Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Bench press double of one’s own body weight…
Was that hard?
Although Tang Hong had doubts, he didn’t ask them. It was the technological era of the Internet information explosion. No matter how rare the term was, chances were you would find it if you did a search on the internet.
He tried a search with the keywords: Transcendent, Willpower, Physical fitness.
He did not see any relevant information.
He continued to search: Bench press, own weight.
Then he saw a forum post: ‘The ratio of bench press weight to body weight must be doubled for it to be considered standard.’
Tang Hong understood instantly.
He continued to watch, but then shook his head without saying a word. This acceptable standard was too high.
Ordinary people bench press only to work out. In school gyms, bench press equipment was rare.
His roommate Wu Jie was a frequent visitor to the gym, so Tang Hong also knew a little about working out.
“Hmm.”
Tang Hong had an idea.
Perhaps this post was a casual post by a Transcendent. For a Transcendent, being able to bench press one’s own weight was probably not even counted as novice.
After clicking in and browsing, Tang Hong found nothing interesting and felt a little upset.
“Bench press…”
Tang Hong hesitated for a while before consulting Wu Jie on WeChat.
For professional matters, either consult a professional or leave it to a professional to handle it. This was the concept that his ex-girlfriend, Jiao Xiaoyu, regarded as truth, and it also affected Tang Hong.
The only person among his friends and classmates who could be considered a fitness enthusiast and familiar with such seemed to be Wu Jie.
“What?”
Wu Jie replied with a stunned expression. “You said you want to bench press to reach your own weight, or even 100 kilograms, within a month? You have not trained before, right? It’s impossible, impossible.”
He stressed it twice in a row.
Wu Jie had been going to the gym for a year before he could press his own weight in the bench press, and every time he bench pressed, someone must assist. Otherwise, it would be very dangerous.
There was no problem when the barbell was falling.
The key was whether it could be pushed up. Once the arm was sore or the exerted force was uneven, it would be impossible to push the barbell up and might even smash down easily. “Tang Hong, you’re a beginner, first push the empty bar and increase the weight little by little.”
“If you want to make it fast…”
“You can buy some creatine and protein powder. I recommend the latter. Try to eat less creatine. It hurts the body and the kidneys. You must maintain a high level of exercise. In addition, diet is very important when doing weight training. Banana, egg, and beef. Just eat these. Beginners should not be taking any fitness meals, those are just cheating you of your money.”
Wu Jie spoke in great detail and didn’t hide anything at all.
As expected.
His relationship with Tang Hong and Han Shibin was average, and he preferred to spend time with Zeng Li.
But they all stayed in the same dormitory, and saw each other everyday. Wu Jie would not lie to him.
Tang Hong thought about it seriously. “How to buy protein powder?”
“You really want to do weight training!?”
Wu Jie was a little surprised. He had said so much to dissuade him and it all seemed completely useless.
“I want to try, let’s go together.” Tang Hong replied.
“Alright.”
Wu Jie did not try to dissuade him further. “I’m a little tired after training the day before yesterday, so I won’t go today. How about tomorrow afternoon? Or you can go directly to the fitness center to look for me.”
…
That night, Tang Hong stayed at the homestay. It was the first time in his life that he had spent the night out alone with just his schoolbag.
This was an apartment. There were at least dozens of units on the same floor, sharing the flickering public passage. “Is the light broken? It’s scary.”
He murmured.
He entered the password ‘396555#’ and hurriedly entered the room.
Bang.
Turning to close the security door, Tang Hong twisted the lower button on the inside handle of the security door. It did not work.
He was slightly surprised.
The security door could not be locked.
He thought about it and decided an apartment should be safer than a landed house. Tang Hong scanned the furnishings of this homestay, then brought a plastic chair over and jammed it in the crack of the door.
Despite it being useless.
However, if someone broke in, he would at least not die without knowing what happened. “Bad review, I’m going to leave a bad review.”
He didn’t really intend to leave a bad review.
Nowadays, who dared to give a bad review? Leaving a bad review after ordering takeout would result in one being battered senseless by a bunch of keyboard warriors and questioning one’s life. At some point of time, leaving a good review became an obligation, and leaving a bad review was regarded as evil.
“I shall look around some more.”
Tang Hong started walking about the house.
The room was not big, but it had a balcony and a kitchen. There was a TV in the small living room, the kind that could stream shows directly from the internet. The bedroom was connected to the living room. There was no door, only a load-bearing column in the middle.
“Oh my God.”
The double bed was quite low, only ten over centimeters above the ground.
