Chapter 85: Before and Beyond the Door

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　Magic City was huge.

　　Of course, in actuality, Magic City’s jurisdiction area was not particularly large. In fact, it was much smaller than Sun City’s.

　　It only felt so large because there were too many buildings and people. Even a bus ride would take you around in circles until you became dizzy.

　　Here, a subway or bus ride could easily take you several hours.

　　Sun City did not give anyone that impression, because every bus went straight to its destination at lightning speeds. A bus ride of the same distance would take less than half the time back in Sun City.

　　To get to Magic City Martial Arts University from the station, Fang Ping had to transit to two subway lines and take another bus ride before he could get to his university.

　　It was a distance of less than 40 kilometers, but it had taken Fang Ping more than two hours.

　　The administrative districts here were unlike the ones Fang Ping knew. Perhaps it was because martial artists made administration more efficient.

　　Magic City did not have as many administrative districts, and they were not as complicated. The entire Magic City Jurisdiction Area only had these 6 districts.

　　The one to the north was Northern Stability District.

　　The one to the west was Western River District.

　　The one to the south was Southern Contribution District.

　　The one to the east was Eastern Bay District.

　　There was also the commercial district in the center, Million Streams District. Lastly, the authorities had specially designated an area in the south by the ocean as a university city. This, too, was an independent administrative district.

　　Magic City Martial Arts University was located in the university city. In fact, aside from individual arts stream schools, every school offering the martial arts stream in Magic City was gathered here in the university city.

　　The university city was extremely large too, almost as large as the entire Nanhui District 1 as Fang Ping remembered it.

　　The entire university city took up almost 800 square kilometers.

　　Even within it, Magic City Martial Arts University was the highest-level campus in the university city, without any doubt or exception.

　　As the highest-level campus, even setting their results aside, the school itself took up an astonishingly vast piece of land.

　　It took up 30,000 mu 1!

　　That was what Fang Ping found when he searched it up online. Magic City Martial Arts University consisted of 30,000 mu and 20 square kilometers.

　　The university only had ten thousand people in total, including students, teachers, their families, and the staff. That meant there were 2,000 square meters per person.

　　…

　　When Fang Ping alighted from the bus, the first thing he felt was shock.

　　He had seen many schools before.

　　He had been to many universities as well.

　　However, he had not seen anything like Magic City Martial Arts University. The main gate alone was almost 100 meters wide — Was that even still a gate?

　　50 saloon cars could enter abreast, easy.

　　“Do students of martial arts universities go to school on aircraft carriers?”

　　Standing in front of the school gate, Fang Ping could not help but mutter under his breath.

　　Since the gate was a hundred meters wide, even an aircraft carrier could pass through it. Why did they have such a giant gate? Fang Ping could not understand Magic City Martial Arts University’s aesthetic sense.

　　Still, the school was enormous, so it was not completely unacceptable for them to have such a gigantic gate.

　　Since the gate was 100 meters wide, it was naturally quite high as well. The gate structure was about ten meters tall.

　　Five words were carved in majestic calligraphy on top of the arch: Magic City Martial Arts University!

　　The words were extremely large too. Fang Ping felt as though he had arrived at the country of giants, and he was merely a dwarf here.

　　Standing in front of a school gate like that inevitably made you feel small.

　　Just as Fang Ping was lost in his thoughts, someone behind him said, amused, “Awe-inspiring, ain’t it?”

　　Fang Ping had earlier sensed that someone was behind him, and he was not too bothered about it. It was not as though Magic City Martial Arts University’s main gate was completely devoid of people right now. In fact, there were quite a few people around.

　　Many people regretted coming to Magic City without getting a glimpse of Magic City Martial Arts University.

　　Even if they could not go in, nothing could stop them from looking at this university, one of Sino Nation’s top schools.

　　The sight of the gate alone made many feel like their trip was worth it.

　　Fang Ping turned around and saw a young man around his age standing on the left side behind him.

　　The young man had good-looking features and slightly longer hair, a smile curling his lips.

　　Unlike Wang Jinyang’s calm, unperturbed smile, this young man’s smile was rather proud, with a hint of a devil-may-care attitude.

　　However, what caught Fang Ping’s attention was not his looks nor his smile. He was looking at the unsheathed long sword in the young man’s hand.

　　The dark-colored blade gave off an inescapable sense of cold severity.

　　Fang Ping found the entire image rather conflicting. That was a modern-day young man dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, but he was wielding a large sword more than a meter long.

　　When he noticed that Fang Ping was looking at his sword, the young man suddenly brandished it and spun it around, saying with a hearty laugh, “You scared?”

　　Fang Ping frowned slightly and did not respond.

