Physical Examination

In the morning, the loud chime of the wall clock echoed through the tiny dormitory.

Chu Fei immediately sprang up to wash and get dressed.

The heavy smell of bleach in the tap water was reassuring—this was the scent of civilization.

Up at 5:00, assemble at 5:15, roll call.

At 5:17, the three who had gotten up late were hung up and whipped. The remaining twenty-four began running under Cao Liwen's lead.

They ran from the mountain to the foot of the mountain, then back up again, three round trips in all.

The mountain paths were rugged and steep, a serious test of endurance.

The fast runners finished in twenty-five minutes; even the slow ones could make it in thirty.

But one frail girl still failed to reach the finish line within thirty minutes.

Four old men stepped forward. Ignoring the girl's pleas, they pinned her to a bench and gave her three lashes.

Then they gave the second-to-last and third-to-last runners two lashes each.

The last three had to be punished. That was the rule.

But it was not over yet.

Cao Liwen looked coldly at Chu Fei. "You came in third yesterday, if I remember correctly?"

Chu Fei was taken aback and nodded.

"You're third again today."

Yeah, so what was the problem?

"But I could see that you still had strength to spare! Cutting corners and taking it easy, with no drive to improve. One lash!"

Chu Fei looked utterly dumbfounded.

Then the whip came down, and his mind went blank.

An unimaginable agony spread through his entire body, every muscle tensing beyond his control.

His mouth stretched wide open, his neck craning forcefully backward. The muscles in his chest contracted, squeezing the air from his lungs and producing a harsh heh-heh sound.

Only several seconds later did Chu Fei finally let out a scream.

It was quite a while before he could struggle back to his feet. His back spasmed in waves, the unbearable pain sinking deep into his bones.

More people were whipped afterward—one lash for those who cut corners and took it easy, at least one for those with poor results.

The last three, already punished for their poor performance, were whipped again, their backs reduced to a bloody mess of torn flesh.

The frail girl's eyes had rolled back, and her breathing was weak.

Then Chu Fei and the others went to the medical room, where there was medical equipment.

They lay face-down on it. After a dreamy glow swept across their backs, they were healed in less than two minutes.

Chu Fei felt as though he had come back to life. Only, the wounds itched terribly.

The doctor said blandly, "Itching is a good sign. It'll be gone in half a day."

By the time everyone had finished treatment, it was already breakfast time.

After breakfast, they gathered in the medical room again, preparing to test their potential.

Cao Liwen said, "The results of this test will serve as your baseline parameters and reference data from now on.

Big Data Cultivation—everything must follow the data.

Li Honggang, you'll be the first to test."

Under the medical staff's guidance, Li Honggang lay down inside a device resembling an MRI scanner.

A virtual display popped up, showing shifting numbers, curves, and all kinds of parameters.

After roughly two minutes, the machine stopped, and Li Honggang came out.

The doctor said, "Potential Index: 7.6240. Bone age: thirteen years and six months. Slight nutritional imbalance in the body, minor toxin buildup, health level: 89%. Next."

Jiang Shaohu stepped forward: 7.5823, bone age thirteen years and seven months, health level 87%.

Then came Chu Fei: 7.5587, bone age fourteen years and two months, health level 90%, mildly weak and in need of conditioning.

Zhang Xuan: 7.5911, bone age thirteen years and one month, health level 72%, mildly weak and in need of conditioning.

Lu Hong: 7.6125, bone age thirteen years and nine months, health level 93%.

One test after another came to an end.

Chu Fei quietly observed. The students' potential varied, while his own was that of a perfectly ordinary person.

The average innate human score was 7.5, though later learning and other factors generally brought some improvement.

Most of their health levels were below 90%—suboptimal health.

After the tests, they used supplemental nutrient solution, IV drips, medicine, and other treatments to condition their bodies. By the time they were done, it was almost noon.

Everyone formed up in the plaza.

Holding a roster filled with data, Cao Liwen slowly swept his gaze over Chu Fei and the others. Finally, his eyes settled on Li Honggang and Lu Hong. He nodded slightly. "Not bad. Both of your potential scores exceed 7.6. Your futures look promising."

Bright smiles appeared on their faces.

Chu Fei watched silently. Those two seemed not to have been "whipped into shape" yet.

As he was thinking this, Cao Liwen looked at Chu Fei and sighed faintly. "Chu Fei, your potential is a little low, and you're a little old as well.

Before the end of the year, you must raise your potential to at least 7.75 to enter the second year.

Those over fifteen who have not reached 7.75 will be assigned elsewhere."

Chu Fei could not help asking, "Teacher, doesn't Big Data Cultivation focus on learning ability? Is there an age requirement too?

Even if there is, shouldn't adolescents have their peak learning ability between fifteen and twenty?"

Cao Liwen said, "In theory, yes. However, the golden period for Big Data Cultivation is also between the ages of fifteen and twenty.

Fourteen is when secondary sexual characteristics develop, and also the beginning of mental maturity;

At twenty, brain cells begin to die and their activity begins to decline.

Given that a great deal of auxiliary technology has been lost, the inheritance of knowledge is no longer complete, and related resources are scarce, six years of cultivation time is extremely tight.

Past experience shows that those unable to break through 7.75 before fifteen can hardly break through 8.0 before twenty.

Of course, an individual's biological age may differ somewhat from the standard, but the academy has always enforced the standard."

At this point, Cao Liwen paused briefly and said with some seriousness, "In other words, you only have ten months left."

Chu Fei took a deep breath and asked, "Teacher, how will those who exceed the age limit without meeting the standard be arranged?"

Cao Liwen's voice remained calm. "Those who study well and reach a potential score of 7.70 can transfer into technical work. That is still a fairly good path."

Then Cao Liwen looked at everyone and added, "This is the apocalypse. If your potential is below 7.70, you are not even qualified to be cannon fodder.

Only learning can change your fate. Work hard.

I hope that by the time you turn fifteen, even if you cannot step across the threshold of cultivation, you can at least become qualified technicians.

Rest today. Adjust your condition and tidy up your personal hygiene.

See you at 5:15 tomorrow morning. Classes officially begin then.

Dismissed."

Everyone returned to their dormitories and began studying on their own.

From this moment on, everyone was a study fiend.

The warning at dinner yesterday, this morning's "Discipline Whip," and Cao Liwen's explanation just now left no one daring to relax in the slightest.

After briefly cleaning himself up and finishing lunch, Chu Fei picked up the thick Mathematics Dictionary and began studying.

Time slipped quietly away, and before he knew it, dinner time had arrived.

Chu Fei looked up at the time, then closed his eyes in concentration. In the haze, he once again "saw" a crystal-clear Wisdom Tree Seed, and upon it, a crystal-clear dewdrop shimmering with flowing colors.

Wisdom Dewdrop, 100%!

Staring at the Wisdom Dewdrop, Chu Fei's heart surged with excitement.

Learning makes me happy!

Should he try the effects of the Wisdom Dewdrop?

But after taking several deep breaths, he still held himself back.

Food first.

After dinner, Chu Fei hurried back to the dormitory, sat down at his desk, opened the thick Elementary Mathematics Compendium, took a deep breath, focused on the Wisdom Dewdrop, and began trying to use it.

After briefly fumbling around, Chu Fei found the method.

He focused his thoughts on the Wisdom Dewdrop and silently willed it to activate.

The Wisdom Dewdrop dispersed into mist. A trace of Wisdom Order was released, and then his mind turned utterly clear as his consciousness swiftly ascended.