Chapter 57: It’s a Cultivation Race!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two days after the encounter, notifications on the success of the isolated cultivation appeared, just as the System predicted.
[The System has depleted a large amount of experience points to cultivate “Dragonization Ability” to Intermediate Level, current effects:
1: Intermediate Level Food Consumption. Food required for the activities of a whole month can be consumed in a single sitting, eating can be done once per month.
2: All Dragon Series Martial Arts have been strengthened, all abilities have been leveled by 200%.
3. Fusion of All Dragon Series Martial Arts has increased in speed. Six types of Dragon Series Martial Arts have been fused, 26 types are still undergoing Fusion… ]
After briefly going through the notifications, Fang Ning still felt slightly confused, “These past couple of days were the best time for an ambush since the System was in isolation, but the Bai family’s Elder still hasn’t come picking for a fight.”
He couldn’t help but think, “Could it be that the Elder was waiting for after they had expanded their family and business? Now is a crucial time for their commercial development, which means that they currently cannot afford to anger the True Dragon. Are they planning on pressuring Vigilante A after their development is over? Would doing so would mean they would have enough riches and manpower to do so?”
Sadly, the combination of how inhumanely hardworking the System was and how smart Fang Ning was, it would never be able to properly predict the System’s speed of growth.
Thankfully their true identity was still being protected, which meant that this had no way of affecting their normal life. All they could compete with now was the speed of their development.
After thinking everything through, Fang Ning temporarily let the whole accident go, that he could also avoid the System messing up the Bai family’s own development.
The System wasn’t fit to pressure the other party currently, if they really made the Bai family desperate enough to ignore their other competitors just to focus completely on themselves, the dangers would be tremendous.
However, something that they had planned for a while had finally come to fruition.
After reading all the System Notifications, Fang Ning was just about to continue reading his novel when he saw a notification pop up on Vigilante A’s QQ.
The person that had contacted him was none other than the replacement hero he had hired to find out why giant rats were digging around underneath Qi City.
The message read, “Great hero, I’ve come up with a proposal for the matter you’ve commissioned me to do.
Fang Ning’s reply was quick, “Tell me.”
Instead of answering properly, the replacement hero kept him guessing, “A verbal statement carries no proof, I’m afraid of you thinking that I’m lying. Why don’t you come check it out yourself?”
Fang Ning immediately answered, “Where?”. The System had just finished its isolated cultivation, so it was the perfect time to test out its power.
“The western end of Qi City’s Dasha River,” answered the replacement hero, before sending a digital map, which had an area encircled and tagged with the address.
“Alright, that isn’t too far, I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
The fastest way for the System to travel nowadays was definitely to shape-shift into a dragon and fly. Fang Ning himself had never tested the speed limit before, but according to the measurements that they had taken that time they were chasing the giant rat, if they were to fully speed up, they would be on par with a supersonic fighter jet. Of course, going at the speed would be incredibly taxing.
As for using Qinggong in human form, it would have to depend on whether or not the System was willing to do so. The speed limit was about slightly slower than a bullet train, but for economy, they always used the speed of a motorcycle when they were farming monsters.
Their destination wasn’t too far from them, so 20 minutes was more than enough.
Fang Ning then said, “Sir System, it’s time to handle this city’s giant rats crisis. It’s your time to shine.”
The System never backed out of a promise, so it immediately stopped its cultivation before looking for a place to change into Vigilante A. It then proceeded to rush towards their destination.
Fang Ning was extremely excited the whole way, because after they were done with this whole matter, he wouldn’t have to worry about a mass disconnection of the Internet in Qi City, at least for a while.
As for the entirety of China, that was up to the Truth Department and the Special Affairs Department; he didn’t have that much energy to worry so much. China’s Internet network was interconnected, however, which meant the main servers were all in the first-tier cities. If those cities were also affected, Qi City would also be affected, which meant Fang Ning would have to worry again.
Just thinking of this gave Fang Ning a headache, ‘Why did wishing to have a peaceful future gave me so many things to worry about? It’s not like I wanted all these sh*tty things on my plate, and on top of that, the System only cares about farming monsters.’ Fang Ning hoped that a truly powerful organization would be formed soon, so that peace could be kept and they could finally take a break.
While Fang Ning’s emotions went on a rollercoaster ride, Sir System spoke up.
“We’re almost there. Host, you’ve been through a lot recently and the “Dragonization Ability” is coming along splendidly. However, are you still afraid of ghosts?”
Fang Ning boasted, “After all those battles with Long Fan, who we would count as a hero amongst ghosts, I’ve come to realize that they’re nothing to be afraid of.”
“Oh, that’s good. We’re here.”
Fang Ning didn’t feel all that good in his gut though, and his gut feeling would soon prove to be true.
All that he could see on the riverside of Dasha River were not lights, but glimmers upon glimmers of will-o-wisps. He peered in closer, sh*t, various spirits and ghosts were all gathered by the riverside; hanged spirits, decapitated ghosts, poltergeists… all types of ghosts were present. They moved slowly as they shifted positions, and it was a terribly eerie sight to witness.
Fang Ning immediately cowered by the blacksmith’s forge in the System Space, the Celestial Weapon just nearby.
