Following the sound.
At that moment, they had already begun testing the 400-jin stone locks.
That was equivalent to the weight of three large household refrigerators.
Now, only five people remained.
First to try was a tall woman with slightly dark skin.
After several attempts, she barely managed to lift the stone lock a few centimeters off the ground. She couldn't straighten up at all, and in the end, she could only give up.
Even so, she still won a prize of several hundred thousand.
The next two tried. One managed to lift it, but could only hold it for two or three seconds, which didn't count.
As for the last contestant, he wore a black tank top and had a snake tattoo on one arm.
He was also the Hu Clan member who had earlier claimed he could deadlift three hundred kilograms.
He took a deep breath.
Gripping the handle of the stone lock, he raised it with trembling effort, the veins on his neck bulging.
He managed to hold on for ten seconds, barely meeting the requirements.
Seeing this, the crowd around them broke into applause.
In previous Strength Bearing Festivals, most members of the clan had been stopped by the 400-jin stone lock.
Anyone who could lift it had essentially earned the title of Hammer Holder.
The man clearly understood that, too. A faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
No one knew how much he had suffered to reach this moment.
But just then, an ill-timed voice rang out.
"What are you doing? You've finished lifting it, so hurry up and get out of my way!"
His body lurched as an arm shoved him aside.
He nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.
He turned to look.
The person who had arrived was none other than the chubby little boy named Hu Zetong.
Ignoring the man beside him, he walked up to the stone lock and reached out with one hand, grabbing it.
The next second.
To everyone's astonishment, he lifted it with one arm and even raised it over his head.
The sight left the man, who had been about to get angry, with his words stuck in his throat.
His eyes widened as he stared at the chubby little boy in disbelief.
Was someone who could lift a 400-jin stone lock with one hand even human?
Hu Zetong paid no mind to his expression and set the stone lock down.
He did it so casually, as though he were swinging a toy.
"Your turn!"
Hu Zetong looked at Hu Long behind him.
He recognized him, of course.
This was the man who had tricked him earlier.
At the thought, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.
He was ready to watch Hu Long make a fool of himself.
Hu Long looked at the 400-jin stone lock and didn't hesitate.
He reached out with both hands and lifted it.
The black-tank-top Hu Clan member standing nearby had gone from looking surprised to looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
Lifting the 400-jin stone lock had nearly drained him.
So why had those two lifted it so easily?
Was anyone else supposed to have a chance?
At this rate, he wouldn't even get second place.
"Not bad. You're pretty interesting! But you're still nowhere near good enough to compete with me."
Hu Zetong looked at Hu Long in surprise. He hadn't expected Hu Long to lift it, too.
But he still didn't take him seriously.
At the moment, the two of them were the only ones left in the competition.
"These stone locks are too light. This is getting boring."
Hu Zetong walked over to the 450-jin stone lock and lifted it with one arm.
He made it look effortless.
As he spoke, he glanced at Hu Long.
"How about we decide the winner in one round?"
"What do you have in mind?" Hu Long asked calmly, his expression unchanged.
"Great-grandfather, the clan chief, I want to try that one!"
Hu Zetong didn't answer Hu Long. Instead, he looked at Hu Zhenkui and pointed toward an object at the far end.
Unlike the stone locks arranged in front, this was a huge three-legged bronze cauldron.
It was called the Deer Cauldron and weighed more than a thousand jin.
That was according to the way weight had been measured during the Yun Dynasty, when twelve liang made one jin.
Using the modern standard of ten liang to a jin, it weighed a full twelve hundred jin.
The cauldron had three legs and was cast from bronze.
Unlike a stone lock, which could be gripped by its handle, this cauldron had a rounded body and tall legs, leaving nowhere to grab hold of it. The only way to lift it was to wrap one's arms around the entire cauldron.
But it weighed a thousand jin. How could anyone with an ordinary mortal body possibly lift it?
Over the years, many Hu Clan members had shown extraordinary strength, but none had ever managed to lift this thing.
As far as the elders knew, it had only happened once.
Someone had successfully lifted the cauldron twenty years ago.
That was the only time in nearly a century.
"Since you're confident, go ahead and give it a try."
Clan Chief Hu Zhenkui nodded.
He didn't interfere with Hu Zetong's display. Competition was what drove people to improve, no matter where they were.
As clan chief, he was glad to see the clan members compete, as long as they stayed within reasonable limits.
There was another reason, too.
He wanted to see just how far this little fellow could go.
"Yes, Great-grandfather, the clan chief!"
With that, Hu Zetong shot Hu Long a provocative look.
The message was obvious: Let's see how you can top this.
Unfortunately, Hu Long couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention. His expression didn't change.
It felt like throwing a punch at a wad of cotton, leaving Hu Zetong thoroughly frustrated.
Hu Zetong took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the silent bronze cauldron.
Its body was dark, and its three legs rested firmly on the ground, as if they had grown into the stone slabs.
The watching clan members fell silent, every eye fixed on him.
He walked up to the cauldron, bent forward, spread his arms, and wrapped them around one of its legs.
His back and waist slowly lowered as his arms tensed.
The next second.
The veins on his neck and forehead suddenly bulged, and his face flushed red.
