251. Beware of Rita
As the laughter and chatter gradually subsided, the moon rose high in the sky.
"Get some rest. Even though we have two days off, we can't just stay up all night," Yun Ling said to Kiana.
"Why do you only mention me…" Kiana pouted, dissatisfied.
"Because you're probably the only one here who stays up very late," Yun Ling guessed.
However, there might be two more people tonight who stay up very late.
One is Bronya, who was already red-hot while playing a fighting game with Yun Ling earlier, and probably won't be able to sleep now.
The other is Mei.
Mei secretly hooked her fingers in Yun Ling's palm, conveying a secret signal known only to the two of them.
Himeko had already fallen asleep drunk and been taken home by Yun Ling, and the banquet for the evening came to an end at this moment.
"Get some rest, everyone. Goodnight," Yun Ling said, seeing them to the girls' dormitory door before waving goodbye.
"Okay, goodnight."
After saying goodbye to the others, Yun Ling returned to his residence to take a shower. While studying the *Tai Xu Gui Yi Zhen Jue* (Void Unity True Technique), he quietly awaited someone's arrival.
"Tonight, I'll make you kneel and sing 'Conquer!' Prepare yourself!"
After an unknown amount of time, Mei's whisper reached his ears.
A beautiful chord resonated that night.
...
"Mr. Yun Ling, you're up so early to train? That's surprisingly diligent! Indeed... your strength is no accident."
Rita had only gotten up early for a walk, but unexpectedly encountered Yun Ling practicing alone at the training ground.
Although six o'clock wasn't particularly early, it was considered very early at St. Freya Academy, where classes didn't start until eight.
The school was quiet at this time, with only a few scattered figures visible.
"I just made an appointment with Chaoyu to practice together here. It wouldn't be good to stand someone up."
"Chaoyu? Is it Lin Chaoyu?" Rita blinked.
"Yes, do you know her, Miss Rita?" Yun Ling countered.
"We don't really have any connection, but she was urgently assigned a mission last night…" Rita looked at Yun Ling, her voice trailing off.
Yun Ling raised an eyebrow and took out his phone.
Sure enough, Lin Chaoyu had indeed sent a text message last night, but the battle with Mei had been too intense, and by the time they finished, it was already morning.
Yun Ling hadn't had time to check his phone; he just took a shower and came over.
"It seems Mr. Yun Ling is quite a disciplined person?" Rita teased.
After all, in this day and age, people who don't check their phones are quite rare.
"No, actually, I'm not that disciplined. I should go back and rest early today, catch up on some sleep. Goodnight, Miss Rita." Yun Ling covered his mouth and yawned, preparing to leave.
This surprised Rita; she had thought Yun Ling would stay and continue training.
"Mr. Yun Ling, how about I be your sparring partner today? While my strength is average, I shouldn't have any problem as a sparring partner," Rita said modestly.
As someone who became an S-rank Valkyrie through her own efforts, without any bloodline or cheat codes, how could it be so simple?
"Since Miss Rita has so kindly invited me, it would be rude of me to refuse. So… please enlighten me."
Yun Ling took out an ordinary iron sword. Rita wasn't even wearing Valkyrie armor; for Yun Ling to use a Divine Key would be too much of a rip-off.
"Please enlighten me." Rita slightly lifted her skirt, taking out a strange, cylindrical solid object strapped to her thigh.
With a press of her finger, a scythe appeared in her hand.
Swinging this giant scythe required considerable strength, yet Rita wielded it with ease, performing a flourish.
The two exchanged several blows in a flash.
Rita's attacks were extremely dangerous; each strike aimed at Yun Ling's vitals. Her movements were like a rose blooming on the battlefield.
Rita, of course, wouldn't actually harm Yun Ling; she knew she could stop before injuring him—that was her confidence.
Yun Ling calmly parried Rita's attacks, easily deflecting even her attacks from blind spots.
Although Rita possessed great strength, without the Valkyrie armor's enhancement, Yun Ling could still easily withstand her attacks.
Soon, both of them stopped simultaneously. Rita's breathing became slightly heavier, and a few drops of sweat trickled down Yun Ling's temple.
"Miss Rita is truly powerful, worthy of being an S-rank Valkyrie," Yun Ling praised.
"Mr. Yun Ling is no simple man either. Were you afraid of hurting me, so you deliberately didn't use your sword energy?"
Rita showed slight dissatisfaction, feeling underestimated.
Back in Nagazora City, Yun Ling had been effortlessly unleashing sword energy, his movements seemingly effortless.
"Of course not," Yun Ling said, casually flicking his iron sword, "it's just that my cultivation isn't high enough. With my current strength, I can't yet unleash sword energy with ordinary iron."
"I see... I'm sorry, I misunderstood Mr. Yun Ling," Rita said, bowing slightly, apologizing for her earlier words.
"It's alright, just treat me to some pastries sometime," Yun Ling said half-jokingly.
"Hehe, Rita would be more than happy to welcome Mr. Yun Ling," Rita chuckled, immediately understanding that Yun Ling wasn't angry.
After exchanging a few more words, Rita left first.
Looking at the target not far away, Yun Ling casually flicked his sword energy, hitting it precisely.
Saying he couldn't unleash sword energy with ordinary iron was, of course, a lie.
After all, he still didn't know Rita's purpose in coming here. Although Rita had always maintained a relatively positive image, she was currently still working for Otto.
The death in the eighth simulation was inextricably linked to Otto!
Just as Yun Ling had predicted, Rita immediately told Otto about Yun Ling's approximate strength, adding that Yun Ling might be holding back some of his abilities.
While witnessing Yun Ling's battle in Nagazora City, she saw him using a Divine Key that could manipulate water-like sword energy for attacks.
All of this seemed to be aligning with the Sword God Yun Ling from five hundred years ago.
Observing the battle video between the two and Yun Ling's performance in Nagazora City, Otto could roughly deduce that if Yun Ling used the Divine Key, his strength would be at the upper-middle level of A-rank.
His actual strength should be above Rita's but below Bianca's.
Of course, if the Valkyrie armor was included, the situation would be different.
This was even with Yun Ling possibly hiding his full strength...
Otto tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, lost in thought.
...
Since he had a two-day holiday, Yun Ling planned to create the 'Ruoshui' ELF form all at once.
"So why did you bring Bronya over?" Bronya stared at Yun Ling with deadpan eyes.
"I need you," Yun Ling said bluntly.
Bronya was silent for a moment, then took out her phone and dialed three numbers.
"...Hello, police station? There's someone sexually harassing a minor here, um, yes, the location is..."
"No, it's about making something that needs your help! As payment, I'll give you a limited edition Homu doll!" Yun Ling explained immediately.
...