Chapter 129: Feeling Sorry
Day two. Fang Ping and Zhao Xuemei were already waiting at the university gate early in the morning.
Lu Fengrou did not arrive on foot, instead, she drove a car.
A red sports car!
In these two months, Fang Ping did not go out much. He had almost forgotten about cars. Seeing Lu Fengrou driving a car now, he could not help feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
“What are you looking at? Get in!”
Lu Fengrou looked very trendy. She had even donned a pair of sungla.s.ses. When the two had gotten in, Lu Fengrou did not say much. She hit the gas and left the university compound in a whirlwind.
…
She drove them all the way to the outskirts of Magic City.
Finally, the car stopped in front of a large courtyard.
“Get out!”
Fang Ping got out of the car immediately and looked around him. The surrounding area looked very much desolate. There was a sharp contrast between this place and the main city of Magic City. Even farmlands were visible nearby.
The courtyard was nothing like a multi-story building. Nonetheless, it was enormous.
At the entrance to the courtyard stood two brawny men.
They said nothing when they saw Lu Fengrou. They looked at them once over and nothing more. They did not spare them another look after that.
Lu Fengrou ignored them as well. She did not show any form of identification.
She led the two students inside the courtyard.
When they had walked to the deeper part of the courtyard, Lu Fengrou stopped in front of a door where a guard was stationed.
“Any death matches today?”
The man guarding the door was also well-built. Upon hearing the question, he observed Fang Ping and Zhao Xuemei’s tender and naive faces and grinned. “Yes. The entrance fee is 10 thousand per person!”
Instead of fis.h.i.+ng out some cash, Lu Fengrou simply tossed a Normal Vitality Pill toward him.
The other party darted a glance, nodded slightly and said, “Come on in!”
…
Once they had entered the room, Fang Ping realized that it was an entirely different world inside.
Past the room door, there were a few more doors. Lu Fengrou fixed her gaze forward and kept walking straight.
Soon, Fang Ping could hear noises and clamors.
Fang Ping seemed to have realized something at this point and asked in a low voice, “Instructor, is this an illegal underground fight?
“You could say that. It’s half-public. And what do you mean illegal? It’s not like martial artists don’t have conflicts. The government just does not encourage people to fight to the death in public.
“That’s why these places are built to meet demand.
“Those who want revenge, or have grudges, or want to earn some money, or want to train, even the ones who want to witness bloodshed will gather here.
“There are very few martial arts university students. They’re precious. We can’t be arranging people all the time only to let you kill them!
“Right here, these worries don’t exist.
“Many of the martial artists here are up to no good. No one will feel guilty for killing them.”
As she finished speaking, the uproar ahead grew louder and louder.
“Kill him!”
“Kill him!”
“Useless piece of trash. Stand up. F*ck him. Bust his head open!”
“…”
Fang Ping frowned slightly. The color was slowly draining from Zhao Xuemei’s face as well.
Lu Fengrou spoke indifferently, “I’m not asking you to enter the arena. Go in and have a look. Take in the sight of blood. It’ll be good if you can get used to it. Watch more deathmatches. Broaden your horizons.
“At least when the crucial time comes and you see a dead person, your legs won’t turn to jelly.”
Lu Fengrou brought them out this time with the intention of letting them see some bloodshed.
The incident at the university last time was truly nothing.
It had happened too quickly. Fang Ping had not even gotten used to it yet.
The two students remained silent and followed Lu Fengrou to the last door.
Once they had entered, Fang Ping could feel the fanatical atmosphere.
Like the typical fighting arena, the surrounding was filled with spectator seating with a raised platform in the middle.
There were many spectators. People from all walks of life. The rowdiness was evident.
In the arena, however, two men were currently fighting against each other.
To say that they were fighting against each other would be inaccurate. One of the men had been bashed to the ground.
The moment when Fang Ping and the rest came in, the man who was still standing suddenly struck the head of the grounded man with his leg!
Instantaneously, the big screen around them projected a view!
“Blargh…”
Zhao Xuemei took one look and could not resist the urge to retch.
