Fang Ping won the match against Monk Jiese, but he spent quite a lot of his Wealth.
In the hotel.
Fang Ping was frowning. The path he was now walking was compulsory for him to accumulate strength and become stronger.
This continuous outgoing stream of Wealth was not within his expectations, though.
“How can I gain both fame and wealth at the same time?”
Fang Ping suddenly thought of an idea after a while. He fished out his phone and made a call to Li Chengze.
After the call was connected, Fang Ping said, “Commission someone to make me a martial arts uniform. A uniform with Distance Ltd’s name printed on it. Also, start a massive media campaign; I want everyone to know that Distance is mine.
“Ask New Martial Fund to go along with it. Seize this opportunity now to spread the name of Distance!
“Now’s the best time to do that. The government has only published the Rank-3 list, so us Rank-3 people are at our prime. This chance is hard to come by.”
The Grandmasters are too distant from the public!
They would not randomly have friendly matches in front of the public; that was too far beneath them.
Rank-3 martial artists like Fang Ping did not have this problem.
At this moment, the government was pushing for the public to deepen their understanding of the martial arts. Fang Ping’s timely defeat of Monk Jiese was the center of attention.
Almost everyone was following his journey of challenge closely.
They were more excited about Fang Ping’s powerhouse-challenging journey north than about Rank-8 Grandmasters.
Li Chengze was shocked to a pause at the other side of the line. It was only after a while that he said, “Won’t that be...”
“I don’t care, so why should you?”
“Also...” Fang Ping said, after a pause, “Contact some of those tourist spots and hotels at your discretion, see if there’s anyone who’s willing to sponsor us. I can choose to hold the battles nearby.
“I can also wait for a while, wait for the reporters and the crowd to come and watch...”
Li Chengze was completely stupefied!
This was possible?
After a moment’s hesitation, Li Chengze said, considering, “Isn’t this strategy a little too utilitarian...”
Martial artists, in everyone’s eyes, were ethereal beings above material pleasures.
Some of those stars and businessmen were martial artists, too, but this facet of theirs was always overlooked by the public.
Fang Ping’s current journey was more fitting of their impression of a martial artist.
Fang Ping explained, “Martial artists have to cultivate and sustain themselves too. How can they possibly do that without money?
“This is a good opportunity. If we miss this one, we won’t have the chance to do this again!
“I don’t care how you do it—borrow loans or whatever. This time is the best for a swift expansion.”
“Sure, if you don’t have any objection.”
Li Chengze feared that Fang Ping would think this strategy a little overzealous, but then he was the one who suggested it. If Fang Ping did not mind, he would be down to do this, naturally.
Everyone was paying close attention to Fang Ping’s journey, to the possibility of his ascending to first place among all Rank-3 martial artists.
Fang Ping was young, too; he was only a martial arts university student. This made everyone have hope—if Fang Ping could do it, their sons and daughters could too.
...
Someone appeared in Fang Ping’s mind after his conversation with Li Chengze.
He went downstairs after packing up quickly.
He noticed someone following him just as he walked down the stairs. All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks, and he bellowed, “Show yourself!”
There was no one behind him.
After a while, Liu Dali walked out, grinning sheepishly. He still held his camcorder in his hands as he chuckled drily. “Fang Ping, fancy seeing you here!”
“Did you leak that video of the battle between Jiese and me?”
“About that...”
“I demand a 9:1 split of the profits. I’ll get 90%, while you get 10%!”
Liu Dali froze. Was this appropriate, discussing profits first thing in a conversation?
Fang Ping noted his silence. “What, you don’t agree? You stalked me, recorded a video of me, and uploaded it without my permission. According to the rules of the martial arts, you have to accept even if I propose a fight to the death with you. Are you sure you wanna follow through with that instead?”
Liu Dali was completely befuddled. He was not a fighter!
“Mr... Mr Fang, I...”
“Of course, I’m not someone who obsesses over the last penny. We’ll talk about profit distribution later.
