The entire training room fell silent. Only Ji Jue’s jaw dropping to the floor made a sound. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t I make myself clear?” Mr. Zhang asked, puzzled. “Basically, just run away. In the Yingzhou language on the Thousand Island, it’s ‘逃げろ!’”

Seeing that he was about to start explaining it in even more languages, Ji Jue quickly waved his hand. “No, no, no. I get what ‘run’ means, but... I don’t understand, why do I have to run?”

“Because you can’t win.” Mr. Zhang’s words were concise, blunt, and hit the mark. He completely crushed Ji Jue’s excited, eager heart.

The Ember Chosen Ones were widely recognized as bottom-tier fighters. Their abilities were all geared toward production and creation. Put simply, they were not combat-oriented at all.

The others weren’t exactly combat specialists either, except for the Swarm Path, which was purely about killing and destruction. But without a doubt, if you were to rank them, the Ember Path would be a strong contender for last place, second only to the Aether Path.

With the Aether Path, they could read your murderous intent from eight hundred meters away. They might wake up in the morning, draw a card or consult the oracle, and just don’t leave the house if they foresaw that it would be a terrible day.

When facing an enemy, Origin would say, “I’ll crush them with telekinesis”; White Deer would say, “I’ll wait until I’m fully charged and kill in one strike”; Ruins would say, “If you can’t break my defense, I’ll break yours”; Vortex was basically indestructible; Mirror could conceal and transform endlessly; Heart Core could directly control enemies... even the Ascension Path had signature crowd-control skills like Soul Shock.

And what did the Ember Path have? Tell the enemy, ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll fire up my furnace and do a live alchemy demonstration?’ By then, their corpses and the daylilies[1] would be long cold!

The strength of Ember Chosen Ones lay in enhancing themselves by conveniently borrowing external objects. But that was also their weakness, as external objects were, after all, external. When things suddenly went wrong, they could end up completely isolated.

They relied too much on their environment and conditions. Even if a craftsman was at their strongest inside the workshop, once they left, they were just another weakling.

“Don’t hesitate to run, unless you’re inside your own workshop with full protection. If you encounter an enemy outside, immediately run away. Create distance, call for backup, and protect yourself as much as possible!”

Mr. Zhang said sternly, repeating himself for emphasis, “If you face an enemy alone without preparation and can’t escape, you’re as good as dead. Over the years, I’ve seen too many Ember craftsmen killed this way. Honestly, the only correct approach against Ember-type abilities is ambush tactics!”

There was no other choice. After all, their abilities and craftsmanship were not suited for face-to-face combat, and they could not handle an encounter fight.

Ji Jue was no exception. His only advantage was that he’d always stayed in Cliff City, where mechanical devices were everywhere and ready to be used. Even so, this method wasn’t completely foolproof. There were simply too many limitations. He would have to move near a military base soon. Otherwise, if Nanfeng’s heavy equipment broke down, Ji Jue could only wait to die.

“Of course, at higher levels, things won’t necessarily be like this. High-level Ember Chosen Ones usually carry a full array of equipment for survival, escape, counterattacks, or curses. Even Swarm Chosen Ones could potentially fail to ambush them.” Mr. Zhang added slowly, “But at low levels, the best defense a Ember Chosen One can use is a gun.”

Ji Jue was dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“A gun! Firearms!” Mr. Zhang explained, “Resonance, Metamorphosis, Rebirth, and Transcendence are the four realms and twelve levels of a Chosen One. Up to the late Metamorphosis Realm, a Chosen One is still flesh and blood. Without protection, even the strongest Chosen One dies from a headshot. So you absolutely must learn how to use a gun. Ms. Wen said your aim is decent, so I won’t bother teaching you the basics. Are you carrying a gun today?”

Ji Jue hesitated, glancing at the bag he’d tucked in the corner. Sure enough, there was a gun inside.

Although he had already returned Lu Feng’s sidearm, during the time he had it, he had used his abilities to cheat and push his shooting skills to a sharp, precise level, enough to count as a specialty.