Lu Fengrou harrumphed and said, “Hold it in! This is a death match arena. It is normal to see someone die!
“There are also win or lose matches and performance matches, but those have nothing to do with the both of you!
“Your mission today is to watch the match. Watch to the point where your mind is as still as water. When you see something even bloodier than this and can still maintain your composure, then you would have achieved your goal!
“Don’t develop jelly legs. If even ordinary people can take it, then there’s no reason that you cannot!
“Also, do not be affected by the atmosphere…”
The spectators were chaotic. Some of them were shrieking at the top of their lungs with bloodshot eyes, spurring the others around them to scream insanely as well.
Lu Fengrou was not affected in the slightest. Watching Zhao Xuemei lowering her head, she suddenly frowned. “Watch the match! Can’t you even take this tiny bit?
“If it’s too much for you, then get out right now. When you have returned to the university, don’t even talk about the National Champions.h.i.+p!”
“Instructor, I…”
“Get out or watch the match closely with your eyes wide open!”
Zhao Xuemei’s face was as pale as a ghost, yet she did not move. Holding in her disgust and trepidation, she raised her head and watched the arena.
Fang Ping was sitting beside her and was faring far better. This was not the first time he had witnessed such a scene.
Last time when he was in Auspicious Sun, he had witnessed a cultist martial artist beaten to death. It had even splattered all over his body.
He threw up that time.
Another time, he had beaten two people to death. His legs were extremely weak, although he recovered after that.
Even though it was disgustingly b.l.o.o.d.y and the place reeked of death right now, Fang Ping still found it bearable.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Lu Fengrou suddenly instructed, “Zhao Xuemei, stay here and watch. Fang Ping, come with me!”
Fang Ping immediately went after her. Lu Fengrou led him backstage.
Fang Ping was filled with anxiety. ‘Don’t tell me she’s sending me into the arena?’
Fighting a death match for no reason at all. He was not sure if he would accept that.
…
After a minute, both of them were backstage.
The area must be tight with security. Soon, a hunky and vigorous middle-aged man was walking toward them.
When he saw Lu Fengrou, the man smiled, “What wind brought Lu… Instructor Unconquerable here. It is an honor.”
“Enough nonsense!”
Lu Fengrou sounded harsh. She pointed at Fang Ping and said, “This guy. Arrange for him to collect the corpses. Take a look at them.”
“Huh?”
Fang Ping was dazed. The hunky man looked indifferent. He chuckled and said, “No problem. Xiao Zhao!”
Following hunky-man’s summons, a young adult half-jogged towards them. He addressed politely, “Boss.”
“Bring this brother to the mortuary. If someone dies later, let him be the one to retrieve the body. One more thing, leave him alone in the mortuary…”
Fang Ping’s complexion paled. He instinctively tried to catch Lu Fengrou’s eye.
Lu Fengrou ignored him. She found a spot, took a seat, and said lazily, “Watch with your eyes wide open. It’s just corpses. Surely you’re not afraid?
“Oh, right, are there horror movies?
“Put on the scariest horror movies in the mortuary. Shut the door well. Don’t let him get away…”
“Instructor…”
“Toughen up!”
“I…”
“Cut the c.r.a.p. Are you going or not? If you don’t want to, I will put you in the arena. Don’t blame me if you’re bashed to death!”
Fang Ping put on a sour face and followed the man called Xiao Zhao toward the back reluctantly.
As they were walking, Fang Ping gave a hollow laugh. “Brother, my instructor was only joking. There’s no need to put on the horror movies.”
Xiao Zhao immediately shook his head and replied, “I don’t think so. If the scariest one is what she wants, then that’s what I’ll put on. Brother, don’t be afraid. The guys are already dead. There’s nothing to worry about.
“Just a bit terrifying. It’s nothing, really…”
Fang Ping was rendered speechless. It was nothing. Easy for him to say.
Thankfully this did not happen at night. There were plenty of people around as well, so he was not too unnerved.
