The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

Xiu Xingmeng gritted her teeth and thought to herself.

She was going to gamble everything on the final sprint.

Suddenly, as if the opera had pierced through her thoughts, she abruptly turned around. A wild light flashed in her amethyst eyes, and a near-ferocious smile spread across her lips.

"This isn't enough fun!"

Before she finished speaking, her steps suddenly accelerated, her purple-gold cloak billowing like a gale, tracing a sharp line through the rain. In an instant, her figure tore through the herd of racehorses ahead like lightning.

"what?!"

Xiu Xingmeng stared in shock at the accelerating Good Opera. The race was only halfway through, and it was only the third turn before they were already accelerating?!

What kind of lopsided running style is this!

In the gloomy, rainy sky, the golden pendant behind the opera singer was wet with raindrops, reflecting Xiu Xingmeng's shocked expression. She turned her head again, her eyes fixed on Xiu Xingmeng as if to say something.

Aren't you coming along?

If you don't speed up now, you'll never have a chance to win.

A suffocating pressure pressed down from Xiuxingmeng's shoulders to her ankles. The earth trembled, and all the racehorse girls' steps became heavy and slow. Grass clippings and dirt splashed in the rain, like the horse girls' silent wails.

"A domain!"

As Xiu Xingmeng felt the intimidating aura, she bit her lower lip tightly, and the blood that flowed out left a faint red mark in the air as the rain washed over it.

"She sped up?! She actually sped up the opera! We're only halfway through!"

"Too fast! Is she going to keep sprinting from here to the finish line?!"

The commentator Akasaka's voice echoed across the Nakayama Racecourse, but Xiuxing Meng couldn't hear anything.

The sounds of rain and cheers faded away, leaving only the thunderous roar of her heart pumping blood, which vibrated her eardrums. Xiu Xingmeng's vision was distorted by the pressure, but she could clearly see the purple-gold figure tearing through the rain curtain, leaving scorch marks on the fluttering cloak in the airflow.

The whispers of good opera, like a quenched blade, pierced straight into her nerve endings. It wasn't just a sound; it was the physical manifestation of good opera's fighting spirit, crushing the resistance of every inch of her bones.

"Do you want everyone to submit to you—"

She roared, turning the pain into fuel, and the moment her toes pushed off the ground, the grass and mud exploded into shooting stars flying in reverse.

"Overlord!"

The black and red figure suddenly transformed into a demonic sword that had been drawn from its sheath. Wherever the sword flashed, even the rain was cut into crystalline fragments.

Her pace suddenly quickened, and the heightened awareness granted by her concentration allowed her to sense the subtle changes in the nearby racehorse girls. Following her body's instincts, Xiu Xingmeng took a step forward and rushed straight past them.

"What! Embroidered Star Dream has accelerated too! This is insane, what are they going to do?!"

The commentator was also shocked. Even with many years of experience in the industry, he had never seen such a scene before. A runner using a different running style and a runner using a different running style suddenly accelerated at each other in the middle of the race, as if they were competing.

Rainwater cascaded down Xiu Xingmeng's face, but it did nothing to cool her body down. The power she had been saving for the final moments was unleashed at this moment.

All the racehorse girls in front of her simultaneously sensed a chilling aura of danger from behind. The sharp, piercing sound of swords being drawn drowned out the rain and the howling wind. Their instincts for danger compelled them to instinctively look behind them.

In the pitch-black rain curtain, a blazing red light tore through the rain like a meteor, creating wave after wave of air with unparalleled power.

"What--"

Before she could recover from the sudden acceleration of the opera, Orihime, who was also at the back of the group, felt an extremely dangerous aura coming from behind her, as if a sword was about to strike her. She instinctively veered off course to avoid the danger.

"Shh-"

Without hesitation, Xiu Xingmeng rushed past Ai Mu Zhi Ji with lightning speed, and past one racehorse girl after another in front of her.

That purplish-gold figure appeared in her eyes once again.

"That's what makes it fun!"

Good opera never returns, but Xiu Xingmeng seems to be able to hear her heart's voice.

"How can such a boring competition push us to our limits?"

"Only such extreme pressure can make us stronger!"

"Don't let me surpass you too much, my nemesis!"

In the blink of an eye, the opera had increased its speed again, as if deliberately trying to prove something to Xiuxingmeng, and rushed past the racehorses ahead.