Mr. Zhang nodded in approval. “Great. So, the next part of our training is to help you build a habit, like how to draw your gun and fire in the shortest time possible during an encounter, empty the magazine, and then put distance between yourself and the enemy while running!”

“Huh?!” Ji Jue shouted again, completely dumbfounded.

No, this isn’t right, sir, do you even hear yourself?

“It’s fine. This place is bulletproof, so no one else will get hurt. And with this caliber, unless they’re alchemy bullets, I can block them anyway.” Mr. Zhang smiled and flicked off the safety on the pistol.

He chambered a round, turned the grip toward him, and said, “Next, we’ll simulate an encounter scenario. The moment I make a move, you use the techniques I just taught you. Enhance your muscles with spirit matter to speed up your draw and aim. At the same time, use White Deer’s emblem to strengthen your legs and increase your sprint burst to create distance. But if you can’t run fast, then I’ll just have to...”

Mr. Zhang paused. His seemingly feeble hand clenched, shining briefly with pure gold. His wrinkled face broke into a subtle, mischievous smile.

“Hehehehe.”

A bone-chilling cold and the old man’s iron fist came crashing down, accompanied by a sharp, bizarre laugh. Ji Jue’s vision went black.

***

All morning, throughout noon, and into the afternoon, the training grounds echoed with piercing screams and shouts, mixed with desperate pleas and heart-wrenching cries that made even Tong Hua pull over a small stool to sit down and watch. It was so entertaining that she was unwilling to leave.

It felt so satisfying! Even though she was to blame for what she did earlier, watching someone else suffer misfortune was just pure, unadulterated joy.

Even Wen Wen, passing by, couldn’t help stopping to listen for a while.

“So intense.” With awe, she added, “Mr. Zhang hasn’t had this much fun in a long time, right?”

An Ran, the school-dropout kid glued to his game, nodded. “Mm-hmm. Every time Tong Hua trained, she’d cry, and Mr. Zhang would be at a loss... What a dirty tactic!”

Tong Hua glared at him. “Dirty? Knowing how to beg for mercy is also a form of wisdom, okay?! And it really hurts! That shoulder throw from last time still gives me nightmares!”

Bang!

Amid the screams, a figure shot through the air, crashing through the training room door and landing face-first on the floor. Seeing Wen Wen not far away, he went wild with joy.

“Ms. Wen! Save me, save me!” Ji Jue cried, tears streaming down his face. “I’ve bled for North Mount, I’ve served the Security Bureau, I...”

The dry, wiry old man appeared behind him like a phantom, grinning grotesquely with a sizzling bullet clamped between his teeth. “Hehehehe, young man, our training isn’t over yet. Where are you going?”

With one hand, he lifted Ji Jue by the collar, his tone still warm and gentle as he said, “Don’t worry, fighting is always like this. At first, it’s scary, but it stops being painful after a while. Here, I’ll give you a little taste. After that, your mind will be full of fighting. Once you get used to it, you might be rushing to see me every week.”

Bam!

The teetering door slammed shut again, and the hallway fell completely silent.

When Tong Hua exchanged gazes with Wen Wen, her face turned red.

“The fight inside seems to be getting worse, doesn’t it, Ms. Wen...?” She covered her red nose, her smile growing increasingly twisted. “But I love it!”

***

It wasn’t until after five in the afternoon that the screams in the training ground finally stopped.

Strictly speaking, by three o’clock, Ji Jue was already out of energy to scream. In place of screams came a spine-chilling sound of bones cracking.

Crack, crack, crack!

“Ahhhh! Gentle, gentle,” Ji Jue moaned weakly. “You’re going too hard... I can’t take it... Ahhhh!”

The calloused hands pressed against his neck clenched and twisted sharply, sending a crisp, terrifying sound echoing through his skull.

Crack!

When Mr. Zhang released him, Ji Jue collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut and sprawled limply on the ground, utterly powerless from head to toe.