“I’ll let you go if you do something for me.”
Liu Dali stammered immediately, “Of course, of course!”
Fang Ping glanced at his surroundings surreptitiously before he went forward to seize Liu Dali’s shoulders and guide him back to his room.
Liu Dali’s face contorted in shock. He whispered, despaired, “Mr... Mr Fang, I... I think that this sh... should not be done between men...”
Fang Ping glared at him. ‘What is in this guy’s mind, wearing that perverted expression on his face...”
After they were in Fang Ping’s room, he gestured for the other man to sit. He did not do anything to address the other’s trepidation, saying instead, “Do you want to record fights between me and other people?”
“Yes!”
“That’s good, then. I’ll give you this opportunity to do this legally. You’ll have to split the profits with me, of course.
“Also hire an internet water army or something to stir up gossip.
“Milk the most out of who I am going to challenge.
“For example, if I’m challenging Ling Yiyi next, you must emphasize the main selling point. Announce to the world that Ling Yiyi is crowned as the “Prettiest Girl in the Martial Arts World”, and that she’s as pretty as the blooming flowers.
“Spin the story a bit, make a rumor saying that something’s complicated between her and Han Xu. CCMAU had lost to MCMAU then, and she is attempting to avenge Han Xu by fighting me.
“You can embellish some details, make me and Han Xu love rivals fighting for Ling Yiyi or something. Anything...”
Liu Dali was shocked. Can this be done?
“But... But if she seeks me out...”
“Are you stupid? Can you tell everyone that you did it? They won’t spend much effort to check who did it. Everything’s gossip, anyway; who knows if it’s true or not.
“Just trend the topic and upload the video.
“And also promote my business. Distance Ltd. It’s a dependable business. I founded the company.
“Don’t make it too obvious. I’ll wear a uniform with my company’s name printed on it. You have sharp eyes, so you discovered the words, make an offhand mention about them...”
Liu Dali was sweating. Seriously?
“Also, talk about me more when you’re recording. Slip in some descriptions about my opponents, mainly about how strong they are, so that my strength is emphasized implicitly.”
“About this...”
“Quit the indecisiveness, or you’ll be the next one I’m challenging. Remember that it was you who provoked me first!”
Liu Dali wanted to cry, but no tears came out. ‘I only shot a video of you. Did you really have to do this?’
Fang Ping, in his eyes, was the strongest among the Rank-3 powerhouses.
People like that should be obsessed with martial arts and nothing else.
But now...
Now he was being forced to be a slave. A slave that helped Fang Ping to promote himself and his company!
Fang Ping had asked him to hire a water army, hype him up, spread gossip about him, and promote him as well...
Was he still the martial powerhouse Liu Dali had pictured him as?
“Mr Fang... Isn’t this a bit too, uh...”
“You can either quit the crap or take a punch from me. If you don’t die after that, then maybe you can talk to me. Of course, I can break a few of your bones even if I don’t kill you. Serves you right for stalking me!”
Liu Dali was again on the verge of sobbing. He said, ashamed, “Then... Then, about the profits from the videos, how do you want to split them?”
“9:1...” Fang Ping coughed drily upon seeing Liu Dali’s expression of discontentment. “8:2, then. You’re just someone who takes videos. I can look for someone else if you don’t wanna do it. Do you really think that you’re irreplaceable?
“I’m the one risking my life here while you watch from the sidelines. 20% generous enough for you?”
“You’re right... But what if someone else took videos of you too...”
“If they upload them without my permission, I’ll sue them until they get bankrupt! Don’t worry about this. Of course, we can make the videos public after we both make a pretty penny out of them, bolstering my reputation some more...”
“Fine.”
Liu Dali agreed to his terms, still somewhat befuddled. How on earth did everything lead to him suddenly working for Fang Ping?
Fang Ping said, after deep thought, “See if you can contact some tourist spots for us to use. You can advertise those spots in your recordings if you reach an agreement with them. Something that can attract more tourists, like ‘this is the battleground of future Grandmasters’...
