The Honkai, I Alone Save Everything

——Her katana had somehow ended up in Fu Hua's hands.

"A... sword-catching technique?!"

She exclaimed.

In Shenzhou terms, it was a disarming skill.

"Your swordsmanship is quite good, but... your application of Honkai energy is still very rough. Forcing its use has only made you unable to adapt."

Fu Hua smiled and returned the weapon to Mei.

This was only natural, as Mei had never properly interacted with Honkai energy before entering St. Freya Academy. Raiden Ryoma had doted on her endlessly.

This was precisely why Theresa wanted to bring the Herrscher into the academy – to teach her how to master the power within her and control herself.

"Thank you for the guidance."

Mei took her katana, thanked Fu Hua politely, and returned to her seat.

——Mei, decisively defeated.

The third challenger appeared on the training ground without Fu Hua needing to say a word.

"...Bronya."

After a brief self-introduction, the silver-haired girl crouched down and shot forward like an arrow, engaging Fu Hua in close-quarters combat.

Fu Hua's gaze immediately grew serious.

—This seriousness wasn't due to the threat of the opponent's techniques, but rather their origin.

Bronya was using killing techniques.

If Kiana's combat skills were those of a weak amateur, and Mei's swordsmanship was merely aimed at quickly incapacitating her opponent, then the petite Bronya before her was employing the most dangerous techniques, each move designed to take a life.

No wasted movements, no extraneous objectives. Every attack was meant to end the opponent's life, and every strike targeted the most vulnerable points of the human body.

This child's background... must not be good.

Fu Hua thought silently.

The only places that would teach such killing arts to young children would be the military.

Considering her origins from Siberia... the outcome was obvious.

This child must be a victim of the Second Honkai Eruption fourteen years ago.

As a Valkyrie who had personally experienced that battle, Fu Hua let out a soft sigh.

Then, as expected, Fu Hua interrupted Bronya's assault with a palm strike, sending her flying.

However, the moment Bronya was sent flying, a giant mecha materialized out of thin air, its mechanical fist smashing down almost simultaneously.

"...Oh?"

The floor beneath her cracked, and Fu Hua caught the heavy fist of Project Bunny with one hand, looking at the giant mecha before her with some surprise.

This thing looked like a product of the previous civilization... or at least, it utilized technology from the previous civilization.

Was the close-quarters engagement merely a distraction to create an opportunity for its sneak attack?

Unfortunately, it was still a little short.

"...Sneak attack failed. Bronya concedes."

The silver-haired girl, getting up from the ground, honestly admitted defeat.

She could clearly feel the vast gap between herself and Fu Hua.

——Bronya, decisively defeated.

"All three of you have great talent, but at this stage, I can only evaluate you as B-Rank Valkyries."

Fu Hua looked at the three girls and said with a light smile.

She then turned her attention to the last person, the boy sitting obediently on the bench.

"Alright, then it's your turn... Ming Yu."

Chapter 22: Coach Fu Hua, I Want to Learn to Punch!

Fu Hua had a reason for leaving Ming Yu for last.

"I saw it back then. You defeated quite a few of Anti-Entropy's tactical mechs by yourself in Changkong City."

Facing Ming Yu, who had arrived on the training ground, Fu Hua said with great interest.

That dazzling railgun strike was indeed powerful, but unfortunately...

—That move consumed too much stamina. Once it was used, he'd have nothing left.

Ming Yu's lips twitched slightly.

Such a self-destructive move could only be considered in a critical situation.

For proper combat, it was better to use more energy-efficient methods, just as he had considered last night.

Taking a deep breath, Ming Yu employed the combat technique he had figured out just last night.

Electric sparks swirled around him, causing his hair to stand on end.

Theoretically, any ordinary person who came into contact with him in this state would be paralyzed and collapse from the electric current.

Of course, for someone of Fu Hua's caliber, this level of electricity probably wouldn't pose any interference.

Ready for battle, Ming Yu gripped his katana and charged at Fu Hua at high speed.

Having been possessed by Yae Sakura and sparred with the Herrscher of Thunder, he had, unsurprisingly, also chosen the katana as his weapon.

His sword skills were significantly inferior to Mei's, but his speed was superior... Overall, he was on par with Mei.

After a brief exchange, Fu Hua made her assessment.

Just as she was about to swat Ming Yu away with a gentle palm, as she had done with the three girls before him, her strike missed.

"...Hm?"

Ming Yu's body twisted unnaturally around his katana, executing a superhuman maneuver to narrowly dodge her fatal blow.

Fu Hua paused slightly, then saw through Ming Yu's movement.

He's using electromagnetic force to attract himself, performing a move impossible in a normal state?

