Seeing the students quiet down, Himeko nodded and signaled for Chang Yuan, who was standing outside the door, to come in.
Thanks to Elysia's memory enhancement, Kiana immediately recognized Chang Yuan the moment she saw him.
"Oh, you're the guy who was with Sister Elysia! So you've been hiding your strength all along, huh?"
"Sorry for hiding my strength. Also, my name is Chang Yuan. From now on, you'll call me 'Teacher,' not 'that guy.'"
Chang Yuan's lips twitched as he looked at the overly excited Kiana.
"Sure, sure. But, Teacher, are you really cut out to be a martial arts instructor?"
"...Teacher Himeko, if I recall correctly, this is supposed to be my class, right?"
"Mhm, I get it. I'll leave now. You know where the training grounds are."
With that, Himeo understood what Chang Yuan was planning and nodded before leaving.
It was a good opportunity to let these kids learn a lesson—never underestimate anyone.
"..."
Seeing Chang Yuan become her teacher, Fu Hua felt a mix of emotions.
If she remembered correctly, both Elysia and Chang Yuan had learned their martial arts from her family.
In other words, Chang Yuan was now going to teach her using the skills he had learned from her family.
The more Fu Hua thought about it, the stranger it felt.
"Alright, students. I can tell some of you might have doubts about my abilities, but don't worry. We'll settle this on the training grounds."
"Hmph, let's see what you've got then."
Although men now had complete Stigmata sequences, giving them decent Honkai resistance, the majority of warriors were still women.
Only a few families with long-standing traditions had a significant number of male warriors.
The ratio of male to female warriors was roughly 2:6.
This was why Kiana had some doubts about a man teaching her martial arts.
But soon, Chang Yuan would show her just how formidable an "ancestor" could be.
Arriving at the training grounds, Chang Yuan picked up a lance that felt comfortable in his hands.
After all, he had once temporarily wielded the Black Abyss White Flower, so he was more accustomed to using a lance.
"Since you don't believe in my abilities, why don't you attack me? If you win, you don't have to attend my classes this semester. If you lose, you'll have to stay awake in every single one of my classes."
"Huh?!"
"You didn't think I knew you've been sleeping in class, did you?"
"Uh, hahaha..."
Scratching her cheek, Kiana was embarrassed that her habit of sleeping in class had been discovered—and by her own teacher, no less.
But hearing that she could skip his classes if she won, Kiana was suddenly filled with motivation.
However, after looking around, she noticed there were only melee weapons available, which left her a bit frustrated.
"Teacher, I'm actually better at gun kata. I'm not very good with these weapons."
"...Then use your usual dual pistols. No blanks—real bullets."
"Wait, Teacher, you could get hurt!"
Hearing Chang Yuan's request, Kiana wasn't excited; instead, she was worried about potentially injuring him.
After all, this was just a sparring match. There was no need to go all out.
"Don't worry. I've survived battles on the front lines. Do you think I'm afraid of getting hurt? Do your best to defeat me—that's your goal."
"But..."
Kiana was still hesitant. No matter how strong Chang Yuan was, he was still human. Without armor, even a Valkyrie could be injured by weapons designed to fight Honkai.
"Don't worry, Kiana. Yuan is very strong. You don't need to worry~?."
"Alright then. Teacher, forgive me for this."
With that, Kiana pulled out her dual pistols, and the battle began.
Kiana moved first, firing several shots at Chang Yuan.
However, she deliberately avoided vital areas. Even though she knew she didn't need to worry, she still hesitated.
Facing the incoming bullets, Chang Yuan stood still.
Only when the bullets were about to hit did he swing his lance, effortlessly deflecting each one.
All of this happened in less than a second.
Seeing this, Kiana realized she had underestimated her teacher.
From then on, she stopped holding back, aiming for vital spots with every shot and using tricky angles.
But without exception, every bullet was deflected by Chang Yuan, who hadn't moved from his spot.
Realizing this, Kiana charged forward and launched a straight kick.
Chang Yuan sidestepped, but his feet remained planted.
When her kick missed, Kiana quickly stabilized herself, planting her foot on the ground and following up with a spinning kick.
In response, Chang Yuan leaned back and used his lance to tap Kiana's abdomen, sending her flying five or six meters.
"Your combat skills are decent, but just decent. You haven't even made me move. Want to try again?"
For an ordinary person, that hit might have been enough to make them vomit, but for a Valkyrie like Kiana, it was just a minor sting.
"Again! The word 'surrender' isn't in my dictionary."
Kiana then used every trick in her book, even leveraging her flexibility as a woman to execute moves that men couldn't.
But without exception, none of her attacks landed.
Finally, when Kiana was nearly exhausted, Chang Yuan pointed the tip of his lance at her throat. One more move, and it could have been fatal.
"Kiana, any last words?"
"...Alright, alright, you win, Teacher. But I'll beat you one day. After all, my goal is to become the strongest S-rank Valkyrie."
Facing defeat, Kiana wasn't discouraged. If anything, it made her more determined.
"Alright, now that the little skirmish is over, students, our real training is just beginning. I'm going to drill you hard."
Ding ding ding—!
When the class bell rang, all the students felt like they had just survived a disaster.
This teacher was absolutely brutal—even stricter than Himeo.
Little did they know, this was all because of someone's obsessive love.
Since he was teaching what Elysia had taught him, Chang Yuan wouldn't tolerate anyone slacking off.