Who's Really the Bottom-Tier Class?

For a moment, the entire training room fell dead silent. The only sound was that of Ji Jue's jaw hitting the floor. "Huh?" He began to doubt his own ears. "Did I not make myself clear?" Lao Zhang asked in confusion. "Run. As in flee. In the Imperial tongue, that's 'run!' In the Yingzhou dialect spoken across the Thousand Islands, it's 'nigeru!'" Seeing that the old man seemed ready to continue explaining in every language under the sun, Ji Jue hastily waved his hands. "No, no, no, I know what 'run' means! What I don't understand is... why do I have to run?" "Because you can't beat them, obviously." Lao Zhang was concise, blunt, and hit the nail right on the head... instantly torpedoing Ji Jue's eager anticipation. Celestial Chosen of the Embers lineage were universally acknowledged as combat weaklings. Their abilities were geared entirely toward production and creation. To put it bluntly, it wasn't a combat class at all! Granted, most of the other paths weren't strictly combat classes either—only the Swarm truly specialized in killing and burning—but without a doubt, if an objective ranking were made, Embers was a prime contender for absolute dead last! Second only to Aether! Yet when it came to the Path of Aether, their practitioners could sense your murderous intent from eight hundred meters away. Heck, on a mere whim upon waking up in the morning, they might cast a divination, draw a tarot card, toss a holy grail, or take a peek at the future. If they foresaw terrible luck, they simply wouldn't leave the house, all right? And when encountering enemies, Tianyuan would say, *I'll crush him with telekinesis;* White Stag would say, *I'll bide my time and strike to kill;* Desolate Ruins would say, *You can't pierce my defense, but I can pierce yours;* Vortex practitioners were cockroaches that never died; Mirror could conceal itself with myriad disguises; Heart Pivot could directly control opponents... Even the Ascension lineage boasted a signature crowd-control skill like Soul Deterrence. What did Embers have? Tell the enemy to wait a minute while you fire up the furnace and put on a live alchemy show? By then, bro, both the tea and your corpse would have gone ice cold! An Embers Chosen's greatest strength lay in the convenience with which they could borrow external objects to augment their might. Their fatal flaw, however, stemmed from the exact same source. External objects were, after all, external. The moment an unexpected crisis struck, they were plunged into an isolated, helpless predicament. They relied far too heavily on their environment and setup. Even if an artisan's dominance within their own workshop was absolute, once outside, they were the absolute lowest on the totem pole. "Do not hesitate. Unless you are inside your own fully fortified workshop, the moment you encounter an enemy out in the world, you run immediately! Open the distance, call for backup, and preserve yourself at all costs!" Lao Zhang spoke with utter gravity, reiterating firmly, "If you run into an enemy alone without preparation and fail to break away immediately, all you can do is wait for death! "Over the years, I've seen far too many Embers artisans killed this way. In fact, ambushes like that are the standard tactic for dealing with Embers ability users!" It was simply unavoidable. Between his innate abilities and the craft he excelled at, neither was suited for a sudden encounter. Even Ji Jue was no exception. The only advantage he enjoyed was that he had always stayed within Yacheng, surrounded by machinery and equipment ripe for his use. Yet even Yacheng was hardly foolproof. There were far too many constraints. He truly needed to move next to a military base sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if the heavy Nanfeng truck failed to run someone down, Ji Jue would have nothing left to do but wash his neck and wait for the blade. "Of course, once you reach higher ranks, the situation won't be quite like this. "High-rank Embers Chosen are practically dripping with gear from head to toe—from life-prolonging wards and emergency blinks to counterattacks and curses... Even a Swarm Chosen might crash and burn against one." Lao Zhang continued slowly, "However, during an Embers Chosen's lower ranks, the finest defensive tool available is a gun!" "Huh?" Ji Jue remained dumbfounded. "A gun! Gun! Firearms!" Lao Zhang deployed his trilingual teaching method once again before continuing, "Calling, Metamorphosis, Regeneration, Exaltation—throughout the four realms and twelve tiers of a Chosen's Raw Stone phase, all