Chapter 201: Grief Is For The Weak
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The instructors who went to aid Langsway have returned!”
“Instructor Liu Nanguo has been killed!”
“Instructor Chen Yuanji has been killed!”
“Everyone, hurry to the southern gate to greet our heroes!”
As Fang Ping and the rest of the class were still studying the map of the Catacombs, there was a commotion in the hall and some students ran out hurriedly.
The old professor’s face drained of color and immediately assumed an expression of great sadness. “Martial artists... sigh!”
His extended sigh was heart-wrenching.
...
One after another, Fang Ping and the rest of his classmates arrived at the southern gate 5 minutes later. Many of the university instructors and students were already standing there.
At the head of the assembly, the old vice-chancellor’s hair seemed even grayer.
“Open the gates!”
In a trice, the gates were opened, and a few large buses drove inside slowly.
Following this, within sight of the spectators, passengers from the bus began carrying down stretchers and funerary caskets.
The group of martial artists who got off the bus had gone through much hardship, and their expressions mirrored the fact. Many of them wore bandages, and it was obvious that they had been injured.
“Instructor!” Chen Yunxi suddenly cried out from the crowd in shock and dashed forward.
Fang Ping and the others had also spotted Bai Ruoxi who was getting off the bus; she was one of the martial artists who had gone to Langsway. They too ran over hurriedly, upon seeing the situation.
...
Bai Ruoxi looked her usual self, as if nothing had happened.
However, when Fang Ping was closer, he felt panic seize his heart.
The lower half of Bai Ruoxi’s left arm was completely gone! Everyone else had been too far away to get a good look.
When she saw everyone rushing towards her, Bai Ruoxi shook her head slightly and motioned for them not to come any closer.
Chen Yunxi’s face was tearful, and even Fang Ping and the rest felt sick at heart. No one knew what to say.
...
In front.
The old vice-chancellor, a Grandmaster-ranked powerhouse, came forward with trembling steps. His eyes brimmed with tears as he said softly, “It’s good that you’ve returned.”
“Vice-chancellor!”
Among the martial artists who got off the bus was an old man with a heavily scarred face, who said, “Our mission has been successfully carried out.
“The great army in Langsway’s Catacombs has been driven back!
“6 MCMAU instructors were killed in battle; none from our side gave way!
“We were able to kill 3 Rank-6 powerhouses, 11 Rank-5s, and 27 Rank-4s. We have brought honor to Sino Nation and also to MCMAU!”
“6 people...”
The vice-chancellor paid no attention to the number of enemy casualties. His eyes were red as he mumbled, “This year, 11 instructors have died and 7 students have also sacrificed their lives. They were all so young. Still so young...”
He then murmured in a soft voice, “Salute these heroes!”
One after the other, the senior students lowered their heads and bowed deeply from the waist, their expressions full of grief.
This was the first time Fang Ping and the other freshman year students had experienced such a thing. Still in a daze and not knowing what to do, they followed suit and bowed.
“We will give our dead a lavish funeral. MCMAU will support the families of these brave warriors., and their names will be added to the Martyr’s Shrine. One day, when we finally subdue the Catacombs , we will have our revenge!”
When the old vice-chancellor had finished speaking, he levitated all of a sudden, and vanished before everyone’s eyes.
Fang Ping and the others were still dazed even after the vice-chancellor’s departure. Huang Jing, who had only just hurried to the scene, immediately left in search of him.
Beside them, the old professor sighed softly and muttered, “The vice-chancellor’s old wounds have not yet healed. Our MCMAU instructors and students have sacrificed themselves in battle. The vice-chancellor will definitely exact an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. A debt of blood must be paid for in blood!
“Today, there will certainly be a battle between Grandmasters down in the Catacombs.
“We can only hope...”
Even though the old vice-chancellor was already a Peak Rank-8, he had fought in too many battles and his entire body bore the scars. Right now, he might have already headed for the Catacombs.
If this continued, everyone feared his injuries would only get worse.
Fang Ping and the rest had no idea what to say. As they looked at the silent instructors in front of them, and at the unfamiliar blood-covered instructors lying one by one on stretchers, they all felt trapped and oppresed.
“Is this the Catacombs then?”
“Is this how martial artists will end their days?”
When everyone else was still in a state of bewilderment and grief, the remaining instructors lifted the stretchers and headed for the cemetery deep in the southern area. All the MCMAU instructors who had sacrificed their lives would have chosen to buried there.
This spot was very near to the MCMAU Catacombs. Even in death, these brave warriors hoped that they would be able to stand guard on this pure and pristine soil.
