Chapter 219: The Catacombs Illustrated Handbook

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　Five minutes later.

　　Fang Ping’s Wealth grew once again.

　　Wealth: 27.5 million

　　Vitality: 650cal (828cal)

　　Mentality: 485Hz (499Hz)

　　Bones honed: 151 bones (90%), 1 bone (65%), 54 bones (30%)

　　“Mentality has stopped growing…”

　　After observing the stats, Fang Ping murmured thoughtfully. Previously, his Mentality and Vitality had increased rapidly at the same time.

　　However, more recently, his Mentality had been stuck at 499Hz for a very long time.

　　Mentality was a trait strongly associated with Grandmasters. Fang Ping knew that.

　　“I’ll try and see if I can forcefully increase it later,” Fang Ping muttered to himself.

　　Nevertheless, it was not necessary at the moment. No matter how high his Mentality rose right now, there was no use for it. It would not be wise spend his Wealth on this aspect.

　　“620 credits. 26 million in cash. Adding on 3 Rank-2 Vitality Pills…”

　　Fang Ping calculated his Wealth and became demotivated. He had obtained the three Vitality Pills previously from the people he killed during the night watch.

　　On the other hand, the 1 million increase in cash and Wealth had been given to him earlier from the mission allocation. They did not earn much. Fang Ping was the key player but had only acquired a mere 1 million.

　　“Right, I need to fix my weapons as well.”

　　When he thought about this, even though he initially did not intend to, Fang Ping found himself dashing to the exchange office at once.

　　…

　　When he was face to face with Old Man Li once again, Fang Ping decided not to mention the things Big Lion had said.

　　He beamed and said cheerfully, “Instructor, the university’s weapons are entitled to repairs, replacements, and refunds, right?”

　　Old Man Li stared at him for a while. He asked after some time, “What are you trying to say?”

　　“The quality of the university’s weapons is really poor…”

　　“You just went toe to toe with a Peak Rank-3 martial artist, and you’re complaining about the quality of the university’s weapons? Where do you find the guts to say this?”

　　Old Man Li was an image of discontentment. ‘Don’t treat me like a fool!’

　　“Cough, cough… anyway, my alloy combat boots have been damaged terribly. I can’t even wear them anymore. Part of my fengzuidao has been chipped as well…”

　　“Sell it as scraps then.”

　　Fang Ping gawked. How could an old man like him even suggest such a thing?

　　“E-class alloy, it’s effectiveness won’t be great when used against a Peak Rank-3 martial artist. Just sell those boots of yours as scrap metal.

　　“How many credits did you pay for them last time?”

　　“100 credits…”

　　“I clearly remember it was 40.” Old Man Li said coolly. Then he added, “The fee for the custom-making was 10 credits. The actual value was only 30 credits. Right now I will take it back as scraps and give you 10 credits for it…”

　　Fang Ping was dumbfounded. That was too underhanded.

　　“Fine. I’ll offer you a deal. I’ll take the boots in exchange for your repair fee. Repairing that glaive of yours would cost more than 10 credits. Use your broken boots to pay it off right now.”

　　“Instructor…”

　　Fang Ping gave a pitiful look as he said, “My boots were 40 credits. Does this mean that fixing my glaive once has cost me more than a million?”

　　“How can you even calculate it like that? I’ve already told you that they’re scraps now.”

　　“But…”

　　“Do you want to fix it or not?”

　　“Fix it!”

　　Fang Ping gave a bitter laugh. ‘I have to fix it. If I don’t and the glaive broke one day, that would be a tremendous loss.’

　　With the matter settled, Fang Ping thought for a while before asking, “Instructor, is the university really not selling any armor?”

　　He had asked once during the last martial arts competition. Old Man Li said that there was none.

　　Right now, Fang Ping was about to enter the Catacombs and felt that a bit of added security was a necessity. How could one glaive suffice?

　　“We do.”

　　Old Man Li provided an honest answer this time. He smiled from ear to ear and continued, “A most authentic good. Not made of alloy. That stuff’s too bulky and too rigid.

　　“It is constructed from skin and hair from the Catacombs beings.

　　“You know, at the Peak Rank-3 stage, martial artists are considered to be equipped with exceptional defense. While martial artists mainly hone their bones, no matter how strong their bones are, the flesh remains vulnerable. An indestructible body can only be achieved after completely honing the bone marrow, achieving the Grandmaster stage, and then further refinement of the body.

