Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The friendship with Fu Changding had gotten closer due to their shared promise of making it big together.
After leaving their purchases back in their dormitory, the two of them went downstairs to the cafeteria without disturbing the other inhabitants. Magic City Martial Arts University had many cafeterias and there were already 3 of them just around the accommodation area.
Fang Ping was a novice and did not know much about Magic City Martial Arts University. Even though Fu Changding was a new student himself, he knew a lot more. While on their way to the cafeteria, he explained, “In MCMAU, money is not needed for accommodation or food since the cost for these things isn’t too high. Magic City tries to provide what they can for their students.
“Of course, it’s because they don’t have much value. In Magic City Martial Arts University, things that don’t cost money are not expensive to begin with but for things that do require payment, they are crazy expensive.
“Pills, cultivation method manuals, and weapons all require payment. Of course, it doesn’t have to be money, course credits are fine too.”
Hearing this, Fang Ping voiced his doubts. “Do I need to pay the tuition fee?”
“Hmm…”
Fu Changding laughed, not expecting Fang Ping to actually care about it. “They will collect the tuition fee, but only after your college faculty has been selected.
“The fees are different for each faculty, although there’s not much difference in the amount.”
“Oh.”
As the two of them chatted, they eventually reached the second cafeteria.
The cafeteria of Magic City Martial Arts University was very luxurious as well. Its layout was similar to the restaurant at Magic City Hotel and not like the kind with the typical four-person table. There were no waiters; it was a buffet-style cafeteria and the food was very good!
There were combinations of meats and vegetables and the aroma of bone soup could be smelled from far away. There were also fruits and milk for anyone who wished to consume it.
As he picked his dishes along with Fang Ping, Fu Changding explained, “These are just common food ingredients. They don’t have much effect on replenishing Vitality and can only help with fulfilling your appetite.
“Every cafeteria has a second floor where payment is needed. There, you can order dishes which includes some medicinal dishes that help greatly in replenishing Vitality.
“If your financial condition allowed it, it would be better for us to eat on the second floor.”
Even if martial artists did not fight, regular cultivation depletes Vitality and it was impossible to use pills to replenish it every single time. Most of the time, food was used to nurture it instead of pills.
Fang Ping suspected that if he had not had picked the dishes the moment he entered the cafeteria, Fu Changding would have probably gone up to the 2nd floor. It was pretty obvious that this fellow was not from a typical family.
Of course, this was just nonsense.
For a martial artist to complete bone-honing twice without using any school resources, the spending would hit a few million if not tens of millions.
Money was not the main point. For those who were able to become a Rank-1 martial artist, they usually had a martial artist of Rank-4 or above in their family. Thus, none of the new martial artist students were simple people.
After both of them had picked their dishes, they found an inconspicuous place and took a seat. Fu Changding was in no mood to eat. He looked around and sighed as he said, “Actually, there is another reason why I didn’t choose Capital City Martial Arts University.
“I had heard that there are lots of beauties in the south that could be seen everywhere.
“But ever since I arrived, I’ve only seen a handful of girls and those that I did see were… meh…”
Fu Changding was slightly disappointed. There were indeed girls in the cafeteria at the moment, but they were not many. After sweeping a look over the area, there was not a single notable beauty.
“Looks like we can only wait till the afternoon assembly to have another look since there are not many people eating at the cafeteria right now.”
After getting along with him for a while, Fang Ping realized that Fu Changding was the talkative sort. It was mainly him talking by himself and it did not matter whether Fang Ping responded or not.
From first glance, he assumed he was an elegant noble. Looking at it now, it seemed the good family background was real but he was by no means a reserved person.
Of course, it was different for everyone.
Very quickly, Fang Ping knew Fu Changding was not just talkative.
Returning to their dorm after their meal, Fang Ping noticed that the neighboring door of room 85 was open and greeted his neighbor who stood in the hallway.
Fang Ping chatted with the slightly effeminate man and learned that his name was Cui Jiayun. His neighbor was not too enthusiastic and was relatively dull. Fang Ping stopped the conversation only after saying a few sentences. Even the exceedingly friendly Fu Changding did not offer any more than an introduction before he fell silent.
Him being friendly with Fang Ping was also because he had not seen through him. Cui Jiayun on the other hand, he could see through with one glance. His Vitality was beyond 150cal but not exceeding 180cal yet. He had not done bone-honing twice himself so it was hard to confirm if this person could even reach that stage.
This kind of aspiring martial artist could not be further away from Fu Changding and since he was not being particularly cordial, naturally Fu Changding kept to himself as well.
…
2.30 PM
Fang Ping was organizing his room when he heard Fu Changding voice coming from outside the door.
“Fang Ping, it’s time for assembly!”
“Coming!” answered Fang Ping. After tidying up a bit more, he left out the door.