the way until the late stages of Metamorphosis, Chosen are fundamentally still made of mortal flesh. Caught off guard, even the mightiest Chosen will drop dead from a single bullet to the brain. "That is why you must learn how to use a gun. "Team Leader Wen mentioned your marksmanship isn't bad, so I won't waste breath lecturing you on how to practice. Did you bring it with you today?" Hearing this, Ji Jue hesitated before glancing toward the bag he had left in the corner. There was indeed one inside. Although he had long returned Lu Feng's service pistol, during the time he held it, he had used his ability to cheat his handgun marksmanship up to a seasoned, crack-shot level. It could certainly be considered a specialty of his. "Very good." Lao Zhang nodded in satisfaction. "So, our next training regimen is to drill a reflex into you: during an unexpected encounter, how to draw, fire, empty the magazine in the shortest possible time, and simultaneously create distance to get the hell out!" "Wait, what?!" Ji Jue cried out again, utterly flabbergasted. *Wait, brother—no, gramps—do you even hear what you're saying?!* "Don't worry, the room is bulletproof; it won't hurt anyone else. Besides, against a caliber like this, as long as they aren't alchemical rounds, I can block them all." Lao Zhang smiled, flicking off the handgun's safety, racking the slide, and turning the grip toward him. "Next, we'll simulate a sudden encounter. "The moment I make my move, use the technique I just taught you: use spiritus to accelerate your muscle speed, quickening your draw and aim. At the same time, reinforce your legs with the White Stag insignia to boost your explosive sprint speed and open up distance. "However, if you don't run fast enough, then I'll have no choice but to..." Lao Zhang paused delicately. His seemingly withered, frail hand clenched into a fist, faintly gleaming with pure, radiant gold. Upon his heavily wrinkled face, a profoundly meaningful grin spread in silence. "Hehehehe." In that instant, Ji Jue's vision went black. For accompanied by a shrill, bizarre cackle, a bone-chilling dread and an old man's iron fist came crashing straight toward his face!!! *** Throughout the entire morning, noon, and well into the afternoon, shrill screams and bellows echoed from the direction of the training grounds, mingled with heart-wrenching pleas for mercy and desperate wails that made Tong Hua fetch a little stool, sit down, and refuse to leave. *How cathartic!* Even though she had been the one at fault in the first place... Watching someone else suffer was pure bliss! Even Wen Wen, passing by, couldn't resist pausing to listen for a while. "Quite intense," she murmured with a sigh. "Lao Zhang hasn't had this much fun in ages, has he?" "Yup, yup." An Ran, the high school dropout playing games in the lounge, nodded in agreement. "Because every time Sister Huahua trains, she cries, and then Grandpa Zhang doesn't know what to do. Yeah. Tactics. Despicable!" "How is that despicable?! Knowing when to beg for mercy is a form of wisdom, okay?!" Tong Hua glared at him. "Besides, it really hurts! That shoulder throw from last time still gives me nightmares!" *Crash!* Amidst a chorus of shrieks, a figure hurtled through the air, smashing open the training room doors and landing flat on his face in the corridor. Spotting Wen Wen nearby, he was instantly flooded with ecstatic relief. "Sister Wen, save me! Save me!" Ji Jue wept bitterly, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I've bled for Beishan District! I've rendered meritorious service to the Security Bureau! I—" "Khehehehe, young man, our training isn't over yet. Where do you think you're going?" The withered old man appeared behind him like a specter, a bizarre smirk plastered across his face. A hissing bullet was clamped between his teeth as he hoisted Ji Jue up by the back of his collar, his tone remaining gentle and kind. "Relax, fighting is always like this. Terrifying at first, but it stops hurting later on. Once you get a taste of the sweetness, you might even get addicted. "Tell you what, let me give you an injection first. Afterward, all you'll be able to think about is fighting. Once you're used to it, you might be eagerly coming to see me every single week." *Slam!* The battered doors swung shut once more. Dead silence fell over the corridor. Tong Hua and Wen Wen exchanged looks. Tong Hua's face slowly flushed red. "The plot in there is getting more and more scandalous, Sister Wen..." She pinched her warm nose, her smile growing increasingly twisted. "*...but I love it so much!