Coming out from the Vitality Pool, Fang Ping had an additional black outfit donned on.
The instructor in charge of the Vitality Pool was much nicer than Song Yingji who was in charge of the Energy Room and had given it to him for free without even accepting payment. Perhaps he was afraid that Fang Ping would go back to settle things with him.
Outside the Vitality Pool.
Lu Fengrou stood by the door and was waiting while Old Man Li was nowhere to be seen.
Fang Ping walked out and asked frantically, “Teacher, when did you return?”
“Just now.”
“How’re the Catacombs now? Over on East Sunflower City’s side...”
Lu Fengrou did not conceal it this time and said straightforwardly, “Sky Gate City attacked a few times and were beaten back. Even with an army of two hundred thousand, we killed over fifty thousand of them!
“In terms of martial artists, seven high-ranked ones died in battle, so we lost more than half of them. Other than that, a few of the high-ranked ones were injured as well.
“That son of a b*tch was also injured by Guardian Wu. Ever since East Sunflower City’s troops retreated the first time, they have not continued to send troops out.
“If there is no mistake... Sky Gate City might be moving soon.”
“Moving?”
“They’ve lost half of their high-ranked powerhouses, and practically every one of them is wounded. Being so close to Hope City, would they not be afraid that we would kill off another few more of their high-ranked martial artists?”
Lu Fengrou laughed coldly. “It’s not that Sino Nation doesn’t have the strength to annihilate them, it’s just that we were unwilling as we hoped that there wouldn’t be any unforeseen events happening.
“However, as of now, East Sunflower City has sent their troops out. MCMAU now has new opponents over at the Catacombs. Therefore, Sky Gate City isn’t as important anymore...”
“What about the other eleven cities? Have there been any movements?”
Lu Fengrou shook her head. “None yet.”
Fang Ping hesitated before asking, “On our side...”
“There were many grievous deaths and injuries. This time, a large batch of the Military Department’s powerhouses had fallen...”
Lu Fengrou’s tone was calm, and she paused before continuing to say, “On MCMAU’s side, a large number of instructors had also fallen. As of now, there are less than 400 of MCMAU’s middle-ranked instructors. There are only 380 people.
“Over at the Catacombs, there are still more than 50 instructors keeping watch now.
“About 30 instructors have been dispatched to MCMAU’s properties all over the land to guard them.
“A portion of the instructors are carrying out missions...
“When classes start, the middle-ranked instructors in the school won’t reach 300.
“The number of students is close to 7000.”
With less than 300 instructors in the school, this implied that each person had to take up a minimum of 20 over students for things to work out.
This was the least number of in-school instructors MCMAU has ever had in recent years.
Lu Fengrou did not continue to talk about this. She walked as she continued to say, “In two days, Wu Kuishan and the others will return to the school. Wu Kuishan will take over the role of vice-chancellor while Huang Jing will take over the role of deputy vice-chancellor.
“The school will probably gather the students back at the school at an earlier time. Do you have any thoughts about that?”
Fang Ping smiled bitterly. “Teacher, this is the business of the Grandmasters. What thoughts can I have? While I do want to become the vice-chancellor, it’s not my show.”
Lu Fengrou paused in her steps and seemed to consider whether or not to stomp him to death.
“What I’m saying is, at this stage where the new and the old are swapping places, you should learn to strive and fight for your benefits.
“Didn’t you want to challenge Zhang Yu?
“Zhang Yu has a mind to let go of the position as president of Martial Arts Society, but I’ve heard that the intended candidate for his successor is Chen Wenlong.
“But Chen Wenlong is the same as him. They’re both soon-to-be seniors, not to mention the fact that he’s usually not in school.
“Some of the instructors might not agree to let Chen Wenlong take over the position. What I mean is that you could try to fight for it.
“Once you become the president of the Martial Arts Society, you’ll have a bigger right to speak in MCMAU.”
“You want me to fight for my rights?”
“Wrong, I want you to fight for resources!”
Lu Fengrou continued calmly, “It’s not just the resources. The Martial Arts Society is said to govern the school along with the school leaders, so they’re an important part of the school’s composition.
“Zhang Yu, that guy, has a softer personality. Under his management, the Martial Arts Society wasn’t that strong.
“In reality, the authority of the Martial Arts Society is greater than what you imagine.
“Even to the point where you can impeach the school leaders and communicate directly with the Education Ministry.
“You know Wang Jinyang. How’s he like in NMAU?
“Do you think he’s purely relying on his Rank-4 strength?
“Wrong. It’s because he’s the president of the Martial Arts Society. He’s got the support of many people now that NMAU is undergoing reformation.”
