There's a Spy Too? / Fu Hua Is Hua

When Kiana first began cultivating, she had been puzzled too. How could a single sentence possibly affect her cultivation speed?

But halfway through, she discovered that it was actually true!

After reciting that sentence, not only did she cultivate faster, but the power of her attacks also increased considerably.

If the manual had not failed to explain it, Kiana would have suspected that sentence was the core principle of the cultivation method.

"Sorry, Kiana. Your technique is broadly similar to Shenzhou martial arts, but I can't understand the principles behind it either." Fu Hua shook her head.

"It's fine, Class Monitor. I'm already very happy that you were willing to help."

Kiana leaped up and directly wrapped her arms around Fu Hua's neck from behind, pressing her face very close.

"K-Kiana, you're too close."

Fu Hua was at a loss for a moment and was even more embarrassed to push Kiana away.

She was a fifty-thousand-year-old... ahem, young maiden still attending St. Freya Academy. When had she ever seen girls being so physically affectionate?

"What does it matter, Class Monitor? We're all cute girls. We should get closer to each other."

Kiana said with a smile.

It was only then that she wholeheartedly agreed with what that Pink Fox, Elysia, had said.

System maintenance complete. Chat Group reopened. Inviting new members. Congratulations to Fu Hua for joining the Chat Group.

Pardofelis: "Fu Hua? Oh, you mean the class monitor from your St. Freya Academy, the one who looks a lot like our Hua."

Elysia: "Oh my, our Hua? Pardo, you've quietly become naughty too."

Eden: "Elysia, I think you bear some responsibility for that."

Thinking of the old Pardofelis, she had been such an obedient and sensible kitty.

Now that she had spent so much time with Elysia, she had started saying flirtatious things too.

Pardofelis: "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue. You know what I mean, Sister Elysia. Hua is a member of our Fire Moth Thirteen Flame-Chasers family."

Elysia: "Pardo, there's no need to explain. Those who understand, understand."

Kiana: "Watch your image, you guys. The Class Monitor definitely hasn't figured out what's going on yet. What if you scare her? Especially you, Elysia!"

Kiana did not trust that Pink Fairy one bit.

The moment she saw a pretty girl, she wanted to get close and cuddle. Just thinking about it made it obvious that she had ulterior motives toward the Class Monitor.

Chapter 29: There Was Actually Another Spy?

Fu Hua: "Kiana, aren't you going to explain the current situation to me? Why can I hear other people's voices in my head, and what is this exposure system?"

The Immortal Crimson Bird activated Fenghuang Down and checked herself, confirming that there was nothing wrong with her brain.

Then that meant... Fenghuang Down had malfunctioned?

Impossible, impossible. Fenghuang Down had been with her for so long and had never malfunctioned. It had to be some other factor. Could someone have used an ability similar to Fenghuang Down to pull her into an illusion?

That thought flashed through Fu Hua's mind for an instant before she dismissed it. After all, no one knew Fenghuang Down better than she did.

She had always been the one deceiving others. How could anyone possibly fool her?

Kiana: "How should I put it, Class Monitor? It's a little complicated to explain, and I can't make it clear in just a few words. Besides, I don't fully understand it either. Bronya, hurry up and explain."

Bronya: "Idiot Kiana, you need Bronya to handle even something this minor?"

Fu Hua: "Huh? Bronya is here too?"

Bronya: "Mm. Actually, Sister Mei and the Principal are here too. As for the Class Monitor's question, we were somehow pulled into a Chat Group by the system, then we watched the show, chatted about it, and answered questions along the way."

Fu Hua: "I... see."

She roughly understood, yet it also felt like she had not completely understood.

At the very least, she could confirm that no one was trying to harm her. Fu Hua silently loosened her clenched fist. For now, she did not need to be so vigilant.

Fu Hua: "But who are you people, and why do you know me?"

Elysia: "We are the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Although we don't know Fu Hua, we know the Immortal Crimson Bird—the Hua who punched the Herrscher of the Void to the ground during the Second Honkai War."

Pardofelis: "The so-called Immortal Crimson Bird is one of us Flame-Chasers. I recognized her at a glance!"

Fu Hua: "..."

Damn it, her head suddenly hurt so badly.

Fu Hua clutched her forehead. The intense pain caused beads of sweat to slide down her face.

The Immortal Crimson Bird had used Fenghuang Down many times, and during one great battle, she had even burned away a vast amount of her memories. What remained now were only scattered fragments.

When she heard the names Elysia and Pardofelis, tears unconsciously fell from Fu Hua's eyes.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried to remember, memories that had been completely burned away could never be recovered.

Eden: "No matter how I think about it, I still feel that Fu Hua and Hua look so alike. Are you really not the Immortal Crimson Bird?"

Fu Hua: "...No."

To be safe, Fu Hua did not choose to admit her identity.

For one thing, she had already lost most of her power. Divine Tone and Sword Heart had both vanished, and she was no longer the Immortal Crimson Bird she had once been.

For another, she still had not figured out the situation. The system's existence had left Fu Hua deeply unsettled.

No matter how she looked at it, she could not admit it now.

Theresa: "You're overthinking it. Didn't we conduct an absolutely reliable analysis back then? Fu Hua couldn't possibly be the Immortal Crimson Bird."

Pardofelis: "That's true. After all, we can't guarantee what Sister Hua would be like fifty thousand years later."

The quiz began.

Which of the following was a spy within St. Freya Academy?

[A: Raiden Mei.]

[B: Himeko Murata.]

