Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The moment he opened the door, Fang Ping felt a slight urge to beat someone up.
Handsome!
A very handsome person was standing beyond the door—not a soft-looking, pale pretty boy, but a sunny, hunky, handsome man.
“Pleased to meet you, Student. I’m Fu Changding from the room in front of you. I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
Fu Changding’s words were full of vigor, with a dazzling smile on his face.
His teeth were so white that Fang Ping felt they belonged in a toothpaste commercial.
Fang Ping glanced over his face before raising his eyebrows slightly. “Room number 15?”
“That’s right. I just arrived as well. I haven’t asked, what is your name, student?” The smile on Fu Changding’s face was unwavering.
“Fang Ping.”
Fang Ping introduced himself, then stepped aside from the doorway. “Come in and talk.”
“Sorry for the disturbance.”
Fu Changding was very gentlemanly. He smiled and gave a polite greeting before stepping into the room.
Their rooms were all the same; nothing interesting to see here.
As Fang Ping invited him to have a seat, Fu Changding grinned. “Fang Ping, where are you from? From your accent, it seems you’re from the Nanjiang region, right?”
“Yeah, I’m from Nanjiang Sun City. You?”
“I’m from Capital City.”
Without waiting for Fang Ping to ask, Fu Changding said, “Capital City Martial Arts University is too close to home, so I came to Magic City Martial Arts University.”
Still smiling, he added, “I think I’ve heard of Nanjiang Sun City before…”
“Oh yeah, have you heard of Wang… Wang Jinyang is the name, I think. Do you know him?”
Fang Ping was shocked. Old Wang was that famous?
Old Wang had only broke through Rank-3 recently. In the Magic City and Capital City, surely Rank-3 students were common.
After a moment’s thought, Fang Ping nodded. “I know him. He was from my high school, a class older than mine.”
“Ah, so you do know him. I guess that’s not very surprising since Sun City isn’t big.”
It was only natural for a genius to know other geniuses.
Fang Ping contemplated for a second before asking, “You know Wang Jinyang too?”
“I’ve heard of him.”
Fu Changding realized he found a conversation topic and smiled. “That high school senior of yours has been making waves recently.
“He broke through Rank-3 not long ago, and he’s recently been going around flashing a saber.”
“Flashing a saber?”
“You don’t know?”
Fu Changding was surprised. He could not tell how high Fang Ping’s Vitality was at the moment, but to be able to stay in room number 86, he was at least close to twice-honing. Fu Changding had a feeling that this guy’s Vitality might be much higher than expected.
Someone like him had no background?
He left Sun City with Wang Jinyang, but he did not know about this?
Moreover, Sun City was small, so how could they produce so many incredible people?
Could it be that Sun City was still hiding some grandmasters or powerhouses?
Fu Changding harbored many uncertainties in his heart, but he knew better than to discuss such deep matters with someone he had barely met, so he did not ask further.
Instead, he voluntarily explained, “Wang Jinyang might’ve finished honing his torso already and is possibly dashing toward Rank-4.
“However, he’s breaking through too fast. The students at Nanjiang Martial Arts University aren’t giving him enough pressure.
“Therefore, since the beginning of August, Wang Jinyang has been carrying a saber and traveling around, challenging peak Rank-3 martial artists. A few days ago, Wang Jinyang just happened to arrive at Capital City.
“Of course, I didn’t see it myself because I was getting ready to come to Magic City for registration.”
“He went to Capital City?”
“Yes. The Rank-3 martial artists at Capital City aren’t particularly strong, but they aren’t weak either. When he first arrived at Capital City, he defeated 8 martial arts training course gyms within a day.
“These martial arts training courses probably had middle-ranked martial artists and quite a number of peak Rank-3 martial artists too.
“Moreover, martial arts training courses are normally founded by big companies, government agencies, and martial arts universities.
“Wang Jinyang was incredibly courageous and first challenged their martial arts training courses. The organizations backing these training courses would not just forgive and forget. The middle-ranked martial artists wouldn’t enter the fight, but the powerhouses among the peak Rank-3 martial artists would definitely not hesitate to keep fighting.”
“He challenged 8 martial arts training courses in a day…”
What could Fang Ping say?
He had no words to say!
Good lord, Old Wang was breaking records!
How long had it been since he broke through Rank-3?
Old Wang broke through Rank-3 in the middle of April. It was only the start of September.
Breaking through to Rank-4 from Rank-3 was a big hurdle, a massive one.
However, Old Wang was currently traveling around challenging powerhouses to push himself to the limit. It was highly possible that he had reached a plateau and was seeking a breakthrough.
From the start till now, it had not been more than 5 months. Fang Ping could not help but worship him.
“Isn’t it dangerous for him?”
Fang Ping could not resist asking.
Fu Changding gave him a serious look before chuckling. “There’s no big danger, but he’s damaged the reputation of many powerful influencers. The peak Rank-3 powerhouses will not hold back on their attacks.
“Unless he can defeat them all and prove himself invincible among the Rank-3 martial artists, he will definitely suffer the consequences the moment he loses.
