Chapter 216: The Battle of Wits and Courage, To Teach a Student According To Their Aptitude

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　…

　　After a few minutes.

　　Old Man Li furrowed his eyebrows and said, “You want to take a percentage?”

　　Fang Ping explained, “No, what I mean is for the platform to have some sales, which will motivate everyone to spend more.

　　“Or else, the credits will just be sitting there. If everyone has enough credits, they won’t be as motivated… ”

　　Old Man Li pouted. “Even if they aren’t motivated, they will still spend.”

　　Fang Ping tried his best to convince him, “Teacher, do you know how to run a business? If you offer them discounts and events such as a pills sale or something similar, it’ll pump them up to spend more!

　　“Moreover, the school can open up a credit loan scheme so that everyone can get a loan. After the interest for the loans pile up, everyone will be knee deep in debt.

　　“When that time comes, do you think they can afford to refuse missions? They will owe the school too much credits to even think about it!

　　“If we opened it up to Rank-3 martial artists, they’d probably have more drive when they go down to the Catacombs since they’ll be bearing all their debts in addition to the raising interest. I’m sure this will make them work harder to earn credits!

　　“The school should increase everyone’s motivation. Nowadays, they’re earning a credit and spending a credit. Let’s be honest here, where’s the drive to spend more?

　　“No big deal, I’ll forget about it though. If my training goes by slower so be it!

　　“But if you make some hoo-ha and discount sales, I assure you that even the stingiest martial artists will muster some enthusiasm to start spending more.

　　“If they owe the schools credits, everyone will be pressured. With that pressure comes the drive.

　　“NMAU is reforming and improving every day while MCMAU is choosing to rest on its laurels.

　　“Teacher, now that the seniors have graduated, do you think that we’ll be able to get Rank-5 students if we continue allowing the situation to remain this way?

　　“It’s an embarrassment of the worst kind!

　　“If we let Rank-3 and Rank-4 martial artists borrow credits in now, not only will everyone be able to equip themselves ahead of time, they will also be able to improve quickly. When they gain the extra boost they need, they’ll be able to go down to the Catacombs and start earning money to pay off the debts…

　　“This is a mutually-beneficial cycle!

　　“Why is it that no one thought to motivate the students in a school as big as MCMAU? In reality, we barely have any money or credits, so how does anyone expect us to train?

　　“If all of us gets credits in advance, everyone will gain the strength they need. Everyone will then do their best and train⎯you won’t even need to ask them to do so.”

　　Old Man Li was deep in thought before he finally muttered, “That makes sense.”

　　“Not only does it make sense, it’s the only logical thing to do. Just think, what’s the difference between martial artists and normal people?

　　“Don’t you agree that people who are bearing a large mortgage work much harder than people out of debt?

　　“The fact that they’re lazy shows why they aren’t able to afford a housing loan in the first place…”

　　Old Man Li muttered, “If anything goes wrong midway…”

　　Fang Ping became serious as he said, “Teacher, if they die in the Catacombs and are unable to pay back their loans, I think it should be the responsibility of the school!

　　“Do you wish for them to die in the Catacombs?

　　“Do you think they want to die in the Catacombs?

　　“If they do die, then it would have all been for the human race. Don’t you think that it’s a little bit insensitive to fuss about?

　　“What’s the point of the existence of MCMAU? It’s an opportunity and place for everyone to become stronger!

　　“In my experience, I’ve realized that the performance of MCMAU students is actually quite bad. Why is that?

　　“It’s because everyone lacks the enthusiasm. No one has the drive…

　　“If every one of us bore a huge debt, then I can assure that our performances will be much better. The lazy ones won’t be as lazy as before anymore.”

　　Old Man Li rolled his eyes. Not everything he was saying was true.

　　After some thought, Old Man Li asked, “So what are you getting from this?”

　　“I… I’m just doing a service for everyone. I’m not looking for any benefits…:”

　　“He he!”

　　Fang Ping was speechless. After he gave it some thought, he continued, “What I’m thinking is for the school to allow a special discount price for me. After that, I’ll organize the event through my platform. In addition to helping the school set up the credits loaning platform, we’ll review all the qualifications to free the school of the trouble of doing so themselves.

　　“All of it will be done through the platform. Thus, all the school needs to do is grant us the specific credits quota required.

