The Military Department.
Wartime Command Office.
All the Grandmaster-level powerhouses watching over the Magic City Catacombs arrived.
Just as Fang Ping and Qin Fengqinga entered the room, a muscular man laughed and said, “Fang Ping, Qin Fengqing, you’ve really boosted the good reputation of our school! Good job!”
Fang Ping raised his head upon hearing him. He thought for a while and reached a shaky conclusion. “Grandmaster Tian?”
“Hahaha. Your eyes are pretty sharp!”
Tian Mu laughed heartily.
Fang Ping’s eyes lit up. He asked immediately, “Senior Tian, why did you come here?”
The other Grandmasters at the side were instantly rendered speechless.
How smoothly the boy quickly associated himself with Tian Mu!
Grandmaster Tian became Senior Tian in the blink of an eye.
Tian Mu had graduated from MCMAU some fifty years ago. He was old enough to be Fang Ping’s grandfather.
Tian Mu looked like he was in his forties or fifties, but he was quite old. How could Fang Ping just address a man in his seventies as ‘senior’?
Just after Fang Ping had greeted him, Qin Fengqing’s eyes lit up too. He called immediately, “Brother Tian...”
Smack!
Qin Fengqing was sent flying to the opposite wall. Tian Mu scolded. “Your dad called me Uncle when he was in school. What did you f*cking call me?”
Tian Mu could not stop scolding. Who taught this bastard of a kid?
Qin Fengqing was perplexed. He eyed Fang Ping, who shrugged. ‘There’s no problem in me calling him Senior. All the alumni are my seniors, aren’t they.’
Tian Mu disregarded Qin Fengqing. He laughed and said, “I got transferred back here from the North. Some of those old fellows here in Magic City died, and there are not enough people. I’ll be guarding the Magic City Catacomb permanently from now on...”
Fang Ping was elated upon hearing the news. He immediately said with a grin, “With Senior Tian here, we’ll be more confident...”
Tian Mu had been guarding a Catacomb in the North as general-in-chief of the Military Department. He did not need to lead armies despite his position, of course.
The positions in the Military Department were as follows: master commandant, commander-in-chief, general, general-in-chief.
The nicknames, on the other hand, were much more varied. When one came across a commander-in-chief, he could call him a general. A general would answer to Commander or Boss, so to say.
The positions were still ironclad regardless of the nicknames.
Fang Ping had seen photos of Tian Mu before. The Martial Arts Club had the information of alumni powerhouses ready.
When the Vice-chancellor had returned, he also relayed some news on the situation to Fang Ping. Tian Mu was one of the martial artists headed to Capital City then, and also one of the most powerful out of them.
He was a real Rank-8 golden-body powerhouse!
The fact that he was a “real Rank-8 golden-body powerhouse” was highlighted because he was different from people like the old Vice-chancellor, who were injured all over and thus meant that their golden bodies had somewhat faded. Their real power in battle was weaker than those who were at their peak. That was why they could only give up their lives to kill their enemies.
Tian Mu would not have needed to do that.
Even Wu Kuishan was inferior to Tian Mu; he had broken through later than Tian Mu.
“Confidence?” A Grandmaster named Kou said with mirth, “What confidence do you need? The confidence to swindle a Rank-9 Great Grandmaster?”
Fang Ping chuckled, embarrassed.
The old man named Kou did not continue teasing him. His smile faded, and he asked directly, straight to the topic, “Where are you going this time?”
“The Wolf Head Mountain.”
“Wolf Head Mountain?” The old man named Kou looked at Tian Mu and the others. “There’s higher-ranked enemies there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Never been there before.”
“I went there once. Didn’t spot anyone.”
Tian Mu was not familiar with that place. He said, after some thought, “I went there 30 years ago, but I was just passing by. I didn’t head into the deeper regions.”