“I fought in Wanshan Temple and the Yuntai Mountains last time. Let’s choose a less famous venue this time, so that we can be more helpful to them.”
Liu Dali was thoroughly floored!
‘You’re much more money-hungry than I am!’
...
The two men discussed the details of their plan.
Soon after, Li Chengze made someone deliver the uniform Fang Ping had commissioned to him as soon as possible. The words Distance Ltd were embroidered discreetly on the right sleeve.
The search for tourist spots would come to an end soon.
Fang Ping was now the center of the nation’s attention.
Some newly constructed tourist spot in the Beihe district paid 5 million for Fang Ping to hold his next battle there.
Fang Ping was actually quite dissatisfied with the amount.
He could not ask for too high a price, though, not when everyone had not seen the results.
Fang Ping was dissatisfied with the overly low price, so he did not choose Yu Chen as his first opponent after he had stepped foot in Beihe, picking a Rank-3 martial artist ranked somewhere in the forties instead as a trial. Yu Chen would have to wait until another tourist spot paid more.
Yu Chen, being a Rank-3 powerhouse at the top of the ranking, was hard to ask out, too, so Fang Ping would have to think of an idea to persuade him.
...
July 17th, Fang Ping challenged the 41th place on the list, the president of the Beihe Martial Arts University Martial Arts Club, in the Beihe Vacation Area.
Fang Ping had issued an invitation this time, and the other had replied quickly with an affirmative.
University students were young, so their hearts were still alight with passion.
How could he reject, when Fang Ping had taken the initiative to challenge him?
The two fought in the Beihe Vacation Area. There were many spectators. Fang Ping had fought the other for fifteen minutes before defeating him; the battle went on so long that it defied expectations.
Fang Ping and Jiese’s match had been less than ten minutes long.
This was quite surprising to the public, the fact that Fang Ping had taken more than fifteen minutes to defeat the martial artist ranked 41th on the list.
...
A video of the match was uploaded soon.
It was clear. Very clear.
As the only reporter who had obtained permission to enter the vacation area, Liu Dali spoke till his mouth went dry, praising the strength of Fang Ping’s opponent, the president of the BMAU Martial Arts Club.
Of course, he had been defeated by Fang Ping in the end.
The “sharp-eyed” Liu Dali had also spotted the Distance logo that Fang Ping had accidentally revealed. Soon, Liu Dali was reminded of Distance Ltd, a well-known company in Magic City.
Many in Magic City only found out at this moment that Distance was Fang Ping’s.
As for why Liu Dali, someone who was not from Magic City, knew so much about it? No one cared.
...
July 19th, Fang Ping challenged Hope Corporation’s Yu Chen. The venue was set in the square in front of Hope Tourism Hotel.
Yes, Hope Hotel!
As a martial artist dabbling in business, Yu Chen was equipped with both business sense and martial strength.
Yu Chen had known what Fang Ping was planning when Fang Ping had set the time and venue. Without ado, Yu Chen asked Fang Ping to change the venue.
Of course, Hope Corporation would cover the extra fees.
This was unrelated to the friendly match. Business was business, and battle was battle. Yu Chen would not slack off despite everything. If he had defeated Fang Ping, not only his reputation would be boosted, but Hope Corporation would also be paid more attention to.
...
As Fang Ping and Yu Chen battled it out in the square, surrounded by a crowd, Old Man Li fumed, cursing up a storm midair.
This kid was so money-hungry he went crazy!
Did this little bastard come to bolster his front or film an advertisement?
Every one of those business martial artists was up to no good. While Fang Ping wore his Distance uniform, Yu Chen wore another of Hope Corporation. Those two bastards definitely did not practice martial arts wearing those.
To be ranked among the top five among all Rank-3 casual martial artists, it was natural that Yu Chen had the talent.
Extremely strong talent, at that!
