Chapter 30

Huang Bin wanted to run away, he refused to believe that there was something even better on him .

To Fang Ping, Huang Bin would have surely denied it .

However, it did not matter to Fang Ping . He tapped the floor a few times with his triangular bayonet and asked, “Looks like you’ve committed quite some crimes in the past . You killed a lot of people, didn’t you?”

Huang Bin did not answer .

Had he failed to answer the question properly, then trouble would follow .

Seeing that he would not answer, Fang Ping did not probe any further . He already knew the answer .

However, he was not interested in it at this moment .

“I’ll ask you another question . If I’m satisfied with your answer, I might consider your requests from before . ”

“Ask away,” Huang Bin said cautiously .

“What’s a martial artist?”

The question was rather childish, and people might have laughed at his question . He was someone who did not know what a martial artist was and yet he was on the path to pursue martial arts . . .

What a joke!

Even so, Huang Bin did not find it funny .

Except for real martial artists and people who had been taught from family history, there were not a lot of people who knew what a real martial artist was .

Fang Ping did not ask what a martial artist was but rather how one could become a martial artist . For instance, he asked about the requirements to become a martial artist and the definition of being a martial artist…

However, those things were all secrets .

The officials had not announced them to the public yet because of many reasons . Under normal circumstances, a person would only learn about such things after having been successfully enrolled in a martial arts university .

If Wang Jinyang were there, he would have said, “You’ll know when you’re in the martial arts university . ”

However, Huang Bin was not Wang Jinyang . He could not even take care of himself at this moment, what more than these secrets that were not really secrets .

He wanted to play around with Fang Ping for a bit, but seeing that he was far from becoming a martial artist, it would be god-knows-when by the time he finally qualified .

There was no purpose in playing with him right now .

With that in mind, Huang Bin answered honestly, “A martial artist is someone who’s broken through the physical boundaries of the human body . To become a martial artist, you must breakthrough that limit . Let’s not talk about the medium or high-rank martial artists, you’re miles away from them . Let’s just talk about low-rank martial artists .

“As I told you before, low ranked martial artists mainly hone the strength of their bones and at the same time stretch out their muscles and skin as support . Whereas Vitality forms the basis for the enhancement and training of one’s bone, muscles, and skin . In conclusion, with large Vitality as a foundation, combined with strong bones, qualifies one to breakthrough into becoming a martial artist . ”

After Huang Bin’s explanation, Fang Ping knew what it would take to become a real martial artist .

At the same time, Fang Ping remembered Wang Jinyang’s words .

When he was on his way to pick up Wang Jinyang, Yang Jian and a few people had discussed martial artists who were sitting for their Gaokao .

Wang Jinyang said that those people were not only talented but their family backgrounds were good as well . Almost all of them had Rank-4 martial artists looking out for them .

Fang Ping did not understand him before, but now he did .

According to Huang Bin, to breakthrough as a martial artist, he would have to at least meet these three requirements .

First, Vitality .

All students enrolled in martial sciences should have at least 110cal of Vitality . However, this did not mean it was the standard for martial artists .

To become real martial artists, their Vitality had to be at least 150cal .

Of course, it was better to have a higher Vitality, but one should not go past 200cal . Otherwise, with the physique of a non-martial artist, it was bad news to have such a high Vitality .

Second, the strength of one’s bones .

A normal person who wanted to breakthrough as a martial artist had to have strong bones . At the very least, it had to be able to withstand the burst of Vitality after achieving a breakthrough as a martial artist .

The honing of the bones could not be achieved through medication and proper cultivation methods had to be used .

This was also the third requirement⁠—cultivation methods .

The most basic cultivation methods generally had the effect of enhancing one’s Vitality and bones .

If not, with only medication, it was difficult for a normal person’s Vitality to go up to 120cal, let alone go up to 150cal and above .

Of course, one still needed some foundations to practice these cultivation methods . Normally, one would need at least 110cal to be able to start . .

If not, with insufficient Vitality, one would become sick and hurt themselves while attempting .

This was also the reason why martial arts universities required their students to have a high Vitality .

However, cultivation methods could not be shared just like that .

If one was not a Rank-4 martial artist, the exchange of cultivation methods was strictly forbidden .

Upon sharing, one was considered to have committed a crime .

When Huang Bin said this, he did not have many grievances . Instead, he had a look of understanding on his face .

Why was one not allowed to share or distribute cultivation methods unless they were Rank-4 martial artists?

