Deep within the mountain forest.
Fang Ping roared angrily. His face was pale, nevertheless, he once again erupted consecutive slashes!
“Come on, keep chasing me!”
Fang Ping yelled. Then, he remembered that the other party could not understand him and switched languages. “Nayagukali!”
The saber-wielding martial artist who had resisted Fang Ping’s four blows stilled for a moment. He could not resist turning his head to see if the other two had nearly caught up to them.
The three of them exchanged a glance, and a suspicious light was seen in their eyes.
However, very quickly, the three of them no longer contemplated about it. The saber-wielding martial artist’s changdao shone with a blood-red beam of light as it slashed at Fang Ping horizontally.
Fang Ping kept yelling, “Nayagukali!”
According to Old Man Li, it was a serious provocation. Since the situation had come to this, Fang Ping was purposely angering the other party. This was especially true in terms of the saber-wielding martial artist.
The *sshole had chased after him so long, and he had slashed him over and over again. Despite all of that, his strength still held up.
If not for the fact that he was being surrounded by three Rank-4s, Fang Ping really wanted to kill him through depletion.
His provocation, consequently, was perhaps overzealous.
After he had repeatedly said it, the saber-wielding martial artist suddenly showed an expression of contempt and disdain. The next moment, his changdao shone blood-red, its bloodlust was almost smellable.
Fang Ping’s expression changed drastically. It was an oversight!
He himself could make big moves, but it was not as if the other party could not.
Fang Ping did not dare stubbornly take the attack head on. Hence, he turned his head and ran.
Despite running like the wind, Fang Ping still felt his back split open as his inner organs received heavy damage. Staggering, he fled further away.
The saber-wielding martial artist’s face paled slightly. Fang Ping had been running at a fast speed. Hence, the slash had not hit him straight on. Only his back had received the attack of the saber.
If Fang Ping had taken it from the front, the blow would have been enough to heavily injure or even kill him!
...
Pfft!
Fang Ping spat out a mouthful of tainted blood. He held a Resurrection Pill in his hand but was reluctant to use it.
He had only exchanged for one of it, and it was just the start. If he used it, what would he do afterward?
“Big Lion, on your grandfather, you said that middle-ranked martial artists were not many in number!”
Fang Ping once again cursed. It was too enraging. ‘Upper-stage Rank-3 martial artists are mixed up about 50 kilometers away. I’m only 30 kilometers away, alright!’
“That’s not right. Am I really 30 kilometers away now?”
Fang Ping suddenly developed some self-doubt. ‘I’ve been running for so long. Could it be... That I’ve ended up deeper?’
“Mountain forest... Mountain forest...”
Fang Ping started recalling the sandbox he had seen previously in the martial arts university.
“Where was there a mountain forest?
“Hope City is on the north side. Straight ahead it was a total of 6 mountain forests. None of them were within 10 kilometers away—they all had been cut down... There were two within 30 kilometers, but I’m probably not within 30 kilometers... Then there are still 4 left...
“Which mountain forest am I in?”
Fang Ping’s head felt like an ox’s, as his face blanched. “That’s not right. There aren’t any mountain forests true north!
“True north is the marching route of the two armies. There aren’t any mountain forests... I... I’ve been going the wrong way?”
Within the two cities’ straight-line distance, there were no mountain forests. There were mountains and mostly hills, but there were no trees as they had all been cut down.
Only the two wings had mountain forests!
“Northeast has two, northwest has two... Where am I?”
Fang Ping was perplexed. Right, where was the north?
Evidently, he knew where the north was on the map. However, now that he had run himself dizzy, where was the north?
He had made countless rounds in the forest. Where was the north?
Hope City was in the south. Where was the south?
“I’m lost! I’m doomed this time!”
Fang Ping could not care about the three people chasing him anymore. Getting lost in the Catacombs was truly dooming.
As Fang Ping spat blood and began to feel anxious about being lost, the sky that had been bright earlier turned dark in an instant!
