Honkai, I Alone Will Save Everything

The three of them seemed to be talking about something. Upon seeing Ming Yu arrive, Mei waved at him with a slight extension of her hand.

"My goal isn't just to be an A-Rank Valkyrie!"

Kiana put her hands on her hips and then delivered her classic line:

"This young lady is going to be Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie!"

"..."

Ming Yu's expression turned a little subtle.

"What's wrong? You don't believe me?"

Kiana noticed the change in his gaze.

"It's nothing... You should just take it step by step, grounded in reality."

He replied lazily.

Having inherited the genes of Sirin and Durandal, Kiana actually possessed considerable potential in combat.

If she were truly willing to put in the effort, achieving this goal wasn't impossible.

However, almost until the Herrscher's descent, her strength hadn't improved much. She hadn't even reached A-Rank Valkyrie, nor had she fulfilled Theresa's promise: "Once you reach A-Rank, I'll tell you the whereabouts of your father, Siegfried."

—It was only after her loved ones around her perished that she was forced to start growing.

To be honest, if Kiana had really trained diligently and persistently, her future development would probably have been vastly different.

After all, it only took Durandal about five or six years to go from becoming a Valkyrie at the age of ten to becoming an S-Rank Valkyrie.

With Kiana possessing Sirin's Herrscher body and Durandal's potential, if she could become stronger before Otto made his move, many things during the Herrscher's descent could have been altered.

It was a shame, given her current foolish and lazy personality...

Of course, those were just the events from the timeline he originally knew. This Kiana here might become exceptionally diligent.

Ming Yu rubbed his head, temporarily putting Kiana's matters aside.

Regardless of what others did, he himself needed to become stronger.

Right, shouldn't there be an examiner watching their rank assessment... It should be Aunt Himeko?

"Your identities are rather special... therefore, instead of using simulated combat for the assessment, I will be the one to judge you."

At some point, a gray-haired woman appeared beside them.

"Are you... Senior Fu Hua?"

Mei recognized her. She had seen her on the Hyperion before.

Fu Hua nodded slightly, revealing a helpless expression:

"Himeko was supposed to be in charge, but... as you probably know, she got drunk last night."

This was the casual life of a single woman of a certain age.

In short, she was forced to fill in due to this reason.

"I remember, Senior Fu Hua, you're an A-Rank Valkyrie, right?"

Kiana suddenly asked curiously.

"Yes."

Fu Hua nodded.

"If I can defeat you, then it will fulfill the promise Theresa made, right?"

The white-haired girl suddenly became enthusiastic.

If she could defeat an A-Rank Valkyrie, wouldn't that mean she also possessed A-Rank strength?

Then Theresa would have to immediately tell her the clues about her darn dad!

Fu Hua smiled slightly and said calmly, "If you can do it."

Chapter 21: Three Heroes Battle Fu Hua

Since Kiana was full of fighting spirit and eager to defeat Fu Hua to meet Theresa's condition, she chose to be the first to engage Fu Hua in combat.

Before the battle, Fu Hua let her choose a suitable weapon.

Kiana looked around and finally chose a chainsaw greatsword.

Although she was more accustomed to fighting with dual pistols in gun-fu style, she had also dabbled in other weapons.

This giant sword was enormous, significantly larger than her own frame, but for Kiana, who possessed the monstrous strength of the Kaslana lineage, it posed no problem at all and wasn't heavy in the slightest.

A moment later, Fu Hua and Kiana stood on the training ground.

Ming Yu, Mei, and Bronya watched from the side.

"Come on, Kiana."

Fu Hua extended her right hand and beckoned slightly, signaling her to begin her attack.

"You... you don't use weapons?"

Kiana looked at the gray-haired woman with empty hands, a bit surprised.

"Mm... I do have my preferred weapons, but they aren't necessary against you,"

Fu Hua said with a smile, waving her hand.

These words were no different than saying her own strength was far from enough to match Fu Hua's.

"...Don't blame me if you get hurt!"

The white-haired girl gripped her sword with both hands, stomped her feet, and charged at Fu Hua at extreme speed, dragging the greatsword with her. She swung it down diagonally with great force.

Fu Hua calmly sidestepped, shifting her position slightly. The greatsword's trajectory grazed her body as it fell, and Kiana's powerful strike missed completely.

At the same time, she lightly extended her palm and gently tapped the center of the sword blade. The greatsword immediately deviated from Kiana's control.

What was once Kiana wielding the greatsword now became the greatsword forcefully pulling Kiana to the side, making her unable to control her own movements and exposing all her weaknesses to Fu Hua.

