50 kilometers outside Hope City.
The distance was about a hundred li. Fang Ping did not even need to spend an hour if he dashed with all his might without any qualms of consuming his Vitality.
However, a martial artist’s Vitality was not unlimited. A typical martial artist, even a Rank-6 one, would only do so as a last resort.
At this moment, all Fang Ping wanted was to dash back.
There was an issue though... What was with the blockade ahead?
Military troop martial artists were patrolling all over the place!
“Has Hope City been sealed off?”
Fang Ping mumbled, an answer already in his heart.
For many years, humans had defended themselves from Sky Gate City. Because of the experience gathered over the years, everyone had tacitly agreed that the twelve other cities would not join in the great battle.
Unless Sky Gate City had been wiped out!
This was a thought that had been internalized for many years.
Although this time, Fang Ping had witnessed it first hand. The great army of East Sunflower City was setting out.
If Hope City continued to act as if the situation was the same as in the past, something catastrophic might happen.
“With the periphery sealed off now, the Magic City Catacombs humans can only try their best to defend as their combat strengths are relatively weaker compared to that of Sky Gate City’s.
“There is a possibility that the blockade is set in place now to prevent martial artists in the wilderness from returning and delivering news. After all, there are always martial artists who move around in East Sunflower City.”
“God wants me to save humankind!”
All of a sudden, Fang Ping felt a heavy responsibility pressed onto his shoulders. If Hope City was unaware that East Sunflower City was joining the battle, it would spell trouble once East Sunflower City deployed a few high-ranked powerhouses to ambush and wipe out the human’s high-ranked powerhouses.
As Sino Nation had 22 Catacombs to guard, it was impossible to have more than ten Grandmasters constantly on standby in one location.
The number of Grandmasters here in Magic City’s Catacombs was already considered high. In certain places, perhaps there were only two to three suppressing.
“Am I expected to play the role of the modern Pheidippides[1]...”
“No, Pheidippides was sending good news. I’m breaking through heavy obstacles in order to save mankind. I’m even more heroic...”
After complimenting himself for a while, Fang Ping’s face turned sour suddenly. He was only self-comforting.
So many people!
He saw teams of armored soldiers like those in costume dramas. There were hundreds in a team. These guys adopted a snakey battle array and were wandering around. The thick weeds that were never trimmed before now laid flat after being cut off with the weapons in their hands.
Fang Ping was currently squatting at a place not far from them. It was obvious that these guys wanted to clear off the weeds to create an open area without any obstacles.
“These weeds... the reason no one cleared them earlier is because they form a natural barrier to keep both cities apart.
“Do they not need these weeds anymore in the future now that they’re clearing them off straightaway?”
“The more they do it, the more obvious it shows that things are getting serious. This is one really heavy responsibility that I’m carrying.”
“Maybe they won’t chase after me too hard since I just passed through the Jiao’s forest and came out from it. If I had come here through the eastern road, I’d be dead meat for sure.”
Fang Ping constantly made conclusions in his heart.
He was now on the northern road. Sky Gate City’s martial artists were unaware that he had passed through the Jiao’s forest and had witnessed the situation on the eastern road.
Hence, they might not be interested in killing him.
However, if he had broken through the blockade on the eastern road, perhaps even high-ranked ones would personally set out to kill him.
“Even if I am of little significance, they will at least send a middle-ranked martial artist to hunt me down. I’m not sure how many martial artists there are ahead. I’m pretty sure I can outrun a Rank-4, but I’m not so sure about outrunning a Rank-5...”
“I will definitely become a hero when I return to the city this time. Though, I am not interested in becoming a martyr...”
Fang Ping was constantly toying with ideas. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided that he had to return. Even if he did not want to become this hero, he just had to!
If Hope City was in trouble and the population was locked in, Fang Ping would only be awaiting death.
There were hundreds of high ranks all over the thirteen cities in the Catacombs. As the only Rank-3 here, what else could he do other than to await death?
“I can’t act rashly though... honing bone marrow...”
Fang Ping’s heart thumped. Honing his entire bone marrow was impossible due to insufficient Wealth.
He could hone the bone marrow on his lower limbs first, though. There were 62 bones in the lower limbs. So, to hone the bone marrow, 1 million Wealth per bone would only amount to a total of 62 million.
When honing was complete, his Vitality would become even richer and his bones stronger. In fact, his tougher bone marrow would, in turn, benefit himself as his physique would become rugged, including the enhanced ability to produce Vitality.
“When the honing of the bone marrow on the lower limb has completed, my speed will definitely increase, so will the enhancement of my Vitality outburst...”
When the time came, he might even outrun Rank-5 martial artists.
“It’s fine if I can’t win them in a fight, but I must be able to outrun them!”
