Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The next day, in a tea house near Scenic View Gardens.
Fang Ping arrived slightly later than Wang Jinyang,
It was Wang Jinyang who had chosen to meet at the teahouse.
From the choice of the meeting venue, it could be seen that Wang Jinyang had a calm temperament and lacked the liveliness of an average young man.
…
Fang Ping was not surprised by the sight of Wang Jinyang.
However, he was surprised by the sight of a little girl who was slightly younger than Fang Yuan. She was sitting beside him.
Wang Jinyang brought his sister along?
He had not heard him mention that he had a sister before, had he?
The girl had large eyes, pale skin, and lacked vibrance. She sat there and did not look around but instead opted to stare at her teacup and daydream.
Fang Ping glanced at her once and greeted Wang Jinyang, “Brother Wang.”
“Sit.”
Wang Jinyang nodded slightly. When he saw Fang Ping look at the girl, a flicker of pain flashed by his eyes. He said softly, “This is my mentor’s daughter, Nini.”
“Oh. Hi, Nini.”
Fang Ping was slightly surprised by the fact that Wang Jinyang brought his mentor’s daughter along with him whenever he went out.
He did not think that the aforementioned mentor was from a high school or university. He guessed, on instinct, that Nini was the daughter of a local teacher of Wang Jinyang.
The girl called Nini raised her head to look at Fang Ping…
Then, she lowered her gaze toward the teacup again and did not speak.
Fang Ping did not mind, of course, not when the other person was a child. He smiled and did not say anything more to her. He felt that the girl could not compare to his family’s Round Face in terms of manners.
Wang Jinyang did not berate her for it. He caressed the girl’s head lightly while saying gently, “Senior is going to chat with him for a while. This guy has a sister a few years older than you. If we have time, we can visit her.”
Nini, who had been silent throughout the whole time raised her head again and said with a clear voice, “No, I want to go home!”
“Nini, listen to me. Your mother’s been busy with something these past few days, so she asked me to take you out and cheer you up. If we go home now, won’t I be scolded?”
Wang Jinyang’s expression was gentle while he reassured the girl. At last, she lowered her head and did not speak anymore.
He let out an immeasurable sigh. Wang Jinyang did not leave Fang Ping aside for long. He turned his head and smiled. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing…”
Fang Ping somewhat understood his situation. The girl was the daughter of Wang Jinyang’s mentor from university.
It was unexpected!
Fang Ping pondered about the topic in his mind. Old Wang’s flattery was so effective that he could now take his mentor’s daughter out. It seemed like Old Wang was close to this mentor.
Teachers in martial art universities were martial powerhouses, were they not?
Was Old Wang’s rapid improvement because of that?
As Fang Ping’s mind wandered, Wang Jinyang stared at him intently and said with a serene smile, “Interesting, you completed the bone-honing process for a second time?”
As he said that, the girl beside him lifted her head. Evidently, she knew what he was talking about.
Fang Ping said modestly, “It was a coincidence. I completed the process recently. It’s all thanks to the Body-strengthening Elixir that Brother Wang delivered to me…”
“This is all due to your hard work. None of it is thanks to me. Overzealous modesty is unnecessary.”
Wang Jinyang shook his head. His eyes were sharp when he talked. “At the beginning of April, when we first met, you were mediocre!”
Wang Jinyang was unapologetic when he used the word “mediocre” to describe Fang Ping.
“Now, only two months have passed and yet you’ve completed the bone-honing process twice!”
“I have to say, Fang Ping, you’ve surprised me.
“When the incident with Huang Bin came to an end, I knew that you wouldn’t be mediocre for long.
“I expected your excellence to be prominent when you entered university or even after you graduated.
“But you’ve exceeded my expectations. We’ve not seen each other for only a short time but you’ve blown my mind!”
Ever since Fang Ping took Huang Bin out, Wang Jinyang had the feeling that this junior of his would inevitably stand out someday or another.
He did not expect Fang Ping to complete the bone-honing process twice two months after that.
When he himself had done so, his Vitality reached 180cal.
Although there were differences, they would not be that big. Fang Ping should have completed the process twice when his Vitality was around 180cal. This meant that his current Vitality was more than that.
People like him were harder to find compared to Rank-1 martial artists.
Not everyone could achieve such a feat. To his knowledge, less than five out of the 4000 and more students in NMAU could do so.
Furthermore, they had only managed to achieve it after entering university. They had made use of the resources provided by the school and spent lots of their time doing so.
He was considered quick – he had completed the process in the first semester of his freshman year.
There were two students who had waited until their third year of university to attempt the breakthrough. This was because they wanted to complete the bone-honing process twice prior to that. It consumed a lot of time and resources. The school only continued to provide resources to them because they had hopes of succeeding.
Wang Jinyang appeared calm and collected but he was prideful.
There were very few in NMAU that he gave such high praise to.
Nini seemed to understand her senior because she gave Fang Ping another look after his words.
The girl was slightly hesitant at first, seeing as she had not spoken with Fang Ping before this. However, she asked, “You… You honed your bones twice in two months?”
Before Fang Ping could answer, Wang Jinyang smiled. “Should be. This guy is actually half your senior, Nini. Or should I say, junior?
“His cultivation of the Methods of Honing and his stance training were all done under my guidance.
“If we do it the right way, you can call him your nephew…”
Wang Jinyang looked at Fang Ping apologetically as he spoke. He did not intend to take all the credit or demean him.
