Chapter 429: Sorrowful

　　MCMAU Southern Area.

　　The two students who had fled the scene obviously underestimated Qin Fengqing.

　　They thought that Qin Fengqing only wanted to ridicule Fang Ping…

　　However, Fang Ping was wearing a viciously dark expression at the moment as he softly asked, “Vice-chancellor, can you guess what he’s trying to do?”

　　Huang Jing sighed, “I’m guessing he wants to die.”

　　They had sensed the arrival of Qin Fengqing ages ago.

　　However, the guy did not show himself. Instead, he crept with his body bent and, in one brisk movement, hid himself in a spot just in front of Fang Ping.

　　Fang Ping and Huang Jing released their Mentality and detected him. Qin Fengqing’s face reflected his eagerness to try something, he even threw his fist into the air a few times, a wicked grin on his face.

　　Huang Jing probed for a while and sighed, “Is he planning to punch your big bald head?”

　　Fang Ping’s expression was livid. Gritting his teeth, he whispered, “Is he being possessed? Does he think that I can’t sense him with my Mentality?

　　“That is why I said he is looking to die. He probably thought that at school, we would not take the initiative to release our Mentality… But this kid has no experience and probably does not understand the so-called physiological stress response…”

　　Huang Jing did not know whether to laugh or cry, Qin Fengqing was digging his own grave.

　　Looking at his posture, Huang Jing could guess what he was going to do next. He would suddenly jump out, lift Fang Ping’s hat and punch him in the head.

　　Then… he would probably try to excuse himself by saying he got the wrong person!

　　Did this kid think Fang Ping would be so accommodating?

　　Irrespective of whether it was true or not, Fang Ping would beat this guy to a pulp.

　　Huang Jing was too lazy to remind Qin Fengqing, but he slowed down his footsteps and said softly, “If you’re going to the Catacombs a few days later, don’t take too many risks, and do take care of Fengqing.”

　　Fang Ping gave him a sideways look. Huang Jing whispered, “That child has suffered hardship. His father’s talent was amazing in those days, and he broke through to Rank-5 very early on, but then died in an ambush. Qin Fengqing was then still a young boy.

　　“His father’s ashes… were sent over together by my teacher and me.

　　“Even now, I can still remember that this kid didn’t cry or make trouble. His mother scolded my teacher for killing her husband and the father of her child…

　　“At that time, my teacher was devastated. It was the child who caught up later and told him that when he grows up, he will also go to MCMAU.

　　“You can’t imagine how happy my teacher was when he left.

　　“Later, he really came to MCMAU. Unfortunately, because he was not as talented as the others, the speed of his cultivation was slow. But he was stubborn and had his pride. While others practiced for a few hours, he would spend days. If he depleted his Vitality, then he would practice Combat Techniques, day and night without fail.

　　“My teacher cherished him and taught him several sets of Combat Techniques. Unfortunately, at that time, my teacher was also injured and spent most of his time attending to his wounds, so he didn’t have much time to take care of the kid.

　　“Even so, the kid was very affectionate, and when the teacher left, sigh…”

　　Huang Jing shook his head gently and sighed.

　　Over the years, he had seen too much, and he was almost numb toward some of the things.

　　Qin Fengqing’s father was from the last batch of students who were brought up personally by the late vice-chancellor. Qin Fengqing’s father was not very old, if he was still alive today, he would be under 50 years old.

　　Alas, more than ten years ago, his father died in the war in the Catacombs.

　　If Qin Fengqing’s father had survived, his achievements today be no worse than Tang Feng’s, maybe even better.

　　Fang Ping knew a little bit about Qin Fengqing and knew that his father died in the Catacombs, but Fang Ping still smiled and said, “Yes, take care. I will take care of him, you can rest assured!”

　　The words “take care” was emphasized strongly by Fang Ping.

　　This guy had abandoned all reservations and had almost forgotten his surname. Fang Ping felt that it was necessary to teach him how to behave.

　　As for sympathy… Qin Fengqing did not need others to sympathize with him.