As they walked further back, there were fewer people around. The place was even getting darker as the lights were much dimmer.
Fang Ping felt slightly on edge. This must be on purpose, right?
After a few minutes of walking, the shrieks from the front were no longer audible. Xiao Zhao led Fang Ping to a room and stopped in front of it.
There were two people standing guard outside the door.
When they saw Xiao Zhao, they addressed him immediately, “Brother Zhao.”
“Mm. No one has dealt with the body, right?”
“No.”
“That’s good. Let this brother in. Switch on the television inside. Put on ‘Spirit Lock’ and dim the lights.
“As usual, you’re free to go once you’re done with your jobs.”
Xiao Zhao made the arrangement naturally. It was obvious that this was not the first time that they had done this.
The two guards stared at Fang Ping whilst chuckling. Without wasting any time, they walked in and made the necessary arrangements.
Very quickly, they came out chuckling, “It’s done.”
“Brother, head on in.”
Xiao Zhao looked at Fang Ping, a broad smile on his face.
Fang Ping was in a dilemma. He gritted his teeth and stepped inside.
He had just entered when the door was shut behind him. He had not even had the time to register the situation before him.
“Brother, we’ll be leaving now. If anyone dies later, we’ll give you a holler. It’s alright, our business has been running for many years. To date, none of the corpses had frightened anyone…”
He had not finished speaking, but the sound of footsteps had already grown faint and distant.
Fang Ping did not have the energy to complain. How did Lu Fengrou get the idea to bring him to this G.o.dforsaken place!
It was then that Fang Ping finally had the time to observe the layout of the room.
The room was not s.p.a.cious, roughly 50 square meters.
Altogether 6 beds were lined up against each other. There were people occupying three of the beds… corpses!
The man who was bashed to death when Fang Ping had just arrived was also there — just beside him too!
Besides the beds, there was nothing else in the room except for a television that was mounted on the wall, currently playing a movie.
All three corpses looked ferocious. They were not even covered. There was a strong metallic scent.
Fang Ping stole a look out of the corner of his eye, and noticed that their eyes were still open. He was unsure whether that was how they looked like originally or if it was done by the two brats just now!
“F*ck. Is this necessary?”
Fang Ping cursed in his heart. Currently, the feeble glow of a tiny lightbulb was the only source of light for the room. There was also additional illumination coming from the dim television screen.
Fang Ping was having slight gooseb.u.mps.
Bas.h.i.+ng someone to death and guarding corpses were two very different things.
A murderer may not even flinch when murdering someone; however, if the murderer was to face the corpse for a whole night, he or she would be frightened to death.
“I am not your murderer. I am only here to take a look…”
Fang Ping muttered to himself, trying to muster up more courage.
At that moment, eerie sounds drifted from the television. Fang Ping cursed once more. “Who are you trying to frighten? n.o.body is afraid of this child’s play…F*ck!”
After saying those words, a b.l.o.o.d.y ghost appeared on the television out of nowhere.
Fang Ping was scared out of his wits. After taking a deep breath, he tried to talk to himself. “The instructor has gone too far. Is this really necessary?”
…
Outside the room, in another room dozens of meters away.
Xiao Zhao and the boys were chatting while having a smoke. One of the two hunky guards chortled, “One look at him and I can tell that he’s just a tender brat from the martial arts university. Take a guess, how long do you think he will last?”
“Half an hour?”
“I think he will give up within ten minutes.”
“Wanna bet? There used to be other martial arts university students before him who were sent here to toughen up. Some peed their pants too.
“Honestly, I don’t get it. What makes the government think that they should support these bunch of university brats!
“One after the other. If they were tossed into the arena, I can guarantee that they will die immediately.”
Xiao Zhao shook his head lightly, “Do not underestimate these prodigies. It’s not as if none of them had gone in the arena before. After the first three rounds, these people improve at lightning speed.
“Once they have toughened up and gained enough experience, these little b.a.s.t.a.r.ds will only fight stronger than the ones before!
“Combined with high Vitality and strong cultivation methods. Even casual martial artists are no match for them.”
