After suffering for a while, Fang Ping forced himself to keep his emotions under control. Forget it. He would chalk it up on his account first. When there was an opportunity, he would get it back from the Martial Arts Society to make up for it.
No one could be personally liable for this particular debt, which was lucky for everyone.
After a glance at the time, Fang Ping recovered his composure and asked, “Where the hell is Qin Fengqing?”
“At the Financial Department...he said he wanted to get a bonus.”
“Bonus my ass!”
Fang Ping cursed. “He was gone for so many days, and only collected a donation of 500 million. I simply made a call and got an additional 2 billion. Even I don’t have the nerve to ask for a bonus, how dare he?”
“Give him a call and ask him to come here immediately. If he continues making noise about getting a bonus, then I’ll remove him from his position as the vice-president!”
Fang Ping had been gradually settling into his position as president of the Martial Arts Society.
Both Qin Fengqing and Xie Lei did not really provoke him any longer.
When Fang Ping made a request, they would complete it in no time.
This included the expansion of the production line and more fundraising; it only took a few words and things would be sorted out. With Fang Ping as president, the entire university benefitted.
Outsiders might not know the specifics, but they were aware of it.
Even the university instructors were aware of it too.
At this point, if anyone challenged Fang Ping for his position as the president, even if they were stronger in their martial arts abilities, they might not gain recognition from the university.
In less than a month after he had taken up the position, Fang Ping had won over the majority of MCMAU.
Chen Yunxi said nothing more, merely began to dial Qin Fengqing’s number.
...
In no time, Qin Fengqing entered the office, complaining somewhat resentfully, “Fang Ping, where’s the reward that we agreed upon? Why isn’t there any? Have I just wasted so many days of effort?”
“We’ll talk about that after the Martial Arts Society has become rich. Do you know how little the Martial Arts Society has now?”
“You call this ‘a little’?”
Qin Fengqing almost exploded. This brat Fang Ping had straight-up acquired the university’s fund allocation for the Martial Arts Society this year. 1.2 billion had been instantly credited into the account. He did not even want the credits, mainly because credits would depreciate.
This was on top of the donations and dormitory rentals from earlier on.
The Martial Arts Society had never been this rich!
5 billion in funds!
When Zhang Yu was president, the Society could not even save up 3 billion after a year of penny-pinching.
Right now, the Society had deep pockets. The university had not yet said anything about confiscating the donations they had received. Funds were also needed for the campus production line expansion, though the university did not require the Martial Arts Society to pay for this out of their own pocket as the university had allocated funds for that.
With 5 billion on hand right now, Fang Ping had the final say. Both the dean and the Vice-chancellor were merely observers. As long as Fang Ping did not put the money into his own pocket, he could do whatever he pleased.
All this and Fang Ping still complained of being hard up!
Fang Ping ignored Qin Fengqing. He cracked his knuckles and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Take a seat. Let’s get back to previous discussions. I’ve been busy recently and haven’t had time to ask for updates. What’s exactly going on in the Catacombs?”
“So, about my bonus...”
“Any more nonsense and I’ll deduct 200 credits from you every month!”
Qin Fengqing’s face turned green. He clenched his teeth, and said, “Alright, you win. Don’t let me catch you...”
“Is there any use trash-talking me? If trash-talking were actually effective, I would have become a Vice-chancellor ages ago,” Fang Ping retorted scornfully. This brat Qin Fengqing, a mere Early-stage Rank-4, dared to provoke him when he, Fang Ping, was a stage higher. The fellow had balls for sure.
“I’ve built four Celestial Bridges.”
Qin Fengqing might have said this indistinctly but intimidation was evident in his voice.
“So what?”
Fang Ping did not take exception to this. Recently, he had been progressing too rapidly and had slowed down on purpose. Otherwise, he would have already completed honing his heart.
After taking a deep breath, Qin Fengqing gave up on this topic. Fang Ping was not Zhang Yu. When this brat first crossed the university gates, he was not even a martial artist yet—but he was already at a higher level than Qin Fengqing himself. It was useless to pick a fight.
“In that case let’s not talk about this for now.”
Qin Fengqing resumed talking about the Catacombs. He lowered his voice, and said, “Actually, I discovered this when I went into the Catacombs with Wang Jinyang last time. But, that Wang Jinyang is such a cheater. He always grabs the bigger share when we divide up the profits. I don’t want to collaborate with him. I was only a Rank-3 then...”
Fang Ping cut him off. “Skip that, just get straight to the point.”
Qin Fengqing was speechless for a moment. He then continued, “About 300 or so li north of Hope City, there’s a mountain...”
“There’s a temple on the mountain?”
“Huh? You know this too?”
