Just as Fang Ping went to ask Old Man Li for a more detailed explanation of how he should cultivate the technique, the martial arts students’ power ranking was updated.
It changed on the 1st of July.
Only one month had passed since the last update, but the ranking had changed a lot.
Fang Ping had shot way up the Rank-3 list in record time.
“Ling Yiyi, CCMAU, Year 2. 20 years old. Peak Rank-3 martial artist.
“Ranking: 1.
“Peak Victory: Has gone against a Peak Rank-4 martial artist alone. Killed an upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist.”
“Qin Fengqing, MCMAU, Year 3. 21 years old. Peak Rank-3 martial artist.
“Ranking: 2.
“Peak Victory: Killed an upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist while among ten thousand soldiers.”
“Fang Ping, MCMAU, Year 1. 19 years old. Upper-stage Rank-3 martial artist.
“Ranking: 3.
“Peak Victories: Has escaped from a Rank-6 powerhouse. Strategically killed Rank-5 powerhouses. Killed a middle-stage Rank-4 marital artist and several early-stage Rank-4 martial artists.”
With the death of a Rank-5 martial artist under his belt, Fang Ping’s victories seemed to be the most impressive among the top three in the list. That was what he thought of himself, at least. Everyone had also taken his claim that he had “strategically killed” those Rank-5 martial artists as what it was.
The martial artists Fang Ping had killed–the Rank-4 ones–were all at the early stage. The only middle-stage martial artist he had killed was during that mission.
Ling Yiyi from CCMAU had fought against a Peak Rank-4 martial artist herself. A true battle, not running away ala Fang Ping.
In the past battle, Qin Fengqing had outdone himself, killing an upper-stage martial artist singlehandedly.
It was hard to say if Ling Yiyi or Qin Fengqing was stronger but Ling Yiyi, a sophomore, was younger than Qin Fengqing, who was in his junior year, so they ranked her first.
The people who had been ranked on top previously had either graduated or broken through to Rank-4.
Nevertheless, the speed by which Fang Ping had shot up the ranking into the top three was astoundingly fast.
Xie Lei was ranked eighteenth place, a great deal lower than Fang Ping.
Liang Fenghua and Ye Qing were both in the ranking as well, in 12th and 44th place respectively.
This summed up the martial arts student ranking.
Fang Ping had read the ranking of all Rank-3 martial artists while he was at Old Man Li’s place.
...
“You’re in ninth place.”
Fang Ping shook his head. “My victories are the most impressive, okay? Even a Rank-6 can’t kill me...”
“Are you sure? I heard that you would be if not for Tang Feng.”
Fang Ping looked sheepish at the jab. He persisted. “I’ve killed a Rank-5 martial artist, too...”
Old Man Li looked at him strangely, as if challenging him to repeat it.
Fang Ping was unfazed. He continued, “I’ve really killed a Rank-5 martial artist!”
“Then you were almost killed by a middle-stage Rank-4 martial artist!”
“A load of bull. I killed him at last.”
Fang Ping argued. He then added, “In the ranking, there are three Rank-3 from the Military Department before me, and two others from the universities. There are two more from the sects and one casual martial artist, too, what the heck?”
Old Man Li snorted. “This is normal. The sects are guarding the Catacombs too, and casual martial artists go down there too. Why can you become stronger, but not them?”
“You have a point.”
Fang Ping nodded slightly. He then said, “Then they’re the ones I should challenge?”
“You can start from tenth place. Or the twentieth. It’s the same either way; there’s not much difference between them.”
Old Man Li said, “You should not be their match without your Vitality advantage.”
“Or maybe I am. They’re not much older than me. My understanding of combat techniques is not that good, but they might be on a similar level with me...”
“Can you defeat Qin Fengqing?”
“He’s gonna advance to Rank-4 soon, isn’t he...” Fang Ping suddenly said, “He’s not here today, but he’s someone who loves commotion. The Vice-chancellor’s death...”
Old Man Li sighed softly. “Don’t disturb him. Qin Fengqing’s father was Vice-chancellor’s student and my junior. He died in the Catacombs.
“His father was extremely talented. The Vice-chancellor had seen the potential in him. He was devastated when his student died.
“After Qin Fengqing got in MCMAU, the Vice-chancellor had shown him care despite his mentor being someone else. The Vice-chancellor had taught Qin Fengqing some of the combat techniques he had taught to his father.
“If we put it formally, the Vice-chancellor was both his father’s mentor and his half-mentor...”
“I see.”
Fang Ping understood. No wonder Qin Fengqing had sounded so aggrieved when he heard word of the Vice-chancellor’s death.
Old Man Li sighed and shook his head again. “I hope this kid can walk out of this. I think that he’ll have no problem doing that, though. Qin Fengqing’s one who gets stronger after encountering obstacles.
“When he was defeated by Wang Jinyang, he worked hard and became one of the strongest in the school.
“He had been sitting on Rank-3 for a while, ruminating. His killing of an upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist proved that.