Fang Ping said doubtfully, “The vice-chancellor and the others are Grandmasters though, and the Martial Arts Society is just a few Rank-3 or Rank-4 students...”
“You’re forgetting that the school consists fundamentally of these Rank-3 and Rank-4 students. As the students’ leader, you wouldn’t just be representing yourself but the entire school’s students.
“MCMAU hasn’t reached rock bottom yet, so it doesn’t matter if they’re Grandmasters?
“There are a few hundred Grandmasters in Sino Nation. There are even a few casual Grandmasters as well. If Wu Kuishan doesn’t want to be the vice-chancellor, there are plenty of Grandmasters who are willing to take over!
“Of course, it’s just us who are unwilling.
“I want you to fight for the position of president of the Martial Arts Society not because I want you to impeach Wu Kuishan and the others, but because I want you to participate in some of the reformations to the school system.
“Wu Kuishan, Huang Jing, and these other people are different from the old vice-chancellor.
“With the old vice-chancellor, you could relax, but with these guys, you shouldn’t trust them too much.”
Fang Ping laughed dryly. “I’ve actually also thought of fighting for the position of president of the Martial Arts Society but I spoke to Teacher Li about it once before, and he said that the school might not be willing to let me take over.
“Plus, if I were to take the place of president of the Martial Arts Society, then I might have to let go of Ping Yuan Club and MCMAU’s platform...”
“That was the previous time.”
Lu Fengrou disagreed, “As of now, you’ve entered Middle-stage Rank-4, so things are different now.
“Also, you have my support as well as Li Changsheng’s. Getting Lion Tang to back you will not be a problem either.
“At this point, MCMAU has three High Grandmasters and only a total of 8 Peak Rank-6 martial artists.
“Other than the 3 of us, the deans of the other three schools are Peak Rank-6. As for the other two people, one of them is permanently stationed at the Catacombs and the last one is Luo Yichuan.
“Luo Yichuan still thinks pretty highly of you. If we persuade him, then there’ll be 4 Peak Rank-6 martial artists supporting you. It won’t be much of a problem to be president of the Martial Arts Society.”
Fang Ping mumbled, “The Big Lion might not be willing.”
“Then you’ll beat up Zhao Lei and Yang Xiaoman every day!”
Fang Ping felt suddenly awkward. This was not appropriate, right?
In any case, Lu Fengrou was also an instructor, so how could she encourage a student to do this kind of thing? It was not morally right.
Lu Fengrou continued, “Actually, other than these issues, there’s still one more reason why I want you to fight for the position of president of the Martial Arts Society.”
“Say it, please.”
“At MCMAU, other than the Vitality Pool and the Energy Room where you students cultivate, there’s still one other location for cultivation. It’s the place where most instructors go to cultivate. It’s called the Pressure Room, also known as the Mentality Training Room.
“Of course, it’s very dangerous. The cores of the hearts and brains of high-ranked powerhouses were used to construct the Pressure Room.
“It simulates the assault of Mentality from high-ranked Powerhouses.
“Very few Rank-4 and Rank-5 martial artists would go in, whereas most Rank-6 martial artists would go over to train and feel the Mentality.
“All except me!”
Lu Fengrou gave a cold scoff. “MCMAU’s Pressure Room is not open to me as this was the decision of the few High Grandmasters. However, as long as you become the president of the Martial Arts Society, you can raise an objection and have them take another vote to declare a ruling.
“In the school, other than the Grandmasters, those with the right to raise an objection are only the deans of the Four Schools and the president of the Martial Arts Society.
“Most of the deans are all students of the old vice-chancellor, so despite having looked for them in these few years, it was all useless.
“But now the situation has changed. With the old vice-chancellor having died in battle, the thoughts of the other people might have changed too. Some people might be willing to have another Grandmaster.
“However, with Wu Kuishan controlling the school, even if they had these thoughts, they most likely wouldn’t bring it up.
“You’re different. You’re my student, so bringing it up would be perfectly justifiable.
“When the time comes, the school would call for a meeting and have an anonymous vote to decide. If there aren’t any incidents, my ban would probably be lifted.”
Fang Ping nearly bit his tongue in shock. “Teacher, were you banned from stepping foot in there because you wanted to steal those heart and brain cores?”
“Bullsh*t!”
Lu Fengrou swore, before saying huffily, “It’s because they’re afraid of me becoming a Grandmaster. These people are stupid to the max!”
“Could you become a Grandmaster once you enter the Pressure Room then?”
“Of course not. But after a long period of time feeling the pressure of these powerhouses’ Mentalities, it helps with the breaking through of Mentality.”
Fang Ping nodded slightly. “That is quite unfair—they actually barred you from entering. They’re such bullies. Oh yeah, Teacher, are the hearts of high-ranked powerhouses expensive?”
