Chapter 18: Encounter, and Another Encounter

Rita Rossweisse walked through the long corridor of the airport, the lights shining on the smooth floor, casting a chilly hue.

Fu Hua, dressed casually, waited there, nodding slightly to greet Rita.

"Miss Fu Hua."

Rita smiled and hugged Fu Hua, whispering softly in her ear, "Long time no see."

"Long time no see."

Indeed, Fu Hua had met Rita before, in one of Schicksal's interrogation rooms. At that time, Rita had brought in some "tongues" that could provide information, and Fu Hua was there to interrogate them.

Since then, the two had occasionally crossed paths at the base and during certain missions related to Schicksal's dark side. Through a series of encounters, Rita and Fu Hua had come to understand each other's characters to some extent.

"The Bishop said that you have a very important item here..."

"The item is with Luo Lin; it's safer there. But she's busy with more important matters at the moment. You might have to wait a bit... Let me take you back to our temporary residence nearby."

Safe? Safer than being in the hands of an S-rank Valkyrie like Fu Hua?

Rita became interested, but her face remained calm.

"Alright."

The two walked away like sisters, chatting about recent sights and experiences, leaving the Nagazora airport behind.

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"Alright, that's it for today's class..."

Luo Lin waved her single-handed sword, watching Raiden Mei, who was not far away, holding a training sword, sweating profusely and panting heavily, and asked with a smile, "How do you feel about this warm-up exercise?"

"It's... It's intense!" exclaimed the girl with blue-purple long hair.

Indeed, Luo Lin and Raiden Mei had just sparred, and the result was clear.

The logistical Valkyrie of Schicksal had defeated a certain Herrscher...

After all, Mei was still just a student, who hadn't even sparred a few times. How could she compare to Luo Lin, who faced life and death in the Abyss every night?

From the beginning of the fight, Raiden Mei felt like a moth caught in a spider's web.

No matter what she tried to do, Luo Lin always predicted it in advance. She couldn't even swing her sword fully before being interrupted by the Valkyrie, leaving her frustrated.

In line with this emotion, blue and white lightning appeared on Raiden Mei's training longsword, making crackling sounds.

"Mei, you need to control your emotions. In this situation, your anger can only show that your fury is not under control, and your strength leaks out through this loss of control..."

Luo Lin easily deflected Mei's attacks. Kiana, who was watching from the sidelines, blinked as if she saw a black-and-white vortex appearing in front of the Valkyrie, deflecting and disrupting Raiden Mei's attacks.

—It's the Edge of Taixuan!

Although Luo Lin always claimed her Edge of Taixuan was mediocre, looking at the enemies she faced: Herrschers, martial arts masters, alien mechanical creations, imaginary and quantum monsters, and Abyss creatures with strange attributes... one could only say that her attacks against these high-caliber individuals were "ordinary."

But in reality, with so much combat experience, Luo Lin's swordsmanship had made significant progress.

However, she hadn't realized what had happened to her yet.

Raiden Mei became the first victim of her improved swordsmanship. The Edge of Taixuan, imbued with the unique philosophy of Shenzhou, shimmered and flowed. Even though Mei unleashed some of the Herrscher's power, Luo Lin's skillful yet unpretentious swordsmanship defeated all of her attempts.

A few minutes later, Raiden Mei admitted defeat.

She looked at her arms, tired from the struggle, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said, "Teacher Luo Lin, have you been through many battles?"

"Yeah."

"So, you must be an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, right?"

Luo Lin coughed, "Well, I'm still a B-rank Valkyrie for now..."

Raiden Mei widened her eyes in astonishment, "Schicksal's strength is so strong? Are all B-rank Valkyries as powerful as you?"

Luo Lin massaged her forehead, "I think you might have some misunderstandings about Schicksal... I'm just somewhat skilled in combat, enough to touch the threshold of A-rank. But in other aspects... I still need to learn..."

Command, strategy, and so on...

The disappointed gaze of Fu Hua flashed in Luo Lin's mind, sending a shiver down her spine.

Raiden Mei nodded as if she understood, and Luo Lin decided to explain further, "It can be said that C-A rank Valkyries are within the scope of human understanding, but S-rank... only the most talented, hardworking, and lucky individuals can hold that position... they are beyond the norm."

And among them, there's someone who's beyond even that norm.

"Alright, let's end today's class here. We'll continue tomorrow."

"Okay."

Luo Lin and Kiana returned to the apartment, finding Fu Hua hadn't returned yet. After leaving dinner for her, they went back to their respective rooms to rest.

The Valkyrie lay on the bed and opened the system panel.

[The "Elysian Realm" module has been upgraded.]

"Alright, here I go!"

Luo Lin pressed the icon, and a white light enveloped her vision. Following that was the familiar sensation of descent, and she landed lightly in a familiar room.

"Wow, this is the central hub of the Elysian Realm, the supposed living room?"

The bar, sofa, table, holographic workstation, stairs leading to the underground and the second floor... and that huge portal, where one could quickly start their journey into the Elysian Realm.

Wait, is she going straight to the Elysian Realm like this?

"Hey, what's this place?"

The Herrscher descended from above, looking around with interest, "I saw something big appearing in the system space from above, so I came to see what's going on..."

"So, this is still within the system space... then how do I go to the real Elysian Realm?"

Luo Lin looked around and finally fixed her gaze on a transparent glass below, a door on the negative first floor.

She had a feeling that it should be connected to the real reception room of the Elysian Realm.

"Let's go, we're going to the real Elysian Realm."

Luo Lin grabbed Senti's arm and pulled her to the iron door. She reached out and touched the surface of the door, and ripples spread out like water waves.

They could go through!

Luo Lin took a deep breath and, like Harry Potter passing through the wall at Diagon's Alley, slammed into the door.

"Bang!"

Does it sound good? If it sounds good, then it's a good start.

But its still painful.

Luo Lin, tears welling up, covered her head, while Senti clicked her tongue twice, reaching her palm through this layer of the portal.

Sure enough, she touched another tightly closed iron door.

Turned out the door on the other side wasn't open.

"Hey? Is anyone there? Could you please open the door..."

"Is that... Hua's voice?"

Eden, who was tasting wine at the bar, was momentarily stunned, then got up and walked in the direction of the voice.