Qin Fengqing was stunned.
Fang Ping was stunned as well!
‘Motherf*cker, I was simply playing around. You must be pulling my leg!’
Qin Fengqing eyed Fang Ping rather suspiciously, but continued slowly, “It’s not really a temple. I didn’t see any monks in the Catacombs either. Whatever it is, it’s some sort of majestic-looking building. At the time I only caught a glimpse of it. Guess what I saw?”
“An energy mine?”
“Idiot. Would I dare go into an energy mine? There’d almost certainly be high-ranked creatures there. Even if I have a death wish, that’s not the way to go about it,” Qin Fengqing scolded. Without giving Fang Ping the chance to scold him back, he continued quickly, “It looked like a herb garden.”
“What do you mean, it looked like?”
“It just looked like it. I couldn’t see it very clearly; someone was hot on my heels at the time...”
“Someone would have destroyed it by now. If you’ve seen it, someone else would’ve seen it too.”
“Nonsense. We got rid of the people pursuing us in the end.”
“You didn’t go back after that?”
Qin Fengqing shook his head. “I couldn’t. The situation became unstable; the Sky Gate City troops were patrolling there at that time. We couldn’t launch a deep offensive either.
“Much later, the Catacombs great war broke out, and I never had the chance to go back.”
Fang Ping frowned. “Just because of your fleeting glimpse, you want me to take the risk and go on an adventure with you? What happens if it’s not a herb garden but a vegetable garden? Also, in the Catacombs, if there’s a majestic-looking building in the remote mountains, wouldn’t there be powerhouses living in it?
“The remote mountains in the Catacombs aren’t good places.”
“First of all, if there are Catacombs powerhouses, why didn’t they show themselves and kill us when we passed by that day?”
Qin Fengqing was calm and composed. “Secondly, do you take me for a fool who can’t differentiate a vegetable garden from a herb garden?”
“Thirdly, which part of the Catacombs isn’t dangerous? Rather than searching aimlessly, it’s safer and more convenient to conduct a targeted search like this.
“Fourthly, I may be terrible at everything else, but I’m great at treasure hunting. I even discovered a huge energy ore hidden in a village. That bastard Wang Jinyang didn’t even pay me any information fees!”
Honestly, Fang Ping could not help but admire Qin Fengqing!
In the Catacombs, other three lower ranks martial artists could not even step 50 li outside of Hope City.
This fellow had run all over the Catacombs, venturing hundreds of li into the interior and exploring further than the typical middle ranks.
Most importantly—he was still alive!
This was too damn unusual!
At that time, Qin Fengqing was not even a Rank-4 martial artist yet—but he managed to move around behind Sky Gate City. Fang Ping was genuinely impressed. Qin Fangqing’s ability to survive was really something. Could he himself outrun Qin Fangqing?
Qin Fengqing could not care less about what was going on in Fang Ping’s mind. He said at length, “In conclusion, it’s worth going on this adventure. If we encounter danger, all we do is run.
“Just so you know, if we really do raid a herb garden, we’ll be rich.
“Besides, I’ll tell you this—high-ranked powerhouses don’t actually care much about pills, neither do they plant herbs...”
“Hold on, the Catacombs martial artists plant herbs?”
All of a sudden, Fang Ping discovered a serious issue. Very solemnly he asked, “The Catacombs martial artists’ cultivation journey is different from ours. They don’t consume pills to cultivate. Why are they planting herbs?”
All the herbs and medicinal plants that humans had discovered in the Catacombs had been found in the wilderness.
The Catacombs martial artists did not consume pills.
Qin Fengqing curled his lips, saying, “Don’t have a cow. The Catacombs martial artists cultivate without depending on pills. No one says that they don’t consume herbs. Herbs contain rich energy particles too. You’re not assuming that they only use energy ores to cultivate, are you?
“If you do, you’re a fool!
“Certain herbs that are nourished well contain energy that may be even higher than energy ores.
“The Catacombs martial artists consume herbs; even the creatures do. You didn’t notice because none of the Catacombs martial artists brought herbs along during the great war; that’s why you didn’t see them do it.
“Actually, sometimes you might still come across such things. You can also seize these treasures after killing Catacombs martial artists.
“Stop interrupting me, will you? What I mean is that high-ranked martial artists don’t need all these herbs. Only middle and lower-ranked martial artists do. You get what I mean now?”
“What you’re saying is, even if the owner of the herb garden is alive and still around, he’ll only be a middle rank at most?”
“Exactly. You’re not so dumb after all.”
Qin Fengqing was smug. ‘I have great logic prowess. Using advantages and avoiding disadvantages, that’s one of my abilities as well. Otherwise, I’d be long dead.’
If there was a likelihood of the building being a high-ranked powerhouse’s home, he would not go. It was too easy for high ranks to kill middle ranks.
However, as long as the powerhouse was not a high-ranked one, both he and Fang Ping could still run if they had to. They might yet stand a chance even if the powerhouse were a Rank-6 martial artist.
That said, Qin Fengqing continued happily, “Right now especially, MCMAU is reclaiming herbs and weapons at a higher cost so it’s more credits. If we handle this right, we won’t have to worry about our cultivation all the way up to Peak Rank-6...”
Qin Fengqing was practically drooling just thinking about it.
The timing was too perfect!
Previously when he supplied the pill company, they had actually cut costs by offering him a far lower purchasing price.
Right now, however, MCMAU would produce its own pills. This was to benefit instructors and students, so the reclamation price was instantly doubled!
It was almost like exchanging raw materials for the price of the manufactured product.
In the long run, the goods that were seized remained the same, but the profit was doubled. Even if Fang Ping had not approached Qin Fengqing, Qin Fengqing would have started giving him hints.
Seeing that Fang Ping was still considering, Qin Fengqing prompted, “That bastard Wang Jinyang knows about this place too. If we don’t make a move now, he will. If he gets to it before we do, you can cry all you want, it won’t make a difference!”
Fang Ping thought for a while, then asked, “When you run, what’s your fastest speed?”
“Why are you asking about this?”
“I need to see how we can carry out the operation.”
“At maximum outburst, 50 meters a second...”
“180 kilometers per hour?” Fang Ping was shocked. Damn, that was fast!
Qin Fengqing grinned deprecatingly, “You can’t calculate it based on speed per hour. I can’t last that long. At most, I can run a hundred li and that’s it; I can’t hold it any longer than that.”
“Oh...”
Fang Ping nodded, saying thoughtfully, “That’s quite fast. Not bad at all. Alright then, let’s prepare ourselves. When I’m done with what’s on hand right now, we’ll go into the Catacombs to take a look.”
“You agree?”
“Yes.”
Fang Ping nodded. ‘Of course I agreed. My Flight Step cultivation’s been progressing rather smoothly. At maximum outburst now, even employing the Flight Step, I might catch up to Qin Fengqing’s running speed.’
On the ground, Fang Ping was actually slightly faster.
If that was the case he had no reason not to agree.
If the enemy wanted to kill them, they would be chasing after Qin Fengqing.
Qin Fangqing ran faster than Fang Ping. His abilities were stronger; even his endurance was much better. If both of them had to run together, Qin Fengqing would be the first to die anyway.
Qin Fengqing looked at him rather inquisitively, “Fifty-fifty?”
“Of course. Can I even take advantage of you?”
“If we meet a Rank-4 or 5 martial artist, no running allowed. We’ll finish him off together?”
“No problem. My thoughts exactly.”
“If we encounter a Rank-6 martial artist, we’ll just submit to fate. Don’t ask me to save you. Last time, I ran while dragging Wang Jinyang along. I almost died of exhaustion.”
“Of course we’ll submit to fate. You too, don’t count on me to save you.”
“Great!”
Qin Fengqing was pleased. He beamed, “That’s decided then. We still need to wait for a few more days though; I’ve been cultivating a high-ranked Combat Technique lately. How about the end of this month? Both of us will go together.”
“Sure.”
Fang Ping had also been cultivating high-ranked Combat Techniques recently. He did not mind waiting for a few days.
After both of them were done discussing, Qin Fengqing left joyfully.
Two people journeying into the Catacombs together was much safer than going alone. At least one of them could stand guard at night.
However, it was generally difficult to trust anyone whom they did not know well.
Although Fang Ping was very shameless and stingy, Qin Fengqing felt he was still reliable. Some shameless and stingy people could only be given a wide berth. Rather than teaming up with a hypocrite, it was better to team up with a truly base character like Fang Ping.
Fang Ping was clearly unaware of Qin Fengqing’s thoughts, or he would have given Qin Fengqing the beating of his life.
...
Once Qin Fengqing had left, Fang Ping thought for a while, exchanged words with Chen Yunxi, and went downstairs to the logistics department.
Though he did not have any credits nowadays, he still had more than one billion cash with him.
On his way, Fang Ping checked his stats:
Wealth: 88 million
Vitality: 2000cal (2000cal)
Mentality: 699Hz (699Hz)
Bones honed: 177 bones (100%), 29 bones (30%+)
Recently, his Vitality and Mentality had remained in peak condition. After achieving Rank-4 and building five Celestial Bridges, Fang Ping realized that martial artists’ recuperation ability at this stage became much more efficient.
