The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

After confirming that everything was correct, Xiu Xingmeng silently recited a sentence in her heart.

"exchange."

"Exchange completed."

A cold, mechanical voice sounded in my ear, and the SP points below the shop also decreased accordingly.

After doing all this, Xiu Xingmeng let out a long sigh of relief.

These are all the chips I have now.

And she will rely on all of this to win the main quest championship!

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Dream of a Top-Tier Racehorse Girl

The narrator's passionate voice echoed in the empty living room. A few beams of sunlight shone through the gauze window, swaying gently in front of the Holy King's halo, as if they too were infected by the voice.

Saint King's Halo tightly gripped the crumpled notebook in her hand, letting the sunlight shine in her eyes. In a daze, she couldn't quite distinguish whether what was shining in front of her was the sunlight or the figure on the screen.

"So fast……"

In front of the television, the Holy King's Aura, who had been unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances, murmured to himself.

She watched as the red figure on the screen once again surpassed everyone with an absolute advantage.

This isn't her debut match; it's a proper G3 race. Her opponents are no longer those rookie race girls who are just starting out like her.

Her opponents are either powerful players who have risen from local to central levels, or talented individuals who have honed their skills to maturity in Tressen. Although this is only a G3-level event, the players participating are not necessarily only at the G3 level.

As for Xiu Xingmeng, a racehorse girl who had only recently debuted, she was able to completely forget about them.

Just as the Holy King Aura was staring blankly at the TV, the figure on the screen had already crossed the finish line.

"The winner of this race, with a six-horsepower advantage, is—"

"Contestant number seven, Xiu Xing—"

Before the commentator's excited voice could even finish, Saint King Halo turned off the TV with the remote control.

Only after the sound disappeared from the room did the Holy King's Halo realize what it had done.

She cut off her sister's name.

An irritating creaking noise emanated from the pale television screen, a lingering echo seemingly emanating from the name "Embroidered Star Dream," questioning the Holy King's halo—

Why run away?

Looking at the screen flickering with pale white dots, the Holy King's Halo suddenly felt as if he had lost all his strength. He didn't even have the strength to use the remote control to shut up the questioning voice, and he collapsed onto the sofa.

Saint King's Halo knew that the so-called "something came up" was just an excuse she had made up, a pretext for not going to the scene. Lending her friend her laptop from home could have been done anytime, but she deliberately chose today.

Today is the day when Xiuxingmeng participates in the official competition.

This should have been a memorable day. I should have stood in the audience with my friends, just like at my debut, to congratulate Xiuxingmeng.

But he himself ran away.

They fled to a house where no one was home.

The Holy King's halo made him curl up, his eyes staring blankly ahead, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

For the Holy King Halo, who has an extremely high sense of self-esteem, being the daughter of the top-tier racehorse girl Yumai and bearing the expectations of others to become the next top-tier racehorse girl is a responsibility that the Holy King Halo must fulfill.

The weight of this responsibility increased with each training session with Xiu Xingmeng.

She won so many times that she developed unrealistic expectations of herself.

Before her debut, the halo of the Holy King burdened her with a heavy weight, she had to become a top-notch racehorse girl, she had to become a guiding light for the dream of becoming a star. She stepped onto the stage with this expectation.

Unfortunately, reality did not bestow glory upon the Holy King.

Instead, it was a series of painful blows.

The past year's competition has already shown Saint King's Halo the cold reality of rankings, proving that she simply does not have the ability to become a top-tier racehorse girl.

Look at those geniuses from your generation.

Whether it's the silent Suzuka team that achieved a six-game winning streak with an extreme escape, or the team that won the special week known as the pinnacle of the Japanese derby, or the team that won two of the three championships, Sora Aoyama.

As a racehorse girl of the same era, did Seio no Halo, who prides herself on being a top-class racehorse girl, achieve anything in that year?

The answer is no.

