The Bald Guy with an Engraved Stigmata! / History Always Repeats Itself in Astonishing Ways!

"Fine, then it's settled!"

Well, since both Himeko and Tesla had agreed, Theresa could hardly object any further. "Himeko, take Ling Feng to assume his post, and help him complete his enrollment procedures while you're at it... Also, Ling Feng, it would be best if you didn't tell anyone about your identity. It might cause some unnecessary trouble..."

"I understand..."

Ling Feng silently nodded to show that he understood.

"Ling Feng, let's go..."

Himeko nodded as well, then left the Academy Head's office with Ling Feng.

After the two had left, Theresa quietly looked at Tesla. "Hey, Tesla, isn't it a waste of Ling Feng's abilities to assign him to Team 233? And my niece is completely unruly... I'm worried Ling Feng will get bullied and just leave the academy..."

"If he leaves the academy after suffering a little bullying, then there's no need for us to keep him anyway..."

Tesla did not think it was a big deal and smiled. "Besides, although Ling Feng was once an S-rank Valkyrie, we still know very little about him. We can't just hand a main combat team over to him, can we? What if something goes wrong?"

"So, giving him a high-combat-power but low-ability deadweight team like Team 233 is perfect for now. We can see how things go. If he really has the skills, it definitely won't be a bad thing for Team 233. And you're the Academy Head. If Ling Feng really proves capable, can't you just transfer him to a main combat team later?"

"Eh... But I still feel like we're deceiving him..."

Theresa's lips twitched slightly. Although she thought Tesla made sense, she still felt somewhat guilty. After all, her niece was truly troublesome. She was obviously an idiot, yet the more outstanding Mei insisted on being on the same team as her. As a result, Team 233 was still only a C-rank team, barely better than a beginner D-rank team...

"Hehe, it's fine. This is just training for Ling Feng..."

Tesla chuckled, completely unconcerned about the fact that she was setting someone up.

Getting Divine Grace's skin felt way too real. Poor family, goodbye!

Imprint Stigmata's Baldies!

"Eh... Team 233? No wonder it sounded familiar. So it's Mei's team!" When Himeko brought Ling Feng to Team 233's apartment, he immediately remembered what had happened the night before.

"Oh? You know Mei?"

Himeko looked at Ling Feng curiously. Wasn't this guy from fifty thousand years ago? When had he met Mei?

"Uh... We briefly got acquainted while I was taking a walk yesterday..."

Ling Feng looked a little embarrassed. Last night's situation had been somewhat awkward, so it was better left unmentioned.

"Then that makes things easy. Let's go!"

Himeko did not ask any further questions. She pushed open the door and walked into the apartment, calling out, "Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, come out for a moment!"

"What is it, Auntie Himeko!"

Kiana's lazy voice came from upstairs as she walked down in a white set of pajamas.

"Himeko!"

"Himeko!"

Mei and Bronya walked over from the living room.

"Hm? Ling Feng?"

When Mei saw Ling Feng standing beside Himeko, she immediately grew flustered. Had Ling Feng told Himeko about how she had accidentally hurt him last night? This was going to be troublesome...

"Uh... Good morning, Mei, Bronya..."

Ling Feng was still a little awkward as he greeted them with a forced smile.

"You... It's you..."

Seeing Ling Feng here, Kiana, who had still been half-asleep, instantly woke up. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You actually went and told the teacher over something so minor? What childish behavior. That's way too much! Besides, you didn't even lose out!"

"Hm?"

Hearing Kiana's words, Himeko asked curiously, "What happened?"

"Nothing!"

Ling Feng firmly refused to tell the truth. Smiling, he said, "Kiana and I had a small misunderstanding yesterday, but we've already apologized to each other. Kiana probably misunderstood us!"

"I see. Fine, I can't be bothered to ask..."

Himeko did not want to pry any further. "I didn't come here for you today. I came to inform you of something. Starting today, Ling Feng will be your team's assistant. From now on, he'll be responsible for your daily lives and training arrangements. I hope you'll follow his arrangements as well. Understood?"

"Huh?"

Kiana froze, then snorted. "No... Why does it have to be this guy? And we don't need an assistant!"

"Kiana!"

Himeko simply stared at Kiana, rubbing her forehead with a headache. "If you have any objections, go to the Academy Head's office and bring them up with the Academy Head. But before that, you will follow the arrangements. And all of you, understood?"

"I understand!"

Mei immediately nodded, then asked, "But since our team has gained another person, will our funding also..."

"Of course!"

Himeko smiled faintly. "Your team only receives guaranteed funding for three people anyway, so adding one more makes no difference. But let me make this clear first. Although assistants receive separate salaries, that salary is not included in your team's funds. So before the assistant agrees, you may not use the assistant's salary. If I find out there has been any violence or coercion, even your guaranteed funding will be deducted!"