Ever since his mentor was stuck in the Catacombs and was reported to have disappeared, his daughter was morose and depressed.
It was rare that she was interested in something. Wang Jinyang could only take the opportunity to cheer her up.
As expected, the girl wanted to laugh at the word “nephew” but ended up lowering her head sheepishly.
Fang Ping did not mind. What Wang Jinyang said was true anyway.
He had indeed guided him in his cultivation of the Methods of Honing and stance training.
He had also noticed the other’s attempt to cheer the girl up.
At that, he laughed, supportive of the other. “Brother Wang’s not wrong. Should I call Nini my uncle?
“Or my aunt?”
The girl could not hold in her mirth. She chuckled before covering her mouth with her palms. She lowered her head, not daring enough to meet the two men’s eyes.
Wang Jinyang was heartened by the scene. He gave Fang Ping a stealthy thumbs up as a sign of gratitude.
Wang Jinyang did not continue teasing her in the face of her shyness. He returned to the topic at hand. “You’ve completed the bone-honing process twice. Do you want to attempt a breakthrough now or do you want to wait?”
“Brother Wang, can I continue honing my bones after doing it twice?”
“You can!”
Wang Jinyang gave him an affirmative but continued, “There are some who have honed their bones thrice.
“But you should have felt it. The higher your Vitality, the heavier the burden on your body!
“In the potential martial artist stage, a high Vitality is beneficial for your future breakthrough.
“But that doesn’t mean that an infinitely high Vitality is good!
“If a cup is overly full, its contents will spill. If you can hone your bones thrice, then do it. If you feel stress on your body that you cannot handle, don’t insist on it!
“Honing your bones thrice yields only limited benefits. I haven’t done such a thing so I don’t have personal experience.
“However, I know a guy who has honed his bones thrice. He’s from Magic City Martial Arts University.
“That guy used to be a prodigy. However, he insisted on remaining in the potential martial artist stage because he wanted to hone his bones thrice. Even when his classmates from back then had already broken through to Rank-2 he was still in the potential martial artist stage.
“After he had completed the process, he assumed that he could catch up to his peers in no time.
“But then it was proven otherwise. Although he honed his bones faster than other people, his advantage was small. It was completely not worth the resources and time he had invested in it.
“The ultimate aim of the preliminary stages of martial cultivation is to hone the bones in the human body completely.
“Regardless of whether you start to do it after you’ve become a martial artist or when you haven’t, the end result is the same.
“Don’t try to gain a leg over everyone else just for the sake of it…”
Overpowering someone in martial arts was not necessarily a show of strength. If it was forced, it would be a waste of time and money. How would being first among potential martial artists benefit anyone?
Wang Jinyang, who had honed his bones twice, had succeeded in ascending three ranks in the span of one year. Perhaps he would breakthrough to become a Rank-4 martial artist in no time.
While he was Rank-4, those people who had forced themselves to hone their bones twice or thrice would still be potential martial artists.
One step behind could then become numerous steps behind. Could they really catch up to him?
It could be done if it did not jeopardize their future. If it did, they should let it go at the right time.
“Thank you for the reminder, Brother Wang. I know. I won’t force myself to go through it if I can’t.”
Fang Ping thanked him. Wang Jinyang’s reminder had its merits. At the very least, he made Fang Ping understand that an overpowering advantage was not always the best for him.
When he sensed the strength of his Vitality and struggled to control it, he definitely had to stop tampering with it.
The two men talked about cultivation for a while. Fang Ping had wanted to ask about his choice of universities when Wang Jinyang suddenly said, “Don’t fret about the application first. Drink a cup of tea. We’re going to the city gymnasium next.”
“Huh?”
Fang Ping was a little baffled. Why the city gymnasium at this time?
“I want to take a look at the progress you’ve made in your combat technique training.”
Wang Jinyang explained, “This is related to the choice you’ll make.”
“Combat techniques are related to university choice?”
Fang Ping had an inkling of the connection in his mind but he felt confused at the same time. He struggled to understand what Wang Jinyang meant.
Wang Jinyang did not continue his explanation. Elite schools had their strengths and average schools had theirs.
Evidently, dastardly difficult missions would not surface in average martial art universities.
Big Two owned a wealth of resources and was home to high-ranked mentors and a trove of opportunities…
One would have to contribute something before he could reap his rewards.
Fang Ping might have been a prodigy in cultivation but not in the field of combat.
There were people like that. If he had recommended that Fang Ping apply for Big Two without thought, there was the risk that Fang Ping would die within a short time – if he lacked talent in combat, that is.
People who did not have combat skills to match their ranks were more suited for safe desk jobs. If they were to go underground into the Catacombs, they would be the first ones to die.
Wang Jinyang sipped his tea calmly. Although Fang Ping had tons of questions burning in his gut, he could only drink his tea beside the older man.
Nini who knew a lot despite her young age was seated beside Wang Jinyang.
She probably knew what was going to happen next as her morose expression lit up. She blinked her large eyes and sent Fang Ping a commiserating look.
Fang Ping did not notice her as he was immersed in his tea.
Wang Jinyang, on the other hand, noticed her expression. He ruffled her hair and made a shushing gesture, putting his finger on his lips.
The girl broke out into peals of delighted laughter. When Fang Ping raised his head to look, she lowered hers immediately as she dared not meet his eyes.