Chapter 73: Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Scenic Lake Gardens.
When Fang Ping reached the Scenic Lake Gardens, he just so happened to see Fang Yuan at the residential community gate.
The second he thought of how he had been the butt of Wu Zhihao and the others’ jokes, his temper flared and he bellowed, “Fang Yuan!”
Fang Yuan quickly looked over. Her expression turned nervous. She hastily turned to the female classmate beside her and said quietly, “My brother’s back. You should go.”
“Your brother is so cool...”
The female classmate saw Fang Ping’s rage as the awe-inspiring authority of a martial artist and became overly nervous, even having a slightly worshipful look.
She looked at Fang Ping with some yearning. Remembering Fang Yuan saying her brother was really fierce, the girl stole another look at Fang Ping, then hurriedly sprinted away.
Before she left, she did not forget the business at hand and called softly, “Fang Yuan, don’t forget...”
“I know, I know!”
Fang Yuan hurriedly cut her off and waved at her.
Only after her classmate was a good distance away did Fang Yuan smile broadly and wave at Fang Ping. “Brother, school’s out?”
Fang Ping paced over, glancing at the girl who just left. His expression was dark. “What have you done now?
“Still selling autographed portraits?”
“No!”
Fang Yuan swiftly shook her head, denying it vehemently. “You already banned me from selling them. I wouldn’t dare to.”
“Really?”
Fang Ping did not quite believe it. This girl and her classmate were obviously hiding something.
Fang Ping’s Vitality had reached 170cal, and his Mentality was reaching 200Hz. His hearing was sharp and his vision was keen. He heard the two girls’ whispers loud and clear.
“Really!”
Fang Yuan swiftly raised her hand and stuck out three fingers. After some thought, she stuck out her thumb too and said firmly, “I swear!”
“Only a fool would believe you. You say you’re not up to anything, but you’re calling me ‘Brother’?”
“Brother, stop accusing the innocent!” Fang Yuan’s expression was of someone wronged. “You’re too hard to please. When I don’t call you ‘Brother’, you say I’m disrespectful.
“When I call you ‘Brother’, you say I’m up to something...”
After speaking in such a dejected manner, the girl’s voice returned to normal at once and changed the subject. “Brother, has vacation started for you Year 3 Seniors yet?”
“Vacation has started...”
“That’s great! Brother, how about we go out to play tomorrow? Tomorrow’s celebration...”
“We’ll discuss it later!”
Fang Ping still felt this girl was scheming something. He watched her suspiciously, but he did not ask any further.
As they walked down the street, Fang Ping said, “Summer vacation is coming up soon for you guys too, right?”
“Uh-huh, it’s starting at the end of June.”
“You should use this time to study properly. Don’t go wild all day.
“When I finish the exams, I’ll start teaching you stances.”
“Stances?”
Fang Yuan’s excitement rose. “Really?”
Fang Ping nodded. “Yes. Pole-standing is considered meditation. It doesn’t burden the body too much. As long as your Vitality can keep up, there should be no problems.”
He had consulted Wang Jinyang and Tan Zhenping on this as well, and both of them had said there was no problem.
Practicing martial arts at a young age was not necessarily good as it was easy to injure one’s self.
Practicing martial arts before the body had matured depleted too much Vitality and could not be replenished properly. As a result, the body could become malformed or even suffer dwarfism.
However, as long as the body’s Vitality could keep up, and one was not cultivating combat techniques or “the Methods of Honing”, pole-standing was not a big issue.
Fang Ping had quite a number of medicines such as Blood and Qi-replenishing Pills and Vitality Pills at hand that he would not have been able to use up by himself.
If he sold them, it was unlikely he could find a good buyer.
He should take the opportunity while he was still at home to help drill some basics into Fang Yuan, at least let her learn pole-standing.
Fang Yuan was glad to hear Fang Ping say she could practice martial arts.
In this era, martial artists were highly regarded. It did not matter if one was a boy or a girl, young or old, everybody wanted to be a martial artist.
Fang Yuan naturally wanted to be one too, but she was still at too young an age. Furthermore, their family had not been wealthy and Fang Ping had had no way to pursue the martial sciences, so she never thought she could aim toward the martial sciences herself.
Now that Fang Ping said he would teach her pole-standing, the girl smiled so much her face became rounder. She could not wait for summer vacation.
Seeing her joy, Fang Ping said coldly, “Before I teach you, tell me, what schemes were you hatching up with your classmate?”
“Brother...”
“Fine, if you’re not going to tell me, I’m not going to teach you.”
“Fang Ping!”
Fang Yuan was annoyed and torn at the same time. Half a beat passed before she reluctantly opened her mouth. “We weren’t scheming anything. You have quite a few old clothes, don’t you? I...”
She did not have to say anything else.
Fang Ping gritted his teeth so hard it hurt and yelled, “Enough, you!
“Selling my autographs was bad enough, and now you want to start selling my clothes!
“Are you going to sell me in the end?
“You little brat, what do you want the money for?