"We guarantee we won't!"

Mei decisively stated that she would not. No matter what, they could not pick a fight with their funding. Besides, Kiana already ate up more than half of their monthly budget. They really could not afford any more trouble...

"Bronya understands too!"

Bronya had always listened to Mei, so she immediately showed no intention of objecting.

"I understand..."

Kiana could only nod in agreement. There was no room for objection anyway. Besides, the academy was poor, and assistants were severely understaffed. It was already pretty good that her team could have one. The key point was... assistants, unlike Valkyries, received salaries in addition to funding!

"Good!"

Himeko nodded solemnly and smiled. "Then, Ling Feng, until the team roster is changed, you'll be Team 233's assistant. Starting today, you'll live here. It's a four-person apartment, and there happens to be one room left!"

"Uh... Can't I stay where I stayed last night?"

Ling Feng was still somewhat unaccustomed to suddenly living with three girls. Besides, Kiana seemed hostile toward him...

"The place you stayed last night was housing the academy used to accommodate guests. Now that you're considered a student of the academy, naturally you can't continue living there."

Himeko explained patiently, "Besides, assistants are supposed to live with their team members. Otherwise, how can they understand the Valkyries on their team? Without understanding the Valkyries, how can they make battle plans or training arrangements? Also, this is preparation for the future. Assistants will also be responsible for imprinting Stigmata on Valkyries. If you don't interact with them now, what will you do when it's time to imprint their Stigmata?"

"Imprinting Stigmata? Isn't that done with machines?"

Ling Feng understood Stigmata, since they had existed in his era as well. Imprinting them was very simple. A Valkyrie only had to lie on a specialized machine, and the Stigmata could be imprinted using special-energy laser beams. It could be done in a few minutes!

"They can indeed be imprinted using machines!"

Himeko understood Ling Feng's question. After all, he was not from this era. She explained, "But every Valkyrie's physical details are different, and the more precise the Stigmata imprinting is, the more powerful it becomes. Machines can't achieve that. They can only imprint standardized Stigmata. Not only does that weaken the Stigmata's power, but over time, it can also harm the Valkyrie's body. So unless they have a particular need, Valkyries generally aren't willing to use machine imprinting!"

"Uh... So that's how it works..."

Ling Feng nodded thoughtfully. In his era, he had heard that imprinting had originally needed to be done manually because machine imprinting was inaccurate. Moreover, most people who specialized in imprinting Stigmata were bald...

Later, a scientist had used Brain-computer interface technology to calculate Valkyrie body structures, allowing machines to perform perfect imprinting as well. From then on, manual imprinting faded from history, though a small number of devoted fans still used it!

However, he had heard that the scientist had soon been abducted and burned to death by terrorists, then listed as one of history's ten greatest sinners. Ling Feng remembered that one person on that list had invented the stethoscope, while another had invented safety shorts. He could not remember the others for now, but in any case, they were all heinous criminals...

History Always Repeats Itself in Startling Ways!

As for Brain-computer interfaces, Ling Feng had studied that field before. Maybe he could recreate one in the future. Although it would be difficult, and... Ling Feng did not particularly want such a thing to appear. It was an obstacle preventing humanity from exploring and advancing!

As for Stigmata, Ling Feng remembered the patterns of most of them very clearly. The Stigmata he had loved using most were the ones Kuroki had personally imprinted on him!

Cat Swim Cow, invincible! Erhong Set, survive forever!

Combined, the two could form the strongest Stigmata, the Shen Nong Set. It could attack or endure, be strong or weak. It was the king of Stigmata, the peak of Stigmata, the ceiling of five-star Stigmata! Next focused supply, I'm definitely pulling for you, Shen Nong Set!

"Don't think too much about it. That's for the future. Memorizing Stigmata patterns and perfectly controlling your own energy to imprint them both require time and experience!"

Seeing Ling Feng's unconcerned expression, Himeko could not help reminding him, "And don't think it's easy. You probably noticed yesterday that more than ninety-five percent of the students in our academy are female. Of the small number of male students left, nearly half are bald. Why do you think they went bald? In fact, most of them went bald trying to learn how to imprint Stigmata!"

Ling Feng: "???" Damn, history really was startlingly similar...

Ling Feng hesitated. He remembered the Stigmata patterns clearly enough, but energy... According to Tesla, using energy again would be suicidal. That was a little troublesome...

By the time Ling Feng came back to his senses, Himeko had already left. The two girls had also come over, apparently examining Ling Feng.

"Please take care of us from now on, Assistant!"

Mei was as polite as ever. Dressed casually, she lowered her head slightly, her voice gentle and pleasant.