　　“The skin and fur of the Catacombs beings are the real good stuff, especially the animals.

　　“Right now, I have a Peak Rank-6 armor constructed from the Catacombs beings’ skin. I’ll offer it to you at a bargain: ten thousand credits!”

　　Fang Ping had received one too many shocks today!

　　Ten thousand credits?

　　You should just kill me!

　　“What’s wrong? Can’t afford it?”

　　Old Man Li smiled lightly. “Nothing I can do if you can’t afford it. A Peak Rank-6 being’s armor. Honestly, this one’s defensive ability is extraordinary.

　　“If you have achieved Peak Rank-3, pairing the armor with the strength of your flesh, even a Rank-4 martial artist will have a real hard time penetrating your defense in hand to hand combat.”

　　“Don’t you have anything cheaper?”

　　“The cheaper ones won’t be much of an improvement to honing your skin, flesh, and muscles. Once you’re at Peak Rank-3, your physical defense will be relatively stronger than the protection provided by Rank-4 and 5 dead beings’ skin and fur.”

　　“Don’t you see that I’m not a Peak Rank-3 yet? Instructor, show me a cheaper model.”

　　“An armor made from Rank-4 Catacomb being’s skin and fur. 500 credits. Surely this is cheap enough?”

　　Compared to ten thousand credits, it was indeed dirt cheap. Relatively.

　　Fang Ping considered for a while and asked, “How good is it on defense?”

　　“It’s just a piece of armor. It can only barely block a Peak Rank-3 martial artist’s full-power attack. Of course, I’m referring to the armor – not you.

　　“When martial artists attack you, do they only attack your armor?

　　“If you are injured internally from the shockwave and are blown away from the attack, you only have yourself to blame. The function of the armor is to prevent external penetration and injuries. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

　　“Yes. Does it alleviate the force at all?”

　　“Yes, it does. There’s a slight effect.”

　　Fang Ping groaned and said, “Then, also give me a pair of D-class alloy combat boots. No, I need C-class ones. And… instructor, do you have wild silk gloves or anything of that kind like you see on television?”

　　Old Man Li was amused and replied, “I don’t have wild silk gloves, but I do have a leather one. However, I don’t recommend you buy it.

　　“Honestly, fighting gloves focus more on attack, not defense.

　　“Therefore, if you really want to buy some, then you’d better buy another pair of alloy fighting gloves. It will make your attacks more effective and increase your destructive force.

　　“You should just buy the armor. Other than keeping you slightly warmer, the leather gloves are just a waste of money.”

　　“You’re right!”

　　Fang Ping nodded. “Give me a pair of C-class alloy fighting gloves then…”

　　“Are you certain? Aren’t you mainly using sabers?”

　　“Sabers are too troublesome sometimes. It’s better to be prepared.”

　　“C-class combat boots and gloves… C-class alloy can cost 40 credits per kg. I’ll charge you 200 credits only. You don’t need them to be 100% alloy. Integrating some Catacombs beings’ skin and fur in the manufacturing will make it more suitable for wearing.

　　“As for the armor, I will charge you 500 credits for it. A total of 700 credits. Come and pick them up a few days later.”

　　“700 credits?”

　　Fang Ping was once again speechless. He exhaled and muttered, “I can finally understand why all martial artists are poor. I’ll pay with cash. 21 million, right?”

　　Old Man Li stared at him intently and waited for him to haggle.

　　However, Fang Ping did not utter a word more. He swiped his card directly and announced, “Instructor, I’ll be back in a few days to get the things.”

　　Old Man Li settled the payment whilst observing Fang Ping with a puzzled expression.

　　Fang Ping noticed his expression and laughed abruptly. “Instructor, give me another 65 Rank-1 Vitality Pills. I only have 620 credits in total…”

　　Old Man Li gasped heavily and said, “And here I was wondering how a brat like you was so easy to please today…”

　　He did not even haggle!

　　He was waiting here after all!

　　Old Man Li was very straightforward as well. Without delay, he called someone to retrieve 65 Rank-1 Vitality Pills for Fang Ping.

　　A Rank-1 Vitality Pill cost 10 credits. Market price was 300 thousand. Fang Ping learned from his previous mistakes. In the end, Rank-1 pills were still the better bargain. This price was the same as the outside world.

