Five Thousand Jin of Strength!

"Zhao Wei, 2,700 jin!"

"Gao Huan, 2,900 jin!"

The tests for the two senior brothers from the martial hall had already ended, but neither result was particularly impressive.

Before Zhao Wei stepped up, he had already made his calculations, yet seeing this result, he could not help shaking his head with a sigh.

For the first strength test, one had to reach at least 3,000 jin to have any hope of earning a ranking.

Many disciples who took the stage had not even reached 2,000 jin of strength and were immediately disqualified from the next round.

Just then, the examiner shouted, "Chen An!"

The gazes of the many brothers from Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall, along with Wu Zhong's, all fell upon him.

Whether it was his master Wu Zhong or his other senior brothers, all of them held great expectations for Chen An!

Chen An's expression remained calm as he strode onto the square.

His gaze went straight to the last stone lock, the five-hundred-jin one, and he walked directly toward it.

He then drew a deep breath and let out an angry roar from his throat!

"Up!"

The five-hundred-jin stone lock was raised directly over Chen An's head.

The attention of the surrounding spectators was instantly drawn over, and the martial hall disciples were filled with excitement.

Zhao Wei nodded happily. "It seems Junior Brother Chen has the first strength test in the bag!"

Gao Huan looked at Chen An, who bore the expectations of the crowd, and nodded with complicated feelings.

Wu Zhong stroked his beard in satisfaction, a pleased expression appearing on his face.

Li Zepei, standing beside him, spoke with envy in his eyes:

"Your disciple really is extraordinary. His blood and qi are flourishing. I'd say he isn't far from Hidden Force Completion. Old Wu, you truly took in a fine disciple!"

Li Zepei was also a Skill-Transforming Force martial master. He likewise ran a martial hall in Gaoyang County and often interacted with Wu Zhong, the two sharing a good relationship.

Hearing his old friend's praise, Wu Zhong felt his face shine with pride and said with a satisfied smile:

"Taking in Chen An was also a fortunate opportunity for this old man. But for Hidden Force Completion, he still needs more time to settle and accumulate. As for your disciples, Brother Li, every one of them is a dragon or phoenix among men!"

As the two spoke, Chen An had already lifted the five-hundred-jin stone lock seven times in succession, the best result so far.

But Chen An's forehead was already covered in sweat, and he no longer had enough strength left!

On the eighth attempt, Chen An did not force himself. Instead, he settled for the next best thing and lifted the four-hundred-jin stone lock three times, ultimately achieving a result of 4,700 jin of strength.

"Not bad. He has a steady temperament. He did not force himself, but knew when to retreat in the face of difficulty."

Wu Zhong looked at Chen An with satisfaction. 4,700 jin of strength was enough for Chen An to place in the top ten of the first round.

Not long afterward, the examiner shouted again, "Cheng Qi!"

Hearing the call, Cheng Qi looked nervous as he hurried anxiously toward the stone locks.

He kept muttering, "Heavens, bless me. Heavens, bless me!"

Watching this scene, Cheng Heng could not help shaking his head.

He never worked hard at training normally, so what use was there in begging others for blessings before the test!

Cheng Qi took a deep breath and stepped before the four-hundred-jin stone lock. He used all his strength, his face turning bright red from the strain.

Yet the stone lock before him did not budge in the slightest!

"Four hundred jin is not something you can lift. Change stone locks immediately, or your qualification for this test will be revoked!"

The examiner's face was cold as he spoke icily.

Cheng Qi's face flushed crimson from the strain. In the end, unwilling though he was, he went to the two-hundred-jin stone lock and began trying. After ten consecutive lifts, he ultimately achieved only 2,000 jin of strength.

This result was just barely enough to enter the second round of assessment!

"Whew!"

Hearing the result finally announced by the examiner, Cheng Qi let out a long breath. What a close call, what a close call. He had finally made it into the second round.

Today's 2,000 jin was already his best result!

"Cheng Heng!"

With that shout, Cheng Heng calmly prepared to walk onto the square, meeting Cheng Qi, who was coming down, face-to-face.

Seeing that Cheng Heng was entering the arena, Cheng Qi immediately hid his flushed face and put on a lofty, superior air.

"Cheng Heng, don't be afraid. Just show your usual strength. Even if you perform badly, the Cheng Family still has me to stand up for it!"

Cheng Heng's expression was icy as he passed Cheng Qi without a word and walked straight onto the square.

Cheng Qi's face, which had only just returned to normal, instantly flushed red again. Gritting his teeth, he said:

"Fine, fine, fine! Let's see how heavy a stone lock you can lift!"

One hundred jin, two hundred jin, three hundred jin, four hundred jin—Cheng Heng did not pause before any of these stone locks and walked directly to the five-hundred-jin one.

Looking at Cheng Heng on the stage, Cheng Qi's face turned ashen. "You truly don't know your own limits. You want to lift a five-hundred-jin stone lock? Do you even have a brain in that head of yours?"

Zhao Wei looked solemnly at Zhao Yanran beside him. "Junior Brother Cheng excels in actual combat, but is his strength this formidable too?"

Second Senior Brother Wang Yin wore a disdainful expression as he said coldly, "Showboating!"

Zhao Yanran's brows furrowed slightly. "Is Junior Brother Cheng being too overconfident?"

Cheng Heng walked straight to the five-hundred-jin stone lock. Then, with a light exertion of both arms, the blood and qi within his body erupted in an instant, and the stone lock was immediately raised over his head!

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

Five times.

After a full seven times, everyone's attention in the arena was drawn to Cheng Heng on the square.

Then, without resting, Cheng Heng raised the stone lock for the eighth time!

The gazes of the many onlookers around the square had shifted from curiosity to astonishment.

The ninth time!

"Heavens!"

A young woman in the crowd actually cried out in alarm. Seeing everyone look her way, she hurriedly covered her mouth, terrified that she might make another sound!

Cheng Heng struck while the iron was hot, exerting strength through his body once more. The veins on his arms bulged like azure dragons!

The tenth time!

He once more raised the five-hundred-jin stone lock over his head!

Five thousand jin!

This youth from the Outer City had actually tested at 5,000 jin of strength!

Zhao Wei's face was filled with disbelief. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand whether this was truly the same Cheng Heng he had first met!

"Junior Brother Cheng!"

Zhao Yanran was also full of disbelief. The Junior Brother Cheng before her had once again brought her an unexpected surprise!

The contempt that had hung on Wang Yin's face gradually vanished, turning into deep shock.

At the same time, a chill ran down his back. Zhou Qing and he had offended Cheng Heng deeply. Would there still be a place for them to stand in Gaoyang County in the future?

Wu Zhong's face had already bloomed like a flower with his smile.

Although Cheng Heng's natural talent was poor, apart from that, every other aspect of him was top-tier!

Li Zepei, meanwhile, said blankly:

"Old Wu, could it be that Gaoyang County's feng shui has changed recently? Rare talents unseen in a hundred years are all coming out of the Outer City?"

"Should I move my martial hall to the Outer City someday as well?"

Meanwhile, Cheng Qi in the crowd wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. At the same time, he kept muttering:

"This is impossible, this is impossible! Is this still Cheng Heng?"

Boom!

Cheng Heng set the stone lock down at his feet. It struck the ground and let out a dull thud.