"To be surpassed by you? How arrogant of you—"

Enraged by the provocation, Xiu Xingmeng laughed and, ignoring the warnings from her body, increased her speed once again, rushing to Hao Geju's side.

"Don't underestimate people!"

“Great opera!”

Chapter Thirty-Five: Breaking Limits

"So fast! Too fast! Good Opera and Embroidered Star Dream have completely surpassed all the other Uma Musume contestants, yet they're still accelerating! Are they going to treat the Satsuki Sho as a dance of mutual competition?!"

The commentator, Akasaka, spoke with great enthusiasm but his voice was somewhat disordered, seemingly because he was too excited and didn't know how to keep his distance from the microphone, pressing his mouth directly onto the microphone to begin his commentary.

The commentator, Sugimoto, who should have been keeping a calm and composed demeanor, disregarded Akasaka and even stood up, pressing his eyes urgently against the window as he spoke.

"I've watched so many competitions over the years, but this is the first time I've seen anything like it! It's unbelievable! Are they vying for the title of queen of this era?!"

The crowd was already boiling when the opera started to speed up, and when they saw Xiu Xingmeng chasing after it with equal enthusiasm, the audience's burning passion almost set the entire Zhongshan Racecourse on fire.

"Oh my god! So strong! So incredibly strong! To witness this earth-shattering battle, even death wouldn't be a loss!"

"Awesome! This is the kind of stage performance I want to see!"

The cheering crowd surged like flames, and the scorching air circulated among them as everyone's excitement grew, until the temperature rose higher and higher.

The tips of the Holy King's Halo dug deep into the fabric of her chest, and her heart pounded like violent thunder, almost shattering her ribs.

A primal, almost savage impulse surged through her veins, and every step she took on the track awakened her instincts as a racehorse girl.

Despite the gloomy, rainy day, the Holy King's Aura felt that the world in his eyes was incredibly dazzling, and he wished he could rush onto the field and race across the grass with those two figures.

"So dazzling—"

The same sentiment came from Yongwu's mouth as she stood up from her seat.

The retired racehorse's pupils shrank to slits, and her meticulously maintained nails, which she had kept since retirement, had scratched the armrest of the seat.

The clash between Xiuxing Dream and Good Opera gave her an even stronger shock than the Holy King's halo.

Those memories of the racetrack, buried by the dust of time, come alive in this moment: the collision of hooves on the grass, the burning of lungs when sprinting against the wind—all sensory memories are revived as adrenaline surges.

"This is what it should be like..."

Yongwu's voice was so hoarse it didn't sound like her own.

"A real racehorse girl."

On the field at that moment, Narita gritted his teeth and desperately pushed his body forward.

However, the heavy pressure from her shoulders and her instinctive desire to avoid danger prevented Narita from picking up her speed. No matter how much her heart cried out for victory, her feet simply wouldn't obey her.

"Then...get running!"

Narita's shouts were ultimately futile; she could only watch helplessly as the two figures grew further and further away from her.

The predicament that Narita-ji encountered was also the common predicament of all the racehorse girls present. Under the suppression of Seiseki-Yume and Good Opera, they could not only increase their speed, but they could also gradually lose their original speed.

No matter how much the racehorse girls urged their bodies to move, they could only watch helplessly as the two figures disappeared before their eyes.

Her heart was pounding, and every part of her body was screaming out in pain. Xiu Xingmeng could even hear the wailing of her own bone marrow.

As the two raced, they reached the final straight line of the Zhongshan Racecourse, just 310 meters away from the glorious throne of the champion.

Three hundred and ten meters is just a distance that Xiu Xingmeng would never even warm up for.

But now, it seems as far away as the other side of the sky.

Her pace slowed, her speed declined, and the burning sensation in her lungs made it almost impossible for Xiu Xingmeng to breathe. She didn't even have the strength to open her eyes anymore, and could only watch as the purple-gold figure beside her gradually overtook her.

All the disadvantages in attributes, the immature field, and the premature outbreak all seem to have piled up unfavorable factors, which have already led to the failure of Embroidered Star Dream.

Is this my limit?

Is this the limit that Saima Girl named Hideki Star Dream can reach?

She suddenly lowered her head, her heart filled with a surging, roaring resentment.

I don't want to lose, I can't afford to lose, I want to win, I absolutely must win!

Even if it means burning this broken body to ashes, I will still achieve final victory!

