Flight

But after the Industrial Revolution, pill factories used assembly-line production and precise mechanical measurements to turn out vast quantities of pills every day. That was a level of efficiency the small-workshop Alchemists of the past could never have achieved, leaving raw materials as the only factor limiting production.

Even in terms of pill formation rates, factories relied on data collection, precise calculations, and machinery capable of working in harsh conditions to achieve a success rate far beyond that of ordinary Alchemists, falling only slightly short of alchemy Grandmasters. And there were even fewer alchemy Grandmasters in the world than martial arts Grandmasters.

After the Industrial Revolution, the Mohist School had used this expertise to counterattack the Daoist School's market. With the advantage of low prices and good quality, it had sold pills in a manner bordering on dumping, routing the Daoist Alchemists. The few Daoist alchemy workshops that remained now had to appeal to sentiment by touting their handmade products, long histories, and traditional culture.

For the past half month, Si Ming had swallowed one Six-Transformation Bear and Snake Pill every day, gone to bed at ten at night, and risen at five in the morning to practice martial arts. Although his exercise regimen was grueling enough to push his body nearly to its limit, he had not grown thinner. Instead, he had filled out, becoming leaner and tougher overall, with the beginnings of wiry muscle. He had also grown a centimeter taller.

Perhaps the Hundred Birds Frolics also exercised the eyes. Si Ming's eyes now shone brilliantly, and one look was enough to tell he was brimming with vitality. He was almost unrecognizable compared to twenty days ago. After all, he had trained his body using the Hundred Birds Frolics at its highest level; his classmates from the lightness skill class who had learned it at the same time might not achieve the same results even after two years.

"That's enough for today. I'll go back and take a shower. It's time for school."

Si Ming spread his arms and somersaulted down from the top of a six-meter tree. Instead of dropping straight to the ground, however, he glided through the air.

Just then, a piercing alarm sounded from a nearby loudspeaker, followed by an announcer's anxious, tense voice.

"Warning! A flood of Demon Beasts has been spotted on the east coast. Their numbers are estimated at around two thousand, and they are rapidly approaching the city. All residents are urged to take shelter immediately in the nearest refuge. Do not go outside. Follow the police officers' instructions, maintain order, and do not act on your own!"

"Warning! A flood of Demon Beasts has been spotted on the east coast..."

Alarms echoed through every street in the city, while the Aurora Tower atop the government building sent out dazzling beams of rainbow light as it spun ceaselessly.

Under the broadcast's repeated warnings, the formerly peaceful city immediately sprang to life, as though a library had turned into a marketplace. All the residents woke from their dreams, hurriedly gathered their things, and ran to the shelters built in every residential district. Some simply hid in their own basements and locked the doors behind them.

Though their expressions were tense, their movements were orderly. Clearly, they had plenty of experience seeking shelter and had faced this situation before.

Demon Beasts were powerful creatures that emerged from the sea. They had never been seen in ancient times, but starting a hundred years ago, they had appeared from the sea from time to time. They generally came in groups, though lone individuals occasionally appeared. For some inexplicable reason, they were hostile to humanity and invariably attacked human cities without fear of death. As a result, the residents of coastal cities tended to be fierce and hardy.

Some said Demon Beasts had appeared because the Second Industrial Revolution had led the country to build factories that discharged vast amounts of pollution and damaged the environment, causing sea creatures to mutate. The creatures had therefore come to take revenge on humanity.

Others said Demon Beasts had appeared because the Mohist Grandmaster had made the secret techniques of the manuals public, giving people who otherwise could never have learned martial arts a chance to train. This had thrown Primal Qi out of balance, and the martial arts revolution in particular had disrupted the order of humanity, bringing down the wrath of the Heavenly Dao.

Opinions varied, and to this day no definitive answer explained where Demon Beasts came from. Their threat, however, was all too real. Thus, every country with a coastline established coastal defenses to fend off their attacks.

"A level-four alert. The danger isn't too great; the army and the Mohist Knight Guard should be enough to hold them back. But I'd better take shelter anyway. If I remember right, the nearest shelter is six kilometers away. I need to hurry."

To train in peace, Si Ming had chosen a secluded spot some distance from the city proper. He normally used the journey as lightness skill training.

As for fighting the Demon Beasts, the thought had never crossed Si Ming's mind. He had only trained for half a month. Though his strength had improved greatly, that was only compared to his former self. With no actual combat experience, going there would just mean serving himself up as food for the Demon Beasts.

If he could use his talent to train for another five or six years, he would dare play tug-of-war with a Demon Beast. For now, though, staying alive came first.

Si Ming raced along the road without seeing a single soul. The entire street was deserted and unusually quiet.

Demon Beast attack alerts were divided into five levels. The lowest, level five, meant fewer than ten isolated Demon Beasts had been spotted, and the Mohist Knight Guard could eliminate them on its own. A level-four alert meant a Demon Beast tide of fewer than five thousand, with no particularly powerful individuals among them. The coastal defenses were enough to stop it, though they still had to watch out for fish that slipped through the net.