Fang Ping looked determined. Rank-5 martial artists were fine. Almost all Rank-6 powerhouses could employ Flight Step at an astounding speed. It was typically impossible for the three lower ranks martial artists to outrun Rank-6 martial artists.
“Other than enhancing speed by honing the bone marrow, what else can I do?”
Fang Ping started contemplating. “Increase Vitality?”
“Mentality?”
“Also, not only are all these weapons heavy, but they’re also hampering me. What should I do? Hide them? Once the weeds have been cleared, they will definitely be discovered. I can’t bear to suffer any more losses after working so hard to kill all those middle-ranked martial artists.”
“My ability to carry a heavy load on my back is superb. Running with the weapons on my back should not hold me up.”
From start to finish, Fang Ping had never once thought of breaking through forcefully. This was not a joke. That was a lot of military troops—martial artist military troops!
He could probably kill a few if he pushed himself. Though he would not last more than three minutes.
“I’ll hone my bone marrow first!”
Fang Ping took a few steps back cautiously and began to increase the honing parameter for his bones.
Following the rapid depletion of his Wealth, Fang Ping’s forehead was suddenly drenched in sweat.
“So itchy! It hurts!”
Fang Ping’s face was all scrunched up. The pain and itching deep inside his bone marrow was impossible to scratch and was quite unbearable.
At this moment, he wanted to scream so badly, yet he gritted his teeth and held it in.
“One!”
“Two...”
When the bone marrow was being honed on a deeper level, Fang Ping could feel the changes taking place in his body.
His skin was constantly expanding and contracting, similar to the Upper-stage Rank-3 transformation. The sweat pores were much finer, even the sweat hairs were falling off. This was sealed off to prevent the loss of Vitality from the body—a symptom that showed the formation of internal circulation.
At Rank-8... Honestly, if the Grandmasters did not intentionally leave their hair and eyebrows as they were, all of them would be bald as an egg.
As he started visualizing all the Grandmasters turning into century eggs, Fang Ping had also temporarily forgotten about the agony.
Seeking joy amidst the grimmest situations had always been Fang Ping’s strong point.
“It’s fine for men. If ladies turn into century eggs... they will look so hideous!”
“Besides... if ladies have achieved Rank-8 and are still vir... that will be so horrifying!”
Fang Ping shuddered at the thought. However, at Rank-8, martial artists had lived through countless battles, so they probably did not chase after fleshly desires anymore.
“Rank-8 are called the Golden Body State, also known as the Vajra State. I wonder if they still feel fleshy. Perhaps they will become just like diamonds[2]?”
“If that’s the case, how boring must a Rank-8 Grandmaster’s private life be.”
“However, those in Rank-8 are all old men and women anyway, they don’t care about all these things...”
While entertaining his thoughts, Fang Ping’s lower limbs gradually grew heavier.
Fang Ping knew that honing the bone marrow would bring his body weight up.
With the increased weight, the outburst that his bones and flesh could handle would also become much stronger.
When Fang Ping had honed the bone marrow of 10 bones... his eyes lit up suddenly!
“Vitality has broken through the 1000cal mark now!”
999cal was a limit difficult for Rank-3 martial artists to surpass. It was the same even for thrice-honed ones.
Of course, someone must have broken through before.
This limit would disappear following the strengthening of the bones, flesh, and meridians.
A typical Rank-3 martial artist could not achieve this, though. The typical Rank-3 ones aside, even people like Xie Lei could not break through this limit without using bodybuilding or other techniques specifically. Old Wang might have broken through. His bones were extremely strong.
“I’ve broken through as well!”
The moment his Vitality broke through the 1000cal mark, Fang Ping suddenly realized that some of his scattered Vitality earlier had gradually condensed.
If his Vitality was only pure milk last time, then it had become Ambrosial now.
“Will there be a day when my entire Vitality turns as dense as mercury? It probably will. Is the blood of the Grandmaster powerhouses still normal blood? One drop of blood could smash a hole in the ground.”
Fang Ping started feeling the changing Vitality force in his body silently. Condensing... Consuming... Going from being scattered to being condensed.
“I’ve broken through the limit, and now my Vitality can continue to rise!”
Fang Ping was still honing his bone marrow. As for his Vitality upper limit, it was also rising continuously.
1005cal, 1010cal...
The increment happened at breakneck speed!
After some time, when Fang Ping had completely honed all the lower limbs, he could also feel the changes that had taken place in his body.
“I’m stronger now! I feel like I can kill high ranks with just one kick!”
Out of nowhere, Fang Ping caught a wave of confidence. He felt as if the very earth should prostrate under his feet... Well, the earth was literally under his feet, in any case.