It was not discrimination toward the lower rank martial artists and normal people, it was a form of protection .

When an aspiring martial artist is attempting a breakthrough, they experience Vitality Outbursts .

Without ample supervision, a slight mistake could result in one’s blood veins bursting as Vitality rushes aggressively through their organs .

A minor case would result in heavy injuries, and a serious case would result in death .

Hence, one had to be at least a Rank-4 martial artist in order to start a martial arts training course . It was also to prevent the illegal exchange of cultivation methods .

It would be dangerous without the guidance and protection of someone with more experience .

A few years prior, there were not many restrictions regarding the exchanging of cultivation methods .

However, because of that, a lot of normal people acquired cultivation methods in hopes of becoming martial artists . Undertaking incredible risk, many lost their lives every year with their hapless attempts .

There were indeed people who succeeded but that was only a handful of them .

Among a hundred people, less than 1% succeeded in breaking through to become martial artists in the absence of proper guidance .

As for the rest, they either gave up or burst their veins while training or attempting a breakthrough .

Unlike in ancient times, human lives were very important these days .

To prevent such incidents from happening again, restrictions were set .

Only Rank-4 martial artists and above could supervise and suppress a normal person who was attempting a breakthrough .

In the end, the officials made some changes . Those changes included the rule that all legal representatives of martial arts training courses had to be at least Rank-4 martial artists .

When it came to common folk attempting to breakthroughs, unless the rule never existed, or their hands were forced, they would always seek out a Rank-4 martial artist to help supervise and suppress them . (TN: Suppress here refers to suppressing their Vitality Outbursts . )

Martial arts training courses were exorbitantly priced . The main reason was not because of the cultivation methods but rather the safety precautions that came with it .

The people who took part in the courses had the right to request supervision from a Rank-4 martial artist during their breakthrough .

If the breakthrough was unsuccessful, the Rank-4 martial artists would be able to keep things under control and prevent a Vitality Outburst .

The situation was the same in every martial arts university .

When a student was about to achieve a breakthrough, they could apply for a Rank-4 martial artist to supervise and suppress them .

…

Vitality, the strength of one’s bones, and one’s cultivation method were the first three requirements .

The rest were resources, including the Vitality Pill, Bone-honing Pill, Internal Organ-protecting Pill, and so on .

If one was well off then they could prepare more, if not, they would make do with less .

If one did not have a Rank-4 martial artist in their family, then it would be hard for them to become a martial artist before Gaokao . It would be too risky that way .

Even if one was a Rank-3 martial artist, they would not be able to suppress someone’s Vitality Outburst when they were breaking through .

…

After listening to Huang Bin, Fang Ping frowned . “If that’s the case, if there isn’t a Rank-4 martial artist present, then a normal person can’t become a martial artist?”

Huang Bin was incredibly familiar with Fang Ping’s concerns .

It was not only Fang Ping who was concerned, everyone wanted to be a martial artist too . Else, the restriction on exchanging cultivation methods would not exist .

It was because of such people who were willing to risk their lives to become martial artists that the exchanging of cultivation methods were restricted .

If it were Huang Bin’s own children and relatives, he would definitely ensure that they were well informed .

Even if he was breaking through as a Rank-3 martial artist, if his children wanted to breakthrough as martial artists, he would find the best Rank-4 martial artist to supervise and suppress them .

However, who was Fang Ping?

Time to set him up! (TN: HB is trapping FP here . )

Hence, when Fang Ping asked him, he quickly said, “It’s not that it has to be a Rank-4 martial artist .

“As long as the basics are there, there might be some risks, but it’s not too big of a deal .

“It’s not like everyone has had the protection of a Rank-4 martial artist in the past, most of the previous generation only depended on themselves .

“If you can breakthrough on your first try, then there won’t be any danger .

“There are a lot of geniuses who didn’t need any guidance because they succeeded on their first try . ”

As he finished, he even threw Fang Ping a glance .

It was as if he was saying, “You’re a genius, it’s okay, just breakthrough straight away, you won’t die . ”

The youngsters were not afraid of anything, they all thought that they were unique .

When it came to dealing with youngsters, one just had to boost their ego .

If one boosted their ego, they would be happy; if one belittled them, they would be sad thinking that they had been undermined .

Huang Bin knew what the youngsters were thinking about since he had been young once .

Thinking back, he, too, was a confident man who successfully brokethrough without any supervision .