“If you’ve run out of money, just ask me! If you do any more of this stuff, I’ll beat you up!”
“I’m not selling clothes, I’m selling feelings...”
“Shut up!”
Fang Ping scolded her, then said bitterly, “From now on, you’re not allowed to sell anything!”
Fang Yuan scrunched up her mouth, displeased. “If you can earn money then why not? See, last time I sold a few autographed portraits, it was equal to a mom’s wages for a month.
“They’re just some old clothes. If you sign them and sell them...”
“What’s the point of you worrying about our family’s situation?” Fang Ping’s tone was petulant. “Mom insisted on working no matter what I told her. Is money the issue?
“Stop fretting over this. When I finish my exams, I’ll arrange things.
“Don’t add to the trouble!”
Fang Mingrong had not gone over to the Department of Education yet, but he already told his boss that he would quit after a month to become a security guard for the Department of Education.
The boss of the ceramics manufacturing factory was very courteous too. He gave Fang Mingrong a month’s wages a few days before the month even ended.
Not to mention, aside from the wages, his boss insisted on giving him a healthcare allowance.
Fang Mingrong could not refuse it. His boss nagged him when he refused it, so he had to accept it in the end.
Old Fang’s son had the highest Vitality assessment results in Auspicious Sun. His probability of getting into a martial arts university was nine out of ten. This news had spread much earlier, and the ceramics manufacturing factory boss did not want to offend a martial arts university student over this small matter.
As for Li Yuying, Fang Ping had talked to her about it numerous times, but Li Yuying said her work did not tire her. Moreover, she was doing well. If she suddenly stopped working, there would be nobody left to help out her boss, and it would become a hassle to others. At the very least, she would wait till a replacement was found before she left.
Mom was so determined, Fang Ping could not say anything to convince her, and so he could only wait for some time to pass before he brought it up again.
The siblings walked as they conversed. By the time they reached home, Li Yuying had already prepared dinner.
Fang Ping’s parents moved in two days ago and had initially planned to treat their friends and family to a meal.
However, after they thought about it, they realized Fang Ping would finish his exams in a few days, which would have to be celebrated as well. It was not appropriate to feast twice in such a short span of time.
Therefore, Fang Mingrong decided not to celebrate moving into their new house for now. They would celebrate with a feast for both the move and the end of the exams at the same time.
...
Once they entered the house, Fang Ping greeted his mother. “Mom, keep a closer eye on Fang Yuan these days. Don’t let her cause trouble. It was bad enough she sold my pictures last time, she was ready to sell my clothes just now.
“Selling outerwear is still okay, but it would be too shameful if she sold my underwear...
“Since you’re home, help me keep an eye on her...”
Li Yuying could not help being startled as she heard this and was amused too. “Yuan Yuan, no monkey business!”
Fang Yuan huffed and glared at her brother. “I got it already, Fang Ping already told me so many times,” she said defeatedly.
“Your older brother’s about to go into a martial arts university, you shouldn’t mess around...”
Li Yuying reiterated. In Li Yuying’s eyes, martial arts university students were prestigious.
In the past, she had not dared to even dream about it. Now, her son was going to a martial arts university. She definitely could not allow her daughter to mess about and bring her son shame.
Although Fang Ping had said it was “shameful”, in actual fact, he did not really take this childish mischief seriously.
It was just that Fang Yuan was still little. At this age, Fang Ping did not want her to be overly embroiled in finance matters.
Fang Yuan was currently still young. At this stage, having fun and studying were most important. Fang Ping did not want her to be too involved in other issues.
Having mentioned the situation to his mother, Fang Ping paid no attention to Fang Yuan’s resentful gaze and went straight upstairs.
...
Fitness room.
Fang Ping once again called Wang Jinyang.
The moment the call connected, Fang Ping got straight to the point. “Brother Wang, lately I feel like my pole-standing has been improving at a slower rate. It’s been quite some time now since I broke through to the stable stance.
“Still, I’ve had no progress on the firm stance...”
“...”
Old Wang was a little speechless. It had been quite some time now since you broke through to the stable stance?
Freaking hell, you had had the ability to use cultivation methods for barely two months!
In less than two months, along with pole-standing and combat techniques, your Vitality especially had broken through the limit...
Even so, you had the audacity to say it had been quite some time since you broke through to the stable stance?
Wang Jinyang massaged his temples and asked, “How has your combat techniques cultivation been going?”
“I’ve only cultivated the basic leg technique so far. It’s alright. I’ve practiced and know how to gather force and expel it now.
“The thing is, I’m still not too sure how to ‘stick’. When I kick, my leg goes straight up and straight back down. I couldn’t make the sandbag move according to my rhythm.”
“Sticking” to the opponent was considered one of the signs of a successful basic leg technique.
To make the opponent move to one’s own rhythm in a very limited space, it was very hard to achieve.
Wang Jinyang rubbed his temples yet again, only speaking a moment later. “Don’t worry about ‘sticking’. Being able to gather force and having an outburst means you already possess some combat ability.