Even if one’s Mentality and Vitality had been somewhat depleted and not replenished, the Celestial Bridges would automatically absorb the necessary energy particles to replenish the body.
“I’ve got 88 million Wealth left...for now, there’s no need to use it.”
Fang Ping had considered honing his skull, but he still could not find the courage to do it even after much indecision.
The human brain could not be taken lightly.
“It’s not that bad though, I can save the money for combat or for cultivating Combat Techniques. I can finally pause for a while and not have to worry about money and Wealth.”
He arrived at the logistics department in the midst of thinking about these things.
...
Logistics department.
Ever since Old Man Li bashed Fang Ping up, he had been cheerful for the past few days.
When he saw Fang Ping, Old Man Li grinned, “Want to fight?”
Fang Ping rolled his eyes. This old man really set a bad example!
“I’m here to see if there’s anything good.”
Fang Ping did not stand on ceremony. He took a seat right away, picking up the exchange list and scanning it through. He thought for a while, then said, “Let me have 10 Resurrection Pills...”
Old Man Li almost choked to death coughing. Was the boy consuming Resurrection Pills like jelly beans?
10 pills!
Actually, Fang Ping had 1 pill himself. Logically speaking, it was not necessary to own so many Lifeline Pills. How many chances could one have to save one’s life anyway?
Even better, this boy wanted 10 pills as soon as he opened his mouth. Did he have a death wish?
Fang Ping paid no attention to Old Man Li. He continued looking over the list. After a while, he complained, “Instructor, is this all that’s available? Isn’t there anything better?”
Old Man Li ignored him and said nothing.
“Any storage equipment? Storage Rings or any of that sort of thing?”
“Hehe!”
“Don’t ‘hehe’ me, Instructor. I’m serious. How have we not created any of those things after so many years of technological development?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Those things involve subdimensional theory. Wait till our powerhouses can shatter the void, then you can think about it. We don’t have those sorts of items now.”
“You mean powerhouses can really shatter the void?”
“I don’t know.”
Old Man Li shrugged; God knows whether or not it was possible. However, after a moment of consideration, he relented. “Perhaps. You’ve seen the Catacombs passageway merging both worlds. Since the Catacombs passageway exists, it means that the void can be split apart.
“If we can’t do it, that means we’re still too weak, not that we can’t achieve it.
“When a powerhouse manages to shatter the void, perhaps we can really split it open like the Catacombs passageway, creating an incorporeal space.
“Do you know where the Catacombs passageway is?
“Other than the two whirlpools, the passageway exists neither in the Catacombs nor on earth. But it stretches for thousands of meters in length. If that could be used for storage, we could actually put a massive amount of items in there.
“Perhaps when the moment comes, there will be ways to condense that into a portable storage item,” Old Man Li speculated with utter irresponsibility. He chuckled, “Boy, you never know. We might not have such items here, but certain sects that have passed traditions down for thousands of years very well may.
“Those sects concealed themselves very well. In those days, to avoid turmoil, no one searched for them or seized them by force.
“Back then rumor had it that certain sects did have powerhouses who could shatter the void...of course, it’s more likely that they were bragging.
“Such are the trends in almost all sects. Even Rank-3s have the guts to start a sect now, and all Grandmasters are seen as Gods living among men.
“However, the sects almost certainly possess valuable items. For example, when you made that trip to Wanshan Temple the other day—they have a Buddhist relic there. It’s actually a high-ranked powerhouse’s heart core energy source. It’s rumored to come from a Rank-9 powerhouse.
“Tsk tsk. Boy, if you can lay your hands on a thing like that, it’s as if you owned a mini energy mine at home. It’ll be so invigorating when you cultivate.
“It’s just hard to tell whether Wanshan Temple has completely consumed the energy after so many years...”
Fang Ping was riveted by Old Man Li’s words. A Rank-9 powerhouse’s heart core energy—did that refer to the heart?
How much would such a thing cost?
Fang Ping came to his senses very soon however, shaking his head. What was he thinking?
His purpose for coming here was to change his equipment, not to devise a plan against the sects.
Old Man Li was truly an old man who set a bad example. He was actually encouraging Fang Ping to do something illegal. If Wanshan Temple was robbed in the future, it would be Old Man Li’s fault.
However...Fang Ping was acquainted with Jiese the monk, so he had an inside connection. Not only that, but the monk was up to no good anyway. If Fang Ping was able to communicate with him, that flamboyant monk might agree to collude with him...
“I should stop thinking about this. We’re all comrades, how can I do something like that!”
Fang Ping continued shaking his head. He had been dragged into the gutter by Old Man Li. It was best if this kind of instructor did not teach students; he would only lead them astray.