Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After he came out from the southern area, Fang Ping was finally aware of the reason it was considered the essence of the university.
If the southern area was destroyed, there would be no topography maps of the Catacombs, no place to forge weapons, no room to store resources...
MCMAU would be no different from any other normal martial arts university; it would just have more grounds and fewer people.
...
“The Catacombs...”
During this period, this name had been constantly ringing in Fang Ping’s ears.
Everything was because of the Catacombs!
The establishment of these martial arts schools in MCMAU was because of the Catacombs.
The establishment of combat teams in various places was because of the Catacombs.
Privileges given to martial artists were also because of the Catacombs...
It could be said that a significant series of changes had begun from this. Without the Catacombs, whether or not martial arts as an occupation would still exist was entirely open to question.
...
Fang Ping did not go back to the southern area again after his return.
He did not have credits anyway, so it was useless to go there.
As the days passed, Fang Ping’s Wealth also decreased. He could only try to seek happiness amidst his suffering for consolation. At least his bone-honing speed was really fast now.
Other than cultivation, Fang Ping was also earnestly studying other courses during this time.
Courses like survival, for example, and how to distinguish directions in the wilderness were courses he felt were really necessary for his own benefit.
At the end of February, Fang Ping’s Wealth ran out for the first time.
When he saw that his Wealth dropped below millions, Fang Ping began to panic.
Wealth: 850000
Vitality: 450cal (499cal)
Mentality: 400Hz (429Hz)
Bones honed: 120 bones (90%), 86 bones (30%)
There were 28 days in February.
Fang Ping had returned to the university on the 4th and had honed 70 bones at the time.
Right now, he had honed 120 bones!
Within 25 days Fang Ping had honed 50 bones, with an average of two bones per day.
His Wealth, however, had fallen from 26 million to 850 thousand.
He had consumed 25 Body-honing pills and had only 3 left at the moment.
At present, he had 850 thousand Wealth. 3 Body-honing Pills with 6 bones left to Peak Rank-, and he had not yet cultivated combat techniques...
For now, Fang Ping did not dare use the system to hone his bones anymore.
This bit of Wealth could get him through honing a maximum of 2 bones. Was there a difference between 120 bones and 122 bones?
“I must earn some money now. I need to save this bit of Wealth to survive an emergency!”
He needed 1000 Wealth to replenish 1cal Vitality. Using his saber would cost him hundreds of cal. That would be 100 thousand Wealth!
850 thousand was just enough for Fang Ping to use his saber a few times.
He had sold all his Vitality Pills. Right now, he only had one Rank-2 Vitality Pill left.
It could be said that Fang Ping had never been this poor since he first enrolled in MCMAU.
With no better options, he could only turn to completing missions once again, as his company still had not earned any profit.
...
Training room.
Zhao Lei was slightly impatient. “Where is Fang Ping? He asked us to come here but there’s no sign of him, not even his shadow. He thinks he’s so great!”
Fu Changding pointed out lazily, “You could choose not to come, but Fang Ping already mentioned that those who are absent will be beaten up.
“If you meet him in actual combat class and he continues to beat you up, do you really dare to not show your face?”
“Fu Changding!”
Zhao Lei saw red. His expression was black with fury as he snarled, “Do you think you can tangle with me just because you have caught up with my bone-honing speed?”
“Hah, do you think I’m scared of you?” Fu Changding looked like he was itching for a fight. In the past month, he had progressed rather quickly too.
Right now, he had honed 75 bones.
On the other hand, Zhao Lei was at more or less the same level and might have been honing 76 bones. However, he might not have completed the process yet.
Yang Xiaoman saw both men eyeing each other narrowly as if they were cross-eyed, and snapped impatiently, “Keep quiet. What do you think Fang Ping is trying to do, asking the Rank-2 martial artists like us to come here?”
At this point, there were only a handful of Rank-2 martial artists amongst the MCMAU new students.
These five—Zhao Lei, Fu Changding, Yang Xiaoman, Chen Yunxi, and Tang Songting—had one by one all achieved Rank-2.
Right now, some of Zhao Xuemei’s injuries had only just completely healed, so she was one step behind. Because of that, she still had not achieved Rank-2.
Fang Ping did not call on Zhao Xuemei this time and had only gathered these Rank-2 martial artists together.
As they were talking, Fang Ping marched towards them.