Fu Changding was not the only person in the hallway. There were about 100 other people living upstairs and, at the moment, quite a lot of them were out of their rooms.
There were not many exchanges between the people and at most, they were like Fu Changding and Fang Ping, chatting with each other in groups of two or three.
On the first day of school, no one was prepared and did not manage to make any friends.
Fang Ping had just exited when he suddenly heard someone crack a laugh. “Fu Changding, what a coincidence that you’re here!”
Fang Ping turned to look and saw a tall and well-built man with his gaze fixed on Fu Changding. Judging by his tone, their relationship did not seem to be a friendly one.
Fu Changding did not seem at all surprised, as if he already knew that the person was going to be in Magic City Martial Arts University. He inclined his head to the side and smiled faintly, “Tang Songting, instead of going to Capital City Martial Arts University, did you come here to Magic City Martial Arts University looking for trouble? ”
“Hehe, trouble or not, that’s not up for you to say, is it?”
Tang Songting snorted, sounding all but friendly. “It’s good that you’re here. I was afraid you might not have come!”
“You sure speak big.”
Fu Changding sneered and ignored him. Turning to Fang Ping, he said, “He was a high school classmate I’ve beaten down for 3 years. He thinks he can turn the tables now since he got a few marks higher than me for the cultural studies exam during the college entrance exam. Funny, isn’t it?”
He did not wait for Fang Ping to respond before walking off, while saying, “Let’s go. Guys like him go crazy after just one success; there’s no need to pay them any mind.”
Fu Changding did not bother keeping his voice down, he obviously did not plan to treat it as secretive gossip.
Not far off, Tang Songting also heard it and his expression changed.
He and Fu Changding came from the same high school, which was also one of the most famous high schools inCapital City. Fu Changding beating him down for 3 years was not exactly inaccurate.
Capital City Senior High was different from Sun City High School in that there were more competitive pressure and medicinal rewards. There was also a professional martial art class and monthly examinations. Students would receive rich rewards if they had gotten good results.
Tang Songting and Fu Changding both had their own strengths. They went up against each other plenty of times fighting for pills. Despite their family backgrounds, it was still worthwhile for them to battle for the pill rewards given by the school.
Fu Changding had not only became a Rank-1 martial artist, but he also honed his bone twice at his age. The rewards from his Senior High had contributed much to his progress.
Tang Songting was slightly weaker than Fu Changding. However, he had scored higher marks than Fu Changding in cultural and general studies during the college entrance exam. Hence, when it came to assigning dorm rooms, Tang Songting was assigned to room 8, which was much further to the front compared to Fu Changding.
Even so, Tang Songting still did not feel that he could surpass Fu Changding.
Even though he had lost to him, he refused to lose his confidence too. As Fu Changding passed by him without even giving him a look, Tang Songting snorted coldly, “We shall see how it goes!”
“I will wait for you then!”
Fu Changding did not care about him at all. During the college entrance exam, he broke through and became a martial artist without honing his bones. During the holiday period, he had completed honing the bones of his left leg and eventually the right leg bones as well.
On Tang Songting’s side, he had hastily broke through to become a martial artist without the second bone-honing. Even though both of them had completed honing one limb, Fu Changding still would not treat it as a significant matter.
In fact, amongst the 52 martial artists of Magic City, there were not more than 10 people who had completed bone-honing twice. It might be even fewer!
The number of people who honed a limb after bone-honing twice was few too, and hence Fu Changding was not afraid of anyone.
The fierceness of the exchange between the two people was heard by others. No one gave their opinions and just stood by, observing both Fu Changding and Tang Songting. Both people were martial artists, one who was staying in room 8 while the other one was staying in room 15.
The difference in power was not big in the first 50 rooms. They were all martial artists, although no combat skills were examined during the college entrance exam. The main aspect that affected room assignment was their scores from cultural and other studies but that did not mean much.
Similar with martial artists, their placement would be further front the higher their score in cultural studies. The student in room 1 might not necessarily be stronger than the student staying in room 50 in actual combat.
From room 50 onwards, there were students who had become a martial artist or had completed the second bone-honing. However, it was either they had broken through as martial artists just recently or they had not broken through after having honed their bones twice. Although their status was almost the same as a martial artist, these students would still be weaker if they had to fight real martial artists.
Among the group of geniuses, it was natural for everyone to pay more attention to the person who was a genius among geniuses. Since Fang Ping’s room was room 86 which was located close to the back end, few people noticed him.
Fang Ping was glad for that too. There was no use having a high profile at the moment, other than to fulfill one’s desire to show off and delay time. If they really wanted to show off, it should be done in front of the teachers since they were the ones who had a hold on the resources assignment and it would possible then to get their favor.
Obviously, the students of Magic City Martial Arts University were not idiots, Tang Songting included.
