"First round: strength test. Lift a stone lock using only your own physical strength and hold it for more than three seconds."
At the examiner's command, the martial artists stepped before a row of stone locks.
Each stone lock was marked with its weight, ranging from five hundred to one thousand jin. Under the rules of this round, lifting five hundred jin counted as passing. The heavier the stone lock lifted, the higher the evaluation.
But lifting a stone lock heavier than five hundred jin was no easy feat. One needed at least sixth-level Body Tempering Realm cultivation.
"Luo Feng, five hundred jin. Passed. Next!"
"Xiao Yan, six hundred jin. Not bad. Next!"
"Wang Dong, five hundred and fifty jin. Passed. Next!"
"Fang Ping, seven hundred jin. Not bad. Next!"
Most Body Tempering Realm martial artists could only lift stone locks weighing five or six hundred jin.
Only one or two ninth-level Body Tempering Realm martial artists could lift stone locks weighing around seven hundred jin, drawing waves of astonished exclamations.
When it was Chen Hu's turn,
under everyone's expectant gazes,
he walked straight to the eight-hundred-jin stone lock. After loosening up his limbs and taking a deep breath, he exerted both arms and violently raised the stone lock above his head, holding it there for a full three breaths.
When he finally put down the stone lock with his face flushed red,
the strongman announced loudly,
"Chen Hu, eight hundred jin. Excellent."
"An eight-hundred-jin stone lock is practically the limit of physical strength. Chen Hu is truly impressive."
"Exactly. Unless they cultivate those martial arts that temper the body horizontally, eight hundred jin is the limit for ordinary martial artists. The nine-hundred- and thousand-jin stone locks were never meant for ordinary martial artists."
"Only prodigies can lift them."
"If Chen Hu can lift an eight-hundred-jin stone lock, the body-tempering technique he cultivates must be quite exceptional too. His foundation is profound."
"When people are compared to one another, it can make one furious. I heard Chen Hu is only twenty-two this year, yet he is already a True Qi Realm martial artist. His uncle is even an Imperial Guard Hundred Households Officer. His future is free of worry."
The Strongmen taking part in the assessment looked at Chen Hu with eyes full of envy.
Chen Hu greatly enjoyed those looks and felt as though he were floating on air.
"Next, Su Fei."
Su Fei walked up to the stone locks, ignoring the surrounding discussion as he headed straight for the eight-hundred-jin one.
The assessors who saw this could scarcely believe their eyes.
"What? This fellow called Su Fei wants to lift an eight-hundred-jin stone lock too? Has he gone mad?"
"Who does he think he is? Even Chen Hu could only lift an eight-hundred-jin stone lock. Su Fei would be lucky to lift a five-hundred-jin one."
"Could it be that he saw someone else lift one, so he decided to try it too? Does he think he can do it now?"
"This brother speaks reasonably. I think he just wants to make a spectacle of himself."
When a wall toppled, everyone gave it a push. Though these people bore Su Fei no grudge, they had noticed that he was at odds with Chen Hu, the little genius, so the onlookers still kicked him while he was down.
Chen Hu even sneered outright.
"Don't cry when you can't lift it later."
Su Fei stopped briefly before the eight-hundred-jin stone lock.
Unexpectedly, he did not choose to lift it.
Instead, he headed straight for the nine-hundred-jin stone lock.
Bending down, he gripped the stone lock's handles with both hands.
He was filled with confidence. Though he had never lifted a stone lock before,
I cultivate the Nine Yang Divine Art. It cannot be compared with ordinary techniques. My strength cannot possibly be weak.
"Up!"
With a low shout, Su Fei steadily exerted force with both arms. The seemingly cumbersome nine-hundred-jin stone lock was effortlessly lifted over his head, firm and steady.
The entire venue fell silent.
Everyone stared at Su Fei in dumbstruck disbelief, as though they had witnessed something unimaginable.
"Heavens, am I seeing this right?"
"He actually lifted it!"
"Didn't Chen Hu say that Su Fei had barely cultivated at all? How could he possibly lift a nine-hundred-jin stone lock?"
"Could he have cultivated a body-hardening martial art? But judging by his build, he doesn't look like someone who cultivates one."
"Could he be one of those true geniuses spoken of only in legend?"
Chen Hu's expression froze instantly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Only then did the strongman come to his senses and remember his job.
"Su Fei, nine hundred jin. Excellent!"
Su Fei slowly lowered the stone lock, neither flushed nor out of breath.
He dusted off his hands and said calmly,
"Are there any heavier stone locks?"
An indescribable gleam flashed through the strongman's eyes as he hurriedly said,
"Yes. There is also a thousand-jin stone lock, but no one has been able to lift it for seven or eight years."
Su Fei nodded and walked over to the thousand-jin stone lock. He bent down once more and gripped its handles with both hands.
"He still wants to lift a thousand jin?"
"Mad. He is absolutely mad!"
Chen Hu gritted his teeth.
"I don't believe it. Nine hundred jin is already his limit. I refuse to believe he can lift a thousand jin."
Su Fei took a deep breath. The physique remade by the Nine Yang Divine Art was definitely not weak in this world.
His arms erupted with astonishing power. Relying solely on physical strength, he slowly raised the thousand-jin stone lock.
Though he felt somewhat strained, he still lifted it above his head and held it there for three breaths before slowly lowering it.
The strongman shouted in shock,
"Su Fei, one thousand jin. Exceptional!"
The surrounding Imperial Guards all wore stunned expressions.
"Heavens! A thousand jin—he actually lifted it!"
"Too incredible, too shocking! Su Fei is simply a genius!"
"I take back what I said before. Su Fei—Young Master Su—is the best!"
"Right, does anyone know what cultivation Young Master Su actually has?"
"At the very least, ninth-level Body Tempering Realm. Or perhaps, like Chen Hu, he has just entered the True Qi Realm."
"Su Fei seems to be only eighteen, four years younger than Chen Hu. This aptitude of his far surpasses Chen Hu's."
Listening to everyone's discussion, Chen Hu's face turned iron-blue. He stared fixedly at Su Fei, his eyes full of jealousy and resentment.
Su Fei ignored everyone's chatter and headed straight for the second round's testing ground.
The second round, which checked one's family background, went smoothly. As a local of Qingzhou, Su Fei's background was clean aside from a few harmless hobbies.
The examiner merely asked him a few simple questions before allowing him to pass the verification.
There was no difficulty whatsoever.
Upon the bluestone arena in the center of the martial arts ground stood Captain Li, the chief examiner for this assessment. He wore two long strands of beard and was forty-seven this year.
Several arenas were surrounded by crowds. Besides the twenty-odd martial artists who had passed the first two rounds, quite a few Imperial Guards had come to watch the excitement.
More than one Hundred Households Officer had even arrived.
They had come to see whether there were any promising seedlings.
Among them was a middle-aged man with triangular eyes and a cold, sinister gaze. He was Chen Hu's uncle, Captain Chen.
He appeared to be around the same age as Captain Li.
Standing on the eastern side of the arena with his hands clasped behind his back, he had obviously come to support his nephew.
"The third round of assessment tests actual combat."
Captain Li's booming voice spread throughout the venue.
"When Imperial Guards carry out missions, they inevitably encounter real combat. This round tests actual combat. Opponents will be determined by drawing lots. One-on-one, fair combat. Winners advance, losers are eliminated. Stop at the proper point."
The Strongmen carried the lottery box to the front of the platform, and the martial artists stepped forward one by one to draw lots.
Su Fei casually drew a lot. When he unfolded it, he saw the number seven.
A moment later, Captain Li picked up the slips and read them aloud.
"Number one against number two, proceed to Arena One. Number three against number four, proceed to Arena Two, and so on."
"I'm number eight."
Chen Hu's voice rang out. Clutching his lot, he climbed onto Arena Four and stared intently at Su Fei.
His face was filled with excitement.
"Su Fei, do you dare come up?"
Su Fei's heart stirred. What a coincidence. He slowly stepped onto the arena, his gaze calm.
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
Before you continue