Chapter 246: System Upgrade

　　Fang Ping did not dare to escape that night, afraid he might lose his way.

　　It was not an enjoyable stay, though.

　　He was forced to continue feeding the Jiao whenever it fixed its sights on him. It took almost 3000cal to make the Jiao avert its gaze.

　　3 million of his Wealth disappeared just like that. His Wealth decreased to 94.5 million.

　　When morning finally came, Fang Ping did not need to go out searching for prey, because someone entered the trap by their own volition!

　　Many had last seen the Peak Rank-5 martial artist around this area.

　　His disappearance worried many of his comrades and someone eventually came to search for him.

　　The martial artist stopped in his tracks about ten li away from the Jiao.

　　Fang Ping was just getting ready to head out for the Jiao’s breakfast. The two men bumped into each other shortly after.

　　The other man froze momentarily when he saw that Fang Ping was unharmed; he identified Fang Ping as the martial artist who was vehemently pursued by their people in the past day.

　　If Fang Ping was still alive, what happened to his friend?

　　Before the other could think further, Fang Ping suddenly let out a violent growl. “Nayagukali!”

　　The other man froze…

　　Fang Ping froze as well!

　　F*ck, why were they always taken aback after he shouted this?

　　‘If someone shouted at you “f*cking come and kill me”, shouldn’t you feel furious and annoyed?’

　　Why did they all stop in their tracks at his words?

　　“Nayagukali…”

　　Fang Ping shouted again, this time with less confidence. The other man stared at Fang Ping again. He did not move, but made a gesture for Fang Ping to go down…

　　Go down?

　　Fang Ping did not really understand. The other looked at Fang Ping coldly and snapped.

　　His tone, that gesture…

　　“You’re asking me to kneel?”

　　Fang Ping’s face turned green. “What’s happening?”

　　“Nayagu…”

　　Fang Ping stopped shouting to snap back, “F*ck if I’m going to!”

　　After that, he gave the enemy the middle finger with disdain.

　　“Mm?”

　　The man was obviously taken aback, his expression befuddled. The next moment, before the look dissipated from his face, he disappeared, appearing right in front of Fang Ping.

　　Shocked, Fang Ping turned back and broke into a run!

　　The other did not hasten to give chase. He surveyed his surroundings carefully, only following behind slowly when he sensed nothing amiss, staying vigilant all the while.

　　They had lost a Peak Rank-5 martial artist here.

　　He had probably jumped into a trap of this Land of Hope martial artist’s making… Or he got unlucky and met the Golden-horned King of Beasts.

　　Whichever reason it was, he had to be careful.

　　He needed to kill the martial artist from the Land of Hope; huge damage would be wrought if the kid managed to escape back to his territory.

　　Fang Ping ran on. He stopped with the taunts.

　　The strategy was successful in making the first person chase after him as he did not know what was lying in wait.

　　This guy, however, was obviously here for his friend. If Fang Ping riled him up, the guy might think that this was a trap. Therefore, Fang Ping put his all into sprinting toward his destination; it was only ten li away anyway.

　　When Fang Ping reached the Jiao’s territory, he did not slow down and ran directly inside.

　　The martial artist in pursuit would definitely not expect a huge creature lying in wait… and completely ignoring Fang Ping, at that!

　　When the man came within meters of the Jiao, his expression crumbled suddenly at the sight. He turned around and ran!

　　He had only moved a few paces when he stopped abruptly, his body having seizures. He was instantly slumped on the ground.

　　Fang Ping returned to the scene only after all of that. He looked at the Jiao with a confused expression. This guy’s Mentality was too strong! What rank was it at?

　　Rank-7?

　　Was Rank-7 that strong?

　　Or was it at Rank-8?

　　“It doesn’t even want to move and was swallowing so much Vitality. It’s either pregnant or getting ready to breakthrough!”

　　Fang Ping muttered thoughtfully to himself. The Jiao did not look female, though. Don’t ask him how he knew—it was his intuition.

　　If it was not female, then it must be on the cusp of a breakthrough.

　　“Rank-7 to Rank-8? Or from Rank-8 to Rank-9?”

　　Whichever it was, Fang Ping knew he definitely could not get on this creature’s bad side.

　　Fang Ping did not need the Jiao to remind him this time. He shouted, “Oi, look at me!”

　　At that, Fang Ping condensed some of his Vitality and let the Jiao gulp it down.

