Testing Strength

Qin Lie shook his head. "That's not the case; there are only three criteria. What has your raw strength reached?"

"That's good. My current strength is roughly four hundred and fifty catties."

Qin Lie fell into a brief silence. It was already impressive that Lin Xuan had made progress without the boost of bear essence meat during this period, but he hadn't expected an increase of fifty catties.

A genius is indeed a genius; there is simply no reasoning with them.

At this rate, he would touch the threshold of the Breath-Connecting Realm in five or six months at most.

To reach the Breath-Connecting Realm at sixteen—such an age for such a breakthrough meant his future was limitless.

"Strength, archery, and combat—if you can be the most outstanding in these three, you can be promoted directly to Flag Commander. For this Winter Hunt, there is only one promotion spot for Flag Commander, and five for Squad Leader."

"Only one spot... that seems a bit tight. I'll need to step it up."

"Hmm, Brother Lin, how many martial arts do you know? In the final round, this will determine whether you can win," Qin Sheng asked, suddenly curious.

"Currently, I only know Grand Ancestor Long Fist. I don't know any other martial arts."

"Oh, then that is a major weakness. You might not be able to compete with the other Squad Leaders."

"What should I do then? It's too late to learn something new now, isn't it?" Lin Xuan frowned slightly.

"It is a bit late, but you should be fine. You can use raw power to break through all techniques. I will demonstrate a set of fist techniques for you; see how much you can learn." With that, Qin Lie began to demonstrate a martial art he had practiced—Four Extremes Fist.

This style was ruthless and heavy, emphasizing power and impact. It advocated for speed, precision, and lethality, utilizing knees and elbows as integral parts of the strikes.

Lin Xuan possessed the [Photographic Memory] ability. The moment he watched Qin Lie's demonstration, he deeply etched every movement into his mind.

Before he could even practice it once, a horn sounded across the drill ground, signaling the start of the martial arts competition.

On the drill ground, banners fluttered in the wind.

Many young military household members looked sallow and thin, yet they gripped their weapons with white-knuckled intensity.

They knew this was no ordinary competition.

It was an opportunity to determine their future fate. Low-level military households could be promoted to Squad Leader through these bouts, and Squad Leaders could rise to Flag Commander. Although the monthly salary was only one or one and a half taels of silver, it opened up gray channels and granted the right to purchase body-strengthening medicinal soups.

But to rise from Flag Commander to Deputy Hundred-Household Commander... that required military merit.

The Thousand-Household Commander on the high platform slowly stood up. The moment he rose, the field fell silent. Even the Hundred-Household Commanders and Deputy Hundred-Household Commanders who had been chatting stopped immediately, waiting for the highest military official in Liang City to speak.

He wasted no words.

He simply scanned the crowd and spoke:

"The Winter Hunt martial competition, officially begins!"

Following a roll of drums and the sound of a horn, a Flag Commander clad in leather armor appeared in the center of the crowd.

"The first of three trials: Strength Trial, commence."

This round was actually very simple. Just like when Lin Xuan lifted that bluestone the other day, it tested the martial artist's limit. However, this Training Lifting Stone trial increased in increments of fifty catties.

Many young military household members stepped onto the stage to lift the stones. Most could only manage a little over a hundred catties, and none exceeded two hundred. These were mostly competitors for the Squad Leader position, and they were no match for Lin Xuan.

He couldn't be bothered to watch them.

However, it was worth noting that his great-uncle was among them, managing to lift only the two-hundred-and-fifty-catty stone, and even then, he could only hold it for a short time.

Slowly, when a young man lifted the two-hundred-and-fifty-catty stone and successfully held it for several breaths, his face turning beet red, Lin Xuan knew it would be his turn after a few more people.

"Liu Jiye, two hundred and fifty catties, assigned to the Flag Commander group."

Liu Jiye wanted to lift more, but he had reached his limit; his face was as red as a pig's liver. If he were forced to add more weight, he might collapse right there.

Following him, several others vying for the Flag Commander position managed a record of three hundred catties at most, while the rest hovered around two hundred and fifty.

"Squad Leader Lin Xuan!"

"Here!" Lin Xuan replied.

"Come test the stone! The minimum for Flag Commander selection is two hundred and fifty catties." The leather-armored officer nodded at him.

Hearing the name, Lin Jie couldn't help but curl his lip. How old was Lin Xuan? And he was already participating in the Flag Commander selection?

Lin Jie said to his son, Lin Lu, "I didn't expect this brat to show up. Let's just wait to see him make a fool of himself. He's not even sixteen yet, and he's trying for the Flag Commander selection? He's truly overestimating himself."

"He'll be lucky if he can even lift the two-hundred-catty stone."

However, in the next second, Lin Xuan walked straight to the three-hundred-catty stone, steadying his breathing as if he intended to test this one.

"Putting on a show. Do you think you can lift three hundred catties just because you want to?" Seeing this, Lin Jie sneered with mockery.

Lin Lu chimed in, "Exactly. This kid is too arrogant. That's three hundred catties! I've been practicing martial arts for years and I can barely manage two hundred and fifty. He's dreaming!"

Zhang Quan watched the scene without even lifting an eyelid. What was there to see in a three-hundred-catty stone lift?

Lin Xuan stood before the stone, centered his energy in his dantian, and with a sudden burst of strength, hoisted the three-hundred-catty stone to his waist in one motion.

He didn't seem to be blushing or out of breath, holding it steady until the leather-armored officer called for him to stop.

Lin Jie's face turned pale as he stared fixedly at Lin Xuan on the field. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't believe this kid was the type to have such raw power.

"This... how is this possible?"

Seeing Lin Xuan's state, the leather-armored officer said, "Do you still have strength left? It feels like you haven't reached your limit yet. Shall we add another hundred catties?"

"Sure, add it." Lin Xuan nodded. He then walked over to the four-hundred-jin stone.

He lifted it with ease, appearing to have plenty of strength to spare, a state that left many low-ranking officers feeling curious.

"How is he so strong? Four hundred jin, that's four hundred jin!"

Lin Xuan had already broken the day's record, but he was unsatisfied. Fearing that the so-called prodigy of the Zhang family might outdo him later, he proposed:

"I want to try the five-hundred-jin one."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene erupted.

To compete for the position of Flag Commander, two hundred and fifty jin was the threshold; no one expected him to choose double that weight!

Arrogant, far too arrogant!

This weight was something only many veteran Flag Commanders would dare to attempt.

However, it was also clear that Lin Xuan had lifted the four-hundred-jin stone with such composure that he clearly had the confidence for five hundred jin.

Qin Lie nodded in approval, Qin Sheng wore a look of admiration, and Qin Ying's face was full of astonishment.

Lin Jie's face darkened.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Quan couldn't help but glance over; after all, five hundred jin was not far from his own limit.

The armored officer stood stunned, blinking rapidly, before watching Lin Xuan walk toward the five-hundred-jin stone.

Lin Xuan sank his qi into his dantian, coordinated the muscles throughout his body, and finally, let out a heavy breath before placing his hands on the stone.

Rise!