Chapter 64: Li Clan’s high survival rate

Nearly two hundred participants had faced the strength test by now, yet fewer than twenty had managed to raise the three-hundred-jin boulder. Failure hung in the air like a silent drumbeat.

At last, the Li Clan’s turn came.

Li Baijie stepped forward first. A seven-star Elite, yes, but it is also a fact that she is a female whose raw strength would obviously be lower than that of her male counterpart of the same rank. Even so, she was one of the clan’s chosen. Too many eyes rested on her for retreat to be an option.

She inhaled, bracing herself.

Her fingers curled around the rough stone. At first, tremor ran through her arms as she attempted to lift the stone. Color drained from her face, and veins rose in sharp relief, but she refused to release her grip. Inch by inch, the stubborn weight loosened from the ground.

*Ha*

A rasping breath escaped her as the boulder climbed to chest height.

It was enough.

A wave of applause broke out. The first Li Clan success.

Next came Li Xuling.

He shared her cultivation level, and seeing her lift it, he looked confident. But when he attempted to lift it, he could only lift till the waist before his muscles tensed up and he let it go.

A single, merciless word followed: “Failed.”

Li Xuling stepped down stiffly with his shoulders hunched in disappointment, cheeks burning in embarrassment. That humiliation was something he would remember far longer than this exam.

From the sidelines, Ryan watched without comment. His expression didn’t shift, only a faint crease forming between his brows.

It was a pity that Xuling couldn’t do it, but then again, strength couldn’t be gifted. And if one couldn’t clear even the first rounds, Western Mansion would eat them alive anyway.

The remaining Li Clan youths felt the pressure settle over them after this failure. Li Wulin, Li Zhanfeng, Li Shu—each one looked as though the failure had stolen a measure of their confidence. If a seven-star Elite had fallen, what hopes did the lower-ranked ones have?

All except one.

Li Wujie moved with the steady assurance of someone aware of his strength. A nine-star Elite at his age was already enough to stir whispers.

Cheers erupted even before the examiner announced his success. Li Wujie hadn’t just lifted the boulder; he had hoisted it above his head as though clearing away an inconvenient obstacle.

The crowd buzzed, admiration rolling across the field.

Up on the high platform, Zhu Yan chuckled and nudged Li Gengxin. “Brother Li, your clan truly shines today. Reaching the third round seems well within reach.”

“You give us too much credit,” Li Gengxin replied, though the quiet pride in his eyes betrayed him.

Not everyone shared the sentiment.

The Su patriarch sniffed. “Aside from Li Wujie, the others are forgettable. Passing even the second round will be a challenge.”

The Fan patriarch nodded coolly. “If Li Mingtian were in his prime, it would be another story. But this generation? One star among dim lanterns.”

Someone else laughed softly.

The Mu patriarch leaned back, eyes sliding toward the designated exemption area where Ryan stood. “And what of the boy who skipped the first round? Li Wei, wasn’t it?”

A few chuckles stirred at that comment.

The Fan Clan’s patriarch let out a short, derisive breath, but he said nothing further. Wang Zongyao sat only a few seats away, after all. Mocking Ryan here would be the same as calling the examiner blind. No one with survival instincts tested an examiner’s patience in public.

The high platform was full of people who had weathered decades of political storms; they knew when silence was wisdom. Whenever Ryan’s name drifted into conversation, it died just as quickly.

Well—almost always.

And seeing the silence from others, the Mu Clan’s patriarch continued. “I, for one, trust Examiner Wang’s judgment,” he mused. “Who knows? Perhaps Li Wei will deliver a surprising performance.”

That earned another ripple of polite, knowing laughter. Surprise was the last thing anyone expected from a quiet boy who had yet to show anything at all.

Li Gengxin twitched, caught off guard by the comment. Did that old fox notice something?

Impossible. Even he hadn’t fully deciphered Ryan’s depth. The Mu Clan’s patriarch certainly couldn’t have seen farther.