Lu Fengrou suddenly looked at him and paused for a moment before saying, “I haven’t thought about hatching any plans on these things. Are you looking to die?”
Fang Ping said in a slightly embarrassed manner, “I was just asking.”
“Stop thinking so much. Are you interested in fighting to become the president of the Martial Arts Society?”
“Would I have to let go of Ping Yuan Club?”
“No.”
“Then of course I’m interested.”
Fang Ping snickered. “Is it enough if I beat Zhang Yu in battle?”
“If you beat Zhang Yu, it’ll definitely be a crucial opportunity. I’ll ask Li Changsheng to bring it up with the school.”
“Then on Chen Wenlong’s side...”
“Chen Wenlong is about to enter senior year, and he’s now gaining experience at the Military Department. He probably would not participate in this.”
Fang Ping nodded. He was filled with spirit as he said, “Then there’s no problem. Give me two days to adjust to my body and I’ll go challenge Zhang Yu.”
“There’s no rush yet. Wait for Wu Kuishan and the others to come back. On the day students return and gather at the school, there’ll be the handover of vice-chancellor duties. You can challenge Zhang Yu in front of the entire school!”
Fang Ping’s face was bitter as he said, “Isn’t that a bit of a slap in the face? The Grandmasters will be there. I’m a little...”
Lu Fengrou reprimanded, “What are you afraid of? Do you think they have a shot at you? As long as you have the students’ approval of your strength and let the instructors witness it for themselves, even Wu Kuishan wouldn’t dare to go against the consensus of the people. It’s his first grasp of MCMAU, so he needs the sentiment of the people.”
Having said that, Lu Fengrou continued, “You’ve entered the middle-ranks, so you can cultivate high-ranked Combat Techniques now.
“Other than that, your pole-standing can be cultivated even more deeply now.
“You should also think about whether to cultivate the Flight Step Technique or the Bodybuilding Technique...”
“Flight Step!”
Fang Ping did not have a moment’s hesitation. Lu Fengrou wrinkled her brows lightly as she asked, “Why? The Bodybuilding Technique is much more beneficial to the increase of your combat strength.”
If this was back then, Fang Ping would also have thought that the Bodybuilding Technique was the better choice.
However, he could now increase his Vitality, so his physique also became stronger. The Bodybuilding Technique had become unnecessary.
As long as he had enough Wealth points, Fang Ping felt that his own physique was as strong as a golden body.
At this time, there was no doubt that he had to cultivate the flashier Flight Step.
Of course, it was not just because it was flashy.
If he cultivated Flight Step, running away would be more convenient.
Although Fang Ping could now step into the air, he could only do so for short periods of time and only when at a certain height. Earth’s gravity was still a great interference and would make him come back down just moments after.
Once he succeeded in Flight Step and he had enough Vitality, he could then fly in flight stance.
When that time arrives, powerhouses who had not cultivated Flight Step would not be able to beat him.
Even if they had cultivated it, the chances of catching up to Fang Ping while he fled through the air was not great if the other party’s Vitality was not deep enough.
The speed of traveling by flight stance might not be faster than traveling on land, but its key point was convenience.
If Fang Ping had been successful in Flight Step and fled through flight stance, then that Rank-6 martial artist who was after him might really not have caught up to him.
Even if he had been chasing him on land, Fang Ping could have chosen a place with obstacles to flee. With the same condition that he had enough Wealth points, he could have exhausted that Rank-6 martial artist to death.
Lu Fengruo scrunched up her brows lightly but did not say much about it as she opened her mouth to say, “Then when you head back, go over to my place. I can teach you Flight Step. Also, you can choose one or two high-ranked Combat Techniques...”
“Teacher, is there a large difference between high-ranked Combat Techniques and middle-ranked Combat Techniques?”
“I already said so previously that the cultivation of Combat Techniques is up to the extent of which you’ve grasped it and not the levels of your rank.”
Lu Fengrou continued, “Of course, there’s a difference between high-ranks and middle-ranks.
“Actually, to summarize it, there are two characteristics.
“The first is the skill to attack through the expelling of Vitality!”
Fang Ping’s gaze shook slightly as he said, “Is that equivalent to adding a long-range attack so it’s no longer just purely close-combat?”
“You could take it like that.”
Lu Fengrou continued, “Second, is penetrative strength!”
“Penetrative strength?”
Fang Ping showed some slight doubt. As Lu Fengrou walked toward the outside, she said, “When you were exchanging blows with martial artists of the lower three ranks, did you not experience it?
“When you exchanged blows, most of it was external attacks. Was there anyone who managed to shatter your heart without damaging your outer body defense?
