Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Rank-9 martial artist...”
After he left the logistics department, Fang Ping was sighing non-stop.
With his superior intellect, he came to a realization very quickly. The errand of sending the letter was surely harder than it looked!
Despite his doubts, he had no choice but to carry out the mission.
After claiming the 1000 credits, Fang Ping did not dare to give up on the mission lest Lu Fengrous show him how red flowers could be.
The mission involving the Rank-9 Sky Gate City’s city lord was still reasonable. After all, Lu Fengrou did say that he could wait until his abilities were stronger.
Anyhow, sending letters should not be a difficult task.
...
After the class at night, Fang Ping caught hold of Fu Changding and grinned widely. “Come to the southern area with me.”
“Why are we going to the southern area?”
“To send a letter.”
“This late at night?”
“I can’t contact someone who is in the Catacombs. This is an urgent letter. It’s either tonight or tomorrow. Are you coming?”
“Sure. You can give me tips on how you cultivate while we’re at it.”
Fu Changding agreed easily. Beside them, Zhao Lei was listening in and seemed eager to go, but was too embarrassed to ask.
Fang Ping caught on quickly and beamed. “Zhao Lei, want to go together?”
Zhao Lei was about to reject but could not bring himself to do so. He suspected that Fang Ping did not rely solely on raw talent to cultivate up until Rank-3 in such a short time. Fang Ping surely had his own knack for cultivating.
Accepting criticism from others was always a good way to improve yourself. It was probably a good idea for him to learn what he could.
...
On the way.
Fu Changding asked, “When I hone my bones recently, I realized that my progress has slowed down. Fang Ping, when you cultivate, have you ever felt like you’re stuck in a severe bottleneck?”
“Yes, many times.”
“What did you do to solve it?”
Fang Ping grinned. “They are actually very simple things. Even the instructors know it. However, they will usually not tell us.”
“Why?” Zhao Lei looked on questioningly. The instructors had no reason to hide anything. Even his father could not tell him.
“How should I put it...The instructors hope that we can progress step-by-step. Furthermore, it also has something to do with the price-performance ratio.”
Fang Ping explained while smiling, “Actually, the reason why I progressed so quickly when I was cultivating at Rank-2 has something to do with my rapid body-honing progress.
“Body-honing?”
“Yes!”
Fang Ping nodded and continued, “The honing of bones in the human body is called bone-honing. However, during the process, we are also constantly nourishing our physical body and meridians. I’m sure everyone knows this.”
The two of them nodded.
Fang Ping went on, “However, these things consume Vitality too. They take time and delay the bone-honing speed.
“Actually, we can separate the bone-honing process by dividing them.
“Hone the body first, followed by the bones!
“No, or should I say that they should be carried out simultaneously. While you hone your bones with Vitality, hone the body with pills. By doing so, your speed can increase... of course, there’s a limit too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Spending a great deal of money!” Fang Ping grinned and said, “Spending lots and lots of money. Melt the Body-honing Pills and take a bath daily. I guarantee that your speed will definitely be slightly faster.”
Fu Changding and Zhao Lei fell silent at the same time.
What a joke!
With the Vitality Pills and Bone-honing Pills they needed right now, they were already struggling to make ends meet. Now they were told to hone their bodies separately. How much money would they need for that!
Fang Ping continued unperturbed, “I have enquired a little bit from Instructor Li. Other than this, there’s another method: enter the Vitality Pool!
“Even though the Vitality Pool is widely known to be more effective for martial artists in the three middle ranks, in reality, martial artists in the three lower ranks can use it all the same. Only it comes with a lower price-performance ratio.
“Cultivating in the Vitality Pool is more effective than the Energy Room.
“Recovery and replenishing happen rapidly. Vitality is almost always flowing. If you are willing, you can add a Body-honing Pill into the Vitality Pool, consume a Bone-honing Pill, and cultivate for an hour. You can last a day more than usual!”
Both of them were once again speechless!
