He smiled indifferently, yet with an air of unquestionable composure: “Therefore, since the Great Acharya has ordered it, this is the unified opinion of the [Tokyo Shingon Dharma Protection Association].”

A barely audible gasp echoed through the venue.

Buddhism organizations are not part of the modern Japanese government.

Although the [Tokyo Shingon Dharma Protection Association] is a non-governmental organization, it is backed by the Kongobu-ji Temple of the Shingon Sect on Mount Koya and is the strongest esoteric combat group in Japan.

And that "Great Acharya," the nun known as the Dispeller of Eight Sufferings, Holy Saint Cilian, although she has not personally fought in a long time, is likely the strongest individual in Japan's supernatural society.

As soon as he finished speaking, representatives from various government departments began whispering among themselves involuntarily.

Some glanced sideways and whispered, some frowned quietly, and others stood stunned, their expressions filled with bewilderment.

Qi Xing just watched them with a smile.

He was not fighting alone.

Would ten years of fighting and slaughtering evil forces only bring him fear and hatred? Would it only make [Master Leipu] a lonely star of misfortune?

No.

Although he is an enemy to many evil paths, and although mediocre people might keep [Master Leipu] at arm's length, hoping he would just fight bad guys from afar and not affect them.

But besides them, there are still righteous heroes in this world.

The strongest man who slaughters evil, the strongest man on earth, will naturally attract the admiration and allegiance of many heroes.

The ferocity of [Master Leipu] can be described as extreme, but it clearly points out the essence of the battle between good and evil.

Compared to the soft, postmodern compromising heroes, [Master Leipu]'s creed—"No compromise, I am here to obliterate evil"—this savage will is more capable of shaking the souls of ancient powerhouses.

…Perhaps that is why there are so many powerhouses who like [Master Leipu], those old hags from all over the world wearing the skins of young girls.

And when the Onmyoryo, as the most important supernatural department of the Japanese government, and the [Tokyo Shingon Dharma Protection Association], as the representative of non-governmental organizations, both expressed their stance and announced their full support for this purge operation against the dark forces of Magic City Tokyo, the remaining government supernatural departments naturally had to reconsider their choice of alignment…

——So the next thing that happened was indeed a bit beyond Qi Xing's expectations.

"…I oppose suddenly launching this kind of all-out war."

It was not a government official, nor a representative of a religious organization.

It was a hero—or at least, everyone usually called her a hero.

So Qi Xing couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and Magical Girl Artemina was even more shocked.

Her golden hair trembled slightly under the lights, and her eyes flickered for a moment—but the Solar Magical Girl Soleia, usually radiant and high-spirited, was biting her lip at this moment, raising her hand.

"You… doing this… what about the ordinary people?"

At first glance, others might perceive this as a young hero girl's concern for the safety of civilians.

…But when Artemina looked at her, she couldn't help but feel immediate confusion.

Soleia, what on earth are you talking about?

"I oppose… an all-out war with the underground dark society."

"There will be… many ordinary people caught in the crossfire and potentially harmed."

The Solar Magical Girl Soleia stood there, her fingertips slightly clenched, her golden hair trembling in the breeze from the air conditioner.

Even though she was usually a radiant and cheerful girl hero, at this moment she looked like a child who had stumbled into the adult world, trying to speak but feeling guilty.

In Artemina's eyes, her colleague's radiance even seemed a bit dimmer than usual. How could this be?

But regardless, as the Solar Magical Girl raised her hand in opposition, the atmosphere of the venue changed accordingly.

Some in the crowd frowned slightly, some looked at each other, and some simply chose to remain impassive.

So Qi Xing raised his hand slightly, a small gesture that stopped Artemina, who was about to speak.

Then he said: "Solar Magical Girl, I understand your concerns. However, ordinary people are already being harmed."

His tone had become serious, and his voice no longer carried even a hint of a smile: "This afternoon, right in the cemetery of your Tokyo Magical Girl Mutual Aid Association, [Greed Demon] and [Pluto]—Tokyo gang leaders who call themselves by these arrogant titles—have already used his lightning abilities to blow up an entire street in Nerima Ward."

Destroying a street with thunderbolts directly resulted in at least dozens of deaths, hundreds of injuries, and even more economic loss.

Although the government used natural disasters and weather as an explanation, and although the people of this magical Sasa Universe were, to some extent, already accustomed to these sudden disasters. But so what if they are "accustomed" to it?

Innocent people dying are innocent people dying, and evil path scourges are evil path scourges. Just because everyone has "gotten used to it" doesn't mean we should act as if these things haven't happened.

Furthermore, don't be fooled by Qi Xing's smiling face and good mood these past few days; he has never gotten used to it. Never.

"Eight years ago, during the [Tokyo Conception] incident, if it hadn't been for Magical Girl Miaoshan sacrificing herself to stop it, it would have nearly cost the lives of all ten million people in Tokyo. Although the sorcerer at the time was killed, the mastermind was never truly identified or caught."

"Many vicious supernatural cases in Tokyo end up the same way. They only catch the branches and leaves, never the roots."

"If we don't go to war, ordinary people are still being harmed by those Tokyo Demon Kings; if we launch an all-out war and thoroughly crack down on the underworld, ordinary people might get hurt… then if I don't crack down, wouldn't the common people have suffered in vain?"

"This is to seek justice for past crimes."

So Qi Xing said indifferently.

"Th-that's not how it works! You're—you're just twisting logic!"

As a result, Magical Girl Soleia became a bit anxious, "O-originally… originally there was still some, some balance between justice and darkness!"

