Chen Mo and Xie Jinnian looked toward the center of the training grounds at the same time.
A towering man, his body covered in bulging muscles, slowly lowered a stone lock. It was nearly half his size.
"Who's that?" Chen Mo asked.
Xie Jinnian answered without hesitation. "Chang Hao, the young chief of the Iron Palm Gang. He's about my age, but he's already reached the middle stage of Dark Jin. He's one of the favorites to place in the top ranks this year."
Middle-stage Dark Jin meant he was a favorite for the top ten.
Chen Mo quietly gauged the aura around Xie Jinnian. He seemed to be in the early stage of Dark Jin, and his strength was far from stable. He was not much stronger than Luo Hou of the Zhao Family.
Chang Hao turned his gaze toward them as well. "Brother Chen Mo, what are you aiming for in this year's Martial Examination?"
Chen Mo thought it over before replying, "Somewhere around forty-fifth place."
Xie Jinnian nodded slightly. With Ming Jin strength, aiming for forty-fifth place was indeed reasonable. His tone was reassuring. "You can gain experience this year and try again next year. Plenty of people keep at it for four or five years."
"Good. Thanks for the encouragement, Brother Xie!"
After Chang Hao of the Iron Palm Gang, several more people lifted the seven-hundred-pound stone lock, drawing waves of astonished cries.
Among them were Liao Tian, the Qi Family head's senior disciple; Zhang Chong, the Zhao Family's idle son-in-law; Liu Sha of the Black Tiger Hall; and Ye Zimou of Hefeng Pawnshop.
Only one person lifted the seven-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock. The entire training ground erupted in a thunderous roar, while countless unmarried young women sent him flirtatious glances.
"That's my cousin, Xie Jinyou!"
Xie Jinnian pointed proudly at the exceptional young man in the center of the grounds, his bearing extraordinary and his strength enough to hold up the sky.
"Xie Jinyou lifts the seven-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock. Strength Trial result: Grade A, Middle!"
As soon as the clerk announced the result, the gongs and drums thundered, their sound deafening.
There was a trace of envy in Xie Jinnian's eyes. Who wouldn't want to be the man everyone watched?
Yet in Anyang County, that man could only be Xie Jinyou, a prodigy who had reached the peak of Dark Jin at just twenty-three.
"Your cousin should have this year's first place in the bag," Chen Mo said.
"Of course!"
Xie Jinnian patted his chest as if he himself were the one standing in the arena.
"Next, Xie Jinnian."
As the clerk announced the next martial student, the crowd quieted a little. Xie Jinnian's expression turned serious. He wiped the sweat from his palms and slowly walked onto the grounds.
He stopped beside the six-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock, drew a deep breath, and slowly squatted down. He hugged the lock against his chest, then heaved it upward with all his strength, veins bulging across his arms.
After ten breaths, he suddenly lowered the stone lock. It slammed into the ground, leaving a deep pit.
With the six-hundred-and-fifty-pound lift under his belt, Xie Jinnian attempted the seven-hundred-pound stone lock, but failed.
Each martial student could make two attempts, and the better result would count. Generally, they completed the lift they were confident in first, then tried the one they were less sure of.
Next, Chen Mo watched Li Xuan take the field. He managed to lift the six-hundred-pound stone lock, but failed when he tried the six-hundred-and-fifty-pound one.
"Next, Chen Mo."
Hearing his name, Chen Mo calmly walked onto the grounds as a thousand gazes fell upon him.
In the crowd, Chen Bao and Chen Mei craned their necks, looking around in every direction.
Before the Martial Examination had even opened, Chen Hang hadn't dared admit that he'd failed to get a Martial Examination slot at Panshi Martial Hall. Instead, he'd claimed his name was on the list.
Now that the examination had begun that morning, Chen Bao and Chen Mei had searched the grounds from end to end, but hadn't caught a single glimpse of Chen Hang.
"Where's that little brat run off to? He said we'd meet here!" Chen Bao grumbled.
