Chapter 399: Rank-9 Paragon

　　December 27th. Lu Fengrou completed Mentality-Vitality Fusion.

　　This was not announced to the public.

　　Fang Ping thought it unnecessary to make any announcements before she achieved Grandmaster. It was better to wait until Lu Fengrou achieved Rank-7 first.

　　As for Lu Fengrou, her Mentality had hit more than 900Hz and her Vitality was complete. She might officially become a Rank-7 powerhouse within three to five months.

　　…

　　December 28th.

　　Zhao Xuemei brought over a share transfer agreement.

　　“100 shares?”

　　Fang Ping was dumbfounded. What was going on?

　　So few shares?

　　As for Lu Fengrou sending Zhao Xuemei to hand him the share transfer agreement, he was not really surprised. That was typical of Lu Fengrou’s personality.

　　What surprised Fang Ping was that he had always been under the assumption that Lu Fengrou owned a good many shares in the pill company.

　　The pill company had not gone on the market. A monopoly like this did not need to go on the market.

　　100 shares were too few, however. It did not seem to match Lu Fengrou’s father’s status as a Grandmaster.

　　Zhao Xuemei’s gaze held mixed emotions as she explained, “You’re not aware of the pill company’s situation, are you? Ever since the company was established, it has expanded numerous times, such that now the total capital stock stands at 200,000 shares.”

　　“The pill company’s actual value may have exceeded 10 trillion, however!”

　　Yes, 10 trillion!

　　It was really that terrifying!

　　The pill company was extremely profitable and a monopoly to boot. Every year, their sales hit an astronomical figure.

　　The value of each share might be no less than fifty million!

　　The pill company did not allocate a lot of shares. Actually, none of the shareholders would sell their shares anyway as a single share itself held such high value.

　　In reality, it was very difficult to sell the shares. Those with powerful abilities did not need them.

　　As for the weaker ones, the pill company might not approve the transaction.

　　Share transfer, however, could avoid some of these problems.

　　The value of 100 shares might be no less than 5 billion.

　　Lu Fengrou received an annual bonus from the pill company every year; that would be no less than 100 million, at least!

　　This was the minimum she would get. She could potentially get a maximum of a few hundred million bonuses a year.

　　The profit generated was astronomical!

　　Fang Ping gulped. “The shares are so valuable?”

　　100 shares, 5 billion in value—had Old Lu really taken this so seriously?

　　Before, he had claimed that he had poured 500 grams of Energy Essence into the cultivation room. In reality, it was not as much as that—only 200 grams, max.

　　At this point in his thoughts, Fang Ping suddenly said, “Oh yes, do you know how many pill company shares our university owns?”

　　Zhao Xuemei shook her head. How would she know?

　　Fang Ping said nothing more. He fished out his phone and made a call. He said, “Instructor Zhang, how many pill company shares does MCMAU own?”

　　“800 shares.”

　　“So few?”

　　As Fang Ping said this, something occurred to him. After making some calculations, he said immediately, “That’s more than 40 billion in value. That’s not so few after all.”

　　If one thought about it in that way, Lu Fengrou’s father obtaining 100 shares that year was no small thing!

　　After all, one was an individual while the other was MCMAU. Comparing both parties was like comparing apples to oranges.

　　MCMAU might not have eight Grandmasters, but MCMAU had so many instructors and students. In the past, their annual Catacombs gains were almost entirely supplied to the big companies—only then were they able to obtain 800 shares in exchange.

　　After thanking Instructor Zhang, Fang Ping hung up the call.

　　He pondered and mused thoughtfully, “In the past, the pill company used to supply us with a batch of pills every year. It seems really valuable but in reality, the cost price may well be less than one billion.

　　“At present, we’ve expanded our own production line. On MCMAU’s side, the raw materials we supply to the pill company are gradually decreasing too.

　　“The pill company might not continue supplying us with free pills after this…”

　　After a moment of walking back and forth, Fang Ping gave the matter some consideration before asking, “What do you think would happen if I sell all these shares right now?”