　　This guy would only become more and more courageous. Never admitting defeat was also one of the major strengths of Qin Fengqing, or more accurately, he would not want to fall behind too much and be beaten to death.

　　He had fought with Wang Jinyang once and was seriously injured and defeated.

　　Other people would have felt decadent or frustrated. This guy, however, as a once-honed martial artist, rose and chased after in his progress, and in a short period broke through to Rank-3. Clearly, what Qin Fengqing needed was nothing else but pressure, extremely great pressure.

　　This guy was also incredibly tenacious.

　　Fang Ping felt that it was necessary to put a little pressure on him.

　　During the conversation, the two had reached Qin Fengqing’s hiding place.

　　Qin Fengqing was filled with excitement and clenched his fists. Fang Ping seemed to see nothing and continued to walk forward.

　　Huang Jing was one step behind, sighing in his heart. Of all the people to provoke, Qin Fengqing had to provoke Fang Ping. He was bringing about his destruction, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

　　At the next moment, Qin Fengqing suddenly jumped out and laughed, “Old Chen, happy new year!”

　　As he shouted these words, his hands did not stop. After he jumped out, he immediately swung his fist toward Fang Ping’s head.

　　“Bam!”

　　At this moment, Fang Ping turned around suddenly, with his fist already clenched, and dished out a punch!

　　A loud bang sounded!

　　Qin Fengqing was sent flying back tens of meters, and fell to the ground, with a dazed expression on his face.

　　Fang Ping lazily withdrew his fist and said with a smile, “So it’s you, I thought people from the evil sect were lurking in the school, wanting to attack me.”

　　Fang Ping said, sighing, “Old Qin, don’t come here next time for this kind of prank. Do you think that you are in a drama? This time I only punched you. Next time, if I were to hack you with a saber, wouldn’t you be split in half by now?”

　　Qin Fengqing ignored him and undid his clothes to look at himself. When he saw a deep fist print on his chest, he was momentarily dazed, then he became angry. Quickly jumping up to his feet, he snarled, “Asshole, were you going to kill me?”

　　In the Southern Area, there was virtually no one from the evil sect. This bastard had done it intentionally!

　　Fang Ping suddenly frowned. “Manners, please. I only used 1% of my strength. When I found out that it was you, I held back.”

　　“One percent?”

　　Qin Fengqing was livid with rage, who was he trying to trick?

　　With only one percent, he could send him, who was a Peak Rank-4, flying tens of meters?

　　Did he think that he was a Rank-6?

　　Fang Ping glanced at him and suddenly smiled. “Did you not read the news recently?”

　　“Why?”

　　Qin Fengqing was still a little upset and stared at his head—it was a shame he did not manage to hit it.

　　“If so, that means you don’t know that I killed a few Rank-6s a few days ago, including a Peak Rank-6.”

　　“What?”

　　Qin Fengqing was stunned at first, then he sneered. “Oh, I also killed Rank-6 before, no big deal.”

　　Fang Ping smiled indifferently. “Is it? But I killed the Peak Rank-6 one-on-one… Right, did you read the Rank-5 rankings yet? I am ranked first in the Rank-5 rankings.”

　　“Cough…”

　　Qin Fengqing had a fit of coughs, he would not believe it!

　　“Also, I am now a Peak Rank-5.”

　　“Cough cough cough!”

　　“By the way, I condensed both the golden bones and the semi-golden body. Based on that, I shouldn’t be any weaker than the average Peak Rank-6. If I decided to go all out, the other party might not even be a match for me.”

　　“Haha, the weather is so good today…”

　　Qin Fengqing did not want to believe it, nor did he feel that he should believe it. Did Fang Ping think that he would believe it?

　　Before the New Year, when he was at Peak Rank-4, Fang Ping was at Middle-stage Rank-5. How many days only was this?

　　Now he was saying that he was ranked first in the Rank-5, he was Peak Rank-5, and that he had killed a Peak Rank-6. Did he think that he would take his word for it?

　　Fang Ping said with a light smile, “Don’t feel inferior, it’s alright. Also, you probably haven’t paid much attention to other news these days. Wang Jinyang entered Middle-stage Rank-5 yesterday.”

