Red Fire Bird, Is That All?

Boil Daigo Into Soup: "You're not impotent, are you, Madara?"

Uchiha Dance King: "Shut up! You're the impotent one!"

Uchiha Dance King: "That's slander! That's absolutely not the reason!"

Uchiha Dance King: "I'm going to watch the Memory Copy right now."

Uchiha Dance King: "Anything is possible, except that. That is absolutely impossible!!!!"

After saying that, Madara Uchiha went straight to watch the Memory Copy.

He had not even been this angry when he learned that Black Zetsu had betrayed him!

Son of Nature: "Shrug.jpg"

Son of Nature: "I'm logging off too. I still need to register over here."

Son of Nature: "The Chat Group's timeline is really strange. Back when Superpowers were Awakening, we hadn't chatted for long before it was already ten o'clock. Now we've talked for so long, but only a few minutes have passed."

Bai Xuan could not figure out how the Chat Group's timeline worked at all. Shaking his head, he exited the group.

Zhang Weiyang, Sun Qiang, and the others beside him were still chatting. Just as he was about to look up and join them, a sudden sense of unease came over him, and his gaze swiftly turned toward the horizon.

A massive crimson bird flew rapidly toward them like a moving fireball.

"What is that thing?"

"Vermilion Bird? Phoenix? Flamingo?"

"No matter which one it is, it shouldn't be a species that exists right now."

Bai Xuan frowned. He could sense that it was coming for him. The murderous gaze fixed tightly upon him made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Holy shit, what the hell is that? Did the sun become sentient?"

Sun Qiang had been bragging with Zhang Weiyang. Seeing Bai Xuan frown as he stared toward the horizon, he subconsciously followed Bai Xuan's gaze.

His eyes went wide, and a curse slipped from his mouth.

"What the hell do you mean, the sun became sentient? That's a Golden Crow."

"Are you all color-blind? The sun is orange. This thing is bright red—it's obviously a phoenix!"

"A phoenix? Why not call it a Vermilion Bird? It's just a little fireball. Probably some mutated fire bird."

"It's normal, normal. We've all Awakened Superpowers, so a fire bird showing up is perfectly normal."

Drawn by Sun Qiang's shout, a group of people also noticed the fire bird in the distance and began discussing it excitedly.

But as the discussion deepened, the topic seemed to take a strange turn.

"The demonic beasts in novels all seem pretty tasty. I wonder about this bird..."

"Ahh, Watson, you've spotted the blind spot."

"I'm from Bashu. That thing looks spicy. You definitely won't be able to eat it, so let me give it a try."

"Bashu? Bashu is nothing. I'm from Nanzhong—present-day Caiyun Province. When it comes to spicy food, I'm the one to beat."

"Bashu? Nanzhong? Seriously? Those places can eat spicy food? Has anyone asked someone from Jiujiang?"

Several students from provinces known for eating spicy food began arguing, practically pressing their heads together. They did not care if you wanted to compare anything else, but if you wanted to compare who could handle spice—

Who was afraid of whom?

"Um... aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? Forget whether the country wants to capture it for research. Shouldn't we be trying to get out of the way first?"

"Judging by its direction, it seems to be coming toward us."

A boy beside Sun Qiang spoke hesitantly, only to receive contemptuous looks from everyone around him.

"Run? There are so many of us, and we're afraid of one bird?"

"Don't forget, we've all Awakened Superpowers!"

"Everyone just Awakened. Who's afraid of who?"

It was not only Bai Xuan's group who noticed it. People from several other classes on the field, including the officials stationed up ahead, had noticed it too.

The Principal opened his mouth to stabilize the situation, but before he could say anything, the mutated bird had already flown over the field. Its crimson eyes were fixed tightly on Bai Xuan, who stood among the crowd.

"Screech!"

Without hesitation, flames carrying intense heat spewed from its mouth, shooting straight at the crowd. Everyone's expressions changed as they hurriedly retreated, cursing aloud.

"Fuck! It really is a fire bird! It actually breathes fire!"

"Damn, why are its flames so huge? We Awakened at the same time, so why is mine only a little bigger than a lighter while its is this huge?"

"Bullshit. It's obviously because you suck. We all had the same teacher, so why are our grades so different?"

"Enough, shut up. The most important thing now is to take it down. That beast actually dared to hurt people—it clearly has no respect for humanity."

"The problem is, the gap is a little too big. Shouldn't we wait for the military to handle it?"

"..."

As everyone argued, a handsome young man with his school uniform draped over his shoulders like a cape somehow stepped in front of the crowd and said arrogantly:

"Reiki Revival. Superpower Awakening. Everyone now has the possibility of changing their Fate."

"But that does not mean humanity has become equal. It may instead mean an even greater gap in class."

"What determines that gap is talent!"

"Watch closely. This is the power that can separate one from mediocrity at the very beginning of Reiki Revival. The path to my, Lei Fei's, peak begins today!"

"Thunder—Gather!"

"Bzzzt!"

As his words fell, blue-violet arcs of electricity gathered in his right hand. He took a step forward and charged at the fire bird at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.

His fist, wrapped in lightning, struck directly against the fire bird's wing, leaving faint scorch marks behind.

But—

The fire bird looked at the human before it, then at the few black spots on its feathers, and tilted its head.

It seemed to be saying, Is that all?

"Bang!"

With a casual flap of its wings, it sent him flying. He traced a graceful arc through the sky before crashing heavily onto the ground.

The crowd's looks went from, "Who is this guy? Why is he acting so smug?" to, "He actually seems to have something. That visible Thunder around his hand, that lightning-fast speed—this guy is terrifying!"

Then to, "After all that talk, this is it? I could do that too."

"Stop staring, stop staring. My bones are broken."

"Ahhh, it fucking hurts."

"If I'd known this fire bird was so strong, I wouldn't have tried to show off."

"And it's way too strong, isn't it? Are we sure it isn't cheating?"

Lei Fei lay on the ground, wailing and complaining at the same time. He had observed everyone all morning and found that their Superpowers were nowhere near as strong as his. He had thought he was a genius.

Yet he had been instantly defeated by a fire bird!

Being instantly defeated was not even the worst part. The worst part was that he had tried to show off, only to get crushed instead!

This was social death!

Utterly humiliating!!!

The surrounding students hesitated, unsure whether they should go over to help. In this era where short videos were everywhere, they knew that moving him carelessly might worsen his injuries.

The best option was to wait for an ambulance, but given the current situation...