　　“Sell them?”

　　Zhao Xuemei was astonished. “What about the future? Will the university agree?”

　　The younger generation would not feel heartache at selling their forefathers’ hard-earned property. Just like that, Fang Ping had suggested selling the shares off. He needed to be aware that this was a foundation built by countless MCMAU instructors and students over many, many years.

　　“If I sold the shares off for forty to fifty billion, that should be comparable to more than ten years of supply from the pill company in the future.

　　“I’m afraid if we don’t sell now, it will be hard to say whether or not we will be able to get any money at all further down the line.”

　　Having said that, Fang Ping frowned and continued, “Not just the pill company shares, but the weapons company shares should be sold as well!”

　　The three big companies were the pill, weapons, and energy companies. MCMAU did not have shares in the energy company. In reality, the energy company did not obtain much profit from MCMAU because the energy stones that MCMAU obtained were mostly used for themselves.

　　After selling the shares from both companies, that might amount to 100 billion worth of Wealth!

　　The key was—could they be sold?

　　Would both companies agree?

　　If the shares could be exchanged for one hundred billion worth of Wealth, in addition to the 40 billion allocation for next year, MCMAU’s own industry’s profit and all other forms of income, perhaps next year the university’s current assets could hit a staggering 150 billion!

　　With that much money, MCMAU could do a lot of things.

　　They could look into expanding their own industries, increasing the instructors’ bonuses, providing more subsidies for the students, recruiting more new students, and hiring more middle-ranked instructors.

　　One hundred billion or more was more than enough.

　　Considering this, Fang Ping could not help thinking that if he pocketed all of the money, his Wealth would certainly hit over 100 billion, would it not?

　　After shaking his head, Fang Ping stopped thinking about this any further.

　　As he looked over the share transfer agreement on the table, Fang Ping said nothing. He did not say anything about rejecting the agreement either. Lu Fengrou had money but she had not used it. Instead, she was giving these shares to him so he could multiply his money. When he had earned enough Wealth, if he gained anything of value in the future, he could just share some of them with Old Lu.

　　Seeing that Fang Ping was lost in his thoughts, Zhao Xuemei said softly, “I’ll be leaving now then.”

　　“Mm.”

　　“Fang Ping…”

　　Fang Ping lifted his head. Zhao Xuemei noticed his distraction and swallowed her words back, forcing out a smile. “It’s nothing. Congratulations on becoming the university council secretary-general.”

　　“It’s nothing.”

　　Fang Ping chuckled. Then, he continued, “You should work hard on your cultivation as well. Strive to achieve Upper-stage Rank-3 as soon as you can. It should be any time now.”

　　At present, among the sophomore students, Chen Yunxi and Zhao Lei had both achieved Upper-stage Rank-3. Just two days ago, Fu Changding had also achieved Upper-stage Rank-3.

　　Yang Xiaoman was slightly lacking, though she would also achieve that soon.

　　The remaining ones like Zhao Xuemei and Tang Jinsong were also at Middle-stage Rank-3. They were progressing at an extremely fast rate too.

　　Next semester, these people would achieve Upper-stage or Peak Rank-3 one after another.

　　Compared to the previous batches, their progress was really much faster.

　　This had something to do with a series of changes in the university. Credits were much easier to obtain now. Also, many people applied for loans from the university directly. Now, all of them were working hard on cultivation.

　　The freshman students had only been here for half a semester, yet there were already many Rank-2s. There were also many Rank-1s.

　　MCMAU was growing stronger at a very visible rate.

　　Fang Ping knew that he was not really the one who was doing a good job. He had not actually changed anything.

　　All he had done was to change the university’s ways. In the past, MCMAU had actually possessed the capital to nurture large numbers of student powerhouses. However, the university was not something that was built overnight. This was a long-term matter. A lot of capital was stocked up, so not all of it was actually spent.

　　To be honest, Fang Ping was over-drafting certain things for the future.