He exhaled, letting his expression smooth.

Let them laugh. Tigers who walked like pigs did not need to roar ahead of time.

Meanwhile, the examination pressed on, each new contestant stepping forward beneath the weight of both the boulder and a thousand watching eyes.

To everyone’s surprise, Li Xuling’s earlier failure did not herald a disastrous run for the Li Clan. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Li Wulin cleared the test.

Li Zhanfeng followed with a steadier, cleaner lift.

Then a small figure stepped into the ring.

Li Shu looked as though a strong gust might topple her. Slender frame, quiet demeanor, the sort of girl most overlooked in a crowded group. A few spectators even sighed, already preparing themselves for the examiner’s inevitable verdict.

She placed her hands on the stone.

A heartbeat of stillness.

Then the boulder rose.

Not trembling. Not wavering. The heavy mass climbed to her chest as though the world’s expectations meant nothing.

The square erupted in gasps and murmurs at her performance.

Shouts crashed over the arena. People stood from their seats. A few nearly choked on their own breath. A girl. And that too, a three-star Elite managed to lift with such ease? What kind of physique did she have? Many couldn’t help but wonder.

Even Ryan’s eyes narrowed faintly in surprise.

Behind the ring, however, Li Xuling stood frozen. The cheers for Li Shu battered his pride like hammer blows. Sweat collected at his temples, cold and sharp. A girl younger and weaker than him had accomplished what he couldn’t.

He bit down hard.

If only I’d trained more…

But the test didn’t care for regrets.

By the end of the Li Clan’s run, the results were laid bare. Seven participants in total. Excluding Ryan, six took the first round.

Five passed.

It was an achievement worth celebrating, but for Li Xuling, it felt like a personal funeral. He stood stiffly at the back, looking so shaken and humiliated that he seemed ready to flee the arena altogether.

On the high platform, Li Gengxin wore a wide, unrestrained smile. “Good. Very good.” The clan had secured its honor today; no one could deny it.

The sun dipped low, staining the sky with amber as the first round finally drew to a close.

More than a thousand had entered.

Only 118 endured.

Barely a tenth remained.

Among the survivors were, unsurprisingly, Su Jian and Fan Chun. Their expressions were smug enough to curdle milk. As they stepped off the ring, both sent cutting glances toward Ryan, openly mocking.

Ryan answered with a pleasant, unbothered smile. Their contempt slid right off him, as though he were wrapped in an invisible quiet that arrogance couldn’t pierce.

Here is the rewritten Chapter continuation, now in smoother, simpler language with clearer atmosphere, emotional rhythm, and gentle show-not-tell.

*

The next day, the second round began at dawn, when the morning mist still clung to the square.

Today’s test was simple in name, harsh in truth.

Perseverance.

All remaining candidates would face the pressure of an Exalt for five full minutes. No tricks. No shortcuts. Just endurance against a force meant to crush their spirit.

Ryan and the other exempted candidates stood off to the side, watching the trial. The crowd still looked at him with curled lips and half-hidden sneers. Fan Wei and the others wore openly sour expressions, as if Ryan’s very presence bothered them.

Ryan didn’t pay them any mind, though. He held Xiao Hei lazily in his arms, the little beast purring softly, and watched the ring with quiet eyes.

The examiner then stepped forward.

A middle-aged man in plain robes, his posture steady, like a pillar driven into the earth.

Wang Yu.

A five-star Exalt from Western Mansion.

He didn’t release a hint of power, yet the moment he reached the center of the ring, the air grew heavier. It felt as though a quiet weight settled on everyone’s chest.

Several candidates exchanged uneasy glances.

This will be difficult.

Wang Yu scanned the crowd, his voice firm but even. “Ready?”

Over a hundred voices answered in unison, tight with nerves.

“Ready!”

Wang Yu adjusted his stance.

His hands curled into fists.

Then…

Boom.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep