After paying off his loan, Fang Ping still had about 8 million in cash.
Thinking of his trip back home to Sun City, Fang Ping went to the logistics department to get a Resurrection Pill.
He did not need to go there to collect resources anymore, but he liked to go for a chat with Old Man Li. Sometimes Old Man Li gave some pretty helpful words.
…
The logistics department.
Fang Ping spent 6 million on a Resurrection Pill. Naturally, this pill was astonishingly expensive.
It was extremely effective on internal wounds, though. When he had been seriously injured by the Grand Missionary’s fist and injured his internal organs, he returned to tip-top condition just after one pill.
Chen Yunxi, on the other hand, took one after being injured by a Rank-1 martial artist back when they were competing in the championship. Fang Ping had no comment except for how easy she could do so because she was rich.
“The first time you go to the Catacombs, don’t even think of getting something from it.”
Old Man Li might have felt too bored, so bored that he could not get his spirits up, that he got a long pipe from somewhere and started living the life of a smoker.
As he inhaled with his pipe, he reminded Fang Ping, “The first time you go down, focus on familiarizing yourself with the environment. You have lots of chances after this.
“Try your best not to leave the group.
“Prepare more blood-replenishing pills. They’re cheap, but you can only eat raw food when you’re down there if you don’t have energy stones. The pills are cheap and can fill your stomach. They’re quite nice. I have some fruity ones here with me, do you want some?”
Fang Ping was speechless. The pill production company was becoming more humane by the day; they had even started improving the pills by adding flavor to them.
“I don’t need them. Save them for yourself.”
Old Man Li did not mind the snubbing. He exhaled a puff of smoke and said contentedly, “Of course, there is some good stuff in the Catacombs.
“There are all kinds of food down there. Their fruits taste the best. If you can, bring some fruit back for me. I haven’t had them in ages.”
“Mm. If I see them, I’ll save some for you.”
“Also, when you enter the Catacombs, don’t take the people down there as fools. None of them are. If you think they are, the only fool there will be you.”
Old Man Li said, slightly sterner, “Don’t think of them as inferior creatures. They’ve evolved for far longer than we have.
“Many of us feel that they’re less civilized than us when they enter the Catacombs and see their primitive living conditions and ancient cities.
“That’s an illusion!
“We can only say that our paths of evolution are not the same. The Earth’s not really better than them. Don’t try to trick them as if they were idiots… But you’ll find it hard when you can’t even understand what they’re saying.”
Fang Ping asked with interest, “Instructor, have humans not yet learned their language?”
“It’s not that easy. The hardest thing is to communicate with them.” Old Man Li explained. “Catacombs humans don’t want to communicate with us.
“You have to understand that we can only learn and spread knowledge of a language through communication.
“We find it hard to learn their language because they don’t want to communicate with us. The first thing we do when we see each other is to go at each other’s throats.
“That being said, we’ve acquired from the Catacombs many books in the past years. Both armies talk to each other when they’re fighting.
“We’ve imprisoned some warriors from the Catacombs too. Although they still don’t want to talk to us, they still curse at us.
“Speaking of which, we humans have learned tons of curses from them…”
Fang Ping was speechless. The only thing humans had learned was swear words?
Although Fang Ping thought it trivial, he still asked with some interest, “Instructor, teach me some…”
“You wanna learn?”
“Yes. It’s a good way to provoke my opponents. If they run away, maybe they’ll come back after they hear me curse them.”
Old Man Li scrutinized him for a while, then suddenly said, “Nayagokali…”
Fang Ping was confused. “What’s that mean?”
“It’s a transliteration.” Old Man Li said with a grin. “The gist of it is ‘Come here, f*cker, and kill me if you can!’”
Fang Ping coughed. Old Man Li grinned. “This should be effective enough to provoke someone.
“The Catacombs humans say this when they’re being held captive. This is provoking to them, as they don’t fear death.
“You can try saying that…
“Don’t be stupid and say this to stronger opponents, or else you won’t even know how you ended up dead.”
“I’ll die even if I don’t provoke anyone…”
“Not really. Human Grandmasters won’t pursue weaklings in the Catacombs deliberately. It’s the same with the Catacombs powerhouses; they, too, rarely kill weaklings for fun.
“The two levels are fundamentally different, so the weaklings aren’t a threat to them.
“Also, it’s part of a tacit agreement. Soldiers fight soldiers while the generals battle it out. This is a mutual understanding between the two parties. Of course, it only applies when both parties are equal in power.