　　An example would be the shares from the pill and weapons companies. These were initially property for the next few decades or even centuries. However, Fang Ping figured that selling them off right away could result in current ability enhancement.

　　From what Fang Ping could see, the Catacombs were increasing. No one knew what would happen in the future.

　　Rather than hoping for long-term development in the future, it was better to liquidate their assets now and enhance everyone’s abilities as quickly as possible.

　　Only by having stronger abilities could they be the initiators in the upcoming changes.

　　When Fang Ping mentioned abilities, a flicker of dejection showed in Zhao Xuemei’s eyes once again. Her progress was actually very fast now. For a once-honed student, being not too far behind Zhao Lei and the rest at the three lower ranks was already very impressive.

　　Compared to Fang Ping, however, the distance between him and Middle-stage Rank-3 was just too great.

　　Next semester, she had hopes of achieving Upper-stage Rank-3. As for Peak Rank-3, she might have to wait until her junior year for that.

　　If she achieved Rank-4 in her junior year, she might still be a Rank-4 when she graduated.

　　By then, what rank would Fang Ping be?

　　Different thoughts flashed through Zhao Xuemei’s mind. Finally, a grin broke out on her face as she said, “Alright, I’ll work hard and cultivate, and strive not to hold everyone else up.”

　　Zhao Xuemei did not linger but left soon after.

　　Fang Ping had no time to think about these things. Share transfer agreement in hand, he thought for a moment and strode out of the dormitory.

　　…

　　“You want to sell the shares?”

　　Deputy vice-chancellor’s office.

　　Huang Jing frowned slightly. Wu Kuishan’s vigor had been greatly damaged yesterday; he had gone into closed-door training now. This time, it was closed-door training for real, unlike what Fang Ping had said about breaking through to Rank-9.

　　“Yes.”

　　Fang Ping said softly, “We’ve greatly offended the big companies right now anyway; what’s the point of keeping the shares rather than selling them off?”

　　“But…” Huang Jing began, then added, “I’m just worried that we won’t be able to sell them off. If the pill and weapons company don’t give us their approval, we don’t have the right to perform the transaction either.”

　　Fang Ping chuckled, “We’ll cause a big scene then. It has already come to this point anyway. We’re not worried about offending them anymore! If it really doesn’t work, then we won’t supply any more raw materials to the two big companies in the future. Furthermore, we don’t want the deducted dividends from the pill and weapons companies every year either. We want cash instead!”

　　Huang Jing’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together. That would certainly cause a very big scene indeed.

　　Right now, they were offending the two major companies on the quiet. No one was openly breaking any ties yet.

　　If Fang Ping made a big scene now though, they might really break ties.

　　“Fang Ping, is this really necessary?”

　　Fang Ping nodded. “It’s not that that this is necessary, but I plan to continue recruiting many more new students. More areas will require expenditure now. For the next batch, I’m planning to recruit 3000 students; this will be the same for future upcoming batches so the number of students in the university can break the ten-thousand mark.”

　　Fang Ping added, “More students mean more subsidies. Expenditures will skyrocket. We must do this, though. Dean… ahem, Vice-chancellor, with the current situation, how long do you think our stalemate with the Catacombs will last?

　　“In the past, it has always been one city versus another city. Recently though there have been changes in many places.

　　“First it was Magic City Catacombs, then it was Nanjiang Catacombs. I’ve heard that currently, the other Catacombs aren’t too stable either. Then there was that unforeseen event in Tiannan Catacombs—the situation is different now!

　　“If, say, the Catacombs were using us to train their troops in the past, that’s a sign right there that they’re about to launch a large-scale attack.

　　“Perhaps there are certain changes at the higher levels, causing the situation to deteriorate. My guess is that it may be something to do with both the Monster Life and Monster Plant clans—or perhaps other changes have taken place.

　　“Vice-chancellor, do you know anything about these matters?”