The sky had become dark!
Night had fallen.
The moment night had come, the three martial artists at the back of Fang Ping were overjoyed. The extremely tenacious bastard in front of them was going to die.
Middle-ranked martial artists had night vision and could see very clearly at night.
Whereas martial artists of the lower three ranks, even those who were Peak Rank-3, could not see well at night.
Once night had fallen, their opponent’s vision would not be as good as theirs. It would be strange if he did not die.
...
“Night has come.”
Fang Ping once again used up a large amount of Vitality and hopped away in a flash, outrunning the people behind him. He ran a whole lot after, almost slamming into a tree before he found a big tree after much difficulty. He hid at the top of it.
“The Catacombs’ night is too dark and it comes too quickly.”
The Catacombs’ day and night were distinct.
There was no evening, no sunrise, and no sunset.
The big sun above him seemed to have suddenly changed directions, and from day, it became night. It was the Catacombs’ sunup and sundown, completed in the blink of an eye.
Halting his active Vitality, Fang Ping touched his back. It was a good thing that he had worn Rank-4 leather armor. The saber had not broken the leather. However, Fang Ping knew that his back had already been slashed to a mess of flesh and blood that was now sticking to his inner shirt.
“They might be thinking that my night vision isn’t good and that I definitely won’t make a move at night.”
Fang Ping schemed inwardly yet again. ‘What I mainly rely on isn’t vision, it’s sensing energy particles. It’s not obvious during the daytime. That’s because, with the sun, energy particles flood every corner.
‘However, when it’s night, there’s no sun. Hence, I can sense them even clearer.
‘Just like yesterday, when a Grandmaster was high above, I could sense it too.
‘In the Catacombs, my Mentality is livelier too.
‘If they think I can’t see and am attackable... Then just wait and see!’
Fang Ping squinted his eyes. It was a chance for him too, perhaps. At night, Rank-4 martial artists were also heavily affected. He might not have been able to see them, but being able to sense the movement of energy particles was even better.
‘If I kill three big Rank-4s and they still say I’m useless, I’ll kill them all!’
Fang Ping cursed in his heart. He thought about Big Lion who had left him behind... It was possible that he had gone the wrong way... But it was still considered Big Lion’s responsibility.
“Throwing me aside and leaving—we can count this as debt.”
Fang Ping muttered and once again restored his Vitality and Mentality completely.
“I only have 78 million left.”
Fang Ping looked at his Wealth points and felt a heartache. He had only done so much, and yet he had used up 1 million Wealth points.
The things that were already in his hands were not included in his Wealth points. If he kept on going being chased, would it not mean his Wealth points would not grow?
“Is this a reminder that I can die at any time and all things are impermanent?”
Not thinking about it anymore, Fang Ping held his breath and maintained a calm demeanor.
The mountain forest was silent, but outside the forest, there were endless loud sounds. High-ranked powerhouses were dueling.
Fang Ping was unaware of it at that moment. He was unaware that a little over 30 kilometers to his left, many high-ranked powerhouses were gathered, and they were battling wildly.
There was one thing Tang Feng was right about. In the Catacombs, it was best to rely only on oneself. The protection from instructors or other people was not reliable.
Those people could encounter powerhouses at any time, and a big battle would break out.
...
After resting for half an hour, Fang Ping stopped hiding.
‘I can’t give that saber-wielding martial artist time to recover. Moreover, the cultivation-aiding energy ore is my loot!’
Thinking of it, Fang Ping jumped down from the tree and stepped on a twig on purpose. A crisp snapping noise sounded in the dark.
Then, Fang Ping ripped up some cloth strips from his body and tossed it toward the back of the tree in three directions. He himself hurried toward the movement of energy particles.
When there was a distance of around 50 meters from the energy particles, Fang Ping leaped lightly up onto a treetop and did not make another movement nor sound.
