Slap!

　　A ringing slap almost disfigured Fang Ping’s face!

　　Fang Ping was infuriated. He cried, “Instructor, are you going to stand there and watch him bully your student?”

　　Lu Fengrou made no reply. She darted a look at Tang Feng who had made the slap. There was an odd look in her eyes.

　　Tang Feng’s expression was dark. “Why didn’t you mention anything about East Sunflower City deploying their troops when we were on our way back?”

　　Fang Ping gave a humph and said, “I don’t trust you if you’re alone. If you’re a spy, then wouldn’t you kill me to keep my mouth shut? Dean, say, do you think that I have made the wrong choice?

　　“How can I pass on such an important piece of information to a person who is alone?”

　　Huang Jing gave no reply.

　　Tang Feng was enraged. “What about after you entered the city?”

　　“How can I say anything when so many people were there at that time? Do you want to cause panic? Instructor Tang, no disrespect, but with your IQ… I’m serious. A great war is upon us. If we cause public panic, then we’ll be in deep trouble! The reason why I announced my combat result was also to boost troop morale!”

　　“You!”

　　Tang Feng’s blood was boiling. Lu Fengrou said flatly, “Fang Ping’s right. Besides, he has delivered the message in time. Tang Feng, know your limits. I’ve not held you accountable yet for what you did earlier!”

　　Tang Feng was fuming. “Know my limits? East Sunflower City is attacking us. This concerns the survival of Hope City!”

　　“Old Tang!”

　　Huang Jing interjected lightly, cutting him off.

　　In any case, Fang Ping had delivered the information. Right now, they had also sought help from the ground surface.

　　Although Fang Ping did not deliver it as soon as possible… Still, what Fang Ping said made sense too.

　　It was the right thing to do, not saying anything when he was facing Tang Feng alone. If Tang Feng was a cultist… Of course, the possibility was near to none.

　　Though if he really was one, then Fang Ping would bite the dust.

　　After entering the city… Not much time was delayed anyway. He had made contributions nonetheless. If the argument continued, Lu Fengrou would truly flip her lid.

　　Fang Ping paid no attention to Tang Feng, who was seething with anger. Rubbing his head, he moaned softly and collapsed on his bed without warning.

　　“Fang Ping!”

　　As Lu Fengrou yelled, Tang Feng took a step forward. Fang Ping shook his head and sat back up. He said weakly, “I’m fine. I have received a blow to my head from that Rank-6 earlier and survived. Instructor Tang has almost triggered my injuries to act up again.”

　　“You…”

　　Tang Feng eyed him suspiciously. He asked doubtfully, “Your head was smacked by a Rank-6?”

　　“Yes. I have been smacked by a Rank-6!”

　　Fang Ping was certain. ‘You did hit me earlier. I did not lie!’

　　While speaking, Fang Ping continued, “Instructor, I’m dying. Other than giving me a Resurrection Pill, there’s nothing else here. Is this how heroes are treated?”

　　Huang Jing’s head was throbbing. He responded exasperatedly, “Speak. What do you want? War is upon us, so we are in urgent need of our resources. It’s not that we are ill-treating you, but we really can’t take out huge amounts of resources temporarily.”

　　“Exchange both of my weapons for a B-class saber!”

　　Huang Jing furrowed his brows. Such an exorbitant demand!

　　Two C-class weapons, costing 40 credits per kilogram. The changdao and long spear that Fang Ping had brought back weighed about 25 kilograms. If they were recovered at the original price, it would be 1000 credits, tops.

　　This was even cashing it in at the original price!

　　Now he wanted to exchange for a B-class weapon. What was the meaning of this?

　　Everyone with ranks lower the Grandmaster level, Lu Fengrou included, were using B-class weapons right now. B-class alloy was worth 100 credits per kilogram. The weapon Fang Ping was using now would weigh about 20 kilograms. That would be an instant 2000 credits!

　　Fang Ping groaned, “I don’t want to sound like I’m making an exorbitant demand. Though, in order to deliver the information, I have left all my weapons and energy ores behind. This is not something as simple as losing a weapon. Right now, I’m not making a demand without making contributions anyway. Is it wrong for me to turn in the two weapons that I have seized in exchange for an appropriate weapon?”

　　“B-class is too much for you. It’ll be a waste…”

　　“I’m about to achieve Rank-4!”

　　Huang Jing’s head was throbbing. He nodded and said, “Fine.”

　　“One more thing…”

　　“There’s more?”

　　Fang Ping looked at Huang Jing and said wistfully, “Instructor, I have sustained such serious injuries. The number of pills that I have consumed is staggering. Do you know how many times I’ve brushed with death on my way here?

　　“Say, if I had stayed hidden and not returned…”

　　“You dare!”

　　Tang Feng hissed furiously. This was exactly what he detested about Fang Ping!

　　Fang Ping frowned and continued, “If it was someone else, say, a typical Rank-3 martial artist, he would not have been able to return even if he wanted to, right? Instructor Tang, put your hand on your heart and ask yourself. Can a Rank-4 martial artist make it back?

　　“Do you think that I’m not aware of the danger in this?

　　“If you had turned up a little later, perhaps I would have died.

　　“Right now, I am not asking the university for benefits. I only wish to become stronger. Once I’ve toughened up, only then can I contribute more to humankind!

　　“Even if you said ‘You dare’, I still can’t deliver the information if I die. Threaten me all you want, but in the situation I was in, do you think anyone could do what I did, risking their lives and breaking through the defensive line?

　　“Forget about others. Let’s talk about you. Right now, there are three to five high-ranked powerhouses waiting for you ahead, will you charge forward?

　　“I am only asking for some cultivation resources. Is that wrong?”

　　Tang Feng was rendered speechless. Huang Jing could not do anything about it. ‘Just hold your tongue if you can’t win an argument. You’re just making things worse for yourself’

　　Paying no attention to Tang Feng, Huang Jing asked, “What else do you need?”

　　“Not much. Two Resurrection Pills and 2000 credits.”

　　Huang Jing hesitated for some time. After a while, he said, “Fine!”

　　Fang Ping had made the request so effortlessly. However, was this demand not much?

　　He had obtained at least 1000 credits extra from the B-class saber, adding on 2000 credits and two Resurrection Pills, it was a total of 3400 credits. They were looking at about hundreds of millions now.

　　In spite of that, based on the information Fang Ping had delivered… This was all worth it.

　　However, to many people, making a contribution like this should not be followed by a demand for reward.

　　Despite that, martial artists were slightly more realistic. Everyone needed cultivation resources. This was something Huang Jing could relate to.

　　“Recuperate well then. You can go ahead and return to MCMAU at night.”

　　“Return to MCMAU?”

　　Fang Ping was stunned. ‘I was allowed to return just like that?’

　　Tang Feng did not say anything this time. It was only Fang Ping’s first time in the Catacombs, and he had killed plenty of Rank-4 and 5 powerhouses… Though everyone believed that it was mostly an exaggeration to say that he had killed Rank-5. Nevertheless, there was evidence of the medals. He had even brought the weapons back. Whatever actually happened, he had killed them.

　　Other than that, he had also delivered a piece of important information. Right now, he had sustained serious injuries, so it was only right to send him back first.

　　“The rest of them…”

　　“The rest of them have to assist in the defense.”

　　Fang Ping thought for a while. He shook his head and said, “Forget about it. I won’t go back. Won’t everyone think that I am escaping if I go back now?

　　“Dean, can I get the credits first?

　　“I would like to get the pills and weapons as soon as possible as well. To regain my combat strength.”

　　“Sure. As for the credits…”

　　It seemed that there was no use in getting them now, right?

　　“I’ll hold on to them first. If I die in battle, it will probably remain in my account. I can save them for my family.”

　　Huang Jing could not help but laugh. He nodded and assured him, “Don’t worry and recuperate well. The things will be delivered in no time.”

　　After saying those words, Huang Jing continued, “We still have missions to do. You’ve done a great job this time. Although… don’t act so rashly next time.”

　　Fang Ping announced with a sense of justice, “Destroying the enemy is everyone’s responsibility!”

　　Huang Jing burst out laughing again. ‘You… are you sure you didn’t just lose your sense of direction?’

　　Someone said that Fang Ping had gotten lost. Honestly, Huang Jing… sort of believed it.

　　Who would have nothing better to do, attacking all the way to East Sunflower City!

　　As for this matter, it was better for them to turn a blind eye. It would be fine even if it was not true, they would just pretend like they did not know anything.

　　Huang Jing left. Tang Feng was just about to leave when Fang Ping said unexpectedly, “Instructor Tang, you’ve saved my life. I’ll be sure to remember this. However, you owe me several lives. After further calculations, you owe me quite a bit. If you can just give me ten Resurrection Pills or so…”

　　“We’ll talk about that after you defeat me!”

　　Tang Feng gave a humph and marched off.

　　Once he had left, Lu Fengrou chuckled. “Hey kid, your confidence is overflowing this time.”

　　Provoking Tang Feng was something that he would only do in private, not in front of his face.

　　“Hehe…” Fang Ping announced excitedly, “Instructor, my bone marrow is like mercury now!”

　　“Hmm?”

　　“Can you feel it?” Fang Ping stretched out his legs. He grinned and said. “My bone marrow really is like mercury now…”

　　In a split second, Fang Ping was floating midair. Lu Fengrou grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Looking slightly surprised, she asked, “How did you do it?”

　　“That… can you put me down first!”

　　So embarrassing!

　　This was not the first time she had done that!

　　Lu Fengrou threw him down. With keen eyes, she asked, “Kid, what’s going on?”

　　“My bone marrow has always been like mercury!”

　　“Humph!”

　　“It’s the truth!”

　　Lu Fengrou asked no more. She flashed a glance at him. Walking out, she said, “You should have accepted the option to go back. It’s really dangerous this time. Two cities attacking at once. The war will break out either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

　　“You’ve not recovered from your injuries yet. Plus, you’re only a Rank-3. Once the war breaks out, there is a high chance that you will die.”

　　“The Rank-2s are all here.”

　　“They have no choice but to fight. The Catacombs does not allow anyone to retreat! Since they’re here, then they should fight until the end! You are different because you have just done a great service, so you can go.”

　　“If everyone died and I alone survived, then won’t I, Fang Ping, carry the blame forever? No one can be my witness. I’m a hero.”

　　“Fool!”

　　“Actually, I’m afraid of dying. Extremely so. However, it has come to this point. So many Grandmasters are here that even I don’t have the guts to stay. If I face the strong enemies alone in the future, won’t I just be waiting to die?

　　“Besides, I have a feeling that we can win. It’s only two cities. With so many human Grandmasters around, we can easily slaughter them if not for our apprehension!”

　　“You are too optimistic.” Lu Fengrou, who was usually radical in front of Tang Feng and the rest, shook her head at this moment. She said, “You must know that a city lord is at least a Rank-9 powerhouse. There are thirteen cities in the Catacombs. That means that there are 13 Rank-9, at least!

　　“How many Rank-9 are there among humans?

　　“About 30.

　　“If a war breaks out, powerhouses will emerge from the depths of the Catacombs. If a great war breaks out and completely destroys Magic City Catacombs, then humankind will lose more than half.

　　“Once other entrances are stirred, it will be the end of humankind.”

　　“But there’s no reason for us to wait for that fate to fall upon us!”

　　“Indeed. Therefore, with the joint forces of both cities this time, there will be Rank-9 powerhouses to suppress for us as well. We will deploy the same amount of high ranks as the other party. Our numbers will not exceed theirs by too much, so it will be fine even if they were killed.

　　“Frankly speaking, we have our fears, so does the Catacombs people.

　　“As for the high ranks and Grandmasters, they both have peak combat strength. Every time a war breaks out… It is actually the middle and lower ranks who will take the worst hit. You should be careful. Don’t die so fast.”

　　“I doubt that will happen. I think that I am extremely lucky…” Fang Ping chuckled and whispered, “Instructor, actually, I have cheated death from the hands of a high-ranked creature. How could I die so easily?”

　　“Jiao?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“I knew it.” Lu Fengrou darted him a look and warned, “Do not treat a coincidence as certainty. You have gotten lucky this time. If you encounter it again next time, you may very well die.”

　　“I understand.”

　　“I’m leaving.”

　　Lu Fengrou said no more, striding off.

　　…

　　Once they have left, Fu Changding and the rest groped their way in.

　　They were slightly embarrassed when they saw Fang Ping.

　　Fang Ping let out a humph and said without emotion, “You’re here.”

　　“That… Fang Ping…”

　　“I don’t blame any of you. This is the path that I have chosen to take anyway. However, I have been hurt by all of you. Yunxi, give me a few Resurrection Pills to mend my broken heart.”

　　Chen Yunxi felt around her pockets. Then, as she was about to fish out the pill bottle…

　　Fu Changding’s jaw was dropping. ‘You’d go that far?’

　　Fang Ping saw that she was serious and said bashfully, “Forget about it. I don’t accept pills out of pity. You can give it to me in the future after I save your lives. I’m a very honest person. Right now, no one will doubt my ability to kill a strong enemy anymore, I hope?”

