Chapter 328: Prodigies Across the Skies
It was the end of October, Fang Ping’s system had been upgraded, and he was starting to focus on honing the rest of his four organs.
At the same time, the outside world was continuously spreading breaking news.
At the beginning of November, 99 martial arts universities and three military schools would be officially participating in the Championship.
89 ordinary martial arts universities were fighting for the seven spots available to participate in the last fight to place as one of the top ten schools.
Meanwhile, Yao Chengjun from the First Military School went from South to North, on his path to becoming an invincible Rank-4.
On the other hand, Li Hansong from CCMAU was headed from North to South and was challenging the various heroes of the Rank-4 rankings.
There were only three students in the Rank-4 rankings.
Yao Chengjun, Li Hansong, Wang Jinyang.
Wang Jinyang had yet to enter the ranking’s challenges as he was preparing to fight a spot in the ordinary martial arts university’s category. However, Yao Chengjun and Li Hansong did not have such concerns.
Chen Wenlong from MCMAU was not a peculiar martial artist, so even if he reached Peak Rank-4, he might not be able to enter the Rank-4 rankings.
The Rank-4 rankings still mainly consisted of the older generation as usual.
At that moment, Yao Chengjun ranked the 42nd, Li Hansong ranked the 47th, and Wang Jinyang ranked the 76th.
Their rankings were not high.
The breakthrough period was too short, and they had not spent a lot of time in Peak Rank-4. Even though the time they had spent in Peak Rank-4 was much longer compared to Fang Ping, compared to the martial artists who had spent decades in the Rank-4 stage, it would seem that these prodigal martial artists had yet to accumulate enough experience.
Two prodigies, one went from South to North, and another went from North to South, each partaking in their own challenges.
The media immediately set their sights on them.
Would these two people meet along the way?
Was Nanjiang their goal?
Would the 89 ordinary martial arts universities’ fight for the participants’ spots be exceptionally fierce?
Would prodigies suddenly appear across the skies of the ordinary martial arts universities?
The spread of this news had made the national Rank-1 martial arts competition a little less lively. However, the Rank-1 martial arts competition had already entered its last stage and did not overlap too much with the Championship, so it still maintained a certain amount of liveliness.
...
Amid all the enthusiasm.
On the 1st of November, Li Hansong defeated South Capital Martial Arts University’s instructor who was ranked the 37th and replaced him, taking the 37th place on the rankings. Li Hansong won easily and had thoroughly defeated his opponent within a minute.
On that day, South Capital Martial Arts University’s Martial Arts Society’s president, Chen Haoran observed the fight quietly. The moment the fight ended, Chen Haoran entered the Catacombs.
On the same day, Yao Chengjun moved up to the 32nd spot on the rankings after defeating the instructor from East Sino Nation Normal University who had originally placed 32nd in the rankings.
The East Sino Nation Normal University’s Martial Art’s Society’s president observed the fight as well. After the fight, he retreated and charged towards Peak Rank-4.
...
MCMAU.
There were three MCMAU instructors in the Rank-4 rankings.
They ranked the 6th, then 24th, and the 91st respectively.
When the news of Yao Chengjun taking the ranking after defeating the instructor from East Sino Nation Normal University spread, Fang Ping had just walked out from his dormitory.
...
The Teacher’s Building.
Fang Ping walked into Huang Jing’s office and asked, “Is Yao Chengjun coming to MCMAU?”
East Sino Nation Normal University was very close to MCMAU.
After Yao Chengjun had defeated the East Sino Nation Normal University instructor that ranked 32nd, his next target would be the MCMAU instructor, Zhao Minghao, who ranked 24th.
At that moment, Huang Jing was discussing with Tang Feng.
Upon seeing Fang Ping barge in, he frowned and asked, “Weren’t you practicing? Were you unable to sit still?”