Just at that moment, a tall middle-aged man walked in. He said, “There’s a higher-ranked there, but he’s keeping a low profile. He hasn’t fought in the previous big battles. I met him once, though. He’s probably connected to the commander of Sky Gate City’s Wolf Battalion.”
“Guardian Wu.”
“Guardian Wu, you’ve met the other man?”
“...”
It was the South Guardian Wu Chuan who entered the room.
Wu Chuan eyed Fang Ping and said, grinning, “Didn’t you just have a field day calling other people your seniors? Why didn’t you greet me when you saw me?”
Fang Ping looked confused at the sudden jab, but he said quickly, as if something else came up in his mind, “Oh, you’re Senior Wu! I was not sharp enough to have identified you! May glory bless you, my senior...”
“I can’t live up to the honor. Someone here wanted to kick me out.”
Fang Ping continued to put up his confused face while he cursed up a storm in his mind.
‘I’ve only talked about this to Huang Jing and Wu Kuishan. Why did Wu Chuan know?
‘The two vice-chancellors are so fickle. They sold me out!’
Wu Chuan was a Rank-9 Great Grandmaster, one of the strongest in his rank at ninth place. He was ranked below Zhao Xingwu, the leader of the sectarian alliance.
Wu Chuan stopped trying to freak him out. He asked, “Tell me what happened in more detail...”
Fang Ping relayed the incident a second time immediately.
Wu Chuan looked deep in thought. “Has the Jiao broken through to Rank-8? That’s why the Jiao Forest is expanding. Luckily it didn’t expand to the South.”
The South was where Hope City was in.
“Senior Wu, has that person from today died?”
“No.” Wu Chuan shook his head. “Sky Gate City’s city-lord aided him. He was injured quite heavily, though. I felt his aura dwindle. He was injured heavily. He’s only at Rank-7 level. If not for the city-lord of Sky Gate City, who has aided him just in time, he would’ve died.
“I was just preparing to block their paths... Something was stirring in East Sunflower City. Its city-lord is trying to intimidate his enemy. Pity that Old Man Fan has just left. If not, with him countering the two men, I would’ve been able to kill the enemy.”
There were too many Catacombs all over Sino Nation. The Rank-9 powerhouses were all busy.
One Rank-9 powerhouse standing guard was the maximum for a Catacomb.
As the South Guardian, Wu Chuan had not left this Catacomb since his arrival. The powerhouse guarding this Catacomb before him had something to do and so was coincidentally out.
If not for that, the two powerhouses could perfectly halt the advances of the other two from the enemy side and the Jiao could kill them. The Catacomb would have one less higher-ranked powerhouse.
Wu Chuan did not show his regret. He laughed. “This is good too. This time, the Sky Gate City lord has thoroughly annoyed the Jiao. Beast Kings like them hold the longest grudges...”
“Beast King?”
Fang Ping was a little perplexed.
“Higher-ranked beasts are all Kings. Of course, that’s what we call them.”
Wu Chuan said, “Recently our studies on the Catacombs have reached a breakthrough. We’ve also translated some information. In the Catacombs, Rank-7s are also called Chieftains. Those at Rank-8 are Venerables. Only those at Rank-9 can be called Kings.
That’s why the moniker Beast King isn’t that appropriate now. Of course, it’s nothing. They’re only names.”
Fang Ping muttered, “So that’s why the Jiao seemed happy when I called him King Jiao...”
The room went quiet instantly.
Everyone looked at Fang Ping. Wu Chuan’s brow furrowed. “You’ve interacted with the Jiao before?”
“It’s not called Jiao. It’s actually the Golden-horned Beast King... That’s what the Catacomb powerhouse called it, anyway. Was he sucking up to the Jiao too?”
“Stop leading the topic astray.” Wu Chuan interrupted him. He then explained, “King-level is King-level. If one calls the Jiao a Beast King, it means that it is the strongest among the many Golden-horned Beasts in the area and that there is more than one Jiao.
“The strongest in a group of beasts is called a Beast King. There are also Beast Kings at Rank-4 or Rank-5.”
