Chapter 100: Old Ding Can’t Hold It, Too
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the lower three floors.
“Quick, there’s a battle on the fourth floor!”
“1 vs 300, let’s go up and have a look!”
“...”
Commotion spread around three floors. Soon, large groups of people flocked toward the fourth floor. No one cared whether they would be reprimanded or anything at this point.
The little plump boy Guo Shen joined in too. The moment he got up to the fourth floor, he saw Fang Ping kicking a female martial artist out of the circle.
“F*ck, he’s hitting women!”
Many cursed out loud as they saw this scene as well.
Fang Ping paid no attention to them. He even hoped that they charged at him. To him, they were credits!
Martial artists were hard to fight against. If he did not land too hard a hit on them, they could stand up immediately. The 5 credits were difficult to obtain.
Aspiring martial artists were better in this regard. One punch or kick sufficed. If he landed it on the right spot, they would find themselves unable to stand. This was how he was supposed to win credits!
As he kicked a martial artist out, Fang Ping reflected internally on his moves. He had not implemented the “sticky” method thoroughly enough. Kicking someone out would expend more of his energy.
His Vitality was expended quickly during all this while.
He had spent ten thousand Wealth points to replenish his Vitality.
1 credit was equivalent to ten thousand bucks in MCMAU, which was also thirty thousand yuan. He did not know how the system would convert his credits.
No matter what, he could earn a sum of ten thousand Wealth points from defeating an aspiring martial artist, at least. He had succeeded in disarming at least a dozen aspiring martial artists in that short period, plus two to three martial artists.
All of it amounted to about 30 credits. He had earned a handsome sum no matter what!
Fang Ping had also discovered that female martial artists were easier targets. A kick proved that they were more fragile compared to a male twice-honed aspiring martial artist. Credits were easily earned that way.
That was why Fang Ping had his eye on a female martial artist once again.
A forceful push took care of an aspiring martial artist standing in his way. Fang Ping went straight for the female artist, his right leg shooting out like a whip.
His leg broke through the other’s defenses, and his fist slammed on the other’s chest.
“Bastard!”
The girl who bore the brunt of it clutched her chest with a pained face. As Fang Ping prepared to follow it with a kick, she roared furiously, “I admit defeat! Is it not enough for you?”
“Are you still a man?”
This girl was considered attractive. During her high school days, she was the goddess of all boys in her school due to her good marks, high Vitality, and good family background.
Who would expect her chest to be aggressively hurt by a man two days after entering university?
She was anguished and furious. Combined that with the severe pain in her chest, the girl turned and left without staying there for long. She went aside to sneak a look at her chest, as she worried that she would suffer from health problems after taking that hit.
When he saw this unfold, Fang Ping bellowed, “Women, admit defeat right now! You’ll have nowhere to complain to when I take you down – my punches and kicks don’t choose favorites!”
“Bastard!”
“Pervert!”
“Yunxi, what are you doing standing there? Go!”
“...”
Yang Xiaoman and Zhao Xuemei were furious. The three of them were the strongest among the girls. Among the 19 from yesterday, only the three of them were female.
Now Fang Ping’s blatant dismissal of females and shameless assault on a girl’s chest made quite a few people angry.
As Yang Xiaoman surged toward him, Fang Ping was busy defending himself against the attacks of a male martial artist. Meanwhile, he warned, “Girls better not go too fast. My punches and kicks don’t play favorites. I won’t take responsibility if I take you down!”
“Die!”
Yang Xiaoman erupted in fury. Her long leg whipped from afar, aimed at Fang Ping’s waist.
Fang Ping faltered for a second. She’s quite strong!
A twice-honed martial artist was much stronger than the average martial artist.
He could not dodge the attack on time. He grabbed someone from nearby and made the other lean on him and bear the brunt of Yang Xiaoman’s leg attack.
“Ah!”
The man let out a pained shriek somewhat like a slaughtered pig’s, startling the few people around him and Yang Xiaoman into getting away from them.
