Ling Feng shook his head slightly. "But I don't think she was lying. Something like this can be investigated easily. We can just ask Tesla later and find out!"
"Who cares if it's getting stronger? I'll just kick it flying!"
Kiana crossed her arms, looking completely unconcerned. It was just a Honkai Beast, wasn't it? Easy peasy!
Before long, Charlotte and Tifa left. No one knew what terms of cooperation they had reached with the Academy Head, but Charlotte seemed rather happy when she left...
The afternoon was the Valkyries' practical class. Put simply, it was physical and combat training. The instructors taught combat techniques and methods while the Valkyries trained against one another, learning and mastering new skills!
As for Valkyrie skills, there actually were not that many, but there were enough. Moreover, different skills required different Valkyrie Armor to be used, which made them rather limited unless a Valkyrie could adapt to multiple kinds of Valkyrie Armor!
Bang!
In the training grounds, Yuqi was defeated by Kiana once again...
"Damn it... She's... so strong..." Yuqi's face was full of unwillingness...
"Hahahaha! I told you, I'm the strongest! Yuqi, go back and train some more! Hahahahaha..."
Kiana looked utterly pleased with herself. Back when she had still been a C-rank Valkyrie, this girl had loved coming to train with her, and Kiana had usually been the one getting beaten up. Now, the tables had turned!
On the other side, Mei had also successfully defeated two B-rank Valkyries, and she was still using a two-star Universal Katana...
"Mei, you're so strong..."
"That's right. It feels like the gap between us and you is getting bigger and bigger!"
The two of them did not seem unwilling to accept it. After all, they could not beat Mei in the first place, and now they stood even less of a chance...
"Not at all. You let me win!"
Mei gave a slight bow in courtesy, then sheathed her katana. She had not even used her Stigmata just now, yet she had already defeated both opponents. It seemed her basic combat ability had improved quite a bit too...
Perhaps because they possessed four-star Stigmata, Kiana and Mei often held overwhelming advantages in training matches. Even when both sides had similar basic combat power, the boost from Stigmata often allowed them to crush their opponents outright!
Without realizing it, Mei and Kiana had already become the top tier of the class. Well, not counting Fu Hua...
A Meeting with Tesla!
"Damn it! If she hadn't relied on her Stigmata, Kiana wouldn't have been a match for me!"
At dinnertime in the Academy cafeteria, Yuqi was still feeling depressed. It was not that losing to Kiana upset her, but seeing that smug look on Kiana's face annoyed her. Kiana had clearly only beaten her by relying on Stigmata, yet she was acting so proud!
"Alright, alright, don't be mad. There's nothing we can do about four-star Stigmata..." Baizhi was much calmer, though she would be lying if she said she was not jealous...
"I'm just really annoyed..."
Yuqi pursed her lips in frustration and asked, "Baizhi, can you think of a way to get Ling Feng to Imprint four-star Stigmata for us too? Among the students in the Academy right now, he's the only one who can complete a four-star Stigmata Imprint!"
"That would be difficult, wouldn't it? He's part of Team 233, and Team 233's captain is Kiana. Do you think Kiana would agree?" Baizhi felt the odds were rather low. No, extremely low!
"You're right..."
Yuqi nodded reluctantly, then said, "Then... then we'll go directly to Ling Feng? Even though he's an assistant, he can't possibly stay with Kiana all the time, right? We can find him when he's alone and then figure out a way to get him to Imprint Stigmata for us!"
"A way..."
Baizhi thought for a moment. Then an idea struck her, and she smiled. "I have one. If I'm not mistaken, Ling Feng and Kiana are probably in that kind of relationship, so as long as we..."
Baizhi leaned close to Yuqi's ear and whispered softly...
Yuqi: "..."
"Uh... Isn't that... a little too much? And... that's really embarrassing..." Yuqi seemed somewhat resistant to this plan...
Baizhi merely spread her hands, looking unconcerned. "Then it's up to you. Anyway, that's the only method I can think of that has the highest chance of succeeding..."
Yuqi: "..."
After the afternoon classes ended, Ling Feng did not return with Mei and the others. Instead, he went to find Tesla...
"Those were the conditions Charlotte and the others proposed. Theresa agreed to them too, since the Academy needs money!"
Tesla roughly described the terms of the previous cooperation. Simply put, Charlotte's company would sponsor the Academy, but the Academy needed to help Charlotte test new equipment and provide one team slot in the future ranking tournament!