　　Yang Xiaoman muttered, “Don’t save me then since I don’t have any money to offer you.”

　　“I have never thought of saving you anyway. If both Zhao Lei and you need my rescuing, 10 Resurrection Pills or you can dream on!”

　　Zhao Lei’s face had darkened. What did I do to you now?

　　Fu Changding laughed drily. Changing the subject, he whispered, “That Peak Rank-5, did you really…”

　　“What is the meaning of this? Are you doubting my ability?”

　　“No. What I’m trying to say is that you should keep a low profile… If everyone believes that you can kill a Rank-5, in case a great war breaks out, those who cannot defeat Rank-5 martial artists will lead them to you… you’ll be as good as dead.”

　　Fang Ping stiffened. He was right. If everyone believed that he could kill Rank-5 like culling dogs, what would happen to him?

　　“Cough, cough. I killed them by setting a trap.”

　　“I knew it…” Fu Changding breathed a sigh of relief. He then grinned and continued, “What about Rank-4?”

　　“Nonsense. I killed them outright. I really did. Stop trying to make yourselves feel better. Don’t even think about surpassing me. When I leave the Catacombs this time, I will challenge Zhang Yu. Not even Xie Lei can qualify to fight me.”

　　The few of them were speechless, slightly helpless as well.

　　If Fang Ping had really killed Rank-4… They were really too far behind to catch up.

　　Amongst them, some of them were already at Peak Rank-2 now.

　　However, Fang Ping took on Rank-4 single-handedly. This was way out of their league!

　　…

　　After catching up for a moment, Fang Ping still had injuries on him, so they did not disturb his rest. Very soon, everyone left.

　　As for the benefits that Huang Jing had promised, they had also arrived in no time.

　　2000 credits, two Resurrection Pills, and an additional B-class changdao. It looked similar to the fengzuidao, though this time it was a yanyuedao (TN: A guandao is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese, it is properly called a yanyuedao, “reclining moon blade”)… Yes, it was indeed yanyuedao—the glaive used by Lord Guan the Second of Romance in the Three Kingdoms!

　　Fang Ping was a little dumbfounded. /Am I transforming into the likeness of Lord Guan the Second now?’

　　There was no reason for that. As he looked into the mirror earlier, he realized that his face was flushed red. Perhaps he had spit out too much blood recently, causing his Vitality to rush upward.

　　Of course, he did not look into the mirror for that reason. Instead, it was because his nose had been pierced through…

　　Fang Ping was somewhat despairing. When would this nose of his recover?

　　In spite of that, his mood recovered rapidly when he saw his Wealth!

　　Wealth: 105 million

　　Vitality: 1002cal (1108cal+)

　　Mentality: 520Hz (541Hz+)

　　Bones honed: 62 bones (100%), 115 bones (90%+), 29 bones (30%+)

　　Before this, he had a little over 39 million Wealth left. After all the running he had done, he was left with only 35 million or so.

　　Right now, it had grown by nearly 70 million!

　　A 40 million increase from credits, 7 million increase from pills. As for this glaive, deducting the increased Wealth that he had gained from the two weapons earlier, he still gained nearly 23 million Wealth!

　　From some calculations, the system had estimated nearly 50 million in value for this glaive!

　　“I can’t believe that I’m already using a 50-million glaive!”

　　Fang Ping was in a trance, though he had suffered heavy losses this time too. His left arm was injured the worst. It would not recover so soon.

　　Many parts of his body were injured. Even the leather armor, claimed to be impenetrable by Rank-4, also had plenty of holes in it now. Would Old Man Li be willing to offer reimbursement when he returned?

　　“I can hone the bone marrow of my upper limbs now. I’ll save tens of millions for the great battle!”

　　Fang Ping made up his mind and prepared to hone the bone marrow of his upper limbs. By doing so, the injuries on his left arm might recover faster.

　　“With the toughened bone marrow, the strength of my flesh will start to enhance as well, Vitality will also increase. Perhaps, I will achieve Peak Rank-3 soon!”

　　When the thought of achieving Peak Rank-3 flashed across his mind, Fang Ping was once again lost in a daze.

　　Qin Fengqing had not broken through yet, right?

　　Xie Lei definitely did not!

　　If Old Wang took things slow, very soon, both of them would be in the same league!

　　“As expected, I am destiny’s child!”

　　On the sickbed, Fang Ping let out a silly laugh.