　　“I can assure you that if we go through with this plan, MCMAU will be pushing out a group of avid mission-going students in the blink of an eye!

　　“Proactive ones without the need to force them!

　　“Aren’t C-class weapons enticing? Everyone will want to be an expert in it as soon as possible!

　　“Aren’t high-ranked pills enticing? Everyone will want to get their hands on it as soon as possible!

　　“Won’t everyone yearn to train in the Energy Room or the Vitality Pool every single day?

　　“Now they can! All they need to do is just borrow some credits!

　　“I would go so far as to recommend the school start a martial arts consulting service with some of the Rank-6 instructors as well as the Grandmasters! All the students need to do to activate this is have a certain amount of credits!

　　“Hopefully, the deans can spare some time for everyone to have a chance to listen to the teachings of a Grandmaster.

　　“An opportunity like that would be an honor for everyone. In the end, it’ll only motivate everyone to work harder!

　　“We need to change their passive behavior of students in this school into an active one. The students should be proactive in fighting and trying to win, instead of the way it is now, in which the school has to urge and push them every step of the way. The idea that the school has to give out credits every time they need a task completed should be completely abandoned.

　　“The way MCMAU is being run nowadays is not perfect. However, most of the people enter based on MCMAU’s merits…”

　　Old Man Li retaliated, “That sentence should be used on you instead!”

　　Fang Ping was caught off guard for a moment, but quickly continued, “Fine, we’ll talk about me. If I owed the school a few thousand credits right now, do you think I’d be passively waiting for the school to assign me a mission?

　　“I’d probably be out there doing a mission on my own initiative to pay back my debts.”

　　“That makes sense.”

　　“So, I’m just saying that the school should reward me. I mean, I thought all of this out just for MCMAU. The new intake is starting their classes soon. With the situation getting more dire than ever, we don’t have any more time to delay.

　　“We should allow the freshmen to proactively fight for it! To win! To push them to their limits, instead of waiting for them to take their time to grow!”

　　Old Man Li was mostly convinced. He lightly rapped his knuckles against the table as he said, “What an impressive brain you have there. You know, we could even implement this model in all of the martial arts universities…”

　　Fang Ping’s eyes lit up as he quickly said, “Teacher, in truth, my thinking was to get all the martial arts universities to collaborate instead of constantly fighting each other.

　　“Once we’ve activated the integrated platform, we could let students from other schools purchase MCMAU’s resources, including renting our Vitality Pool and Energy Room.

　　“Of course, we’ll charge them a slightly higher rate than we would if they were an MCMAU student.

　　“Moreover, our instructors specialize in specific departments. We may lack instructors that specialize in certain professions but will, therefore, be able to invite instructors from other schools as well.

　　“One might say that creating a for-hire service for the advice of instructors is in poor taste, but doing so will allow martial artists to be integrated into something bigger. They will no longer be limited to a small group of people in a single martial arts university, but rather, students from all of the schools.”

　　Old Man Li furrowed his eyebrows and said, “I’m afraid that may be hard…”

　　“I know, I know, but can’t we dream a little? Teacher, do you believe that Distance Ltd can execute it?”

　　“Yes, I do.” Old Man Li nodded and replied, “Previously, we had a condition, which is for you to have enough strength. In addition to that, if we’re really going through with this whole thing, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to fully run the platform yourself. It’ll have to go through the school’s rules and screening beforehand.”

　　“That’s no problem for me. I can’t wait for it to happen. Truth be told, I’m wholeheartedly doing all this just so all the martial arts universities can get stronger and flourish.

　　“We martial artists should not be isolating ourselves from society, nor should we ask society to adapt to our world. Rather, we should be the ones adapting to society.

　　“We have to make sure to keep with the times and not break away from society…”

　　“Enough!” Old Man Li groaned. “You mentioned a certain discount will be given through the platform. How much are you think of?”

　　“Ninety percent off the current price!”

　　Old Man Li furrowed his eyebrows as he said, “None of MCMAU’s pills and weapons are made with the intention of turning a profit. In fact, the school actually subsidizes the cost when students exchange their credits for them…”

　　Fang Ping nodded and said, “I know these pills and weapons are different from other goods sold. I know that you guys don’t make a lot of them and instead use a lot of resources to create them.