"I understand testing equipment, but what does she want a ranking tournament slot for?"
Ling Feng had been here for several days, so he knew about the ranking tournament. Put simply, it was a competition held every year to determine the combat strength of Valkyries enrolled in the Academy. Only current students could participate; graduated Valkyries were not allowed!
"Who cares? More importantly, did you come to see me just to ask about that?"
Tesla was still lounging in her chair as usual, her feet propped high on the desk and a teasing smile always on her face!
"I suppose there's something else too!"
Ling Feng sat down across from Tesla and said, "Charlotte talked to me a lot at noon, and one thing concerned me. Are Honkai Beasts constantly getting stronger?"
"Mm... Based on the records from the past ten years, Honkai Beasts really have been getting stronger!"
Tesla operated the keyboard one-handed and opened a set of data for Ling Feng. "Look, this shows the frequency of Honkai outbreaks over the past decade, as well as the strength of the Honkai Beasts. The information might not be entirely complete, but it can basically serve as a reference. Every year, the Honkai Beasts have grown stronger, and their numbers have increased too. That doesn't look like good news..."
"It seems humanity truly needs to keep getting stronger..."
Alright, Ling Feng knew Charlotte had not been joking. Honkai Beasts really were becoming stronger. If humanity did not advance, fighting the Honkai would become harder and harder, ending in extinction!
"Leave those problems to the researchers at Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. Our current mission is simply to train Valkyries for St. Freya Academy!" Tesla had known for a long time that Honkai Beasts were growing stronger, so she remained very calm about it!
"Tesla, have you ever thought about creating weapons comparable to Divine Relics?" Ling Feng suddenly asked!
"Hmm?"
Tesla froze for a moment, then smiled. "That... might be a little difficult. Humanity currently can't even analyze what Divine Relics are, yet you're talking about making them? That's too big a leap!"
"Heh, hey, have you forgotten who I am?"
Ling Feng smiled as well. "If I told you the principles and materials needed to make Divine Relics, would you be confident you could create them?"
"Eh... You... really know?"
Tesla put away her teasing expression, her gaze turning serious. "Don't let how I look now fool you. I was one of the ten greatest genius girls back then. As long as you tell me the principles and materials, I can definitely make them!"
"Then why hadn't you thought of asking me before?"
Ling Feng looked at Tesla curiously. He wondered why she had never brought up the matter herself!
"Wasn't it because I was embarrassed to ask?"
Tesla smiled. "After all, you said your memories were incomplete. And if I asked directly, wouldn't you suspect my motives? You might even think we saved you for the knowledge you possess. Though we did have that thought, I don't like doing things that way, because I knew you would definitely tell me on your own!"
"You're that confident?"
Tesla's confidence left Ling Feng feeling somewhat helpless...
"Mm, of course!"
Tesla nodded firmly. "Don't ask me why I'm confident. It's simple: intuition!"
"Fine, you win..."
Ling Feng sighed helplessly, then smiled. "Then I'll tell you the truth. In my era, Divine Relics were God-Slaying Armor. There were eighteen in total, and the core devices of those eighteen pieces of God-Slaying Armor were actually the cores of eighteen Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. Those were the primary and most important materials, without question!"
"The cores of Judgment-class Honkai Beasts... So that's how it was..."
Tesla's eyes immediately lit up. She nodded thoughtfully and said, "I'd guessed it had something to do with Honkai Beast cores, but I never expected... they would be Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. And eighteen of them, at that. Your Previous civilization was way too powerful, wasn't it?"
"No matter how powerful it was, it's already gone. Let me get to the point!"
Ling Feng did not want to banter with Tesla now, so he continued, "God-Slaying Armor does not choose its Valkyrie. It is tailor-made for its Valkyrie. The moment a piece of God-Slaying Armor is created, its owner is already decided. That is because the core of the God-Slaying Armor forms a connection with its user, allowing the Valkyrie to gain the power of the Judgment-class Honkai Beast within it. Strictly speaking, God-Slaying Armor can also be regarded as a Honkai Beast, except the Honkai Beast's original consciousness has been turned into artificial intelligence..."
Fingerprinting? Why Did That Feel Familiar?
Only after exchanging insights with Tesla about the creation of Divine Relics did Ling Feng slowly head toward the apartments. However, they seemed to have talked for too long; the sky had already darkened...