Zhao Lei scolded her while he prepared to attack Fang Ping, “Yang Xiaoman, you hit someone on our side!”
“I didn’t see him, thanks to Fang Ping, that underhanded bastard!”
“F*ck, is someone thrice-honed that strong?”
Zhao Lei did not continue scolding her. He cursed internally. This was the first time he had met a thrice-boned practitioner. He did not expect Fang Ping to be shockingly strong.
His attack power was almost on par with him. Weaker than him, almost.
He was astonishingly resilient, though!
He bore the brunt of a few kicks from him but managed to regain peak condition almost instantly. Was this something a f*cking aspiring martial artist was capable of?
Plus, as the battle progressed, everyone’s Vitality was depleted, while this guy showed no signs of a decrease of Vitality at all!
At the rear of the crowd, Fu Changding yelled in pain. He bellowed, “I took a pill! It’s worth 10 credits! If I can’t earn them back, I’m toast! Fang Ping, some help blocking here!”
“Take care of yourself!”
“Bastard! If it wasn’t for you...”
Fu Changding could not talk further. During the few moments that he spent yelling, seven or eight more martial artists had surrounded him.
They found it difficult to aid in the assault against Fang Ping, as he was simply too resilient, plus Zhao Lei and Yang Xiaoman were there, so they decided to f*ck Fu Changding over first.
These two guys had caused mass rage in the past day. Now they were on it once more. They must take their revenge this time!
On the periphery of the commotion, some aspiring martial artists yelled, “Don’t huddle close! Martial artists, split into four groups and take shifts!
“Zhao Lei, Yang Xiaoman, the two of you lead one group each and take turns attacking Fang Ping!
“Chen Yunxi, you lead a group and maneuver around Fu Changding!
“The others, form a group and while away their Vitalities!
“Twice-honed classmates, lead 10 persons each and take 5-minute shifts attacking from afar with ranged weapons. Make them bend down, even if we have to take a long time to do so!
“Zhao Lei, Fang Ping’s stance has progressed to the second level. He can expel force through his legs. Don’t attack other parts, attack his strongest parts with yours! Kick his leg bones. His thrice-honed bones are not as tough as your thoroughly honed ones!
“Martial artists, use your completely honed body parts, clash with them forcefully! Don’t waste your Vitalities!
“...”
The students accepted into MCMAU were knowledgeable and had ample experience in battle. Some of them had great analytical skills but less combat prowess.
Those people started to issue commands from the periphery.
The crowd, initially disorganized and panicky, started to enter formation.
Fang Ping discovered that Zhao Lei and others changed to kicking or punching a specific body part of his, instead of attacking blindly, as they followed the others’ commands.
A thrice-honed practitioner ain’t God. His body hurt despite the replenishing of his Vitality.
Fang Ping clashed with Zhao Lei once again. He furrowed his brow from the blow and bellowed, “Fu Changding, take care of those aspiring martial artists!”
“I... I can’t hold the fort for long...”
Fu Changding fared worse than him. He let out an anguished growl.
Chen Yunxi was almost on par with him in terms of skill. If not for her gender and inexperience in combat, she could have taken on him alone.
“Aren’t you talking about these frail girls that need pampering yesterday? Now you’re being pummelled by a girl?”
“I... You, stop talking. I’m so exhausted and hurt everywhere, I can’t speak...”
Fu Changding wanted to cry. This was not what they had agreed on yesterday!
‘I wanted one-on-one battles. Consecutive showdowns. Not a group mobbing me!
‘It was not only one or two people, too, but three hundred of them!’
Although the number of people mobbing them was about a dozen each time, affected by the limited space around them, but he would be beaten to death if this went on!
Fang Ping also knew that this could not go on. He yelled, “Get out from inside the mob! Aspiring martial artists are counted as points, too. There are lots of them. We’ll put down as many as we can!”
“Good!”