“If I’m not wrong, he’ll choose to breakthrough soon.
“He’d almost succeeded in cultivating his unbreakable front when he killed that upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist.”
“Didn’t the others before him do that too?”
“It depends on the individual. Some think that killing Catacomb martial artists isn’t enough to gauge their skills, so they’ll choose to ruminate on it further.”
“They all want to become geniuses that kill enemies of higher ranks. Wait, are there any of those in the Catacombs?”
“Yes.” Old Man Li said seriously, “There are quite a lot of them, too. They won’t be in the army, though. They mainly appear in the areas near the Grinder, including the depths of the Catacombs.
“The areas you were in are only in the outskirts of the Catacombs...”
Fang Ping spoke no more on the topic, as did Old Man Li, who started to share some experience of himself practicing the Vajra Punch.
“Practicing a combat technique isn’t something you can do on paper. The way by which one can practice it is to apply it. Your practicing of the Vajra Punch would need to be in battle. Also, it’s best if you practice Manic Explosion until you reach the level where you can unite all seven moves into one. If you really reach such a level, you’ll undoubtedly be number one among all Rank-3 martial artists!”
“I know. I’ve learned a lot from my last trip to the Catacombs. I’ve also practiced my technique to the extent that I can unite five moves into one.”
“Mm. Good that you understand.”
...
Fang Ping stayed in the logistics department all day, practicing the Vajra Punch.
...
Meanwhile, the outside world exploded.
“Has escaped from a Rank-6 powerhouse. Strategically killed Rank-5 powerhouses. Killed a middle-stage Rank-4 marital artist and several early-stage Rank-4 martial artists”?
Fang Ping, the martial artist many remembered as the Rank-1 martial artist participating in the National Championship, had succeeded in killing middle-ranked martial artists, while the people in first and second place had both killed an upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist. How astounding!
They got stronger and stronger!
Killing an early-stage Rank-4 martial artist was once enough to put someone on the top ten. Now, the top three were already dissatisfied with killing novices to Rank-4; they went after upper-stage Rank-4 martial artists!
...
Nanjiang.
Wang Jinyang saw the ranking too. He was left feeling somewhat wistful.
He remembered the first time he met Fang Ping, once a clumsy, reckless kid whose Vitality had increased rapidly after taking the wrong pill. This event had drawn his attention to the kid.
The Huang Bin event had put Fang Ping in his memory.
Now, in the blink of an eye, Fang Ping was already someone famous.
“He’s improving so fast. If this goes on, I’ll be caught up to...”
Wang Jinyang laughed. The girl beside him said to him, words jumbled as she spoke between bites of food, “Aren’t you at the upper stage already? He’s far from that.”
“He improves quickly. He’ll probably advance to Peak Rank-3 soon. If he’s on the peak, then Rank-4 will be near.
“I should be just at Peak Rank-4 when that happens.
“We’re considered to be same-ranked peers...”
Wang Jinyang was at Peak Rank-3 when Fang Ping became a martial artist. Now it seemed that Fang Ping would be at Rank-4 just as Wang Jinyang would advance to the peak...
He had to concede that Fang Ping would probably catch up to him eventually.
The girl said, voice still muffled, “He’s still not your match, even then.”
“Everything’s still up in the air... We’re all improving. Not only your senior.”
“As I said last year, we should have recruited him into NMAU...”
“Then Fang Ping won’t be the Fang Ping he is now.”
Wang Jinyang laughed, stretching on his seat. “I should work harder. It’s gonna be so embarrassing if that guy really catches up.
“But... I don’t need to rush. The Nanjiang Catacomb will open soon. The first trip down there is both dangerous and an invaluable opportunity. I’ll try to break through to Rank-5, or even Rank-6. Believe in your senior. I’ll become a Grandmaster soon, and I’ll look for my mentor.”
The girl pursed her lips, hanging her head. “My dad... It’s too dangerous, don’t go, he... He might have already...”
Wang Jinyang laughed. He then murmured, “I must search for him no matter what. Even if...”
The two of them fell silent.
Wang Jinyang’s thoughts wandered afar. The entrance to the Tiannan Catacomb was closed as the Tiannan Catacomb army pillaged and burned, causing human Grandmasters to flee the scene. Would his mentor still be alive?
Maybe...
But what if he was still alive?
Maybe his mentor was chased by countless people with the intent to kill and needed his help. If he gave up now, won’t he be implicit in his mentor’s death too?
“The Nanjiang Catacomb...”
Wang Jinyang exhaled a breath of air slowly. Danger meant opportunity too. His first time entering the Catacomb would be a lucrative one.
...
Sun City.
Fang Mingrong was promoted again!
In bewilderment, he was transferred to the municipal government, to the position of Vice Office Chief of the municipal office.
He was still Vice Office Chief, but this position was of a different caliber than the other one.
Fang Mingrong had nothing to say. Faced with congratulations from various people, he could not articulate what he was feeling right now.
