"Mo-ge, I'll go try first." Ma Cai looked relaxed and confident. He definitely couldn't lift the three-hundred-jin stone wheel, but two hundred jin would absolutely be no problem.
After saying that, he eagerly walked over to the stone wheels and began queuing. Under the intimidation of the leather whip, most of the soldiers were quite well-behaved.
"Mo-ge, do you think I should go try?" Ding Bao asked hesitantly.
His family had no connections. His strength truly wasn't much weaker than Ma Cai's, but he could only lift a two-hundred-jin stone. He had a chance to go through the selection, but he didn't dare say he would definitely become a guard.
Besides, tending the horses was a good job. At least he could eat his fill in the military camp, and he could even make some money by selling the horse manure.
For most ordinary soldiers, this was already an exceptionally rare benefit.
What was more, tending horses was a skill. If he could truly learn it, making a living would absolutely not be difficult.
If he went to train at another military camp, the benefits he had finally obtained would vanish like smoke and scatter like mist.
"That depends on you. No matter what you choose, as long as you don't regret it afterward." Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder.
He had no way to offer advice on this matter. He couldn't say which choice was the right one, so Ding Bao could only decide for himself.
Ding Bao lowered his head, his heart sinking into endless turmoil.
"I'm still not going. My father's health is poor, and my younger sister isn't getting any younger. As her eldest brother, I have to save some money for her dowry."
Ding Bao let out a long sigh and finally made his decision.
Ma Cai had connections at home, while Chen Mo had no one but himself to support, so both of them dared to take the gamble. He couldn't.
By secretly selling horse manure every day, he could make more than two qian of silver a month. The military camp also provided food and lodging, so he could save nearly all that money.
That benefit alone already surpassed that of countless people.
Not to mention that his home wasn't far from this military camp. Every few days, he could even sneak some horse feed home and check on his family.
If he left now, all of that would be gone.
Chen Mo said nothing more. Everyone had their own aspirations, and this was not something that could be forced.
If he hadn't possessed the Mortal Transformation Pearl and had sufficient confidence in his own strength, his choice probably wouldn't have differed much from Ding Bao's.
Chen Mo walked over to the three-hundred-jin stone wheel. Very few of the soldiers had tried this weight, so he didn't need to queue.
He had already decided that since he was going to display his strength, he might as well start directly with three hundred jin.
Rather than waste time on the other training, it was better to take a single step and be promoted directly to the guard camp.
That way, the benefits he received would certainly be better, allowing him to accumulate qi and blood more effectively and improve his strength.
Ever since encountering the Blood Monkey, Chen Mo had understood that this world was far from as simple as he had imagined.
He was relatively safe for now, but what would he do if he fell into the mist again in the future?
He had no good solution to this. There was only one thing he could do: raise his strength as much as possible.
As long as he was strong enough, even if he encountered several more Blood Monkeys, he could subdue them with ease instead of ending up in such a sorry state as before.
Therefore, revealing an appropriate amount of his strength was very necessary. That way, he could attract more resources.
If he wanted to eat his fill of meat every day, he would need at least two or three qian of silver per day, nearly ten taels a month.
Forget ordinary commoners—even wealthy landlords couldn't afford to eat like that.
By displaying as much of his strength as possible, he could gain more opportunities to eat meat, allowing the Mortal Transformation Pearl to accumulate qi and blood faster.
Besides, his strength was far beyond three hundred jin. If he revealed three hundred jin now, then even if he later displayed four or five hundred jin of strength, he could claim it was merely innate divine strength that he hadn't fully revealed today.
But if he didn't reveal any strength, then if he improved too quickly later, he would instead arouse suspicion.
When Chen Mo walked up to the three-hundred-jin stone wheel, the atmosphere in the field suddenly tightened.
Others had tried to lift this three-hundred-jin stone wheel before, but to this day, no one had managed to raise it.
After seeing that no one could lift it, those who came later naturally didn't dare try recklessly.
Chen Mo was indeed somewhat more robust than average, but no matter how one looked at him, he didn't seem capable of lifting a three-hundred-jin stone wheel.
In particular, several people who had just lifted the two-hundred-jin stone wheels but failed to lift the three-hundred-jin ones looked at Chen Mo with faint disdain and contempt.
They thought he simply had no idea what he was doing and had no understanding of how heavy three hundred jin was.
Most of the others were merely watching for entertainment, but evidently, they also didn't believe Chen Mo could lift the three-hundred-jin stone wheel.
Only He Ma Guan, Ma Cai, and Ding Bao knew Chen Mo well enough. They knew he was absolutely not the sort to show off or act rashly out of blind confidence.
Since he dared to try, that meant he had at least an eighty percent chance of lifting it.
Mo Hu casually glanced at Chen Mo and didn't look again.
Among the guards under General Sun, a three-hundred-jin stone wheel wasn't heavy. Many of them could lift it.
But in this military camp, clearly very few could manage it. With Chen Mo's build, there was still hope that he could lift two hundred jin, but three hundred jin was absolutely impossible.
People with innate divine strength did exist, but they weren't cabbages growing in a field. How could they be so easy to find?
Chen Mo looked at the stone wheel before him. He didn't rush to lift it. First, he drew a breath into himself, then slowly extended both arms.
The stone wheel was lighter than he had imagined. Or rather, his own strength was greater than he had estimated.
He suddenly exerted force and raised it to his chest. Then, driving with both legs, waist, and abdomen, he easily lifted it above his head. He even had strength to spare to sweep his gaze over everyone before him.
At this moment, many people were already dumbstruck, unable to believe that Chen Mo had truly managed to lift it.
The few who had just lifted the two-hundred-jin stone wheels were filled with shock and astonishment. They no longer dared show the slightest trace of contempt or disdain, afraid that Chen Mo might notice them.
They weren't guards yet and still had to continue training, while Chen Mo could become a guard directly by lifting the three-hundred-jin stone wheel.
No matter how one looked at it, offending him would be unwise.
When these people met Chen Mo's gaze, they lowered their heads guiltily, not daring to look him in the eye.
"You passed. Put it down quickly." Mo Hu walked up before Chen Mo, his tone extremely cautious.
He was genuinely somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Chen Mo to lift it. Chen Mo's build didn't look particularly robust, yet he possessed such strength. It seemed he was also a man of innate power.
People with innate great strength weren't common, but neither were they rare.
One county could always find four or five of them. It was just that if they had other paths available, these people certainly wouldn't be willing to join the army.
Now, he had happened to encounter someone with innate great strength who had enlisted. It seemed his luck was good today.
Only after seeing Chen Mo slowly lower the stone wheel did Mo Hu let out a sigh of relief.
The layman watched the spectacle, while the expert saw the craft. At a glance, he could tell that Chen Mo had not practiced strength much before. His movements were quite unskilled.
With proper training, he would certainly be able to improve considerably.
"Since you can lift a three-hundred-jin stone wheel, according to the rules, you can enter the guard camp directly. Go back and prepare properly. The day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the guard camp." Mo Hu wore a smile, his tone amiable and utterly different from the way he treated the other soldiers in the camp.
Now that Chen Mo had passed the assessment, he was a guard under General Sun and Mo Hu's fellow soldier.
Of course, his attitude toward one of his own was completely different.
Before you continue