*" *** It wasn't until past five in the afternoon that the screams from the training ground finally died down. To be precise, Ji Jue had already screamed himself hoarse by three o'clock... Now, however, the shrieks were replaced by a hair-raising sound of bones grinding and popping. *Crack! Snap! Crunch!* "Ohhh, ahhh—lighter, gentler!" Ji Jue groaned weakly. "Too hard, I can't take it... Ohhh, god!" Even as he spoke, the calloused pair of large hands resting on his neck clamped down and gave a sudden, violent twist. A crisp snap echoed straight through his skull. *—Crack!* As Lao Zhang let go, Ji Jue flopped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, slumping into a puddle of limp mush without a shred of strength left in his body. Yet miraculously, following that brutally bold bone-setting session—which had felt as though the old man had dismantled him completely before piecing him back together—and an intense massage that had nearly sheared off a layer of skin, Ji Jue felt unimaginably light. It was as if he had shed a dozen jin of dead weight. His whole body was flushed red, drenched in sweat. Bruises and swelling faded at rapid speed. Sensation returned to his legs, which had grown numb and stinging from prolonged use of material properties reinforcement. His spine, chronically stiff from endless hours of relentless grinding, felt entirely unburdened, and his neck, which usually clicked whenever he turned it, moved with unbelievable smoothness. It was practically a rebirth. He even suspected that Lao Zhang had secretly peeled off his skin when he wasn't looking and sprayed a layer of WD-40 onto his joints. How else could it feel this silky smooth? "Carrying too much dampness is bad for the body, young man! You youngsters need to exercise more. Studying is important, but health is just as vital!" Having finished his work, Lao Zhang wiped the medicinal oil from his hands with a towel, grinning as he asked, "So, how was my bone-setting and tui na?" Sprawled on the floor, Ji Jue was too relaxed to even speak. He simply raised a hand and gave a thumbs-up. Nothing to say! Utterly mind-blowing! Immediately, a business card was dropped before his eyes. He opened them and read: *Zhang's Tui Na!* "Spent most of my life fighting and killing without achieving much, but my family's tui na is an ancestral craft! Now that I'm retired, my daughter and grandson look after the shop. Remember to drop by and give us some business when you're free!" "Deal, absolutely!" Ji Jue didn't hesitate for a second. With craftsmanship of this caliber, he had to get a membership card no matter what, and bring Mother Lu and the others over to experience it sometime. *Right, as soon as I make some money, I'll go!* Unfortunately, while the need was right before his eyes, making money remained a distant prospect... Thinking of his credit card—where the repayment amounts only grew higher and higher despite constant installments—he couldn't help but want to shed a few little tears. His skills and abilities had made decent progress over the past few months, but his expenses had multiplied, and they were destined to grow even steeper in the future. The debt hole was hard to plug, and it showed every sign of expanding. He was so strapped he almost wanted to make Little Niuma bring its own chicken legs to work. Never mind water and electricity; he could barely afford the feed fees! Besides, his personal debts were practically pocket change compared to what hadn't been factored in yet. Leaving aside his student loans—which used to seem like a towering mountain but were now mere pocket change—if he added in all the alchemy tutoring fees and material consumption that Professor Ye had graciously footed, Ji Jue's liabilities would balloon into an astronomical mountain of bad debt, enough to make a Yacheng Bank loan officer want to hang themselves! Times were tough. If he didn't secure an income stream soon, he really wouldn't survive. Lately, Layla had been calling him non-stop, asking if he was free and whether he wanted to take on some private freelance jobs, promising generous compensation. But recalling the price list Lu Feng had given him, Ji Jue felt that charging those rates bordered on criminal extortion. *Should I... give it a try later?* He wavered, unable to halt the downward slide of his moral compass. Rolling over, he saw Lao Zhang's smiling face under the incandescent lights. "Rested up?" Lao Zhang offered a hand. "Care to give it one last go?" He said, "A formal, practical combat simulation." "Let's do it!" Ji Jue gripped his hand and sprang to his feet.