Chapter 344: Chen Haoran, Don’t Cry

　　The CCMAU stadium.

　　Many people came to watch the finals of the losers’ bracket.

　　However, the number of Grandmasters congregating on the second floor decreased. Some had already left during the past few days.

　　After XMAU was eliminated, Vice-chancellor Feng left Capital City.

　　There was no longer anything deterring Fang Ping from returning to the second floor.

　　…

　　Qin Fengqing was still in a state of confusion after he went up to the second floor.

　　Coincidentally, Zhou Qiyue from the MCWU was also there.

　　She was staring at the floor below coldly. She did not greet Qin Fengqing when he came in. The two of them were barely acquainted, actually; there was no need for excessive pleasantries.

　　Seeing her, Fang Ping nudged Qin Fengqing, lowered his voice and said in an almost imperceptible whisper, “See, she’s not even looking at you now.”

　　“That’s sad.”

　　Fang Ping shook his head and sighed. “How handsome and popular do you think you are? Now there’s finally a girl who likes you, and you treat her like this…”

　　Qin Fengqing said nothing.

　　“Fine, act as if this hasn’t happened. Anyway, if you have to fight her, you aren’t her match.”

　　“Quit egging me on!” Qin Fengqing harrumphed coldly. “She’s only at Middle-stage Rank-4. I can kill her with a hack of my saber!”

　　Fang Ping drawled, “Then what are you hesitating for?”

　　“You’re tricking me!” Qin Fengqing was quite wary at that moment. ‘I’m not a massive fool like Big Lion!”

　　Fang Ping eyed him. He smiled calmly. “If that’s what you think, so be it. Are you doubting my words, and think that Zhou Qiyue doesn’t like you at all?”

　　“Duh! I haven’t sensed any of this love you talk about. You’re just talking b*llshit!”

　　“Have you dated anyone before?”

　　Qin Fengqing flushed. He said, unwilling to show weakness, “Of course.”

　　“Then do you know what signs a woman will show when she likes a man?”

　　Qin Fengqing curled his lip. “Why should I tell you? You’re only a kid. You won’t understand even if I tell you.”

　　Fang Ping said softly, “I know something, at least. She will definitely be unhappy when someone insults the boy she likes.”

　　Fang Ping whispered, “If I insult you loudly now, think she’ll turn around and glare at me?”

　　“How is that possible…”

　　“Let’s make a bet, then?”

　　Qin Fengqing was now doubting his motives. He said, staring intently at Fang Ping, “You just want to insult me, don’t you?”

　　“Shut up. I don’t need an excuse just to insult you.”

　　“I don’t believe you.”

　　Fang Ping ignored his words, suddenly bellowing, “Qin Fengqing, you’re just an idiot! Moron! Dimwit!”

　　Moments after he shouted, Zhou Qiyue, who was staring downward, suddenly turned to look at them and glared at Fang Ping, fire in her eyes.

　　“Don’t bully other people like that!”

　　Zhou Qiyue did not only glare at him, but she also took the time to berate him!

　　Fang Ping grimaced bashfully. “Sorry, sorry, there won’t be a next time.”

　　“Hmph!”

　　Zhou Qiyue turned back, harrumphing.

　　Qin Fengqing was stupefied!

　　Fang Ping… told the truth?

　　Fang Ping went quiet. He looked for a spot to sit down and pulled Qin Fengqing down with him. “Stop overthinking. Let’s watch the battle together.”

　　“Fang Ping… She… But I… Don’t like this type, I like women that are cute and adorable…”

　　“You’re kidding me, aren’t you? How many martial artists are cute and adorable?”

　　“But…”

　　“Whatever. Don’t tell me, I’m not interested. I’ve said what I want to say anyway. Regardless of your preferences, she likes you. That’s true, right?”

　　Qin Fengqing sighed. “I’ve gotten used to it. Handsome guys always face this problem.”

　　“The East Sino team is here. Read the room.”

　　Fang Ping turned his eyes away from him, staring downward, waiting for the battle to commence.

　　…

　　At the same time.

　　Several Grandmasters were whispering amongst one another not far away from them.

　　“Fang Ping is using his Mentality more effortlessly than before. He’s improved a lot.”

　　Huang Jing nodded. “He has indeed shown some improvement, but his actions are inappropriate. Harassing Zhou Qiyue out of the blue… Is this kid…”

　　Huang Jing eyed the MCWU’s female president. Was Fang Ping setting his sights on that girl?

