Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: 1300 Jin
Meanwhile, at the County Magistrate’s Office, the Martial Scholar examination was in full swing.
In a luxurious estate on the west side of Xiahe County Town.
Dozens of young men and women had gathered for a banquet, complete with wine and poetry.
Beneath an octagonal pavilion at the edge of the courtyard.
Several young women in light makeup sat leaning against the railing, stretching languidly. The martial arts attire they wore revealed their lovely figures.
"Shu, your father really intends to marry you off to some country bumpkin? That can’t be possible, can it?" one of the young women asked, covering her mouth with a light, disbelieving laugh.
"Some country bumpkin, a toad lusting after a swan. He should take a good look at himself and his status. He must have his eyes on my family’s fortune and fed my father some kind of bewitching potion."
Zhang Shu said, fuming.
To be honest, while she had never liked Fang Yue, she hadn’t detested him this much before.
But after what happened yesterday, she wished she could teach Fang Yue a harsh lesson.
What was even more infuriating was that when her father mentioned the marriage, he actually hesitated, looking completely reluctant. It was disgusting.
"Heh, if you ask me, you might as well just listen to your father," the previous young woman teased again.
"You! Wang Han, have you gone boy-crazy? If you want to marry him, go right ahead. I don’t want a country bumpkin," Zhang Shu said, feigning anger.
"Stop messing around. You said that guy is also taking the Martial Scholar examination today. Aren’t you afraid he’ll pass? Won’t you regret it then?" Wang Han continued.
Zhang Shu snorted at her words, her face a mask of indifference: freewёbnoνel.com
"If women were allowed to participate, I could pass the Martial Scholar exam myself. As for someone with such a crooked character, someone will naturally put him in his place. If he gets injured during the examination, he can only blame his own lack of skill!"
As she finished speaking, a flicker of resentful anger and cold severity crossed her eyes.
~~~~~~
"Numbers eighty to one hundred, fall in."
Suddenly, the sound of a gong rang out.
The supervising Military Officer let out a great shout, his coarse voice booming like a clap of thunder. It was clear his strength was not to be underestimated.
Hearing this, Fang Yue immediately focused his mind, calmed his breathing, and followed the Martial Artists in front of him to line up and enter the field.
The Martial Scholar examination lasted only one day, so each test naturally had to be conducted with multiple people at once.
With everyone watching, there was no fear of cheating.
Soon, Fang Yue followed the Martial Artists ahead of him to a row of Stone Locks.
’This was the Government Office, after all; everything was professional. These Stone Locks look perfectly symmetrical and are far more refined than the ones I made back in the village.’
Eight hundred jin, nine hundred jin—each Stone Lock was one hundred jin heavier than the last, all the way up to fifteen hundred jin.
A total of twenty people were tested at once, with eight Stone Locks placed in front of each candidate.
The stone lifting was a test of strength, used to rank and select candidates for the second stage of the examination.
Those ranked below fiftieth place would be eliminated directly.
Fang Yue had been watching from the side. To guarantee a pass, one had to lift at least the one-thousand-one-hundred-jin Stone Lock.
This was the limit of strength for a Martial Artist with average Talent for the Martial Dao who was at the Skin Grinding Pass.
Of the eighty Martial Artists tested before him, only about twenty-one or twenty-two had managed to lift more than one thousand one hundred jin.
Statistically, the remaining group of less than one hundred people should have about the same number of successful candidates, but no one could guarantee there wouldn’t be any surprises.
’The one-thousand-three-hundred-jin Stone Lock!’
Fang Yue fixed his gaze directly on the third Stone Lock from the end.
He walked up to the Stone Lock, focused his mind, and sank his Qi into his Dantian, assuming a firm stance.
He gripped it with his palms slightly offset and then exerted force with both hands.
Fang Yue’s body instantly tensed. To the naked eye, it seemed as if his entire frame swelled at that moment.
His muscles bulged, brimming with power.
The next moment.
Fang Yue heaved with all his might.
The heavy Stone Lock immediately left the ground, rising steadily and smoothly past his abdomen and chest, finally coming to rest above his head!
*Hiss*—
At this, the surrounding candidates who were also being tested stared with wide eyes.
’How is that possible?’
’How could a guy with such an average build lift such a heavy Stone Lock?!’
’One thousand three hundred jin! That Stone Lock!’
Among all the Martial Artists present, only eight others had been able to lift such a heavy Stone Lock.
Based on the proportions, that level of strength was more than enough to advance.
Soon, twenty breaths of time had passed, and his result was officially recognized.
He was the ninth person so far today whose strength had surpassed one thousand three hundred jin.
The Stone Lock soon landed, the one-thousand-three-hundred-jin weight smashing heavily onto the ground.
"Who is he?"
"Which Martial Arts Hall is he from?"
"He looks so young! I wonder if he’s married!"
Throughout the entire training ground, the eyes of every Martial Artist—whether they had already been tested and tragically eliminated or had already passed the test—were now fixed on Fang Yue.
Their gazes were filled with a mixture of amazement, disbelief, and a dozen other emotions.
There weren’t many Martial Artists in all of Xiahe County Town at the Skin Grinding Pass who could display strength of over one thousand jin in a pure test of power.
And those people, for the most part, later passed the Martial Examination.
Therefore, as long as these powerful individuals are a little careful during the combat portion, their probability of passing the examination is extremely high!
’However, this Fang Yue has probably reached his limit.’
’Although he managed to lift the one-thousand-three-hundred-jin Stone Lock just now, and his strength seems extraordinary, he looked like he was struggling. Compared to the others who lifted it, he was clearly a bit lacking.’
’Because of that, when the combat matches begin, he’ll probably be "specially taken care of" by the others.’
’Some people with great strength don’t necessarily have the upper hand in a real fight.’
’Sometimes, they might even lose to someone weaker than them.’
"Number 98, lift of one thousand three hundred jin is valid!"
At this time, the Military Officer in charge of the test quickly announced Fang Yue’s result.
Fang Yue immediately walked to the edge of the training ground, loosened up his body a little, and began to rest.
’Of course, one thousand three hundred jin was not my limit. My true maximum strength has already reached one thousand five hundred jin.’
’There was no need to reveal it, though.’
’While a strength of one thousand five hundred jin would have earned me a better score in the stone-lifting portion of the test, and I might even be able to fight for a top spot in the combat matches if I pushed myself, doing so would mean exposing all my cards.’
’If I took first place in the Martial Scholar examination, I would definitely attract a lot more attention.’
’That would go against my principle of hiding my true strength and developing in a low-key manner.’
The next stage, the combat matches, would begin half an hour after the stone-lifting test concluded. The top fifty candidates would be selected based on their rankings to compete.
For the combat matches, the rankings would be randomized for one-on-one duels. The fighting would continue until a final ranking was decided, with the top thirty being declared new Martial Scholars.
’I didn’t expect this guy to have some real skill. His strength is a bit greater than mine. Still, he’s no match for me.’
At that moment,
in the crowd, a man in gray martial arts attire thought this as he watched Fang Yue.