　　He did not know this person, and besides, he was just here to look at the school gate. If he responded now, he might just court unnecessary trouble.

　　The young man did not really mind, either. Since Fang Ping was not impressed, he held his sword horizontally and pointed the sharp edge against the ground.

　　After that, he said with a smile, “Freshman?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“I thought so. If you’re carting around your luggage and staring at the door like a country bumpkin seeing the world for the first time, there’s a high chance you’re a freshman.

　　“And you’re a freshman with Magic City Martial Arts University too, right?”

　　The young man seemed pretty pleased with himself, proud of his own deductions.

　　Fang Ping was slightly exasperated. Judging by the tone and content of his words, he was not here to pick a fight.

　　After some thought, Fang Ping said calmly, “My Vitality is over 180cal, so it can’t be too hard to guess that I’m a student with Magic City Martial Arts University, right?”

　　“Haha, I guess so.”

　　The young man instantly burst out laughing. “How could those neighboring martial arts universities compare to our MCMAU!

　　“Of course a twice-honed freshman would only come to our MCMAU!

　　“Believe me, you made the right choice!”

　　The fact that he could immediately tell that Fang Ping was twice-honed and not a Rank-1 martial artist meant that the young man was very strong and perceptive too.

　　Twice-honed potential martial artists had about as much Vitality as a new Rank-1 martial artist.

　　Usually, when determining a person’s strength, Fang Ping looked at their Vitality level. It was the same at the station, too.

　　However, it was clear that this young man was not making judgments based on Vitality alone. Fang Ping was curious, but he did not ask.

　　“May I know your name, senior?”

　　He sounded proud, but he was not too unbearable. Add that to the fact that Fang Ping knew nothing about Magic City Martial Arts University, and he decided to make friends.

　　“I’m Qin Fengqing, a Year 3 student of Magic City Martial Arts University, School of Weaponry!”

　　Qin Fengqing introduced himself and asked, “What about you?”

　　“I’m Fang Ping, a Year 1 freshman.”

　　“Why are you here so early?”

　　“I came here to see the place in advance. I’ve always admired martial arts universities.”

　　“Yeah, but it’s still really rare for students to come here a month in advance. It isn’t time for freshmen to register yet, so they might not be able to arrange any accommodation for you.”

　　Qin Fengqing said off-handedly before continuing on their previous topic of conversation. “Doesn’t the school gate make you feel small?”

　　“A little.”

　　“There you go! When they first built MCMAU, they made it this way so that students can understand their place.

　　“We are all exceedingly small. This is just the gate of a single school.

　　“If we feel small just standing before the gate, can you imagine how we feel once we go beyond it?

　　“The world beyond the gate is even more vast, more dangerous, and more interesting!”

　　His words seemed to contain some hidden meaning, so Fang Ping memorized them but did not ask any further. Instead, he continued to pursue a topic that he was actually interested in. “Senior, didn’t you go home for the summer?”

　　“Home?”

　　Qin Fengqing laughed heartily. “Once you become a martial artist, you gotta be prepared for long stretches of time away from your family!

　　“Time is precious, and time at school is even more so.

　　“Here, holidays and breaks don’t count. If you don’t want to fall behind, you have to work harder, and even harder!

　　“While you’re here, you have the support of the school, and the school will provide you with resources as well. Once you graduate, you’ll have to do everything yourself.

　　“That’s why you can’t let your guard down for even a second while you’re at martial arts university. Young junior, this is the first lesson I’m giving you as a senior.

　　“Time, especially your time at school, is extremely valuable, so don’t waste the next four years of your golden time.”

　　“Thank you for the advice, senior.”

　　Fang Ping thanked him before asking curiously, “Senior Qin, did you just come back from outside?”

　　“Yeah, I took a trip out, and I just got back.

　　“Since I happened to see a naive new kid, I thought I’d chat em up to relax a little. Too bad… you’re not a girl.”

　　Qin Fengqing did not hold back, sighing with some melancholy.

　　If Fang Ping was a junior sister, he could act a little cooler. Of course, that was provided the junior sister’s looks made the grade.

　　Magic City Martial Arts University was huge, but it did not have many students. They only had over a thousand students for each cohort, so that came up to about 6,000 students.

　　Of these, 80% were male and only 20% were female.

　　There were only over a thousand girls, and less than a third of them were somewhat pleasing on the eyes.

　　Of this remaining third, the Year 4 senior sisters were rarely at school, and some of the others were already taken. Finally, a few of them were always performing missions outside.

　　That meant there were extremely few decent girls left in the school!

　　Everyone said that Magic City was teeming with beauties, but Qin Fengqing felt like he was almost about to give up on ladies.