　　Fang Ping was talking in a low voice, and the Grandmasters would not eavesdrop on him deliberately.

　　They had only noticed Fang Ping because of the fluctuation of his Mentality.

　　It was natural that Huang Jing would overthink after seeing him harass Zhou Qiyue with his Mentality.

　　A female Grandmaster teaching in the MCWU frowned and said with almost no inflection, “He’s skilled, but Qiyue won’t like someone as flighty as him!”

　　If he liked her, he should just voice it. A martial artist had no need for such tricks.

　　Fang Ping’s harassing Zhou Qiyue made him look cowardly. Although he was talented, the female Grandmaster looked down on him.

　　Huang Jing was not perturbed, laughing, “This is between the young people, so let them deal with it on their own. On another topic, in this battle between ESMAU and BMAU, do you think BMAU has a shot in winning?”

　　“BMAU has a chance.” The female Grandmaster nodded. She was all for ESMAU being defeated ever since the two schools had almost fought the past day.

　　…

　　Fang Ping had not thought of eavesdropping on them in turn, naturally.

　　He had good hearing, but he had had no interest in overhearing the Grandmasters’ conversations. He would have been the subject of a good beating if he had been caught.

　　The commentator was already starting to reveal the rosters of both teams.

　　The East Sino Martial Arts University team had suffered serious blows after competing in countless battles. There were only 3 Rank-4 martial artists in their roster this time. One was Middle-stage, the other two Early-stage.

　　Beijiang Martial Arts University’s fate was similar, although they had gotten a bye during one round. Only two Rank-4 martial artists were on the roster this time. One was Middle-stage, while the other was Early-stage.

　　ESMAU looked stronger judging from their members’ ranks alone. BMAU had failed to collect Peak Rank-3 martial artists this time, even; the three Rank-3 martial artists onstage were all Upper-stage Rank-3 martial artists.

　　If the Middle-stage Rank-4 BMAU president was defeated, the team might as well say goodbye to the competition.

　　Fang Ping stared at them for a moment and shook his head. “There isn’t much hope for BMAU. Hu Yong from ESMAU’s Middle-stage Rank-4 as well, but he’s mostly uninjured. Zhang Tao from BMAU has been injured quite seriously.”

　　Qin Fengqing harrumphed. “Hu Yong’s just an underhanded bastard. When ESMAU fought CCMAU, he did not put in much effort despite showing up, so he ended up uninjured.

　　“He also used underhanded tactics when he fought MCWU…”

　　“Regardless, he’s strong. Other than winning against BMAU, they also have good odds of winning their challenge against YMS. After that, ESMAU might enter the top ten.

　　Qin Fengqing said nothing. Fang Ping was confident in the accuracy of his inference.

　　If Yunmeng Military School had to face ESMAU, a mostly intact ESMAU team with all of their 5 Rank-4 martial artists could very possibly defeat YMS.

　　For a seat in the top ten, ESMAU decided to not skimp on the pills so that the team members could recover from their injuries.

　　Two of their Rank-4 martial artists were not present this time. They were both recuperating, probably in anticipation of the next round.

　　As they talked, the referee downstage shouted, “Start!”

　　Hu Yong from ESMAU fought with the intention to wear his opponent down. He circled Zhang Hao and struck continuously and swiftly, only to retreat almost instantly.

　　He was in decent condition, but Zhang Tao had not fully recovered from his injury. If Hu Yong continued grinding his opponent down, he would have a good shot at winning without exhausting much of his energy.

　　ESMAU would benefit from a stable advance, no overzealous battles needed––for any injury suffered would be disadvantageous.

　　Fang Ping found this tactic suitable. It was understandable to fight a little underhandedly for a place in the top ten.

　　Qin Fengqing did not like it much, though, so it seemed. He harrumphed, “He is indeed shameless, that cheating rascal of a fellow!”

　　Fang Ping eyed him. Was he really antagonizing the guy?

　　Whatever this guy was thinking about, Fang Ping did not care. His own annoyance had largely dissipated by now, and he could not care less about a team as trashy as ESMAU’s.

　　As for ESMAU’s attempt at dirtying his name… Fang Ping did not do anything of the sort, so whatever the ESMAU students said was none of his business.

　　Downstage.