In fact, level-four alerts had lower casualty rates than level-five alerts, because the Demon Beasts would all be stopped outside the defenses and wiped out before they even approached the city. Scattered Demon Beasts that suddenly appeared in the city were more likely to injure or kill civilians.

Suddenly, Si Ming heard a girl scream, accompanied by the sounds of buildings being smashed and heavy objects hitting the ground. He hesitated for a moment, then ran toward the sounds.

After passing through several streets, he saw an enormous Demon Beast. It had the body of a rhinoceros but the head of a toad, and it was rampaging through the street like a medium tank. Streetlights it struck went flying like kites with severed strings, while public facilities were as fragile as tofu, shattering completely at the slightest bump.

The Demon Beast was chasing a girl about Si Ming's age. Her skills were actually quite good; she stood out like a crane among chickens among her peers. Had she been alone, she might have been able to use the buildings as obstacles and shake the Demon Beast off. Unfortunately, she also had a little boy of four or five with her, and he slowed her down, leaving her unable to escape the pursuit.

Si Ming blurted out instinctively, "I'll save-"

With a boom, a broken streetlight came hurtling through the air and slammed into the ground less than two meters in front of Si Ming, burying itself deep. Flying shards of stone struck his calves, stinging sharply and knocking the rest of his words back down his throat.

As if it had heard Si Ming's voice, the toad monster turned its head for a glance while running, a cold, strange light flashing across its eyes.

The instant their gazes met, even from afar, Si Ming was chilled to the bone. Cold surged up from the soles of his feet, plunging him into an ice cellar and leaving him unable to move.

It was the natural intimidation exerted by a creature higher on the food chain over one beneath it. All courage crumbled before the fear rooted in biological instinct. Si Ming suddenly understood what "natural enemy" meant: the helplessness of being fish on another's chopping block.

When ordinary people saw an elephant up close, they felt a powerful sense of pressure. But an elephant was a herbivore and would not normally attack humans. Replace the elephant with a tiger of the same size, and anyone who did not lose control of their bladder and bowels at a glance would be a brave soul.

The toad monster lost interest after one glance. Rather than turn around to chase Si Ming, it continued after the girl and the boy.

Si Ming stood rooted to the spot, his consciousness seemingly frozen and his heart stopped. When he finally came to his senses, he dropped to the ground and gulped for air. His heart pounded so violently it seemed ready to burst from his chest, as though making up for the beats it had missed.

"I have to run... Forget fighting it. Going up there means death... A monster like that isn't something I can touch as I am now... There's nothing I can do. How long have I even been training...? It's not that I'm refusing to save you; I couldn't save you even if I went... Calm down. The right thing to do now is find the Mohist Knight Guard. Reckless courage is meaningless..."

Panicked thoughts flooded his mind, urging Si Ming to flee. Like a mouse that had spotted an owl, he could feel nothing but fear.

In his previous life, when he watched tokusatsu shows like Ultraman, he had only cheered when the hero appeared. He had never considered how desperate it would be for an ordinary person to encounter a so-called super beast or monster.

"I have unparalleled martial arts talent. Given time, I'm bound to become a martial arts Grandmaster sooner or later. How could I waste my precious life here? If I die now, who will remember me? You have to be alive to have dreams. Once you're dead, you can't dream of a damn thing... As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood. I can kill more Demon Beasts to avenge her in the future... I'd be a fool not to run..."

His thoughts struggled fiercely, and his legs seemed ready to rise and flee of their own accord.

Suddenly, Si Ming dug in with both hands and slammed his face hard against the ground. With a thud, his whole body went still.

"...Si Ming, oh Si Ming, you're a spineless, worthless coward! And you talked about becoming a great hero? You might as well castrate yourself and practice the Sunflower Manual! If you don't stand up now, you might as well never stand up again!"

-Would you be a coward for the rest of your life, or would you rather be a hero, even if only for one minute?

For no apparent reason, those words he had read in his previous life surfaced in his mind, suppressing his fear. Si Ming climbed to his feet, the panic gone from his face. He wiped his nose with one hand, only to smear blood all over his face.

Yet beneath the morning glow, that blood-smeared face looked exceptionally handsome.

"The hero is about to make his entrance!"

Chapter 11: Flight

While Si Ming had been locked in that inner struggle, it had felt as though half a century had passed. In reality, less than half a minute had gone by, and neither the girl nor the Demon Beast had gotten far. He spread his arms and swooped straight down like an eagle.

Before rushing out, Si Ming's heart had still been full of apprehension. But once he took action, all his fear, panic, and tension were cast aside. An arrow loosed from the bow could not be recalled; at this point, thinking of escape would only be courting death. His mind raced as he considered his strategy.

Some people performed better in training than in actual combat, doing well on practice exams but faltering when the college entrance exam came. Others were just the opposite, performing beyond their usual level in the real thing.