　　“What?”

　　“Zhang Yu is at Peak Rank-4.”

　　“Haha…”

　　“Xie Lei is nearly at Upper-stage Rank-4.”

　　“Oh.”

　　“Dean Tang is about to enter the Grandmaster level.”

　　“What has that got to do with me!”

　　Qin Fengqing gritted his teeth angrily. What did all the things that he was telling him have to do with him!

　　Fang Ping ignored him and continued, “Even Chen Haoran has reached Peak Rank-4.”

　　“How can it be!”

　　Qin Fengqing almost crushed his teeth, it was obvious that he was lying!

　　Chen Haoran of SCMAU had just entered Upper-stage Rank-4 in December, it was nonsensical to say that he had reached Peak Rank-4 in such a short time!

　　As for himself, to enter Peak Rank-4, he had been chased around into multiple dead ends in the Catacombs.

　　Fang Ping said with a smile, “His grandfather is almost Rank-8. Seeing that his grandson cannot keep up, he is feeding him energy stones as big as a head.”

　　“Impossible!”

　　Qin Fengqing thought that this was not true. Chen Yaoting would not be so wasteful even if he was rich.

　　Fang Ping said, “Sadly, this is all true. If you don’t believe it, you can ask Vice-chancellor Huang. Qin Fengqing, you should face up to reality. You, a senior student, are only at Peak Rank 4, do you think you are awesome?”

　　“I didn’t even ask about CCMAU, but I heard that Han Xu entered Rank-4 before the new year. Ling Yiyi, that little brat, has entered Upper-stage Rank-4, and Iron Head Li, even if he is not at Middle-stage Rank-5 yet, he should be close to it by now.

　　“Qin Fengqing, Qin Fengqing, you have high ambitions but life is short and fragile. I don’t understand, why are you so proud that you are a Rank-4 when you are a senior student?

　　“Let’s not look at other schools but our own. Sophomores Chen Yunxi, Zhao Lei, and Fu Changding are all fast approaching Rank-4. They are only sophomores! When they are in their junior year, they may be already Rank-5. When they are seniors… forget about it, I don’t want to shock you anymore.”

　　Fang Ping shook his head. Despite what he said, he continued, “Well, I am now at Peak Rank-5. The vice-chancellors suggested that I should not breakthrough to Rank-6 for now. I am not in a hurry. In a year or half a year, after stabilizing myself, I might go directly into Rank-8. By then, I should not have graduated yet.

　　“How about you, a student who is about to graduate, the difference in our ranks will be two times! Since my rank will be double of yours, by then, it shouldn’t be a problem if I slash you to death with one breath, right?”

　　“…”

　　Qin Fengqing’s expression changed again and again, and suddenly he looked at Huang Jing.

　　Huang Jing stroked his forehead, seeing him looking at him, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. He helplessly said, “He is at the Peak of Rank-5.”

　　Qin Fengqing’s expression stiffened, and he gritted his teeth as he said, “He… he really is ranked first among the Rank-5?”

　　Fang Ping said, “I forgot to mention that when I killed the Peak Rank-6, I was only Middle-stage Rank-5.”

　　Qin Fengqing looked at Huang Jing again, and Huang Jing nodded slightly.

　　“How could this be…”

　　Qin Fengqing murmured, ‘I only went back for a few days?

　　‘Why had everything changed!

　　‘It should not be like this!

　　‘Had I got my timeline wrong?

　　‘Maybe I did not go back for only a few days, but had been isolated from the world for several years?’

　　At this moment, Qin Fengqing had forgotten about the matter of the bald head!

　　If becoming bald was the price to become strong, he would do it!

　　He never cared about this, as long as he could become stronger, the consequences were of no matter!

　　Fang Ping seemed to guess what he was thinking, and said with a smile, “Do you know why I shaved my head?”

　　“What?”

　　“I shaved my head to demonstrate my sincere convictions!”