“The Rank-4 rankings kept excluding me. I don’t think I’m weaker than anyone else! If Yao Chengjun dares to come to MCMAU, then I shall meet him in advance. He can use his Mentality Intimidation on others, but if he tries to intimidate me, I will destroy his Mentality Intimidation!”
Fang Ping chuckled. “It’ll be great if he comes, I won’t have to go on a journey to find him myself.”
Tang Feng interrupted him. “He won’t come to MCMAU right now. After defeating the instructor from East Sino Nation Normal University, Yao Chengjun will start heading North. But’s not because he’s afraid of you, it’s because he’s worried about meeting instructor Sun Long too soon. If he did, it would not be advantageous for his upcoming fights.”
Sun Long was the top-ranking Rank-4 in MCMAU, he ranked 6th in the Sino Rank-4 rankings.
What Yao Chengjun needed was to move forward step by step until he reached the Peak. If he came to MCMAU now, there was a great probability that he would meet Sun Long.
Therefore, Yap Chengjun would not be coming to MCMAU, but would instead be heading North.
Fang Ping had an expression on his face that seemed to imply that he thought Yao Chengjun had managed to avoid certain doom, he then said, “If he’s not coming, then I guess he’s lucky. These people are so arrogant. The Rank-1 martial arts competition hasn’t even ended yet, and they’re already picking fights. Are they trying to show me up? The next time I meet them, I’ll hack them to pieces!”
Both Huang Jing and Tang Feng’s expressions darkened.
‘Where did this kid’s confidence come from?’
He had been arrogant for quite a while now.
Yao Chengjun and Li Hansong were the prodigies of the generation. They had fought in the Catacombs and had fought opponents of other levels, which was not unusual.
However, these two people had killed multiple Rank-5 opponents in the Catacombs, and not just one or two.
Fang Ping and Qin Fengqing had killed a Rank-5 opponent in the Catacombs as well. But both of them had to work together, and even then, they had only managed to kill an early-stage Rank-5.
Other aspects of his combat result were not particularly spectacular either.
Under these circumstances, where did Fang Ping get such strong confidence?
Fang Ping was not concerned about those things. To him, confidence was the source of his strength. If he was not confident, how would he get stronger?
Since Yao Chengjun had already left, he would not take the initiative to nit-pick any further. At this moment, his goal was to break through to Peak Rank-4.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. Fang Ping smiled and said, “Dean, can you send someone to deliver the deputy vice-chancellor’s seal to the Martial Arts Society? Now, there are some things which are a little difficult to handle without the vice-chancellor’s seal as well...”
Huang Jing froze for a moment. Tang Feng also looked at Fang Ping, a little stunned.
‘Was Fang Ping stupid?
‘Did he get satisfaction from digging his own grave?’
“Isn’t Vice-chancellor Wu away from campus right now? Is the vice-chancellor’s seal here? If it is, send it to the Martial Arts Society too...”
“Fang Ping...”
Huang Jing was slightly hesitant, he gently coughed and said, “Don’t stress too much. When it’s time to relax, then you should relax. Even though the championship is important, you need enough strength. Even if we don’t get first place this year, we can continue fighting next year.”
Huang Jing suspected that Fang Ping was so stressed out, he was becoming crazy.
‘This was no longer a matter of head-swelling, he had already gone mad.
‘To ask for both the deputy vice-chancellor and the vice-chancellor’s seal to be delivered to him, had he gone mad?’
Tang Feng frowned as well. “A real man knows how to be honorable in victory and defeat. Are you unable to resist such a small pressure?”
Fang Ping smiled and said, “The Championship? I don’t feel pressured at all. Honestly, dean, Teacher Tang, did you think such a small matter would stress me out? I’m serious, you’re usually not around on campus, and you don’t care about school matters. You just act as a deterrent, you should learn from Teacher Liu...”
“Bang!”
There was a loud sound!
Fang Ping was pressed to the ground, motionless. He had almost sunken into the floor’s surface.
Huang Jing’s expression was dark. Without another word, he huffed again and with a wave of his hand, the window had opened. Then, Fang Ping was thrown off the ground and shot out the window, disappearing without a trace.
After Fang Ping was thrown out, Huang Jing frowned and asked, “Was he using me as a pressure chamber?”
Tang Feng, who was observing the situation, frowned slightly and said, “That’s odd. Just now, his Qi kept flickering. Did you notice that?”
“Yes.”
Huang Jing nodded and said, “I did notice it. I don’t know if this kid learned some kind of Mentality power, and was intending to test it out on me, but it doesn’t seem like it worked.”
Huang Jing shook his head, those who had to be beaten still had to be beaten. He did not notice any changes either.
Tang Feng on the other hand, was thinking. “Is he learning to learn a Restrained Qi type of Mentality power?”
“It didn’t seem like it.”
Huang Jing thought for a moment, then sighed and said, “I don’t think I sensed any fluctuation of Mentality...there was some indescribable feeling, but it was intermittent and it didn’t last very long, so it didn’t work.”
Fang Ping activated the energy barrier for a short while. Once he flew out, he removed the energy barrier.
It was a quick effort, and it did not last very long.
Tang Feng said, amused, “That’s interesting. If he could make it last, it could help him evade a dangerous encounter.”
“It’s a little similar to our Restrained Qi Technique. But if he meets high-ranking powerhouses with active Mentality coverage, it would not work very well...”
When he used his Mentality Intimidation, Fang Ping’s Restrained Qi had immediately been disrupted, so Huang Jing had misunderstood.
The two exchanged a few more words, then they did not say anything else.
...
Downstairs.
Fang Ping adjusted his damaged jacket, and tried his best to act dignified and said, “Make sure to keep your eyes peeled when you patrol the premises, don’t give the filthy criminals any chances!”
Several members of the patrolling squad nodded hurriedly and lowered their heads, not looking at Fang Ping.
If they were not mistaken...the president had fallen from upstairs.
‘Who did he provoke this time?’
They waited until Fang Ping had marched off in big strides, then a few of them looked up. After a moment, someone whispered, “It seems like it’s Dean Huang’s office.”
“The president is amazing!”
“Yes, amazing. I can’t believe he’s still alive, that’s not easy.”
“...”
The few people looked at each other and seemed to come to an understanding. The president was the president, best to leave it be.
How many people had he provoked since the beginning of school?
If he had yet to be beaten to death, it was safe to say that the president had a strong life force.
...
“It’s not Mentality defense.”
Fang Ping deduced as he walked.
It was neither a physical shield nor a Mentality shield.
“So, what is it?”
“Or could it be...”
Fang Ping thought about it, and muttered, “Hidden Qi?”
Whatever the system gave, it would not be too bad.
Since it was not for defense, then it was very likely that it was for hiding his Qi.
“Humans and the catacomb’s people have different Qi. Different cultivation leads to certain differences between the two. When you fight, your Vitality seeps out and spreads...So, when human martial artists are fighting in the Catacombs, they are unable to hide their Qi and their essence.”
“If it’s used to hide Qi...then does that mean...”
Fang Ping could not help but recall what had happened previously when Qin Fengqing and he had the idea of imitation.
But imitation was a highly-technical task, and it was extremely difficult.
When they were running away, their Vitality was spreading so much, even an idiot would know they were human martial artists.
“If it’s used to hide my Qi, then would a high-ranking person notice it?”
“Moreover, if it can be used to hide my Qi... and if a high-ranking person would have no way of detecting it...does that mean I can go to the energy mine?”
Something flashed across Fang Ping’s mind.
“No, I still need to test it out more. If I don’t understand it clearly, I would die without even knowing how I died. I should go try it on the dean again...maybe I can try stealing something from his house...”
“No, I can’t do that either. If I could hide my Qi, and the dean couldn’t recognize me, he would kill me with a single smack. I wouldn’t even be able to justify myself.”