Saint King Halo knew that some people in Treisen had begun to call them the Golden Generation, and some even had their own names among them. But Saint King Halo really didn't know what qualifications a racehorse girl who couldn't even get G1 had to be listed among them.

Perhaps one day the halo of the Holy King will break through the shadows and claim the glory that belongs to her alone. Looking back now, all these resentments that cannot be expressed to others are nothing more than the fuel necessary to ascend to the stage of the victor.

However, Xiu Xingmeng debuted.

With unparalleled spirit and the title of avenging the humiliation of the Holy King's halo, he roared across the racetrack like a crimson thunderbolt, his brilliance overshadowing all the other female horses.

Perhaps, she is the one who truly deserves to be a top-class racehorse girl.

Perhaps, she is the one who can truly inherit her mother's legacy.

Thinking of this, a sense of panic arose in the heart of the Holy King's Halo.

Why is it that the dazzling Xiu Xingmeng has never surpassed me in training? Isn't this a deliberate act of yielding to the mediocre halo of the Holy King?

Why does Yongwu often make Shengwang Guanghuan give up running and sharply point out that Shengwang Guanghuan lacks talent, but never say anything similar to Xiuxingmeng? Doesn't this show that Xiuxingmeng's talent is enough for her mother to approve?

The Holy King's Halo inexplicably shivered. It was a bright and sunny spring day, and the sun was shining on her face, but she couldn't feel even the slightest bit of warmth.

This was just her debut match, a G3 tournament. Xiu Xingmeng won the G2 championship later. What if she had won the G1 championship?

What if she achieved the legendary Triple Crown, followed in her mother's footsteps, and truly became a world-class female racehorse?

At that time, what exactly will this Holy King's Aura, which he has never even won in a single G1 match, be considered?

Does she still have the right to call herself first-rate? She hasn't even reached the very edge of being a mother.

Can she still call herself the older sister? Even if the younger sister has brought her down to the dust with her dazzling achievements.

Having lost all the glory of being a holy king, how can one prove that they are themselves?

Once all the meaning that the name "Saint King's Halo" has been stripped away over the past decade, what exactly is the person left in this world who resembles the Saint King's Halo?

Perhaps it's just an empty shell.

In the empty room, the Holy King's Halo buried his head in his knees. This fragile, suspicious, pitiful, and laughable Holy King's Halo would only exist in this room, for this one moment.

When she returns to the public eye, she will revert to being the confident, top-tier racehorse girl with a quirky laugh and the aura of a saint.

Until the day comes that the dream of a top-tier racehorse girl is shattered, and the halo of the Holy King becomes an empty shell, no one will notice, no one will be able to notice.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Call of Talent

Phase 1 Task Completed

[Rewards have been distributed]

The cold, mechanical voice echoed repeatedly in Xiu Xingmeng's mind, causing her to lose herself in thought.

Suddenly, a cool, wet touch on her cheek jolted Xiu Xingmeng awake from her daze. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed Cheng Tianlu, who was smiling at her with an ice-cold mineral water in his hand.

"Why aren't you in the cafeteria during lunch break? What are you thinking about here?"

After handing the water to Xiuxingmeng, Naritaji slowly sat down beside her.

Xiu Xingmeng twisted off the bottle cap and took a big gulp of water.

After winning the G3 championship, Xiuxingmeng completed the first stage mission and obtained 1000 SP and the Potential Detection Glasses. It was this item reward that made her so distracted that she couldn't even hear Naritaji's footsteps.

Several days have passed since the mission was completed, and Xiu Xingmeng still hasn't made up her mind to use the item on herself.

With the accumulation of skills and training, he won the championships of his debut match and G3 tournament with an absolute advantage without any effort. Such achievements will bring unnecessary expectations to him.

The expectation is called genius.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this racehorse girl named Xiuxingmeng is actually a genius, and the setbacks she suffers in the real world are simply because she started training too late.

In this world where training scripts can be completed earlier, the brilliance of Embroidered Star Dream finally shines.