Xiu Xingmeng screamed in her heart, pushing her body forward with all her might. The shouts from the audience were stretched into a distorted buzzing sound. She heard her bones groaning under the unbearable pressure, and muscle fibers snapping one after another. But even the pain would become fuel for her to move forward. She would use everything in her body to exchange for an ultimate and sublime explosion.

In a daze, a cold, mechanical voice rang in her ears.

"[Root Character] Successfully broke through the limit."

"[Domain] Awakening Unfolds."

All colors in sight faded in an instant. Raindrops froze into suspended silver needles, and every female horse that stepped onto the track instinctively felt this moment, as if time had stood still.

"Zheng——"

Like the sharp sound of swords being drawn piercing through the stagnant space and time, a scorching red meteor suddenly tore through the rain curtain on the black and white arena.

Is it an illusion? Or a hallucination caused by excessive stress?

The horse racing girls all thought the same thing to each other.

However, if that red light was an illusion, then why did I actually feel a scorching heat wave coming from in front of me?

It must be springtime now, right?

It must be raining now, right?

But why do I feel as if I'm in a furnace?

Their stamina was rapidly depleted as they sweated. Not to mention maintaining their original speed, it was already a testament to the well-trained nature of the racehorses that they could even take a step.

"What happened?! All the racehorses have lost speed?!"

Outside the stadium, a gasp came from commentator Akasaka.

Those who didn't step onto the track couldn't understand what happened in that instant; they could only see the female racehorses seemingly losing half their strength and collectively losing speed.

"Two hundred meters! One hundred and fifty meters! Embroidered Star Dream is in the lead! Embroidered Star Dream is in the lead! Embroidered Star Dream is in the lead now!!"

Just as the commentator was hoarsely giving his commentary.

The opera singer, who was closely following Xiu Xingmeng, felt the scorching heat waves passing over her body and her gradually depleted strength, and suddenly smiled.

"now it's right!"

Golden light exploded in her eyes like a thunderbolt, and another moment that seemed to freeze time descended upon the arena. Xiu Xingmeng, who had just run to the front of the opera, suddenly sank downwards.

Under the pressure from Xiuxingmeng, the domain belonging to the Overlord also awakens at this moment.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Victory

The rain curtain at Zhongshan Racecourse seemed to be split open by two shooting stars, with golden and crimson trails tearing out scorching waves of air on the slippery grass.

The commentator, Akasaka, pressed his lips tightly against the scorching microphone and roared.

"What a wonderful opera! What a wonderful opera! She's caught up with Xiu Xingmeng!"

Two streaks of light, one gold and one red, sped along the track at an incredible speed that seemed capable of tearing through the rain. Watching these two almost parallel figures, not only the audience but even the commentators couldn't help but get excited.

With such simultaneous progress and such suspense, what could be more stirring to people's hearts than such a scene?

"But—Xiu Xingmeng didn't fall behind, she caught up again! There are still 100 meters to go until the finish line, who will be the champion of this Satsuki Prize?!"

Akasaka's voice became hoarse from shouting, but this did not stop her from conveying the passion welling up from her heart to the audience.

At the Zhongshan Racecourse, countless spectators cheered and shouted while staring intently at the racetrack, eager to witness the outcome of this moment.

The audience had already gone wild. In the front row, a middle-aged man tore open his expensive shirt and simply waved the fabric like a battle flag while shouting. A girl wearing glasses gripped the railing tightly, her lenses fogged up by her breath. A child rode on his father's shoulders, clutching a support flag but forgetting to wave it; his clear eyes reflected only the two intertwined figures.

At this stage of the competition, no one is a fan of anyone else. Just being able to witness this scene and whoever lifts the trophy will give the audience unparalleled satisfaction.

"Go for it, Meng!"

With her sleeves clenched tightly, Saint King Aura had been fully committed to the competition ever since she began to surpass everyone with Embroidered Star Dream and Good Opera.

All her cowardice, confusion, and escapism were shattered by the thunderous strides on the field. The thrill of the arena, the thrill of the dazzling light, drove the heart of the Holy King's Halo, and she could hardly distinguish whether this heart belonged to herself or to the arena.

At this moment, she no longer bore the so-called obligations of an older sister, nor the responsibility of becoming a top-notch racehorse girl. She only wanted to witness with her own eyes this shining moment of the Embroidered Star Dream.

Tears streamed down Yongwu's cheeks, and she wiped them away with her hand, somewhat bewildered.