The strange thing was that, after that brutal, wild, almost violent bone-setting session, so violent that it felt like Mr. Zhang was tearing him apart and stitching him back together, followed by a massage that felt like it could peel a layer of his skin off, Ji Jue actually felt an unbelievable lightness. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was as if his entire body had dropped five kilos in an instant. His skin burned red, and sweat flowed from every pore.

The bruises and swelling were vanishing rapidly. His legs, which had grown numb and tingly from prolonged use of physical enhancement, regained sensation. And his spine, stiff from hours of hunching, felt completely unlocked. Even the neck that had always crackled when he turned it now moved with astonishing smoothness.

It was as if he’d been reborn.

He even suspected that Mr. Zhang, while he wasn’t looking, had applied a layer of WD-40[2] to his joints after peeling his skin open, because otherwise, how could it feel so silky smooth?

“Too much dampness[3] is bad for the body, young man. You still need plenty of exercise. Studying is important, but health is important too!”

After finishing, Mr. Zhang wiped the medicinal oil off his hands with a towel and grinned. “So, how’s my bone-setting and massage?”

Ji Jue lay on the floor, so relaxed he didn’t even want to speak. He just raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up.

No doubt about it, this guy is a legend!

A business card was then placed in front of him. He opened his eyes and read the words written on it: Zhang’s Massage!

“I may have spent most of my life with mediocre fighting skills, but our family’s massage technique is a different story, it’s been passed down for generations. Now that I’m retired, my daughter and grandchildren run the shop. When you have time, come by and support the business, alright?”

“Absolutely!”

Ji Jue didn’t even think twice. That kind of skill was a legit specialty, he had to get a membership card. He’d bring Mrs. Lu and the others to try it out someday. Yes, once he made some money, he’d go for sure!

Too bad, though the need was right in front of him, earning the money he required seemed endlessly far away. Thinking about his credit card, which kept increasing in installments, he couldn’t help but feel like crying.

His skills and abilities had improved a bit in recent months, but his expenses were increasing even faster and destined to grow in the future. The holes in his finances were impossible to patch, and only getting bigger. He hated it so much he almost wished Horsey would bring its own chicken leg to work. Forget utilities, he could barely afford to feed Horsey!

And his personal debt was only part of it. He hadn’t even counted the rest of his projects yet. Not to mention what used to seem like a mountain of student loans was now insignificant compared to the cost of covering all of Professor Ye’s alchemy lessons and materials. Adding that up would push Ji Jue’s debt into an astronomical amount, enough to make any Cliff City bank loan officer want to hang themselves.

Life was hard, and there was no income in sight.

Recently, Layla had been calling non-stop, asking if he had time for side work and promising negotiable rates. But thinking about Lu Feng’s quotation made Ji Jue feel like he might be crossing the line into morally bankrupt territory.

Maybe... he should just try?

He hesitated, unable to stop his mind from sliding further downhill, and turned over, only to see Mr. Zhang’s smiling face under the bright fluorescent light. The old man extended a hand.

“Rested enough? Want to try one last time? We’ll fight properly this time. It’ll be a real combat simulation.”

Ji Jue gripped his hand and stood up straight. “Alright!”

1. In certain traditional Chinese funeral customs, daylilies (golden needles) often appear as the final dish at a mourning meal, symbolizing “the departed leaves, worries forgotten,” representing both mourning for the deceased and comfort for the living. At the same time, because daylilies are also called “forget-worry grass” and have yellow blossoms, they are sometimes considered ceremonial flowers for expressing grief. ☜

2. Note: The RAW writes “D40” here, but after some Google searching, I think it’s referring to the lubricant WD-40. ☜

3. In traditional Chinese medicine, “dampness” refers to an imbalance in the body’s water metabolism or the invasion of external damp pathogens, causing excess fluids to stagnate internally. It is one of the six pernicious influences (“wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, fire”). Dampness is characterized by heaviness, stickiness (prolonged course), and a tendency to settle downward (swelling in the lower limbs). It is usually caused by weakness of the spleen and stomach and often manifests as fatigue, a thick or greasy tongue coating, sticky stools, oily facial skin, and edema. ☜