　　After all, Rank-1 martial artists made up the majority of all martial artists.

　　Many Rank-2 and 3 martial artists were also using Rank-1 Vitality Pills.

　　Rank-1 Vitality Pills can earn Fang Ping 200 thousand Wealth each. After deducting his credit growth, Fang Ping’s Wealth increased by another 600 thousand Wealth again.

　　At this moment, his Wealth was sitting at 28.1 million.

　　“The total value of pills is 13 million in Wealth. Selling it for more than 13 million gives some room for a bit of profit. Only 5 million cash left.”

　　Martial artists’ spending had always happened so quickly.

　　After fixing his weapons and purchasing a few more, Fang Ping had already spent tens of millions.

　　“To enter the Catacombs, these pieces of equipment should be more than sufficient. In total, the full-body accessories cost 30 million.

　　“After entering the Catacombs, if I have the money, I’ll buy some Resurrection Pills. That should be just about enough.”

　　…

　　Dormitory.

　　Fang Ping tossed the pills to Fu Changding and said bluntly, “65 Rank-1 ones and 3 Rank-2 ones. Market price at twelve percent discount, 19 million for the lot. Don’t say I don’t look after you.”

　　Fu Changding stared at him for some time before saying wearily, “Are you buying them again? What’s wrong with you?”

　　“It’s useful.”

　　“Fang Ping, what’s the deal with your Vitality actually? Aren’t you a rich guy who loves taking pills yourself?”

　　“I can produce Vitality on my own. You don’t understand this. You wouldn’t get it even if I told you. So, don’t ask.”

　　Fu Changding was dumbfounded. Produce Vitality on his own?

　　Anyone could do that!

　　However, that was comparatively speaking. Eating and sleeping naturally replenished Vitality. However, for Rank-3 martial artists like Fang Ping, a Vitality-consuming glutton, did he really expect to replenish all the Vitality by himself?

　　Not really sure what he was talking about, Fu Changding accepted the purchase and said, “I suggest that you take things slow. Recently, it seems like the pill company has realized something’s afoot. Even my family has stopped buying pills from them now.

　　“Even though MCMAU is not under the jurisdiction, if you keep selling pills like this without any restraints, you will become a target one day.”

　　If they found out and did not fine him at least a few billions, they would be considered too kind!

　　This was a brazen act to steal the pill company’s business!

　　MCMAU had sold pills specifically to the students. If the students themselves had extras, they should only share them with their families. No one was quite like Fang Ping. Not only did he not use them, but he had also sold them off.

　　“Before I become a target, I will earn some big bucks and think of the next step. Besides, I’m really broke. Do you think they will kill me? At worst, I’ll just owe them a small debt. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

　　“A beggar can never be bankrupt. I surrender.”

　　Fu Changding did not know whether to laugh or to cry. ‘You win. You still own a company, though. Better be careful they don’t snatch it.’

　　They did not waste any more time chattering. The deal was made swiftly.

　　As for Fang Ping’s Wealth, it had increased yet another 4.5 million, totaling at 32.6 million. His cash had recovered up to 24 million as well.

　　…

　　Upon leaving Fu Changding’s dormitory, Fang Ping frowned and racked his brains.

　　Should he enhance his abilities or leave his Wealth untouched for now?

　　He needed more than a hundred million Wealth in order to raise his level.

　　If he used it now, when would he ever finish accumulating a hundred million? He had not even received any word about the financing.

　　Be that as it may, he was worried about encountering danger after entering the Catacombs without abilities.

　　“Sigh, what a dilemma!”

　　“Forget it, I will enhance my abilities first. Perhaps I can earn big bucks after entering the Catacombs.”

　　26 bones in the spine. 1.8 million Wealth to hone a bone. Without Wealth, Fang Ping could only drag on slowly to no avail. It would take at least four to five months, plus a huge consumption of pills.

　　“With this much Wealth, plus the cultivation on my own, I should be able to hone 20 bones. I have to complete this by May.

　　“As for the cultivation of the rest of the bones… I will buy pills if there’s no other way around it. I still have 24 million cash anyway.”

　　Fang Ping had made necessary calculations. When the cash and Wealth that he owned had been spent almost entirely, it should be enough for him to achieve Upper-stage Rank-3.

　　When he had achieved Upper-stage Rank-3, he did not intend to continue raising his rank. Instead, he would focus on cultivating Combat Techniques. With that, his spending would be much lower without bone and body-honing.

