Uma Musume, do I have to tell you that I know how to use the Santa Hat special move?

"calm down."

Seeing that McQueen was so flustered that he was about to talk nonsense, Stardust Illusion had to hold the hand beside him and exert a little force.

As if he felt the force coming from his palm, McQueen sat still, lowered his head and said nothing.

I completely forgot what I was saying just now.

A blush gradually appeared on his cheeks, and McQueen opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.

The two of them were silent for a while. It seemed that they realized that this strange atmosphere might attract the attention of the driver of the Mejiro family in front again. McQueen cleared his throat:

"Ahem... I didn't say you could hold my hand..."

"Oh, I'll let you go then."

"—?!"

Before McQueen could react, Stardust Illusion let go and continued:

"It was my own decision to choose the Tokyo Mile. I don't have to worry about the wear and tear of the race... McQueen has seen the intensity of my training, right?"

"..."

McQueen, who was still wondering why he had to say that, finally came to his senses.

It was indeed as the Stardust Vision had said, McQueen understood how strong her bottom line was as shown by her ridiculous training intensity.

This is different from myself, who has extraordinary endurance and can still feel at ease even after running a 3200m race.

The stardust illusion is that even though she can only run 1000 meters, you can see her persisting: running 1000 meters, stopping to take a breath, then running another 1000 meters, and then taking a breath again... repeating this to the point that you start to suspect that she is acting on purpose.

"Are you really okay? If there is another reason why you want to participate, Stardust can tell me."

"Don't let factors outside the academy affect your performance in the Neon Derby, Stardust... You have to know that this is a derby, and you can't let down your guard at all."

Even though he knew she could afford it, McQueen still said this.

She didn't really want to persuade Stardust Illusion to avoid the fight, but wanted to give the other party another choice.

In case Xingchen really has some unspeakable reasons for increasing the density of event arrangements to this level, then after I said this, perhaps she can think of a solution from the Mejiro family's perspective.

but……

"No, I wish I could compete more often."

The Stardust Illusion waved his hand and simply refused.

"I will not compete very frequently from now on - I have to do this in order to continue to get stronger."

"You can't just talk nice things to Twin Turbine and Northern Black Horse, and then relax when it comes to you, right?"

Stardust Illusion didn't feel that this arrangement was forced, and there was no reason for him to care about anything other than the competition.

What about the trainer's reputation, what about the media's attitude, what about the JRA's suggestions...

Why think so much?

Whether it was herself, Toyama Scarlet, Super Stream, or even Airi Hayabusa who had just left the team and announced her comeback, they would not let such insignificant factors affect the training arrangements.

Stardust Illusion simply felt that as a horse girl, she should run all the races she wanted without any regrets...

As for what off-field impacts it will cause?

She only knew one thing -

Only the brilliance of Top Star is unique.

Chapter 251: Sky Palace

The morning of the second day.

Draco team training ground.

After completing the daily warm-up of four slope exercises, Stardust Illusion raised his hand to report:

"I want to try a 3000m or 3200m race simulation, so I applied to take off the weight suit temporarily."

One face was shocked, the second face was shocked... everyone was shocked.

"Stardust, are you okay? Do you suddenly feel like running long distances?"

Toyama Crimson rolled his eyes.

"We have already agreed not to consider any long-distance events before the Chrysanthemum Festival and focus on mile to middle-distance races."

She muttered as she stepped off the balance bike and looked closely at Stardust Illusion's face, only to find that he was not joking at all.

"..."

"You didn't... watch McQueen's Tianchun showdown and suddenly want to compete with her in long-distance competition, right?"

Hearing Toyama's speculation, Super Creek had no choice but to take the initiative to persuade him:

“Long-distance races and middle-distance races may seem to differ by only a few hundred meters, but in fact, the endurance requirements for runners are vastly different.”

"If you want to make some achievements in this, you need to practice the allocation of physical strength and the cultivation of awareness specifically."

"It's like Mejiro McQueen focusing on middle and long distance races, or even focusing on long distance races, with some middle distance G1s. It's too difficult to suddenly start racing over 3000 meters."

Super Stream is indeed not too impressed with the look of Stardust Illusion.

As the person who is arguably the best at events over 3000 meters among the top three athletes in the Heisei era, she certainly knows how difficult it really is.

In the Chrysanthemum Shooting that year, she was closely watched by Yae Mudi from the beginning to the end. When she ran to the last corner where she created the "Arc Artist", she almost fainted on the field due to brain fatigue. She completed the entire race almost entirely by relying on willpower.

To be honest, Super Creek feels that Stardust Illusion is indeed not suitable for getting involved in long-distance competitions too early.

Her final run and final escape will face unprecedentedly severe challenges when facing a distance of more than 3000 meters.

However, Super Stream, who always puts other people's feelings first, couldn't say a direct refusal or order Stardust Illusion not to think too much about it.

Sometimes when she stood next to Toyama Feihong and watched Stardust Illusion trying his best on the training ground and never stopping until he was exhausted, she could always see her former self.

She would recall the moments she spent with her trainer Fumino Nase before the chrysanthemum viewing event when she was still in the bud.

She and herself endured countless negative comments and even ridicule from the media, and practiced their running skills day after day for several months, and finally... shined brilliantly on the field.

In fact, Super Stream, which was always known as Glass Legs at that time, also considered giving up.