The expenditure for using the Vitality Pool was even larger than the Energy Room. 30 credits an hour!
Adding on another Bone-honing Pill. A Rank-2 one would need 30 credits.
What about Body-honing Pills?
Also 30 credits!
Each cultivation would cost 90 credits. They would not need to consume any more Vitality Pills.
If they continued cultivating like that, they had hopes of achieving Peak Rank-2 in a month.
What would it cost?
2700 credits!
81 million RMB!
All for the sake of progressing from Middle-stage Rank-2 to Peak Rank-2 quickly. In order to save two to three months’ time, they would need to spend at least an extra 50 million!
Was it worth it?
The instructors did not recommend this method. Some of their parents did not recommend it as well. Even when Lu Fengrou recommended it to Zhao Xuemei, it did not sound as extravagant as how Fang Ping had described it. The main point was that Zhao Xuemei was not twice-honed, hence her cultivation speed was even slower.
Fu Changding calculated for a bit and mumbled, “The cost is just too high. Is this how you did it?”
“More or less.” Fang Ping laughed. It truly was almost the same thing.
He had enough Wealth in his system, hence the effect was better than using Vitality Pool.
“No wonder...”
Fu Changding’s expression was hard to read as he spoke softly, “Next time when you say that you are poor again, I will believe you. In fact, you are poor for a reason!”
Even martial artists with a net worth of tens of billions may never bring themselves to make spending excessive amounts of money a part of their daily cultivation routine.
A Rank-2 can already spend tremendous amounts of nearly 100 million within a month.
What about Rank-3?
It would be at least double the amount. Moreover, Rank-3 cultivation took even longer. Perhaps a few months or even half a year. By the time you achieved Peak Rank-3, spending 1 billion would not be unexpected.
This was only the three lower ranks’ spending. Unless it was someone with too much money to know what to do with, no one would opt for such a path.
As they were talking, the three of them had arrived at the tunnel entrance at the depths of the southern area.
None of them went in. At the entrance, soldiers were seen holding spears under martial law. Furthermore, there were martial artists stationed inside as well. They were even more intimidating than the spear-wielding soldiers outside.
With the speed Fang Ping’s party possessed, the soldiers might not even manage to land a hit if they attacked with their weapons.
However, if they came face to face with martial artists who were much stronger than them, they could hardly even try to run.
The tunnel entrance was silent. Fang Ping did not waste any time and immediately positioned his stance and started cultivating.
He talked while positioning his stance. “Achieving elevated stance in pole-standing is already the limit for the three lower ranks.
“My instructor once said that pole-standing is only the basics. When you achieved the three middle ranks, pole-standing will be further branched out into two categories.
“Pole-standing is actually a combination of bodybuilding cultivation methods and Stepping Techniques. At the three middle ranks, however, it will separate completely. Some people choose to advance the bodybuilding cultivation methods, laying the foundation for the cultivation of vital organs, while others choose to cultivate Stepping Techniques. Unlike what we are doing now, it is after the elevated stance, and is called the flight stance.
“Have you seen any three middle ranks martial artists who can fly?”
Fu Changding burst out laughing and replied, “You are really ambitious. I have met martial artists who had cultivated the Flight Step before. Or perhaps the Midair Step. That is not considered the flight stance yet.
“Just like how you can temporarily walk midair right now, the middle ranks martial artists can stay there slightly longer.
“Other than that, the speed, resilience, and height will improve.
“I’ve met a Rank-5 powerhouse before who can walk midair for hundreds of meters and levitate at a height of nearly 10 meters.
“It was an eye-opener!
“Martial artists like this are the true human guise of the immortals, who dances with the immortals... even if that Rank-5 powerhouse falls unexpectedly out of the sky later, it’s still an impressive feat.
“However, many powerhouses actually think that switching from cultivating pole-standing to Flight Step instead of focusing on bodybuilding methods is just showy and not very useful.