　　The martial artist went pale. He chose not to look at Fang Ping, focusing his gaze on the Jiao instead. After a while, he suddenly opened his mouth to speak.

　　Judging from his look of despair, he knew exactly what this beast was.

　　The next moment, to Fang Ping’s surprise, the man growled furiously, his Vitality surging… He decided not to fight the Jiao but attempted to flee!

　　This time, Fang Ping sensed the Jiao’s Mentality fluctuating around him!

　　The Jiao was obviously angered. Its Mentality was raging. The man’s bones crackled instantly from the crushing pressure, his blood gushing out of his body.

　　Even Fang Ping could feel some of the pressure. He quickly averted his gaze from the Jiao.

　　A beast was a beast after all.

　　The Jiao promptly used its Mentality to move the man next to him. It did not make the man feed it; it opened its maw wide to consume the man’s Vitality directly from the source!

　　Fang Ping watched on. He suddenly understood why the Jiao did not kill him the first time they met.

　　If the Jiao devoured a person’s Vitality forcefully, a lot of it was lost. The man was a powerful Rank-5, but Fang Ping sensed that only about 2000cal of his Vitality was devoured by the Jiao.

　　“At least half of it is wasted!”

　　Fang Ping shuddered. The Jiao let him live, not because he was particularly good looking, but because it was the most efficient way of feeding on Vitality.

　　“It’s so devious!

　　“It’s definitely sentient!”

　　After the man’s Vitality was drained clean, a cloth bag flew out from his clothes and was torn to shreds by a small fragment of Mentality. Before the energy stones inside it could fall to the ground, they were swallowed by the Jiao.

　　“It’s definitely going to level up soon!”

　　Fang Ping had not seen it move an inch in the two days he spent here; it relied on its Mentality to do whatever it wanted. The probability of it achieving breakthrough soon was high.

　　“It’s not far from Hope City here… If it was to level up now… Will it affect the humans?”

　　Fang Ping had given up on taming this huge fellow—it was too cunning and devious for him to even try.

　　It had probably let Fang Ping lure other people in because he was too weak.

　　Perhaps it even knew that he was from Hope City, not the Catacombs.

　　In the Catacombs, humans were on the defensive. They would not deliberately piss the beasts off, unlike the Catacomb people.

　　“It’s quite intelligent!”

　　Fang Ping did not stop moving even when he had reached this conclusion. He walked over to the dead martial artist. There was no need for him to conduct a thorough search; the man’s changdao lay beside him and his clothes were reduced to shreds of cloth. There was obviously nothing else on the man.

　　Fang Ping held the changdao in his hands and asked like before, “King Jiao, will you give this to me?”

　　The Jiao gave no sign it had heard anything. It continued staring at him.

　　Fang Ping cursed fervently, but could only continue condensing his Vitality to feed the beast. He wanted to take his leave soon but the beast was insatiable. It was a glutton for Vitality. If Fang Ping was unable to lure other people over or replenish his own Vitality, he would have been gobbled up in no time.

　　After an intermittent feeding of 2000cal, the Jiao finally closed his eyes.

　　Fang Ping’s Wealth, having plummeted to 92 million previously, suddenly skyrocketed to over 100 million!

　　The Rank-5 martial artist’s changdao was made of C-grade material. Its hefty weight meant that it contributed to over 10 million Wealth points.

　　“It’s surpassed 100 million!”

　　Fang Ping was jubilant. Finally!

　　His Wealth had been fluctuating so much recently that he almost lost hope.

　　Finally, after he had arrived at the Catacombs for… How many days was it again?

　　He had been here for six days!

　　Yes, six days after he had arrived in the Catacombs, he had finally made his Wealth reach 100 million!

　　The stats in his line of sight blackened out instantly.

　　Fang Ping was not shocked. He was elated. As expected, a system upgrade was due.

　　It had been exactly the same the past two times.

　　He would just have to wait for a while.

　　Fang Ping started to pack up his things while he waited.

　　Nine weapons in total.

　　They included the sword from the Rank-3 martial artist he had cut down and a changdao, spear, bow and arrow, all from people he had killed.

　　The boxing gloves used by the Rank-5 martial artist from the past day, the saber and two swords left by the three Rank-4 martial artists, and one changdao from today’s victim.

　　Catacombs martial artists favored sabers and swords most, just like human martial artists.

　　Those weapons, Fang Ping calculated, brought him approximately 40 million Wealth.