But deep down, Xiu Xingmeng knew that all of this was just her own illusion.

She knew from the beginning the gap between herself and a true genius. Having trained with the Holy King's halo for many years, she already knew what a genius was.

The only advantage that Xiuxingmeng possesses is her precocious nature.

Even if they win these two matches, the truth will eventually be revealed in the subsequent matches.

The truth of mediocrity.

Therefore, even knowing it was a dream, even knowing it was just an illusion, Xiu Xingmeng subconsciously maintained this dream of genius.

The icy mineral water rushed into her throat, and the intense stimulation made Xiu Xingmeng cough uncontrollably.

"Are you alright? Don't drink so fast."

Narita, who was sitting down next to her, was startled by the commotion and started patting Xiuxingmeng on the back while talking to her.

"Cough cough cough... cough cough..."

Xiu Xingmeng coughed so hard she couldn't straighten up, as if she were coughing up something else, not water.

"Aru..."

His voice became hoarse from the violent coughing.

"Have you ever thought about what would happen if one day you had to carry the expectations of others to win the G1 championship, but ended up failing?"

Hearing this question, Narita was a little confused, but she still poked her cheek with her finger and answered while thinking.

"She might feel so wronged that she'll cry."

After finishing speaking, Narita scratched his rosy cheeks somewhat embarrassedly.

Having finally stopped coughing, Xiu Xingmeng slowly lifted her head from her knees and said weakly.

"Are you a little kid?"

"You rascal—"

Upon hearing this, Narita's face turned even redder, and he said somewhat defiantly.

"And what will happen if you fail?"

"I cannot fail."

Xiu Xingmeng said decisively.

Upon hearing this answer, Narita looked at Xiu Xingmeng with some curiosity, wondering what kind of expression she would have after giving such a confident answer.

Unfortunately, Xiu Xingmeng's bangs had grown too long and were covering her eyes, so Narita couldn't see anything.

For some inexplicable reason, Narita felt that those few strands of light, flowing black hair were as hard as cold steel, like a high wall blocking everyone's investigation.

"You can't fail? Is this the pride of a genius?"

Unable to see Xiu Xingmeng's expression clearly, Cheng Tianlu simply gave up struggling and collapsed onto the grass beneath him with a thud.

Xiu Xingmeng looked at Cheng Tianlu, who was lying on the grass watching the clouds, blinked, and then lay down as well.

Smelling the scent of sunshine and grass, Xiu Xingmeng suddenly felt a tickle on her cheek. She turned her head and looked at the golden hair and tender green grass swaying gently in the breeze.

What are people's impressions of geniuses?

Upon hearing this question, Narita thought it was Xiuxing Meng asking for other people's opinions of her, and after thinking for a while, he said...

"Confidence...and strength, right? It's not just about ability, but more about inner strength, which makes people admire you without even realizing it."

"Yeah."

Upon hearing Narita's words, Xiu Xingmeng couldn't help but think of the geniuses she had ever met.

Whether it's the Emperor of the East Sea or the Holy King's Aura, they all seem to possess this inner strength.

Even if she loses her debut battle, she can still smile and congratulate herself as the Emperor of the East Sea. And even if she loses for a whole year, she can still confidently smile and say that she has the halo of a top-class racehorse girl.

In that sense, isn't Naritaji and Orihime the same?

Narita is such a warm person; you can feel her inner resilience just by getting close to her. Although she said she might cry after a failure, Xiuxingmeng believes that she will definitely step onto the stage again and win back the spotlight after her setback.

As for Ai Musou, Xiu Xingmeng didn't have many conversations with her, but perhaps because the two were more or less similar, Xiu Xingmeng could sense her inner persistence.

"A gathering of geniuses," Xiu Xingmeng sighed silently in her heart.

But that's the racetrack. The higher you go, the stronger your opponents become. Each one has the ability to win, and only the racehorse girl who stands out from the crowd can achieve the ultimate glory.