‘My son’s risking his life in battle.’ When his son had escaped from the clutches of a Rank-6 martial artist, others saw this as a glorious feat. What he saw was the danger his son was in.
A Rank-3 martial artist against a Rank-6!
‘What are they facing?’
Fang Mingrong asked.
His doubt surfaced in many other minds.
Why would this kind of victory surface?
Qin Fengqing had “killed an upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist while among ten thousand soldiers”. Was the “ten thousand soldiers” part hyperbole? A spurious exaggeration?
Fang Ping had “escaped from a Rank-6 powerhouse”. Why would a Rank-6 powerhouse go after him?
Sino was still a lawful country. If a Rank-6 martial artist had really gone after a Rank-3 martial artist, the other powerhouses would definitely not be content with watching from the sidelines.
“Who are their adversaries? Where are they?”
“Who are they battling? An international force? Or someone unknown?”
“Why would they force a group of lower-ranked martial artists to fight with middle-ranked martial artists?”
“Sino is strong, and the Grandmasters are many. Where are they?”
Question after question appeared in the people’s minds. On the Internet, countless people started discourse.
What were the martial artists in Sino Nation concealing?
Word gradually spread through the digital grapevine. They were evil sect martial artists!
Not the Catacombs. Evil sect martial artists!
A group of martial artists aiming to destroy the world and demolish humanity!
Many were surprised. It was only at this moment that they knew of the existence of the evil sect martial artists in Sino Nation!
They became universally hated on for a time.
...
Fang Ping knew that Sino Nation was pruning the grapevine by the time he saw the news.
They introduced to the public the concept of evil sect martial artists first, providing the masses a target to vent their anger on, and acclimating them to the fact that the world martial artists lived in was not a peaceful one–and that they were protecting humanity and everyone by waging war with the evil sect martial artists.
Entering a martial arts university meant that one had to wage war with those people. It was not as everyone had imagined, that martial arts university students were mere members of the privileged.
...
The Catacomb tunnel opened on the 2nd of July. The first batch of dead bodies was transported out.
MCMAU.
The gates were wide open!
The national flag and school flag by the gates were lowered slowly.
“Salute!”
Chen Zhenhua’s eyes were filled with tears as he uttered the words resolutely, with great sadness. The instructors and students lined up behind him saluted.
Many others stood outside the gates.
Martial artists helming businesses, working in the government, serving in the army, or just casual martial artists... They did not enter the school.
Outside the school gates, many bowed and saluted, tears streaming down their cheeks.
Some of them had graduated from MCMAU.
After sixty years of hard work, alumni of MCMAU could be found all over the nation. He had nurtured his students for sixty years, and on this day everything finally came to an end.
His Golden Body was shattered. Nothing remained.
Of all those human powerhouses, no one had died a happy death!
Who, in the past thousand years, was the most chivalrous?
This generation alone!
They did not fight for immortality, to lord over the weak, nor to seize power into their hands...
They were brave enough to fight! They fought to their deaths, but they never balked!
Not only martial artists were deserving of such praise. Those soldiers guarding over the Catacombs without complaint, too. It was those people who embodied chivalry to its end!
...
In the Southern Area, the instructors’ corpses were buried one by one.
The students were incinerated too.
Some of the dead, their bodies were gone. Not only did they died in the Catacombs, but they were also buried there forever; their names, inconsequential characters that no one would remember for long, were the last of them that remained.
What filled the old Vice-chancellor’s tomb were his clothes and personal effects.
Some strangers had come to the Southern Area. Fang Ping recognized quite a lot of them. In other circumstances, he might have gone to say hello, establish some connections.
Now he did not want to. He stood in front of the graves, mind wandering.
It was not only him whose mind went somewhere far away. Many felt as lost.
Even a Rank-8 Golden Body powerhouse had died without a warning. How about them, the weaker people?
Would an urn filled with ashes be the only part of them that was left, in the near future?
...
In the afternoon that day, Fang Ping and a group of students traveled far and wide, bringing news of the other students’ deaths.
Some of their loved ones could not accept the news at all. Some were so hysterical they lost their voices. Some bawled in despair, while the anguish of some others remained lodged in their throats...
Seeing those scenes pan out, Fang Ping murmured to himself, ‘I don’t want this to happen to me: someone bringing my ashes back to my family.
‘I can only become stronger. Even stronger. So strong that no one can kill me!
‘I don’t want my parents to sob in despair. I don’t want to see my sister’s eyes filled with vengeance...
‘I lacked a motive then. I have one now.’
...
After leaving their last destination, Fang Ping’s mind was clear, focused on one goal.
Become stronger!
‘I, Fang Ping, is here now! I’m invincible, no matter if I’m at Rank-3 or Rank-4, or Rank-9. One day, I’ll be so powerful no one can kill me. No one can! I’ll be the one killing other people!
‘One day, all this hatred and hostility will come to an end! Everything will!’
Fang Ping drove back to Sun City that day.
After returning home for a visit to his family, he should be starting his march on his path of conquest.