　　Including the energy stones from before, Fang Ping had earned about 57 million Wealth.

　　Adding that to his initial 80 million…

　　He had spent about 30 million in killing the three Rank-4 martial artists and feeding the Jiao.

　　His Wealth had increased nevertheless. The weapons would bring him even more Wealth if he succeeded in selling them at a price higher than 40 million yuan.

　　“I killed one Rank-3 martial artist, 4 Rank-4, and two Rank-5… The profit is actually less than expected.”

　　Fang Ping shook his head. It was not a good haul—he had gotten only a few weapons after killing so many martial artists.

　　Under normal circumstances, Fang Ping’s recent feat could only have been pulled off by a Rank-6 martial artist. Then again, Rank-6 martial artists usually lured out other Rank-6 opponents when they made an appearance.

　　What Fang Ping had done might be achieved by a Rank-6 martial artist if he had taken this huge risk and had great luck on his side.

　　With all that, all they could have earned were a few weapons. After deducting their expenses… they might not have made much profit at all.

　　“I killed so many martial artists… I can’t even believe it!”

　　Fang Ping was somewhat astounded by his achievements. A Rank-3 martial artist killing a Rank-4 was not unheard of. But a Rank-3 martial artist killing a Rank-5?

　　Had anyone seen it before?

　　Qin Fengqing had managed to escape from the clutches of a Rank-5 martial artist. This narrow escape was broadcasted to the masses, milked for all it was worth. It had even helped propel him to the top 10 of the Rank-3 ranking. Fang Ping’s killing of Rank-5 martial artists—two of them, at that—should easily warrant a first-place ranking, right?

　　“I’ve really done something extraordinary this time! I’ll probably shock the entire Hope City out of their boots!

　　“No, the whole world! A Rank-3 martial artist had killed Rank-5 martial artists, two at once!”

　　Fang Ping basked in his ecstasy for a while. Then, his eyes lit up—the system upgrade was complete.

　　…

　　Wealth: 102000000

　　Vitality: 999cal (999cal+)

　　Mentality: 539Hz (539Hz+)

　　Bones honed: 177 bones (90%+), 29 bones (30%+)

　　There was no change at first glance.

　　The glint in Fang Ping’s eyes was eerily bright, though!

　　What the heck was that “+” sign?

　　“Finally, it’s here after ages of waiting!”

　　“A chance to develop mercury-like bone marrow!”

　　“No, my skull can have that, too?”

　　“I can increase my Vitality and Mentality now, too! But I can do that before, the only difference is that the plus sign is made clear now.”

　　“Honing of the skull, thickening of the marrow, and the ability to heighten my Mentality!”

　　A word suddenly came to Fang Ping’s mind—Grandmaster!

　　Did that mean he would be able to become one if he had successfully completed all three?

　　“No…”

　　Fang Ping’s brow suddenly creased!

　　“There’s no option for me to hone my internal organs through the system… What should I do when I’m in the middle ranks?”

　　If he could not accelerate the honing of his internal organs, did he have no choice but to do it the tedious way during the middle ranks?

　　Further, the next upgrade would probably come when he had 1 billion Wealth. Where would he be able to earn so much?

　　“I’m in deep sh*t!”

　　Fang Ping realized abruptly that he was going to be in huge trouble after ascending into Rank-4.

　　“Also, a thorough honing of the bone marrow would cost a lot, wouldn’t it?”

　　Fang Ping decided to give it a try, reciting the command in his mind.

　　The next moment, the stats changed.

　　Wealth: 101900000

　　Vitality: 999cal (999cal+)

　　Mentality: 539Hz (539Hz+)

　　Bones honed: 1 bone (91%+), 176 bones (90%+), 29 bones (30%+)

　　“I knew that it wouldn’t be cheap!”

　　Honing one additional percent of one bone had sliced off a hundred thousand from his Wealth.

　　This meant that honing one bone to the fullest would cost him one million Wealth points. Honing 177 bones would need…one hundred and seventy million!

　　“I have to spend close to two hundred million Wealth points only to make the bones in my limbs and torso jade-like… Forget about the skull. It’ll definitely be expensive. I can’t afford this.”

　　Fang Ping calculated the expenses and muttered, “But I can afford it if I only hone part of my body. My limbs, for instance.

　　“126 bones in my limbs would be enough to explain my prodigal talents.

　　“Which meant one hundred and twenty-six million. It isn’t that big a number compared to what I have now.”