Chen Mei tried to reassure him. "Maybe he's with his friends. Xiaohang's always been popular."
"That person on the field..." Chen Bao pointed toward the center of the grounds. "Looks like Chen Mo."
Chen Mei raised her eyes to look as well.
Just then, Chen Mo slowly passed a row of stone locks, moving from the smallest to the largest: three hundred pounds, three hundred and fifty, four hundred...
He kept going, all the way to six hundred pounds, without slowing down.
In the distance, Ji Chang asked in confusion, "What's Junior Brother Chen trying to do?"
Yin Shanshan also looked puzzled, surprise showing on her face.
Elsewhere, Xie Jinnian watched Chen Mo's movements and frowned slightly. "Is this guy planning to go straight for the six-hundred-and-fifty-pound one?"
Six hundred and fifty pounds was a threshold, one that separated Ming Jin from Dark Jin.
Even those at the peak of Ming Jin usually chose the six-hundred-pound lock. A few martial students who weren't known for their strength even settled for five hundred and fifty.
Sure enough, Chen Mo stopped in front of the six-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock.
"I've never seen anyone with Ming Jin lift a six-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock."
"Is he just trying to show off?"
Whispers spread through the crowd, filled with surprise, scorn, and anticipation.
Chen Mo planted his feet apart, lowered his hips, and grabbed both ends of the stone lock with his broad, bat-wing-like hands. The rough grit seemed ready to bite into his flesh.
He adjusted his breathing, and his force slowly gathered in his waist and arms, like a hundred rivers flowing into one.
Lifting a heavy object like a stone lock relied seventy percent on the waist and thirty percent on the arms.
Thanks to Mountain and Water Cultivation, he had long since honed his ability to gather force to perfection.
Today was the day!
A moment later,
an immense force had gathered in his waist and arms. His expression was grave as he suddenly heaved the stone lock upward.
In an instant, his formidable force burst forth like a mountain flood breaking through a dam. His bat-wing-like hands raised the stone lock to his chest, where it held for a breath.
Then a still more powerful force lifted the lock over his head, and the clerk began counting the breaths.
At that moment,
everyone from Tianqing Martial Hall held their breath, afraid to even gasp. They silently counted, "One breath, two breaths, three breaths..."
When ten breaths had passed, the clerk called out, "The six-hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock has been held for ten breaths!"
Hearing this, Chen Mo steadily lowered the stone lock. He was nothing like Xie Jinnian, who had been in such a hurry.
Xie Jinnian stared at the scene in astonishment, then praised him repeatedly. "Chen Mo's got another trick up his sleeve! Could he be born with extraordinary strength?"
The crowd began to murmur, wondering which faction this young-looking man belonged to.
Hearing the talk around them, Chen Bao and Chen Mei were so shocked they could barely speak. "S-Six hundred and fifty pounds?! Didn't that Dark Jin martial student just manage six hundred and fifty, too?"
At that moment, in the center of the training grounds,
Chen Mo did not end his Strength Trial there. Instead, he slowly walked toward the seven-hundred-pound stone lock.
"What?! He's going to try the seven-hundred-pound lock?!"
Someone in the crowd shouted.
Even the seasoned elders of the great families wore looks of astonishment.
Lifting a seven-hundred-pound stone lock was beyond anyone who hadn't reached Dark Jin.
In the Zhao Family's section, Zhao Huayuan and Zhang Chong sat together in the front row, while everyone else sat behind them.
Zhang Chong looked up at the familiar figure on the field, now preparing to attempt the same seven-hundred-pound stone lock he had lifted.
A doubtful look crossed his face. "Anyang County has never had a Ming Jin martial student who could lift a seven-hundred-pound stone lock."
Zhao Huayuan beside him seemed rather calm. "He's only at the peak of Ming Jin. So what if he can lift seven hundred pounds? It just means he was born with tremendous strength. In the Technique Trial, he'll surely be hard to beat."
Zhang Chong nodded. "That makes sense."
Before you continue