“Speaking about the flight stance, when you have achieved the Grandmaster rank, you can still attain the Flight Step even if you did not cultivate it.
“For three middle ranks martial artists, some of them who believe that they can achieve Grandmaster rank will choose to cultivate bodybuilding methods at this time to speed up cultivation rate in order to achieve Grandmaster rank...”
Fang Ping muttered softly, “I have questioned this before, and the instructor said something about biting off more than you can chew. Are there any middle three ranks martial artists powerhouses who perform exceptionally well in both areas?”
Zhao Lei interrupted, saying, “Yes, but all of them are Rank-6 martial artists. What’s more, most of them are Peak Rank-6.
“Many of these powerhouses are stuck in Rank-6.
“The Grandmaster rank contains an extremely great rank hurdle. Most of the Rank-6 powerhouses may never ever achieve the Grandmaster rank all their lives.
“At this time, when they are unable to progress in their ranks, they will work hard on other aspects.
“Certain Peak Rank-6 martial artists are exceptionally tough. In fact, Peak Rank-6 is also considered a rank that has a large span.
“Two Peak Rank-6 martial artists can be of entirely different levels.”
Fang Ping muttered softly, “Have you guys realized that there’s no ranking list for Rank-6?”
Fu Changding grinned and said, “It’s normal.”
“Hmm?”
“Out of ten Peak Rank-6, eight are in the Catacombs... facing a life and death crisis!”
Fu Changding’s tone was serious when he said, “No one ever stays too long in the Catacombs because the risk is too high. Everyone knows this. Even Grandmasters will not stay in the Catacombs for an extended period of time.
“However, Peak Rank-6 martial artists are chasing after the opportunity to breakthrough, hence most of them are inside the Catacombs.
“You never know if they’re dead or alive. Perhaps the next moment, one will walk out of the Catacombs as a Grandmaster.
“Perhaps one will never walk out ever again!
“These people are not interested in fame and fortune. At this moment, no matter how famous one is, how much fortune one has, how many pills one owns...
“They are all useless.
“The Grandmaster level is not dependent on these things but something else.
“That’s why Rank-6 doesn’t have a ranking list because it is useless. You will never know how many Peak Rank-6 martial artists are still alive.”
There were extremely few Peak Rank-6 martial artists in society. It was the same in martial arts universities.
In MCMAU, the Rank-6 martial artists that Fang Ping knew were Lu Fengrou, Tang Feng, and Old Man Li Changsheng. The three of them were Peak Rank-6. Others like Luo Yichuan, Xu Jianzhou, and the rest had not achieved the Peak stage of Rank-6.
The instructors in other grades were about the same. The number of Peak Rank-6 in MCMAU was less than 10. This was without doubt.
This year’s batch of freshman was supposed to be led by Tang Feng, a Peak Rank-6 instructor, alone.
Lu Fengrou had joined later, while Old Man Li was not teaching at all.
Perhaps, after a more detailed calculation, the number of MCMAU Peak Rank-6 martial artists who were in the university was less than 5.
This was only in MCMAU. In other martial arts universities, except for CCMAU, it was almost impossible to see a Peak Rank-6 martial artist.
...
The three of them chatted until later than 11 at night. Fang Ping saw that no one was coming out and prepared to leave.
Just as he was about to move, the gates to the tunnel were suddenly opened.
Then, someone walked out from within.
Lu Fengrou’s judgment was accurate. The other party would come out within these two days. Moreover, people would not normally use MCMAU’s tunnel entrance.
When Fang Ping saw that someone was walking out, he fished out the letter hurriedly. He looked back and forth between both Fu Changding and Zhao Lei. He remembered that Fu Changding had not been beaten up for a very long time. Besides, he had also entered his book of debts a few times already...
With his mind made up, Fang Ping pushed the letter into Fu Changding’s hands and immediately said, “My instructor’s dad. I’m a bit terrified. Help me hand this over to him and pass on a message. Tell him that his daughter misses him and asks him to go home to her.”