...Why can this young man wield lightning anyway?

Fu Hua was perplexed.

Unfortunately, she wasn't a researcher and couldn't figure out his true nature.

Caught off guard by this move, she could only lightly push Ming Yu away, disarming him of his sword with ease, much like she had done with Mei.

However, the sword she had knocked away didn't land in her hand as expected. Instead, it flew into the air and returned to Ming Yu's grasp at a bizarre angle.

"So that's how it is... using electromagnetic force to cling to the weapon that was knocked away."

Fu Hua nodded appreciatively.

His ability to adapt during combat was quite outstanding.

"...Here's another move!"

Ming Yu leaped back a short distance, steadied himself, and unleashed the power within him.

Instantly, the weapons on the nearby rack were drawn to him.

Dozens of weapons of various types floated around Ming Yu.

Using this barrage of weapons as cover, he charged at Fu Hua once more.

The grey-haired woman stood firm, her eyes sharp. Her fists, channeling the wind, struck out with force.

Inch Punch: Thunderclap!

Like a tornado rising from flat ground, all the approaching weapons were thrown off their trajectories and scattered aside.

Ming Yu, who had used the weapon cluster for cover to close in again, was also sent flying to the ground without exception.

"Hah... I lost, I lost."

He had already tried this many times through rewinding, and achieving this much was the best result he could get from sparring with Fu Hua.

Although he could dodge some killing blows and prolong the fight slightly by learning from being hit, once Fu Hua got serious and used her Inch Heart martial arts, all his attempts became meaningless.

This was probably what people called being "stuck," no matter how he tried, at this stage, Ming Yu couldn't even injure Fu Hua, let alone defeat her.

Of course, knowing Fu Hua's true identity, he wouldn't say he wanted to defeat her like Kiana.

He knew that the grey-haired woman before him was a pioneer from the previous civilization, with over fifty thousand years of life experience.

Although her strength had greatly diminished due to the wear and tear of time and various events, Fu Hua was clearly far more than just a mere A-Rank Valkyrie.

This identity was merely a fabrication by Otto to facilitate her activities at St. Freya Academy.

In fact, even the current weakened Fu Hua was someone only Dea and the still-sleeping Li Sushang on the entire Schicksal could be compared to.

The reason he kept trying was...

"You're very good. You have the makings of a warrior."

Fu Hua smiled and approached him, reaching out a hand to help him up.

"Oh, right, Senior Fu Hua, I have a presumptuous request..."

Ming Yu, who had been knocked to the ground, suddenly looked up, his eyes shining as he gazed at her.

"The martial arts you just used looked incredibly profound. I'm very interested. Could you perhaps teach me how to practice?"

—Alright, this was his true objective.

The techniques Fu Hua used were modified by him from pre-civilization combat arts, combined with the Divine Tone's Tai Xu Sword Qi, and the accompanying Inch Heart martial arts.

The famous Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter was also one of its forms.

Since he wanted to become stronger, he naturally couldn't let any possibility slip by.

However, Fu Hua had easily dealt with the "Mothers" without seriously using the Inch Heart martial arts, so to bring this up, he had to force her to use her martial arts himself.

Yes, this was the reason for his repeated attempts.

"……If you can get a good handle on the basic combat techniques for a Valkyrie, I can teach you. No problem."

Fu Hua blinked slightly and replied.

As expected of the former Vermilion Bird Immortal and pioneer, she wasn't stingy about teaching her techniques to others.

Of course, the difficulty of learning this set of fist techniques from her was quite high in itself. After all, the essence of the Inch Heart Fist technique was the "Sword Opening Form" from the "Taixu Sword Qi."

—And five hundred years ago, only seven people on the entire continent of Shenzhou were qualified to practice the Taixu Sword Qi.

Although Fu Hua didn't remember that past now, she knew one thing remained unchanged: if you want to cultivate, you must first build a solid foundation.

"I understand, a tall building starts from the ground… right?"

Ming Yu nodded.

What he could do now, and what he needed to do most, was indeed to build a solid foundation.

Even if he could face danger countless times through retrospection to find the optimal solution, even if he could gain extraordinary abilities through feedback… without the foundational strength to utilize them, he wouldn't be able to unleash their full power.

Similarly, if his strength was insufficient, when facing extreme danger, he might not be able to find the answer to break through, just like the result of his current battle with Fu Hua.

Fu Hua nodded slightly and said with a low chuckle, "However… if you are truly serious about it, you can come to the forest east of the academy every morning at six o'clock. I'll be there for my morning practice, and I can guide you along the way."

Chapter 23: Girl, Are You In Love?

After the practice battle concluded, Ming Yu and the trio's level assessments, as expected, were all rated as B-Rank.