　　The first battle took a longer time. Rank-4 martial artists recovered fast. Hu Yong more so, seeing that he had no injuries.

　　Slowly, he had forcibly worn Zhang Tao down.

　　Zhang Tao might match Hu Yong’s speed, but his Vitality was not flowing well. He had wanted to land a deciding blow on his opponent, but Hu Yong managed to evade him every time.

　　After dodging several of Zhang Tao’s attacks, Hu Yong noted that his opponent’s Vitality was spent, so he sent him down from the arena after a couple more minutes.

　　Fang Ping inclined his head slightly. “He’s exhausted a lot of his resources, but he recovers fast. Now he’s recovered more than halfway. After the other Rank-4 from BMAU is defeated, the match is over.”

　　Qin Fengqing curled his lip. He did not continue the conversation.

　　Everything panned out just as Fang Ping had expected it to.

　　Hu Yong did not go slow this time. His opponent was only at Early-stage Rank-4. There was a big disparity between their strengths. Hu Yong stopped using his underhanded tactics when he needed to be straightforward. He clashed directly with the other and won with only a few powerful moves.

　　“His style… Seems familiar…”

　　Fang Ping murmured. Qin Fengqing rolled his eyes. “Isn’t this exactly your style? Other people got your character spot on.”

　　“Shut up.” Fang Ping smirked. “Is he comparable to me? My style’s not underhanded. He dodges a lot, but I don’t.”

　　He had a high, strong Vitality. If he could not best someone, he could just use it without limits and exhaust his opponent completely.

　　Both of them tended to tire their opponents out, but they went about it differently.

　　If one really wanted to compare them, they could say that Hu Yong used his Vitality more skillfully; he did not have the generous reserves Fang Ping had.

　　“You’re the same.”

　　Fang Ping did not retort. Whatever. As long as he still looked valiant on stage and no one would scold him for being underhanded, he did not care. The audience found his battles explosive, because he favored Vitality outbursts.

　　After the two Rank-4 martial artists were defeated, the remaining Rank-3 martial artists did not admit defeat. The BMAU’s martial artists were all determined.

　　They used their powerful moves the second they went onstage, but they were still defeated by Hu Yong swiftly. The difference between them was too big.

　　The competition between the losers’ bracket ended here. ESMAU was ranked first in the bracket.

　　“ESMAU, choose the school you will be challenging!”

　　A golden-body powerhouse from the Department of Education flew downstairs. As first place, ESMAU had the power to choose a team in the winners’ bracket to battle so that they could ascend to the top ten.

　　ESMAU had long thought it through. Hu Yong said instantly, “YMS!”

　　YMS was the only school in the winners’ bracket to not have an Upper-stage Rank-4 martial artist.

　　CCMAU, MCMAU, FMS, NSMS, SNMAU, SCMAU, NMAU, TMAU, and DMAU were beyond the exhausted ESMAU team’s capabilities. They would have a good shot if they challenged YMS.

　　No one was surprised by the result.

　　The two schools would battle on the next day, and the top ten would finally be determined. Only after that would the ranking battle between the top ten commence.

　　…

　　Fang Ping did not stay after watching the battle.

　　Qin Fengqing left with him. Fang Ping was taken aback. ‘I thought I tricked him, but it seems like Qin Fengqing’s not stupid.’

　　Qin Fengqing was more rational than he had expected. The battle on the next day, which would determine the top ten, was extremely important.

　　He was not stupid. If he went to beat the ESMAU students up, their Grandmasters would kill him.

　　He could do that after the top ten was confirmed, though. ESMAU had no hopes of winning the following battles, anyway, so beating them up by then was fine. ESMAU might even take this as an excuse to pull out. Maybe their Grandmasters would praise him for beating people up, secretly pleased. Being defeated by someone from MCMAU was better than losing against someone else.

　　Qin Fengqing would not inform Fang Ping of his plans, naturally.

　　There was something wrong with Fang Ping. He had cajoled him to beat someone up when he would definitely be killed by Grandmasters had he really done so. The guy wanted him dead. Qin Fengqing would definitely not jump in his trap!

　　With a sense of pride, as if he had defeated Fang Ping at mind games, Qin Fengqing walked with his head held high. He thought of Fang Ping with disdain for a moment.

　　…

　　On the 12th, the last battle in the process of the top ten’s placing commenced.