　　“After achieving Upper-stage Rank-3, the gap to achieving Peak will not be too large. That is when I will truly become part of the elites. At that time, the huge level barrier between guys like Xie Lei and Qin Fengqing and myself will be nonexistent.”

　　Fang Ping let out a long sigh and murmured, “After enrolling in the university for a year now, I, Fang Ping, can finally be considered a true MCMAU elite student!”

　　…

　　With the goal to achieve Upper-stage Rank-3 by May on his mind, Fang Ping did not accept any missions but cultivated hard in the university.

　　Attending class, observing maps, understanding certain knowledge about the Catacombs.

　　This included the valuables in the Catacombs. Other than the Catacombs humans, there were other possible threats toward martial artists.

　　Animals, plants… everything was introduced.

　　During mid-May, Fang Ping and the others had finally received new teaching material provided by the Military Department for the first time.

　　Calling it teaching material might be improper.

　　It was an illustrated handbook of the Catacombs’ internal, valuable items.

　　“Energy ores:

　　“The main source of energy in the Catacombs. Divided into three types: Daily use, cultivation-aiding, and crude ores.

　　“Crude ores: pricing based on purity.

　　“Daily use basic energy ores: 1 credit/gram.

　　“Cultivation-aiding energy ores: 30 credits/gram.”

　　When he saw the introduction to the energy ores, Fang Ping was stupefied. There were even three types?

　　The difference between them was huge as well!

　　A 30 times difference between the energy ores for daily use and aiding cultivation!

　　Looking at the instructor who was teaching the lesson, Fang Ping quickly asked, “Instructor, the basic energy ores for daily use and aiding cultivation, are they very different?”

　　The old professor chuckled. “Actually, they are only different in terms of purity. However, do not underestimate this difference. The purification of energy ores can even be achieved by humans right now. However, too many processes are involved in it. It is extremely wasteful.

　　“It is hard to say whether 50 grams of basic energy ores can produce even 1 gram of purified energy ores to be supplied to martial artists to aid cultivation.

　　“If it is not pure enough and has too many impurities, then martial artists will not be able to use it for cultivation. Of course, the Energy Room is actually adopting energy ores with purity levels that are not high enough to release energy.

　　“This does not really impact much anyway. In the Energy Room, one mainly depends on self-recovery. Hence, the amount of impurities absorbed is not much…”

　　“What a scam!”

　　Fang Ping cursed. That was why cultivating in the Energy Room only cost 10 credits per hour. He had been wondering, why did a huge cultivation chamber like this not even release a gram of energy from the energy ores in an hour?

　　Now he finally understood. Emotions were defects. Only basic energy release was used.

　　“When we talk about basic energy ores, their purity is usually less than 30%. Some of them are extremely crude.

　　“The ones that can be used for cultivation must at least achieve purity of more than 90%.

　　“How are we supposed to judge the value of the energy ores in between then?

　　“According to the different purity levels, a certain price that can fluctuate will be given. For example, an energy ore of 30% purity is a credit a gram, while 40% is 2 credits.

　　“50% for 5 credits; 60%, 10 credits; 70%, 15 credits; 80%, 20 credits.

　　“Actually, this is the fixed price for crude ores as well.

　　“In my opinion, dividing them into three different types is a bit excessive. Dividing them into two is enough. Basic energy ores are considered to be within the range of crude ores.

　　“In the Catacombs, finding energy ores can contribute to the largest source of wealth for all of you!”

　　The old professor chuckled and continued, “There are many uses for the energy ores. You can use it like how it is used in the Energy Room. You can use it directly like a pill as well. You can also use it for science research, weapons manufacturing and so on… These can all be achieved with energy ores.

　　“In the Catacombs, even if they are only energy ores for daily use, you must bring them back if you chance upon them. Every nation needs them!

　　“Including martial arts universities. They need them as well.

　　“Take a close look at them. They are calculated based on grams. You can only imagine how precious they are.

　　“Of course, the ones we chanced upon are mostly basic energy ores. Stumbling upon energy ores of purity higher than 90% used for cultivation is extremely rare.

　　“Even in the Catacombs, not everyone is qualified to use them. Under normal circumstances, three lower ranks martial artists will rarely own the energy ores used for cultivation.”