The thousand-jin Deer Cauldron began to rise from the ground, inch by inch, as he put all his strength into lifting it.
Sand trickled from its feet. The cauldron rose slowly until he had used every bit of his strength to lift it in front of him!
Time seemed to freeze.
The crowd held their breath, eyes wide as if they were seeing a ghost.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten how to speak.
The whole place fell utterly silent.
What were they looking at?
He had actually lifted the thousand-jin Deer Cauldron.
This had to be a joke!
The sight left even the members of the main branch staring in shock.
A mix of astonishment, envy, and admiration filled their eyes.
They understood better than the other clan members what this meant.
Innate Divine Strength!
This was a true genius.
"His strength is quite a bit greater than mine was at that age. If we're only talking about physical strength, he's probably already reached the level of the late Body Casting stage."
Watching this, Hu Li furrowed her brows, her expression complicated.
She was a genius, to be sure, but this person was even more talented than she was.
Compared with the watching crowd, Hu Zetong, out on the field, was having a much harder time.
Unlike the stone locks he'd lifted before, this bronze cauldron was clearly no easy feat, even though he'd managed to raise it.
His arms trembled violently. The bronze cauldron swayed, and he stumbled. The stone slabs beneath his feet cracked slightly.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Just as the fifth second was about to pass, a thin trail of bright red blood suddenly snaked from his nostril, crossed his tightly pressed lips, and dripped onto the front of his shirt.
Hu Zetong's eyes were wide, bloodshot, and he kept straining to hold the cauldron up.
But the dam of his strength had already begun to crack. Willpower alone could no longer hold it.
His arms started shaking uncontrollably, and the cauldron began to tilt.
"Boom—!"
The next moment.
A dull crash rang out. Dust billowed, and broken bricks flew in every direction.
He had finally run out of strength and set the cauldron down hard, making the ground tremble slightly.
He staggered back two steps and dropped onto the ground.
—Huff, huff!
His breathing was as heavy as a bellows, and his nose was still dripping blood onto the ground.
The surroundings fell silent.
Every eye was on Hu Zetong.
There was shock, regret, and even a little fear.
After all, if that thing fell on someone—
One mistake, and they could be crushed to death on the spot.
Even though he hadn't truly succeeded, he had most definitely managed to lift the cauldron.
That was something ordinary people could hardly imagine.
Hu Zetong wiped away the blood from his nose and glanced back at Hu Long.
A provocative smile tugged at his lips.
"Come on! If you've got what it takes, try lifting it like I did!"
"All right. I'll give it a try, too."
Hu Long nodded and walked straight toward the three-legged bronze cauldron without hesitation.
The crowd couldn't help but look startled.
They hadn't expected Hu Long to actually try lifting it.
He Yanling, who was watching nearby, started to stop him.
But Hu Chengwen held her back.
"Don't worry. The clan chief is watching, so he'll be fine. Besides, Xiaolong has grown a lot. He wouldn't do something unless he was confident."
Even as he spoke, the shock in his eyes hadn't faded.
He Yanling's expression darkened.
"Hu Chengwen, if anything happens to Xiaolong, I'll never forgive you!"
She didn't care about whether he belonged to the main branch or not. She only wanted her child to be safe and healthy.
Hu Chengwen opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.
Hu Long's performance now gave him a glimmer of hope.
He didn't want to give up.
Hu Zetong, standing off to the side, likewise didn't believe Hu Long could lift it.
Only those who had experienced it firsthand knew how heavy the thing really was.
"If you don't have the strength, don't force it. Don't crush yourself to death!"
"Hu Zhao, you're really not going to stop your little brother? If he gets hurt, don't blame my nephew."
At the edge of the field, Hu Xiao sidelong-glanced at Hu Zhao, who stood not far away, a faint smile playing at her lips.
Hu Zhao pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Only now did she finally understand where the other woman's confidence came from. Hu Zetong was her nephew.
With that connection, joining the main branch would be a foregone conclusion.
With such a relationship, she certainly had grounds to act so arrogantly.
Thinking this, she fixed her gaze on Hu Long's back.
After spending these days together, she had naturally noticed some hard-to-describe changes in her little brother.
For instance, he was less reckless than he'd been as a young man, and a little more steady.
If he'd dared to step forward, he must have been fairly confident.
But... that bronze cauldron was simply too intimidating.
Her hand clenched slightly inside her sleeve. Then she heard Hu Xiao's affected, mocking laughter, and a cold fury suddenly flared in her heart.
"Hu Xiao."
She turned her face toward her, her eyes icy.
"Say one more snide thing, and see if I don't tear your mouth off."
Hu Xiao's expression stiffened.
In all the years they'd known each other, Hu Zhao had only worn such an expression once before.
That was when someone had shoved Hu Long as a child.
She knew Hu Zhao was capable of doing it. She could only swallow her words, though she sneered inwardly.
Hu Zetong was her nephew; she knew his strength and physique better than anyone.
It had surprised her that Hu Long could lift a four-hundred-pound stone lock, but that cauldron... There was no way he could lift it.
"Just wait. Once Zetong joins the main branch, you'll be on your knees begging me."