　　Huang Jing frowned slightly. After a moment, he said, “Actually, I’ve sensed what you mentioned as well. However, I’m only MCMAU’s deputy vice-chancellor. I’ve not touched on certain subjects, actually.

　　“The deteriorating situation may have something to do with the much higher levels in the Catacombs.”

　　Huang Jing seemed slightly hesitant to continue, but he did anyway, “Changes occurred in Tiannan Catacombs…because…because a supreme powerhouse died!”

　　“Hmm?”

　　Fang Ping’s pupils contracted. What did that mean?

　　“Our supreme powerhouse? Rank-9?”

　　“A Rank-9 paragon!”

　　Huang Jing said very seriously, “In Year 08, a Rank-9 paragon died unexpectedly. I don’t know what happened specifically, but after the death of that powerhouse, a great war broke out in Tiannan! Maybe because the balance had been upset!”

　　Huang Jing exhaled, and continued, “As for the changes you mentioned regarding the Monster Life and Monster Plant clans, I don’t actually understand that very well myself. Perhaps you’re right. Over here in Magic City Catacombs, West Phoenix City did display an inclination to join the war previously. Maybe that’s a signal.”

　　Fang Ping frowned and asked, “Is there a huge disparity between a Rank-9 paragon powerhouse and a typical Rank-9 powerhouse?”

　　“A massive one!”

　　Huang Jing answered very solemnly, “Let’s put it this way. When a Rank-9 paragon powerhouse confronts an ordinary Rank-9, even when fighting one against three or perhaps five, he could kill them all! More even perhaps… I don’t know the specific ratio.

　　“That year, Commander Li fought one against three. When he killed a Rank-9, he had just achieved the paragon level. Do you understand me?

　　“Moreover, the three Rank-9s who fought with him weren’t the weakest out there either.

　　“All three of them came from the depths of the Catacombs. Actually, they were much stronger than the city lords and the ones we encounter right now.

　　“Even so, despite the three of them working together, Commander Li still managed to kill one of them. If it wasn’t because of certain considerations, all of them might have been killed!

　　“If Commander Li were to fight the city lords, he may well be able to kill his opponents in no time at all. You need to be aware that Rank-9s are extremely difficult to kill. This is a process of qualitative change!

　　“Out of the 13 cities in the Magic City Catacombs—I don’t know about others—even if the lord of Sky Gate City encounters Commander Li, the lord himself might not last three moves!”

　　Fang Ping’s expression had changed now. This was a massive disparity indeed!

　　A Rank-9 could not last three moves in another Rank-9’s hands!

　　“Commander Li is that powerful?”

　　“All Rank-9 paragons are that powerful!”

　　“How many Rank-9 paragons are there in Sino Nation? Leader Zhao might not be. Then, the seven of them before him…”

　　“I don’t know.”

　　Huang Jing shook his head, saying bitterly, “Our abilities may not seem weak at all, but, just like the Rank-7s and 6s, maybe in the eyes of the supreme powerhouses, we’re just that or perhaps even weaker. There are certain things they will never tell us.

　　“Besides, MCMAU is only a university after all instead of a true Sino Nation governing body.

　　“If you wish to know these things, then I’m afraid you’ll need to get to this level before you can truly understand everything.”

　　Huang Jing gently exhaled and continued, “The Catacombs didn’t go all out previously. This may have something to do with these supreme powerhouses. Tiannan’s situation stemmed from the death of that supreme powerhouse. As for the current situation, I don’t know.

　　“You said that a great war will break out very soon. Perhaps that’s also t

　　rue.

　　“To be honest…we’ve already thought about these things in advance. At present, the government has gradually begun to guide public opinion. This is also clear proof.

　　“The pressure’s on now!

　　“Otherwise previously, all policies were confidential. Back then things probably were not at the point of urgency. It may seem like there’s a great disparity between us and the other party and we’re at a disadvantage, but the government did still have some strength and confidence back then.

　　“Now though, strength and confidence are not quite enough.”