Fu Changding had wanted to do this a long time ago. He grabbed Chen Yunxi’s chest, startling her into dodging his move.
This opened a gap in the circle. Fu Changding got out of it with a high leap and squeezed into the crowd of aspiring martial artists.
“Ah!”
“He’s so shameless to have gotten out with that!”
“Don’t panic. Aspiring martial artists, take a few steps back and clear some space...”
The tactics genius continued to issue commands. As soon as he finished his sentence, it suddenly went dark above his head. Fang Ping had escaped from the mob without him noticing. Fang Ping leaped upward and aimed a kick on his face!
“Bleurgh...”
Blood spurted out from his nose with tears running down from his face. This genius who was commanding fearlessly for some time before had his face turned into a mess and could no longer speak.
The other few commanders were shocked by the display into dodging.
Some of the students from the lower three floors were spectating in the stairwell outside. Someone among them exclaimed in terror, “Run, they’re coming toward us!”
“Fang Ping, we’re just taking a look!”
“We’re innocent!”
“...”
“The Dean did not specify which floor. Anyone who’s here is credits to me! One is better than none!”
Fang Ping bellowed to stop the Dean from rescinding his promise. Putting down three of those aspiring martial artists with one kick was the ideal short-cut to earning credits!
...
The ninth floor.
The instructors were all extremely shocked.
The school allocation was a mess sometimes during the past years, but it had not been such a huge mess before!
Two students had managed to stir the entire building into a craze!
Add on the Dean’s encouragement and the promise of credits, the group of students went feral. Under normal circumstances, the feuds between martial artists did not affect aspiring martial artists.
Although Fang Ping was not a martial artist, he possessed the combat prowess of one.
Now he was bullying those more average people with the purpose of – earning credits!
An instructor could not stand it for longer. They said crossly, “Dean, the rule that counted aspiring martial artists as credits should be canceled now!”
Huang Jing eyed him and said, after a pause, “He’s an aspiring martial artist too...”
“This...”
“Fu Changding isn’t one, is he?”
“He was mobbed by martial artists and hasn’t managed to escape. He’s not important in this case.”
“...”
The group of instructors had nothing to say to that. Someone said resignedly, “It’s fine. Let it be chaotic. Might as well let these freshmen take a hit.
“All of them think that they’re geniuses just because they entered MCMAU. Now they haven’t come to terms with the fact that they’re gonna be left with a blank slate, here.
“A group of almost 70 martial artists and more than a thousand aspiring martial artists was bullied by a Rank-1 martial artist and an aspiring martial artist...
“It’s...
“It’s...”
This instructor did not know what to say. This was so embarrassing! This practically defaced MCMAU!
Chen Zhenhua from the School of Social Sciences gave a fair statement, “This guy called Fang Ping is not only thrice-honed. His Vitality is already over 200cal.
“His stance is on the second level. One whose stance is Firm can shift his center of gravity. You’ll have to know that one with a stance of this level is practically as difficult to topple as a matryoshka doll.
As for his combat technique... His leg technique is sharp. He’s well versed in expelling and accumulating force, and he’s quite good at applying the “sticky” technique to inflict the largest amount of damage with the smallest amount of force.
“This combat technique... It seems to have originated from a martial arts university!”
Everyone nodded. All of them had seen a lot and thus knew a lot. Someone piped up immediately, “It’s from a martial arts university as opposed to being taught by the military. It’s also not those decorative techniques that they teach in supplemental classes. It’s a leg technique from a martial artist university. He has grasped the fundamentals well. His teacher has probably studied the techniques intensively.”
“Could he be a descendant of a martial arts university instructor?”
Someone asked dubiously. The woman who looked up information for Fang Ping yesterday smiled and said, “This might not be the case. He’s from an average family in Sun City, Nanjiang.
“The boy said that NMAU would reward him worth ten million just to make him stay. I didn’t believe him then, but I do now.”