　　Fang Ping’s eyes were firm as he said coldly, “Now, the Catacombs have fully invaded us, killing my compatriots and bringing turmoil to my land! How can my generation of martial artists sit and watch! Our strength is still weak, but we are also unyielding. As long as the chaos from the Catacombs is not resolved, what is the use of hair? If I shave off these shreds of worries, the next time I enter the Catacombs, it would be more convenient to wear a hood.

　　“Also, if you keep your hair, you still have to waste time to wash your hair. Isn’t it troublesome? Would martial artists have so much time to waste? We haven’t hit the high-ranks yet, so we can’t be untouched by dirt stains.

　　“Shaving hair makes things more convenient. And you would become uglier and have fewer chances to harm those innocent girls! Think about it, if you shave and become a big bald head, would the tigress from Magic City Women’s University continue to bother you?

　　“You have a medium-long hairstyle, like a young literary artist. Don’t you know that this will attract the attention of female martial artists?

　　“You keep a head of medium length hair when you burrow through the Catacombs, so you have to consider whether your hair is dirty or not. Maybe this little bit of misgivings could even cost you your life!

　　“There are some people who mocked me for shaving my head. Those are just a group of people with shallow views, not knowing how critical the situation is! Are you, Qin Fengqing, also such an ignorant person?”

　　Fang Ping rattled on and shook his head again. “Forget about it. I am I and you are you. You are a Rank-4 martial artist, so there is no need to consider all these. You people just get married and have children behind the frontlines and it would be just fine to pass on the lineage for humanity.

　　“Maybe, the future is still yours. Just leave the frontline matters to us. ”

　　Qin Fengqing’s expression changed again and again, and he growled, “Are you saying that I, Qin Fengqing, am a coward?”

　　“I don’t mean it like that.”

　　“Your words meant that exactly!”

　　Fang Ping shook his head and said, “It’s really not what I meant, but your strength is indeed too far behind. I only stated the facts. Even I feel like a tiny individual with no power. As a Rank-4, do you think that you could be more useful than me?”

　　“Shave the head to demonstrate one’s sincere convictions, is it?”

　　Qin Fengqing gritted his teeth, Fang Ping was looking forward to it. Quickly, quickly shave your hair!

　　Seeing that the guy was still hesitant, Fang Ping suddenly whispered, “Long hair is wasting Vitality, and it’s wasting a lot. In the past, I didn’t pay much attention to it but after I shaved my hair, I realized that it was a lot of waste.

　　“Oh, do you know why the Rank-8 golden body powerhouses, when they forge the golden body, have their hair fall off? It’s to seal off all of the body’s pores. You have reached Rank-4, you should have realized that our sweat pores have begun to shrink.

　　“What I want to do now is to actively close the pores of the hair. Look at me, isn’t my bald head different from others?”

　　Fang Ping suddenly took off his hat and took the initiative to stretch out his head, whispering, “In the past few days, I have drained all the hair stumps and completely sealed the pores!”

　　Qin Fengqing stared at his head for a while, trying to touch it, but Fang Ping suddenly withdrew his head, put on his hat, and smiled. “Hey, don’t touch me. This whole process is very painful. In the future, I might never be able to grow my hair anymore. But what is that compared to strength?”

　　“Even the hair roots are gone…”

　　Qin Fengqing murmured. Fang Ping did this for his strength.

　　This guy would not do anything without benefits, and if there were no benefits, would he do such a thing?

　　“Close the whole body’s pores? Rank-6 seals off the Sanjiao, Rank-8 transforms into a golden body… everything is related to sealing!

　　“Block all channels for energy leakage…”

　　Qin Fengqing was muttered to himself. Was this the direction that a middle-rank should work hard toward?

　　At the side, a pale golden light flickered across Fang Ping’s body, and a flash of golden light emitted from his head.

　　“After the pores are closed, it is quicker to condense the semi-golden body. Unfortunately, when I told some people, these guys are reluctant to shave their heads for the sake of good looks. Forget it, everyone has a heart for beauty. To some people, hair is more important than cultivation, what else can I say.”

　　Fang Ping shook his head and smiled again. “The improvement effect is pretty small, it probably doesn’t matter.”

　　“How much is it?” Qin Fengqing asked hurriedly.

