Kiana, You're Not Allowed to Join...

"Growing stronger as quickly as possible also means you'll reach a real battlefield sooner... But I don't think that will be a problem for you."

Fu Hua said.

She had already been with Schicksal for quite some time—five hundred years, in fact.

Though her memories of the earlier years had long since become hazy, over the past decade or so, she had seen quite a few girls who excelled during training collapse and become unable to fight once they entered a true battlefield against the Honkai.

It was a matter of mental resilience. Simulated battles and real combat, where lives were taken, were entirely different things.

Of course, for Ming Yu, who had survived the crisis in Changkong City, that should not be an issue.

"I understand. If I can reach the battlefield sooner, I'll be able to accumulate combat experience faster."

Ming Yu nodded and replied.

It had to be said that Fu Hua truly was a senior who cared deeply about others.

The Red Raven Immortal was good in every way—her personality was good, she was strong, and as a pioneer, she had always faithfully fulfilled her duties. There was just one thing...

Ming Yu's gaze naturally fell upon her chest.

Hmm... With a bit of disguise, she really possessed an androgynous beauty that made it difficult to distinguish male from female.

As though she had sensed something, Fu Hua narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at Ming Yu, her tone becoming a little sterner.

"Ming Yu, what are you thinking about?"

"Ahem, no, no. I wasn't thinking about anything."

To avoid being subjected to "The immortal strokes my crown, Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter," Ming Yu hurriedly laughed it off before turning to the main subject.

"By the way, Class Monitor, was that the fist technique you were practicing just now the same one you used on me yesterday?"

Fu Hua nodded noncommittally and replied,

"Of course."

She had used that set of moves for over a thousand years. It had long become second nature to her.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It would be wonderful if, someday, I could use it as masterfully as you do, Class Monitor."

"First, master the Valkyrie basic combat techniques. Only with that foundation can you begin learning my fist technique."

Fu Hua smiled faintly.

There was a reason she wanted Ming Yu to first become proficient in the basic Valkyrie combat techniques taught at St. Freya.

—The combat techniques currently taught to reserve Valkyries were, in essence, simplified versions of the Tai Xu Sword Qi moves that she had developed after beginning her cooperation with Otto five hundred years ago. They had been promoted throughout Schicksal ever since.

It could be said that they retained the essence and discarded the dross.

Though they could not allow every Valkyrie to reach the level of the Seven Disciples of Tai Xu, they also spared them the burden of being troubled by Divine Keys and falling into the state of "those who succumb to madness must be slain," while greatly lowering the threshold for training.

As long as one could master the basic combat techniques, they could strengthen a practitioner's resistance to and control over Honkai energy to a certain extent, granting them the most basic combat ability.

Therefore, after thoroughly mastering the basic combat techniques, learning the orthodox Cunxin Fist—or rather, the Tai Xu Sword Qi—would yield twice the results with half the effort.

And since this combat style ultimately originated from Shenzhou martial arts, its very first foundational exercise was something Ming Yu knew well—

Horse stance!

As expected of Shenzhou kung fu; it could never do without this most basic posture.

Under Fu Hua's guidance, he began the simplest horse stance training.

Her requirements were exceedingly strict, especially when it came to posture.

His feet could not be spread too far apart, only slightly wider than shoulder-width. He had to maintain a half-squat, his entire body as steady as a stake, unable to move.

"The horse stance is the foundation of all martial arts. Once you lay a solid foundation, your method of using your ability to improve your physical condition will become more useful as your basic abilities improve."

Fu Hua cautioned him.

Ming Yu nodded, earnestly holding the horse stance as Fu Hua had taught him.

This level of pain was still far easier than experiencing death itself. For him, it was no great difficulty.

"...He has the makings of a good soldier."

Fu Hua sighed to herself.

Though she could not agree with many of that man Otto's methods, this vast organization truly was the cornerstone maintaining peace in the current world.

If possible, she also hoped that this organization could cultivate more outstanding warriors to fight the Honkai.

However, there were not many who could persevere and continue growing stronger.

The last hardworking girl who had left a deep impression on her was Durandal, who had trained at headquarters—well, she had not gone by that name back then. Bianka was the correct name.

In this boy, she could see a faint shadow of Bianka from those days.

As Ming Yu trained earnestly, a trace of familiarity and sorrow suddenly flashed through Fu Hua's heart.

The feeling of becoming a teacher once more vaguely reminded her of something.

"..."

She had a feeling that she had once taught other children like this as well.

When she closed her eyes, she could still faintly see the backs of those children.

When had that been...

More than a decade ago? Or five hundred years ago?

Or perhaps both?

Sadly, she could no longer remember. Those past days had already burned completely to ash.

Kiana, You're Not Allowed to Participate...

For some time afterward, Ming Yu temporarily lived a relatively peaceful academy life.

Every morning, he would run to the forest east of the academy for morning training with Fu Hua, then spend his days traveling between the classroom, training grounds, and dormitory.