“You’re right. Too bad we couldn’t enroll in martial arts universities.”
The man sighed, then cracked a smile. “These are things in the future. A newborn cub is not too powerful yet. Let’s just talk about this one. From what I can see, he is probably still a new student. Do you think he will come running in terror?”
“I don’t know.”
“I planned a surprise for him. He will definitely pee his pants later!”
Xiao Zhao furrowed his brows slightly. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Just a little fun. The corpses will bounce up later. Do you think he will cry?”
“Nonsense!”
…
While these guys were chatting about, Fang Ping on had slowly calmed down.
“These are just corpses. I didn’t even kill them.”
“Besides, my ability improves really fast. These guys, even if they come to life, I would be able to kill them easily!”
Fang Ping gushed about. He was not as afraid as he was in the beginning.
Fang Ping glanced at the corpse out of the corner of his eye. He even had the guts to examine it. He mumbled, “Honed upper limbs. Right arm thick and strong. Strong and healthy bones. He must have completed honing.
“Seems like his left arm had not finished honing, between 35 to 45 bones honed, probably not exceeding 50 bones.”
“This one here had honed his upper limbs as well.”
“Lower limbs for this one here.”
“The bones are even protruding. The opponent’s ability must have strong enough to snap honed bones.”
“Must have been killed with a punch. The vital point was at the throat. A punch had shattered his larynx…”
Fang Ping started a.n.a.lyzing. In the martial arts university, there were also lessons like this.
Mainly a.n.a.lyzing vital points, as well as the deduction of combat techniques.
After observing for a while, Fang Ping creased his eyebrows slightly. “What happened to this guy? There are no injuries to his vital points. How did he die?”
After a moment of hesitation, Fang Ping started fumbling around the second corpse that seemed rather intact. He held in his nausea and said, “The sternum is broken. His internal organs must have been pierced by his sternum. There was tremendous blood loss.
“Rank-1 martial artists have more vital points that can be fatal. At Rank-3, following the honing of the torso, the fatal vital points will greatly reduce as well.
“Even when a punch is laid on the sternum, the damage will not be severe. If he was lucky to not have his internal organs injured, he could even counterattack immediately.”
Just as he had finished saying those words, Fang Ping flinched and quickly stepped back!
The corpse suddenly sprung up. Fang Ping’s heart skipped a beat. Without giving a second thought, he raised his leg abruptly and swept across it!
“Bam!”
One of the corpses was flung far away by his kick. Fang Ping froze for a split second before shouting angrily, “Childis.h.!.+”
He was surprised just now. It was not that he was incapable of counterattacking; he had swept across subconsciously.
When he saw the corpse lying lifelessly on the ground, he knew then that someone was playing a prank on him.
“Don’t blame me. I did not kick you on purpose,”
Fang Ping mumbled an apology, then raised the corpse up and laid it back on the bed.
“Ah, martial artists. What a pity.”
Fang Ping sighed. He did not know if these guys were good or evil. They were still being manipulated even at their deathbeds.
It was pitiful just thinking about it.
In the eyes of ordinary people, martial artists had issues studying in university. When they have truly entered the real world of martial arts, they would realize that martial artists without abilities live far worse lives than ordinary people.
“If I don’t want this day to come, don’t want my body to be tossed in the wilderness after I am dead, don’t want to die in the Catacombs, then I need to start enhancing my skills as quickly as I can.
“I can’t live my life ignoring the bigger picture. If something happens in the Catacombs, not a single person can escape from it.
“I’ll wait a while more. When my lower limbs have been honed, I will start accepting some missions. I can’t sit and wait anymore.”
Fang Ping mumbled to himself. The muttering this time was not to make himself feel less terrified; it was because he had started considering his future plans.
Lu Fengrou’s intention to toughen up her students might not necessarily have succeeded for Fang Ping.
However, when Fang Ping witnessed the miserable deaths of these martial artists, being used to train other martial artists even when they were dead, he felt sorry for them.
‘We are all humans. How do we determine who is n.o.bler than the other?’