Lifting Stone

"Mo-ge, I'll give it a try first." Ma Cai's expression was relaxed and confident. He definitely couldn't lift the three-hundred-jin stone wheel, but two hundred jin was absolutely no problem.

With that, he hurried over to line up before the stone wheel. Under the intimidation of the whips, most of the soldiers were fairly well-behaved.

"Mo-ge, do you think I should give it a try or not?" Ding Bao hesitated slightly.

He had no connections in his family. His strength wasn't much worse than Ma Cai's, but he could only lift two hundred jin of stone at most. There was a chance at selection, but he couldn't be sure he'd become a personal guard.

Feeding the horses was a good gig, though. In the camp, at least he could eat his fill, and he could even skim some money from selling horse manure.

For most common soldiers, this was already a pretty rare deal.

Besides, horse-feeding was a craft. If he could really learn it, making a living wouldn't be hard.

If he went to train at another camp, the treatment he'd worked so hard to get here would vanish into thin air.

"That's up to you. Whatever you choose, just don't regret it later." Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder.

He couldn't give advice on this matter. Neither choice could be called the right one—it all depended on the man himself.

Ding Bao lowered his head, sinking into endless indecision.

"I'm not going. My dad's health isn't good, and my sister's getting older. As the eldest brother, I need to save up some dowry for her."

Ding Bao let out a long sigh and finally made his decision.

Ma Cai had connections at home, and Chen Mo was a lone man with no one to feed but himself, so they could both afford to take the gamble. But he couldn't.

Right now, he secretly sold horse manure every day, netting over two silver coins a month. The camp also covered his food and lodging, so he could save almost all of it.

Just this treatment alone already surpassed who knew how many people.

Not to mention that his home wasn't far from this camp. Every few days, he could even sneak some horse feed back to check on his family.

If he left now, all of that would be gone.

Chen Mo said nothing more. People had their own ambitions—this wasn't something you could force.

If he didn't have the Mortal Transformation Pearl on him and enough confidence in his own strength, his choice would probably have been much the same as Ding Bao's.

Chen Mo strode over to the three-hundred-jin stone wheel. Few among the soldiers dared to try this weight, so there was no need to queue.

He had already decided that since he was going to show off his strength, he'd start straight from three hundred jin.

Rather than waste time on other training, it was better to go all the way and get promoted directly to personal guard.

That way, the treatment he received would certainly be better, letting him build up his blood and qi more effectively and improve his strength.

Ever since he'd encountered the Blood Monkey before, Chen Mo understood that this world was far from as simple as he'd imagined.

Sure, he was relatively safe now, but what if he got caught in the mist again later?

He had no good solution for that—only one thing: to raise his physical strength as much as possible.

As long as he was strong enough, even if he ran into a few more Blood Monkeys, he could subdue them calmly, without ending up as pathetic as last time.

So it was necessary to show off a bit. That way, he could attract more resources for himself.

Right now, if he wanted to eat meat every day and get full, he'd need at least two or three silver coins a day—nearly ten taels a month.

Never mind common folk—even landlords and rich merchants couldn't afford to eat like that.

By showing off as much as possible, he could get more chances to eat meat, so the Mortal Transformation Pearl could accumulate blood and qi faster.

Besides, his strength was far more than three hundred jin. If he revealed it now, even if he later burst out with four or five hundred jin, he could just claim it was natural divine strength he hadn't fully displayed today.

But if he hid it now, when his strength shot up too fast later, it would only invite suspicion.

When the crowd saw Chen Mo walk up to the three-hundred-jin stone wheel, the atmosphere in the yard tensed.

Some had tried to lift this three-hundred-jin stone wheel before, but so far, no one had succeeded.

Since no one had managed it, later comers didn't dare to try lightly either.

And looking at Chen Mo, though his build was a bit sturdier, he still didn't look like someone who could lift a three-hundred-jin stone wheel.

Especially the few who had just lifted the two-hundred-jin wheel but failed at three hundred—they looked at Chen Mo with clear disdain and contempt in their eyes.

They thought he had no idea what he was doing, that he didn't understand how heavy three hundred jin really was.

Most of the others were just watching for entertainment, but they clearly didn't believe Chen Mo could lift the three-hundred-jin stone wheel either.

Only He Ma Guan, Ma Cai, and Ding Bao knew him better. They understood he wasn't the type to show off recklessly or act on a whim.

Since he dared to try, that meant he was at least eighty percent sure he could do it.

Mo Hu glanced casually at Chen Mo, then looked away.

Among the personal guards under General Sun's command, a three-hundred-jin stone wheel wasn't heavy—many could lift it.

But in this camp, clearly few could manage it. With Chen Mo's build, lifting two hundred jin was possible, but three hundred was utterly impossible.

Sure, there were people born with divine strength, but they weren't cabbages growing in a field—they weren't that easy to find.

Chen Mo looked at the stone wheel before him. He didn't rush to lift it right away. First, he drew in a breath, then slowly extended both arms.

The stone wheel was lighter than he'd imagined—or rather, his own strength was greater than he'd calculated.

With a sudden burst of force, he hoisted it up to his chest. Using the strength of his legs and waist, he lifted it easily over his head. He even had enough energy left to sweep his gaze across the crowd before him.

Many people present were already stunned, unable to believe that Chen Mo had actually lifted it.

The few who had just lifted the two-hundred-jin Stone Wheel were filled with shock and surprise, and no longer dared to show any hint of contempt or disdain, afraid of catching Chen Mo's attention.

They were not yet guards and still had to train further, while Chen Mo, by lifting the three-hundred-jin Stone Wheel, could directly become a guard.

No matter how you looked at it, offending him was not a wise move.

Faced with Chen Mo's gaze, these men guiltily lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"It's done, put it down now." Mo Hu walked up to Chen Mo, his tone very cautious.

He was genuinely a bit surprised, not expecting Chen Mo to actually lift it. Seeing that his build wasn't particularly robust, he hadn't thought he possessed such strength—it seemed he was naturally strong.

Those naturally strong were not many, but not few either.

A county could always turn up four or five, but if they had other paths to take, these people would certainly not want to join the army.

Now he had happened upon someone naturally strong who had enlisted—it seemed his luck was good today.

Seeing Chen Mo slowly set down the Stone Wheel, Mo Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the craft. He could tell at a glance that Chen Mo hadn't practiced much with strength before; his movements were quite clumsy.

If he trained properly, he could definitely improve a lot.

"Since you can lift the three-hundred-jin Stone Wheel, according to the rules, you can enter the Guard Camp directly. Go back and prepare well; the day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the Guard Camp." Mo Hu spoke with a smile, his tone kind, completely different from how he treated other soldiers in the camp.

Now that Chen Mo had passed the assessment, he was a guard under General Sun's command, a comrade-in-arms.

When dealing with his own people, his attitude was naturally entirely different.