　　Fang Ping relaxed somewhat. Luckily he did not need billions to achieve that particular goal; he would fail to do so in this lifetime otherwise.

　　If a lower-ranked martial artist was given the chance to obtain Jade Marrow in advance for the price of two hundred million yuan, they would definitely jump at the offer.

　　It was not that hefty a price.

　　After the system had finished upgrading, Fang Ping packed up his weapons and eyed the Jiao, face stretched wide with a grin. “King Jiao, I’ll continue catching prey for you. Rest well.”

　　Fang Ping got up and turned to leave.

　　The Jiao suddenly opened its eyes at that moment, turning its gaze to the weapons in Fang Ping’s hands.

　　Fang Ping’s heart skipped a beat. Was it because it knew that he wanted to run?

　　“King Jiao, I have to sort out these weapons, or else my Vitality won’t be enough…”

　　Fang Ping condensed his Vitality and let it dissipate quickly as he spoke. He then pointed toward the weapons and repeated the same gesture with his Vitality again, but he made the Vitality linger on his hand longer this time.

　　The Jiao appeared to be considering, as if it had understood the series of gestures.

　　After a while, the Jiao shut its eyes.

　　Fang Ping dared not even breathe as he left, stepping lightly.

　　After some thought, he suddenly turned back, opting not to take the path he had taken previously. A massive army was waiting there.

　　If his memory served him well, an exit from the Jiao’s Forest would link to Hope City and Sky Gate City. Another exit was near East Sunflower City.

　　The city, also a big stronghold, was northeast to Hope City.

　　This city did not clash with humans often, though. Some of the casual martial artists encountered by the humans hailed from there.

　　They had not met any armies from the city, though.

　　Fang Ping considered his options. He might not be spotted if he was more careful while he took a detour there. The side where Sky Gate City was situated was more dangerous, as the soldiers were everywhere.

　　‘Only a couple hundred li more…’

　　Fang Ping thought. It would only take a few more hours if he put everything he had to it.

　　…

　　More than an hour later, Fang Ping was near the outskirts.

　　He had arrived at the exit near East Sunflower City!

　　Fang Ping probed carefully, spotting no one else, which relieved him tremendously.

　　He was beaming with glee as he walked out from the forest, but then his face abruptly fell.

　　“The Grinder is stained red!!”

　　Fang Ping froze. Where was he?

　　Did East Sunflower City war with the humans, too?

　　But… He did not hear of it. Also, there was no way a land, in such a short time, would be so doused with blood that it appeared red, was it?

　　The next moment, Fang Ping fished some badges out from his pocket.

　　He hurriedly flipped them to the back. The city crests were there.

　　“Sunflowers!”

　　In his hand was a badge of a Rank-5 martial artist. On its back was a print of a plant similar to a sunflower, East Sunflower City’s namesake.

　　“If that’s so… The path I took last time led to East Sunflower City?”

　　Suddenly, his questions were all answered!

　　He had found it strange that the Sky Gate City army would take such an unnecessary detour, but now he understood… That was East Sunflower City’s army. The city was going to war too!

　　“Did the two cities join forces?”

　　Fang Ping’s face fell with dread!

　　The humans were already struggling in their battle against Sky Gate City. Now that another city was in the mix…

　　“I’ve accidentally walked toward East Sunflower City… The city had deployed its army since yesterday. They won’t be too fast with such a big army. It’s about 500 li from the East Sunflower City exit to Hope City if they don’t pass through the Jiao’s Forest… They would need three days to arrive at least, even if they’re the best soldiers, as they have to consider the existence of average soldiers.

　　“Today’s the second day…”

　　Fang Ping stopped in his tracks at the thought. That meant serious trouble!

　　He had to return to convey the message ASAP!

　　After running for a while… Fang Ping stopped, doubting himself.

　　“I thought I was heading to Sky Gate City, but I arrived in East Sunflower City. Now the direction I think is headed to Hope City… It won’t lead to Sky Gate City, will it?”

　　Fang Ping’s expression changed and changed. He started to probe for energy particles.

　　Outside the Jiao’s Forest, the south was where the particles were least concentrated. If he guessed wrong again, he might as well die in Sky Gate City!

　　“It’s weaker in this direction…”

　　Fang Ping reached a conclusion after reaching his senses out to the air one kilometer around him. He then dashed as quickly as he could in the direction where the energy was weakest. If he did not arrive in Hope City this time, he would have to give up on ever making it back.