“Still, I have to say, someone like Wang Jinyang is my role model.
“He was born normal, and he attended a normal martial arts university, yet he managed to become Rank-3 in his freshman year and started challenging powerhouses everywhere when he was a sophomore. The way he relentlessly forges ahead to the north, just talking about it gets me pumped up!”
“It is exciting. It’s a shame he didn’t come to the south…”
Before Fang Ping could finish, Fu Changding laughed. “It’s not as if he’s never been to the south. I heard someone say he came to Magic City when he was peak Rank-1 and swept aside all of Magic City’s Rank-1 martial arts university students.
“Even a Rank-2 martial artist from East Sino Nation Normal University fought him but was beaten and got left in the dust.
“The other schools wouldn’t let their Rank-2 students humiliate themselves. It was only when he came to Magic City Martial Arts University that a Rank-2 student fought him and caused him enough damage to go back.
“He swept aside Magic City’s Rank-1 martial artists. You can tell how overbearing he is!”
“Overbearing?”
Fang Ping had a hard time connecting the soft-spoken Old Wang with the term ‘overbearing’!
It was also hard to imagine he had actually swept aside Magic City’s Rank-1 martial artists.
The impression he had of Old Wang was that he was not weak, on top of being a genius, but only in Nanjiang and not the entire Sino Nation…
He had overpowered Magic City and was now heading north, preparing to go toe to toe with the north’s Rank-3 martial artists. This was something that can be described as having some fame in Nanjiang?
Fang Ping was greatly astonished. An image of Old Wang wielding a saber and pushing ahead appeared in his mind. He could not suppress his zeal…
Fu Changding had been concentrating on Fang Ping. When he felt Fang Ping’s Vitality move, his pupils dilated slightly!
Twice-honing?
No!
It was probably much higher!
Thrice… Maybe he had not achieved a thrice-honing, but he was definitely close to it!
‘That shithole, Sun City. How did they produce two incredibly powerful young people at the same time?’
Abruptly, Fang Ping calmed his Vitality and lifted his head to look at Fu Changding. He smiled. “Classmate Fu…”
“Don’t call me that. We’re all classmates and neighbors. If it was a normal university, we’d be considered housemates. From now on, calling me Old Fu, Old Chang, or Old Ding is fine too…”
“Old Fu? Old Chang? Old Ding?”
Fang Ping’s eyes twitched, then he laughed dryly. “I’ll call you Changding. You’re probably a martial artist, aren’t you?”
Fu Changding did not deny it, beaming brilliantly. “I am a martial artist, but being a martial artist doesn’t mean anything. Although I’m Rank-1, if we had a duel, I might not be stronger than you.”
“You’re too modest. I’m nothing. I’m not even a martial artist…”
“Fang Ping, let’s not be modest.” Fu Changding laughed suddenly. “We’ve entered a martial arts university; there’s no need to hide.”
“This is just the starting point. There’s not much meaning in ranking the strong and weak at the moment.”
“Part of the reason I came over was to meet the new neighbor. The other part was to take a look at everyone’s circumstances. I didn’t think the first person I’d meet would exceed my expectations.
“I was even a little arrogant at first. Now I’m realizing I was a frog in the well.
“You know about this afternoon’s gathering, right?”
“I know.”
Fang Ping nodded. He could tell Fu Changding knew more than he did and could not resist asking, “Is the gathering for orientation? Or is it considered an opening ceremony?”
“Both and neither.”
Fu Changding smiled but was in no hurry to elaborate. He took a glance around the room. “You haven’t prepared water stuff? Let’s go. Since there are things you haven’t bought, we’ll walk and talk at the same time. I’ll buy some things on the way too.”
He was not going to go meet other students anymore. A student from room number 86 had a Vitality higher than most who had a second bone-honing.
Geniuses were not found everywhere, so getting to know just Fang Ping was enough for now.
Fang Ping did not reject this idea. He locked his door and left with Fu Changding.
As they walked, Fu Changding said, “This afternoon’s gathering can be considered a power display.
“Tomorrow we’ll enter the Building of Practical Combat Training and choose our schools.
“Once we enter the building though, all of us need to know who we can provoke and who we can’t.
“The afternoon is for us to find out about each other, and it’s also the instructors’ period of observation.
“Today, they would have some idea what the students’ circumstances are like, which students show promise, and who should be focused on tomorrow.
“Tomorrow, more than a thousand people will be in the building, and there might be many worth observing, but first, the most promising individuals must be identified. Hence, display as much strength as you possess during this afternoon’s gathering!
“Now is not the time to hide. A good instructor can save us a lot of time and energy.”
Fang Ping came to a realization. To put it simply, a few up-and-coming students would be chosen this afternoon, and these people would become the key comparisons for inspections.
When tomorrow came, the instructors would launch a thorough observation and would try to identify who possessed the ability to manage a team and who had strong practical combat abilities.
One night was given to everyone to prepare. This inspection was probably to assess the students’ organizational skills and judgment.