　　Fang Ping was frowning once again. He said with some irritation, “They hide everything from us and leave us guessing. What d*mn use are guesses! No matter what, they still think that we’re too weak, that it’s useless for us to know these things.

　　“Is it really a good thing though, keeping us in the dark?

　　“What’s the peak combat strength ratio—no idea!

　　“The details of the Catacombs situation—no idea!

　　“What’s the Catacombs’ intention—no idea!

　　“All they know how to do is to keep telling us to give everything we’ve got, to keep humans safe, to fight for mankind—does that even mean anything?

　　“Also, what exactly is going on with the evil sects!

　　“Since Sino Nation has powerhouses who are even stronger than Rank-9, why don’t they annihilate the evil sects?

　　“Don’t tell me the sects also have powerhouses of this level?

　　“When I reach this level, I’ll teach them a lesson one day…”

　　Huang Jing did not know whether to laugh or to cry. “Perhaps when you reach this level, you might want to hide everything from everyone, just like what’s happening right now. Have you ever thought of informing your family members about the Catacombs?”

　　Fang Ping was stunned into silence. Huang Jing was right. Right now, his family members were worried sick about him. At least they were at ease not knowing about the Catacombs.

　　If he told them that the Catacombs had a ton of powerhouses and that countless martial artists were dying annually, then his family members might not be able to eat or sleep from worry.

　　Fang Ping took a deep breath and snorted, “They can hide the truth from others. But people like us, we deserve to know! Anyway, I’m this generation’s most talented martial artist….”

　　“Then you’ll also have to wait until you achieve Rank-7 first.”

　　Anyone who had not even achieved Rank-7 yet was perhaps a child in the eyes of those individuals, what more Fang Ping, who was indeed still a child.

　　Parents did not wish to burden their children with too much pressure. Their children would collapse under the weight.

　　Those Peak powerhouses might also be thinking the same thing.

　　“Whatever it is, I’m not happy about it!” Fang Ping growled. Then, he continued, “All right, forget it. Let’s put that aside for now. Since that’s also what you think, Vice-chancellor, then it’s imperative to sell those shares. The two big companies are rich anyway. If it really doesn’t work, they can also give us a batch of pills and weapons as substitutes.

　　“Of course, they must do so based on the cost price.

　　“If we can lay our hands on that many pills and weapons, then MCMAU’s abilities will be greatly enhanced!”

　　On the tail end of that, Fang Ping added suddenly, “Oh that’s right—I supplied a batch of books to the Military Department last time. Have they been translated? Vice-chancellor, please hurry them up. See if we can obtain certain information. Forget about other things. We need to understand what’s going on in Magic City Catacombs, at least.

　　“I’m always unsure of what’s happening there; one of these days I’ll fall into a deathtrap!

　　“If I provoke a Rank-9 paragon powerhouse by accident someday, based on your description of them, I’ll die from one slap no matter how fast I run. I need to pay more attention to these things.”

　　Huang Jing was speechless. This brat was really something else!

　　A Rank-5 martial artist was actually thinking of ways to provoke powerhouses of this level. Was he really in such a hurry to court death?

　　“Alright, I’ll hurry them up for you. Also, remember to check your body. Give a clear explanation regarding the matter of aura-concealment so you don’t give other people a chance to cause trouble for you.

　　“As for the shares… I’ll sound out the two big companies’ reactions first and see how we should proceed after that.”

　　“Alright, Vice-chancellor. I’ll take my leave first then. If you’re free though, Vice-chancellor, perhaps you could visit the cultivation room and supply some Celestiality for everyone…”

　　Fang Ping strode off after that.

　　Huang Jing almost ground down his teeth, they were clenched so tightly.

　　This brat was something alright, asking him to go do such a thing!

　　Did Huang Jing not need to cultivate at all?

　　All this had been originally Fang Ping’s idea, but right now, he had tricked Huang Jing into becoming a supply machine!

　　After thinking it over, however… Huang Jing sighed and let the matter rest. He would go and take a look when he was free. He could not really rely on this brat either.