Regarding the provocation, it was also just a habit of theirs. Both of them had been enemies for years and were not able to hold themselves back for a moment when they saw each other.
As Fu Changding left, Tang Songting went downstairs without a word.
Realizing there was nothing else to see, the others started heading to the assembly point, Sports Field 1.
…
Sports Field 1.
The sports field of MCMAU was huge and had audience seats. There were already quite a lot of people, including teachers and students in the audience seats even before new students like Fang Ping arrived.
As the new students arrived one by one, some people in the audience seats started to laugh softly, “Last year we were the ones being watched like monkeys. This year, we’re finally able to enjoy the feeling of watching little monkeys perform. This doesn’t feel bad at all.”
“Oh shut up! Keep an eye out for good seeds among the new students so that we can try to bring them into our society.”
The person who spoke earlier pouted, then pointed to a few individuals nearby. “The people from the Martial Arts Society are already here, even if there are good seeds, we won’t get the first pick. We can only pick from their leftovers. ”
As the Martial Arts Society was mentioned, everyone quieted down and looked towards the few individuals not far from them.
Nearby.
Qin Fengqing felt impatient. With his arms crossed, he frowned and said, “I was in the middle of honing my torso. Aren’t you guys enough to recruit new members? Why do I need to be here!
“Are you guys purposely interrupting my honing process because the president is afraid that I’d challenge his position after I’ve completely honed my torso?”
A rather good-looking girl who sat beside him smiled. “You should be saying this to the president instead of us. The reason you were summoned here is because you are the only one among the vice presidents who is still in school; the rest of the Rank-3 members are not.
“Since you had just completed a mission, you should rest for a few days and not just cultivate the whole day. It is not good to do so.”
“Nonsense!” Qin Fengqing exclaimed, clearly annoyed. “I say the president is jealous of me!”
“Whatever you say then. Although the president has already reached Rank-4, are you sure he’d be afraid of you?”
“Rank-4…” Qin Fengqing pouted and mumbled, “What’s so special about reaching Rank-4? I will soon reach Rank-4 too!”
“Tsk!”
Qin Fengqing did not bother arguing with her. “Know anything about Wang Jinyang yet?” he snapped, still annoyed.
When Wang Jinyang was mentioned, the few members of the Martial Art Society went silent immediately.
The girl who spoke before just gritted her teeth. “Yeah, that bastard is really going crazy now! He better not let me see him…”
Qin Fengqing growled, “Quit boasting, don’t think he won’t beat you up just because you’re a woman. As if the one who got beaten up back then wasn’t you.
“God damnit, and here I was preparing to complete honing my torso to get him into trouble. Now, this fellow is sweeping off the Rank-3s in the north and the president is still giving me tasks to do. If I had the strength, I would first beat up that Wang and then the president!”
“CoughCoughCough…”
A few people beside them started coughing immediately, reminding Old Qin not to speak so carelessly.
Wang Jinyang was a common enemy so it was fine to say these regarding him. However, the president was of middle rank and was the head of the Martial Arts Society.
If the president learned about this, he would teach Qin Fengqing a serious lesson.
Meanwhile, the girl was angered at being condescended and glared at him as she said, “I’ll definitely tell the president what you’ve said!”
“Go ahead, should’ve known you’d be a thigh hugger (TN: Phrase which refers to one who keeps relying on the stronger person). If you weren’t in a relationship with the president, I’d definitely beat you up as well…”
“Qin Fengqing!”
The girl was furious and embarrassed. “What do you mean, in a relationship with the president?”
Qin Fengqing pouted. “Do you think I am blind? Tsk tsk, both of you are exchanging feelings in your gazes, I noticed it right away.
“I don’t even know what you guys are looking at to be interested in a repulsive person like the president.
“Just because he is of Rank-4 doesn’t change the fact that he is repulsive. Must you find such an ugly man when there are those who are actually good looking…”
“Shut up!”
The voice was not from the girl, not the society members or even the president whom they were talking about. Instead, it was a female teacher beside them.
She had snapped listening to how ridiculous Qin Fengqing was becoming with his words. She huffed, “Qin Fengqing, just keep quiet and watch since you are already here. Believe me, I will throw you out if I hear any more nonsense from you!”
Qin Fengqing felt awkward but laughed dryly. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. If I had noticed you were here earlier, Teacher Min, you think I’d still run my mouth?
“Everyone knows that Teacher Min expects good things from our president…”
Min Yue shot him a dangerous look. “Keep talking!”
“Ahem, I have nothing more to say.”
Qin Fengqing sensed the dangerous aura and sat up straight immediately. “The new students have entered!” he said seriously.
Everyone felt relieved when he finally changed the topic.
It did not matter if Old Qin wanted to continue digging his own grave but had he continued, they would have gotten into trouble with him as well.
As Qin Fengqing had said, a big group of new students was walking into the field.
