Chapter Thirty-Five: Flash Step

After killing Hou Chong, Qin Ming turned and gazed into the distance.

"Uncle Wang, you must not have gone far. You surely saw me avenge you," he murmured. "This is only the beginning. In the future, I will slay many more savage beasts to bring peace to your spirit in the heavens. Rest assured, too, that the families of Brother Yang, Brother Ma, and Brother Xiong will live in safety."

Niu Piaopiao pressed her lips together.

After gathering their spoils, the two returned directly to the military encampment. The place was now more than several times fuller—hunters had rushed back overnight upon hearing of the rat tide.

The rat tide had terrified everyone.

"Xiao Qin, how about selling our goods to the Underground Alliance? They pay well!" Niu Piaopiao consulted him.

"Sister Niu, I'm happy to follow your lead!"

"Good!"

They found familiar contacts, sold off all the materials and spoils, and in the end, received a total of 1.6 billion. Qin Ming took not a single cent, handing it all to Niu Piaopiao.

Together, they hurried back to Jiangnan Base City.

"Sister Niu, if you ever need anything, be sure to come to me!" Qin Ming insisted once more. "Otherwise, I'll never forgive myself!"

"You’re a good kid, I’ll remember that," she replied.

"Goodbye, Sister Niu!"

"Goodbye!"

They parted ways and each went their own direction.

Upon stepping off the train in Yangzhou City, Qin Ming saw his father waiting for him.

"It's good enough that you're home, that's all that matters!" Qin Yicheng pulled his son close, his eyes red-rimmed, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "When the master told me about the rat tide, I was scared out of my wits!"

"Dad, who could have predicted something like that?” Qin Ming said. “Luckily, your son has a tough fate! You didn’t tell Mom, did you?"

"If I told her you were in the city when the beast tide erupted, she’d faint on the spot. Don't mention it at home either, it'll only worry her and give her something to nag about!"

"Alright."

On the way back, Qin Ming recounted the general course of events, but glossed over his survival, saying only that he escaped into the mountains and survived by luck.

"Your Uncle Wang..." Qin Yicheng sighed. "I always knew he lived a hard and weary life. I often urged him to remarry and start anew, but he just smiled and shook his head. Every time he went out hunting, he’d throw himself into the thick of battle, as if bent on slaughtering every beast he saw. The truth is, he’d long made peace with death. Living was only a means to kill beasts—eventually, he would die in the wild. That was his fate, the fate of so many warriors. Xiao Ming, you too, one day..."

Qin Yicheng could not go on.

"Dad, perhaps one day, we’ll subdue all the savage beasts, enslave them, and return the world to humanity."

"Let’s hope so."

"Oh, and Dad, I killed Hou Chong."

"Well done!"

"I gave all the hunting spoils to Sister Niu—sold them for 1.6 billion and told her to distribute it among the families."

"That’s my son, well done. Piaopiao is a loyal and righteous girl. If she promised to look after the families, she’ll do it. I’ll keep an eye on things too, just in case she needs help."

They chatted as they returned home, where a joyous reunion awaited.

The day passed swiftly, and later, Qin Ming returned to his villa.

He sat in the courtyard, gazing up at the endless stars.

The peace unsettled him.

"Right now, who knows how many warriors are fighting outside? Perhaps for profit, but ultimately, they’re defending our homeland."

"In this world, the path of cultivation divides into two: warriors and spiritual adepts."

"Warriors can train and grow stronger, but spiritual adepts require innate talent to awaken."

"Once a spiritual adept reaches the Rank of General, they can fly by manipulating objects. Even if caught in a rat tide, they can escape easily. Unfortunately, spiritual adepts are too rare and not the mainstream."

"But warriors..."

"Only when a warrior reaches the planetary rank do they gain the ability to fly! Without flight, even a War God, if surrounded by the rat tide, might fall. Like that willow tree—innately rooted, unable to move—even if its strength rivaled a top War God, it still nearly perished before a swarm of rats."

"If I could fly, would I have been so desperate? Uncle Wang wouldn’t have had to die, either!"

"But how can a warrior fly before reaching the planetary rank?"

Qin Ming pondered endlessly.

How could a powerful physique achieve flight?

Flight? Why must one fly?

As long as a warrior can borrow force, they can move through the air.

Borrow force?

Is the sky truly empty?

No, there’s still air!

Qin Ming suddenly stood, his eyes shining.

"Compress the air to create reactive force!"

His heart pounded wildly.

Calming himself, he stood firm, lifted his foot, and brought it down swiftly. Without control, the reactive force propelled him forward in a leap.

"The first step is to master the reactive force. With the foundation of Arrow Step, it shouldn’t be hard! The challenge is fusing multiple bursts of reactive force to unleash a terrifying acceleration!"

"Fusion of reactive forces? Thunder Blade Ninefold and the Fist of Impact both use similar principles!"

Qin Ming couldn’t help but smile.

But once he began to experiment, he realized how difficult it truly was.

It was the next day before he managed to fuse two bursts of reactive force, producing a tremendous thrust that hurled him a great distance in an instant.

Previously, he’d always unleashed force by fusing several layers of hidden strength to create a powerful recoil at once. Now, it was the reverse.

He had to blend reactive forces together.

"First, speed!"

"Second, total control over the muscles in the soles and calves!"

Qin Ming explored step by step.

He spent most of his time perfecting this footwork, but still set aside time to train with the Mysterious Dao Diagram. Perhaps due to the earth essence he’d consumed, his recent progress was astonishingly fast.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

He completed the thirty-first diagram.

At dawn, Qin Ming continued to contemplate his footwork.

His feet moved, and his figure vanished from sight; the floor tiles where he’d stood were shattered to dust. His shadow flickered across the courtyard like a ghost.

At last, he stopped and looked toward the gate. "Dad, you’re here!"

"Yes! Xiao Ming, what kind of movement technique was that just now? Such speed, such explosive force!" Qin Yicheng approached, full of wonder.

"It’s a technique I created—Instant Step!"

"Instant Step? You created it?"

"Yes! I learned Thunder Blade Ninefold, which allows for the layering of hidden strength and exponentially increased power. So I thought, what if I repeatedly stamped the ground, fusing multiple reactive forces—wouldn’t that produce incredible speed in a burst? Whether for traveling or for killing, it would be completely unexpected and impossible to guard against."

"What an idea!" Qin Yicheng exclaimed. "Did you succeed?"

"I did, but so far I’ve only managed to fuse four layers of reactive force—not quite the ideal yet. Dad, you must keep this a secret for me!"

"Fusion of four layers of reactive force?" Qin Yicheng was shocked, but looked at his son with growing pride. "Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret. By the way, today is July first—the day of the Provisional Warrior Assessment. Do you want to go and watch?"

"July first, the Provisional Warrior Assessment?" Qin Ming murmured, his eyes lighting up. "That’s a great idea! I have a high school classmate who became a senior trainee early on. Now that the college entrance exams are over, he should be taking the test too—perfect chance to see him."