Soon after, three martial artists dashed past him. After they had reached the big tree Fang Ping was at earlier, they saw very clearly the strips of cloth but did not haste to chase them. The saber-wielding martial artist leaped into the air, slashing his saber at the treetops of the big tree Fang Ping had hidden at earlier.
When the saber-wielding martial artist landed and shook his head, Fang Ping “saw” his actions as well. He did not see him as a person—he could not see the few people who were some ten meters away from him.
He had only seen the energy particles of one of the people’s heads shake.
‘This is quite interesting... Before this, I never experienced this benefit...’
Fang Ping felt that it was quite interesting. Moreover, the ratio of energy particles in different parts of the body was different too.
There were very few at the head. There were the most in limbs. There were many in the torso too...
‘Like an X-ray?’
Fang Ping made an analogy about his Mentality’s sensing. It was indeed quite similar.
Failing to find Fang Ping on the big three, the three people discussed in low voices for a while and then checked the few big trees nearby. However, they still did not find Fang Ping.
The places they checked were all within ten meters of the big tree.
Clearly, those people felt that if Fang Ping were to hide, he probably would have hidden in a place that made them visible within his field of vision and not in a place where he could not see them.
Failing to find Fang Ping, the three people muttered amongst themselves yet again. Then, two of them left, following the direction the strips of cloth pointed them in.
The last person made a light movement, stepping into the air and then leaping onto the tree that Fang Ping had vacated. Clearly, Catacomb martial artists also understood the reasoning of waiting for the rabbit.
‘The one that’s left behind is the saber-wielding martial artist?’
Fang Ping was pleasantly surprised. As for how he had deduced this, it was because this person’s energy particles were not as concentrated as the other two. Clearly, the opponent had not fully replenished the Vitality he had lost in the depletion battle during the daytime.
Fang Ping waited for about two minutes. He was not anxious to bother the bastard and instead turned toward another direction to search. When he sensed that the energy particles of the other person were really moving forward, Fang Ping searched the other direction.
The Catacomb martial artists were not idiots either. Fang Ping had to avoid any traps the three might have lain.
Consequently, in the second direction, Fang Ping did not sense the presence of any energy particles.
‘Sons of b*tchs! They really set a trap for me. What a falsehood—it’s a trap!’
Fang Ping cursed inwardly. He did not have to guess. The second person was probably near the saber-wielding martial artist, definitely not further than him by 100 meters.
‘Since it’s like this, I’ll go find the one who went solo.’
Fang Ping did not hesitate and swiftly ran toward the direction he had sensed the energy particles coming from.
...
Three minutes later, Fang Ping had caught up to the other party and was about 100 meters away from him.
The place he was in now was close to a thousand meters away from the previous place.
Since it was night, even if those two heard sounds and rushed over, they would still need about one to two minutes to do so.
“One to two minutes... If I can execute 4 blows in one second, it’s enough for me to make 500 blows. That should be enough to kill him, shouldn’t it?’
Fang Ping calculated it. Rank-4 martial artists were stronger than Rank-3 martial artists, it was absolute.
His opponent would have an outburst too, and the strength of it would be much stronger than his.
However, as long as he concentrated on not getting killed when his opponent used a big move, his opponent would not last longer than him.
‘A Rank-4 martial artist would’ve honed their inner organs and should have a stronger Vitality than me. The benefit of the latter is useless, but having stronger physicality... It’s still limited. They’re still not at the point of Rank-6 martial artists, that’s when they’ve half-succeeded in obtaining a golden body.
‘Even people like Qin Fengqing have killed a Rank-4. It says that although Rank-4 martial artists are stronger, they can still be killed.’
After weighing the pros and cons, Fang Ping came to a decision.
He did not ambush him from the back. Instead, Fang Ping moved around to the front. Then, leaning on a big tree barely 100 meters away from the martial artist, he made a soft but audible moan.
The group of energy particles he was sensing paused slightly before they slowly began to move toward Fang Ping.
