The race moves onto a gentle uphill section—one of those deceptive rises that looks flat but quietly drains stamina and causes runners to misjudge how much they have left. For inexperienced girls, it is a trap. For strong runners, it is the perfect place to disrupt everyone else's rhythm.
Because of that, the announcer and the other runners are all expecting Xingyun Liuge to make her move here, just like she did at Epsom.
But she does not.
Even while everyone keeps watching her from the corner of their eye—or listening carefully for her footsteps from the far outside—Liuge remains eerily calm. She simply keeps pace with the field, running as though she has completely blended into the pack.
This only makes everyone more uneasy.
If she is not planning to attack here, then why is she still taking that inefficient, extremely wide path? From the outside, it looks like she is wasting energy for no reason. The commentators are confused, and even the audience starts murmuring that something may be wrong with her. Some wonder whether the rumors are true—that she has been physically unwell lately.
At the front, Can't Agree still leads cleanly, with about two and a half lengths over the next group. Labor Force and Invincible Vanguard are close behind, while Liuge, Steel Queen, and Mototo remain near the back, almost lined up side by side. The field stretches to roughly ten lengths in total.
Although the crowd thinks the pace feels strangely slow, the host points out that the race is actually being run at a normal tempo. It only feels subdued because everyone is fixated on Liuge and waiting for her to spring some trap.
That mounting uncertainty starts to infect the other runners. They cannot stop wondering:
Why is she so quiet?
When will she accelerate?
What kind of plan is she hiding?
Their tension builds. Sweat starts to pour. The psychological pressure grows.
The first to crack is Can't Agree. After checking her own condition, she decides she has enough in reserve to lift the tempo a little. Since the girls had agreed to focus on Liuge, she figures the others can keep Liuge in check while she pushes ahead for herself.
So she speeds up.
At that moment, something subtle but sinister is revealed: a faint ghostly green glow appears in her eyes, and even her hoofprints begin to shine with the same eerie color.
In fact, the same thing is happening to everyone—it just has not fully surfaced yet.
As Labor Force and Invincible Vanguard respond and accelerate as well, the same spectral green traces appear in them too. The atmosphere on the turf becomes increasingly strange, but nobody notices. The crowd is too busy cheering, and the girls are too focused on race positioning and on Liuge.
At the rear, Liuge smiles.
The feedback from the Black Mist has been mediocre, but that is fine. Awakening a full Domain is rare; she never expected everyone here to suddenly reveal one. What matters is that the setup is working.
Then the narration finally reveals what Liuge rolled for this race:
Ultimate Spellbook – Returning Their Own Way
In this race, Liuge can copy and use an opponent's Domain at no cost, altering it into a version better suited to herself. Each runner can only be copied once.
Before entering the gates, Liuge had tossed the random "dice," hoping for something suitably oppressive or entertaining. She had even thought that if nothing better appeared, she would simply use Thresh and torment the entire field equally.
Instead, she got something she likes even more.
The imagery erupts:
A boundless black mist rises and rolls like a tide. Inside it, eerie green lights flash from time to time, beautiful in a sinister, inhuman way. But if anyone were to truly look into it—really examine it—they would feel a faint electric tremor run through their body and mind.
From within the mist comes a voice:
"The Black Mist pours forth from me in waves. Though it may ebb at times, now we surge forward unstoppable."
And inside that mist—
Liuge sees her own face.
So the chapter ends by revealing that Liuge's "calm" this whole time was never passivity at all. She has already laid a supernatural trap over the entire race, and the field has been running inside it without realizing.
Join here to read ahead.
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 240
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 260
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 135
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 100
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 55
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 55
From Trilobites to Titans 55
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 66
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
Honkai: The Fire Devil 30
Honkai Transformation Cards 35
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 45
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