Honkai Impact: Starting from Wandering with Kiana

"Because I can roughly guess what happened..." Jiuxiao pointed to the spot where the red light that had just pierced through Destiny had dissipated, and continued, "It must be that Huihuo overestimated the strength of the Honkai Beasts in the Memory Battlefield, and used too much power at once, directly piercing through them..."

"Wow, Miss Huihuo's firepower is really that strong?" Durandal said with some surprise. Durandal herself couldn't even break through the Memory Battlefield with a full-force punch, let alone Huihuo, who directly pierced through the Schicksal Headquarters.

"Yeah, one shot from her and she'd be begging me to stay alive in less than three seconds. But her stamina is the complete opposite of her firepower. In close combat, even the hurricane you create with your high-speed movement, Durandal, could take her down instantly..."

"Ah... then Miss Huihuo must train herself more. Such a delicate body is not a good thing against the Honkai." Durandal expressed her regret that such strong firepower had such a fatal weakness.

Suddenly, Durandal's eyes lit up, and she looked at Jiuxiao with great interest. "However, if Miss Huihuo is willing, I can personally supervise Miss Huihuo's training!"

Thinking about Wu Se Hui Huo, who spends all her time lazing around in her room playing games, indulging in sweets while claiming she won't get fat, and even hooking up with Bronya, Jiu Xiao couldn't imagine her undergoing the kind of intense training that Durandal would require.

Finally, Jiuxiao shrugged and said helplessly, "I think if you're going to drag Huihuo into training, it'll be easier to just kill him..."

"But such an obvious weakness, if it's not overcome..."

"It's alright, Durandal. I will protect them; I will be their last line of defense." With that, Jiuxiao conjured a simulated black hole and placed it in front of the two of them.

"I'm still not strong enough to sweep everything aside. But even so, protecting them until they grow up is enough..."

Feeling the pressure emanating from the simulated black hole, Durandal glared at Jiuxiao with a hint of resentment. "Looks like you underestimated me; you didn't even use your full strength..."

"Hmm, we're all comrades, there's no need to go to such lengths. Besides, I don't believe that the strongest Valkyrie of Destiny can fight me like it's child's play... Didn't you also have a lot of things to hide?"

"Well, this was just a test. But we've become friends through this fight, so let's have another one when we have time! A battle should always be fought to the fullest."

Durandal extended her fist to Jiuxiao, who smiled and touched it.

"But before that, Durandal, come and save the world with me!"

"Hmm?" Durandal paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Ah."

Chapter 152 A new victim has emerged; how can we stand still?

After enjoying the breeze for a while, Jiu Xiao and Youlandail prepared to go back, but instead of heading straight back to the training base to find the others, Youlandail secretly took Jiu Xiao back to her home.

Jiu Xiao originally thought he was just visiting her home, but the moment Youlandail pulled him into her bedroom, Jiu Xiao immediately hugged himself and moved away from Youlandail.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not that kind of person!"

"what are you saying?"

Durandal looked at Jiuxiao with a puzzled expression, then opened a hidden compartment in her bedroom and took out a white knight's lance with a black handle.

The spear bears the coat of arms of the Shaniat family, with a purplish hue on the inside and a black tip.

With its unique appearance, Jiu Xiao immediately recognized it as the Sixth Divine Key—the Key of Creation, Black Abyss White Flower, which had always belonged to the strongest person of Destiny.

Watching Durandal retrieve the Divine Key from a hidden compartment under the bed, Jiuxiao couldn't help but think of Kiana.

"Um... Durandal, you're just like my cat Qi, you like to hide the Divine Keys under your bed..."

"Does that mean it's not okay to put things under the bed...?" Durandal looked surprised; she had always thought that hiding things under the bed was normal. After a moment of surprise, Durandal explained to Jiuxiao:

"Actually, the Divine Key was originally kept in the equipment vault, but Valkyries often couldn't help but touch it, and then were injured by the backlash from the Divine Key. So usually, once a Divine Key is chosen, it's taken away directly by the owner... Bishop Otto said that only I can use the Black Abyss White Flower, and that I should keep it safe myself..."

Durandal held the Black Abyss White Flower to her chest and sang softly.

“I am black from the abyss, I am white descending from the clouds, born before creation, existing after annihilation; I will freely give the water of the spring of life to the thirsty.”

As Durandal chanted, grass and flowers began to grow around the Black Abyss White Flower, and the swelling on Jiuxiao and Durandal's faces gradually subsided...

"So this is the creative power of the Black Abyss White Flower... It's quite useful." Jiu Xiao touched his face, which had completely subsided, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, the Black Abyss White Flower's healing abilities are outstanding. Every day I train until my muscles tear and my cells die, and it's the Black Abyss White Flower that accelerates regeneration, allowing me to continuously become stronger." Durandal nodded in agreement. She usually just trained to the point of exhaustion, leaving all the aftereffects and hidden injuries to the Black Abyss White Flower.

"I suddenly feel like I can leave Kiana and Mei to you for a while. With the Black Abyss White Flower's repair, their strength will definitely improve very quickly."

Jiuxiao made a thoughtful joke, but Youlandail took it seriously. She already considered Jiuxiao a friend, and she would consider a friend's request appropriately.

“Okay, but the Black Abyss White Flower also has a cooldown period, so I can't bring too many people at once. Jiuxiao, give me their information first, and I'll have Rita arrange a schedule later.”

"No need, no need, just kidding. They're just students at St. Freya Academy right now, they haven't even passed the B-rank Valkyrie assessment yet... It would be a waste of their talents to have you spar with them."

Jiu Xiao sighed. Although Mei had the potential to become a fully-fledged Herrscher like himself, and Kiana had unparalleled talent, they were still just students in the academy. If Jiu Xiao were to ask the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal to spar with them, he would probably be lectured to death.