“I see...”
Wu Chuan looked like his head hurt. “Return to the main topic. Go back to telling us about the Jiao.”
“Oh, I’ve known him for quite a long time...”
Everyone was speechless once again. ‘You’ve only entered the Catacombs twice, and now you’re long-time friends with it?’
Their expressions changed when Fang Ping told them how he had met and stayed with it for a night the previous time he had been here.
It was not because their minds instantly went to the gutter, but because Fang Ping had survived even after taking such a huge risk!
Tian Mu said, interested, “You’re saying that it didn’t kill you after you fed it your Vitality?”
Fang Ping shook his head. “No. The Jiao’s quite clever. It probably thinks of me as long-term food storage. Other Rank-4 and 5 powerhouses are sucked dry upon coming across it. I survived because of my mutation. My Vitality replenishes very quickly, so I can give it my Vitality continuously.
“Also, during the last time I met it, I lured some middle-ranked martial artists to it. It was probably leveling up. It probably wants me to continue delivering some meat to it...”
Everyone was speechless once again. Qin Fengqing said loudly, as if he had discovered a huge secret, “Those Rank-4 and 5 martial artists you “killed” were killed like that?”
Fang Ping said exasperatedly, rolling his eyes, “You don’t need to care about how I killed them. I said that I killed them with tactics. Isn’t this a tactic? Can you do that? If I didn’t know it, you will definitely die this time. Do you think it will let you go? If the Jiao really did let you go, that person chasing after you will also kill you!”
The others disregarded the two’s quarrel.
Tian Mu said, “Kid, is this you saying that you can order the Jiao around?”
Fang Ping grimaced. “No, how can I? Eating and sleeping takes up its whole day. Unless you bring some meat for him...”
“Is that so?”
Tian Mu seemed to have thought of something. Wu Chuan looked at Fang Ping, too, as if there was a new discovery.
Fang Ping said quickly, “I’m not going to the Jiao Forest! It’s too dangerous. I don’t wanna go to my own death.”
Everyone cracked up. Wu Chuan turned away from him. He said, “Everyone knows what happened. And Sky Gate City’s lord has attacked too, which means that the person on Wolf Head Mountain knows him. This also means that Sky Gate City now has 8 higher-ranked martial artists.
Wu Chuan suddenly said, “The martial artist you killed on Wolf Head Mountain. Where is his badge?”
Qin Fengqing fished a few badges out, and Wu Chuan grabbed them from the air. He flipped them to the back to check. His brow immediately furrowed at the sight. “West Phoenix City!”
The front side of a Catacomb martial artist’s badge showed his rank. The other side was a symbol of his city.
Everyone, at this moment, could see a lifelike phoenix on the back of the badge.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
“Sky Gate City came to a West Phoenix City martial artist’s aid...”
“Is the two-city union becoming a three-city one?”
“We have to report this immediately. Supervise West Phoenix City’s actions meticulously!”
The Grandmasters stood in alert immediately. This information was not trivial.
No one from West Phoenix City went to rescue one of their powerhouses in trouble, but it was Sky Gate City’s lord who provided aid. What was happening?
Seeing the importance the others placed on this information, Fang Ping said gleefully, “Grandmasters, is this information important? I’ve risked my life to acquire that information...”
Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Chuan waved his hand, and Fang Ping and Qin Fengqing ended up outside the barracks, wearing identically confused faces.
...
“What does this have to do with me?”
Qin Fengqing was so furious he could spit blood. ‘How many words have I spoken since I entered the room?’
Less than ten, but then Tian Mu hit him and Wu Chuan shooed him out of the room. He was innocent!
He glared at Fang Ping viciously. Qin Fengqing harrumphed. “Stay away from me!”
“Shut up!”
Fang Ping snapped. He asked, after some thought, “What do we do now?”
“Give up. Let’s go back. After earning this pile of riches, I should return and cultivate.”