Around 30 meters away from Fang Ping, the opponent probably saw him and thus, lightened his movements again.
Under the blanket of the night, Rank-3 martial artists could not see more than 30 meters away. It was something that came with years of experience.
Fang Ping did not look at him, and his back instead faced him. However, he used his Mentality to sense his movements.
He could not extend his Mentality outward, but he could form a disassociated thread of Mentality to detect energy.
‘That spear-wielding martial artist...’
Fang Ping made a deduction. There was a long, staff-like object in his opponent’s hand that was starting to gather energy. Energy particles were moving over the top.
‘The archer and the saber-wielder are standing guard at the original place. This bastard is counting on his own strength to hunt me alone...’
Thinking about it, the changdao in Fang Ping’s hands found the best angle of attack.
The opponent kept moving lightly toward him, clearly thinking that he could easily kill Fang Ping.
Fang Ping waited till his opponent moved to a distance close to 10 meters away from him before his feet moved suddenly, and he appeared in mid-air.
At the same time, his opponent’s long spear struck the tree trunk like thunder, and the trunk of the big tree exploded.
Fang Ping had been waiting for this opportunity. While the opponent drew his spear, his own changdao flashed blood-red and dove down. It quickly slashed his opponent’s skull!
His opponent roared and retrieved his spear before swiftly making a counter-attack.
Fang Ping did not care if he was going to block or counterattack; his changdao flashed with a searing blood-red light. He did not care if he hit his opponent’s head or spear, he only knew that he had to keep slashing!
His opponent was temporarily rendered unable to attack under his quick slashes. He could only choose to keep on defending.
No matter how strong a Rank-3 martial artist was, one had one’s limit. Ten blows would not kill him. Fang Ping could not run!
As a result, when Fang Ping rapidly slashed more than ten times, he became a little stunned.
This pause was the opportunity Fang Ping had been waiting for.
Just when his opponent hesitated slightly, Fang Ping spat out a blood arrow from his mouth. It flew straight into his opponent’s eyes!
The opponent was defending against Fang Ping’s big move at that time. Seeing an arrow of blood being shot at him, his immediate reaction was to turn his head slightly, avoiding the blood from shooting into his eyes and blocking his vision.
This turn of his head changed the target of the blood arrow’s attack from the eyes to the cheek. The opponent had never considered moving back to dodge the blood arrow completely.
It was the wrong choice. The next moment, the blood arrow pierced through his cheek like a sharp blade. Closely after that, the blood arrow burrowed through his cheek and into his brain!
“Ah!”
A pained howl made the opponent’s spear lag in his hands. However, Fang Ping did not hesitate. With a roar, his changdao began moving in a blur before it slashed his opponent’s neck in an instant!
Pfft!
In the dark, a ball-shaped object flew to the ground.
Fang Ping hastily grabbed the long spear and rummaged his opponent’s body until he found a small pouch that was then shoved into his arms after having been quickly plucked off the badge of my opponent’s chests. It was proof of his kill.
As he was preparing to leave, Fang Ping suddenly stepped quickly toward the place his opponent’s head had fallen. He gritted his teeth and stomped on it, causing an exploding “bang” sound to reverberate.
Blood Arrow Method was a hidden skill. He could not let the remaining two people know how the bastard had died.
The next moment, Fang Ping left quickly, vanishing from his spot in the blink of an eye.
Not long after he had disappeared, one male and one female martial artist hopped out.
When they saw the headless corpse, the expressions on their faces changed drastically. They stood with their backs against each other as they cautiously observed their surroundings.
...
Toward the other two people’s responses, Fang Ping did not care.
Having found a new place, Fang Ping observed his surroundings before scraping a few grooves into a big tree using his blade. He hurriedly cleared fallen leaves from the ground and buried the longsword and long spear he had obtained earlier.
“I hope I won’t get lost. I hope I’ll be able to find this place. I mustn’t lose it.”
