Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

"Is this... the Heart Leaf?"

Of course, the Emerald Sparrow could recognize the different appearances of the Heart's Gem in various stages of Blooming. She had seen Bai Jingxuan's Heart's Gem just days ago, and at that time, it was still a Heart Bud. This meant that its re-Blooming would happen very soon – likely in the past couple of days.

"It only turned into this today."

Bai Jingxuan nodded, undoubtedly confirming Emerald Sparrow's thoughts: "Although a few days ago I felt like I was about to Bloom, I wanted to wait until I truly achieved it before informing my teacher."

Her explanation made Xia Liang, who stood nearby, also nod in understanding:

"I see, no wonder when we asked you to go shopping this morning, you weren't willing to join us. Turns out you were secretly rushing at the last minute."

Understanding this key point, she showed a slight smile with a hint of affectionate reprimand and rubbed Bai Jingxuan's cheek: "You could have just told us; it would have been safer to have us support you during your Blooming. Why so impulsive?"

She was indeed surprised but not too astonished. After all, Bai Jingxuan had reached the Seed Level five months ago. She herself had progressed from Seed Level to Leaf Level even faster than that.

Unfortunately, she was a bit biased in this matter, not realizing that for an average Magical Girl, growing from the Magic Armor accumulation at the Seed Level to Leaf Level was generally a years-long journey. Those who could rise within a year were rare geniuses, let alone someone like her and Bai Jingxuan, who reached Leaf Level in five months; few would believe it.

Certainly, this was due to their exceptional talents, accompanied by close mentorship from Card Magical Girls, even turning into saturated multi-Card Magical Girl guidance in later stages.

When Lin Xiaolu first became a Magical Girl, Emerald Sparrow had taught juniors techniques to increase Magic Power: the "Spiritual Thought" and "Forging Power." The former could evenly boost both magic power total and soul volume, though it was slow; the latter could rapidly increase magic power, but left the soul unchanged.

This distinction was quite objective and accurate, and for the two juniors, who were only at the Species Level with much foundational knowledge to absorb, it was entirely sufficient.

The vast majority of Magical Girls spent half to a full year reaching the standard combat capability of a Magical Girl from the Seed Level. They then took three to four years to slowly advance to Leaf Level under their predecessors' shelter. If they had any combat talent, they might try slaying Remnant Beasts to accumulate the resources needed for the Bud Level push. However, those without talent or interest in combat usually just learned basic magic techniques and contributed five years of solid Leaf Level protection to their city, completing their ten-year tenure, then awaiting a worry-free later life.

During all this, one resource repeatedly mentioned was the "Resonance" from Remnant Beasts.

Magical Girls would bring Resonance to the Seeders, who passed it to the Kingdom, evaluating their merits and granting rewards. Among these, the most crucial rewards were the "Love Crystal" and "Heart's Honey."

The so-called Love Crystal, as the name suggests, has innumerable connections with the "Source of Love." This item often appeared as irregular pink Crystal Stones, the most compatible supplement for a Magical Girl's Magic Source. By using the power of a Love Crystal, a Magical Girl could rapidly enhance her magic power total, even nurturing the soul. However, this boost often left strength unstable for a while, requiring diligent practice by the Magical Girl to adapt before fully benefiting.

As for the "Heart's Honey," it was a distinctly different resource produced only in the Garden. While it couldn't directly increase soul volume, it significantly enhanced the effects of Spiritual Thought on the soul. The main advantage over the Love Crystal was its continuous usage, maintaining a fast growth state.

When the Emerald Sparrow first became a Magical Girl, among peers, the process of exchanging resources via Resonance to enhance strength was colloquially called "hunting" or "doping." Yet now, unknown to her, a new generation of Magical Girls jokingly called it "spending money."

Attempting to ascend from Seed Level to Leaf Level through spending or doping required Resonance from three Pupa Stage Remnants. For Leaf Level to Bud Level, twenty Pupa Stage, or two Half-Molt Level Residues were needed. This hefty exchange rate made it almost impossible for most Magical Girls to gain strength through this method. Unless a Magical Girl had outstanding combat abilities, engaging in Pupa sieges at Seed Level, and soloing Pupa at Leaf Level, accumulating corresponding merits was infeasible.

But undeniably, the Fangting City squad had uniquely favorable conditions in this respect.

Emerald Sparrow's own Heart's Gem had Bloomed to the Flower Level, yet whether it could continue to Bloom remained decisively "no" in the millennium-proven history of the Magic Kingdom. She could feel her abilities reaching her mastery limit, with no foreseeable path forward.

Thus, since last year's Full Moon Festival, after connecting with the Golden Green Cat's Eye and even the Emerald, and transforming Moke, a joke of a smuggler, into a legitimate Seeder, she had used all her accumulated Resonance to nurture her juniors.

With such rapid nurturing, combined with close monitoring and minimized side effects cultivation plans through the Card Magical Girls, these juniors advanced faster than their peers, naturally.

As for Asou Haruka, she invested heavily in the Bai'an City squad, which was why the Bai'an City Magical Girls had impressive prowess at relatively young ages.

Whenever this topic arose, Emerald Sparrow couldn't help but remember An Ya. Even after becoming a Card Magical Girl, An Ya never relinquished the desire to continue increasing her strength. Supported by Lin Yun, whose curiosity about Magical Girls' powers also played a role, both agreed for An Ya to delve deeper into the Magical Girl path. Their family's expenses were handled by Lin Yun, and An Ya's Resonance from slaying Remnants was minimally converted into savings for emergencies, with the rest entirely turned into Love Crystals and Heart's Honey.

Despite her immense strength and willingness to continuously undertake missions against Remnants to enhance herself, earning the title of the strongest Card Magical Girl over time, her Heart's Gem never showed signs of re-Blooming.

That remained until her passing.

Hence, Emerald Sparrow essentially abandoned similar ambitions, focusing wholly on channeling resources into her juniors.