“So, that’s the situation.
Little Angel has probably become so vindictive because of her terrible past experiences.
But even so, she’s still a good kid.
Class Monitor, could you please help her out and spar with her?
Please go easy on her and don’t hurt her.
I’m begging you!”
Raiden Mei pressed her hands together and bowed deeply at a 90° angle before Fu Hua, showing the utmost sincerity and earnestness.
Then Kiana and Bronya immediately mimicked the gesture.
“I don’t really know what’s going on, but since Mei’s asking, I’m asking too, Class Monitor!”
“Bronya will find a way to repay you, Class Monitor.
Please!”
Faced with the sincere pleas of the main trio, Fu Hua scratched her cheek, unsure how to respond.
In truth, she had no objection to a spar to settle matters.
But she instinctively felt that things were not that simple.
As she hesitated, Fu Hua suddenly felt her hair stand on end.
That familiar sensation of being intensely watched was back.
Fu Hua instinctively turned her head toward the nearby tree, and sure enough, she saw Angel hiding behind it, peeking out with half her little head, staring at her with some incomprehensible intense emotion.
“Fine!
I accept.
Let’s do it now!”
Fu Hua said decisively.
Whether it was sparring, apologizing, or apologizing after sparring, anything was better than Angel staring at her day after day.
“Alright!” x3
Raiden Mei and Bronya high-fived in celebration of helping Angel.
Kiana had no idea what was going on, but that didn’t stop her from joining in.
Then they all turned their attention to Angel, who was still hiding nearby.
At that moment, Angel had stopped staring at Fu Hua.
Because a butterfly was fluttering past her eyes, its wings slowly flapping.
Angel unconsciously focused on the beautiful patterns on the butterfly’s wings.
She watched, and watched, and watched.
When she snapped back to her senses, she had already fallen at Fu Hua’s feet, her hands cupped together as if she had caught the pretty little butterfly.
“I…
caught a specimen.”
Angel sat upright on her knees, her expression solemn.
Apart from her blushing cheeks, it was a fairly convincing explanation.
Of course, Angel knew no one believed her.
So she released the butterfly, dusted off her tights, stood up, and pointed at Fu Hua.
Her face was flushed red, but her expression was serious and determined.
“Let’s duel!”
“Acting on impulse isn’t what a Valkyrie should do.
But this time, I accept your challenge.”
Fu Hua adjusted her glasses and responded with equal seriousness.
…
On the rest day, the training ground was not particularly empty.
After all, being a Valkyrie was a position of honor but also close to death, so there was no shortage of students with a sense of urgency.
But now, a certain area had suddenly become vacant, as a crowd had gathered around a sparring circle to watch a rare duel between new students.
Whoosh!
Crash!
The duel had already begun.
Angel moved like a cat, quick and agile, circling around Fu Hua, striking and retreating.
Her punches tore through the air with loud cracks.
Fu Hua remained steady, her stance firm as a mountain.
Each of her movements was economical and precise, completely deflecting Angel’s attacks.
She swayed but never fell, like a tumbler doll.
“Hey, isn’t that Fu Hua?
She’s pretty famous among the new students.
She’s impressive.
Looks like she has a solid martial arts background.
No surprise, since she’s from Shenzhou!”
“The other one’s no slouch either.
Look at that speed and power.
She’s at least A-rank material in the future.”
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The murmurs of the spectators did not affect the duel.
Fists and legs clashed like thunder and lightning.
Angel knew that by now, she had finally caught Fu Hua’s attention.
The outcome of this fight didn’t matter.
What mattered was demonstrating her talent and effort.
Whether she could learn a few true techniques from Fu Hua in the future depended entirely on today’s performance.
“Take this!”
Angel used a power-striking technique she had developed herself.
From behind Fu Hua, she threw a punch like a flash of lightning, explosive Honkai energy surging through her muscles.
This punch represented one week’s worth of effort from all thirty Herrschers of a Thousand.
Wait a minute!
Pull back!
Pull back now!
Angel acted on the warning, and her face instantly turned pale.
As a grandmaster of hand-to-hand combat, Fu Hua could naturally see how devastating this punch would be.
She could also see how reckless it was!
Fu Hua’s eyes sharpened.
Her hands were already positioned to grab Angel’s wrist and use the force to pin her to the ground.
But unexpectedly, Angel’s fist stopped mid-air.
Bang!
A sound of flesh bursting rang out.
Angel’s right arm, which had stopped mid-punch, suddenly exploded in a spray of blood, splattering a wide area across the surrounding ground.
Fu Hua watched helplessly as Angel collapsed to the ground, covered in blood, and was quickly carried away by the panicked and anxious Raiden Mei, Kiana, and Bronya.
Then Fu Hua took off her glasses, now dotted with blood, and could feel that there was plenty of Angel’s blood on her own face as well.
“That child…
was she afraid of hurting me?”
Fu Hua sighed, her emotions complicated.
Originally, she hadn’t felt much for Angel.
She was just a mission target.
At most, after enrollment, Fu Hua had held a slight expectation for a promising junior.
But now, she felt compelled to pay close attention.
Before that, she should head to the infirmary.
Hopefully, stopping such a reckless move midway wouldn’t affect her future.
…
“Wow, this move should have won some major favor from Fu Hua, right?”
In the quiet, elegant villa, the heiress Angel lay on the sofa, scrolling through her phone looking at private jet listings, her jade-like legs swinging leisurely.
She muttered to herself.
Phew!
That was a close call!
That punch was the result of a week of us messing around and experimenting.
Its power wasn’t bad, but it definitely wouldn’t do anything to Fu Hua.
Whether we actually threw the punch and got scolded for being reckless and not caring about our classmates, or forced Fu Hua to pretend to be injured, either way, it would’ve lowered our favorability.
This way is much better.
Talented, hardworking, and holding back to protect a classmate.
I refuse to believe that with this model student image, Fu Hua would brush us off when we ask for guidance in the future!
Sigh.
If only we could learn the Edge of Taixuan.
According to what I know, it’s a martial art that doesn’t rely on the body’s Honkai energy storage capacity.
It’s based on Ki, an internal life energy that acts as a catalyst against Honkai.
It could raise our individual combat output.
I think the most important part is the mental cultivation techniques derived from SWARA, like the Blade Mantra.
If we could strengthen our mental and spiritual fortitude through those methods, we might even be able to increase the number of clones we can maintain.
One step at a time.
A tall building starts from the ground.
We’ve only just enrolled after all!
The heiress Angel nodded along with the other Angels’ analysis, occasionally switching web pages, seriously searching for a luxurious private jet suitable for her upcoming world tour.
Suddenly, she remembered something.
“Speaking of which, according to my ‘brothers” plan, the old man should be joining the family reunion tonight, right?
Strange, why haven’t I heard any news yet…”
Voom!
A sound like electronic machinery echoed through the room.
Angel’s swinging legs froze.
She stiffly turned her head to look beside her.
There, in the center of the living room, stood a massive, heavy gray mechanical construct.
Purple-red light pulsed through the gaps in its frame, exuding the majesty and beauty of a technological divinity.
At that moment, it was staring motionlessly at Angel with its single purple-red electronic eye.
OH FUCK!
It’s a Titan!!
(T/N: Researching about Edge of Taixuan is really a pain, cuz there really isn’t a dedicated wiki page for ts, I gotta look around multiple pages referencing it.
I lowkey found the correct name for Blade Eminence in an HSR wiki trivia section.)