Fu Changding’s expression was of utter confusion. Lu Fengrou’s father?
Why did Fang Ping ask him to do it...
With his mind still a muddle, Fu Changding saw Fang Ping looking at him with encouraging eyes and was speechless. Even so, this was MCMAU, so Fu Changding did not think too much about it.
Very soon, a guy walked toward them. It was hard to guess his age.
This was because he had a head full of snow-white hair. His face was not that of an aging man, but one that made him seem like a non-mainstream uncle. Even so, his white hair somewhat accentuates his good looks.
With so little time to think, Fu Changding did not know how to address him as well. He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Instructor, this is your letter.”
The white-haired man threw him a look, took the letter but did not say anything.
“And... Instructor Lu misses you.”
“Hmm?”
The man was stunned for a moment and suddenly beamed. “Are these her exact words?”
Fu Changding had no idea. He turned his head to look at Fang Ping. Fang Ping observed the white-haired man’s polite smile. He also saw that nothing had happened to Fu Changding. Only then did he take a step forward and said while grinning, “Those were the instructor’s exact words. The instructor said that your daughter misses you. She asked you to go back and accompany her. An elderly man like you...”
He was about to butter him up when the man’s complexion changed all of a sudden. He let out a soft humph, extended his leg and kicked!
...
As Fu Changding and Zhao Lei were still in a daze, Fang Ping was nowhere to be seen.
Fu Changding gulped. His throat was parched as he croaked hoarsely, “In... Instructor, he...”
“That’s nothing. He’s Lu Fengrou’s student, that... that Fang Ping?”
“Yes, he’s Fang Ping.”
The man nodded slightly and did not say much. He disappeared in front of them in the blink of an eye.
When he had left, Fu Changding asked straight away, “What happened?”
He still looked extremely confused. The white-haired handsome man was wearing an amiable smile. However, he sent Fang Ping flying the moment he met him. How many people had an aversion toward him?
Zhao Lei spoke faintly, “This is probably what Fang Ping was thinking about when he asked you to send the letter.”
Fu Changding had finally registered what had happened and scoffed, “Serves him right! This bastard was trying to plot against others. He is finally getting a taste of his own medicine!
The more Fu Changding thought about it, the more he wanted to laugh. What was the meaning of this?
Fang Ping had most probably sensed danger, hence he used him as a scapegoat. Who would have known, the result was still the same. Fu Changding was unscathed, while Fang Ping had disappeared.
Both of them exchanged glances. Zhao Lei let out a hollow cough and asked, “Should we look for him?”
“What’s there to look for? Who knows where he’s currently laying.”
...
Their predictions were right. At this moment, Fang Ping was laying on top of a building not far away!
Fang Ping was too lazy to get up. He laid on top of the building contemplating an important question: which part of the sentence did he say something wrong!
Unexpectedly, Fu Changding was unscathed!
‘What was the meaning of this?’
‘An old handsome man took pity on a young handsome man?’
‘Discrimination against me?’
“It’s not fair!”
Fang Ping grunted, feeling melancholy. He then continued to mumble, “This white-haired old man, what kind of person is he?”
This was the second time Fang Ping was sent flying away by someone.
Last time, Old Man Li waved his hands without much effort and he was sent flying out.
Old Man Li had only thrown him ten to twenty meters away. However, the white-haired old man just now had thrown him directly hundreds of meters high in the air.
In fact, in such a huge distance, Fang Ping did not even feel much pain when he fell. He had indeed controlled his force exceptionally well.
“Perhaps he’s a Grandmaster powerhouse?”
Fang Ping was already guessing a little. He mumbled, “The Grandmaster who has had the instructor’s back? My greatest supporter?”
“Grandmaster powerhouse...”
When he thought of this, Fang Ping immediately got up and chased frantically after the person’s shadows in the dark. He had finally met his greatest supporter. Fang Ping felt he should at least get acquainted with him, though he had already made a mental note to put that recent incident on his tab.