　　ESMAU sent all five of their Rank-4 martial artists. Hu Yong, being the master of underhanded tactics he was, wore a set of Peak Rank-6 beast leather armor onstage. He lured the YMS powerhouse into attacking his abdomen, and then he exchanged blows with the other. It seemed like both of them would bear the brunt of the other’s attacks.

　　Hu Yong’s sword punctured the other’s scapula, but his opponent’s spear failed to puncture his abdomen. He was later defeated by Hu Yong, having fallen in a disadvantage.

　　YMS was furious.

　　The students were allowed to wear protective garments, but there was an unspoken rule: the students had to prepare and acquire their equipment themselves. Peak Rank-6 beast leather armor onstage was obviously out of a student’s league; it was evident that the set of leather armor did not belong to Hu Yong.

　　The defensive properties of a set of leather armor was limited. They were not of much help to middle-ranked martial artists, as they cultivated higher-ranked Combat Techniques and their Vitality could put a hole in most things anyway. In the situation where both parties were similarly skilled and all, the armor would give the wearer an advantage.

　　The two schools started to argue.

　　Unfortunately, the rules and regulations did not forbid wearing leather armor, so YMS’ fuming came to nothing. Due to Hu Yong’s tactic, both schools fought to the last man. ESMAU finally scraped out the win and became the last school in the top ten.

　　…

　　After the competition determining the top ten ended, Fang Ping exhaled. It would be their turn next.

　　The battle between the top ten schools abided by different rules and regulations.

　　The schools would draw lots, which would separate them into two groups of five.

　　Every team would have to fight four battles. 2 points would be awarded for a victory, 1 for a draw, and a loss would garner the team no points.

　　The teams would be ranked by number of points. The first place and second place of a group would advance to the next round. The first place from Group A would battle Group B’s second place and vice versa. The winners would enter the finals, which would determine the champion and first runner-up.

　　The losers would fight for third and fourth place.

　　The rules had been changed slightly.

　　The rulebook copy delivered to Fang Ping earlier stipulated that only the first place in both groups would have to battle in the finals, but now there were two more slots.

　　Evidently, it was because of the change in situation. Or perhaps Fang Ping and Wang Jinyang’s simultaneous demonstrations of their strength made the government change the rules in order to give everyone a chance.

　　In the previous version of the rules, only the first place in both groups could advance to the finals. The government was probably thinking of CCMAU and FMS.

　　Fang Ping cursed furiously when the new rules were revealed. Only the government could change the rules willy-nilly!

　　That was why they did not announce the rules beforehand––just so they could spring it on them now!

　　The golden-body powerhouse from the Department of Education announced the rules, and said quickly, not waiting for their reactions, “We will draw lots to decide the groupings. Teams that are strong can advance to the next round, regardless of which group they’re in!”

　　Schools like ESMAU could barely stop themselves from swearing!

　　Don’t cheat, if you can!

　　They would sing the Department’s praises if they put five out of CCMAU, MCMAU, FMS, NMAU, NSMS, and SNMAU in the same group. That was the only way the other four had a chance of advancing.

　　They could only take the lower places otherwise.

　　The six stronger schools would probably be split into the two groups evenly, and CCMAU and MCMAU would definitely not be in the same group.

　　Everyone could guess how the schools would be grouped right now: CCMAU would be the champion, that was universally acknowledged by everyone. Even if Yao Chengjun was strong.

　　As for which one out of MCMAU and FMS was stronger, that was hard to infer right now, as Fang Ping had not shown what he was capable of yet. It was difficult to say which school was better, so MCMAU and FMS might be in the same group.

　　If that was so, NMAU, helmed by its leader Wang Jinyang, would be in the same group as CCMAU, if only to balance the groups out.

　　It was less likely they would make the two military schools battle each other, so Nine States Military School would probably be in CCMAU’s group.

　　Sino Nation Martial Arts University could only be in a group with MCMAU. Just like that, three out of five teams in the MCMAU group were confirmed.

　　The rest were inconsequential. Maybe they would be assigned according to the lots they drew.

　　None of the martial artists competing were dim. Before they started to draw lots, Fang Ping was already saying to Wang Jinyang, “Brother Wang, from what I see, we will have to battle each other soon.”

　　CCMAU and NMAU would be in the same group. Even if NSMS was there, their president was not Wang Jinyang’s match.

　　If NMAU lost to CCMAU, Fang Ping’s first battle after advancing to the next round would be against NMAU.

