Chapter 102 - 92: Xia Shuran’s Awakening

Chapter 102: Chapter 92: Xia Shuran’s Awakening

"Don’t tell me you can’t. I know you’re capable of displaying a live feed."

The Magic Mirror convulsed violently. *No problem.*

A few seconds later.

The two words on the mirror’s surface dissipated.

In their place, the image of Xia Shuran trapped in the Mirror World slowly materialized.

Upon seeing this, Liu Zhiyi arched a delicate eyebrow.

’This Magic Mirror is really something—a very special Extraordinary object.’

’Gu Qing is pretty lucky. He just comes out for a date with a female student and stumbles upon a treasure like this. I’m starting to get a little envious.’

As Captain Liu was feeling a pang of envy,

Gu Qing, the very object of her envy, furrowed his brow, his gaze locked on the mirror.

Seeing Xia Shuran kneeling before a mirror, weakly beating on its surface with a look of utter helplessness and despair, made his heart ache.

’Sigh, the poor girl has really been put through the wringer tonight. I have to make it up to her properly after this.’

...

「Mirror World.」

The light was ghastly white and cold, the atmosphere oppressive and deathly still, without a trace of life.

Xia Shuran knelt alone before a mirror, her fists pounding against the surface.

But the mirror remained perfectly still, refusing to break no matter how hard she hit it.

At this, she fell into despair.

Her eyes were red-rimmed.

Tears welled up, threatening to spill.

The urge to cry was overwhelming.

’She’d finally gotten to go on a date with her senior.’

’She’d even spent over two hours getting her makeup and outfit just right.’

’This was supposed to be a perfect day.’

’But why?’

’Why did something like this have to happen to her?’

’Why was she inexplicably trapped in this place where her calls for help went unanswered?’

The more Xia Shuran thought, the more she despaired. The tears that had been welling in her eyes finally streamed down her cheeks. Her voice, choked with sobs, called out:

"Senior, where are you...?"

"I want to get out...."

"Somebody, please save me...."

The moment her desperate, helpless words faded,

The very next second,

her reflection on the mirror’s surface spoke:

"I’ll save you."

The voice was sudden, jarring.

Xia Shuran jumped in fright, instinctively scrambling backward, her eyes wide with terror.

"You, what on earth are you?"

"I’m Xia Shuran."

The reflection stared directly at Xia Shuran, its lips curling into an eerie smile.

Xia Shuran was not a fool.

She knew this was the thing that had pulled her in.

She quickly calmed down

and tried to reason with it:

"I’m just a normal person. Why did you bring me to this place?"

"Tell me what you want. As long as it’s something I can give, I’ll give you anything!"

"I’m begging you, please let me leave this place!"

...

The reflection smirked. "You’re really willing to give me anything?"

Xia Shuran nodded emphatically. "As long as you don’t ask me to do anything heinous or illegal, I’ll give you whatever you want!"

The reflection’s lips twisted into a faint smile. "Fine. I want your life in the real world."

"Your parents, friends, classmates, the senior you have a crush on—from now on, they’ll all belong to me."

"I will completely replace you and live in the real world as Xia Shuran."

...

Xia Shuran froze. But she quickly recovered and asked, "If you take my place, then who will I be when I get back to the real world?"

"Oh, you naive little girl."

The reflection laughed aloud. "I was just messing with you. Why would I ever let you go back to the real world?"

As it spoke, its eyes filled with an immense greed. "I’m going to trap you in this mirror cage forever! You’ll never return to the real world!"

The bone-chilling words struck Xia Shuran, one after another.

In an instant,

her psychological defenses crumbled.

She stood frozen on the spot,

her eyes filled with despair.

But it didn’t last long.

The grit and ferocity forged in her very bones from a childhood of martial arts training suddenly erupted from deep within her.

Instantly!

All the despair in her eyes faded away.

The timidity and fragility vanished from her frame.

In their place, a stubborn, unyielding will erupted.

"You can’t trap me!!!"

"You won’t!!!"

"I will get out of here!!!"

Xia Shuran shot to her feet and charged the reflection. Gritting her teeth, she clenched her fair, delicate fists and threw a punch.

BANG!!!

A loud crash echoed.

But the mirror didn’t move an inch, and the reflection’s eyes were filled with contempt.

BANG!!!

BANG!!!

BANG!!!

The dull thuds continued, one after another.

Each one heavier than the last.

It was as if the entire Mirror World was trembling.

Xia Shuran refused to accept her fate, unwilling to be forever imprisoned in this cold, deathly still Mirror World.

Ignoring the searing pain in her knuckles, she hammered her fists against the mirror again and again,

determined to smash her way through

and return to the real world!

Ten punches, twenty, thirty...

As she continued to hammer against the mirror,

Xia Shuran’s small, fair fists could no longer take the recoil.

The skin over her knuckles split,

leaving them raw and bloody.

Blood seeped from between her fingers, dripping down,

staining the mirror and the ground red.

BANG! BANG! BANG...

"It hurts..."

"My hands hurt so much..."

"Sob..."

"Why won’t it break? I’m hitting it so hard... why won’t this damn glass break?!?"

Xia Shuran broke down crying again,

once again falling into deep despair.

And yet, the force of her fists against the mirror only grew stronger with each strike.

BANG! BANG! BANG...

TSS...

TSSSSS...

TSSSSSS—!

As the sound of her punches grew more deafening, a strange hissing sound suddenly rose up from the mirror and the ground.

For some unknown reason, wisps of white smoke began to rise wherever the blood from Xia Shuran’s fists touched the mirror and the ground.

A closer look would reveal that her blood had reached an astonishing temperature, burning the mirror and the ground like magma on rock.

And its temperature continued to rise, corroding the surfaces with increasing intensity.

Xia Shuran did not notice these anomalies.

She was completely lost in despair, her bloody fists now numb with pain, smashing against the mirror on pure instinct.

However,

the reflection noticed these anomalies.

It saw not only the searing blood, but also a strange seed that had appeared above Xia Shuran’s head.

The moment the seed appeared, it took root and sprouted at a visible rate, growing into a sapling nearly half a meter tall in just a few moments.

At the same time, the wounds on Xia Shuran’s raw, bloody fist began to miraculously heal—scabbing over and smoothing out at a rapid pace.

In just a few seconds, the flesh mended itself. The wounds vanished completely, leaving only a faint, hot aura lingering on the new skin.

Finally, the sapling floating above Xia Shuran’s head grew to over two meters tall.

Its branches and leaves transformed into a cascade of hair, its trunk into a graceful body, and its roots solidified into an arsenal of cold weapons: long spears, swords, bows, and crossbows.

And so, a tall, phantasmal figure wreathed in weapons floated silently behind Xia Shuran.

The phantom’s face, figure, and aura were identical to Xia Shuran’s.

’Hm?’

’This little girl actually awakened a Martial Soul?’

’Interesting...’

The reflection’s vacant eyes widened slightly as it stared at the phantom behind Xia Shuran, a flicker of surprise and astonishment in their depths.

The next moment, its form wavered. In an instant, it crossed the boundary between reflection and reality, stepping out of the mirror in the guise of Xia Shuran.

It raised a hand, effortlessly catching Xia Shuran’s instinctive punch. A faint smile played on its lips as it spoke:

"They say as long as a Martial Soul is indestructible, the body is immortal—capable of regrowing severed limbs or even regenerating from a single drop of blood."

"Little girl..."

"Now then... let me see for myself just how miraculous your Martial Soul truly is."

...