The Celestial Weapon had been there for quite some time. Fang Ning was originally going to use it to attract monsters, so the System spent a great amount of time crafting it; it had remained unused until now, abandoned at the final stage of its crafting. All this while, it hadn’t provided any effects besides providing Fang Ning with courage…, so he couldn’t exactly say crafting it was a complete waste.
The System spoke up, “I thought you said you weren’t afraid of ghosts anymore.”
Fang Ning explained, “I’m not afraid of a single ghost, I can handle one. But with so many presents, I wouldn’t be able to run away if they surrounded me.”
“Then you should stay there for now.”
Just then, Fang Ning could hear muffled speaking in the distance after piggybacking the System’s hearing abilities. He immediately told the System to stand up; after having the experience of overhearing the giant rat couple last time, he knew that this was free information that could possibly save him.
“Gui Qi, the commissioner Vigilante A that Feng Niao introduced to us should be here soon. You should go welcome him when he arrives, lest he can’t find us and we lose face. After that, we mess up the business deal.”
“Hehe, you’re so smart, Second Elder Brother. Your Spirits’ Confusion Array can bend light, charm the mind, and confuse the heart so that nobody can see through it. Ever since you mastered it, even Buddha has praised it. We’ve managed to fool even those people sent by the Truth Department. Although Vigilante A may be famous and powerful, he still possesses a human gaze, so he definitely cannot see through this.”
“You speak so well, Gui Qi. But we cannot confirm that Vigilante A is indeed but a mere human, but what we can confirm is that he’s but the forerunner of a king, nothing more. The Bai family’s Elder is so powerful that we still have no idea where his power stands. Ever since the Truth Department was established, he’s conquered the North and waged war against the South; he’s defeated so many strong opponents. It’s incredibly scary but I never thought that he would actually be a rat demon; he must want to build a foundation for the giant rats in this world. I’m afraid that he wants his clan of demons to be worshipped as gods!”
“Buddha has long said that he’s always been ambitious and foresighted; he had even warned us that we shouldn’t anger him. But this Vigilante A must have been some thug descended from elsewhere, since he killed three of his offspring without even knowing who the Elder truly was! How shocking, truly, but at least he’s only going to be unfettered just for now.”
Fang Ning got angry after hearing this, and immediately cursed inwardly, “That’s nothing! I’ll have you know that the System even forced two of his generals to commit suicide, now wouldn’t that scare you! Oh well, it doesn’t matter anyway, since the Elder of the Bai family still hasn’t shown up on our doorstep yet!”
“What Elder Brother has said, I, of course, agree wholeheartedly. But since you said he also descended from somewhere, I’m just afraid that he’s also powerful. Why are saying that his freedom won’t last?”
“Hehe, I know you’re confused. You haven’t followed Buddha for long, so you don’t know of the secrets this world holds. I can’t tell you anything for now, but you should know that the Bai family’s Elder possesses the power of his entire clan, which makes it very possible for his clan to be worshipped as gods. You’ve been stationed at this city’s Development Division all this while, so you should be clearer than anyone on Vigilante A’s movements all this time, right?”
“Yes, Vigilante A has always viewed himself as the best of the best. He’s always done things his way and he’s a lone wolf; he’s never paid much attention to the Special Affairs Department and the like. Their Director Mo Xing and Vigilante A have mostly minded their own businesses. However, the Truth Department sent three people to recruit him recently. What they didn’t expect was that he would not only recognize their true identities as rat demons, but would also kill them without hesitation. If it were us, we would’ve reported the situation to the Truth Department instead of dealing with it personally.”
“That’s true, since he does and moves as he pleases, why would he pay so much attention to a clan’s side activities? Without the support of psychokinesis, he would just be another super martial artist, so how could he be a match for the Elder of the Bai family, who can be regarded as a god? That Sun Monkey of human legends was almighty, yet it was still defeated by the Gautama Buddha’s Palm of Justice.”
“You’re right, Second Elder Brother, you’ve enlightened your Younger Brother! It’s great that he doesn’t know the severity of things, or we wouldn’t have obtained the giant rat demon corpses otherwise! We’ve got two on one go too! Where else would we find something like that? We’ve gotten our payment from him through fair work, and Buddha said doing things like this isn’t a problem. The Bai family’s Elder wouldn’t dare exact revenge on us either, since they can’t risk angering Buddha. All they can do is hate Vigilante A even more, which would work to our advantage.”
Fang Ning was boiling with anger as he continued eavesdropping; but he knew that these two had no idea that Vigilante A was actually Fang Ning, who was actually being seized by the System, which wasn’t exactly human. The System’s leveling up potential was limitless and Fang Ning was also quite smart; so what if the Bai family’s Elder was hailed as a God? I just have to develop faster!
As he thought so, the eavesdropping continued.
“That’s true. Vigilante A is but a martial artist, so he doesn’t know of the benefits of the corpses he gave us. When paired with the spirits of rats that have gained sentience, these two corpses can be made into Giant Rat Zombie Puppets. These Zombie Puppets can act as the Giant Rat King, which means our Association of Spirit Kings can finally control a number of those giant rats to build several underground cave dwellings for us. When that happens, we no longer have to worry about the Truth Department encircling us.”
“Haha, you really are the think tank of our Association of Spirit Kings, Second Elder Brother. I’m in awe of your intelligence.”
“You speak too well of me. As long as you cooperate, I’ll give you some benefits too.”