Bai Ruoxi did not follow the other instructors. She came towards the assembly and looked at Chen Yunxi, asking in her usual gentle manner, “Why are you crying? I’m fine.”
“Instructor...”
This was a different matter altogether. Unlike th other instructors that they were unfamiliar with, Bai Ruoxi was an instructor whom everyone knew. She was also Chen Yunxi’s instructor.
Now, part of her arm had been snapped off...
Chen Yunxi’s face was full of tears, and everybody else was equally upset.
At this point, Lu Fengrou, whom no one had seen earlier, suddenly appeared and made her way over to them.
After a glance at Chen Yunxi, Lu Fengrou burst out angrily, “Shut up! She’s not dead yet, why are you snivelling? Bai Ruoxi came back alive. There’s nothing to cry about!”
Her outburst gave Chen Yunxi a fright.
Lu Fengrou snorted before turning her gaze to Fang Ping and the others, saying flatly, “Life and death is just that simple. There’s no need to be overly sorrowful.
“If I’m waiting to die in the Catacombs someday, I don’t need these useless tears!
“If you have the capability, subdue the Catacombs and avenge our deaths.
“If you don’t have the capability, then treat it as dying of old age and sickness. All your tears and hatred are futile.
“At least this is what I, Lu Fengrou, think. If I die in battle, don’t enact me such useless scenes. Of course, I think I can live long enough to witness the destruction of the Catacombs!”
Lu Fengrou’s expression betrayed no great concern. She then turned her attention to Bai Ruoxi and asked, “What are the arrangements for your students?”
Bai Ruoxi said softly, “Sister Rou, I’ll leave Yunxi in your hands.”
Lu Fengrou frowned and replied coldly, “I won’t accept such a student. I don’t like how she cries!”
“Sister Rou...”
“Instructor!”
Chen Yunxi looked stunned. Was Bai Ruoxi entrusting her to Lu Fengrou?
Lu Fengrou glanced at Chen Yunxi and said abruptly, “Your instructor is critically injured. Her internal organs are seriously damaged. She won’t make a full recovery for two to three years; walking alone makes her gasp for air.
“If you have the ability, kill a few Rank-6 Catacombs martial artists to avenge her. Can your childish crying drown the Catacombs martial artists to death?
“Tang Feng gave you the chance to work on logistics, why aren’t you willing to do it?
“Don’t tell me that you’ll just stand there and weep once you’ve gone into the Catacombs and other people die?”
Lu Fengrou gave a soft snort and continued, “Die if you must, but don’t be a burden to others. The rest of you better remember this as well. If she can’t catch up after entering the Catacombs, leave her behind. Don’t die because of her!
“There’s a Grandmaster in the Chen family. Let her grandfather protect her. MCMAU will not run to the defense of students like this!”
Chen Yunxi lowered her head, not knowing what to do.
Bai Ruoxi said softly and rather helplessly, “Sister Rou, she has not experienced these things. Not to mention...”
Lu Fengrou did not reply. Reverting to the original topic she commented, “She can learn under me. However, once she’s my student I’m not going to secretly protect her like you’ve been doing. If she dies, then that’s it!”
At these words Chen Yunxi jerked her head up.
Bai Ruoxi furrowed her brows. Lu Fengrou said flatly to Chen Yunxi, “What are you staring at? You’ll only be doing a few Rank-2 to 3 missions. If you really die, it just means that your abilities are very poor.
“Dying in the outside world is better than dying in the Catacombs.
“I’m not as free as your instructor seems to be, even following along the way for fear of someone dying. How pathetic!
“Next time, don’t do missions if you are afraid of dying; if not ask your family to follow along. MCMAU instructors need to cultivate as well as carry out missions. If it is not for that one month delay, your instructor might very well have achieved Rank-6, and not been injured so severely this time...”
“Sister Rou!” Bai Ruoxi cried out softly once more. Lu Fengrou, on the other hand, said indifferently, “Let them come to terms with reality. You can protect them now, but can you protect them forever?
“You can barely protect yourself now, what more other people!
“The best form of self-reliance is to be strong in your own abilities!
“From what I can see, you’re just an inconvenience...”
Lu Fengrou did not linger after these words, but turned and left.
After she had left, Chen Yunxi’s face was pale as she faltered, “Instructor...I’ve caused you so much trouble...”
Bai Ruoxi could not help but smile faintly. “Instructor Lu is just saying that on purpose. She hopes that all of you can toughen up a little and strive for progress.
“However, I am really injured this time, and I don’t want to cause any delays for you.