Like a person who had just lost a big gamble, Fang Ping asked the moment he stepped through the door, “Right now, does anyone have any credits left?”
“Not me.”
“Me neither.”
“I have about 200 credits left...”
Fang Ping stared at Chen Yunxi after she finished speaking, paused, then said, “Yunxi, let’s date each other!”
Chen Yunxi’s face immediately flushed red!
How could Fang Ping say such a thing!
“I’m willing to go live with your family and have them sponsor me about a billion or even 800 million. How about that? Please consider it...”
“Fang Ping!” Chen Yunxi stamped her foot in anger. Yang Xiaoman curled her lips and asked in disdain, “Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Why would I be embarrassed?” Fang Ping flung back in a rage, “I am so poor right now, I don’t have even a single coin with me!
“As for my pills, I only have a Rank-2 Vitality Pill left.
“I have absolutely nothing else!
“I need to start earning some credits or else I won’t even be able to keep up with my regular cultivation.
“The reason why I gathered all of you here today is to try and earn some credits. Those who are willing can stay, those who are not, I won’t force you.”
Everyone exchanged glances. Fu Changding was the first one to respond, “Fine by me. I’ve actually been wanting to complete missions, but it’s too much of a hassle to do it alone.
“If we have more people, we could do something big.”
“Fine with me as well,” Zhao Lei replied straight away. He continued lightly, “After one and a half months without combat, I would like to see which level you’re currently at, Fang Ping.”
“I agree.”
“No comments.”
“...”
In the end, only Chen Yunxi did not say anything.
Fang Ping stared at her and asked, “Yunxi, what about you?”
“I... Aren’t you guys afraid that I will drag everyone down?”
Fang Ping objected, “You serve as a reserve. If we get into big trouble, you, as our friend, are in charge of sponsoring some Vitality Pills...”
Chen Yunxi’s expression turned black as thunder. Was this her role then?
Yang Xiaoman did not sound happy about it either. “Fang Ping, can you stop being so realistic?”
“I am serious. If we earn something, we’ll give her a share. If we don’t, then there’s nothing more to be said.
“Also, I want to clarify something. I’m inviting all of you to come along, but not for you to split our earnings equally with me.
“I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided I should get 30 percent at least!”
There were 6 people in the group, and Fang Ping wanted to take 30 percent all for himself. This made the rest of them frown all of a sudden.
Zhao Lei asked unwillingly, “For what reason?”
“For what reason?”
Fang Ping’s Vitality suddenly surged through his whole body from head to toe. Above his head, the air stirred and began vibrating!
“For the reason that I am about to achieve Peak Rank-2! For the reason that my Vitality has reached the limit of 500cal!
“I’ve invited all of you to complete missions together starting at Peak Rank-2. I’m prepared to take on some Rank-3 missions later!
“Can any of you defend against a Rank-3 martial artist?
“That’s why all of you are here as reserves. I am the main player; it’s only fair that I get slightly more. After all, I will spend the most, with the highest risk of getting hurt!”
“Peak Rank-2...”
Everybody’s expression changed!
Zhao Lei said in disbelief, “You... you are about to achieve Peak Rank-2!”
This was way too fast, even faster than the time Fang Ping was cultivating in Rank-1.
It had been only one and a half months since he had achieved Rank-2.
This fellow must be insane!
Fang Ping snorted and said, “Nonsense. I have exhausted all of my resources from start to finish. Even I would wonder if I did not achieve Peak Rank-2.
“I still need a little more. What do you think? I want 30 percent. Any opinions on this?”
Everyone exchanged glances and agreed with Fang Ping’s proposed division of wealth.
“One other thing. I would like to take on a mission from the Military Department this time. A big one. A crackdown on a branch of an evil sect!”
Everybody’s expression changed again. Yang Xiaoman frowned and asked, “Is this appropriate? It seems too risky. Sometimes the information on evil sect branches can be sketchy...”
Fang Ping responded, “A branch like this usually has resources, money, and pills!
“Moreover, there are plenty of martial artists in the sect, we can make a clean sweep of them!
“This is one of the biggest rewards we can get!
“If we look for typical casual martial artists, we can only depend on the rewards we get from completing the missions. It’s such a small amount of money.
“There’s so many of us, we need to eliminate a few powerful strongholds to earn the most profitable rewards.
“Once we suppress a division led by a Rank-3 martial artist, our earnings will be at least 10 million.