"I should hurry back..."
His stomach was a little hungry, so he needed to hurry back for dinner. Speaking of which, they had roast duck last night. He wondered whether today's meal would turn entirely vegetarian again...
Ling Feng quickened his pace toward the apartments, but as he passed by the pool, two figures suddenly darted out from the side...
"Ling Feng, can we talk?"
Looking closely, they were people he knew: Yuqi and Baizhi from his class...
"Uh... Will it take long? I'm in a hurry to get back for dinner..."
Ling Feng knew Yuqi was Kiana's nemesis, so he was not particularly willing to agree...
"It won't take long. Just come with us..."
Baizhi smiled. Then she and Yuqi each linked an arm around one of Ling Feng's arms and slowly pulled him into the woods...
Ling Feng: "..." Why... do I have a bad feeling about this...
In the woods, Yuqi and Ling Feng stood face-to-face...
"Ling Feng, do you know why I want to become a Valkyrie?"
Yuqi spoke first...
"I don't know, but I don't want to know either. And can you hurry up and say whatever you want to say?" Ling Feng truly did not want to waste too much time with Yuqi...
Yuqi: "..."
"I have my own goal. My mother was once a Valkyrie too, but she died at the hands of a Honkai Beast. So I want to become a Valkyrie, eliminate the Honkai, eliminate all Honkai!" Yuqi silently looked at Ling Feng, her eyes filled with determination!
Ling Feng: "..." This routine again? I've seen this routine countless times... I bet Yuqi is about to ask me to Imprint a Stigmata for her...
She'll tell me about her tragic past to win sympathy, just like those talent shows. Either she was sick as a child, her parents both died, or some disaster struck while she pursued her dreams, making the judges too embarrassed not to give her a high score!
On the other hand, if you don't have some tearjerking backstory, you're too embarrassed to even stand on that stage. It isn't a place to compare talent; it's a place to compare misery!
"Uh... and then? What are you trying to say?"
Ling Feng was already prepared. If Yuqi asked, he would agree. After all, she was a B-rank Valkyrie with dreams of her own, just like those adorable students he had once taught!
"I..."
Yuqi paused, then grabbed Ling Feng's right hand. "What I'm saying is, for power, I'll stop at nothing!"
As she spoke, Yuqi directly grabbed Ling Feng's right hand and pressed it against her chest. Ling Feng immediately felt a soft mass in his palm. What it was went without saying...
"???"
Ling Feng was instantly dumbfounded. Wait... Why aren't you following the script?
"Ling Feng!"
Yuqi looked up at Ling Feng and said seriously, "Your fingerprints are on my clothes now. If you don't help me Imprint a Stigmata, I'll tell Kiana and Mei that you groped my chest. Of course, if... if you're willing to help me Imprint a Stigmata, then I won't know anything, and... you can do this again next time..."
Ling Feng: "..." This girl is ruthless. But why did this routine feel so familiar?
Ling Feng pulled out his right hand, then suddenly pressed it hard against Yuqi's other side...
Yuqi: "..."
"Ahhhhh!"
Yuqi quickly backed away, her face flushing. "Y-you... What are you trying to do? Let me tell you, this is the limit! Anything more is absolutely impossible!"
"Uh... Sorry, sorry. Occupational habit..."
Ling Feng put on an apologetic expression, then used his left hand to smack his right hand. Smiling, he said, "I understand what you mean, but you're a little... well, a little too extreme. Even if you had just come to me properly and explained your reason, I wouldn't have refused to Imprint a Stigmata for you. But you actually used this method to threaten me, and that made me a little unhappy. So consider that just now your punishment. Besides, I left fingerprints on the other side too."
Yuqi: "You..."
Yuqi was about to say something, but then she suddenly realized... Wait... Had she... done something stupid...
"So, you're willing to Imprint one for me?"
Setting the other issues aside, what Yuqi cared about most was still the Stigmata!
"Of course. It was a very simple matter to begin with!"
Ling Feng nodded slightly. Though it had been passive, he felt he had not lost out at all. Aside from being a little small, it had actually felt quite good...
"However..."
Ling Feng continued with a smile, "My method for Imprinting Stigmata is different from the usual method, so you need to be mentally prepared. And... don't say too much about it in front of Mei and Kiana. I don't really mind, but I don't want to make either of them angry, alright?"
Before you continue