“When the battle is on, and there are too many powerhouses on one side, the rule no longer needs to be obeyed. The powerhouses will kill the weak; this is only normal.”
Fang Ping inclined his head slightly, committing this to memory. When he met an unbeatable opponent, the first thing he should do was to pretend to give in. He could always take revenge later.
“Also, you’re only Rank-3, so don’t take part in the battles when you’re underground.”
Old Man Li said, voice stern, “Martial artists in the three lower ranks have not trained for, or experienced, the battles underground. If they take part in them recklessly, they’ll end up dead faster than a civilian would.
“When you encounter a thousand-person battle, the first thing you should do is run!
“If a Catacombs army has more than a thousand soldiers, even middle-ranked martial artists are in danger of being surrounded and killed.
“I understand.”
“Also, beware of wild creatures. They’re equally, if not more, formidable compared to the humans there.
“Remember, don’t go near Heaven Gate City. It’s dangerous! Also, the sea is north of the settlement, but don’t ever go out to sea. There were a lot who have done so, and we’ve never seen any of them survive.
“If you see Catacombs women, elderly, or children, and you can’t bear to kill them, you can get away with that, but never, ever interact with or rescue them out of sympathy.
“Sometimes, Catacombs humans are also faced with danger. They may encounter feral creatures in the wild, or come across a village massacre, or are met with catastrophes…
“You can pretend you don’t see them, but remember, don’t ever save them. On many occasions, it would end up being a trap.
“Lastly, when you see humans in danger, don’t think of saving those who are stronger than you. If he’s in danger even though he’s stronger than you, you’ll end up being endangered as well!”
“…”
Old Man Li reminded him of many things, which Fang Ping committed to memory. All of them came from his personal experience, so he would do well to remember them and not do the wrong thing.
It was only when he made to leave that Old Man Li said to him, in an undertone, “Don’t trust anyone when you’re out of the settlement, except for those you know and are trustworthy. This applies even when you’re in the wild and come across the army!”
Fang Ping halted in his steps. Lu Fengrou had told him the same thing in different words.
“The human heart is most varying to see through. Some people are heroes in our eyes. They fight strong enemies, kill Catacombs humans, protect the country…
“But them doing all that doesn’t mean that they aren’t guilty of bad deeds.
“When they’re in danger and you come across them, they might put you as bait or see your arrival as an incentive to escape. When they don’t have enough pills or are struggling to sustain themselves and they encounter a fellow human, they might kill him off—him dying is more preferable than them dying, and no one would know about it anyway.
“After they kill you and raid your supplies, they might break through, reach another rank, and go on killing Catacombs creatures. They’re still heroes in everyone’s eyes.
“From their point of view, you dying is beneficial to them and therefore humanity. Your death is a valuable one.
“Is it worth it to you, though?”
Old Man Li sounded pensive. He murmured, “There are records of such incidents.
“In the past, a Rank-6 general from the Military Department led a team down to the depths of the Catacombs. They were endangered when they came across a team of martial arts university students. They sought help, but the students did not give them any. The general killed the students and snatched their pills and supplies.
“Later, the team was saved, and the thousand-man team came back mostly intact.
“The general still had humaneness in him. He reported to the Department regarding his deeds and took all responsibility. That day, he launched a sudden attack at Heaven Gate City, and he fought to his death.
“This quelled the university’s fury, but would the others who had done so report it?”
Fang Ping’s mood worsened abruptly upon hearing his words.
Old Man Li felt bad too. He said mildly, “I’m telling you this not to illustrate how evil humans can be—those incidents are the minority and rarely happen.
“I just want to tell you to be more flexible. Don’t think that humans are all on the same side just because you’re in the Catacombs.
“Humans are social creatures. They retain their humanity when among humans, but the same cannot be said for sure when they’re in the wild.”
“I know.”
“Go.”
Old Man Li said nothing more. He reclined on his chair and started smoking on his pipe. Few people patronized the logistics department since long ago, so he had less to do.
…
In the early morning of June 16th, Fang Ping drove back to Sun City.
He arrived at Scenic Lake Gardens at ten-thirty in the morning.
He exited the car, looking at the residents sitting on stone benches, playing cards or chatting idly. He was somewhat envious of them.
Could he still see this when the government announced the truth of the Catacombs?
It was unlikely!
Everyone would feel endangered!
The elderly would lose their smiles, children would lose their innocence. Everyone would pursue strength over everything. They would be anxious and the society would plunge into chaos. He could almost see everything play out.