“An average family?” Someone else questioned. “How can it be possible? I won’t be surprised if a student has a high Vitality despite being from an average family, but his progress on combat techniques and stance training is too fast for someone who’s without guidance. Also, he’s thrice-honed – who supplied him with the necessary resources?”
Huang Jing, who had remained silent before then, said lightly, “Did you not hear him say that he knew a student from NMAU who’s charismatic and dignified? Judging from his tone, he holds him in high regard...
“Fang Ping graduated from Sun City No.1 High School, the same school from which NMAU student Wang Jinyang had graduated from.
“Rumor said that Wang Jinyang was close with Fang Ping. They had worked together in Sun City to capture and kill a Peak Rank-2 martial artist. Fang Ping had shown extreme improvement since then.
“Fang Ping regretted forsaking NMAU. Someone had offered him a ten-million-yuan reward. I ask you all, with his Vitality assessment score of 149cal, who in NMAU would do that?”
“Wang Jinyang!”
An instructor thought of him. This caused many exclamations and sighs of regret.
Not many capable people came from Nanjiang. From the past year, Wang Jinyang could be considered one of them, although he was only at Rank-3, far away from them.
Huang Jing sighed softly, “If I’m not wrong, the leg techniques Fang Ping is using are given to him by Wang Jinyang. It shows traces of Zhang Qingnan’s style.
“Although NMAU is weak in general, there are some who are of high caliber.
“Zhang Qingnan is not considered weak even among Rank-5 martial artists. He would have been able to make a name for himself even in MCMAU.
“Pity that he hasn’t come back from the Catacombs ever since he led that excursion heading there...”
Tang Feng, a Rank-6 instructor in the School of Weaponry, had come up unnoticed. He said, somewhat regretfully, “It’s a pity. I met Zhang Qingnan once. He’s strong and quite dignified at that.
“He’s got the charisma and vision. A few years later, he’ll have a shot on Rank-6.
“The old vice-chancellor of NMAU nurtures him as if he’s his successor. Pity that...”
Everyone felt some regret at that. Huang Jing coughed lightly, “We should cease to mention this. The people who get stuck in the Catacombs every year aren’t necessarily decreasing, are they?
“We’ll observe on. No matter what state Fang Ping ends up in, all freshmen in this batch will get half of their credits deducted if the thousands of them are pulverized by the two boys!”
“Dean!”
Huang Jing humphed. “A freshman mentored by a student from NMAU had screwed the whole batch of our freshmen right up. MCMAU cannot afford to lose face, as it is with me and the Vice-chancellor.
“If not for the restrictions on this, I’ll kick all of them out from the school!
“A deduction of half their credits is necessary!”
Chen Zhenhua and the others understood that it was impossible to change his decision, one that would not be objected by the Vice-chancellor if he was here as well.
After some consideration, Chen Zhenhua turned on the mic, coughed lightly, and spoke, “10 minutes left. If Fang Ping and Fu Changding don’t end up on the floor by then, everyone’s credits will be halved!”
...
On the fourth floor, everyone’s eyes glinted red.
A deduction of half of their credits!
Everyone did not know of the importance of credits the past day, but now they all knew that three credits were equivalent to a normal Vitality Pill.
Those with lower Vitalities were angered as well.
“We didn’t even do anything!”
“It’s none of our business! Why are all the students involved?”
“F*ck him up! Quick, we have little time left! We must defeat him, even if we have to drown him with one mouthful of spit each!”
“Quick, go down and get some ranged weapons so that we can hit him from afar!”
“...”
While the students went ham, Fang Ping could barely stand. He was currently surviving by escaping from his pursuers.
As his stance was on a high level, he could dodge reasonably well.
He was bruised black and blue all over after withstanding the others’ forceful hits. HIs Vitality could not decrease the pain he was feeling, of course. Fang Ping eyed the crowd of crimson-eyed students and felt worried. Would he be hit to death?