Fang Ping inclined his head slightly. After some thought, he continued, “Next time you come here to mine ore, tell me too.”
Qin Fengqing knew of the location of an energy ore mine.
Qin Fengqing had also emerged unscathed from that place, so Fang Ping thought he would have no problem too.
Qin Fengqing sneered. ‘You think I’m stupid?’
‘You think I’ll tell you where the energy ore mine is?’
Fang Ping did not mind his reaction. He said while they walked back, “Think about it well. Without me, you’ll have no one to look after your body after you die.
“If I go, you’ll be 90% safer. Make your decision after thinking carefully. When you’re with me, aside from being a little tired from running, are you hurt in any way?
“What I heard is, last time when you were with Wang Jinyang, you were beaten up badly and got yourself countless times. You’ve owed so much in medical fees too...”
Qin Fengqing was thoughtful. ‘What he said has its merits. I can’t even contradict him.’
After much hesitation, Qin Fengqing whispered, “If we want to go, we’ll have to be at Rank-6, at least.”
Fang Ping’s expression was calm. He said, unruffled, “Then we shall wait. Right, is it far away from here?”
“It’s not that far. Five or six hundred li away...”
Qin Fengqing stopped.
A map appeared in Fang Ping’s mind. He was bad at identifying directions, but he was well-versed in map memorization.
A five or six hundred li radius from Hope City...
The possibility of it being located south of the city could be eliminated. The sea was there.
It being in the north was also not quite possible. The area five or six hundred li north from Hope City was within the city behind Sky Gate City.
East Sunflower City was in the northeast, while West Phoenix City was in the northwest direction.
Cities were built in both of those clearings. Many martial artists lived there. If there were mines, they would have been discovered long ago.
That meant that the mine was either at the east or the west of Hope City.
There were no cities in both areas; they were both deserted, forbidden even. It was possible for one to discover mines that no one had discovered before.
“I heard that, in the Desert of Ten Thousand Ants, there are many ants as huge as a human’s head. Have you eaten ants before?”
Fang Ping asked offhandedly. Qin Fengqing eyed him and said unhappily, “Who eats ants.”
“Are there really human head-sized ants?”
“How would I know.”
“Mm.”
Fang Ping understood immediately. It was not in the west. The Desert of Ten Thousand Ants was in the west and was four to five hundred li away from Hope City.
Qin Fengqing had never been there.
“At the east!
“Five to six hundred li away from Hope City!
“There’s an energy ore mine that no one has discovered! It’s really not the spot that MCMAU has come across.”
Fang Ping felt a headache creep in while he was deep in thought. Five to six hundred li away was only an approximate scope. Confirming the mine’s exact spot would be troublesome.
‘Whatever, I’ll go look for it when the opportunity comes and take everything there for myself. I wouldn’t be so stupid to split them with Qin Fengqing.’
Qin Fengqing eyed Fang Ping. He had a niggling thought that he had overlooked something.
“Did I say something wrong? I only told him that it’s five to six hundred li away... It should be fine, shouldn’t it?”
Qin Fengqing was worried for himself. This guy Fang Ping was supremely devious.
He did not feel like he had lost anything while working with Fang Ping, but he had ended up several thousand credits less.
This made Qin Fengqing feel like he had been scammed, but there had not been anything of the sort.
Why had he ended up with so many credits less, though?
‘I have to take some general science classes when I get back. No, I have to take accounting and higher mathematics courses from the School of Social Sciences.’
Qin Fengqing reached a conclusion. It might be possible that he had done the math wrong. He would not have lost so much otherwise.
Fang Ping eyed him and saw him deep in thought. He, too, was cooking up a plan. Qin Fengqing had not retorted when Fang Ping told him that he owed Fang Ping 50 million yuan, and many heard them. That made the statement real, did it not?
When the chance came, this sum of money, he must take it back.
Now was the moment Fang Ping discovered that making money was quite easy.