Academic classes took up only a small portion of his schedule. Most of his time was still spent on combat training.

He had also more or less mastered the basic Valkyrie combat techniques.

It had to be said that although the hard limits of his body could only improve gradually, his rewind ability was simply too useful for practicing techniques and memorizing certain things. To ordinary people, no matter how difficult a combat technique was, he seemed able to learn it after one try and understand it at a glance.

Even Fu Hua occasionally sighed when she saw him: "This boy has Durandal's potential."

Of course, only Ming Yu himself knew that he had merely practiced dozens or even hundreds more times than others within the same span of time.

Relying on experience gains tens or even hundreds of times greater than normal, he had become the genius others saw.

That evening, in Kiana and the others' dormitory.

"Mei's cooking today is so delicious!"

The white-haired girl praised it enthusiastically while stuffing herself with great relish.

"...Idiot Kiana, you repeat the same sentence every day."

The silver-haired girl beside her refuted her expressionlessly.

Hearing it every day was enough to make her ears callused.

"Hmph, as if idiot Bronya isn't enjoying her food too!"

Kiana shot back indignantly.

"That is because Mei's cooking really is delicious."

Bronya answered calmly.

Well, compared to what she had eaten while living at the orphanage in the past, it was indeed much better.

After all, for a long period of time, Mother Cocolia's orphanage had struggled to make ends meet and barely managed to stay afloat.

Amid that frozen wilderness, being able to eat warm food had already been a luxurious blessing.

"How is that any different from what I said?!"

"Alright, Kiana, Bronya, stop bickering. Otherwise, you'll be letting down Mei's wonderful meal."

Theresa's voice came from the other side of the dining table.

Although she was not a resident of Himeko's dormitory, after trying the food by chance once, she had become attached to the place and turned into a regular guest at mealtimes.

Mei smiled softly and said,

"It's fine, Principal. Mealtimes should be lively."

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl secretly glanced at Ming Yu, who was seated beside her and burying himself in his food.

She was quietly watching to see which dishes he ate more of—

Naturally, Ming Yu noticed her attention.

"What is it, Mei?"

"N-No... it's nothing."

The girl replied, her face slightly flushed.

And all of this was seen by the older single woman with fiery red hair beside them.

Himeko drained the canned beer in her hand in one gulp, her cheeks slightly rosy as she sighed.

"Ah, being young is wonderful~"

"..."

Theresa helplessly glanced at Himeko, who was drinking again, then cleared her throat lightly.

"I'm telling you all—your lifestyle habits still need some work!"

As the oldest elder present, she felt it was necessary to remind and supervise them.

After draining the bitter melon juice before her, she began criticizing them one by one.

"Kiana! You need to fix that habit of sleeping in every day!

"Bronya! No staying up late playing games!

"Himeko, especially you! You walking bomb, you binge-drink at every turn. How are you supposed to set an example?!

"As for Mei and Ming Yu, hmm... Your habits are healthy. There's nothing wrong with them."

She truly could not find any faults with the last two.

Mei seemed to have retained the habits from her time at Chiba Academy. Born into an aristocratic family, she had always maintained a healthy routine, and that remained true at St. Freya.

As for Ming Yu, though she did not know how a boy lived his life, judging from the frequent praise Fu Hua gave him, he was probably doing well too.

In any case, after pointing out their problems, she should offer some advice. Theresa cleared her throat and continued.

"A book I've been reading recently says that you need to go to bed at eleven at night and sleep a full eight hours every day. Before bed, you must drink a glass of warm milk, then do twenty minutes of stretching exercises. Once you get into bed, fall asleep immediately. Sleep straight through until dawn, and never carry fatigue or stress into the next day. That's how you maintain a normal life."

Hearing that, Ming Yu's mouth twitched slightly, and he casually asked,

"...Principal, have you been reading Battleship's Bizarre Adventure?"

"Eh, how did you know, Ming Yu? Ah, no, no, how could it possibly be that!"

The white-haired girl was initially surprised, then immediately denied it.

At her age and in her position, admitting she was still obsessed with manga and anime would be rather damaging to her dignity.

Usually, she hid in the principal's office to read them in secret—

To change the subject, Theresa could only reveal the news she had originally intended to tell Ming Yu and the others tomorrow.

"Oh, right, right. It's about time to send you out on missions."

While St. Freya Academy was a military academy that trained Valkyries, it was also Schicksal's Far East Branch, carrying out the duties expected of a branch.

As both the principal and the person in charge of the Far East Branch, she needed to dispatch personnel to deal with Honkai incidents throughout the Far East. When necessary, she also sent Valkyries to support other branches in handling sudden crises together.

Therefore, after undergoing training here for a period of time, the girls would be assigned all kinds of missions, which could more or less be considered practical experience.

Although most girls needed a long period of training before they qualified to fight outside, the four before her clearly did not fall into that category.