Whether or not someone could create a group of tens or even a hundred people, it really tested their abilities.
Being able to determine who they could provoke and who they could not was also very important.
Li Chengze had said there would be 400 people. Nobody had to fight for the limelight.
Still, if he did not display some of his strength, how could he catch the eye of the instructors?
Fang Ping could almost guarantee that some people would challenge opponents of similar power. As for who to pick as the opponent, that would depend on how they looked.
Defeating someone on a similar level would undoubtedly score them points.
If one were to stand idly in the building to secure a spot in the quota, even if someone like that entered the School of Weaponry, they would not be outstanding.
…
As he walked and talked with Fu Changding, the two reached the school supermarket.
It was called the school supermarket, but it was comparable to a hypermarket and was even bigger than one. Their prices were not particularly expensive either.
Fu Changding felt the two of them were familiar enough with each other after talking to Fang Ping on the way. He smiled and said, “Fang Ping, are you interested in doing something big tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?”
“The university admitted 52 Rank-1 martial artists and 9 twice-honed potential martial artists this year. Of course, there might be some people who’ve broken through during summer vacation.
“However, there won’t be too many. After all, coming to school to break through can save a lot of resources.
“Twice-honed can be considered Rank-1 too, so we can think of it as 70 Rank-1 martial artists.
“There are so many Rank-1s, it won’t do to not stand out. Opportunities will only go to powerhouses and those who’ve made preparations.”
Fang Ping browsed his purchases while asking in a low voice, “What are you prepared to do?”
“If I do say so myself, my strength is alright, and my practical combat ability is not bad either. Not all martial artists can do practical combat. What about you?”
“It’s alright, I guess. I’ve never fought for real, so I’m not sure.”
“You’ve cultivated combat techniques?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Then there’s no problem. A lot of the people who broke through to martial artist didn’t cultivate combat techniques since the early stage. Their goal was to enter university, not practical combat.”
Fu Changding was extremely pleased to know Fang Ping had cultivated combat techniques. “What do you think about us joining forces tomorrow and challenging these martial artists?”
“Huh?”
“You and me, battling two against one!”
Fu Changding was smart and quick to find solutions. He smiled wide and said, “Going solo won’t do. Even if all we do is one-on-one duels, our Vitalities can’t recover in time, and we won’t be able to hold on.
“There would be no problem with two people though. We each take a turn and beat them all up!
“Even if we lose in the end, we’d be well-known, so there’s no need to worry about instructors overlooking us.
“I can tell you there are large differences in the strengths of MCMAU’s instructors!
“I don’t look up to the Rank-4 and Rank-5 ones. They need to be at least Rank-6, and even Rank-6 has strong and weak instructors. Some instructors are near the Grandmaster level!
“If we’re acknowledged by these peak master martial artists, you’d be shocked by how many benefits there are!”
Fu Chingding spoke of this very casually whereas Fang Ping was shocked. “Just the two of us?”
“Yes. Who asked you to be the first person I admire?”
Fang Ping did not know whether to laugh or cry. Could this guy not say such ambiguous things?
Fang Ping was silent for a moment before asking, “Have you gotten to know other student martial artists?”
“No need. Rank-1 martial artists are just that. Frankly speaking, I became Rank-1 after twice-honing, and now my right leg has finished tempering.
“If I didn’t have the confidence, I wouldn’t dare to ask someone to do this either.”
Someone who had twice-honed and completed the tempering of their right leg did indeed qualify to have some pride.
Twice-honing increased the Vitality limit, which meant outbursts would last longer.
Moreover, honing the entire skeleton twice made one’s stamina and attack stronger than average martial artists.
A tempered leg had more lethality than the hand.
With that, if Fu Changding’s combat techniques were not weak, and if he was extremely strong, fighting Rank-2 casual martial artists would be no issue.
Fang Ping looked at him and spoke after a moment. “How would you replenish your strength?”
“Eat medicine. I brought three Rank-1 Vitality Pills. I’ll stop when I finish them.”
“You’re not afraid I’ll hold you back?”
“Room number 86 means you weren’t too strong during the assessment, but right now, I can’t quite tell how good you are, so I’m willing to bet this once!”
“Alright!”
It was Fu Changding’s turn to be stunned for a moment, then he was amused. “It seems you’re stronger and more confident that I imagine. It’s a deal then?”
“What if we’re surrounded?”
“That won’t happen. Everyone’s too proud, and it’s not that easy to group martial artists together anyway. At most, there would be three to five people in a group.
“If there really are these kinds of groups, we’ll beat them up!”
“Should we find another two people?”
“No need. Two people are enough. With more people, how can we showcase our specialty? If not for the fact that going solo leaves no time for rest, it would be best to do this alone.”
Fang Ping did not question any further. He bought his things and smiled wryly. “Let’s give it a shot then. I hope you’re stronger than I imagine. Going two-against-one for 70 people could be fatal…”
“You’re quite confident. I like it!” Fu Changding grinned toothily, his pearly white teeth giving Fang Ping the urge to punch out a few.