　　“But this will benefit the students, not anyone else.

　　“What’s the purpose of students getting stronger?

　　“It’s so they’re able to enter the Catacombs to protect humanity!

　　“What’s wrong with subsidizing a little bit more?

　　“Not to mention, if we activate the loan service, it’ll still work out to be exactly the same. You get interest, which can be used to subsidize other things, so in the end, you’re still getting back exactly the same amount. After all is said and done, the students will still be spending the same amount.

　　“The only difference is the spending is all done in advance.”

　　“This matter is not as simple as you think. I’ll have to discuss it with people from the school first. Therefore, I can’t give you a direct answer now…”

　　“Teacher, let’s not delay it anymore. Why don’t we go and look for the dean now. Is he around?”

　　“He is…”

　　The moment Old Man Li finished his sentence, Fang Ping pulled him out of the office.

　　Old Man Li could not decide whether to laugh or cry. ‘Can’t this kid wait a second longer? It’s hard to believe that he won’t derive any benefit from this.’

　　…

　　After 10 minutes.

　　Huang Jing’s office.

　　Huang Jing groaned. “Feasibility wise, it should be no problem. However, it’s very easy to say that you’re trying to fight for the welfare of the students. If you’re unable to deliver the benefits that you talk about and it turns out to all just be for your self-interest, then that’s on you…”

　　“Sir, don’t worry. I can assure you that everyone will see that they’ll stand to gain from this system. In all seriousness, that is the truth.”

　　Fang Ping confidently said, “Just you wait and see. If MCMAU was to implement this policy, we’ll be able to surpass CCMAU in no time at all!”

　　“Wow, you sure got big dreams.”

　　“I believe in it!”

　　Huang Jing did not say anything more. Instead, he simply looked at Fang Ping and said, “Don’t focus too much on this project, you still have to prioritize training.”

　　“Yes, I’ll manage my priorities well. Recently, I’ve noticed that my Mentality has been improving a lot. Sir, I hypothesize that doing business has helped me to stimulate my Mentality…”

　　Both Huang Jing and Old Man Li were stunned by the way Fang Ping talked about this so seriously.

　　At that moment, Fang Ping tensed up and got the urge to move the dean’s hair.

　　He was in the midst of thinking of this when suddenly, a spark appeared in Huang Jing’s eyes. Almost immediately, Fang Ping felt an overwhelming pressure!

　　In that instant, Fang Ping’s forehead became drenched in sweat.

　　“Interesting!”

　　Huang Jing mumbled, “Could it be said that blindly practicing hard is the wrong way to train? Even a Rank-3 martial artist such as yourself can feel a change in your Mentality… and you’re saying it’s been in an active state the whole time, huh…”

　　Old Man Li was shocked and paused for a while before he replied, “Unless… Is this the reason why governors in politics and businessmen have breakthroughs?”

　　Currently, how Mentality increased and perceived could only be discerned by Rank-3 martial artists. There was not yet a specific cultivation method for it.

　　At things stood, the only way anyone could train it was through time and experience.

　　Huang Jing groaned slightly, “There may be an explanation for it. When someone conducts business or engages in politics, they use more of their brain power. Since the cerebrum is constantly in an active state, their Mentality could be forced to increase.

　　“Of course, nothing it set in stone. From what we know, esteemed businessmen and politicians are mostly powerhouses.

　　“Most of the time, powerhouses choose to do business or engage in politics, not the other way around.

　　“However, the other way around may very well the logical explanation to all of this.

　　“Vice-chancellor Wu made a rapid breakthrough which may have been… Maybe, it did not have anything to do with his busy lifestyle.

　　“If this is the case, then why did the sect encourage meditation…”

　　Old Man Li suddenly appeared as if he had realized something. “There’s only a few Grandmasters in the sect. Furthermore, they’re all of ripe old age. On the other hand, Grandmasters involved in the business and the political world are aplenty.

　　“So much so that it surpasses the number in the Military Department!”

　　Old Man Li suddenly said, “Dean, can you get me a title and task with being in charge of more things?”

　　“You? What do you want to do?”

　　“I want to be in charge of managing the school…”

　　Huang Jing was speechless. He paused for a moment before he answered, “Oh, Old Li. The school has limited assets to offer. It only exists through everyone’s hard work as well as the government’s subsidy. It won’t be enough for the students.

