Testing

Four hundred jin of strength was already the level of a mid-stage Bone Binding Realm warrior. Yet Lin Xuan was only fifteen, just old enough to begin practicing martial arts, and already possessed such strength. His martial talent was so high it was downright astonishing.

With talent like his, entering the Breath-Connecting Realm was only a matter of time. He might even have a chance to reach the higher realm that ordinary people wouldn't dare hope for: the Blade-Condensing Realm.

Qin Lie stood stunned for a long while before slowly coming back to his senses. He suppressed the tumult raging in his heart and said solemnly to Lin Xuan, "Testing your strength by word of mouth isn't accurate. Come with me to the drill ground and try lifting a Training Lifting Stone. A proper test will reveal your true limit."

The Garrison was quite small. Besides the military households' residential area, it had only the drill ground and its internal military farmland. The two soon arrived at the drill ground.

There weren't many people there at the moment. The officers' sons had mostly grown soft and corrupt. Apart from the ten days each month when they were required to train, they spent their time betting on dogs and fighting cocks, playing with crickets, or carousing in the county town's brothels while listening to music.

Training Lifting Stones were square blocks of what were considered finely polished, premium bluestone. There were grooves on both sides for your hands. You had to lift the stone to waist height and hold it there for a while for the test to count.

After all, being able to lift something and being able to hold it were two different things.

Training Lifting Stones came in seven or eight sizes, generally increasing in one-hundred-jin increments, with nine hundred jin as the limit. Anyone who could lift more had already entered the Breath-Connecting Realm, and there were only a handful of such people in all of Liang City.

Lin Xuan went straight to the stones. Each was carved with strange beasts such as white tigers and qilins, along with the stone's weight.

He chose a Training Lifting Stone weighing four hundred jin.

Lin Xuan drew a deep breath, then loosened up his muscles and bones, which cracked and popped.

Then he put his hands into the grooves and exerted his strength, lifting the four-hundred-jin Training Lifting Stone until it hung at about waist height.

The muscles in his arms bulged, his veins stood out taut, and his hard lines showed off his tremendous strength.

Watching from the side, Qin Lie grew more delighted by the moment.

After several breaths, Lin Xuan showed no sign of tiring. He kept the stone at the same height he had lifted it to, barely shifting at all.

Qin Lie nodded and waved to Lin Xuan. "All right, all right. Put it down. I've seen enough to know your strength."

Only then did Lin Xuan slowly lower the stone. He did so steadily, without the look of someone relieved to be done and ready to toss the stone aside.

Lifting four hundred jin steadily would make someone a world-class strongman back on Earth. But here, it was only the beginning. He still had to train.

Qin Lie sighed. "Just as you said, not a word of it was false! With strength like yours, I recommend a Twelve-Strength Bow."

The Twelve-Strength Bow's damage and range were almost double those of the Six-Force Bow he'd used before.

The scout who had followed him earlier had been about a hundred paces away. With his old Six-Force Bow, he could barely have inflicted any serious harm at that distance.

But a Twelve-Strength Bow could handle it with ease.

That was why he hadn't chosen to attack outside the city earlier.

Lin Xuan asked curiously, "What's the going price for a Twelve-Strength Bow?"

Qin Lie looked at Lin Xuan and gave him the actual price. "A proper, usable Twelve-Strength hard bow from the Garrison's Military Craftsman Shop costs three taels of silver.

"If you also want thirty Armor-Piercing Arrows, that'll cost another tael."

Lin Xuan calculated silently. He had earned a little over seven taels from selling the bear meat, and his family still had nine taels. That was more than enough for a bow and arrows, so he nodded.

"What about a military saber?" Lin Xuan asked next.

Qin Lie replied, "A finely forged Goose-Feather Waist Saber costs two and a half taels. A masterwork costs over ten.

"But I doubt you'd need a masterwork saber around here. This is the inner provinces of Great Jin, after all—no barbarians or roaming bandits."

Lin Xuan took out the silver. "Then could I trouble you, Uncle Qin, to get me a Twelve-Strength Bow and a fine Goose-Feather Saber? I don't know my way around the Garrison, so I'm afraid I won't be able to negotiate a good price."

There were at least ten taels of silver in the bundle.

Qin Lie took the silver and weighed it in his hand. "This must be at least eight or nine taels. It's too much."

"It's not, Uncle Qin. I can't ask you to handle this for me and leave you empty-handed. Please accept this small token of appreciation."

Qin Lie demurred. "Come now, nephew, don't say that. Since you and Sheng'er call each other brothers, I should naturally treat you as one of my juniors. Why go to all this trouble over a little thing?"

Lin Xuan chuckled. "Precisely because you're my elder. It's only right for a junior to show respect to his elders."

Qin Lie was taken aback. Then he stroked his beard and smiled, tucking the silver into his robe. His eyes were full of approval as he looked at Lin Xuan.

He glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, spoke again.

"Are you engaged, nephew? I have a daughter about your age. She's gentle by nature. If you aren't already engaged, I'd like to betroth her to you.

"If our families become related by marriage, I'll do everything I can to promote you in the Garrison. I could even put my Qin Family's several hundred mu of fertile land under your management."

Lin Xuan's heart tightened. He immediately bowed, his tone sincere and resolute.

"Uncle Qin, I'm grateful for your kindness, but I already have a child bride, Lin An. We've been together since childhood, sharing hardships and dangers. She has always treated me with the utmost sincerity and kindness. I could never take another wife. I hope you'll understand."

"What does that matter? She can become a concubine. My daughter is gentle and easygoing. She certainly wouldn't mistreat her."

Seeing that Qin Lie persisted, Lin Xuan went on, "Uncle Qin, Lin An is the woman who has shared life and death with me, my partner in bed. There's no way I'd ever demote her to a concubine. As long as she doesn't betray me, she'll always be my lawful wife. I'd rather live in poverty all my life than wrong her."

At those words, Qin Lie didn't feel embarrassed. If anything, he admired Lin Xuan even more.

He had said it deliberately. He'd spoken with his son before and learned about Lin Xuan, including the fact that he had a wife.

He'd brought it up now mainly to see whether Lin Xuan would betray her for the sake of a better future—whether he valued profit over loyalty and could be easily bought and used. In other words, he wanted to know whether Lin Xuan was worth the Qin Family's genuine support and investment.

If he would abandon the wife he'd married first for a little gain, what would be the point of supporting someone like that?

One day, he'd betray them for profit too.

He'd already planned how to handle it. If Lin Xuan agreed, he would simply use some excuse about their birth charts being incompatible to call off the arrangement.

A man like that might grow powerful, then betray them or even swallow up his own family. If that were a possibility, they might as well not try to win him over in the first place.

But Lin Xuan's words convinced him that he and his son had judged the man correctly.

"Good, good! Come, I'll take you to the workshop. I'll have the craftsmen bring out their finest bow and saber!" Qin Lie headed toward the Military Craftsman Shop.

Seeing that Qin Lie wasn't angry and instead wore a look of admiration, Lin Xuan stood stunned for a moment. Then, after a little thought, he guessed what Qin Lie had been thinking.