章節 11: First Checkup

編輯: EndlessFantasy Translation

After returning to the classroom and replying to a few of Chen Fan's questions, he started reading the books he got from Old Teach.

He read briefly before his head started to hurt.

General studies included boundless knowledge from various fields.

The central content was one's understanding of their own body.

As a prospective martial artist, how could one train their body and spirit well if one did not understand the composition of their own body.

How many bones were in the human body, how many principal arteries and veins there were, the blood circulation system…

Those were all knowledge that he needed to know.

He also had to learn the order of human bones and their names, the uses of the five viscera and six bowels, and also the definition of some words used exclusively in the field of martial arts.

All those plus some basic medical and pharmaceutical knowledge.

The materials that Old Teach gave him also included books such as The History of Martial Science Theory, Biographies of Ancient and Modern Legends, Basic Encyclopedia of Weapons, The Basic Essentials of Martial Arts Combos...

Let alone reading them meticulously, Fang Ping already felt somewhat boggled after reading a few pages of a book that he chose at random.

The books piled up in front of him were numbered at a dozen.

Reading all of them from cover to cover would be an enormous undertaking.

Even if Fang Ping read them like novels, the Gaokao would be very close by the time he finished all of them.

Fang Ping would have to prepare for the cultural studies exam too.

He had studied them who knows how long ago. Even if the basics were there, he would need a long time to regain his past knowledge.

"My head hurts!"

Although he was unhappy because Fang Ping did not tell him before he registered for the tests, Chen Fan started reassuring him when he saw Fang Ping turn ghastly pale from the side. "When there's a will, there's a way. You can't waste the registration fee, can you?"

Fang Ping rolled his eyes. Was he only working hard for the ten thousand yuan registration fee in his deskmate's eyes?

Chen ignored the gesture. He continued, "It's a pity that we're not martial artists!

"If we become martial artists, we'll be so energetic that we won't need to sleep for days.

"I heard that high-ranked martial artists think at the speed of computers.

"The work one of those powerhouses can do is equivalent to that done by ten ordinary workers and more, no matter if they're in business or politics. They are so energetic that it's scary.

"There's a story that I heard. When Grandmaster Ma was founding his business, he had limited monetary and human resources. During his peak, he did not sleep or rest for seven days and seven nights while he completed the work that another ordinary worker could only finish in a year.

"Grandmaster Ma was not as skilled in martial arts then. If he does that now, he can probably go for a month without sleep. Even thinking of this makes me green with envy.

"If we have the physical and mental strength of a martial artist, the cultural studies class will be nothing to us. We might even get full marks too."

Chen Fan said all that with his face showing his frustration. Many would receive full marks in the Gaokao every year.

Some Senior Three students from big cities were only a step away from being martial artists even if they had not achieved the milestone.

Under those circumstances, despite having to juggle multiple subjects, they still had astounding comprehension ability and memory. It was mostly these prospective martial artists who took first place in social sciences in all provinces.

Chen Fan's absent-minded words lit a fire in Fang Ping's heart.

Fang Ping's brow jumped slightly. While Chen Fan did not have what it took, he did.

Fang Ping had already experienced the advantages of high Vitality.

After increasing his Vitality by a little the past day, he really did feel more energetic than before. If not, he would definitely feel sleepy after staying up late last night.

He did not feel sleepy at all.

This was the advantage of a high Vitality. It gifted ordinary people more energy.

What was the purpose of the Mentality displayed on his interface?

Fang Ping had an answer deep in his heart. He should give it a try next time.

If an increase in Mentality could augment his memory and ability of comprehension, maybe the tests in the future would no longer be a problem.

Forget taking first place. Fang Ping would already be satisfied if he fulfilled the criteria.

Chen Fan's absent-minded words had reassured Fang Ping a lot. It seemed like he would have to find ways to earn some money so that he could experiment with them.

Either an increase in Vitality or in Mentality would need money.

If he did not have any, everything was useless.

...

The classes during the day were mainly revision sessions.

Fang Ping did not waste any time. Most of the time he was reading instead of doing practice tests.

The teachers did not say anything when they observed his actions. All students had full autonomy over their actions when it came to this moment.

They heard that Fang Ping had registered for the martial sciences examinations too, so they did not disturb him when he took out a book in martial sciences to read during their classes.

A day passed by quickly.

When the afternoon bell rang, Fang Ping did not leave with Chen Fan and the others, opting to go with Wu Zhihao instead.

Wu Zhihao smiled while packing his school bag. "I see you've been reading books on general studies for the entire day. How do you feel?"

"It's not bad. They're not too tough, but there's too much and the topics are too varied."

"Some of those won't come up in the exams. After you make a copy of my notes, you can revise them.

"If you have something you don't know, you're welcomed to ask me."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Fang Ping thanked him again. It was rare for Wu Zhihao to say something like this during this crucial moment.

Some high-performing students kept everything to themselves when examinations were near. It would be better for them if they were the only ones who knew everything.

This was also because the martial science examinations were not limited to one class, of course.

Wu Zhihao did not see Fang Ping as a potential opponent. His opponents were those from the elite classes, all the high-performing students in Sun City, or even from the entire country.

Fang Ping, someone that did not understand even the most basic fundamentals, was destined not to be someone that he wanted to surpass.

If he did not possess a big heart though, how could he possibly become a martial artist?

The two of them chatted as they left the school.

...

Wu Zhihao's house was not far away from Sun City No.1 High School.

It was about a ten-minute walk from the school. It was also in a residential area, but the environment was nice and it was considered as rather top-notch among those in Sun City.

