Chapter 30: The Requirements to Breakthrough as a Martial Artist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

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.

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