Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Mid-Grade

Hei Hu walked straight toward the 380-jin Stone Lock.

The other four had, at most, only approached the 320-jin Stone Locks. In an instant, Hei Hu became the center of attention among the five of them.

Everyone’s eyes were on him.

Hei Hu gripped the Stone Lock with both hands. Feeling everyone’s gaze, he couldn’t help but lift his head high. On the surface, he appeared full of confidence, but inside, he was already starting to regret it.

He cursed himself inwardly. ’I got carried away again.’

But the thought of the Noble Family Disciples strutting around and showing off their power made Hei Hu bottle up his anger. He fixed his gaze on the young man with the surname Ji.

The young man’s given name was a single word: Hu.

He generally paid more attention to people with “Hu” in their name. Seeing Hei Hu attempt to lift the 380-jin Stone Lock in the very first round surprised him. When he saw the challenging look in Hei Hu’s eyes, he seemed to understand his opponent’s intentions and couldn’t help but watch him with a grin.

He wanted to see if Hei Hu was just putting on an act or if he had real skill.

Hei Hu muttered under his breath, his eyes sweeping over the others. Finally, he spotted a young man with a gloomy expression—it was Liu Quan.

The Noble Families had come to South City to participate in the Martial Arts Examination.

Liu Quan and Jin Shan were both keeping a lower profile than usual, conserving their strength in a corner.

When the two saw that Hei Hu was in the first group and was going for the 380-jin Stone Lock in the first round, they were both stunned, then they began to scoff at him.

Seeing the change in their expressions, Hei Hu felt a surge of indignation.

“Lift!”

Seeing that the five contestants were ready, the examiner immediately gave the command.

“HEH!”

All five let out a sharp roar.

Hei Hu channeled his Heavenward Force, surging his body’s Qi Blood. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the 380-jin Stone Lock rapidly left the ground and was successfully lifted over his head.

Many people were shocked by his display of Qi Power.

After one breath.

Hei Hu threw the Stone Lock to the ground.

The four beside him also dropped their Stone Locks, and the way they looked at Hei Hu had changed completely.

Chu Lingguang and Guo Wei both secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Hei Hu had just lifted the 380-jin Stone Lock with such ease. With the help of the medicinal tea, his Qi Power should be close to 400 jin.

It would be enough to handle the next two rounds.

Liu Quan and Jin Shan, however, frowned.

“Prepare for the second round.”

The examiner announced after recording the five contestants’ results.

Hei Hu used his Breathing Technique to regulate his condition and Qi Power. After a brief rest, he and the other four once again stood before the Stone Locks they were about to lift.

Hei Hu chose the 390-jin Stone Lock.

Many people frowned.

They had expected Hei Hu to jump to 400 jin, but he had only added ten. Liu Quan and Jin Shan both felt a flicker of contempt.

The others chose Stone Locks of 340 jin at most.

“Lift!”

The examiner’s voice rang out again.

“HEH!”

Hei Hu let out an astonishing roar, channeled his Heavenward Force, and once again lifted the 390-jin Stone Lock over his head. He held it for one breath before dropping it, then began to pant heavily.

“That brat.”

Guo Wei cursed under his breath, worried that Hei Hu was aiming too high and would fail the final round.

After the examiner noted the results, the third round began quickly. Hei Hu felt a warm current spread through his abdomen, as if the residual medicinal power was being absorbed.

His eyes fell on the 410-jin Stone Lock. If he could just lift that thing, he would earn a Grade A Middle Grade result.

For the Qiao Pass event, while it wouldn’t put him at the very top, it would still rank him among the best.

So, he looked toward the edge of the field, seeking encouragement from Guo Wei.

Thanks to Master Yan’s silver taels, Guo Wei’s seat was very close to the front, and Hei Hu spotted him quickly.

SQUISH!