“If you add in the rewards given afterward, it won’t be difficult to earn at least twenty to thirty million just by suppressing a stronghold.
“How many Rank-2 martial artists would you have to kill, if killing one earns you only three to five million?
“How many martial artists are there for you to kill?
“When the crisis with the Catacombs happened, it would have been enough that these evil sectarian martial artists did nothing to prevent the Catacombs invading, but no—they even caused division in our ranks. They are the ones who deserve to die the most. They don’t deserve our sympathy even in death.
“If the Catacombs really did invade, however, who’s to say that criminal martial artists won’t help to defend against such an attack?
“That’s why I’ve made this evil sect the main target for our mission. Their deaths will not be regretted.
“The reason why I invited all of you is also because of numbers. Together we are many. On my own, I can’t fight so many enemies. Besides, things can easily go wrong if I’m alone.
“What do you think? Everyone, please tell me what you think...”
Everyone remained silent. Fu Changding considered for a while before saying, “If we want to do it, we can. However, with the number of people that we have, is it...”
“It’s enough. I have invited a few aspiring martial artists from the club as well.”
Fang Ping grinned and said, “Aspiring martial artists are cheap. They can drive, book a restaurant, book a hotel, look for people, deal with the aftermath... These are the things we will give them to take care of.
“Our mission can be summarized in two words—kill people!
“When we have completed our mission, we’ll give the aspiring martial artists a reward. About thirty to fifty thousand is enough to make them insanely happy.
“At the same time, we can show other people in the club that this club means business. It can also bring benefits to everyone...”
Zhao Lei and Chen Yunxi did not utter a word when Fang Ping mentioned the club.
Tang Songting, on the other hand, asked, “Fang Ping, is the Ping Yuan Club still recruiting?”
“Are you interested in joining?”
“It seems interesting. If you are recruiting, I will join in the fun...”
“We are not recruiting anymore at the moment. Right now, you’re only thinking of joining in the fun. I will recruit you one day when you think it’s worth joining.”
Fang Ping quickly turned Tang Songting down. He then changed the topic and said, “Other than that, we can also accept other missions. Recently, a few local combat teams are recruiting trial opponents.
“We can form our own combat team to challenge others. Fight a match and tens of millions will be in our account. Easy peasy.
“Whatever it is, if we do not earn enough this time, we will not return!
“If not, where will I get the resources to challenge the president of the Martial Arts Society at the end of the semester?.”
Fang Ping was in a hurry to earn money, and so were the others. Although Chen Yunxi did not lack for money, she did not turn the proposal down.
“Alright, this is the plan so far. Go back and pack your things tonight, everyone.
“We will leave tomorrow. I’ve located a good mission—clearing out a small branch of an evil sect in Donglin Province. They are all Rank-1 and 2 martial artists plus a few ordinary people.
“We can earn at least 50 credits or more by the end of this mission.
“It’s not too difficult. Moreover, things are rather chaotic in Donglin right now. Recently, there have been frequent traces of evil sect members. This may have something to do with the stirrings at the Catacomb entrance in Donglin.
“We will earn big bucks in Donglin...then head over to Nanjiang!”
At the mention of Nanjiang, Fang Ping took a deep breath.
Previously, there had hardly been a single mission in Nanjiang. The evil sect was not active there.
Even if they were, the locals could have easily eliminated them.
Right now, missions in Nansan Province were starting to increase in the missions system.
This reminded Fang Ping of the words of Sun City’s Commander, Bai Jinshan—the next Catacomb entrance might appear in Nansan Province.
Fang Ping was currently very curious as to what these evil sect members were trying to do.
If these people were active in that area, were they trying to become part of a guiding party? 1
Otherwise, there was no reason for these sect members to be so active there. Bai Ruoxi had mentioned however that creatures from the Catacombs could not communicate with humans, had he not?
Where did these people get the idea to become a guiding party?
On the other hand, did they have another purpose for doing so?
Fang Ping found it difficult to make judgments at the moment. He wanted to return to Nanjiang to take a look and do everything within his ability to eliminate some of the evil sect members. By doing so, he hoped that Nanjiang might be less affected
No one had any issues with Fang Ping’s arrangements.
Fu Changding chuckled, “I really want to go to Nanjiang and take a look.
“Oh yes, Fang Ping, there seems to be no news regarding Nanjiang’s Wang Jinyang recently. What is he doing?”