　　“Why don’t we take a breather on this thing. Maybe we should just let the school keep some assets for safekeeping…”

　　Old Man Li darkened. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

　　Fang Ping was holding his laughter in so hard that his face almost turned purple. The dean gave a burn like no other.

　　Old Man Li snorted and paused for a while before he answered, “It doesn’t matter how you put it, events are still a requirement. Otherwise, all the logistics department’s missions would’ve been hogged by this kid. When that happens, my days will consist only of hiding inside my little tortoise shell.

　　Huang Jing nodded his head and agreed, “Actually, I’ve also realized that the number of people breaking through their Grandmaster by blindly practicing quite little.

　　“Perhaps… Perhaps this is the experience of the world that our ancestors talked about.

　　“Whether it’s conducting business or politics, or even going going down to the Catacombs, they’re all experiences of sorts. To train our minds is to learn the ways of the world…”

　　After he saying this, Huang Jing looked toward Fang Ping and continued, “Previously, before you noticed this change, how sure were you that the activation of your Mentality was due to running your business?

　　Naturally, Fang Ping could not be certain. However, he felt that the explanation Huang Jing gave him was valid enough. Thus, he hurriedly replied, “Yes, it’s true. Every time I think about my business going downhill, I’d get a headache. When my head hurts, I’ll try to find a different way to do it. Afterwards, my brain feels like it’s more active than usual, as if my Mentality has become concentrated…”

　　“Is that so?”

　　At that moment, the Grandmaster powerhouse Huang Jing was eating up everything he said.

　　However, Fang Ping was not lying either. Huang Jing had noticed that Fang Ping was just as good as him at connecting the facts.

　　Previously, everyone had a misconception that if you’re strong, you’ll be able to hold the position of being a business owner.

　　However, they had never thought that people got stronger because their business had grown, which led to them later holding a higher position.

　　Huang Jing took a deep breath before he said, “Okay, fine. I’ll talk to the school about your plan. For the credit loaning thing, I don’t think we need to charge any interest…”

　　Fang Ping quickly argued, “Dean, I think it’s necessary to push the students with a suitable amount of pressure. It’s not so much about the profit, but a way to tell everyone that there’s no such thing as a free lunch; that they’ll have to work for something in order to get something in return.”

　　“Fine, since you know martial artists well, we’ll just do as you say.”

　　“Thank you for your support, dean. In addition to this, I’d like to ask for something. You see, Yuan Ping Club operates the platform, so is it okay to give us some benefits?

　　“The teachers have all seen it with their own eyes. Everyone’s doing their best to serve the students.

　　“They should be given the credit for their hard work, if not for their merits…”

　　Fang Ping quickly said, “For example, the school gives us a free credits loan quota. With the said quota, it’ll allow the platform to self-operate. With this, we can choose to reward outstanding students or to offer special subsidies to certain people…”

　　He was sure that the school would not mind as Huang Jing’s original plan was not to even charge interests at all.

　　After he gave Fang Ping a look, Huang Jing could not help but laugh. “Sure, but if you do it this way, you’ll only stress yourself out.”

　　“Hmm?”

　　Fang Ping looked suspicious, but Huang Jing kept his mouth shut. He waved his hands and said, “Why don’t you head on out first, I’ll give you an answer as soon as possible.”

　　“Thank you, sir!”

　　…

　　The moment he left, Huang Jing began to smile and said, “How dare he pretend not to know what’s going on. Doesn’t he know that doing so will take away the function of a Martial Arts Society?

　　“The moment the school gives him an answer, he’ll become rivals with the Martial Arts Society.

　　“Old Li, do you think Martial Arts Society will be okay with this?”

　　Old Man Li replied indifferently, “Isn’t this what the school wants? There’s a lack in competition for the dominant Martial Arts Society here, whereas the Martial Arts Society from other schools are all flourishing from the pressure.

　　“MCMAU still needs a rival society to compete with the Martial Arts Society. This kid moves fast. He’s just a freshman, but he has a long way to go.

　　“Just give him some time to form a society that’s able to contend with the Martial Arts Society. Who’s to say that it’s impossible?

　　“As long as we don’t let him be a committee member in both societies concurrently, then there will be no problem.