Even if she managed to make it to the Kikuka Sho, no one thought that a horse girl with such obvious leg defects could finish the 3000m race of the Kikuka Sho.

Even Super Stream itself is unsure.

However, trainer Fumino firmly believed this and encouraged her countless times.

In the end, victory was snatched into his own hands, making both Trainer Fumino and Super Stream famous.

For the current Super Stream, Stardust Illusion has the heart to try new content. No matter what the result is, at least this heart is worth encouraging.

As her trainer, what I should do is definitely not to deny or reject her, but -

"How about this, before we finish our training, we take 20 minutes to do this long-distance simulation, how about that?"

Super Stream met Toyama Feihong's surprised look and took the initiative to make a suggestion.

"I'll run with you then, Stardust Illusion. If you want to try long distances, it would be best if you could learn some techniques from me."

After 2 hours.

Bourbon held the Stardust Illusion on his shoulder with one hand like a dead fish, and walked towards the rest area with Super Stream and Rice Bath.

Now she didn't even have the strength to move, and could only summarize her experience as if she was gasping for breath:

"I felt that in the 3000m simulation race just now, the first part was actually fine, but when I stepped into the last 600m... I seemed to have completely exhausted my endurance, and my running rhythm was also problematic. I started too early with my last leg and completely lost speed."

"My brother, you are already amazing!"

Mi Yu, who was second to last in the 3000m simulation race, clenched his fist to encourage.

"It's okay, it's just my first time running such a long distance."

Super Stream, who won first place, thought that this result was very normal. She had long seen that if the team was ranked by endurance and long-distance talent, Bourbon would be first, Mi Yu second, and Stardust Illusion would be last.

"The running ideas for long distance and Chinese-English distance are completely different, and the running method also needs to be changed. How can you master it completely right away?"

"Stardust's first final kick seems to be habitually chosen to start at a position with more than 700 meters left in the race... This is indeed a good place for middle distance races, but it will consume extra endurance in long-distance races."

"If you can do it, I suggest that you, Stardust, consider eliminating this final explosion and putting everything together on the final straight line."

"Eh? That's Holy Night..."

Stardust Illusion was a little confused. In her opinion, it was no exaggeration to say that Holy Night was the first element that constituted her. How could she possibly give it up in the competition?

"Well, how should I explain it to you..."

Super Stream did not rush to explain, but recalled how he got along with the three monsters back then.

"You can't win a race just by accumulating powerful skills. You need to be in the right place at the right time and then run the right way - these are the three elements that make up victory."

"?!"

The sudden conversation made several people turn their heads to look.

"Eh...? Sky Palace?"

At some point, a girl dressed in a very avant-garde style and even wearing earrings had arrived at the training ground and waved to everyone with a big smile on her face;

"Yo~?"

"…The intelligence thief has been arrested!!!"

Togashiyama Feihong had changed into a set of COS Jing Ge's clothes without knowing when, and she was pointing at the Sky Shrine and shouting with an extremely charming expression.

"Visiting other teams' training is allowed, so why not try to blackmail me?"

The Sky Shrine did not fall for it, but instead shrugged and returned Toyama's attack.

After dealing with Toyama Crimson's challenge, Sky Shrine turned its attention back to the Stardust Illusion:

"I originally wanted to have a gathering with the opponents I've played against in the Gaoyueshou and will meet in the derby next."

"But when I went to see Narita Bairen, it seemed that she was concentrating on practicing some secret skills. Although I invited her, she refused to come, and said that she would definitely avenge her previous defeat in the derby..."

"It's not a bad idea to watch each other's training, right? It's a necessary part of obtaining intelligence... I welcome everyone to come and visit me, too."

The Sky Palace said this with a meaningful smile.

Chapter 252 You Have Science, I Have Magic

As if realizing that the Sky Palace was trying to gather intelligence and improve its analysis of its opponents, Stardust Illusion fell silent and did not answer the other party immediately.

Seeing everyone's vigilance towards him, Sky God Palace just smiled helplessly and turned away:

"In fact, whether it's Narita Shirahito or me... we all know that the Neon Derby will probably become a two-pole battle again, right? At most, it will be divided into three parts."

"A witch who awakened the domain, a runner who brought the incredible to everyone - Dongshang Reform."

"He defeated the East Merchant Reform head-on with domain against domain, proving himself to be the true genius Phoenix - the Emperor of the East Sea."

"And you... the unreasonable king who came to Gaoyue Sho's competition, the dual-wielding master who possessed both the Great Escape and the Last Kick - Stardust Illusion."

As he spoke, Sky Palace took out a poster from his pocket and unfolded it for everyone to see:

"See? Tepco has already held the second episode of the Neon Derby prediction and discussion talk show."

In that poster, Dongshang Reform and Donghai Emperor were like two poles, forehead to forehead, confronting each other fiercely in the center of the poster.

Above the two of them, the dark-faced Stardust Illusion seemed to have embraced everything and stretched out its hands behind their backs...

"It's not a three-way competition... Brother is the strongest... The derby will definitely be Brother's victory!"

Before anyone else spoke, Mi Yu was the first to muster up the courage to refute the Sky Palace's remarks.

Toyama Crimson also came over to help out:

"Yeah, yeah, I won't let you look down on my Stardust Illusion~"

"Rice bath."