He did not fight with martial artists regularly, as he chose to sharpen his claws in the Catacombs.
He seemed gentle at first glance, but his murderous aura was more ominous than Fang Ping’s.
The stronger his aura, the more furious Old Man Li was.
Those two guys were both elites in the field, but they had dove face first into money, so deep down the pit that they took the battle as a chance to advertise themselves.
...
Fang Ping and Yu Chen’s match ended with both of them equally injured. Fang Ping won by a small margin with difficulty.
Fang Ping was injured seriously, though. He had to stay in Beihe to recuperate.
At this moment, word about Fang Ping and Ling Yiyi’s upcoming match was widespread on the Internet!
...
“MCMAU Battles CCMAU Again, The Grudge Between Them A Tough Nut to Crack!”
“Ling Yiyi from CCMAU Rumored to be Prettiest in All Martial Arts Universities. True Or False?”
“Han Xu Met With Defeat Against Chen Yunxi In Previous National Championship. Rumored That Han Xu And Ling Yiyi Are Lovers, While Relationship Between Fang Ping From MCMAU And Chen Yunxi Is Complicated. Is This A Battle of Vengeance?”
“Love and War, All In This Battle!”
“Ling Yiyi Back From Gyeonggi-do, Wins Against Sect Member Xu Xiaobin with Huge Advantage. Can Fang Ping Triumph Against Her?”
“Everything In Kudou Videos! Please Wait With Bated Breath for Liu Dali’s Exclusive Coverage!”
...
Before the battle between the two was even confirmed, it was already all over the Internet.
Gossip would always pull the nation’s attention.
...
As Fang Ping was recovering from his injuries and was getting ready to move to Capital City, Old Man Li was at his limit. He appeared in the hotel Fang Ping was staying in, face pitch black.
In the hotel.
The moment Fang Ping opened the door, Old Man Li seized him by the collar, like a hen picking up a chick. He growled furiously, “You good-for-nothing bastard, what the heck are you doing? Treating these battles like games?”
Fang Ping froze for half a second before he came to, explaining with a grimace, “Instructor, I have to cultivate too. I’m short on funds! The two aspects aren’t at odds with each other, are they?”
“What a load of b*llshit!”
Old Man Li was so angry he cursed, face pitch black as he berated on, “This is so embarrassing! After word of this has spread, the reputation of MCMAU will be done for!”
Fang Ping tried his best to placate the old man.
At the end of his rant, Old Man Li said, his anger still evident in his words, “You fool around now, but you have to pay extra attention to Ling Yiyi when you’re fighting her. Don’t think that you can beat every one of those people to your heart’s content. She killed an Upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist. Even if he was a casual martial artist from the Catacombs, it is still a testament to her skills.”
Fang Ping looked more serious as he nodded. “I know. I knew that my skills were lacking when I was fighting Yu Chen.
“The weaker I am, the more important this crusade of mine is to me.
“If they’re all weaker than me, my challenging them would lose its meaning.
“I’m better than them physically. I’m not even bragging. My physicality, Vitality, and Mentality are all stronger than theirs.
“The main point is that I don’t know how to use them. Or rather I didn’t use them well. Fighting with those same-ranked powerhouses helps me to have a grasp on my powers. I have a good base, so the stronger my opponents are, the stronger I will be. If Ling Yiyi stresses me out enough, I might become stronger, I think.”
Old Man Li did not contest his words. Fang Ping had a good base.
It was only with that he could become stronger after a few matches.
Despite his approval, Old Man Li warned Fang Ping of an important fact: he was naturally talented, but others were too.
If he was defeated before he could show his best, digest and compartmentalize what he had learned, everything would be futile.
Ling Yiyi would probably break through after defeating Fang Ping.
If Fang Ping was the winner, he may not become invincible. It might not affect his breakthrough, but he might not be Ling Yiyi’s match the next time he went against her. Winning when at a disadvantage was much tougher than going on a smooth crusade.