Fang Ping prayed. It was still fine if he lost the longsword, but Fang Ping had seen that the long spear, at the very least, had the strength of D-grade alloy. It could possibly even reach the strength of C-grade alloy.
The spear’s body was made of metal, and it weighed at least 30 catty.
It was truly a valuable commodity, perhaps even more valuable than his fengzuidao. If he lost it, he would die crying.
Having buried the spear and the sword, Fang Ping gritted his teeth and said, “I’ve killed a Rank-4 martial artist. This time, I’ll see what you all have to say!”
Spitting this sentence out, Fang Ping turned and dashed toward the place he had left earlier.
The chances of the remaining two splitting up were very low. At night, if the archer used her strength in the mountain forest, she would be greatly affected. On the other hand, the saber-wielding martial artist’s Vitality had been used up quite a bit. If he wanted to kill them, he only had the chance that night. Once daylight came, Fang Ping’s advantage would greatly diminish.
...
Very soon, a cat-and-mouse battle started in the forest.
Fang Ping was like a cockroach that could not be killed as he attacked the two people non-stop. When he could not land an attack, he retreated speedily and vanished in the woods very quickly.
Despite being held up by his opponents a few times and having many injuries on his body, they were mere harmless flesh wounds. By the time he had tangled with them for two to three hours, their Vitalities had been depleted.
Hence, at that point in time, the two Catacomb Rank-4 martial artists’ only thoughts were to escape the forest!
They had met big trouble.
The moment they saw Fang Ping, he made a big move. From the start till the end, they did not know exactly how many times Fang Ping had made big moves.
However, every time they met, his Vitality was always full.
Even though Fang Ping could not understand what the two people were yelling, he guessed that it was probably something along the lines of, “I can’t go on any longer”.
Of course, it was purely a guess.
It seemed like two bastards had been shaken up. Even a Rank-6 powerhouse would not have been able to recover their Vitality so quickly after depleting it.
...
The chase kept going until late into the night. According to Fang Ping’s estimation, it was nearly daylight.
The current Fang Ping was also exhausted. He had many wounds on his body, and his inner organs were heavily damaged too.
The two Rank-4 martial artists did not let him sneak attacks onto them either. There were a few times when they had pretended that they were unaware. The most dangerous time occurred when the female archer nearly stabbed Fang Ping through his heart with her dagger.
He was lucky he was equipped with leather armor. It blocked some of it, but even so, Fang Ping’s leather armor had been pierced through. Hence, the dagger managed to go through his chest a little.
...
“Ugh!”
Fang Ping panted violently as he muttered, “I must kill them tonight. During the daytime, even more Catacomb martial artists might join them... I might have entered the opponents’ territory.
“Killing three Rank-4s... I’m killing above my rank. Only after Big Lion kills three Grandmasters, then can he look down on me!”
Fang Ping was still huffy, and he was clearly still upset over what had occurred that day. Forcing him to flee for a whole day... that was bad enough, but most importantly, his consumption of Wealth points was scary!
He had to replenish his Mentality and his Vitality. Every time he completely consumed his Vitality and Mentality, he used close to 1.5 million Wealth points.
Throughout that one night, Fang Ping had restored it 8 times from start to finish.
Adding on his earlier consumption, it was already more than 13 million Wealth points.
The last time he had used up so much was when he killed that Grand Missionary.
Of course, Fang Ping felt that he could replenish his Wealth points very quickly. The three big Rank-4 martial artists must have had many good things on them. Just their weapons alone would probably be enough to make up for what he lost.
“After I kill the two of them, I have to quickly go back to Hope City. If I go back now, I won’t have to be afraid of getting lost either... Who cares if I’m scared...”
Fang Ping’s eyes flashed with worry. What was he scared of? He was scared he could not find the path back!
He seemed to have gone very far into the mountain forest. Late at night, he had run amok. Could he really distinguish directions?