"You should just call me Ling Feng. Assistant sounds kind of strange to me..." Ling Feng smiled helplessly.

"Okay, Ling Feng!"

Mei had no intention of objecting. She smiled faintly. In short, whatever Ling Feng said went!

"Please take care of us, Ling Feng!"

Bronya nodded in greeting, then rode Project Bunny back to the living room.

Kiana, meanwhile, slowly came downstairs in slippers. Facing Ling Feng, she said, "Ling Feng, I don't object to you being our assistant, but..."

Once Kiana was no longer facing Mei, the smile vanished from her face. In a low, threatening voice, she said, "If you dare try anything, especially if you dare lay a hand on Mei, then even if I have to break the school rules, I'll make you regret this decision. I'm a C-rank Valkyrie, only one step away from becoming a real Valkyrie!"

Ling Feng: "..." Why could this girl say that she was a C-rank Valkyrie with such a proud expression? Their values might be a little different...

"Hmph!"

Seeing that Ling Feng did not answer, Kiana could not be bothered to make a fool of herself. Humming a tune, she went back upstairs.

"Please don't mind her. Kiana doesn't mean any harm. She's actually very kind!" Mei smiled gently.

Ling Feng: "..." I believe you, my ass. You old... no, you scheming young lady...

Kiana's threat was only a minor interlude and did not have any effect. Ling Feng did not take it to heart, nor did Mei. She directly brought Ling Feng to the second floor.

In the hallway, Mei pointed to the left and smiled. "There are four rooms in the apartment. Room One is Kiana's. I think it would be best if you didn't go in. If Kiana teaches you a lesson because of that, I won't stop her!"

"Uh... I wasn't planning to go in..."

Ling Feng understood that without Mei needing to remind him.

"Room Two is Bronya's. Although Bronya may not look like she has any combat power, Project Bunny can punch a tank into the air. So I think it would also be best if you didn't enter recklessly!"

As she spoke, Mei pointed to the right. "Room Three is mine. If you have any problems, you can come discuss them with me, but please knock first. Finally, Room Four used to be empty, but it's yours now. I'll clean it for you in a moment, but there are no bedding or daily necessities, so you'll need to collect and buy those yourself!"

"Understood!"

Ling Feng nodded again to show that he understood.

Then Mei took a broom and rag from her own room and diligently began cleaning the room. Naturally, Ling Feng could not just stand around. He hurried to help, since this was his room after all...

As he cleaned the room, Ling Feng also asked Mei about some of the current era's basic settings. First of all, Honkai Beasts were still Honkai Beasts, with little difference from the ones in his era!

Then, St. Freya Academy was an academy specifically for training Valkyries. At the same time, it admitted some boys with stronger Honkai energy adaptability and trained them as assistants, teaching combat command, Stigmata imprinting, and so on. However, their numbers were extremely small. There was no helping it—men with strong Honkai energy adaptability were truly rare!

The Valkyries also had to attend classes according to the curriculum: language, mathematics, and courses related to fighting the Honkai!

Valkyrie ranks were divided into five levels: D, C, B, A, and S!

D-rank meant trainee Valkyrie, while C-rank was Kiana's level. It was a little better than a trainee Valkyrie and came with practical combat experience, but not much battle experience. They could not yet be considered true Valkyries, only reserves!

B-rank meant a genuine Valkyrie. They possessed standard Valkyrie combat abilities, but had little real combat experience and were not yet capable of standing on their own!

A-rank Valkyries were the main force against the Honkai, possessing great strength and abundant battle experience. St. Freya Academy only had three A-rank Valkyries: Theresa, Himeko, and Shenzhou Tablet...

But awkwardly, all three had come from Schicksal Headquarters. To this day, St. Freya Academy had not trained a single A-rank Valkyrie of its own!

Of course, even among A-rank Valkyries, there were huge differences in combat power. Rank did not equal combat power. That had to be made clear!

For example, Theresa was an A-rank Valkyrie, but after removing her restrictions, she possessed strength comparable to an S-rank Valkyrie. Yet she was not truly an S-rank Valkyrie, even though she had the power to crush A-rank Valkyries!

As for S-rank Valkyries, Mei did not know much either. But according to her, they were simply ridiculously powerful, possessing strength comparable to Herrschers and an absolute gap in power compared to A-rank Valkyries!

Since it was the weekend, the three members of Team 233 were resting in the apartment. Mei went out to buy ingredients, but for lunch, Ling Feng had initially thought they would go to the academy cafeteria. They did not. Mei personally cooked and solved the lunch problem herself, and...

All vegetables? Ling Feng was dumbfounded. Was their team's funding really so tight?

Still... it tasted all right. No, it was delicious. It was honestly hard to imagine Mei had made it!