Final Challenger

"So it's Lu Kui. Welcome to the challenge." The Bearded Man smiled when he saw Lu Kui.

Lu Kui finished the meat in his hand in a few bites, walked to the center of the field, and said in a gruff voice, "You just said this thing weighs heavily?"

"More than a ton..." the Bearded Man laughed, "To be precise, it's 1,800 kilograms!"

Luo Jun's eye twitched in the crowd. This guy was playing word Game... He thought he could easily estimate one and a half tons, but this was almost two tons!

"Eighteen thousand..." But the fat man on the field didn't take it seriously, and was only focused on counting on his fingers. "How many Red Feather Chicken is that?"

Red Feather Chicken are common birds in the Savage Wilderness, slightly larger than turkeys in the Main World. Because they grow quickly and produce more meat, they have been domesticated by humans and are raised in many places in Lingyun City. What Lu Kui just ate was Red Feather Chicken.

"Uh..." The Bearded Man hadn't expected him to ask that, "A Red Feather Chicken only weighs around twenty pounds, so it's equivalent to more than a hundred chickens, right..."

"Over a hundred..." Lu Kui thought for a moment, "Then with this, we can eat chicken legs whenever we want, right?"

The Bearded Man paused, then explained, "I was referring to the weight. This hammer is made of a special material; its value is definitely more than a hundred chickens..."

"Can I get more?" Lu Kui chuckled, pulling out a handful of Wildlands Coin: "Give me ten!"

"Just this one..." The Bearded Man chuckled, accepting only one card. "And you have to succeed in the challenge."

"Stingy," Lu Kui muttered, putting away the money and heading to the hammer.

The onlookers burst into laughter. Luo Jun frowned, thinking to himself, "This genius doesn't seem to be working too well..."

"Why is he acting so foolish?" The young man next to Luo Jun asked at just the right moment.

"He's just simple-minded," the Senior explained. "Legend has it that he was found by a hunter twenty years ago in a Savage Wilderness beast's den. He was just an infant then, and no one knows how long he was carried away by the beast, nor can they find his parents. At that time, the boy was already severely corrupted. The hunter took him back to the Main World on a whim, and after treatment by the Yuan Cultivation Society, he actually recovered. The hunter probably felt it was fate, so he adopted him and taught him Yuan Qi."

"This kid might be suffering from the aftereffects of excessive pollution; his way of thinking is quite unusual, but he's definitely not stupid. At least everyone who's fought with him says he's incredibly clever!"

As he spoke, Lu Kui had already bent down and grabbed the hammer handle.

"Huh? My vital energy..." He was also surprised by the power of the River-Sinking Stone, but he did not back down. With a sudden burst of strength, he lifted the hammer with one hand! It seemed that it was much easier than the previous few.

"Joke!"

"Good!"

"Impressive! No wonder you're Lu Kui!"

"It's definitely substantial!" Amid the cheers of the crowd, Lu Kui gritted his teeth, held the hammer in his hand as if he were lifting a dumbbell, and then looked up at the fruit.

He was tall, and the fruit was almost touching his head. Lu Kui's face turned red, he squatted down slightly, and with a sudden burst of strength, he swung the hammer upwards and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

"Good!"

Victory is in sight!

Another round of cheers erupted. At this point, Lu Kui seemed to have the best chance of success. The Bearded Man's eyes widened, as if he were secretly hoping for something.

Lu Kui took a breath, then with a sudden burst of strength, he raised the hammer and wobbled as he smashed it down on the fruit!

"I hit it!" someone around shouted excitedly, but Lu Kui had already tried his best to swing the hammer, but it was extremely difficult. The hammer could only slowly scrape the fruit a few times. The fruit was suspended by the string and could not bear any force. He tried for a long time but could not break it. In the end, he had to give up.

"Huff..." Lu Kui released his grip, and his vital energy immediately resumed its flow. He panted heavily and said, "This hammer of yours is too strange. I can't use any vital energy at all after holding it!"

The Bearded Man smiled slightly, "The River-Cutting Dragon King is the oldest and strongest among the River-Intercepting Dragon, nearly a hundred meters long, almost comparable to an eighth-level monster. Although it can only rely on instinct to circulate its vital energy, its reserves are far beyond what humans can match. You've done remarkably well; you truly deserve the title of genius."

"Does this thing only depend on the amount of vital energy stored?" a burly man who had challenged it before questioned. "Can't you usually resist techniques that seal vital energy with a cultivation level of the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

"This isn't about sealing away vital energy," the Bearded Man explained with a smile. "The River-Intercepting Dragon is, after all, a wild beast. It can't condense vital energy like humans do. It can only change the River-Sinking Stone by accumulating quantity... So this thing is quite special. It only recognizes the amount of energy. Let's just marvel at the wonder of biological evolution."

"Now that things have come to this, and so many people have tried, I'll be honest with myself." With that, the Bearded Man placed his hand on the hammer handle and lifted it up with a burst of strength. It looked easier than most of the challengers, but he still couldn't lift it like Lu Kui.

He was a master, and those around him admired him.

"According to my experiments, one Breath Vital Energy can reduce weight by less than two kilograms. To reduce it to zero, it would take about a thousand breaths of vital energy."