“Wang Jinyang...” Zhao Lei’s eyes were cold as he vowed, “One day, I would also like to go to Nanjiang Martial Arts University and block the main gate!”
When Wang Jinyang initially blocked MCMAU’s main gate, the MCMAU students regarded this as a humiliation.
If there was a chance, Zhao Lei and the rest would not hesitate to let Nanjiang Martial Arts University have a taste of their own medicine.
However, Wang Jinyang was a Rank-4 martial artist. It would be meaningless for them to block the gate if they had not achieved Rank-4.
If Wang Jinyang did not take action, would it mean anything even if the MCMAU students could defeat the whole of Nanjiang Martial Arts University and become invincible?
Fang Ping gave Zhao Lei a sidelong glance but was too lazy to respond. He answered carelessly, “He must be cultivating. He went to the Catacombs with Qin Fengqing the last time. It seems like they’ve gotten a lot of benefits.
“I haven’t even seen Qin Fengqing recently. He’s probably honing his torso.
“Don’t bother about them. As long as we’re not Rank-3, talking about all this is useless.
“However, Nanjiang Martial Arts University...we can go there if we have the chance.”
Wu Zhihao and the rest were there. If they were passing through, there was no reason why they should not stop by to take a look.
After making the necessary arrangements, Fang Ping did not linger but headed for the Educator Dormitory Area to inform Lu Fengrou.
Coincidentally, Zhao Xuemei was there too.
When she heard that they were heading out, she immediately looked frustrated.
Lu Fengrou had no objections to Fang Ping’s plan. She thought for a while and even suggested, “When you are in Nanjiang, you can visit the governor of Nanjiang.
“Old Zhang has a good grasp of the region. You may be able to gain some valuable information if you visit.
“Nansan Province has been somewhat chaotic recently. Old Zhang should at least show some appreciation because MCMAU students are willing to accept missions in Nanjiang.
“Even though Nanjiang Martial Arts University has plenty of students... haha, not many of them can fight.
“It is not easy for Nanjiang Martial Arts University to even establish a combat-effective Rank-2 team. So feel free to make yourselves known when you are there, but do it appropriately and don’t worry too much about it.”
“Benefits...”
Fang Ping could only remember this point. He nodded after hearing what Lu Fengrou had said.
Zhao Xuemei started to speak but held her tongue. Lu Fengrou interrupted straight away, “Xuemei, your mission at the moment is to breakthrough to Rank-2. You still have credits, so it’s pointless for you to go with them.
“The purpose of completing missions is not for the mission itself, but the advancement of oneself.
“They have exhausted their resources and achieved Rank-2. Why do you want to go?
“To watch the fun?
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to fight if you achieve Rank-2 earlier? In the next few months, Rank-2 martial artists may even be called to complete missions in the Catacombs.
“During that time, there will be so many missions you’ll work yourself to death trying to complete all of them.
“Before you enter the Catacombs, become stronger whenever you have the chance to do so.”
Fang Ping’s expression changed slightly. His premonition had turned out to be right!
The Catacomb situation had started turning grim. Even Rank-2 martial artists were required to fight now.
“I hope things don’t get worse so soon. Also, I’ll need to expand my company when I return from the missions, as quickly as possible.
“I need to look for some spendthrifts to finance it and make sure my Wealth continues increasing.”
Once he had made up his mind, Fang Ping left the villa quickly without wasting any more time.
Once he had left, Lu Fengrou commented casually, “He is almost at Peak Rank-2 now. This brat cultivates at an extremely shocking speed. If you don’t want to fall behind, then you should breakthrough to Rank-2 as soon as you can. Next time when you’re in a duel, try to pace yourself. We’re sending you to fight, not sending you to your death.
“If you are critically injured and it delays your cultivation, that is a suicide mission.”
Zhao Xuemei’s face betrayed a welter of mixed emotions. Was Fang Ping about to achieve Peak Rank-2?
When she saw Zhao Xuemei’s expression, Lu Fengrou shrugged her shoulders and left her standing there while she turned to enter the villa.
Ladies really saw things in too simple a light.
Fang Ping was only a bit stronger and already, Zhao Xuemei’s heart was stirred.
There were many more powerhouses.
Moreover, Fang Ping was only focused on getting stronger, rather than on other things. Lu Fengrou hoped that Zhao Xuemei would realize this soon.