Chapter 12: A Ruthless Vow

In the gym.

The number on the screen went up rapidly.

As Fang Ping started to huff from exhaustion, the number slowly froze.

“113cal!”

Wu Zhihao’s face was filled with disbelief.

Yes, this small Vitality Measuring Machine in his home had a huge margin of error, but it was only 5cal, give or take!

In other words, Fang Ping’s Vitality point was 108 at least and 118cal at most! How was this possible?

Wu Zhihao did not intend to hold Fang Ping in disdain, but was this unscientific?

If he was Yang Jian, he would accept the fact that he had high Vitality off the bat.

Yang Jian had a burly figure. It was obvious that he had a healthy body in plain sight, so him having a higher Vitality was normal.

Yang Jian having a high Vitality was also due to his family’s decent financial situation and a nutritious diet.

Even if that was so, Yang Jian did not get such a high result at first, did he?

Fang Ping…

What Wu Zhihao had initially thought was that Fang Ping’s Vitality would be higher than normal for him to have the courage to register for the exams. For example, maybe his Vitality would be 102 or 103cal…

But now?

The number shown was 113cal. The lowest his points could be was 108cal, which was the same as Zhang Nan or Zhang Hao.

Among the 8 of them who applied, the lowest was 106cal. Which was to say that Fang Ping was not in the last place.

While Wu Zhihao was still in a daze, Fang Ping was still pedaling diligently.

After a while, Fang Ping could not help panting. “Is it done?”

Wu Zhihao came around and said listlessly, “It’s done…”

He had wanted to say that it was done, but instead he suddenly said, “The signal might not have been working that well the first time. Try again.”

Fang Ping glanced toward him. Although he felt that the guy was not reliable, he still did as suggested because he owed him.

Speaking of trying again, this test was really hard work and troublesome at that.

After Wu Zhihao reattached the sensors on him again, Fang Ping worked hard a second time, tiring himself out.

Although the duration was short, the amount of work he had put in was not low.

Three minutes later, the number froze again — 108cal.

Wu Zhihao calculated in his mind. The range this time was 103 to 113cal. Combined with the previous result, Fang Ping’s Vitality was between 108 and 113cal.

The highest value was not as high as his; he was already at 115cal.

That said, his lowest value was already shocking.

Wu Zhihao thought for a while before saying, “It doesn’t seem accurate. What if you gave it a try again?”

Fang Ping, “…”

At this point, how could Fang Ping not guess what was on Wu Zhihao’s mind, thus he said, drenched with sweat, “It’s fine. I’m exhausted and not in my best condition. Even if I test again, it won’t be accurate.”

He was not wrong. When the body was exhausted, the value would only be lower and lower each time.

A Vitality of over 108 left Wu Zhihao dissatisfied.

A trickle of jealousy rising in his heart, Wu Zhihao could not help but ask, “Do you eat nutritional foods that replenish nutrients in your blood? Or have you taken some medicine that increases Vitality before?”

Supplements were differentiated into two types: foods and medicine.

Supplementing with foods would only yield an effect slowly after a longer time, but it cost less. Overall, it was way more cost-efficient than supplementing with medicine.

Medicinal supplements yield results quicker, but they were expensive and worked a bit too well — the effects were wasted most of the time.

He looked as if he feared that Fang Ping’s reply would be outrageous. Fang Ping empathized with him and reassured him, “My parents feed me extremely nutritional medicinal plants every day. They’ve made themselves bankrupt buying good food for me. The entire family is hoping that I can pass the tests so that their losses can be offset…”

His words seemed so fake!

Wu Zhihao thought that it was impossible, but he accepted his explanation — the physical assessment was near, and Fang Ning’s result was still not as high as his.

He repressed his jealousy and said bitterly, “Fine. I thought that yours would be 105cal at most. Now, it seems that I was wrong.

“Your Vitality is within 108 to 113cal.

“A household Vitality Measuring Machine isn’t that accurate, after all. The result might be accurate after a few times, but you’re not in peak condition, so it might not be that reliable.

“If you want to know the accurate value, you can go for a checkup at the No.1 People’s Hospital.”

Fang Ping said with a chuckle. “I’ll see. Thanks for this.”

“You’re welcome…”

Wu Zhihao thought for a while and struggled to get the words out, but at last, he said, “If your Vitality is really above 110cal, you can ask your parents to prepare some nourishing medicine for you.

“You’re applying for the first time, so there are a lot of things you don’t understand.

“Normally, we’ll prepare some medicine to boost our Vitality before the physical assessment.

“Even those from less-than-average backgrounds will normally prepare a Blood-nourishing Pill.

“Those better off will prepare a Qi-nourishing Pill…”

“Blood-nourishing Pill, Qi-nourishing Pill?”

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Fang Ping thought back to the advertisements he had seen in school. He said quickly, “I really didn’t take much notice of it, because I didn’t consider taking the martial sciences exams before.

“How much do those pills cost?”

“A Blood-nourishing Pill costs 5000 bucks, while the Qi-nourishing Pill would be a double, costing 10000 bucks.”

“How about the Vitality Pill?” Fang Ping asked. That was something that was written on the advertisements at school.

“Depends on where you buy it. Actually, the cost of those pills vary. In legitimate pharmacies, a pill would cost thirty thousand yuan, but if the pharmacy you visit doesn’t have a permit that allows the sale of medicine of this kind, you might be able to get it for twenty thousand yuan.

“It’s hard to find, though. Sometimes shops will refuse to sell it to you even if you find them.” Wu Zhihao answered.