　　Thankfully, the freshmen were coming in soon. He wondered if there would be any pretty junior sisters he could admire.

　　Fang Ping could not help but laugh. “With your strength, senior, I don’t think you’ll be wanting for women.”

　　“But of course!” Qin Fengqing said with a smile, “Also, you were wrong in one thing. I don’t rely on my strength for a living, I rely on my face.”

　　“Cough…”

　　“Don’t cough, I’m serious!” Qin Fengqing said completely solemnly, “In terms of strength, every MCMAU student is extremely powerful. But most of them are ugly as sin, so we rarely win over the ladies with our strength. We have to use our looks!”

　　“Well, you are very handsome, Senior Qin.”

　　Fang Ping flattered him shamelessly. This senior was very powerful, and Fang Ping could not see the extent of his power.

　　It was about the same feeling as when he faced Wang Jinyang, so he had to be either Rank-2 or Rank-3.

　　Furthermore, he was holding a sword. Since it was unsheathed, Fang Ping could tell that this was no decorative item. It was an actual weapon of combat.

　　When Qin Fengqing heard that, he could not help a laugh. “You have a good eye. Interesting.”

　　“In the past, most of the freshmen were clueless kiddos.

　　“They thought they were all that just because they were first in their cities or the provinces.

　　It’s only when they entered MCMAU that they understood. Senior brothers are meant to be respected, senior sisters cannot be flirted with, and junior sisters belong to the senior brothers!”

　　“Cough cough…”

　　This time, Fang Ping truly did choke a little before saying with a laugh, “You’re very humorous, Senior Qin. I can’t believe I met you on my first trip to MCMAU. It truly is my honor.”

　　“That isn’t a joke, you know. It’s the truth.”

　　Qin Fengqing smiled and took out his phone to check the time. He said, “Usually when I meet a freshman like you, we seniors ought to take you around for a bit and get you familiarized with the surroundings.

　　“But I gotta turn in a quest, so I don’t have the time to stay with you.

　　“You can go ahead to the school’s reception area yourself. Although you arrived ahead of schedule, I don’t think the school will mind dealing with a little extra trouble. Let’s see if they can get you checked in ahead of time.

　　“Alright, I gotta go now. Talk to you later, if we get the chance.”

　　There were not many students in MCMAU, so it was not impossible for them to meet again.

　　Of course, he did not really mind if they did not meet again. After all, Fang Ping was no pretty lady, so Qin Fengqing did not even have any intention of giving him his number.

　　Fang Ping was not particularly mad about that either. Qin Fengqing was not his dad or anything, and he had no obligation to put aside his own matters just to help.

　　At the very least, Qin Fengqing had still given him some useful information. He told Fang Ping to check out the reception area.

　　Fang Ping did not really mind whether he could stay in the school or otherwise, but going into Magic City Martial Arts University and looking around could help satiate his curiosity.

　　Besides, he had met a relatively powerful senior so soon after arriving at Magic City Martial Arts University. That definitely increased Fang Ping’s interest in the school.

　　A Rank-3 martial artist like Wang Jinyang could already become the top dog at Nanjiang Martial Arts University.

　　So what about Qin Fengqing?

　　He had to be either Rank-2 or Rank-3. Either way, he was much stronger than Fang Ping, and for now, Fang Ping had no way of knowing what sort of position he had in the school.

　　Still, he was just a random MCMAU student Fang Ping had bumped into, so Fang Ping did not think he was any hotshot around these parts. He might even the bottom of the pack.

　　…

　　Qin Fengqing, who had already entered the school, resisted the urge to sneeze. Rubbing his nose, he murmured, “That guy’s accent is kinda familiar, isn’t it?

　　“Where was it from again…?”

　　He thought it over but could not come up with an answer, so Qin Fengqing tossed it to the back of his mind.

　　As for Fang Ping, he was just another random schmuck Qin Fengqing happened to bump into when returning to school. They had a casual chat, but who cared where Fang Ping came from?

　　Holding his sword in one hand and his heavy bag in the other, Qin Fengqing said happily, “I’ll just exchange some Bone-honing Pills this time, and then I should be able to fully hone my torso.

　　“Once I’m done honing my torso bones… I’ll demolish your Nanjiang Martial Arts University!

　　“Nanjiang…”

　　Qin Fengqing seemed to remember something again, but the moment was gone in a flash, and he was too lazy to pursue that thought again.

　　Footnotes:

　　Ch 85 Footnote 1

　　a former district of real-life Shanghai until it was merged into Pudong New Area

　　Ch 85 Footnote 2

　　a traditional Chinese unit of measurement that was about two-thirds of a hectare.