　　“Not much. When the pores of the hair are closed, the training speed will increase by about 1%. Pretty weak.”

　　“1%!”

　　Qin Fengqing suddenly stopped asking and turned to walk away.

　　Fang Ping asked quickly, “Where are you going?”

　　“Leave me alone!”

　　“Don’t shave your head, it’s better to directly jolt them out with your Vitality, even the hair roots! Then close the pores, and, preferably, also jolt out all the hair in your whole body, and close all of the pores!”

　　“All?”

　　“It’s best to do that, but of course, it depends on your aspirations.”

　　“Oh … I don’t believe you!” Qin Fengqing snarled.

　　Even though he expressed disbelief, he swiftly ran away all the same.

　　As soon as he left, Huang Jing looked at Fang Ping speechlessly. Eventually he mumbled, “Listening to you, I also want to shave my head.”

　　Fang Ping said with a smile, “I didn’t lie to him, vice-chancellor, closing the pores is conducive to the blockade of energy, am I not right?”

　　Huang Jing had a headache, and he was beginning to lose his temper. He snapped, “How significant is that little amount? Don’t indulge in these worthless things!”

　　Was he treating him like Qin Fengqing?

　　No matter how many pores they had, and even if they dilated to the maximum, they would at the most, lose only one or two cal each day.

　　If according to Fang Ping, they should just block all the holes all over the body.

　　When they had reached this level, the loss of one or two cal of Vitality could be replenished easily with just one breath.

　　Fang Ping, this kid, could only dupe the honest and guileless.

　　Qin Fengqing, this idiot, was punched by Fang Ping, yet he had completely forgotten about this, and he also forgot his original intentions. Huang Jing suspected that this kid was now going back to pluck his hair.

　　As soon as he thought of this scene, Huang Jing felt sad for Qin Fengqing. Was he so stupid to trust Fang Ping’s words? Had he not been lied to enough?

　　Fang Ping did not care about what he thought, smiled, and said, “Vice-chancellor, then I will make a trip to the Pressure Room and input some Celestiality. Besides, these few days, I will go for closed-door cultivation. In the school, you’re the only Grandmaster who is somewhat free. In the next few days, can you kill a demon monster for me?”

　　Huang Jing glared at him, was he looking down on him?

　　However, after thinking about it, Huang Jing still said cautiously, “Don’t be conceited. These high-rank demon monsters are extremely powerful, how could they be so easy to kill? Plan carefully first, then we’ll talk about it.”

　　Fang Ping said with a smile, “I know, neither you nor Old Liu has ever killed a monster beast to get a Divine Weapon. We should look for an opportunity later on to kill the Jiao of the Jiao’s Forest, then we will make a fortune. I think we can make several weapons…”

　　Huang Jing rolled his eyes. That was a Rank-8 golden body monster beast. The average Rank-8 could not even kill it, in fact, they had to be careful otherwise they might be killed by it instead.

　　Fang Ping made it sound easy, but the Jiao’s Forest was very close to Sky Gate City and Monster Sunflower City. If a war were to break out, they had to be careful to be attacked by both sides.

　　“Again, I am warning you, I am not as lucky as Li Changsheng. I feel quite insecure about going to the Catacombs with you.”

　　Even Huang Jing, a Rank-7 powerhouse felt insecure at this moment. According to previous experiences of Fang Ping going down to the Catacombs, he felt that it was really necessary to carefully consider it.

　　The first time, he provoked a Rank-8 Jiao.

　　The second time, he provoked a Rank-7 powerhouse and Jiao.

　　During the third time, he even drew the ire of a Rank-9.

　　Each time was more dangerous than the last, this time… Huang Jing felt that it was necessary to bring along Li Changsheng, that guy’s bones were harder than his and more resistant to fighting.

　　He felt that even though he was Rank-7, he was too weak to follow Fang Ping on his adventures.

　　After Fang Ping left, Huang Jing suddenly felt a little sorrowful. Why did he feel that even though he was a Rank-7 powerhouse, he was not as comfortably off as these Rank-4 or 5s?