“‘Sticking’ is targeted at opponents of similar strength. If the opponent is stronger than you, you won’t be able to ‘stick’. If the opponent is weaker, there’s no need to ‘stick’.
“It’s hard to solve these problems when you’re cultivating by yourself.
“The roots of it run deep. It still has to do with pole-standing. Once your pole-standing breaks through to the firm stance, you’ll have much more control over your body as well as your enemies’.
“After that, when you attempt ‘sticking’, you’ll find it much easier than you find it now.
“As for you wanting to breakthrough...”
Wang Jinyang paused, then said, “If you go to a martial arts university, there are aiding facilities you can use so that it’s easier to breakthrough.
“Right now though, you don’t have access to these facilities...
“Alright then. Buy a skateboard and do stances on it. When you can stand on it as well as you stand on flat ground, you’re not far from the firm stance.
“The most important thing in stance is control. Control your center of gravity, control your bones and muscles.
“Let your body be able to move with your thoughts, not letting your body do the actions before sending it to the brain...”
Wang Jinyang gave this suggestion as well as a simple overview of the firm stance.
In the end, Wang Jinyang could not resist inquiring, “Your cultural studies test is coming soon. After that, it’s the start of university entrance applications.
“Based on how you’ve been doing, if your cultural studies are alright, you shouldn’t have a problem getting into the Big Two.
“What are your thoughts?”
Fang Ping, this rascal. He improved way too fast!
In less than two months’ time, his Vitality, bones and body’s strength had all broken the limits of a regular person.
Now, even his pole-standing was heading towards a breakthrough to the second realm. In regards to combat techniques, even though Wang JInyang did not see Fang Ping’s leg technique for himself, but being able to freely gather and expel force meant Fang Ping already possessed a true martial artist’s level of combat ability.
When he had gone back to Sun City in April, Wang Jinyang never thought Fang Ping would have had such a change.
At the time, when he strongly suggested Fang Ping apply for Nanjiang Martial Arts University, it was also with the thought of looking after Fang Ping. After all, Wang Jinyang had some authority in Nanjiang Martial Arts University.
Now that it was nearly time, Wang Jinyang felt Nanjiang Martial Arts University was not necessarily the best choice for Fang Ping.
In fact, Fang Ping had recently considered this matter before too. Now that Wang Jinyang asked, Fang Ping immediately answered, “Brother Wang, I haven’t decided yet. After all, I don’t know much about the martial arts universities.
“When I’m done with the cultural studies test and the results are released, then I’ll have to bother you for more detailed introductions...”
“No problem. I may return to Sun City during the summer vacation.
“If I’m there when your results are released, I’ll fill you in. Make your decision then, don’t rush to apply.
“If I’m not there by then, just give me another call...”
“Will do. Sorry for the hassle, Brother Wang.”
“You’re welcome...” Wang Jinyang replied politely. He could not suppress his curiosity and gave a cough. “Also, Fang Ping, if you don’t mind, could you tell me how high your Vitality is now?”
The more this boy understood, the more Wang Jinyang felt he kept things hidden.
He was quite interested in exactly how high Fang Ping’s Vitality was currently.
Fang Ping hesitated slightly, but considering the fact that Wang Jinyang could probably tell if they meet when he came back to Sun City, Fang Ping said after some thought, “Should be close to the level of honing your bones twice...”
“...”
Old Wang made a “haha” sound and hung up without saying anything else!
MMP 1!
At the start of April, it had been around 110cal.
Not long after that, thanks to medicinal pills, it was around 120cal.
At the beginning of May during the Vitality assessment, it was 149 cal.
Currently, it was not yet June—June started the next day.
This rascal was telling him he wanted his pole-standing to breakthrough to the firm stance, his Vitality was nearing 180cal, he had almost succeeded in mastering the basic leg technique, and he was also preparing for the cultural studies test...
Was he freaking human?
Was he spending all 24 hours in a day practicing martial arts non-stop?
Fang Ping did not practice martial arts non-stop, but once his Vitality and Mentality decreased, he would use Wealth points to replenish them.
Other people normally had a recovery period.
The results of Fang Ping’s one hour of cultivation was on par with others’ many days of cultivation.
He sometimes spent 5 or 6 hours cultivating in a day, which was on par with others’ half a month or even an entire month’s worth of cultivation. His daily improvement was obvious.
The number of days since he started cultivating up till now was about 50 days.
The results of these 50 days were equivalent to a proper cultivation period of one or two years for other people. In spite of this, Fang Ping’s improvement was not considered too extreme.
When Wang Jinyang first started cultivating at the martial arts university, his results in less than half a year were more extreme than Fang Ping’s.
Whereas Old Wang felt Fang Ping was not human, Fang Ping felt Old Wang was terrifying. Reaching Rank-3 in less than a year was something Fang Ping did not feel he could definitely achieve.
Both of them felt the other was not normal; they had to work harder. However, they never thought about their improvement. If others knew, who would not be cursing their mothers?