Tang Hong, who was accustomed to living in a school dormitory with four people and sleeping in a loft bed with a work table underneath, suddenly felt that real life was full of malice.
Tang Hong was stunned by the difference between this and the pictures introducing the homestay on the Internet.
This was cheating!
It was fine to use the magic of photoshop on people, but to use it on pictures of homes and rooms as well was too much!
“Is it even legal?”
With nothing left to hope for, Tang Hong lay on the bed.
Dong Dong.
There was an unread message in WeChat from Han Shibin. “Auntie has done the room check. Where did you go after eating? Are you really not coming back to the dormitory?”
“Yes!”
“Don’t disturb me!”
Tang Hong sent a picture of a husky squinting and smiling.
Han Shibin was instantly shocked. Did this roommate who had lost his first love months ago finally find a new girlfriend?
He wanted to ask but didn’t dare to, so sent his silent blessings, and quietly went back to his game.
——
The Yellow River Organization, Yunhai Branch Office.
The office area at this time was empty. The main hall was magnificent in the morning sun.
At the reception desk next to the main entrance stood a lightly made up young woman in a pure white dress suit, light-colored shirt, no earrings, and no accessories.
She was smiling, and she gazed downwards at something.
The receptionist was also an official member of the Yellow River Organization.
There were many more people like Fan Yu in the Yellow River organization.
Due to various reasons, they were unable to join the special training camp. However, they were somewhat talented and had good willpower. After multiple tests, they could continue to stay in the Yellow River organization as an ordinary person.
Waiting for the opportunity.
That’s right, the opportunity to become a Transcendent.
“Consultant Fang.”
She heard the sound of the conference room door opening, and hurriedly looked up to see an expressionless Fang Nanxun holding a phone. His fingertips were blurry as if an illusion, typing quickly, like a video playing at twice the speed.
Fan Yu was not surprised.
Even at a country level, consultants were still first-class powerhouses, fully capable of carrying out the task of blockading a city.
“Xiao Yu.”
Fang Nanxun smiled. Fan Yu, the receptionist of the Yunhai branch office, was very beautiful. She was always enthusiastic and talkative. When he was not busy, he didn’t mind chatting.
After talking about life, they talked about ideals.
After talking about ideals, they talked about Transcendent.
The road of a Transcendent was extraordinarily difficult.
But this wonderful power was the only thing they had discovered, up till now, that could go up against the gods ever since they had appeared from another dimension.
In ancient Hua Country, there were a series of legends about cultivation, sacrifices to gods, demons and ghosts, as well as foreign wizards, warriors, magic beliefs, vampire exorcists, etc. None of them existed, and they couldn’t be found even if one looked, let alone true cultivation.
Initially, people placed their hopes on the gods they worshiped, Buddhas and true immortals, and the mainstream method of war was artillery fire and hot weapons.
Later, people finally realized that people must rely on themselves, and the invincible willpower was a powerful weapon against the gods.
Do not ask for help from the gods, do not worship Buddha. If the birth of the first Transcendent was a weak dawn.
Then the initial establishment of the Transcendent system was hope for all.
As an official member of the Yellow River Organization and an ordinary person, Fan Yu wanted very much to be a Transcendent even though the casualty rate was scary. She said, “Consultant Fang, the young man you recommended, both Consultant Liu and Cen looked through his files this morning…”
“I know.” Fang Nanxun smiled and nodded.
“He, whose son is he?” Fan Yu couldn’t understand why.
How can a young man who had not yet entered the special training camp attract the attention of the three consultants? It must be due to his family background.
There were only two ways to enter the special training camp of the Yellow River Organization:
One was through donation, to use a lot of resources to buy a place. The other was to be recommended by a Transcendent. In the vast sea of people, people who ‘may become Transcendent’ were discovered.
The former were mostly non-professional children of good family background, both male and female.
The latter was found in all walks of life. There were even organizations operating overseas that would solicit criminals.
Fang Nanxun looked at Fan Yu and nodded. This girl was bright, and she was neither too servile nor overbearing. She might have a chance to become a Transcendent in the future.
He said slowly, “He’s a talent, and he was recommended.”
On the day of the signing of the contract, the other two Transcendent consultants who were based in the Yunhai branch office did not see anything special about Tang Hong, and thought Fang Nanxun had accepted money to give him a place as usual.
However, the government’s sudden inquiry aroused the curiosity of the other two branch consultants.
After reading the monitoring records, both of them were surprised. At that time, even the standard Transcendent had to hold their breath. If they were not careful, they would lose consciousness.