　　If NMAU won against CCMAU unexpectedly, the final battle would be between MCMAU and NMAU, Fang Ping thought.

　　Fang Ping did not entertain the possibility of MCMAU losing to FMS and being second place in the group.

　　Wang Jinyang laughed. “I want us to meet in the finals more.”

　　Li Hansong said calmly, “There’s no chance of that.”

　　He then turned his gaze toward Yao Chengjun and Fang Ping. “It remains to see which one out of the two of you will come across me first. This is good, though, we get to battle everyone. Who’s strong, who’s weak, it’ll be clear, and no one can say otherwise.”

　　The rules made it possible for the top four schools to battle one another.

　　They would have to win first and second place in both groups, though.

　　While they talked, the golden-body powerhouse’s face went dark.

　　‘Showing off, huh! Don’t think I won’t put all of you into the same group!

　　‘Talking about the battles later even before drawing lots? Are you trying to demonstrate how smart you are?

　　‘Young people nowadays really don’t appreciate the efforts of the older generations!

　　‘We’re giving you the chance to battle while minimizing exhaustion. This ain’t easy, you know!’

　　Several Rank-8 and 9 powerhouses had discussed for half a day before implementing this system and arranging the teams in both groups. ‘And you’re not thankful at all!’

　　The golden-body powerhouse had to interrupt their heated conversation. “Stop it! Let’s start drawing lots!”

　　Fang Ping and the others looked nonchalant. As Fang Ping fished a slip out casually, he said with a laugh, “Yao Chengjun, I was just thinking who my first opponent should be. I didn’t expect it to be you. If you lose, I’ll take your number three away first. What a pity you didn’t challenge the number one then.”

　　Yao Chengjun said impassively, “Do it if you can!”

　　Liu Shijie, president of the SNMAU Martial Arts Society, chuckled. “You two sure are confident. You have to ask SNMAU first before you make that decision for us!”

　　Fang Ping curled his lip. ‘I don’t really think anything of you.’

　　“Just draw the lots!”

　　The golden-body powerhouse was exasperated. ‘If you continue talking, I’ll put all of you in one group. I don’t care if the results are going to be devastating, or if I’m going to be lynched by the Minister, I’m gonna do it!’

　　They coughed abruptly, as if they had only recalled that this was happening. They started to draw their lots, seemingly cowed.

　　Fang Ping did not even bother to look at his lot. As expected, MCMAU, FMS, and SNMAU were in the same group.

　　It was proved that Fang Ping and the others guessed correctly.

　　MCMAU, FMS, SNMAU, SCMAU, and TMAU were delegated to the same group.

　　In the other group was the three schools including CCMAU. ESMAU and DMAU were put in their group to round it off.

　　Fang Ping ignored all of them. After drawing his lot, he said, “Minister, do we draw lots for the battles too? You can put the battle between us and FMS first…”

　　Fang Ping had said it very softly. The golden-body powerhouse glared at him, but after consideration, he still told him in a whisper, “That will be last!”

　　“Cough, cough…”

　　Many who had heard them coughed. F*ck, was there any need for them to draw lots when the Department had rigged the competition like this? Might as well just arrange the sequence and decide everything! It was obvious that the higher-ups had directly intervened lest the two schools met up early and got their students injured so heavily they had to pull out.

　　The point was that they could just arrange the sequence if that was so! Everyone thought the process of drawing lots was pointless.

　　Fang Ping did not expect the man to reply. He chuckled drily and fell silent.

　　Whatever, might as well just go with the motions. The other schools were the same to him; there was no difference.

　　He felt his head throb when the results were out, though. MCMAU’s first battle would be against South Capital Martial Arts University!

　　This… Should he just let Chen Wenlong squash them alone?

　　Fang Ping looked upward to the second floor, deep in thought. He did not spot Chen Yaoting, but Fang Ping knew that the old man was up there, probably leveling a ferocious glare at him.

　　The fact that SCMAU would battle FMS in the afternoon after their battle against MCMAU in the morning made it worse. This would get them being totally destroyed to the point of mental collapse.

　　Opposite him, Chen Haoran’s face was pale. Fang Ping did not know if he had seen it wrong.

　　‘Poor him, but this is gonna happen eventually. Weathering this nightmare in one day might soften the blow.’

　　‘I hope that Chen Haoran can pull through this,’ Fang Ping prayed for the guy insincerely.