　　Even if he did not tell them, Fang Ping and the rest understood. This was no laughing matter. 30 credits per gram!

　　An energy ore roughly the size of a nail probably weighed 10 grams. 300 credits. How expensive could it get!

　　“Other than energy ores, the valuable items in the Catacombs are extremely limited. This includes the dead bodies… I am referring to martial artists and other beings that are equipped with martial arts abilities…”

　　Fang Ping’s complexion changed slightly as he enquired, “Instructor, are the bodies used for research or other purposes?”

　　“Research is one thing, another thing is that the beings’ bodies can be used to manufacture weapons and produce pills…”

　　Fang Ping seemed to have recalled something and the color drained from his face. Feeling sick, he asked, “The pills that we are taking, are they made from the corpses of Catacombs’ beings?”

　　The rest of them seemed to have caught on as well. Each and every one of their faces was pale.

　　They had taken the pills like nobody’s business!

　　The old professor chuckled lightly and explained, “During the production of pills, indeed, there are some Catacombs’ beings’ biological tissues mixed into the pills. For example, their hearts and bone powder have created Vitality Pills and Bone-honing Pills…”

　　“We are… we are… eating people?”

　　Someone murmured. It was absolutely disgusting.

　　The old professor said playfully, “Don’t worry, it’s mainly the Catacombs’ animals and plants. As for the Catacombs humans, they do not have this function yet. However, for the Catacombs beings that have achieved Rank-4, their hearts will turn into energy, mutating into something like an energy ore.

　　“Therefore, there may be Catacombs’ human hearts in the energy ores. As for the pills, do not worry, just treat them as a source of energy to release energy.

　　“Do you really think we could possibly make you eat this?”

　　Even though the old professor had explained it, everyone was still slightly nauseated. This had nothing to do with their tolerance level. They were simply disgusted.

　　Fang Ping was fine. If it was true that they were made into pills, he rarely took them anyway.

　　Fang Ping was more curious about the hearts turning into energy. When he thought of this, Fang Ping suddenly asked, “Instructor, what if humans like us have achieved middle-rank?”

　　“About the same thing.”

　　The old professor grinned and continued, “Honing the vital organs is actually the process of turning them into energy. Middle-ranked martial artists replenish their Vitality faster than us. They also have a much higher Vitality upper limit. It has a lot to do with this.

　　“Of course, we are not turning it into pure energy like the Catacombs humans can. Their changes probably have something to do with the Catacombs’ energy source.

　　“The Catacombs’ main source of energy comes from energy ores.

　　“As for humans, we have various forms of energy source. We hone our bodies and our internal organs. In the end, we will just grow stronger physically instead of becoming living balls of energy.”

　　“Only the middle-ranked ones will have hearts that can turn into energy. To hack and kill the three lower ranks Catacombs martial artists…”

　　“That depends on their luck. It depends on the weapons he brings, the number of energy ores, a higher or lower value. Besides that, most of our three lower ranks martial artists who enter the Catacombs will focus on exploring and searching for the Catacombs plants.

　　“Go home and slowly browse through the valuable items. If you are lucky and find rare items, then you will not have to worry about your future cultivation resources at all. The Catacombs is vast. The areas that humans have explored up until this moment are just the tip of the iceberg.

　　“The probability for you to find good items is extremely high. Of course, it is very dangerous as well. Since finding good items requires you to venture out of the zone where humans have cleared.

　　“At that time, the risk will increase manifold.”

　　“…”

　　By questioning and answering, the old professor had also clarified many doubts.

　　Fang Ping and the rest clasped the illustrated handbook tightly in their hands. This stuff should be studied properly.

　　If they were lucky, perhaps an item worth tens of thousands of credits could be found. That was a possibility.

　　Fang Ping did not set high hopes for himself. 3000 credits we’re good enough for him. No, better yet, 5000. At least his Wealth should surpass a billion.

　　Fang Ping did not speak out his ambitions. Otherwise, the old professor would ask him to go home and dream on.

　　Each time three lower ranks martial artists entered the Catacombs, they would normally gather goods worth about 100 credits. Did they really think that they could pick up bags of money by going into the Catacombs?

　　Losing everything, including your life, was the norm in the Catacombs.

　　If that was not the case, the government would not force the middle-ranked martial artists in the society to complete missions annually. If it was not for this policy, most of the middle-ranked martial artists would never choose to enter the Catacombs to obtain the benefits.