Meanwhile.
A place hundreds of li away from the duo.
Li Hansong was panting heavily, exclaiming under his breath, “I think they’re gone!”
“Mm.”
Qin Fengqing touched his chin, gasping. “Strange. They’re leaving just like that? I was even prepared to stalk them for a few days.”
Wang Jinyang pondered. “They seem like they have urgent matters to attend to... Have our people come?”
If reinforcements continued coming in through the Nanjiang passageway, it would be understandable why these guys retreated.
“So fast?”
Qin Fengqing asked doubtfully, “The passageway hasn’t recovered yet, right?”
“Then, maybe Guardian Wu and the rest are pressurizing the other party.”
Qin Fengqing continued looking doubtful, and mumbled, “I think, they’ve probably gone to hunt Fang Ping down.”
Wang Jinyang duo took a look at him in unison. What made you think that?
Qin Fengqing mumbled, “Don’t doubt me. It’s my gut feeling! That kid must have blended his way into the city.”
Li Hansong could not stop himself from defending Fang Ping, saying, “What nonsense. Even if Fang Ping’s a fool, he won’t do anything like that. I think it’s more likely for him to pry for information.”
Even if he could blend his way into the city, he figured that Fang Ping would not do something foolish like this.
Robbing the House of City Lord? Did he have a death wish?
“Forget it if you don’t believe me. Whatever it is, I think that Fang Ping must’ve done something terrible and is being chased now.”
Having said that, Qin Fengqing exhaled, saying, “I don’t care anymore. Since they’re gone, let’s continue then.”
“Continue?”
Li Hansong was stunned.
“Yeah. They’re gone so of course we must continue. Take advantage of this time when they’re busy attending to troubles, we’ll continue to rob and kill. Kill a middle rank and we’ll be saving numerous humans. We’re mankind’s heroes!
“Snatch a cultivation-aiding stone and we’ll be weakening the enemy’s abilities, let the scale of victory lean toward mankind!
“We’re pioneers worthy of admiration...”
After Qin Fengqing had boasted for some time, Li Hansong could not help but say, “My injuries are really quite serious...”
“It’s alright, just absorb more energy stones and you’ll be fine. Let’s go. Chop-chop.”
“I want to heal my wounds...”
“Aren’t you just wasting time? C’mon, let’s go. Quickly. There’s plenty of time to heal your wounds. Speed is a crucial asset in war. When everyone realizes what has happened, we won’t have a chance then.”
Li Hansong looked at Wang Jinyang with a pleading look. I really wanted to heal my wounds.
Wang Jinyang asked with a pondering look, “Can you still hold on?”
“Well, I can, but...”
“That’s good then. Let’s go. When I was running earlier, I think I saw a town more than 40 li south. They won’t expect us to attack them now. As usual, kill all martial artists, grab the things, and withdraw immediately!”
“Okay!”
“Guys...”
Li Hansong was about to cry!
Did none of you have any feelings?
But, these two fellows were injured too. Qin Fengqing’s bum was even shot by an arrow, his anus was about to explode. He could bear with this too?
“Weak!”
Qin Fengqing darted him a look and scorned. “CCMAU is getting weaker and weaker. If a person like you goes to MCMAU, you’ll only be a burden if you become the club’s vice-president!”
“I...”
I only wanted to heal my wounds, that was all!
Li Hansong wanted to cry but he had no tears. I was not frightened nor avoiding the fight. I also did not say that I refused to kill anyone. I only wanted to heal my wounds. Heal my wounds!
From coming in two days ago until now, it had been 48 hours!
They had spent most of their time escaping!
Getting hunted, counterattacking, robbing goods, escaping, continued getting hunted... I was really tired. Really sleepy. I really wanted to rest for a moment, really wanted to heal my wounds.
Wang Jinyang frowned slightly. “Hold on a little longer. It’s alright. It’ll be fine once you get used to it.”
In the Catacombs, one must definitely get used to being hunted.
Killing others would only happen the minority of the time. Most of the time, one must grow accustomed to being hunted. Getting hunted by others meant that there would be gains.
If you did not seek trouble from powerhouses, did not cause powerhouses to hunt you down, where would there be any gains?
A martial artist who was not hunted by anyone would not be considered a good martial artist.
When being hunted, the stronger the hunter was, the larger your gains would be.
If one constantly annihilated the weak, then one would only become weaker.
“It’ll be fine once I get used to it...”
Li Hansong mumbled. He had no idea about this at all.
In Capital City Catacombs, humans had the upper hand, actually.
During the war that year, though Capital City had suffered a great loss, they had massacred a mass of Capital City Catacombs powerhouses, annihilated two cities, even. This set Capital City Catacombs far away from the enemy cities—as far as a thousand li!
The Capital City humans had also gained the upper hand in the central zone, forcing the outer area into defense.
Moreover, Capital City Catacombs also had powerhouses amongst Rank-9s to defend. Safety-wise, it was much secure.
Li Hansong had spent lots of time in Capital City’s Catacombs. Very rarely was he hunted by others. Or perhaps, almost never.
On the contrary, over there, humans often hunt Catacombs martial artists down.
Li Hansong was still speaking when Qin Fengqing had already run in front whilst wiggling his butt. As he ran, he said, “We can’t lose to Fang Ping. Who knows how many valuable things that kid has plundered now. We can’t just do it on a small scale.
“I think after we raid this town, taking advantage of the second wave of reinforcements from Nanjiang, we’ll raid the other party’s lair!”
“It’s too dangerous. If high ranks are guarding, we’re just waiting to get killed.” Wang Jinyang’s voice was heard. Then, he added, “But, when Nanjiang’s second wave has arrived, we can ambush halfway during the fight. See if we can kill a few Rank-5 and 6 martial artists during the ambush. We’ll also get loot after we kill them.”
“Why don’t we go around this city and make our way to the rear. Typically, the rear is richer. I have experience with this. The towns and cities at the back have richer energies and more powerhouses. The energy stones there were also bigger!”
“We’ll see how it goes. Let’s head to the town in front first.”
“Alright. Let’s do this one first.”
“...”
Both of them chatted like there was no one else around them. Li Hansong followed them with a look of sorrow. This was too exciting. So exciting to the point that he could hardly bear it.
Were other martial arts universities always so insane?
...
Meanwhile.
The Catacombs passageway.
With one smack, Zhang Dingguo slapped the armored soldiers around him to death. He lifted his eyebrows ever so slightly, saying, “It’s weird. This is not a trap!”
Early in the morning, the Rank-9 had left all of a sudden.
They thought this was a trap, initially. None of their high ranks actually stayed around.
But, the passageway was a place that they must fight for. Zhou Dingguo did not care so much anymore. Since the other party left so much bait for them, they would bite then. At worst, they would just continue running, joining Guardian Wu.
But now, after killing these armored soldiers, the other party still did not return.
Now, Zhou Dingguo thought it was strange.
Without thinking too much about it, he massacred everyone. A Rank-6 martial artist ran over from a distance. Zhou Dingguo saw this and said hurriedly, “You head in first. When the passageway has stabilized, go back and send news immediately!”
Having said that, Zhou Dingguo sighed softly and said, “There are two cities’ forces here. Two Rank-9s, five to six Rank-8s, and 20 or so Rank-7s. But, the other city did not go all-out. The city lord alone is leading a few Rank-8s to hunt after Guardian Wu.
“All of you enter tomorrow morning after the passageway stabilizes. I’ll look for Guardian Wu. Work together, break through the defense, and build our stronghold here!”
“Yes, sir!”
This Rank-6 was not an indecisive person either. As he said those words, he continued with a hint of sorrow, “Be careful, Commander Zhou. It’s just a few of us remaining now!”
“You be careful too. The passageway has not stabilized. Once someone from the Catacombs enters, you will be exposed... When that happens, take a chance and see if you can make it back!”
The Catacombs passageway was not stable. By barging in simply, one could easily turn into powder from the impact of the outbreak of the energy flow.
Only by waiting for the outbreak of energy to stop would they be able to go through.
One would have to take a great risk entering the passageway now. Whether one could return to the ground surface when the energy stabilized depended on luck. This was also a mission with a slim chance of survival.
But, this Rank-6 martial artist had no complaints either.
He was the only Rank-6 powerhouse now.
The other one did not manage to escape last time. After running away, an infuriated Rank-7 powerhouse still caught up with him. When a Rank-6 encountered a Rank-7, not many of them could escape.
Now, there was no trace of the young people. It was unsure whether they were still alive.
Out of all Rank-6 martial artists, he was the only one alive.
Rank-9 Wu Chuan was currently being surrounded. Right now, it was unsure whether he was dead or alive.
Until now, Rank-8 Zhou Dingguo’s injuries were not recovered yet.
Out of all Rank-7 powerhouses, two died in battle, and two critically injured. The remaining one was currently tending to matters and dared not act rashly. Now, he was the only one who could send news back.
“I’ll be going now then!”
“Be careful!”
When this person had entered the passageway, Zhou Dingguo sighed softly in his heart. Whether he could return alive, that would depend on luck.
Once there was an energy outbreak in the interior of the passageway, the probability of the other party getting shocked to pieces was very high.
Once again, he turned his head and took a look at the rear. What was going on at the rear? They actually made the Rank-8 powerhouse disregard everything and gave up guarding the passageway?
Was it Guardian Wu?
Zhou Dingguo did not know, nor did he stay on the spot for long. Right now, he still had to go and join Guardian Wu, strive to work together and take down the passageway first.
...
In the wilderness.
Fang Ping was in no hurry to break through. Instead, he was healing his injuries.
His injuries were heavy. Though he was alive and kicking, if this was another person, that person would have been dead a long time ago.
Previously, he had been replenishing Vitality to nurture his internal organs. Later, he devoured tremendous amounts of Energy Essence. These essences were destroying the internal organs, but at the same time, they were also mending the internal organs’ injuries.
Now, along with Fang Ping’s healing, the plants beneath his bottom were also beginning to grow wildly.
Huge amounts of Energy Essence began to disseminate, raising the surrounding energy richness continuously.
Old Man Li did not have Mentality pressure, yet his force was extremely powerful. Hundreds of meters around, none of the monsters were brave enough to cross the boundary.
After subduing these monsters, Old Man Li took a look at Fang Ping for a moment.
This kid was truly lucky.
Even now, Old Man Li still had lingering fears.
He nearly died there. Fang Ping had struggled with the people in the city for the whole day and actually survived. He had even snatched the Energy Essence that was guarded by a Rank-9. Not only was he extremely tough, but he was also extremely lucky.
Hand on his heart, if he asked himself, could he possibly achieve that?
He might not!
Even if he managed to snatch the Energy Essence, he most likely would not be able to escape. He did not have that many tricks up his sleeve as Fang Ping.
Other things aside, with huge amounts of disseminated energies coming from the Energy Essence, he was just like a bright lamp. Rank-7 and 8 powerhouses could track him closely even if his speed was beyond fast.
When the Rank-9 returned, after tracing the energy source and tracking him down, he would undoubtedly die.
Not only him, could Wu Chuan do it?
The Willow Tree Monster might notice Wu Chuan as soon as he entered the city. Once he entered the inner city, he would be entangled, luring a few Rank-9s. He might face the fate of being killed in a siege.
People like Commander Li would be the ones who could really achieve, using their powerful energy to suppress everything.
As for those without this kind of energy, Fang Ping might be the only one who could do it.
In other words, if Fang Ping did not save him this time, he would have been dead a long time ago, so dead that his bones would not be found.
Old Man Li had mixed feelings. He had owed this kid a few of his lives now. The time he brought him back to life at the passageway was counted as one time. Helping him recover his abilities and curing his incurable disease was counted as another.
For martial artists, it was better to die than to live having stagnant abilities, unable to progress.
The reason why he could stand it for ten years, risking his life to employ that slash at that time, was because he had the belief that he would not survive this.
Now, he did not die. His ability progressed a step further. Even his Mentality could be nurtured now. Old Man Li’s complex feelings were at its extreme.
That day, when he saw this kid for the first time at the logistics department, he had not expected himself to have this day.
At that time, he was only hoping to nourish a genius for MCMAU, hence helping to take care of Fang Ping.
Fang Ping’s talent was astonishing. Thrice-honed, born in an ordinary family. Hence, Old Man Li did not mind when he was keen on hoarding petty advantages.
He had no use for them anyway. In the past few years, after he had cultivated up to Peak Rank-6, he had rarely used MCMAU’s resources. He had actually subsidized all of the resources to the students, though most of the students had no idea about this.
Unexpectedly, he benefited in the end with this. This was not something that those small amounts of subsidies could compare to.
So much Energy Essence. Even a Rank-9 powerhouse would be tempted.
Human martial artists were actually poorer than the Catacombs martial artists. Typical Rank-9s did not have as much freedom as extremely strong powerhouses. Even their gains were far less compared to them.
If Fang Ping did not return to the inn at that time, he could have taken these Energy Essences and escaped, could he not?
With this kid’s intelligence, he had a high chance of escaping.
With so much Energy Essences, he could cultivate very quickly to Rank-5 or Rank-6. The barrier to Grandmaster was practically nonexistent for him. Even Rank-7 and 8 were not difficult.
Perhaps there might be some barriers to Rank-9, though he could at least reach Peak Rank-8.
As for the time he would have to spend, it might only be two to three years.
He gave up the chance to become a Peak Rank-8 powerhouse for his sake. Right now, this kid’s heart might be aching a lot, right?
Old Man Li laughed, exhaling softly. He stopped thinking so much about it.
There was no need to say certain things.
For example, Fang Ping had never said things like you should subsidize me, I am grateful to you, I will repay you soon. He had never even said these things before.
Just as Old Man Li was thinking about these things, Fang Ping coughed out a mouthful of dirty blood. The blood seeped into the ground, causing the plants to grow wildly once more.
“How wasteful!”
Fang Ping still had the energy to speak. Right now, even his fart carried energy. This was truly wasteful.
Old Man Li was slightly speechless, saying, “How did it go?”
“The five viscera has been completely transformed!” Fang Ping continued, “There’s something strange with these energies!”
“Mm.”
Old Man Li was not surprised either. He nodded. “These energies are not purely Celestial Energies. They carry a lot of... How do I put this, life force?”
“Gigantic willow tree!”
Fang Ping had seen the way Willow Tree Monster gathered energy. After gathering the energy in the sky, the gigantic willow tree absorbed them, then converted and stored them. This was no simple collection. Instead, they had been converted once.
“It’s no wonder it can heal the high ranks’ wounds!” As Fang Ping spoke, his eyes moved slightly, saying, “Old Man Li, this gigantic willow tree is a true gem!
“Other than converting energy, its roots are as tough as they get!
“We might be able to use its tree trunk to forge Divine Weapons!
“Its exterior is all gem. I wonder if it’s a willow tree. If it can bear fruit, then it would be insane—holy fruit!
“This is so much more awesome than having a mine at home. After all, energy mines are consumable goods. But, this was a living thing!
“Also, perhaps it is all thanks to it that Royal City’s energy mines can be renewed.
“If we can capture it alive and plant it in MCMAU, then MCMAU will become martial artists’ heaven... Commander Li and the rest have never tried it?”
“I don’t know. It’s so huge, though. Even if we uproot it, we can’t bring it back.”
Even Old Man Li desired it after hearing what he said. But, he recovered very quickly, saying, “What are you thinking of. You should be thinking of breaking through!”
“There’s no rush.”
Fang Ping was unhurried, saying calmly, “If willow tree could survive being cut down, say...”
“Your house must have mines!”
Old Man Li sent a blow to him. It was not like humans had not thought of this before. They did not seek to obtain tutelary monster plants. Though they did seek to obtain certain energy-collecting monster plants. Even if they did, they were not too strong either.
The main takeaway was, these monster plants were not supported by energy, hence they would wilt and die on earth very quickly.
Unlike in the Catacombs where energy was aplenty. Energy mines aside, even the energy sun in the sky was releasing energy all the time, actually.
The Catacombs’ energy source mainly came from this enormous sun.
Unless they managed to bring this sun back to earth.
This idea had just emerged in Old Man Li’s mind when Fang Ping was also thinking of the same thing. He could not help but lift his head to take a look. At this moment, the sky had turned bright.
This sun which he thought was hideous last time seemed especially adorable now.
“One day...”
Fang Ping did not finish his sentence. Old Man Li looked completely speechless instead.
What were you going to do one day?
Are you going to take this sun down?
It was hard to tell where this sun was exactly. There used to be Rank-9 powerhouses employing the Flight Step tens of thousands of meters. In the end, the sun was still the sun. There were no changes at all. Its size was still the same.
Fang Ping said no more. He took a deep breath. A crystal clear Celestial Bridge emerged on his body surface.
On top of his head, three gates were levitating.
Within the Celestial Bridge, huge amounts of energy appeared. Unlike how Yao Chengjun and the rest broke through last time, he did not need a Grandmaster to gather energy to assist him in breaking through.
“Celestial Bridges unify! Unify and I will be a Rank-5!”
Right now, it was the end of December year 09. It was not even 10 years yet.
He learned about martial arts in April Year 08. 20 months. Fang Ping stepped into Rank-5. In heaven and on earth, who but himself could do it?
“The second semester of sophomore year, I may step into Rank-6!”
“Junior year, Grandmaster!”
“I’ll become the legend of mankind!”
“Throughout the ages, was there anyone who breaks through as fast as me?”
Fang Ping mumbled. Old Man Li replied flatly, “The record in an ancient book states that a man became an immortal in a day. You can take it as becoming a Grandmaster in a day.”
“Ancient books are bullsh*t!”
Fang Ping cursed. If you believed ancient books, why did you not believe mythologies? Pangu [1]could even open up the universe!
Ignoring Old Man Li, Fang Ping roared. Five Celestial Bridges began merging!
When others merged with it, it would form a circle.
When Fang Ping merged it... Old Man Li took a look, could not help but chide him. “Don’t do anything rashly. You mustn’t tamper with the martial arts journey!”
Fang Ping still had the energy to speak. Looking at the huge... flatbread in front of him, he looked like he had fallen apart. “I didn’t tamper with anything. There’s too much energy. The Celestial Bridge has been flattened!”
Old Man Li was stunned!
Is there such a thing too?
Celestial Bridge had been flattened, flattened into a flatbread. What would happen?
The ancient books did not record anything about this!
People today cultivate step by step. Even if someone used energy stones to cultivate, it would not reach a point whereby the enemy had flattened the Celestial Bridge.
One must know that there was a limit to how much the human body could absorb.
Fang Ping... What was wrong with his situation?
“Old Man Li, stop staring. Help me suppress it. I can’t hold on any longer. If I can’t suppress it, it’ll explode!”
“Suppress it into a flatbread?”
Old Man Li gulped. All my life, I had never done anything like this!
[1] Pangu is said to have created the universe in Chinese mythology