Wealth: 39.2 million
Vitality: 1099cal (1099cal+)
Mentality: 539Hz (539Hz+)
Bones honed: 62 bones (100%), 115 bones (90%+), 29 bones (30%+)
“Vitality increased by 100cal! Too bad my Mentality remains the same.”
Right now, Fang Ping could not be bothered by the Wealth that he had spent.
After moving his body around gingerly, Fang Ping figured that he now weighed 200 catty at least!
“Grandmasters must weigh a few thousand catty, right? They don’t even need to fight anymore; they can just crush a few martial artists by falling on them.”
Fang Ping stretched his body experimentally, but he did not expect what was coming next—crackling sounds came from his bones all of a sudden.
Fang Ping was stupefied!
“Kagu!”
A series of savage roars were heard coming from around him. Shortly after, Fang Ping not only felt moving energy particles, but he had also heard the whistling sounds of arrows!
A middle-ranked archer was here!
“Kagu means to kill, right? Do they have to make it into two syllables?”
Fang Ping found some time for some trash talk before picking up the weapons and dashed!
When he started running, the patrolling military personnel had also picked up his silhouette. In no time, seven to eight people started closing in from all directions—all of them middle ranks!
An archer was constantly firing arrows and a Rank-5 powerhouse was chasing with Flight Step—pointing out the direction for others!
A middle-ranked powerhouse was also closing in ahead!
At first, Fang Ping found it slightly challenging to adjust to his increased weight and was almost hit by a long arrow. After he had slightly adapted to it, Fang Ping started sprinting at breakneck speed!
“Kagu!”
Incessant bawling was heard coming from the Catacombs martial artists. Fang Ping even saw a powerhouse chasing with Flight Step midair and closing in on him.
In the martial arts world, there were the Midair Step and the Flight Step: the Midair Step referred to levitating 10 meters or less midair; the Flight Step was higher than 10 meters. Also, martial artists who cultivated the Flight Step were regarded as having slightly powerful abilities... at least their Vitality was somewhat higher.
Martial artists who could employ the Flight Step typically had abilities higher than Rank-5. Of course, most of it was just for show. Their combat abilities might not be comparable to the powerhouses that could employ the Flight Step. They did not want to employ the Flight Step, that was all.
The powerhouse chased at full speed with Flight Step. In what was almost like a blink, he had closed in on Fang Ping!
Fang Ping knew that these people would not be able to keep this up, so he gathered all his strength and dashed north!
A martial artist intercepted ahead with a saber in his hand. Without much hesitation, Fang Ping waved his saber and hacked!
Bang!
An ear-piercing sound resonated. This martial artist, probably an early-stage or middle-stage Rank-3, had his weapon snapped and his skull cracked after Fang Ping executed four consecutive hacks under full outburst.
Shortly after, a long arrow came straight for the back of Fang Ping’s head behind him.
Without slackening his pace, a blood-tinted light of rich Vitality was bursting through his feet above. With his feet barely touching the ground, he made a run for it while levitating!
There were a few three lower ranks martial artists ahead. Fang Ping did not kill everyone that was in his way. When there were too many of them, Fang Ping would spend huge amounts of Vitality to escape with the Midair Step.
The number of martial artists who were pursuing behind him grew. Not only from the back, but a middle-ranked martial artist had also emerged ahead to stop him as well.
“Those who stand in my way shall die!”
Fang Ping roared loudly!
The glaive gleamed a rich, blood-tinted light. Not intimidated, the martial artist standing in the way grasped the saber to prepare for battle.
Seconds later, Fang Ping halted unexpectedly, swerved, and continued to make a run for it with all his might!
The saber-bearing martial artist was taken aback. Following that, he flew into a rage, yelled a few times, and chased after Fang Ping in no time!
This was not the first one. When Fang Ping encountered the next martial artist who was standing in his way, he roared once again. The blood-tinted glow had almost shot through the glaive—a sign for him to launch a big move in a final gambit.
However, halfway through launching the big move, Fang Ping did another feint and took flight again.
The Catacombs martial artists were all rendered speechless!
Did he have a death wish?
Consuming Vitality like that, was he not worried about sucking his Vitality dry, that they could capture him, killing him at the flick of a switch?
The martial artist from the Land of “Hope” had plenty of guts when faced with a situation like this. This was something the Catacombs martial artists recognized. They would usually put up a fight by now to make sure the enemy at least does not leave unscathed.
They had not encountered the existence of someone like this fellow right here who wasted Vitality so freely when he was being pursued!
...
Fang Ping did not care what others were thinking. He turned his head back and gave a quick sweep as he was escaping, overwhelmed by terror. ‘If I don’t make it back to Hope City this time, I’ll really be awaiting death!’
Seven to eight powerhouses who could employ the Midair Step and Flight Step were hot on his heels. There were more than ten people on the ground who were pursuing him madly as well.