"If the righteous path provokes an all-out war first… the bad guys will naturally retaliate! By then, by then more people will definitely be hurt! The pressure on heroes will also be greater!"

After all, she was just a young girl, and her words were fragmented. Artemina glanced at her sideways, her expression filled with a trace of worry.

However, her logic wasn't hard to understand. Moreover, in her final moment of anxiety, she let slip some of what she was truly thinking.

If the righteous and evil factions in Tokyo went to all-out war, the bad guys would inevitably suffer, but the righteous heroes would also inevitably face death and injury. No matter how hard Qi Xing tried, he could only minimize the losses, but he could never achieve zero casualties.

Upgrading from simple public security management to an all-out war between good and evil in Tokyo meant the pressure on heroes was destined to multiply.

Well, she's a young girl, used to easy mode; seeing things about to escalate to hard difficulty, it's not surprising she flinched.

However… Qi Xing didn't think there was anything shameful about this. He didn't even intend to criticize this mindset. After all, it was only human nature.

In fact, a complex emotion even arose in Qi Xing's heart—even standing on the side of justice, not everyone is an absolutely resolute warrior. Not everyone who puts on a cape is prepared to risk their life.

So he did not smile, nor did he mock.

"I won't hold a gun to your heads and force you to fight the bad guys to the death."

So Qi Xing's tone steadied, "—Oh, no. That's not right."

"I will force the Official Exorcists to fight the evil outsiders to the death; after all, civil servants are supported by taxpayers' money. Unless they resign now, Exorcists do indeed have an obligation to fight for the people."

His gaze fell back on Soleia, "But I will not require volunteer heroes to fight high-difficulty battles. Giving up the fight is perfectly acceptable."

He paused slightly, his voice revealing a hint of gentleness: "Especially you Magical Girls… children shouldn't have to bear this kind of responsibility in the first place."

"It's fine to go back and enjoy your daily lives; I will protect you."

As always, Qi Xing never liked Magical Girls fighting, and he certainly didn't want them to sacrifice themselves for it.

…However, when Soleia heard this, she did not show the slightest joy or emotion; instead, she bit her lip even more anxiously.

What's the matter?

Qi Xing thought for a moment and asked casually: "Is it because you're worried about money? I know your income as volunteer heroes is settled based on the number of subjugations."

After all, he was in this line of work when he was a lone wolf, so he knew that asking volunteer heroes not to fight for a few months and cutting off their income would be too harsh for them.

Unexpectedly, Soleia was stunned for a moment, blinked, and a look of confusion appeared in her eyes: "Huh?"

It seems this isn't a money issue either.

But Qi Xing still added: "If you are worried about money, the [Association] will try its best to help handle it."

He issued this empty check lightly. Elaine, the president of the [Association], was standing right there. The Vatican's financial situation this month was not abundant, but Elaine would have to find a way to honor the empty check Qi Xing issued, so she could only sigh helplessly.

Although she didn't know what the true inner conflict of Magical Girl Soleia was, at this point, she could see that she did not have the ability to stop [Master Leipu].

Although it seemed like she wanted to say something more, when the words reached her lips, she ultimately couldn't speak them. In the end, Soleia just bit her lip and silently stepped back.

After this, people in the venue stood up one after another to ask questions. Several government supernatural departments, several relevant representatives from local non-governmental organizations, and small to medium-sized Exorcist organizations—they either raised concerns, requested clarification of intelligence, or cautiously discussed issues of resources, personnel, and jurisdiction.

Some questions were suppressed by Qi Xing with a single sentence; regarding some matters, he just threw out a promise, and the other party dared not ask any further.

Of course, there were also many specific matters that Qi Xing was not good at handling and didn't understand very well.

But Elaine was here, and the Onmyoryo, which supported [Master Leipu], was here, so these things didn't need to be handled by Qi Xing personally. Elaine just had to bring out a pile of data and files to make the representatives who originally wanted to argue shut up in embarrassment.

When the last question was settled, a brief silence settled over the room like a thin layer of frost. In the venue, only Qi Xing said indifferently: "Any more questions?"

"If not, I will assume you have all understood."

His gaze swept over the crowd, unhurriedly. "Either show the resolve of a warrior and fight for your home, or run away while you can—that is also understandable."

"But if anyone wants to reap benefits from both sides—" Qi Xing smiled slightly, "—then don't blame me for hitting them too."

These words were like the final invisible nail, sealing off any room for playing dumb or maneuvering. Many people couldn't help but shiver, but they still obediently and quickly took action.

Qi Xing also had many things to take action on.

The Onmyoryo was examining Magical Girl Miaoshan, and afterwards, relevant experts would give Qi Xing a report. Qi Xing was still unsure… at least in this situation, he was completely unsure how Miaoshan would view her resurrection. But he would deal with that when the time came. Anyway, being alive is better than being dead.

In addition, Qi Xing had, after all, suffered a bit under [Greed Demon]. He still had to figure out how to break the opponent's authority and how to win next time.

Then, for the entire "thorough crackdown" plan, Qi Xing still had many details to handle. The real show was yet to come.

…When the various representatives left the venue and the Onmyoryo, Magical Girl Artemina finally found an opportunity to chase after them, wanting to find Magical Girl Soleia—to find her partner and ask clearly what she was thinking and why she would suddenly ask such a question.

But Soleia had already run far away.

Fifteen minutes later, the Solar Magical Girl Soleia, …real name, Hinata Haruna, a high school girl, finally returned to her apartment building, climbed into the living room from the balcony, and deactivated her transformation.

In an instant, her golden hair faded into dull black, her gorgeous dress vanished without a trace, the intense light receded, leaving only a plain, unremarkable, ordinary high school girl.

"I'm home."