While he was worrying, Fu Changding’s yells of pain were constant. “I admit defeat! I surrender! Brothers and sisters, I surrender, can I?
“I’m not the mastermind behind everything. It’s Fang Ping!
“Don’t hit my face. I beg you all. Fang Ping, you despicable...
“Ah!
“You can’t stab there!
“Don’t kick my d*ck! Man, I’ve already admitted defeat...”
Fu Changding, after being surrounded one time after another, could barely muster up the energy to cry. He really could not take it anymore. It was futile, even after he had swallowed all three Vitality Pills!
They were not made of iron. They hurt after being hit, too. It would be bearable if they fought the others one-on-one. One-on-ten, even. Fighting one hundred people time after time was too much for them, though!
Almost immediately, Fu Changding’s voice disappeared. Fang Ping heard someone growl, “Don’t step on him! What if he’s trampled to death?”
“This guy’s busted! There’s not much time left! Quick, switch to the next one!”
“...”
Fang Ping shuddered. He scanned the room packed full of people, suddenly leaped up, latched onto the grate protecting the air vent, and screamed, “I admit defeat! Consider me felled! I admit that the MCMAU freshmen are strong!”
“In your dreams!”
Zhao Lei growled vindictively, covering his black eye.
Yang Xiaoman massaged her chest furtively and sneered, “You, come down. You’re only that high. Do you want to be our target?”
“Come... Come down, we won’t beat you to death...”
In the crowd was the plump kid massaging his head. It swelled!
‘Who did I cross?’
He was only watching from afar, but he ended up getting a fist to the head courtesy of Fang Ping. He was still dizzy and out of it even now.
“I’m not going to go down! Don’t come up! Who comes will die with me!”
“Time’s gonna be up soon. People on the fourth floor, why are you not dealing with him? Do you want your credits to be deducted?”
“I’ve already admitted defeat! Also, I remember that I’ve only defeated 50 and more aspiring martial artists and 20 martial artists. I didn’t hit that many of you. Don’t stare at me like that!”
“I am hurt too! Serious, internal wounds, at that! Go away, all of you!”
“...”
Seeing the faces of those people clamoring to tear his face apart, Fang Ping was somewhat terrified. There were so many of them! If all of them came on at once, he would surely die in their hands, would he not?
His gaze landed on Fu Changding clambering on the floor somewhere not that far away. He shuddered. How terrible!
Fu Changding’s clothes were almost all torn. His back was lined with bloody scratches, undoubtedly the handiwork of some girl.
Fang Ping held tight to the exhaust vent, determined not to descend. The others wanted to puncture him with ranged weapons, but time was indeed running out. At last, Zhao Lei asked somewhat reluctantly, “Dean, will our credits be deducted if he surrendered?”
Huang Jing went quiet for a while before saying, “No!”
“Count yourself lucky!”
Zhao Lei humphed. He then turned and ordered crossly, “Clear the place!”
He did want to keep pursuing him, but time was running out, and Fang Ping was still in tip-top condition. Although he had admitted defeat, it was clear that he could still put up a fight.
This lunatic had gorged on pills beforehand, unafraid of imploding.
If they went on mobbing him, Fang Ping would be the one who suffered most, obviously, but Fang Ping might choose to focus on a target, and the target would get hurt too.
As for the question of who the target would be among Yang Xiaoman and himself... Zhao Lei felt that he would more likely to be chosen.
He glared at Fang Ping, furious. The crowd thinned gradually. Zhao Lei did not forget to step on Fu Changding before he left. Damn it, the two bastards had made everyone else lose face!
Fang Ping shuddered. Fu Changding got it bad this time.
“Fang Ping...”
Fu Changding groaned painfully. His shoe print-adorned face turned toward Fang Ping, showing his anger and bitterness.
‘Where were the one-on-one battles we talked about?
‘It was fine that we’re mobbed, but you ended up fine while all of them vented their anger on me! Is this f*cking fair?’