Fang Ping looked at the area when they arrived. He was somewhat surprised as he had assumed that Wu Zhihao would live in a bungalow at the least.

Fang Ping did not know much about this long-time classmate of his, actually. They did not interact much, even in his past life.

He thought about it again and realized Wu Zhihao's circumstances were quite normal.

Even though Wu Zhihao lived in decent conditions, they were limited, else he would be in an elite class. If one did not qualify, they could just throw some money in to buy their way into the elite classes in high school.

Of course, there were also people who wanted to excel in a normal class instead of being mediocre in an elite class, thus choosing to study in a normal class deliberately. Those were the exception.

This area was of a higher-class, so the management was more responsible. Unlike Fang Ping's area, where anyone could enter, the tenants here had to swipe an access card to enter.

The two of them entered the area. While they were walking, Wu Zhihao said, "The day after tomorrow, Senior Wang is going to come to our school. I don't know if we can get the chance to speak with him personally.

"The school has finally done something decent. Senior Wang is the idol of all normal class students.

"Senior Wang was one of the two normal class students who passed the martial science exams.

"Senior Wang's grades were ordinary before Gaokao, but he suddenly improved a lot in the final month. He shocked the pants off a lot of people when he was admitted into Nanjiang Martial Arts University.

"I don't know if he has any secrets. If we can learn a little from him…"

Wu Zhihao muttered. He felt a little regret; even if other people knew his secret techniques, he would not speak of them openly.

Hearing his words, Fang Ping had felt a little strange. Why did the senior's experience seem similar to his?

Did he reincarnate too?

However, as Wu Zhihao continued talking about the subject, and it did not seem like that to him. It seemed to be the result of an ordinary spike.

...

The two of them arrived at the Wu Family's home as they were chatting.

When he opened the door, Wu Zhihao glanced at Fang Ping automatically, but when Fang Ping showed no emotion, that made Wu Zhihao feel peculiar.

The Wu Family's home was not small, and it was a duplex house too. The interior design of the two floors was considered high class even in modern times.

Poor students like Fang Ping would normally show a degree of envy after entering the house. If they were not, there would at least be some expression of emotion.

Fang Ping really did not feel anything in particular. His expression was natural.

If he had known what Wu Zhihao was thinking, he would definitely satisfy the other's wish. He really was not thinking about anything, though.

As for envy and surprise, that was bullsh*t.

In his past life, Fang Ping bought a house of considerable size after he graduated from university, paid with his savings and with the support of his parents. The interior design was simple, but it was not that shabby even when compared with the current Wu Family's home.

Fang Ping bought it in the center of the province, too, so if he really wanted to compare, the price of his old house would probably be higher than this duplex house of the Wu Family.

Also, he had ventured into the workforce years ago and had a vast amount of experience. He had even toured the interiors of some individually located villas in Capital City and Magic City before, so why would he be impressed by a mere duplex in a small city?

...

There was someone in Wu Zhihao's home: his mother.

The woman did not say anything when she saw his son bring a classmate home. She exchanged some pleasantries with him before Wu Zhihao led Fang Ping upstairs.

He quickly retrieved his notes and handed them to Fang Ping and led him out of the study into a room next to it.

"This is the gym. The Vitality Measuring Machine is here."

Wu Zhihao opened the door to the gym. The room was simple, and there were not too many appliances.

Dumbbells, barbells, a treadmill, and a leg-raising machine were in the room. There was one other machine that Fang Ping had not seen before, even in the gymnasiums from his past life.

It looked similar to a massage chair, but there was a screen connected to it. If he was not wrong, it would be the Vitality Measuring Machine.

He had great intuition. Wu Zhihao led Fang Ping to the side of the "massage chair" and announced cheerfully, "This is the Vitality Measuring Machine, but the one here in my house is a cheap version that cannot compare with the one in the hospital. That one is more like a space capsule, and it conducts a thorough check.

"Ones like this can only check for an approximate value.

"Lie down on it, and I'll connect the sensor for you. You must exert some energy later…"

"Exert some energy?"

Fang Ping looked slightly perplexed. Wu Zhihao explained with a laugh, "Our Vitality is subdued and calm most of the time. It'll only reach its peak when you're excited.

"Not only should your body be excited, but your emotions should also be aroused as well. When measuring our Vitality, our invisible Qi is also a factor aside from our blood flow¹.

"See the pedals below the machine? After it starts up, stomp on them with your might and pull your arms behind you as far as you can. Just use all your energy.

"It's nothing when you're doing a private checkup like this, but you must do your best during the physical assessment…"

Wu Zhihao explained for a while, and he waited until Fang Ping nodded in understanding to gesture for him to sit on the machine.

After he was set, Wu Zhihao picked up several stethoscope-esque "sensors" from around the machine and placed them on Fang Ping's arms, legs, above his heart, and on his forehead.

"During the physical assessment, they won't stick sensors on you, unlike this time. You'll enter a Vitality Capsule instead, in which you can move freely.

"The capsule can obtain authentic results through a series of calculations. Only then can your true Vitality point be calculated."

Wu Zhihao then turned the screen beside the chair on and said hastily, "You can start now. Remember, strenuous activity includes your mental state. If you really can't think of anything, conjure up scenes from your favorite porn…"

Fang Ping was shocked as he was getting ready for exertion. This guy was not as well-behaved as he thought, so it seemed.

Ignoring the guy, Fang Ping inhaled lightly before he stepped on the pedals with effort repeatedly and pulled his arms to both sides with all his might.

Wu Zhihao stared at the screen beside him with his curiosity piqued...