“With high-ranked Combat Techniques, there is the additional usage of penetrative strength. Of course, you can also understand this as convulsive strength.
“Or to put it more transparently, you can look at it as the ability to hit a bull from across a mountain.
“For martial artists, the ability to expel Vitality is a basic requirement of being able to penetrate. If you punched with one hand, the strength of Vitality would penetrate through the outer body and explode within his body...”
“But among the Rank-4 martial artists that I bumped into previously in the Catacombs, there weren’t these types of martial artists...”
“First of all, most of the middle-ranked martial artists from the Catacombs have not cultivated high-rank Combat Techniques. Among them, not all of them have the right to cultivate.
“Second of all, if one hasn’t cultivated it to perfection, one would not be able to showcase the damage that this type of penetrative strength would cause.
“Third of all, that Rank-6 martial artist who was after you earlier on had actually cultivated high-rank Combat Techniques before, but you had the protection of leather armor. Additionally, your internal organs are stronger than most and his level of cultivation was not deep enough, so he was unable to shatter your vital organs. Did you not notice that you had extremely heavy injuries to your internal organs though?
“The power of the Vitality he used might not have been very high. Maybe it was due to the sealing of the doors’ juncture to his sanjiao, so it was inconvenient for him to attack with full force.”
Fang Ping’s face was filled with confusion. “The sealing of the doors’ juncture to his sanjiao?”
“Yes. Rank-6 martial artists would realize that there are three doorways in the body, so our essence, spirit, and soul are actually constantly leaking out. What we must do is to seal these three doorways so that the essence, spirit, and soul would only come in and not flow out, thus strengthening our own bodies.
“However, in the period of time when you’ve sealed the doorways, a hole might open if you attack with full force.
“Very few people would attack with full force and waste their efforts in cultivating to kill a Rank-3 martial artist like yourself
“Of course, it’s also related to your own strength. Under normal conditions, it should be a piece of cake for a Rank-6 to kill a Rank-3 martial artist, even if their doorways are sealed.
“The only explanation is that the other party was very useless. Of course, it cannot be excluded that he was just a step away from having his doorways sealed completely, so it could be that he was unwilling to delay his cultivation just for you...”
Fang Ping immediately retorted, “I think the other party was still really strong, but the key point is that my strength is also really powerful...”
To deny that the enemy was strong was to deny his own strength.
Fang Ping thought that the boy with the broken eyebrow was still extremely, extremely strong. This showed that he too was as strong if not stronger.
Lu Fengrou did not want to bother with him anymore. She had already walked out of the Southern Area. Seeing that Fang Ping was still following her, Lu Fengrou waved her hand and said, “What are you still following me for? Go back and stabilize a little in your new state. Take a shower—our body’s starting to smell. We’ll come back to it later!”
Fang Ping hurriedly sniffed himself. There was no smell!
Seeing Lu Fengrou walking speedily away, Fang Ping shouted frantically, “Teacher, now that I’m in the middle-ranks, aren’t you giving me any sort of rewards?”
“Go to the school. The reward for middle-ranks is 1000 credits!”
“Then what about you?”
“I have no money!”
Fang Ping nearly choked on his anger. ‘A Peak Rank-6 martial artist like you crying to me about being poor—are you not ashamed?’
“You could still give a little!”
Fang Ping jogged over, chasing her. If he did not get some money off Lu Fengrou, he would somehow feel like he got the short end of the stick. Old Lu was too stingy.
After chasing her for half a day, he had almost chased Lu Fengrou to her door. She really could not stand Fang Ping anymore, so she threw a bottle of medicinal pills at him before rapidly closing her door. The loud bang was an obvious sign to Fang Ping to hurry up and clear off.
When Fang Ping opened the bottle to have a look, he immediately sobbed with joy. It really was not easy but he had finally plucked some fur off Old Lu!
“A Resurrection Pill!”
Although the large bottle only held one pill, Fang Ping could almost cry.
He knew it. The kid who cried would have milk to drink.
If he had not chased her to her doorstep, would he still have gotten this pill?
It cost 200 credits at the school to exchange for this Resurrection Pill.
Not to mention that this pill was highly effective in repairing damage to one’s internal organs and had an immediate effect.
Fang Ping had also gotten a few of these but after continuously getting injured in the Catacombs, he had used up all of them.
“What a good thing. Next time I’ll have to come to her doorstep more often.”
Fang Ping held the pill with a face full of happiness.
His Wealth points had also increased by more than 4 million, restoring it back to over twenty million.
“That’s right, the school still has a reward of 1000 credits. This is a grand prize, I can’t forget it!”
Fang Ping was really afraid that he would forget it. Without a second word, he turned and ran towards the logistics department.