an elegant signature appeared on the card.

Handing the signed card to a delighted Jin Yan, Yuehua noticed Polaris’s envious expression.
Smiling, she crafted three more signed cards the same way.

“If you don’t mind, come take one,” Yuehua said to the other magical girls, excluding Jin Yan.

The girls crowded around, each taking a card.
Yuehua handed one to her precious daughter Polaris first, then to her prized student Abyss, and finally to Flash.

As she gave Flash her card, Flash’s instinctive smile reminded Yuehua of Corona—back when she’d given Corona a mana flower, she’d had that same girlish expression.

Yuehua decided to check Flash’s cultivation first.
“Flash, come here,” she said to Flash, who was still admiring the card.

“I’ll check your cultivation progress.”

Flash stepped forward, extending her hand.
Yuehua took it, her mental energy spreading through the contact to assess Flash’s body.

Flash was also at Tier-Four Bud level, with clear mana circuits and mana reserves typical for her tier.

But why is there no fluctuation in her mana during my probe? Her cultivation is almost too stable, Yuehua thought, concluding Flash was a rare talent.

Releasing Flash’s hand, Yuehua turned her attention to Jin Yan, pulling her hand forward to examine her.

Jin Yan’s mana circuits were slightly narrow, but her mana reserves were normal, and her physical enhancement talent compensated for the minor flaw.

Jin Yan has a bright future, Yuehua assessed.

Finally, Abyss.

Yuehua beckoned, and Abyss, who had already pocketed her card, quickly stepped forward.

Abyss extended her hand cooperatively, and Yuehua began examining her post-awakening condition as a magical girl—the first time since Abyss’s transformation.

Her mana circuits were much wider than when she was a mage, and her already high mana reserves had grown further.

Most crucially, Yuehua checked Abyss’s mana core.
When mages or magical girls reached Tier-Seven, a mana core formed in their bodies.
For mages, it served as a mana hub, but for Tier-Seven magical girls—Crystal level—the core housed something ethereal: the “soul.”
This was why they were called Crystal-tier.

The mana core reduced vital weaknesses, but if shattered, a magical girl was almost certainly doomed.

“You were a Tier-Seven mage before awakening, and now you’re Crystal-tier.
But you need to explore your awakened talents and practice diligently to master your power,” Yuehua advised.

“Understood, Teacher,” Abyss replied.

With that, Yuehua’s work for the day was done.

Breathing a sigh, she addressed the rookie magical girls:

“Today’s purpose was to get to know you and assess your cultivation progress to plan your training.”

“No other training for today.”

“We’ll meet again tomorrow at 9 a.m. here.”

“Go home early.”

With a wave to the girls, Yuehua transformed into a stream of moonlight and vanished.

The rookie magical girls bid each other farewell and left the rooftop.

The terrace returned to its usual quiet.