Fu Hua Joins the Chat Group

Elysia: "Hey, don't sweat the unnecessary details. As a cute young girl, isn't it perfectly normal for a Mental Fusion Warrior to trade punches with a Hexagonal Warrior?"

Pardofelis: "Uh... Nia was a Mental-type too."

Kiana: "..."

Well, now I got it.

So Fire Moth's Mental Fusion Warriors weren't just responsible for remote control—they also had to finish off weakened enemies, make up for damage, and be the first to charge in when a fight started, right?

Bronya: "Ahem. Bronya wasn't asking about battle mages... Mental Fusion Warriors. Bronya meant, since Immortal Crimson Bird was so powerful, didn't she have to pay some kind of price?"

Pardofelis: "Who knows about something Fifty Thousand Years later? If you let me live for Fifty Thousand Years, maybe I'd dare to face a Herrscher head-on too."

Elysia: "The price was suffering, perhaps. Over Fifty Thousand Years, everyone she knew left one by one. That was a despair no ordinary person could bear."

Eden: "Even now, she is still fulfilling her duty. Hua has truly suffered."

Eden had originally been the one to carry out the Kindling Project, but she chose to vanish alongside the Previous Era.

Her art and wealth could not provide any value to those who came after, so she chose to sever her own future and hand the spark of hope to Hua.

She simply had not expected that time to stretch on for Fifty Thousand Years.

Act Four: Yellow Monkey, Bishop Otto.

As Eden mourned Hua's experiences and the price she had borne, the scene shifted once more to the battle against the Herrscher of the Void.

This time, the one facing her in a final battle was the First Herrscher, Welt.

In the scene, Sirin lay heavily wounded on the ground, no longer possessing even the strength to stand.

Welt stood beside Sirin. He was only in slightly better condition than she was, and the excessive fighting had long since pushed his body beyond its limits.

But he could still deliver the final, fatal blow to Sirin.

"I'm sorry. To protect this world, I have no choice but to kill you. I only have enough power left for this one strike."

Welt raised his hand and summoned a massive black hole.

The Ninth Divine Key, Star of Eden, Zero Nominal Power: Pseudo Black Hole.

"Farewell, Second Herrscher."

Welt did his best to keep his body steady. The black hole would swallow the Herrscher of the Void if he held on just a little longer, but then a sudden attack came at him.

By the time Welt sensed it, he had already taken a heavy punch to the chest.

"Cough, cough."

Welt crouched on the ground and spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

It had happened without any warning. He did not even know where the enemy was, yet that single punch had robbed Welt of his ability to fight.

"What a shame. So this was only an imitation."

A masked man dressed like a clown appeared before Welt. In his hand was none other than the Star of Eden Welt had created through the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason.

The clown-like man instantly crushed the Star of Eden, while Sirin was taken away by Benares.

"Don't leave..."

Welt reached out, trying to stop the Herrscher of the Void from escaping, but he no longer had even a shred of fighting strength.

Anti-Entropy's only chance to kill Sirin had vanished just like that.

The scene ended there.

Kiana: "That masked man is Bishop Otto? Why does he not look like a good person to me?"

Teacher Himeko: "Uh... I think Bishop Otto must have had his reasons, right? After all, he is Schicksal's bishop."

Perhaps Otto's public image within Schicksal had been too good. Teacher Himeko's first thought was that he had some unavoidable reason.

Yet she could not understand what kind of reason would make Schicksal's bishop save the Herrscher of the Void.

Bronya: "Principal, isn't Schicksal's bishop your grandfather? You should know some insider information, right?"

Theresa: "Sigh, don't mention it. Put nicely, my grandfather is shrewd and calculating. Put bluntly, he is sinister. There probably isn't anyone in this world who can understand what he is thinking."

As for Otto, Theresa could indeed feel a grandfather's affection from him.

But at certain times, the things Otto did were hard for her to accept, so Theresa's attitude toward him had always been conflicted.

Pardofelis: "I don't get it. That masked man was acting all mysterious, and he looked dangerous at first glance. But if you connect all four scenes, you'll notice something very interesting."

Theresa: "?!!"

Elysia: "Your Schicksal Bishop Otto was completely and utterly acting!"

Although Cecilia had slacked off a little and put on something of an act during the battle, she had indeed nearly moved Sirin with maternal love, making her willing to remain forever immersed in a beautiful dream.

With her invincible martial arts, Immortal Crimson Bird knocked the Herrscher of the Void to her knees with one punch. She could be called the backbone of the Second Honkai War.

Though Theresa was a little weak, she had at least fought the Second Herrscher with all her strength and ultimately suffered a regrettable defeat.

But Bishop Otto? He was completely putting on an act!

Pardofelis: "Immortal Crimson Bird was badly injured, Cecilia was lightly injured, and Bishop Otto's collar was slightly dirty. Now I understand what the War at the Top means."

So all of you were acting, and only their Hua bore everything, was that it?

Teacher Himeko: "Pfft... Hahaha, that really does seem to be the case. Could our bishop have joined the Second Honkai War just to slack off?"

Theresa: "Uh... For once, I can't even find a reason to defend him. What Grandpa did here was a bit too much."

If Otto had not saved the Herrscher of the Void, Welt would have ended the war long ago, and there would not have been any later casualties.

Based on that alone, the people of St. Freya Academy began to doubt Schicksal's bishop, feeling that he had some unknown purpose.