　　“From what I’ve observed, he’ll end up being the president of his own society while Xie Lei will be the successor of Zhang Yu. If this happens, the two of them will enjoy a few years of healthy competition.

　　“Xie Lei’s progress isn’t too shabby either. Even though he’s barely keeping pace, try not to leave him behind.”

　　“Still, it doesn’t mean he’ll agree to it,” Huang Jing laughed.

　　Old Man Li gave a snort of contempt and laughed, “I can’t believe you don’t have anything up your sleeves. It should be an easy job for you to simply find an excuse to push this thing. If you don’t, the kid will probably flat-out refuse to do it.

　　“For example, you could let him bring the team out to network. Once he becomes the Martial Arts Society president, the platform that he manages will then be handed over to the Martial Arts Society…

　　“Do you actually think a personality like him will agree to such a thing?

　　“How I wish that we could solve this problem easily. But we still have to thank the school for not forcing him to be the Martial Arts Society president.”

　　Huang Jing suddenly burst out laughing and nodded, “It’s because of this reason that…”

　　Huang Jing paused before he said, “His bone marrow isn’t honed.”

　　“Oh.”

　　“Neither is his Mentality at the point where he can extract energy particles yet.”

　　“So what?” Old Man Li asked.

　　Huang Jing hesitated before he suddenly smiled. “Indeed, so what!? Everyone has their own luck in these things. If Fang Ping wants the platform to be successful, then he’ll do what he needs to.

　　“With a temper like his, he will try to ask for a change in the conditions if he really wants it to be successful.”

　　Old Man Li laughed, “That’s for sure. Especially when it’s obvious that he’s feeling pressured right now. That in itself proves that he’s relying purely on his natural talents and nothing else. In fact, it shows that he’s unable to make this widespread.

　　“The human body is complicated. Unless he’s dissected, the possibility of finding something unusual is miniscule.

　　“Both changes in the brain and the body have become common over the past few years.

　　“Ever since the merging with the Catacombs, these kinds of things have shown up more and more often. Those people include Wang Jinyang from NMAU, Li Hansong from CCMAU, Yao Chengjun from the Military Department…

　　“All these people I’ve mentioned are no different. All of them have experienced changes in their bodies.

　　“Wang Jinyang’s bone marrow turned into a jade-like quality, Li Hansong was born with a completely honed skull, Yao Chengjun has a Rank-4 Mentality…

　　“All of them have characteristics of a Grandmaster.

　　“At the same time, Fang Ping also has qualities of a Grandmaster. Even if his Vitality replenishes quickly, I don’t think there’s anything for us to investigate.”

　　Huang Jing could not help but laugh. “As long as we know then it’s fine. Don’t let him find out about what we know, though. I’ve been keeping an eye on him for quite some time now. We’ll need to pressure him a bit. If he isn’t pressured, then he won’t have the drive. Just look at how eager he’s being, even telling us to pressure other people as well. In that case, I guess it’s only fair that we pressure him a little as well.

　　“Perhaps, he might even be next Grandmaster. If that’s the case, then all the more reason we pressure him.”

　　Old Man Li grinned from ear to ear and said, “It’s because of this reasoning that we should scare him from time to time by sending him back to the research institute. We can show him how we dissect people from the Catacombs. Tsk, I’m sure this really give him the motivation he needs to become a Grandmaster as fast as possible…”

　　Huang Jing laughed out loud as he agreed with Old Li’s good idea.

　　Their plan was to send Fang Ping to the research institute to see how they dissect a person from the Catacombs. Once he sees how similar they are to humans, they will tell him that the people he saw them dissecting are, in fact, humans that had undergone unusual changes in their body…

　　Huang Jing could already see that kid’s shocked face. He could imagine Fang Ping’s pale face thinking about how he should get stronger as soon as possible just to be safe.

　　This sort of proactive state of mind in the pursuit of strength was way better than a passive one.

　　The two old men’s eyes met as they smiled with delight. The school’s purpose was to teach their students according to their aptitude. For Fang Ping, scaring him seemed to be the best way to nurture him.

　　…

　　Fang Ping, who had just exited the dean’s office, could hear their laughter from inside. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

　　“Are those two old men talking about me? Why does it feel like someone is plotting against me?”

　　Fang Ping turned his neck uneasily. The wind was cold and he suddenly felt a little weak.