They suddenly regretted not going up to try earlier.
Should they go ask for guidance now?
But some of them hesitated again.
They did not have the solid foundation Nina or Mei possessed. Would it really help?
After pointing out another flaw in Mei's movements, Ren Yu flashed aside from the fierce attack aimed at his face and said calmly without looking back, "Oh, it's fine as long as you passed."
Ren Yu sounded calm, but Nina was somewhat unhappy, and even her tone carried a hint of grievance. "Assistant Teacher, aren't you happy at all? This is a B-rank certification! I'm about to become a B-rank Valkyrie!"
"..."
On the platform, Ren Yu knocked Mei's upward strike aside with one slash, but did not answer.
He did not know what to say!
Was he supposed to honestly tell her that this was all the result of her many years of training, and that he had merely brought her compatibility with the sword techniques much closer, making them better suited to her habits?
Forget it.
Ren Yu felt that seriously guiding Mei in front of him was more important.
At that moment, Mei attacked with a slash, and Ren Yu could not help frowning. "How many times have I told you? Why do you always habitually use diagonal chops?"
"S-sorry..."
Ten minutes later.
At last, Mei was exhausted and slowly followed Ren Yu down from the platform.
She had gained a great deal that afternoon. Although she still had not been able to discern Ren Yu's sword techniques, her North Star One Sword Style had indeed improved considerably.
If her swordsmanship had been a 1 before, it had now reached 1.1.
After all, this was a gradual process. Any improvement at all was already quite good.
Mei naturally understood that, and her respect for Ren Yu rose another notch. She also began to yearn for the Casual Sword Sect.
At that moment, Nina came over, suddenly bowed to Ren Yu, and sincerely thanked him. "Thank you, Assistant Teacher!"
If it had not been for Ren Yu, there was no way she could have touched the threshold of B-rank Valkyrie in such a short time by herself.
At the very least, she would have needed several months to polish her sword techniques before she could possibly pass the assessment.
"Assistant Teacher, how should I repay you?"
Nina thought for a long time but still could not figure out how to repay Ren Yu.
But Ren Yu did not feel that he had taught her much, so he answered honestly, "You don't need to repay me. This is all the result of your own years of hard work. Even without me, you could have done it after refining your skills a little longer."
"On the other hand, since you've already gone through this kind of training once today, it won't have such a good effect next time."
Nina nodded as if she understood, then suddenly asked:
"Assistant Teacher, do you have a girlfriend?"
"..."
Hearing that, Ren Yu immediately raised an eyebrow.
Was she flirting with him?
Himeko had warned him just that morning. Was trouble already coming?
So he smiled and said:
"No, I don't have a girlfriend yet. How about introducing one to me? Though forget about any underage students."
But before he could finish, Nina covered her mouth and laughed.
"Forget students, I was just teasing you. Assistant Teacher, you're too serious. You should smile once in a while."
Ren Yu: "..."
Serious?
If he were not worried that looking too young would make him seem lacking in authority and leave him unable to keep this lawless bunch of students in line, would he need to keep such a straight face?
By the time they left the training grounds, it was already dusk outside.
Since St. Freya had been built on the sea, the horizon was filled with fiery clouds at a glance. The sun was about to dip below the horizon, nearly fully submerged.
At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out:
"Mei? I was wondering where you went. Why are you only coming out now? Huh, Teacher, you're here too!"
Looking toward the source of the voice, they saw Kiana sitting on a bench at the entrance to the training grounds, licking an ice cream cone. She spotted Mei at once, quickly finished the cone, and ran over in utter excitement.
"Mei~ I'm starving to death! It's already so late, why are you still training with Teacher?"
She grabbed Mei's arm and loudly voiced her dissatisfaction.
Unlike Mei's class, Kiana was a genuine B-rank Valkyrie assigned to the Firearms class. This meant using specialized guns to amplify the power within their stigmata, allowing conventional weapons to unleash greater force.
Mei helplessly pushed Kiana away and said apologetically:
"Assistant Teacher Yang, sorry for making you see that. Kiana just likes to fool around like this. Please don't take her words too seriously."
After spending the afternoon with Ren Yu, Mei had gotten a sense of his temperament. Although she knew he would not get angry so easily, she still could not help explaining.
In Ren Yu's eyes, she really did look somewhat like Kiana's guardian right now.
And he was familiar with Kiana's behavior, so he was not overly surprised.
"It's fine. You two have fun. I'll head back first."
With a wave of his hand, Ren Yu turned and walked toward the cafeteria.
Time to eat!
After working all day, he was hungry too!
But the next second, Mei called out to stop him.
"Wait!"
Before you continue