“There are instructors who will take in the rest of my students. You are very talented, that’s why I choose to place you under Instructor Lu’s care.
“Follow Instructor Lu and cultivate properly. Don’t think so much.”
At this point Fang Ping could not help asking, “Instructor Bai, have you been protecting us all this time?”
Bai Ruoxi replied gently, “Don’t think so much, this is actually an arrangement made by the university. Someone is always assigned to protect new students when they are out on missions.
“Of course, you are not new students any longer now so this will not happen anymore in future. You must all be more careful.”
Fang Ping and his friends were the elites among the freshman—the very essence of their year.
How could there be no one to look out for them when they were on missions?
In March, Bai Ruoxi had been following them from the moment they stepped off campus. She would not have been the one to appear in NMAU otherwise.
Chen Yunxi paid no attention to this. She asked softly, “Instructor, are you injured very badly? I can ask my grandfather to come...”
Bai Ruoxi shook her head lightly, “It’s not that serious. There’s no need to trouble Grandmaster Chen. I’ll be up and running in no time.”
“Yunxi, you need to be more resilient. Regardless of whether it is Instructor Tang or Instructor Lu, they all hope that students like you can become better, stronger and stay safer.”
“None of the instructors wish to see tragedy befalling their own students. It’s just...”
Bai Ruoxi sighed. It was just that different instructors had different approaches to teaching.
Perhaps not today, but sooner or later, the students would finally understand.
“Go continue with your lessons. I am going to the cemetery for a while.”
Bai Ruoxi said nothing more, but started walking towards the interior of the southern area. Her steps seemed heavy.
...
Class did not continue that night.
Most of the instructors went to the cemetery. Fang Ping and the rest did not go in, but waited on outside the periphery. Everyone remained silent, each with heir own thoughts.
“The Catacombs,” Fang Ping said aloud softly. Fu Changding said suddenly, “They all need to die!”
None of them had any classmates or friends who died in the Catacombs today. Soon though, they would encounter that scenario for themselves; perhaps they themselves might be the ones to die even.
In recent years, far too many people had died, so many in fact that many instructors had become desensitized. They were used to it by now. What remained in their hearts was the desire for revenge and determination to become stronger.
In the darkness of the night, the sound of soft weeping drifted out from the depths of the cemetery.
The instructors were not the ones crying, but the students of the deceased instructors. In days gone by, countless students had vented their frustrations about their instructors, complaining that they were mean, or that they did not practice what they preached.
However, only did many of these students realize that their instructors were possessed of iron will and determination!
...
That night, Fang Ping and his friends found it hard to go to sleep.
The next day, everything proceeded as usual when they attended the special training class. It was as if nothing had changed. The instructors who had been killed in battle seemed to have been forgotten.
After the class, Tang Feng made a sudden appearance.
He swept the class with a gaze and announced flatly, “The vice-chancellor is back. I don’t know what he could possibly be thinking, but he says he will give everyone another chance to make a decision.
“Today, you can choose to withdraw from the special training classes!
“Everyone has seen what happened yesterday. Rank-4 to 5 martial artists can die just easily after entering the Catacombs.
“Right now it is definitely very dangerous for all of you to go into the Catacombs.
“Make your own decision. Withdraw now and you won’t have to enter the Catacombs in June. When you have achieved Rank-3 in future, you can decide whether or not you want to take the risk of going in.
“When you have entered middle-rank, you will only need to complete mandatory missions annually. You can what you need to do, like casual martial artists, and set aside ten to fifteen days each year to enter the Catacombs.
Everyone fell silent.
Tang Feng saw their reactions and continued, “There is no shame in withdrawing. It’s not safe for Rank-2 martial artists to go into the Catacombs anyway. Even if the university has arranged for instructors to protect you, sometimes even the instructors cannot protect themselves; it will be hard for you to escape.
“Before this, the university was rather radical. Then again, Rank-2 martial artists really are very weak.
“I’ll give you five minutes. Those who want to withdraw may leave now. The university will not deduct anyone’s benefits for this, this I guarantee.
“We only hope that those who withdraw will not turn tail in the face of battle as a result of what has happened today, once you have grown stronger.
“Someday, perhaps all of you will be able to play a more important role.”
There was a slight commotion among the students.
After three minutes, someone stood up suddenly. Yu Xianghua burst out angrily, “How dare you leave!”
The student who stood up looked very ashamed and helpless as he faltered, “My...my...my father died early. My mother is alone...”
“You!”
Yu Xianghua raged. However, Tang Feng waved his hand and said, “It’s alright. You may go. Remember this though, before an official announcement is made about the Catacombs, you are not allowed to disclose information to anyone!”
