Hearing Ming Yu's reprimand, Kiana's eyes shifted, but for a moment she couldn't speak.
Before, her impression of Ming Yu was still stuck half a year ago, when he would be exhausted after fighting just a few Honkai Beasts. Although she thought he would have grown some in the past six months, she didn't think his current strength would be that impressive.
In any case, Kiana didn't believe she could be worse than Ming Yu.
Because, she was Kiana Kaslana!
But when she truly faced Ming Yu, she realized how ridiculous she had been. In just half a year, Ming Yu's strength had reached such a level that she was almost powerless to fight back, and this wasn't even his strongest state.
In the few months she had spent with Ming Yu, she understood that she definitely had the advantage in terms of talent. To achieve the same results, Ming Yu had to put in much more effort.
But now, it was the genius her who was far inferior to Ming Yu in strength.
Looking at Ming Yu's black eyes, which held a restrained madness beneath their calm surface, Kiana felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on her, making it difficult for her to even breathe.
It was only then that she was shocked to realize her own laziness. She talked about shouldering the glory of the Kaslanas, about protecting the beauty of the world, but what was she usually doing?
"I..." Kiana opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, but couldn't find any reason.
Hearing Ming Yu's reprimand of Kiana, Mei and Bronya also fell silent for a moment. When it came to hard work, they could indeed say they were stronger than Kiana, but how much stronger could they be?
And in terms of strength, they were only about on par with Kiana. Although Ming Yu's words were directed at Kiana, weren't they also a question to them?
Looking at the stammering Kiana, Ming Yu realized he had gone a bit too far. Although to Kiana and the others, it just looked like a tough-love reprimand, he knew in his heart that he was just venting the negative emotions he had accumulated for a long time.
His six months on the battlefield had given him strength that he couldn't have obtained through normal training, but those memories filled with blood and fire were by no means pleasant. They weighed on his heart bit by bit, making the burden he carried heavier and heavier.
And this burden would sooner or later crush him completely.
Letting out a long sigh, Ming Yu extended his hand to Kiana and said in a gentle voice, "I'm sorry, I went too far. I shouldn't have said those things."
In any case, everyone had the right to choose the life they wanted, and Kiana was no exception. And Ming Yu had no right to interfere with that.
Taking Ming Yu's hand to stand up, Kiana looked at the now-peaceful Ming Yu, rubbed her still-sore stomach, and said through gritted teeth, "I, Kiana Kaslana, will never admit defeat so easily!"
Looking at Ming Yu's apologetic smile, Kiana swore in her heart that she would definitely increase her training intensity and sooner or later return the beating she received today!
Compared to a friend's disappointment, what she didn't want to see even more was a kind of detached indifference.
It was precisely because there was once hope that disappointment and resentment were born. And if Ming Yu no longer said a word about her weakness, it would also mean that she had completely lost the qualification to fight alongside him.
Compared to the complete despair of a friend, the physical pain was so insignificant. Besides, with her Kaslana constitution, this kind of injury was not a serious matter.
Hearing Kiana's declaration, Ming Yu smiled knowingly, quickly understanding the girl's meaning.
"Alright, then work hard." Squinting his eyes, Ming Yu showed a kind smile. "Don't wait until you've lost something to realize your own weakness."
Don't, be like me...
Hiding the bitterness in his heart, Ming Yu did not say this sentence out loud.
Although she didn't quite understand Ming Yu's words, the optimistic Kiana naturally took it as encouragement and gave Ming Yu a brilliant smile.
Ming Yu was not at all surprised by Kiana's resilience. In this regard, the girl never disappointed.
No matter how great the difficulties she faced, she would never give up. Even when facing an enemy whose strength far surpassed her own, Kiana would absolutely choose to draw her guns and charge forward without hesitation.
The words "give up" had never appeared in her dictionary.
Seeing Kiana persistently issue a long-term challenge to Ming Yu, Mei and Bronya, while relieved, couldn't help but secretly resolve to increase their own training intensity, vowing to one day pin Ming Yu to the ground and give him a good thrashing.
And Ming Yu, completely unaware of this, was still slightly dazed by Kiana's brilliant smile, marveling at the girl's sunshine and lamenting his own darkness.
...
On the way out of the training room, Ming Yu quietly fell a few steps behind, silently watching the girls talking ahead, his mind unable to help but think about the plan to conquer Jiu You.
Suddenly, a soft voice sounded in his ear.
"The spar just now, Big Bro Yu wasn't just doing it to warn Kiana, was he?"
Turning his head, Higokumaru's serious face came into view, as expected.
His heart secretly jumped in alarm, but Ming Yu still said calmly, "Perhaps."
Hearing the perfunctory tone in Ming Yu's words, the girl let out a long sigh but didn't expose him. She just slowly opened her mouth and said, "Big Bro Yu hasn't been happy these past six months, has he?"
Unlike Kiana and the others, Higokumaru knew very well what Ming Yu cared about. She understood in her heart that if it was just to warn Kiana, Ming Yu would never have gone to such lengths.
Averting his gaze from Higokumaru's deep blue eyes, Ming Yu was momentarily speechless.
In terms of results, he had not only greatly improved his strength in the past six months but was also about to be promoted to A-rank Valkyrie. In any case, it could be called a success.
And in the face of such achievements, any arduous process should be something worth remembering.
But how he truly felt inside, only Ming Yu himself knew.
"If you don't like it, why don't you come back? Even the Principal would definitely not oppose such a thing!"
Seeing Ming Yu not answering, Higokumaru pressed on, her tone becoming a bit heavier.
Even if Ming Yu's current strength was quite good, for the Far East Branch, he was not irreplaceable. And forcing others was something Theresa's character would not do.
Therefore, the choice of where to stay depended only on Ming Yu's own will.
Unlike the expectations others had for Ming Yu, what Higokumaru hoped for was simply that Ming Yu could live well, just as Ming Yu had once said to her.
She was no longer the Herrscher of Corruption, no longer an accessory of a Divine Key, but an independent individual existing only as Higokumaru, possessing the right to choose her own happiness and future.
With a bitter smile, Ming Yu looked up at the vast sky and said in a low voice, "Everyone has the right to choose their own life. But in the vortex of the world, we don't have the right to choose to stop."