[C: Fu Hua.]

[D: Durandal.]

Kiana: "Huh? Who's the spy? Didn't this question come up before? Why is it here again?"

Elysia: "Maybe because your St. Freya Academy has too many spies. From beginning to end, it's full of spies. By the way, Theresa, aren't you going to clean up the academy's discipline?"

Pardofelis: "At this rate, the number of spies might soon exceed the number of students."

Theresa: "Uh, that shouldn't be possible. Besides, I already investigated once. There can't possibly be spies in our school!"

Ever since the last quiz, Theresa had conducted a thorough sweep of St. Freya Academy from top to bottom.

She had used Schicksal's database to compare records one by one, yet she had not found the slightest anomaly.

For example, the history teacher who had been there for many years.

Look at how seriously he took his classes. Among all the academy's teachers, he was one of the most dedicated.

Tell her, could a teacher so enthusiastic about going to work possibly be a spy?

Then there was Fu Hua, the class monitor in Teacher Himeko's class.

Look at her reputation in the academy. She was a model student known to everyone, never absent or late, and she had even become an A-rank Valkyrie at such a young age.

Someone so talented would surely become a pillar of St. Freya Academy. How could she be an enemy agent?!

Bronya: "Bronya's name is not among the options this time. In other words, one of these four must be the spy!"

Himeko Murata: "And there are also candidates repeated from the previous quiz. That makes it easy to identify the correct answer."

Theresa: "I understand. The spy is Durandal!"

The Principal finally recalled all the options from the previous quiz. Other than Durandal, everyone else's name had appeared once before.

Then the truth was obvious.

Himeko Murata: "But isn't Durandal Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie? Why would she become a spy at our St. Freya Academy?"

Bronya: "Bronya also thinks that's impossible. Why would Schicksal's strongest come to our academy to be a mere informant?"

Theresa: "That's where you don't understand. Once all impossibilities have been eliminated, whatever remains, however absurd, must be the truth!"

There was only one truth!

At that moment, the Principal finally understood why she had gone to such great lengths to follow every lead and still failed to find the spy.

It was not because her intelligence was lacking. It was because the other side had hidden too well.

Who could have imagined that her grandfather Otto would plant the strongest Valkyrie within St. Freya? If the strongest Valkyrie wanted to hide herself, who could possibly catch even a trace of her?!

Fu Hua: "Um, Principal, why haven't you considered me?"

Theresa: "Fu Hua, you're new, so you don't know. We encountered a similar question before, and we already suspected you once. I'm sorry about that."

Kiana: "Yeah, Class Monitor. We shouldn't have doubted you. It was all Auntie's bad judgment!"

Theresa: "?!! How can you blame me? Back then, we only suspected Fu Hua after everyone discussed it thoroughly!"

Fu Hua: "..."

Although she had no idea what they were talking about, the fact that she had somehow been cleared of suspicion was ultimately a good thing.

She had thought that the moment she entered this ridiculous Chat Group, her identity as a spy would be exposed.

Chapter 30: Fu Hua Was Hua

Pardofelis: "I still feel like something's off. Theresa, why don't you think about it a little longer? There's a punishment for getting it wrong."

Bronya: "Exactly, Principal. There's still some time before the lucky audience member is chosen. Why don't we discuss it some more?"

Theresa: "What is there to discuss? Isn't the answer already right in front of us? If Durandal isn't the spy, I won't buy any Humo dolls for a month."

She refused to believe that her wise and brilliant judgment could be wrong.

Theresa had long wanted to test Durandal. They were both S-rank Valkyries, yet they had never fought. Why should Durandal be the strongest?

Most importantly, Theresa was not even ranked second!

Even if she relied too much on Judah and was [just a tiny little bit] weaker than Durandal, how could a junior like her become number one so decisively?

Once she caught Durandal's weakness as a spy someday, she would definitely challenge her!

Kiana: "Auntie, this is settling a personal grudge through public means. And what kind of poisonous oath is not buying Humo dolls?"

Theresa: "Shut up, or I'll deduct the money for your next Humo purchase from your allowance."

Kiana: "Auntie, I was wrong!"

The girl who aspired to become the strongest Valkyrie had ultimately fallen before the evil forces of capitalism.

For the sake of next week's allowance, Kiana decisively admitted her mistake, while still grumbling inwardly.

Theresa, you launcher. You're such a weakling that the Herrscher of the Void knocked you down with one Void Lance. Don't you have any idea whether you can beat the strongest Valkyrie?

Fu Hua: "Ahem, um... I'm a little curious about the severe punishment you mentioned. Could you explain just how severe it is?"

Bronya: "The most serious case was probably when the Principal lost two years of her lifespan, though the system's rewards were also very generous."

Pardofelis: "Like Life Coins. If I had one, I could definitely trade it for lots of good things."

Elysia: "Pardo, only you would treat a Life Coin as merchandise to sell at a high price. Eden still can't bear to use hers even now."

Eden: "I simply haven't decided yet. Since it is a treasure whose value cannot be measured, I must make it bloom with an artistic value."

Elysia had once used a Life Coin to gain one day to persuade Apponia not to impose any more Precepts.

And with her invincible strength, she had silently eliminated some unfavorable factors within Fire Moth that had hindered their plans.

But Eden had not yet figured out how to maximize the value of this Life Coin.

Theresa: "We're getting off topic, we're getting off topic. Our attention should be on the spy. I'm certain the spy is..."

Fu Hua: "I choose C. The spy is Fu Hua."

Correct answer.