“I hope that day never comes.”
Fang Ping murmured. It sounded buoyant, the idea that everyone would be drafted for the army. If that era ever came, though, that would be the last everyone would see of peace.
…
At home.
Fang Ping opened the door and walked in. Fang Yuan bounded toward him immediately and shrieked happily, “Fang Ping, you’re back!”
Fang Ping laughed, reaching to pinch her cheeks.
“If I don’t, you’re gonna tear me to shreds.”
“I won’t!”
Fang Yuan laughed. She said hurriedly, “Bro, you came back by car? You bought one?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you take me for a ride?”
“It won’t be for the best. You have an exam tomorrow and you’re talking about a ride? Simmer down a little.”
Fang Yuan pouted, somewhat displeased. She quickly bounced back, though. “Bro, you’re already a Rank-3 martial artist?’”
“Yup.”
“You’re on the rank-3 ranking, too! You’re so badass! My teachers and classmates all say that you’re the number one martial artist in Sun City!”
Fang Ping could not help but laugh. “Who said that?”
Sun City was small, but some powerhouses still lived there.
There was one Rank-5 martial artist some time ago, but he had moved.
Barring him, there was still Wang Jinyang, who was probably moving up to Upper-stage Rank-4 soon. He was way stronger than Fang Ping.
Also, many from Sun City had gotten into martial arts universities. They were weak when they graduated, mostly at Rank-1 or 2, but some might have ascended to Rank-4 after the many years post-graduation.
Fang Ping did not pry.
Saying that Fang Ping was the number one martial artist in Sun City was overzealous praise.
The rankings for Rank-4 and 5 had not been announced, though, so few people knew about them. There was no ranking for Rank-6 martial artists, and there were no Grandmasters from Sun City.
Among those announced, Fang Ping was indeed the strongest.
Li Yuying walked down the stairs as the siblings chatted. She froze for a moment when she saw Fang Ping, but she recovered quickly to glare at Fang Yuan.
Obviously, that was all Fang Yuan’s plan. Her parents did not call Fang Ping back.
After their mother left, Fang Yuan whispered, “Fang Ping, have you killed?”
Fang Ping was not surprised that she knew. He read the ranking, so he knew what was on there.
He laughed softly in response to his sister’s question. “You scared?”
“No… It’s just… Fang Ping, the people you killed are bad, aren’t they?”
“Of course.”
“I knew that the people you killed had to be baddies!” Fang Yuan looked relieved. She said with a laugh, “I’m not scared. When I become a martial artist, let’s kill baddies together!”
“What would a little girl like you know?”
Fang Ping mussed her hair. She had not experienced it, so she talked of him killing people as if he had killed chickens. When she went through it, she would know that it was beyond words.
He did not talk much about that. He patted her head, reaching to evaluate her Vitality. The girl’s Vitality was almost 140cal; she had been improving reasonably fast.
“After your exams, brother will give you a big present, so do well.”
“A big present?”
Fang Yuan’s eyes almost gleamed. She said with surprise, “What present?”
“I’m not telling you now. You’ll know after you finish your exams.”
Fang Ping kept up his mysterious air and did not tell her.
He would not tell her that he had prepared a lot of stuff for her. He had brought back home from school the basic combat technique training videos and booklets that Wang Jinyang had given him.
He added in some thoughts he had had during cultivation. He was progressing at quite an average pace, but he had taken detailed notes for Fang Yuan, more meticulous than an outsider would ever be.
He had written a detailed manual to other combat techniques that he was forbidden to spread otherwise, such as Zhang Dingnan’s Manic Explosion and Lu Fengrou’s Blood Arrow, and brought it back with him.
The Manic Explosion modified by Grandmaster Zhang Dingnan and Lu Fengrou’s Blood Arrow were both the cream of the crop among middle-ranked Combat Techniques.
They were difficult to acquire and master by outsiders, including martial arts students.
The last in the package was a bank card. Fang Ping had deposited his last 2 million into the account.
He left all those for Fang Yuan.
Fang Ping was actually on edge that he was scheduled to enter the Catacombs. Too many martial artists had died there. Fang Ping found it hard to stay calm for his first time entering.
He thought of the girl receiving the big package after she was finished with her exams. Would she be completely flummoxed when all waiting for her was a big pile of books?
Fang Yuan felt an inkling of suspicion when she saw the corner of Fang Ping’s lips rise. What would he gift to her?