When Guo Wei saw Hei Hu looking his way, he seemed to understand his student’s intention. He quickly reached out, grabbed a cluster of grapes nearby, and crushed them. The juice and seeds splattered all over Master Yan’s face.

Hei Hu immediately recoiled and walked toward the 400-jin Stone Lock instead.

“Lift!”

The examiner’s voice came again.

“HEH!”

Hei Hu used all his strength to hoist the Stone Lock from the ground. He successfully lifted it over his head, but he had to hold it for one breath. His hands trembled and his body swayed, but thankfully, he held on until the end.

THUD!

The Stone Lock hit the ground, and both Guo Wei and Chu Lingguang let out a breath of relief.

The examiners conferred and finally judged Hei Hu to be the strongest of the five. He was the only one to achieve a Grade A Lower Grade result. The highest among the other four was only Grade B+ Upper Grade.

The lowest was Grade C+ Upper Grade, which was almost not enough to qualify for the next event.

“Master, your disciple has advanced.”

Examinees who finished the Qiao Pass event had to wait until the next day to participate in the other assessments. After leaving the sand pit, Hei Hu went straight to Guo Wei to report the good news.

Guo Wei shot Hei Hu a fierce glare.

If Hei Hu hadn’t tried to lift the 380-jin Stone Lock at the very beginning, he might have actually been able to lift the 410-jin one in the final round and secure a Grade A Middle Grade result.

Lower Grade and Middle Grade—although it was just a one-word difference, in the eyes of the examiners, it was a world of difference.

However, Guo Wei had tested Hei Hu’s Qi Power before. Without the medicinal tea, his limit was 380 jin. For six bowls of tea to increase his strength by twenty jin in two days—Guo Wei was already very satisfied with that.

It was just a pity that this year’s Martial Arts Examination in South City had the Noble Families participating, which had raised the standards by a huge margin. Otherwise, with Hei Hu’s current Qi Power, he could have achieved a Grade A Middle Grade or even an Upper Grade result in previous years.

“Next contestants, prepare!”

The examiner called another five contestants into the sand pit.

Chu Lingguang waited quietly. He had thought that since Hei Hu was in the first group, he, as Hei Hu’s junior brother and also a contestant from Baiyang County, would be in one of the next few groups. He never expected that more than ten waves of contestants would go by without his turn being called.

Slowly, the number of people left in the contestants’ waiting area dwindled.

“Wang Liankun, Wang Lianbo, Luo Xuming, Yang Xu, Wu Hongwei, begin the examination!”

Just then, two familiar names reached Chu Lingguang’s ears.

Da Wang and Xiao Wang stood up at the same time. They gave Chu Lingguang a slight smile before entering the sand pit.

Da Wang’s real name was Wang Liankun, and Xiao Wang’s was Wang Lianbo. The two brothers had been at the Guo Wei Martial Arts Hall for over two months, so Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu both knew their names.

Having failed to make the list last time, the two brothers were ambitious for this re-examination.

But they both started by attempting to lift the 350-jin Stone Lock.

In the second round, they lifted 380 jin.

In the third round, both of them chose to lift the 410-jin Stone Lock.

They were determined to achieve Grade A Middle Grade.

“Lift!”

“HEH!”

The two brothers roared, simultaneously channeling their Heavenward Force to lift the 410-jin Stone Lock over their heads.

They struggled to hold it up.

The Stone Lock above their heads wobbled precariously.

Both of their faces were flushed red. Xiao Wang even started shifting his feet, moving to maintain his balance.

THUD!

After one breath.

The two brothers dropped their Stone Locks at the same time and stood back-to-back, feeling as if they didn’t have an ounce of strength left in their bodies. But with Qi Power of 410 jin, they had achieved the Grade A Middle Grade result they wanted, and their faces were all smiles.

“Ji Hu, Chu Lingguang, Yan Chengdu, Chai Yaolong, Shi Guangzhong, begin the examination!”

Just then, the examiner’s voice came again.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep