Before anyone arrived, Fang Ping quickly checked his Wealth growth:
Wealth: 11.98 billion
Vitality: 1800cal (3999cal)
Mentality: 560Hz (729Hz+)
Bones honed: 177 bones (100%), 6 bones (90%), 23 bones (30%+)
Storage Space: 1 cubic meters
Energy Shield: 10 thousand Wealth/min
“So little?”
Fang Ping let out a faint humph, looking completely unsatisfied!
“What?”
Qin Fengqing responded instantly. Fang Ping ignored him. He was cursing madly in his heart!
He brought a lot of energy stones back, alright!
There was at least three to four hundred catty.
Of course, there were not so many in the beast hide sack.
If there were 400 catty, then that would be 200 thousand grams. Now, there was only a ten billion increase in Wealth. Did that mean that 1 gram was only about 50 thousand?
This meant that the energy stones which he brought back had an extremely low purity level.
So many of them for only ten billion. Not to mention, there were some high-ranked energy stones mixed in the pile.
Fang Ping had initially hoped to bring back at least tens of billions’ worth of energy stones.
Right now, more than half of that was gone.
“I worked myself to death, risked my life in getting chased by a Rank-9, and this bit is all I get...”
Fang Ping lamented in his heart. He paid little attention to the numbers in front of his eyes that had suddenly turned black.
They just turned dark. What else but a system upgrade?
The upgrade was achieved much sooner than expected.
Initially, Fang Ping thought that, in order to upgrade the system, he needed to wait at least until his company’s business had expanded and completed financing.
Now it seemed, there was no need for all the hassle anymore.
Fang Ping was still talking to himself when the golden body pursuers behind them had completely retreated. Two other figures dropped from the sky, landing instantly.
“Changsheng!”
Wu Chuan saw Li Changsheng and his mood turned better immediately. Li Changsheng was still alive.
When he saw Fang Ping and the rest, Wu Chuan was even more surprised. All four of them were alive!
Amongst the people who came that day, these four fellows were the weakest. Somehow, all of them were unscathed.
Now, all sorts of questions whirled in Wu Chuan’s mind. Why was Li Changsheng still alive? How had he broken through to Rank-8... No, Wu Chuan could sense that something was off. Was Li Changsheng truly a Rank-8?
However, this was not the time to ask questions. Zhao Xingwu said quickly, “Go, return to the passageway first!”
They made no delays, flying to the passageway at blinding speed.
Seeing Fang Ping and others wrapped around Li Changsheng like koalas, Wu Chuan could not help but snap as he flew, “Employ the Flight Steps yourselves. The enemy is not coming after us!”
They acted as if they did not hear him. They would be forced to consume Vitality to fly on our own. Besides, what if they got left behind and chased because they were too slow?
Even Li Hansong did not want to employ the Flight Step now. He was too exhausted.
For the past few days, he was completely spent from all the running.
...
After a few minutes, everyone arrived at the passageway.
Zhou Dingguo, who was guarding the spot, sighed in relief. Then, he could not take his eyes off Li Changsheng.
This fellow really did not die!
Forget that, what was with that golden and dazzling physique!
At this moment, a golden glow was shimmering all over Li Changsheng’s body, looking exceptionally dazzling.
Old Man Li looked reserved as he landed on the ground with a smile, not saying much either.
Fang Ping saw their inquiring faces and chuckled gently, “Instructor Li is not a Rank-8 yet. But, he has forged his golden body in advance. Other than that, his Mentality injuries have also recovered.”
Wu Chuan was someone who knew Li Changsheng best. The Rank-9 who diagnosed Old Man Li’s condition back then was Wu Chuan.
After hearing those words, Wu Chuan could not help but ask, “Mentality injuries have recovered? Changsheng, what exactly is going on?”
Old Man Li heard the question and was about to reply when Fang Ping responded, “It’s not actually difficult to recover. Just break it down and rebuild. That day, Instructor Li employed one slash with his sword, destroying his flesh and body. Even his Mentality was nearly obliterated.
“Later, I saw firsthand the rather terrible state the instructor was in. I brought him to the Royal City underground’s Fountain of Life to take a bath. After that, there were no more issues.”
“...”
Both Rank-9s instantly clammed up.
After a while, Zhao Xingwu let out a gentle cough, asking, “Fountain of life? You mean the liquified Energy Essence?”
Fang Ping’s pupils contracted, his expression changing. He smiled. “Senior Zhao, you’ve seen it before too? Does our government have a lot in store?”
Zhao Xingwu smiled but made no reply. Wu Chuan shook his head instead. “Energy Essence is hard to come by. The government doesn’t have much of it either.
“Over the years, they’ve obtained some, but not much.
“Under normal circumstances, only Rank-9 tutelary monster plants can gather this substance. Moreover, once a great battle breaks out, the Energy Essence will either be absorbed or consumed. It is also common to use it for self-detonation at final critical moments.
“There is some in the Military Department, but very little. Can Energy Essence recover Mentality injuries?”
This was something Wu Chuan did not know about.
Fang Ping chuckled. “I’m not sure about that. Drink a few hundred catty and it might be enough to heal it...”
“How much?”
“A few hundred catty should be able to do it.”
The corner of Wu Chuan’s eyes seemed to be twitching slightly. He ignored Fang Ping. MCMAU’s Fang Ping had been known for exaggerating his achievements. He knew this very well. As if he would believe the kid’s ridiculous claims!
Wu Chuan turned his attention to Li Changsheng. At that, Old Man Li put on a reserved look, saying, “Not that much. One to two hundred catty should be enough. Moreover, we’ve wasted a lot. To actually heal it, I think thirty to fifty catty might do it.”
At this moment, Wu Chuan suddenly felt the urge to kill these two fellows!
Were you sure that both of you were not here to sing a duet?
Even Zhao Xingwu coughed softly at this moment, saying, “Changsheng, you can’t joke like that. If Mentality damage can really be healed...”
Old Man Li raised his eyebrows. “Who’s joking with you?”
Having said that, rich energy suddenly emerged outside Old Man Li’s body. He said nonchalantly, “You really need hundreds of catty. Also, don’t try it rashly. You might not be able to heal it.”
Then, he continued, “Come to think of it, it feels really good bathing in the Energy Essence. If I have the time, I’ll go back and take a bath again.”
Wu Chuan and Zhao Xingwu were completely speechless.
Both of them had sensed the Energy Essence’s aura. It seemed like there was still plenty of energy stored inside Li Changsheng’s body.
Old Man Li ignored them. He looked at Fang Ping and smiled. “Fang Ping, give me another pot. I’ll brew beer to drink when I get back.”
As he said that, he winked at Fang Ping. ‘I’ve put on an act for you. Don’t be so stingy, give me another pot!
‘If you give me another pot, it will show that you’re truly awesome!’
Fang Ping did not utter a word. ‘I’ll just pretend like I didn’t see you. Are you taking me for a fool?’
Seeing that both Rank-9s were present, Fang Ping continued taking credits from other people’s achievements. “Regarding Instructor Li’s recovery, that’s MCMAU’s private matter. This time, though, I’ve performed a great service in suppressing Nanjiang Catacombs!
“Brother Wu, Senior Zhao, we do get rewards for killing the enemy, right?
“This time, I’ve killed tens of thousands of Catacombs martial artists, flattened a big chunk of Gigantic Willow City, snapped their underground mine veins...
“Even that big willow tree, I nearly blew it up...”
He had not finished his sentence when Qin Fengqing butted in quickly, “We made contributions too. I’ve killed thousands of martial artists, destroyed seven towns and a few small cities. Can you reward me several billion?”
Both High Grandmasters remained silent.
Stop talking, all of you. Let us gather our thoughts.
These two middle-ranked martial artists claimed that they had blown up Gigantic Willow City, dug the enemy’s mine veins, nearly blew up the tutelary monster plant, and brought Li Changsheng to take a short bath at the Fountain of Life whilst doing so.
Then, Li Changsheng’s injuries recovered...
It just sounded absurd no matter how they listened to it!
On one side, Zhou Dingguo was utterly confused at the moment. What was going on?
But... But Zhao Xingwu knew for a fact that someone had indeed blown up half of Gigantic Willow City.
The big willow tree had gone mad.
Li Changsheng had also recovered!
It was slightly confusing!
Zhao Xingwu massaged his temples. His head hurt.
Wu Chuan felt the same. Exhaling softly, he said in a deep voice, “Tell us everything from start to finish!”
Even now, he was still really puzzled. What was going on exactly?
Fang Ping was straightforward about it. Very quickly, he started giving an account of what happened.
Naturally, when he started narrating, he was unable to leave out the details of him blending into the city and concealing his aura. Fang Ping did not try to keep those things from them.
It was actually difficult to keep this a secret.
Whilst narrating, Fang Ping explained, “It might be because I’m a middle-rank with honed bone marrow and can expel Mentality.
“Others may be able to do it too. If Brother Wang can expel Mentality, he may be able to do it too.
“If Yao Chengjun’s bone marrow can be honed, he may be able to do it too...”
As for whether they could actually do it, go ahead and let them try. By the time they actually managed it, if at all, Fang Ping might already be a Grandmaster and no longer cared about this matter.
When Fang Ping was talking about these things, both Rank-9s did not cut him off either. There was no use keeping this a secret. They had not met any middle-ranked with both bone marrow and Mentality peculiarity. As for whether this was attainable, it felt impossible.
After all, Rank-8 powerhouses had honed their bone marrows too, and their Mentality was much stronger than Fang Ping.
If Fang Ping could do it, why not a Rank-8?
Fang Ping could not tell what both of them were thinking. At least on the surface, both of them might not take actions that would exceed what was proper.
After Fang Ping had talked for some time, Wu Chuan said, “That means that you took advantage of your aura-concealing ability to blend into the city, snatched a portion of Energy Essence, healed Changsheng, and later went back to steal the mines...”
“Dig the mines!”
Fang Ping denied that ‘steal’ was the way to put it.
Wu Chuan looked completely speechless. After a pause, he said, “Then, because of the exceedingly rich energy, you blew up the mine veins?”
Fang Ping chuckled. “I did it on purpose. Earlier, I purposely disseminated the Energy Essence to make plans for today. I knew that the energy won’t disperse so quickly, so I went back to blow up the enemy’s fort!”
It was really difficult to tell whether he was speaking the truth. The probability of exaggeration was as high as 99%.
Nevertheless, if Fang Ping said so, they would not contradict him either.
Wu Chuan listened for a moment and commented thoughtfully, “Kid, your luck is beyond good. It isn’t easy to stay alive. We have actually thought of blowing up Royal City underground mine veins before. But for that, we would need to enter the core area. However, entering the core area also means that we’re actually attacking the Royal City head-on.
“By mistake, you blew up the mine veins at the periphery...”
This was a miracle that was impossible to repeat!
Fang Ping did not care what he was saying. He asked quickly, “Brother Wu, you see, I’ve destroyed half a Royal City now. Isn’t the government supposed to give me a reward of several billion to tens of billions, at least?”
Wu Chuan did not say another word.
Zhao Xingwu felt amused, saying, “I’m afraid that will be hard to do. But, a few million to tens of millions...”
Fang Ping wasted no time. He placed the beast hide sack in front of him, opened it up, and rubbed his shoulders, mumbling, “It’s tiring to carry this. They’re only trinkets worth several billion. I’m surprised that they’re quite heavy.”
Beside him, Li Hansong felt his face burning. There was no need to make it so obvious, right?
He was clearly implying that the offered rewards were not up to his standards.
Wu Chuan and Zhao Xingwu’s faces stiffened slightly as well. ‘Kid, are you that confident that we would not rob you?’
Both of them had not yet spoken a word when Fang Ping suddenly crashed his fist down, smashing the sneaking, extended arms of Qin Fengqing into the ground, his expression grim. Was Qin Fengqing insane? ‘I was only saying. Did he really think that I was complaining about the weight now?’
Qin Fengqing drew his arms back without saying a word. ‘I’m just taking a look. How dare you hit me without warning. How narrow-minded.’
Using this opportunity, Wu Chuan changed the topic and mulled it over. “In that case, Gigantic Willow City won’t attack for some time.
“How about this, the passageway will stabilize for the third time the day after tomorrow. Fang Ping and the guys return first.”
Fang Ping chuckled hastily. “Brother, don’t worry about us. We’re fine. We can continue fighting.”
Wu Chuan coughed gently. Beside him, Zhou Dingguo said in a muffled voice, “That... It’s better if you guys go back first. Right now, Gigantic Willow City may not continue with the attack. But, with all of you around... you... you will easily trigger the other party’s feeling of hostility...”
He had already blown up half of their Royal City. With all of them here, perhaps the Rank-9 would get so mad that he would even risk his life to kill him. Would that not just be adding fuel to the fire?
Of course, saying this out would be a blow to them.
Fang Ping looked speechless. Just like that, he was being chased out?
Qin Fengqing was also grudging. He said quickly, “This has nothing to do with me. Fang Ping can go back alone.”
“Didn’t you mention that you destroyed a few small cities?”
Wu Chuan found it both funny and annoying. After thinking about it, he said, “It’s best if you go back first. We’re not denying your contributions. But, staying here is indeed dangerous.
“If a Rank-9 attacks during our fight, it will be really difficult to protect all of you.
“This is also perfect timing as Governor-General Zhang and Vice-chancellor Liu are both heavily injured too. This time, all of you will return together.
“Nanjiang Catacombs’ situation is slightly better than what we expected. If we can maintain the current situation, we will also have more time to prepare.”
Wu Chuan’s expression looked slightly solemn as he said, “We can’t afford to pressure the Catacombs powerhouses to the point that they are even willing to risk their lives. Actually, if we really want to destroy Gigantic Willow City, Sino Nation is naturally equipped with this ability. But, once that happens, with their own people sympathizing with them, other Nanjiang Catacombs forts will undoubtedly launch a brazen counterattack!”
Fang Ping fell silent. After a while, he let out a soft humph, saying, “I understand. No matter what, the Catacombs can kill our people, slaughter our powerhouses, while we can only bear with it and endure it.
“Even if we can destroy the other party, we should not go all out. Place general interest first above anything else!
“General interest. General interest means sacrificing individuals to support the entire human race!
“Such general interest can sometimes suffocate people to the point of going insane!
“This time, so many of ours have died...”
Wu Chuan remained silent. Zhao Xingwu’s eyes turned dull. Zhou Dingguo clenched his fist, saying in a low voice, “We understand everything you’re saying. We feel the same way as you!
“However, for a general situation like this, we can only do things according to rules!
“Yes, we can destroy a few cities or even one or two Catacombs right now. These were things that we can achieve and seek vengeance!
“But, what about after avenging?
“We can only endure and wait. But, from what I can see now, everything is worth it!
“New generation powerhouses like you guys are rising!
“The number of martial artists above Rank-7 is increasing. More and more geniuses are appearing. We humans need time!
“Fang Ping, you’re Magic City Martial Arts University’s Martial Arts Society president. You’re no casual martial artist. Sometimes, the general interest that you loathe so much is also exactly what you should consider!
“Today, only some people died. Some old generation martial artists.
“But, once a full-fledged war breaks out, I’m afraid thousands of MCMAU students may need to enter the Catacombs and fight. Massive amounts of them will die.
“Say, if you’re the one to choose, how will you choose?”
Fang Ping shut his mouth.
The rest of them no longer said anything.
Eventually, Wang Jinyang asked softly, “Commander Zhou, the governor, they...”
Zhou Dingguo took a look at Wang Jinyang and said in a throaty voice, “Vice-chancellor Chen and Director Zhou have already died in battle... there are no bones left after self-detonating. I’m sorry. Governor-General Zhang and Vice-chancellor Liu’s injuries are very heavy and they are currently recuperating. When the passageway has stabilized, all of you will return together.”
Wang Jinyang clenched his fist. After a while, he answered in a muffled voice, “I understand.”
Silence enveloped them once again.
After an unknown period of time, Qin Fengqing said lazily, “We haven’t discussed the reward yet. Commander Zhou, judging from my great contribution, rewards and everything else aside, it shouldn’t be a problem for me to take the role of a general in the Military Department, right?
He was about to graduate. It was time to look for the next place.
Zhou Dingguo took a long, good look at him. After a while, he answered, “For a temporary post, commander-in-chief is possible...”
“Temporary post? I’m not talking about this. I’m talking about a full-time job...”
Zhou Dingguo took a deep breath. He replied after a long pause, “The Military Department doesn’t need any more manpower for now.”
That was a lie that had gone too far!
There was never a time when the Military Department did not need people!
However, Qin Fengqing this kid actually wanted to become a full-time general. This meant that he wished to lead troops!
What a joke!
The Military Department had no issues in giving him a military rank to wander around and make a living.
However, to allow him to lead troops and even guard a place... Zhou Dingguo was slightly panic-stricken. He was worried that Qin Fengqing’s troops would be gone in a few days.
Qin Fengqing’s expression turned dark. Gnashing his teeth, he turned to look at Wu Chuan. He was smiling again, asking, “Brother Wu, does the House of Guardians need an extra hand?”
Wu Chuan chuckled softly. “If you want to come to the House of Guardians, I welcome you anytime. But... the House of Guardians currently only need a station city guard...”
Qin Fengqing raised his brows instantly. What a lack of sincerity!
A station city guard was similar to the Rank-6 martial artist who was stationed at MCMAU Catacombs, to be stationed at certain Catacombs’ strongholds.
Leading no troops, holding no actual authority, only playing the role of a thug.
Would he, Qin Fengqing, do such a thing?
But... it was not like he would not consider it.
Qin Fengqing started mulling it over. Wu Chuan continued, “Of course, you can’t neglect your duty at will. This is not a joke. If you neglect your duty, the House of Guardian enforces military law too.
“But, you can also choose to serve a temporary position at the House of Guardian and act on your own.”
Qin Fengqing could no longer contain himself anymore. He blurted out, “In the past, when those graduated fellows went to the Military Department or the House of Guardians, they all got positions like generals who lead troops. I’m not in any way worse than them, right? Why am I only allowed to take up temporary positions?”
It was not that he really wanted to lead troops. At least, he wanted to feel like he was being taken seriously.
Right now, he felt none of that feeling!
Beside him, Fang Ping said flatly, “Don’t hurt others and yourself. From what I can see, a temporary position is enough. Are you really thinking of leading troops and standing guard at one location?”
“But... both full-time and temporary positions get very different treatments, alright!”
Qin Fengqing looked completely unwilling. Who cared if he was leading troops or not. The main point was that the difference in treatment between the positions was really great.
A temporary position was only putting on an act, granting only basic subsidies.
Fang Ping chuckled. “That’s true. If you can achieve Rank-8, I can consider keeping you in MCMAU.”
“Humph!”
Qin Fengqing let out a cold humph. ‘I would never stay in MCMAU even if it meant that I had to take up a temporary position!’
“Life in MCMAU is getting better and better. When we return this time, the instructors’ treatment will improve. I’ve thought it through. In the future, the Energy Room will be opened to the public for free. If we run out of money, we’ll enter the Catacombs and dig mines. Energy stones are all over the place anyway.”
Qin Fengqing turned a deaf ear. ‘I don’t believe you.’
“Valuable items such as Energy Essence will appear in MCMAU in the future as well. It’s a pity that there’s too little of it. It will only be available for our own people.”
“...”
With Fang Ping’s voice constantly ringing in his ears, struggles were written all over Qin Fengqing’s face. ‘I will never believe you. Tempting me on purpose to make me stay. Never!’