“Catch me if you can. Chase me all the way to Hope City so all of you will be massacred!”
“Only a hundred li. In half an hour, all of you will be finished off if you can’t catch me!”
Fang Ping was yelling. Whether or not they could understand him was not the point. High-ranked powerhouses would not be so free to guard at the frontline. Were they not worried that human Grandmasters would besiege them in a sudden attack?
Fang Ping deduced that the ones who were chasing him now were mostly Rank-4 while some of them Rank-5. There might not even be any Rank-6.
When he was done yelling, Fang Ping heard a sound that cut through the air coming from behind him suddenly.
He twisted his neck to take a look. Fang Ping’s face turned green. I’m dead!
A Rank-6 powerhouse was on his heels!
Even if his legs were like Hot Wheels, his speed was comparatively slower than the other at this moment.
“What should I do?”
“Should I throw the weapons away?”
“If they still catch up with me even after I throw them away, then I’ll be in even deeper trouble!”
“Can’t the people in Hope City come out to greet me?”
Fang Ping’s thoughts were tangled up. He was no longer floating midair, instead, he landed on the weeds that were not cleared yet and continued fleeing madly.
The Rank-6 martial artist who was chasing midair made no attempts to land. He waved his fist downward straightaway. A few streaks of blood-tinted light shot out, then exploded and crashed into Fang Ping’s surroundings, creating a shower of grass and soil.
Middle-ranked martial artist. Outward release of Vitality.
The Rank-6 martial artist’s Vitality was rich, highly concentrated and immensely strong. By throwing a few random punches, even one successful strike could cause Fang Ping’s death.
Fang Ping could not care less about his image anymore. He arched his back and ran for dear life. Sometimes, it was impossible to avoid the attacks, so he would roll on the spot and continue running after he got up.
After a few rolls, a few weapons that he was carrying behind his back dropped unexpectedly. Fang Ping was in a towering rage. He had not seized much to begin with, he was losing a great deal this time!
Biting the bullet, Fang Ping suddenly grabbed all the weapons from the back into his hands. Except for the C-class changdao and long spear, Fang Ping tossed the rest of the weapons toward the back!
The tossing of the weapons had slightly hindered the other party’s steps!
Fang Ping roared hysterically, “I’ll remember you. I will definitely kill you next time!”
A Rank-6 hunting a Rank-3 down. The Catacombs martial artists were awfully savage!
Of all the weapons he had, only two were left now.
Fang Ping was fuming, so was his pursuer. A Rank-6 martial artist, running more than ten li to hunt a Rank-3 down, yet still could not catch up—this was a humiliation!
As Fang Ping was yelling furiously, his pursuer suddenly let out a roar. He was holding a longsword—one that Fang Ping tossed at him earlier—in his hand. The longsword was glinting with blood-tinted light. A split-second later, the longsword shot forward at full speed, headed for Fang Ping!
Fang Ping’s Mentality was frantically sending out a warning, but Fang Ping did not have the energy to block it this time. He clenched his jaw, putting some distance between them forcefully. The longsword pierced through Fang Ping’s arm directly, nailing to his left arm.
Taking advantage of this force, Fang Ping leapt a huge step forward.
Just seconds later, another sound came from behind him.
Fang Ping clenched his jaw and slightly shifted his feet again. A duandao pierced through his left arm this time.
His left arm was injured again and again. Fang Ping felt like his bones had snapped and broken. Right now, though, his internal organs must not be injured. His right arm needed to maintain a certain amount of combat strength. He could only rely on his left arm to hold on. If he shifted too much, the other party would soon catch up to him.
“I’m dying. I’m really dying... It’s not easy to become a hero. I should have stayed hidden in the Jiao’s forest and not come out... Big Lion has gotten me into deep trouble this time!”
Fang Ping’s consciousness was clouding up after all the running. Even if he had sufficient Vitality, the extreme long-distance running started to make him feel groggy too.
Fang Ping, who was desperate to stay alive, seemed to be running toward the right direction this time. From what he could see, he could already make out the fort.
“Hope City!”
Fang Ping’s eyes were suddenly sparkling!
The Catacombs martial artists who were pursuing him had reduced their speed. Under extreme running conditions, everyone’s speed had slackened. Only Fang Ping alone had maintained a rapid speed, preventing everyone else from catching up to him.
Now that Hope City’s silhouette was visible in front, it also meant that they had entered Hope City’s radiation zone.
“I once escaped from a Rank-6!”
While running, Fang Ping thought of this unconsciously. In his head, he did not forget to add, “And a bunch of Rank-4 and 5 martial artists!”
[1] Pheidippides
[2] A vajra is a weapon used as a ritual object to symbolize both the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force); the Sanskrit word has both these meanings)