Fang Ping kept thinking of ways to test the ability of his energy barrier.
If this new trick worked, then it would be the ultimate killer weapon.
Hunting for treasure, mining, confiscating people’s property...even infiltrating the Catacombs’ forts!
If it was undetectable, even by a Rank-9...then it would truly be amazing!
“I still need to experiment with it for a while, I can’t act hastily. Not to mention, I need to test it out and see if it works in a fight.”
“Each martial artist has their own unique Qi, perhaps I won’t need to use the dean for this. I could test it out on a Rank-4 or Rank-5 as well.”
“Storage space, a barrier to restrain Qi...what is the system up to?”
Fang Ping muttered internally. This upgrade had given him two new functions, and it did not seem like they were supposed to be used for performing righteous tasks.
...
After leaving the Teacher’s Building, Fang Ping no longer cared about Yao Chengjun and the others.
He was going to practice on his own.
Once he returned to the dormitory, Fang Ping threw his tattered jacket aside and entered the training room to start honing his four organs.
Rank-4 stage, bridging of the five vital organs and honing of the five organs.
The heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. The heart’s bridge was the most difficult to build. Once it was done, he would be Rank-4. The heart was the most difficult organ to hone as well. Once he had successfully honed it, then we would reach upper-stage Rank-4.
The other four organs were a lot easier to hone. At that moment, Fang Ping was honing his liver.
The dense Vitality Force washed over his liver continuously.
Fang Ping, who was an upper-stage Rank-4, had much stronger Vitality Force compared to regular Peak Rank-4 martial artists.
Moreover, the energy particles in the air were absorbed and transformed, and his wealth points were constantly changing.
If Huang Jing and the rest of the Grandmasters were watching Fang Ping cultivate, they might have thought he was submerged in a Vitality Pool.
To Fang Ping, Vitality was not a problem. Other people could only cultivate for a limited time in a day. However, Fang Ping could cultivate for 24 hours continuously if he wanted to.
Inside his body, the Vitality Force kept flowing.
Among the five organs, his heart was crystal clear, while the four other organs also appeared to some crystal-like colors.
Meanwhile, Fang Ping’s muscle and bones appeared to have a faint golden color.
“I keep going further and further down the non-human path. When my head starts becoming like this as well, I’ll no longer be considered a human being.”
At that moment, it would not matter even if Fang Ping did not eat or drink for two months straight.
As long as he had enough Vitality, he would not die of hunger.
That was because his Vitality was still limited. Grandmaster-level powerhouses, especially golden-bodied powerhouses, did not rely solely on Vitality to survive. Those people were nearly immortal.
“I don’t think I’ve been to the toilet in a long time...”
Fang Ping lamented. The five organs honing made his digestive abilities stronger. Even though he had maintained his eating habits, the amount of discharge had decreased as most of his food had been digested.
The small amount of undigested residue was also excreted from the body through sweat.
Fang Ping could not even remember when the last time he took a dump.
He kind of missed that comfortable feeling of emptying his bowels.
“With this speed, the liver-honing could be completed in ten days or so, the same goes for the other three organs. Perhaps by the beginning of December, I’ll be able to reach Peak Rank-4!”
“Let Yao Chengjun and the rest go off and fight their fights. When I defeat them, the result will remain the same.”
Since becoming an invincible Rank-3, Fang Ping had already been prepared to continue being invincible until he had a breakthrough to Grandmaster.
This time, he was not preparing to take the path of invincibility. Instead, he was hoping Yao Chengjun and the rest would have a smooth journey and be invincible all the way.
“Perhaps Old Wang and I share the same mindset...That would mean that Old Wang might not choose to breakthrough!”
“Then we shall see who’s truly invincible!”
Fang Ping muttered silently, and his Vitality transference speed increased again. He had no reason to lose to these people, it did not matter that they were all extraordinary in their own way.