“Definitely!”
The martial artist who stood up lowered his head and left in a hurry, afraid to look at anyone.
“Anybody else?”
Everyone fell silent once again. After a while, another two people stood up and left.
Very soon, five minutes were up.
Tang Feng smiled and said, “Less than I expected. A bunch of young cubs who are not afraid to die! I thought that at least half would be gone.”
As he was saying, he darted a look at Fang Ping and said, “Fang Ping, you haven’t run—you’ve certainly exceeded my expectations.”
Fang Ping was speechless for a moment. With a face as black as thunder he retorted, “You mentioned that the Rank-2s could leave, but you didn’t mention the Rank-3s!”
“Hahaha...” Tang Feng suddenly burst out laughing. Following this, he intoned in a deep voice, “I will give you a chance then. Rank-3s may leave as well!”
Fang Ping replied lazily, “I’m not a fool. If I leave, others will take advantage of the class credits, right?
“It’s only the Catacombs, not an immortal that neither be killed nor crushed. A few of our MCMAU instructors have already sacrificed themselves but killed many of our enemies in the process.
“Rather than living in fear every day, why not go down and do something epic like destroying their old lair? Only then will we be able to earn lots of money...”
Tang Feng sneered, “Very well, I have faith in you. Remember what you said today. I’ll be waiting!
“If you remain in class, then don’t say that anyone forced you to do anything. If danger threatens in the Catacombs and the instructor leading the group forbids you to run, if anyone does run away and I find out, I’ll kill them myself.
“You, brat, are on my list.”
Fang Ping rolled his eyes. When had Tang Feng ever seen him run away? The man was just picking at things to find fault.
Tang Feng paid no further attention to Fang Ping, looked at the rest and said, “This applies to all of you as well!
“Other than that, the university has decided to advance part of the necessary resources. Anyone who achieves Rank-3 and needs pills can head over to the logistics department to make an application...”
Fang Ping’s eyes lit up at once. He responded almost immediately, “Instructor, can I apply? I think I’m about to achieve Upper-stage Rank-3 soon. As an Upper-stage Rank-3, my abilities will increase substantially so I can protect my classmates!
“I’m sure you know that I can achieve breakthroughs very quickly. An Upper-stage Rank-3 has completely different abilities from the ones I have right now...”
Tang Feng frowned at him. Who was the brat trying to fool!
He’d only achieved Rank-3 for a few days.
At Rank-3, even a prodigy like Xie Lei had taken half a year to achieve Upper-stage Rank-3. NMAU’s Wang Jinyang had taken about three months to do it.
It had only been half a month since Fang Ping’s breakthrough!
When he saw that Tang Feng was not convinced, Fang Ping protested, “It’s the truth, instructor. If I am still not an Upper-stage Rank-3 before I enter the Catacombs, I will pay back double what the university has lent to me in resources!
“Other than that, I hope the university will allow me to claim the subsequent daily credit rewards in advance.
“I have not yet redeemed the earlier credits either. Let’s count the class as 2 months long; advancing me 600 credits should be just fine.
“If the university can loan me another 1000 credits...”
Everyone in the class was flabbergasted!
1600 credits was an exorbitant amount!
Even if that were exchanged for cash, it would be 48 million. Fang Ping was far too rapacious for his own good.
Fang Ping thought for a while before saying suddenly, “We can forget about the loan. How about if the university invests in me instead?”
Everyone gaped once again. Tang Feng was also stunned.
A loan was not entirely out of the question.
However, Fang Ping was now asking the university to invest in him—an entirely different matter altogether.
Truth to tell, the idea of investment had only just occurred to Fang Ping. Borrowing money did not count toward one’s wealth. He had tried doing that once. Borrowing credits and borrowing money amounted to the same thing.
However, investment was a different story.
Of course, Fang Ping felt that he might have been a bit excessive in his requests. When he saw the murderous expression on Big Lion’s face, he knew that his chances were slim.
Sure enough, Tang Feng snorted coldly and said, “You can go and talk to the vice-chancellor yourself!”
Fang Ping was embarrassed. He was not allowed entry to the Grandmasters’ houses. Why else would he be telling Tang Feng these things?
Tang Feng paid no further attention to Fang Ping and started talking to other people.
Fang Ping, on the other hand, was still thinking. Borrowing money was impossible and his chances of getting an investment were slim. Getting 600 credits in advance for himself, though, was worth a try.
He had done it once before in his previous special training class by using his position as class monitor to claim the benefits in advance, and the university had not turned down his request