It did not occur to him then that even within martial arts universities, new students every year had a 50% probability of failing at breaking through .

When Huang Bin was in the martial arts training course, he almost lost his life . Hence, he was now a bit more careful about everything he did .

However, if Fang Ping wanted to give it a try, Huang Bin would be happy to see him do so .

Provided that the kid even survived till then .

Seeing how Fang Ping was asking about martial artists, he wanted him to breakthrough as quickly as possible . It would be even better if he died trying .

Sadly, the kid was not qualified yet so he could not achieve a breakthrough even if he wanted to .

Fang Ping was not that young and naive, evidently, he knew what Huang Bin was thinking about . He let out a chuckle .

In actual fact, Fang Ping had thought about it before .

While he could not be sure if he was a genius, he still had a hidden advantage .

That probably made him a genius?

Since he still had a long way to go before he could breakthrough as a martial artist, he did not think much about it .

If he could get into a martial arts university, he would have the guidance of a teacher . He would not need to take such risks .

With that in mind, Fang Ping asked again, “You’re practicing some cultivation methods, right?”

“Yes!”

Huang Bin’s answer was precise . “Low ranked martial artists usually practice basic cultivation methods . The cultivation methods used by martial arts training courses and martial arts universities are mostly the same .

“There are many bones in the human body . Some cultivation methods focus on the bones in the legs while some focus on the arms .

“There isn’t much difference between the two . It’s just a matter of sequence .

“The honing of bones isn’t done in a day . When one breaks through into a martial artist, they’ve only slightly strengthened their bones .

“Even low-ranked martial artists, all the way up to Rank-3, are focused on constantly improving the strength of their bones . ”

“Then what about you?”

There was a mischievous glint in Huang Bin’s eyes . He continued, “I’ve been reading up on basic cultivation methods for 20 years, of course I’ve memorized them from cover to cover, and that obviously means I wouldn’t have the need of carrying any sort of secret manual on myself . ” .

“They’re all in my head, and if you let me go, I’ll share the methods with you immediately . ”

Fang Ping believed that he did not have any sort of secret manual with him .

If he truly had it on him, Fang Ping would have noticed .

However, for Huang Bin to give it to him, he did not dare to believe it at all .

He stopped asking about the cultivation methods and instead thought about what he had to do with him .

Should he kill him?

As Huang Bin had said, the officials from Sun City would find out sooner or later . Since this guy was always in hiding, it looked like he was trying to avoid getting caught .

Other than that, even though Fang Ping’s mental age was older than he was, he had never killed anyone despite having done a lot of bad things before .

He did not dare to kill Huang Bin .

However, if he did not kill Huang Bin, it would be very dangerous considering that he was a Rank-2 martial artist .

The only thing he could do was to send him to the police station .

The problem was…

Fang Ping looked at the parcel in front of him . If he sent Huang Bin away, would the police let him keep these things?

Stop joking!

The stuff was worth millions and there were some things that even money could not buy . For example, the Bone-honing Pills and the Internal organ-protecting Pills were things that Fang Ping could not buy at his current standing .

Then what should he do with Huang Bin?

He developed a headache thinking about it . That guy was a bit of a problem for him .

Of course, he would get rid of Huang Bin, but the problem was how? He could not just send him to the police station, he would have nothing left if he did that .

He was just a normal guy, there would be no chance for him to negotiate with the officials .

After a moment of silence, Fang Ping concluded in his head .

Ignoring Huang Bin whose face was full of expectations, Fang Ping looked for the other half of the stick he had used earlier .

When Huang Bin saw Fang Ping walking toward him with a stick, his face darkened . He asked nervously, “What… What are you doing?”

“You’re too dangerous . It’s better for you to be unconscious . ”

“Don’t… Don’t come any closer!”

“Stop screaming . You’ll be in more trouble if someone hears you . ”

Huang Bin wanted to scream . He wanted to scream with all his might, but once he realized that it would gather other people’s attention, he stopped .

He did not dare to scream and Fang Ping stopped feeling sorry for him .

“Bang!”

The stick hit his head once again . Huang Bin wanted to die right there and then . He just wanted to faint immediately .

However, even after he pretended to faint, Fang Ping did not feel any pity for him . He hit Huang Bin’s head again another 5 or 6 times .

It was only until Huang Bin could not gather any energy to moan in pain did he stop .

“You have a hard head,” he muttered .