“Jiuxiao, your idea is wrong. The Valkyrie rating system of Destiny is used to motivate Valkyries, not to divide them into ranks and levels.”

Moreover, training doesn't discriminate based on ability; anyone with the desire to become stronger can train and strive to improve. Even if they're only at Rank B now, who knows what the future holds? The weaker they are now, the more effective their training will be.

Durandal refuted Jiu Xiao with righteous indignation, but then she touched the back of her head sheepishly and said apologetically to Jiu Xiao:

"Although I don't know why Headmistress Theresa seems to dislike me and isn't welcoming of me to St. Freya Academy..."

But I don't want to upset her, so... Jiu Xiao, when you have time, you can bring those people you just mentioned to the Heavenly Mandate headquarters. Whenever I'm free, I'll train them relentlessly.

"Since you've gone this far, I don't think I can refuse anymore. Don't worry, Mei and Kiana are both very talented, and you'll definitely experience the joy of nurturing them."

After saying this, Jiu Xiao and Durandal shook hands, both showing satisfied smiles. Meanwhile, several students happily playing games at St. Freya Academy were completely unaware that Jiu Xiao had already betrayed them—no, he called it "for your own good."

As the two held hands and smiled, Rita outside the door turned into a statue.

------------

"I saw my idol Theresa today, she's as cute as ever~ I even touched Ms. Kaguya's face, Ms. Kaguya is so cute too~"

Rita was secretly delighted. She had grown up listening to Theresa's songs and was a die-hard fan. Because she watched Theresa so much, Rita had unknowingly become a perverted lolicon, even secretly following Theresa when she wasn't on missions...

Rita opened the door to her house; she needed to change her clothes for the evening's S-rank Valkyrie promotion ceremony at Nine Heavens and Radiant Fire.

Rita, who had entered the living room, heard Durandal's voice and was about to ask how her battle had gone when she saw... through Durandal's slightly ajar door.

Jiuxiao and Youlandail held hands, chatting and laughing...

I was so happy today, but why did it turn out like this...?

"No—" Rita screamed hysterically inside. Although she was slightly biased and preferred Theresa a little, she also loved Lady Durandal very much...

"Oh, Rita, you're back." Durandal greeted Rita with a smile when she saw her outside the door.

"Miss Rita, how is Huihuo doing?" Jiuxiao greeted Rita as well.

"You're too kind, Lord Jiuxiao. Just call me Rita."

Rita approached the two with a smile, then gently separated the hands that Jiuxiao and Durandal were still holding, and stood between them.

"Lord Huihuo has completed his assessment and is resting in the house assigned to Lord Jiuxiao by Heaven, awaiting news from Lord Jiuxiao. Now that Lord Jiuxiao has also completed his assessment, let's hurry and go find Lord Huihuo!"

"Alright, then I'll be leaving now. Since I've already called you Rita, you can just call me Jiuxiao from now on. Also, thank you, Durandal." Jiuxiao waved goodbye to Rita and Durandal, then left to find Huihuo.

After Jiuxiao left, Rita still smiled with her eyes narrowed, looking kind and gentle.

"Lady Durandal...shouldn't you explain to me...why you and Jiuxiao were in your bedroom?!"

Seeing Rita's expression, Durandal knew she must have done something wrong again, but she didn't seem to have done anything wrong, except for using the Black Abyss White Flower...

Looking at the flowers and plants that had appeared at her feet due to the rich creative power, Durandal felt that she understood everything.

Durandal lowered her head, looking aggrieved, and said, "I'm sorry, Rita. I'll clean up the sheets myself."

"What?! You're making the sheets? You've already done *that*!" Rita exclaimed in horror, her face filled with disbelief.

"Yes, that's right. Is there a problem?"

Durandal was a little confused. Why was there such a big reaction to just using Black Abyss White Flower?

Chapter 153 Time, please slow down...

What represents Destiny? It's the Valkyrie, and the armor she wears. As Destiny's S-rank Valkyrie, how could Nine Heavens be without Valkyrie armor!

Although it might not be of much use to Jiuxiao, he still has to put on an act. Otherwise, what if, when Jiuxiao goes out on missions, the national government mistakes him for one of those poor bastards from Anti-Entropy?

So Otto sent a message to Jiuxiao, saying that the armor he had been longing for had been tested and ready, and asked him to go to the God-Slaying Armor Vault in the underground of the Helheim Laboratory to check and accept it.

When Jiuxiao found out that he was playing games with Huihuo, he was overjoyed. After all, whether someone is strong or not is just a matter of whether the cheat is powerful enough, but whether someone is handsome or not is a matter for a lifetime.

"Huihuo, do you want to come along?" Jiuxiao jumped up excitedly, eager to put on the new armor right now.

Seeing Jiuxiao so happy, Huihuo opened his arms to him.

"Carry me, I don't want to move."

"Walk yourself, you're not without legs."

Jiu Xiao didn't want to carry Hui Huo to the Helheim Laboratory. There were so many people along the way; didn't he have any pride?

But the sabayou floating above Jiuxiao's head... successfully showed Jiuxiao that face doesn't matter.

"Hold me!"

"Alright, alright, Lazy Princess."

Jiu Xiao picked Hui Huo up by the waist, and Hui Huo nestled into Jiu Xiao's arms. Then Hui Huo took a lollipop from Jiu Xiao's pocket, put it in his mouth, pointed ahead, and called out in a childish voice.

"Nine Heavens Knights, charge!"

Just as Jiu Xiao had predicted, their intimate posture drew constant pointing and whispering along the way. However, no one said anything negative; instead, they all offered their best wishes.