The Chat Group is preparing to expand. Lucky individuals will be randomly selected to join. The system will undergo maintenance for twelve hours.

"Huh? The Chat Group is expanding? Does that mean there won't just be a few of us next time?"

Kiana tried sending a message to complain, but the words at her lips came out directly instead, and only the people beside her heard them.

Clearly, Elysia and Pardo had already gone offline and could not be contacted for the time being.

"Maintenance is fine too. I've been chatting with you all every day lately, and I still have to prepare lessons at night. My schedule is getting completely messed up."

Teacher Himeko stretched, then kneaded her slightly sore shoulders.

Once she went back, she still had to prepare tomorrow's lessons. And then there was Kiana's grades—the quiz was next week.

What a headache.

"Bronya thinks that is not necessarily good. What if the system pulls in some dangerous people? Wouldn't we be exposed?" Bronya said.

Raiden Mei spread her hands helplessly. "There's nothing we can do. We can only hope the system does not cause trouble and that the new friends are on our side. Everyone's hungry, right? I'll go make dinner for you."

"Me, me, me! I want Mei's special fried chicken! I'm eating it all!"

Kiana leaped out and wrapped her arms around Mei's neck.

Mei's cooking was the best!

Chapter 28: Fu Hua Joins the Chat Group

The next day.

Teacher Himeko still got up very early. After three hours of tireless effort the previous night, she had finally prepared today's lessons.

She had even written a "Guide to Improving Kiana's Grades," which recorded all of her insights into improving Kiana's academic performance.

Of course, the most important part was whether Kiana skipped class today.

"Kiana? Why are you here? No, I mean, you actually got up this early?"

Teacher Himeko's eyes widened as she looked at the white-haired girl on the training field, her face full of disbelief.

Something was wrong.

Based on what she knew about Kiana, that Himeko would never get up until the sun was high in the sky and shining on her backside.

Even if she woke up early, she would sneak out to play games.

Seeing Kiana sweating away on the training field now was stranger than spotting a Husky in a wolf den.

"Teacher Himeko, do you really think I'm just some idiot who slacks off, skips class, and fails exams?"

Kiana stopped what she was doing and could not help asking.

Teacher Himeko merely rolled her eyes at her and said nothing more, letting Kiana figure it out herself.

"Uh, okay."

Kiana scratched her head. "I admit I used to be a little playful, but after learning about those things, Teacher Himeko, do you think I can really pretend I never saw them?"

Whether it was Mei joining World Serpent or herself becoming the Herrscher of the Void.

Those things were like one enormous mountain after another, pressing heavily upon Kiana's shoulders. She simply did not show it because she did not want everyone to worry.

"Kiana, I'm very glad you have this determination. I'll be looking forward to your performance in next week's quiz." Teacher Himeko said as she patted Kiana's head approvingly.

The biggest troublemaker in the class had finally come to her senses. Her hard work last night had not been in vain.

"Huh? A quiz?"

Kiana's eyes widened. She looked utterly bewildered. A quiz? What quiz? How had she not known about it?

Didn't she only need to master Butterfly Fire Spreads and make sure her fists were strong enough?

Why did a Valkyrie have to study theoretical knowledge too?

"Kiana, don't tell me you forgot about it?" Teacher Himeko asked darkly, looking down at Kiana.

"Sorry, Teacher Himeko. There are some things I don't understand, so I need to ask the class monitor. We can talk about the exam next time!"

Kiana was clearly guilty and deliberately evasive. She hurriedly found an excuse and ran away.

After calculating everything, she had actually forgotten about the theory classes.

But asking Kiana to study those damned theory courses was basically the same as forcing a Hexagonal Warrior to switch to being a mage.

She could not switch. Absolutely not.

"Kiana, where are you running off to? Class is about to start."

Kiana had only run halfway when a pale arm grabbed her.

Then that slender hand forcibly dragged the white-haired girl back while she was sprinting.

Only St. Freya Academy's Fu Warrior could possess such terrifying strength.

"Oh, it's the class monitor. I happened to have something to ask you. You know a lot about Shenzhou martial arts, right? Could you take a look at this Butterfly Fire Spreads technique for me?" Kiana asked.

"Shenzhou martial arts... I know a little."

Hua nodded. "But Butterfly Fire Spreads... I have no impression of it at all. Show me the technique once first. Maybe it will remind me of something."

"Alright!"

Kiana stood in place and gathered her momentum, then pressed her hands together as flames began to rise around her.

"First Form of Butterfly Fire Spreads: Eat well, drink well, and rest in peace!"

Butterflies fluttered through the air, red butterflies circling around Kiana in an exceptionally dazzling display.

What a mysterious technique. I can't even see through its principles. It seems to involve things like the soul and consciousness as well.

Hua pondered for a long time but could not recall when this martial art had ever appeared in Shenzhou.

In the end, she could only conclude that she had forgotten those memories and could not remember clearly.

"Well, Class Monitor? I'm amazing, right?" Kiana asked smugly.

The secret manual said that summoning fire butterflies could take as little as half a month or as long as several years.

Yet she had managed to summon several fire butterflies in just a few days. She was clearly exceptionally talented.

Or perhaps Butterfly Fire Spreads had simply been tailor-made for Kiana!

"It is impressive, but why do you say, 'Eat well, drink well, and rest in peace'? Does it have some profound meaning?" Hua asked in confusion.

Kiana scratched her head. "Uh, I don't know either. The secret manual has that line in it. It says that if I recite it, it will benefit my training."