He said again when he saw Fang Ping sink deep into thought, “The minimum criteria for admission to Nanjiang Martial Arts University was 112cal last year. It’s debatable, though; it’s only when you perform well in other stages.

“Some candidates perform well in social sciences and decently in general studies, but their Vitality were not as satisfactory. Only then could they enter with a Vitality of 112cal.

“If you don’t get good results in other stages, being only on the brink of passing, then they’ll set a higher standard for your Vitality.

“I’m paying constant attention to NMAU and asked a few seniors. Most of the students from last year had a Vitality of 115cal.

“The standard might be higher this year. I won’t be worrying about getting in otherwise.

“As for you…”

Wu Zhihao paused before saying with uncertainty, “I can’t say the accurate value of your Vitality with confidence. I advise you to go for a checkup in the hospital. If it’s over 110cal, you can buy a Vitality Pill as a trial.”

“A Vitality Pill?”

Wu Zhihao nodded. “Yes, these are all medicine that are sold in legitimate pharmacies. I heard that there are ones that work better, but they’re not our business. If we don’t become a martial artist, it’ll be wasted.

“The Vitality Pill is one of the most effective pills. If you’re lucky and most of the nutrients don’t trickle away, your Vitality might increase by 3cal to 4cal after exertion.

It’s a little expensive, though, at a cost of a hundred thousand yuan…”

Fang Ping abandoned that idea immediately.

Were they joking? He could convert 1 Vitality point with that amount. He did not know whether the ratio would be the same in the future.

No matter what, there were loads of things he could do with a hundred thousand bucks. He was not going to buy that thing.

The Vitality Pill was the best there were, but its effects were limited to that. The others would only be worse.

Fang Ping had been interested in those pills, but now he put that aside completely.

His 1.1 Vitality was about 110cal. If it increased to 1.2, would he have a Vitality of 120cal?

The effect that ten thousand yuan brought could compare to that of hundreds of thousands of yuan. It was only at this time that Fang Ping realized that he had made a huge profit.

The money he spent would not disappear, too!

After the checkup, Fang Ping did not stay for long. He walked downstairs with Wu Zhihao.

The Wu matriarch kindly invited Fang Ping to stay for dinner.

Fang Ping did not stay, naturally. They exchanged some pleasantries before he hoisted his bag up and left.

After he left, The Wu matriarch asked curiously, “I haven’t seen this classmate of yours before. Is he new?”

Wu Zhihao shook his head and explained, “He’s one of my classmates that applied for the martial science examinations. He hasn’t done a Vitality check-up before, so he came here for one.”

After he said that, his mother instantly knew that Fang Ping was not well off.

If not, how possibly could he not have done a check-up before when the physical assessment was so near?

She commented without thinking, “He’s a little too thin. His Vitality isn’t high, is it?”

Wu Zhihao scratched his head and said moodily, “It’s quite high, at 108cal at least. Say, mom, I’m eating well and all, but mine was only 103cal the first time. Did you mistreat me when I was little?”

The Wu matriarch glared at her son. Mistreat, her *ss. They were on the brink of bankruptcy because they had to provide for this b*stard of a son as he prepared to take the martial sciences exams.

The couple had toiled for years, but all they had left was this house.

…

Lakeview Gardens.

Block 6, Unit 101.

Fang Ping arrived home slightly late, and his family was all at home then.

Before his parents asked, Fang Ping said happily, “Dad, I handed in my registration fees today, and my teacher gave me a set of study materials too.

“That’s not all. Just now, I went to a classmate’s house after school for a Vitality check-up.”

“A Vitality check-up?”

Fang Mingrong did not pay much attention to martial-related matters, but he knew the basics. He asked, puzzled, “You can do it at home, too?”

“Mm. It’s smaller, so the results aren’t as accurate.” Fang Ping explained before laughing. “Dad, do you know how high my Vitality is?”

Fang Mingrong did not know much about the topic compared to Fang Yuan. She ran over and said with a grin, “95cal? You start huffing and puffing after a short run, so your body must not be too healthy! My friend’s brother checked his too. 104cal. I heard that he can already obtain admission to martial sciences with this!”

Fang Ping said with disdain, “He wants to study martial sciences with a mere 104cal? Does he really think martial sciences are that easy?

“And he was proud of it, too. Did he not feel embarrassed?

“I, your brother got a result of 110cal just after an impromptu check-up. It might be lower than my true Vitality value too!”

Fang Yuan blinked, and then she ‘tsked’ and turned to her father, “Dad, Fang Ping is boasting again!

“My classmate told me that the minimum needed to pass the martial sciences examinations is 110cal…”

“That’s old news. The minimum set by NMAU last year was 112cal, and the average Vitality among Martial studies freshmen was 115cal.

“This year’s might be slightly higher, but your brother, I, possess extraordinary talent while my body is also growing stronger. That’s why my Vitality will definitely increase further.

“When the physical assessment comes, I will definitely fulfill the criteria. I have full confidence in passing the tests!”

Fang Ping said this to reassure his parents. They paid ten thousand bucks for him after all, so he felt obliged to report his achievements.

When he said that, Fang Mingrong and Li Yuying both froze.

Was their son that close to passing the martial science exams?

The couple was somewhat disbelieving, and they had doubts about whether their son was really boasting.

Fang Ping exuded confidence when he was speaking. At last, he even pinched Fang Yuan’s cheeks while he promised, “My Vitality is really at 110cal. If not, I swear not to pinch Fang Yuan’s cheeks in the future!”

“Mom!”

Fang Yuan’s face showed her displeasure. It was fine that he made a vow, but why did he use her as a condition in it?