A thousand Breath Vital Energy? The crowd gasped in astonishment!

"Are you kidding me!"

"Even if you reach the seventh level of the Body Refinement Realm, you'll only have about two hundred breaths left. Who could possibly use something like this!"

"Yeah, it's an impossible challenge, a scam, everyone disperse!"

Seeing that some people were making a fuss, the Bearded Man snorted coldly and put down the hammer.

"River-Intercepting Dragon inhabits the Northern Redwater River Basin, thousands of kilometers away. Can you guess how this River-Sinking Stone was transported to Lingyun City?"

"The Redwater River-Cutting Dragon King..." someone in the crowd reminded him, "I remember now, there was a post on the forum a while ago, Ling Yao killed the Redwater River-Cutting Dragon King!"

"Yes, it's Ling Yao!"

"Could it be that he carried this thing all the way back from the Redwater River?"

"Holy crap, is that even human...?"

"Can Ling Yao be compared to ordinary people? He's the Number One Under Ascension!"

"That's right!" the Bearded Man said. "I can tell you with certainty that Ling Yao still has enough energy left to use even with this thing!"

So, Ling Yao's energy reserves exceed a thousand breaths!

No, if Ling Yao was holding an uncarved raw stone, wouldn't that mean it would be much heavier than this one, and the amount of energy needed to counteract gravity would be much higher!

What incredible talent!

"Ling Yao is naturally exceptionally talented, someone ordinary people can only look up to. But just completing my challenge doesn't require such a high level." The Bearded Man looked at Lu Kui: "If you improve your Body Refinement Realm by one more level, completing the challenge should be a piece of cake. Anyone else confident in their strength is welcome to come up and try. If no one dares to challenge, I'll call it a day!"

"Let me try!" At that moment, a young man wearing a mask and dressed in plain clothes stepped out from the crowd.

The Bearded Man man raised an eyebrow. "This young man looks unfamiliar. What's your name?"

"Just call me 'Night'." Luo Jun maintained his principle of speaking little, "However, I'm new to the Savage Wilderness and don't have Wildlands Coin. Could you lend me one of your treasures as collateral?"

As he spoke, he took out Animal Crackers and handed them to the Bearded Man.

"Rare-level consumable?" The Bearded Man was slightly surprised. Although he didn't know what was so special about the biscuit from the description, Rare-level consumable's effect was basically comparable to an Epic-level regular treasure effect. This thing was worth far more than 100 points.

"How does the mortgage work?" the Bearded Man asked with a smile.

"If I succeed in the challenge, I get the hammer back, and the cookie is mine. If I fail, you get the cookie."

"Want to bet with me?" the Bearded Man chuckled. "Interesting, sure!"

When the people around saw Luo Jun, they started talking about him.

"Night? Never heard of it?"

"Judging by his plain clothes, he must be a newlywed..."

"Even someone like Lu Kui failed, how dare he, with his small frame, take on the challenge?"

"A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger."

It's no wonder people judge by appearances. When people have similar Root Bone attributes, strength and physique are directly proportional. This challenge can basically shut down everyone's vital energy, so physical strength is crucial. Luo Jun is not thin; in fact, he looks quite muscular due to his recent training. However, compared to the tall and strong people in front of him, he still appears somewhat slender.

Ignoring the doubts of those around him, Luo Jun walked to the center of the arena, lowered his head and gripped the hammer handle. He immediately felt as if all the energy in his body was being absorbed into the hammer.

Truly amazing! Luo Jun summoned the Dice of Heavenly Secrets in his mind.

"Event complete, challenge accomplished!"

The black and white dice spun before my eyes, finally settling into place.

"Ding! Event Difficulty 2 points, Final Points 18 + 5 points, Event Success!"

As expected, my calculations were correct!

Luo Jun felt reassured, nodded, and slowly lifted the hammer with a powerful pull.

"Hey, get up!"

A gasp erupted from the crowd. "Don't judge a book by its cover! This kid's got guts!"

Feeling the weight in his hands and hearing the comments from those around him, Luo Jun sneered inwardly, slowly straightened up, and turned to look at the Bearded Man.

That's it?

The Bearded Man narrowed his eyes slightly. This kid dared to gamble with Rare-level item, so he must have some skill. But what did that contemptuous tone mean? Could it be...?

Then Luo Jun smiled slightly, raised his arm, and actually tossed the hammer into the air!

"Wow!"

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Those who had been leaning forward to watch the spectacle were suddenly startled and took a step back, widening the space in the middle!

Looking at the hammer again, it spun in the air, and just as it reached its highest point and was about to fall, Luo Jun raised his hand, grabbed it, and smashed it down, shattering the fruit into pieces with a crack!

Challenge successful!

"Holy crap!"

"Really?"

"Success? That was so easy?!"

The astonishment and praise from the onlookers were endless.

Even Lu Kui, who had just failed the challenge, was dumbfounded. He had experienced it firsthand and knew best how powerful the hammer was! He struggled so much to lift it above his head, yet this kid did it so easily...

As for the Bearded Man offering a reward for setting up a stall, his expression was one of utter delight!

Sure enough, someone can do it... I've finally found it!

(End of this chapter)