Facing Kiana, who was riddled with openings, Fu Hua casually swung her other hand, transforming it into a blade-like strike towards Kiana's neck.

Having missed her initial attack, Kiana felt the sharp strike. She resolutely abandoned the greatsword, clenched her fists, and guarded herself in front of her body to block.

—In her mind, with her natural monstrous strength, she could gain an advantage even in a close-quarters combat against Fu Hua.

After blocking Fu Hua's blade-hand with her own hands, Kiana grabbed one of Fu Hua's hands with one of hers, and with the other, she powerfully punched towards Fu Hua's chest.

Unfortunately, the scene Kiana had envisioned—her fist hitting the chest and sending the opponent flying—did not materialize.

Instead, the world spun before her eyes, and before she knew it, Fu Hua had already taken her down to the ground.

"...What... what happened?"

Kiana was still a bit dazed.

Fu Hua calmly walked over to her, leaned down to look at the girl lying on the ground, and said:

"Kiana, your martial arts clearly lack systematic training, but they still possess a certain power. I think that's probably due to the inclusion of your own understanding, which shows you have considerable talent."

"Hmph, of course, this young lady is..."

Before Kiana could finish speaking, she immediately sprang up from the ground and attacked Fu Hua again.

Coming to deceive, coming to ambush!

However, once again, her punch was forced to stop before it reached Fu Hua.

This was because Fu Hua's blade-hand had already been placed on her neck.

—She hadn't even seen the opponent's movements clearly, and the subsequent exchanges over the next few seconds were all within the opponent's predictions.

"I wasn't finished speaking... While you have talent, you lack a solid foundation, and your actual performance is less than a tenth of what it could be."

Fu Hua said calmly:

"Your current strength, precisely speaking, is indeed at the level of a B-Rank Valkyrie, but you are still a long way from the goal Theresa set for you."

—Not to mention the level of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie that Kiana had aspired to just now.

"If you want to become an A-Rank Valkyrie, you need solid training, and you must not be impatient for quick success. Otherwise... haste makes waste."

Fu Hua advised.

She had indeed seen many genius girls like Kiana.

But talent does not equate to strength. If one cannot guide their potential through corresponding training, they will merely blend in with the crowd.

"Impatient for quick success...? And what does 'haste makes waste' mean?"

Kiana asked blankly, She was a girl who had wandered the world her entire life, and frankly speaking, her cultural education was severely lacking.

Now, encountering Fu Hua, a person from Shenzhou who spoke in such refined language, she didn't understand a single word.

"..."

Fu Hua realized the girl before her seemed to have completely misunderstood what she had said. She rubbed her forehead helplessly and changed her approach:

"You need to properly train your combat skills, improve your physique, and, um..."

Thinking of Kiana's bewildered expression at her two ancient Chinese phrases, the gray-haired woman added:

"And you need to attend cultural classes properly."

"...Can I refuse the latter part?"

Kiana protested.

She didn't have much of an opinion about combat training, but the latter part... she would rather not!

"Alright, get up."

Fu Hua smiled slightly, extended her hand, and pulled Kiana, who was sitting on the ground, to her feet.

—Kiana, utterly defeated.

Then, her gaze shifted to another girl in the audience:

"Mei, it's your turn."

"Understood, Fu Hua-senpai."

The black-haired girl obediently walked onto the training grounds.

Her weapon was, without a doubt, a katana.

"...Please guide me."

After bowing deeply, Mei drew the katana from her waist and swung it at Fu Hua with a refined arc.

Unlike Kiana's half-baked skills, what she possessed was indeed swordsmanship honed through arduous training.

Thanks to her father spending years pretending to be the "Herrscher Swordsman" to spar with her, she had developed formidable martial arts skills despite living in a safe, large city.

The Hokushin Ittō-ryū sword techniques were specifically designed for combat against people, and thus they put some pressure on Fu Hua.

Fu Hua's expression became slightly more serious as she continuously dodged Mei's attacks, weaving and shifting.

However, despite Mei's onslaught appearing sharp and fierce, she couldn't touch Fu Hua at all.

The girl naturally noticed this. She pursed her lips slightly, a flash of lightning flickering in her eyes.

At the same time, her movements quickened considerably as she intended to change her attack.

Fu Hua reacted swiftly, seizing the moment Mei shifted her stance. She struck out with both hands simultaneously, one hand hitting Mei's abdomen and the other striking the wrist holding the sword.

The girl reacted nimbly, adjusting her stance and reducing the impact of Fu Hua's blow.

However, as she reached for her waist to retrieve her weapon, she found that she had grasped at empty air.