At noon in St. Freya High School, a large patch of clouds drifted across the sky, blocking the sun. So even though it was noon, the sunlight was still like it was in the morning. Perhaps because of the sudden message from the principal, the first-year students walking on the academy's path had a mix of excitement and nervousness on their somewhat immature faces...
Although the message didn't specify what the final reward and the top three rewards were, just the ten thousand Schicksal Coins for winning each match was enough to make every student take this competition with utmost seriousness... Even for students who weren't usually short of money, ten thousand Schicksal Coins was still a very good sum, not to mention some students from poor families who usually relied on part-time jobs to pay for their meals.
Moreover... one of the first-place prizes had already been leaked through internal sources: a six-star 'Divine Throne' series weapon... A six-star weapon, something that an ordinary Valkyrie might not be able to afford even after a lifetime of effort.
Of course, A-Rank and S-Rank Valkyries could still afford to use six-star weapons... After all, the missions and salaries of high-ranking Valkyries were not insignificant...
Valkyries were also divided into ranks, from high to low: S, A, B, C, D. The higher the rank of a Valkyrie, the higher the level of missions they could accept, and the rewards were also quite high... At least in the eyes of ordinary people, the reward for one mission could feed a person for a lifetime. Of course, the 'Schicksal' organization couldn't offer that much money, so they adopted a point system... Points were the most common currency.
"In order to earn enough for living expenses, I absolutely cannot lose this competition!" Li Xuan said to himself with determination as he walked on the path back to his dormitory. However... he didn't think he would be easily defeated by anyone. After all, he was a man who had survived in Nagazora City...
Could humans be more terrifying than Honkai Beasts?! Li Xuan thought optimistically, relaxing. Little did he know that he had just raised a flag, and one day he would learn the cruel truth.
"With my 'Jao Shingan' and my own abilities, I probably won't lose, right?" Li Xuan turned his head and looked at the cherry blossom trees by the roadside, which had just grown buds and were still a long way from blooming. His right eye, which could create an 'acceleration' effect, and his pure physical strength, which had been enhanced, were still a cut above the girls.
'Wait... Mei and Bronya are definitely formidable opponents.' Li Xuan thought of Mei's masterful swordsmanship and Bronya's mecha, 'Project Bunny 19C', whose cannon barrel could fit his head. He couldn't help but feel a bit serious... In the first year, these two alone were quite difficult to deal with... especially Bronya's mecha, which was practically a cheat.
It could both defend against enemy attacks and use super-powerful laser strikes. Ordinary people simply couldn't defeat Bronya. Her only weakness was her relatively slow movement, which Li Xuan thought Mei was quite good at countering.
As for Kiana... ahem, forget it... Li Xuan didn't feel that Kiana, who had lost all her Divine Weapons (because they all awakened) and was left with only half-baked Gun Kata, was very strong anymore. He should be able to handle her, a mere white-haired furball...
"I should hurry back..." Li Xuan glanced at the cherry blossom trees on both sides of the road, full of the spirit of spring, and began to speed up towards his dormitory. He wanted to share the joy of earning money with Liv and Yaoye. Mm, they could have a nice meal tonight.
Suddenly, as Li Xuan approached his dormitory, so close that he could faintly see the window of his balcony... something strange happened.
The cherry blossom trees on both sides of the road seemed to be welcoming him. Under an unknown force, the branches and leaves of the cherry blossom trees rustled and swayed. The cherry blossoms, which were still in bud, grew rapidly at a visible speed. The cherry blossom buds, like shy maidens, slowly unfolded their new pink attire...
In the gentle breeze... the endless cherry blossom trees on both sides of the road burst into scarlet blossoms. As Li Xuan subconsciously walked forward, the cherry blossom trees continued to bloom, and it was as if a rain of cherry blossom petals was falling from the sky...
"What's going on?"
"Have the cherry blossom trees become spirits? Why are they blooming?! Has the science department developed some other messy thing?"
"It's still a month until the cherry blossoms are supposed to bloom!"
The scattered passersby on the road looked at the suddenly blooming cherry blossoms in confusion and started chattering. Some even started blaming the geeky researchers in the academy for this, while more people started taking out their phones to take pictures and post them on their social media...
"Cherry blossoms..." Li Xuan reached out and gently caught a slowly falling cherry blossom petal, murmuring.
"Sakura..." He suddenly realized, and raised his head to look at the balcony of his dormitory. The only room with a balcony was actually his room!
In Li Xuan's field of vision, a flash of golden light appeared on the balcony... A faint wave of Honkai energy slowly spread out from his side...
'Yes, yes...' Li Xuan clenched the cherry blossom petal in his hand. Besides that person, there was no one who could be associated with cherry blossoms! Hadn't the three days already passed? Li Xuan felt his eyes inexplicably moisten...
"Sakura..." Suddenly, a breeze blew the cherry blossom petal from Li Xuan's hand into the sky. Li Xuan, with his somewhat numb legs, suddenly shouted like a madman and rushed towards the dormitory building. The thought of how to win the championship had completely vanished at this moment. At this moment, only one thought remained in his heart...
'I want to see her...'
The February cherry blossom petals swirled in the air and eventually landed slowly at the foot of the cherry blossom tree. Things that should return to their original place will eventually return... Life is a process of separation and parting, and then meeting again...
...........................….
"Sigh~ my foolish niece is indeed as unyielding as 'her'..." Theresa sighed softly, looking at the somewhat gloomy sky outside the window.
"In that case... I'll give her a hand." Theresa took a sip of her sweet milk tea and looked at the workbook on her desk. The workbook with the name 'Kiana Kaslana' written in scrawling handwriting was quite conspicuous.
"..." Theresa hesitated for a moment and then stuffed a thin piece of paper filled with text into the textbook.
"This is an ultimate technique that can only be used by the Kaslana family..." Theresa murmured, "Don't disappoint me... Kiana..."
That was a piece of paper describing an ultimate technique that could barely rival a Herrscher's strike....
(End of Chapter)