Lifting the Heavy with Ease

Chen Ping lowered his head and hunched his shoulders as he walked out of line beneath a crowd of mocking gazes.

The stone lock before him was pitch-black all over, its surface pitted and uneven. Just looking at it made it seem heavy.

He stepped forward according to the rules and gripped the handles with both hands. Just as he was about to exert himself, an odd, slick sensation brushed his fingertips.

Lard.

Chen Ping lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the flash of coldness in his eyes.

Someone had smeared a thin layer of lard over the handles. If his hands were sweaty or he used the wrong technique, the three-hundred-pound stone lock could slip free and crash down. Breaking his foot would be the least of it; he might even be crippled on the spot.

They couldn't even be bothered to hide the methods they used against commoner candidates. They were putting them on full display.

He didn't raise an alarm, nor did he look toward the examiners in the distance.

At this examination ground, questioning an examiner was tantamount to courting death.

Without changing expression, Chen Ping released the handles and rubbed his hands hard against his dust-covered trouser legs, as if wiping the sweat from his palms out of nervousness.

Then he crouched down and grabbed a handful of yellow sand from the ground, grinding it vigorously between his palms.

"Look at that kid. His legs are already going weak before the test has even started?"

A few mocking laughs came from the crowd.

Chen Ping paid them no mind. Only after the slickness in his palms had been replaced by the rough grit of sand did he slowly rise.

He drew a deep breath, his chest heaving violently as if he were gathering all his strength.

"Lift!"

A thunderous shout burst from Chen Ping's throat.

He bent his knees slightly and straightened his back. The muscles in his arms tensed, and the three-hundred-pound stone lock rose from the ground with him, lifted high above his head.

Chen Ping's heart gave a sudden lurch.

Too light.

After cultivating Shattered Stone Palm to perfection and undergoing tendon-and-bone refinement with Iron Bone Soup, three hundred pounds felt as light as a cloth sack stuffed with cotton.

If he didn't hold back, he'd fling the stone lock straight into the sky.

That would draw far too much attention.

Chen Ping clenched his teeth and made the large muscles in his back tremble violently. He deliberately held his breath, forcing his blood and qi to surge straight to his head.

In an instant, his face turned the color of pig liver. Veins bulged at his temples like writhing earthworms, and his arms shook like a sieve. He looked ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

"Boo—"

The watching candidates jeered.

"Look at him. Doesn't seem like he'll last three breaths. Young man, you've got more training to do."

"A skinny monkey's still a skinny monkey. Three hundred pounds is no joke. It's not something just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can lift."

On the high platform, Jin Zhenshan lounged in a Grand Master Chair, idly rolling an iron ball in his hand. But when his gaze swept over Chen Ping, his brow furrowed slightly.

That kid looked ready to topple, but his stance...

Jin Zhenshan's eyes fell to Chen Ping's feet.

Though the feet in those worn cloth shoes were trembling slightly, they gripped the earth like the roots of an ancient tree, showing no trace of instability.

Interesting. A dull bird that's laid a solid foundation?

"Seven... eight..."

The timekeeper drew out each count, every one sounding like a death knell.

With the stone lock raised overhead, Chen Ping let out a wheezing, bellows-like breath. Sweat slid down his cheeks and dripped into his eyes, stinging fiercely.

On the ninth breath, Chen Ping swayed. His left foot seemed unable to support him and slid half an inch outward.

The stone lock above his head tilted violently with him, on the verge of crashing down onto his shoulder.

"Ah!"

The crowd burst into cries of alarm. Even Tie Niu, not far away, widened his bull-like eyes and instinctively started to rush forward.

At the critical moment, Chen Ping let out a roar and forced his waist upright in an extremely twisted posture, somehow shoving the tilting stone lock back into place.

That narrow escape left many people clutching their palms in a cold sweat.

"Ten breaths! Drop it!"

The examiner had barely finished speaking when—

Boom!

A dull crash shook the ground, sending dust billowing into the air.

As if drained of his very last ounce of strength, Chen Ping let go with both hands and allowed the stone lock to crash heavily onto the sandy ground in front of him. He followed its momentum and dropped onto his backside, gasping for breath, his chest rising and falling violently. He looked utterly spent.

In truth, the Longevity of Pine and Crane flowed steadily within him. Even his heartbeat remained under his control, without the slightest disturbance.

That wobble just now had been nothing more than a way to make the moment more perilous, so everyone would think he'd only barely passed thanks to luck.

The examiner walked over expressionlessly, glanced at the stone lock on the ground, then at Chen Ping, who was a complete mess. He drew a circle in the register with his red-ink brush.

"Passed."

Chen Ping struggled to his feet, bowed to the examiner, then shuffled back toward the crowd with unsteady steps.

"He's lucky. It nearly landed on his foot."

"This was only the first round, a test of strength. If there's a combat test later, that kid will still end up flat on his face."

The chatter around him continued without end, tinged with more than a little sour jealousy.

Chen Ping kept his head down, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

That's exactly the effect I want.

A useless nobody who'd only scraped through thanks to good luck was the safest kind of person to be.

As soon as he returned to Group D's line, a large, dark hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

"Brother Chen, not bad! My heart was in my throat just now!"

Tie Niu grinned, flashing a row of white teeth as he gave Chen Ping a thumbs-up.

"I told you you could do it. You were clever to grab that sand!"

"Don't tease me, Brother Tie Niu. I really did give it everything I had. I nearly didn't make it."

Chen Ping forced a bitter smile and rubbed his shoulder, putting on an expression of lingering fear.

"Just luck, that's all. If I'd had to hold it for one more breath, I really wouldn't have lasted."

As he spoke, he used the motion of wiping his sweat to discreetly survey his surroundings.

During the break, beneath the sunshade on the other side of the Training Ground, Jin Shijie stood in rich, embroidered clothes, fanning himself as he scanned the candidates in Group D, as if looking for someone.

Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat. His instinct was to avoid Jin Shijie's gaze, but he saw that it didn't linger on him. It passed right over him and landed on Tie Niu beside him.

Then Jin Shijie closed his fan and pointed it toward Tie Niu from afar, leaning toward his attendant to murmur a few words.

The attendant's eyes were sinister. He nodded, turned around, and walked toward the clerk responsible for drawing lots and arranging the matches.

Chen Ping's heart sank.

Tie Niu had looked far too relaxed while lifting the stone lock. He'd raised three hundred pounds with one hand as if it were a chicken, and that had clearly attracted certain people's attention.

In this Imperial Military Examination, where only a handful of candidates could pass, the more dazzling someone's performance, the more likely they were to become prey.

And for local power-brokers like the Jin Family, rigging the match list a little would be child's play.

Chen Ping looked at Tie Niu, who was still grinning foolishly, and felt a powerful sense of foreboding rise in his chest.

The waters of this Imperial Military Examination were deeper and murkier than he'd imagined.