Martial Arts Sainthood Begins with the Tiger-Taming Fist

Chen Mo and Xie Jinnian both looked toward the center of the training ground.

A tall, muscular man slowly lowered the stone lock, which was almost half his size.

"Who is that person?" Chen Mo asked.

Xie Jinnian blurted out, "Chang Hao, the young leader of the Iron Palm Clan, has already reached the mid-stage of Dark Force at the same age as me, and is one of the hottest figures in this year's ranking."

At the mid-stage of Dark Force, one becomes one of the top ten favorites.

Chen Mo secretly observed Xie Jinnian's aura and concluded that he was at the early stage of internal strength, and not yet stable, not much different from Luo Hou of the Zhao family.

The other person also turned their gaze to them and asked, "What are your goals for the martial arts exam this year, Brother Chen Mo?"

After thinking for a moment, Chen Mo replied, "The target is roughly forty-fiveth place."

Xie Jinnian nodded slightly. Aiming for 45th place in the Ming Jin realm was indeed reasonable. His tone was reassuring, "Brother, you can gain experience this year and fight again next year. How many people have been fighting for four or five years and are still persisting!"

"Okay, thank you for your encouragement!"

Following Chang Hao of the Iron Palm Gang, several other people lifted a 700-pound stone lock, causing a stir.

Among them are Liao Tian, ​​the head disciple of the Qi family, Zhang Chong, the son-in-law of the Zhao family, Liu Sha of the Black Tiger Hall, and Ye Zimou of Hefeng Pawnshop.

Only one person lifted the 750-pound stone lock, and the entire training ground erupted in a thunderous roar, causing many respectable young ladies to exchange subtle glances.

"He is my cousin, Xie Jinyou!"

Xie Jinnian pointed proudly to the extraordinary young man with extraordinary bearing and immense strength in the center of the training ground.

"Xie Jinyou lifted a 750-jin stone weight and achieved the highest score in the physical examination!"

As soon as a minor official announced the results, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air, a truly resounding and awe-inspiring event.

Xie Jinnian's eyes held a hint of envy; who wouldn't want to be the man in the spotlight!

However, in Anyang County, this man who attracted everyone's attention could only belong to Xie Jinyou, a prodigy who reached the peak of internal strength at the age of twenty-three.

"Your cousin will definitely win first place this year," Chen Mo said.

"Of course!"

Xie Jinnian patted his chest, as if he were the one standing on the field.

"Next up, Xie Jinnian."

As the clerk announced the name of the next martial arts performer, the cheers subsided slightly. Xie Jinnian's expression hardened, he wiped the sweat from his palms, and slowly walked onto the stage.

He walked to the vicinity of the 650-pound stone lock, took a deep breath, slowly squatted down, hugged the stone lock to his chest, and then lifted it up with all his might, his veins bulging.

Ten breaths later, he suddenly dropped the stone lock, creating a deep crater in the ground.

With a 650-pound stone lock as a safety net, Xie Jinnian tried a 700-pound stone lock, but failed.

Each martial arts performer can attempt twice, and the one with the higher score will be selected. Generally speaking, martial arts performers will attempt the one they are more confident about first, and then try the one they are less confident about.

Next, Chen Mo saw Li Xuan go on stage. The latter tried his best to lift a 600-pound stone lock, but failed when he tried to lift a 650-pound stone lock.

"Next, Chen Mo."

Upon hearing his name called, Chen Mo calmly walked onto the stage, drawing thousands of gazes from all around.

Among the crowd, Chen Bao and Chen Mei peeked around, looking in all directions.

Even before the martial arts course started, Chen Hang didn't dare to say that he hadn't been selected for the Pan Shi Martial Arts Academy's martial arts course, but instead lied and said that he was on the list.

This morning after the start of the semester, Chen Bao and Chen Mei searched the training grounds but couldn't find a trace of Chen Hang.

"Where did that little brat run off to? We agreed to meet here!" Chen Bao said angrily.

Chen Mei comforted him, saying, "Maybe he's been spending time with his friends. Xiao Hang has always been popular."

"That person on the field..." Chen Bao pointed to the center of the training ground, "...it looks like Chen Mo."

Chen Mei also looked up.

At this moment, Chen Mo slowly walked past a row of stone locks, from smallest to largest, weighing 300 jin, 350 jin, 400 jin...

Even at 600 pounds, Chen Mo's movements did not stop.

From a distance, Ji Chang asked, puzzled, "What is Junior Brother Chen trying to do?"

Yin Shanshan also looked doubtful and surprised.

On the other side, Xie Jinnian frowned slightly upon seeing Chen Mo's actions. "This guy wants to challenge 650 jin directly?"

Six hundred and fifty jin is a threshold, a threshold that distinguishes between obvious force and hidden force.

Even those at the peak of Ming Jin (a martial arts skill) would mostly choose 600 jin (300 kg), while a few martial artists who do not rely on strength would even choose 550 jin (225 kg).

Sure enough, Chen Mo stopped in front of the 665-pound stone lock.

"I have never seen anyone with Ming Jin who can lift a 650-pound stone weight."

"Is this person just trying to attract attention?"

Whispers arose from the crowd, some surprised, some disdainful, and some expectant.

Chen Mo staggered his feet, lowered his waist and squatted down. His bat-wing-like hands suddenly grabbed the two sides of the stone lock, feeling the rough stone particles as if they were about to embed into his flesh.

He adjusted his internal energy, and his strength slowly gathered in his waist and arms, like a hundred rivers flowing into the same stream.

Lifting a heavy stone lock requires seven parts support from the waist and three parts from the arms.

By cultivating his skills amidst mountains and rivers, he had already perfected the art of condensing internal energy.

Today is the day!

A short while later.

A tremendous force had gathered in his waist and arms. His expression was solemn, and he suddenly lifted the stone lock upwards.

In an instant, a powerful surge of energy burst forth like a torrent bursting its banks, and the stone lock was lifted to the chest of the bat-winged hands, where it paused for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the stone lock was lifted above his head by an even stronger force, and the clerk began to silently count his breaths.

This moment.

The members of Tianqing Martial Arts School all held their breath, not daring to breathe too loudly, silently counting in their minds: "One breath, two breaths, three breaths..."

After ten breaths, the clerk announced, "The 650-pound stone lock has been in place for ten breaths."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo steadily put down the stone lock, showing none of the haste that Xie Jinnian had shown.

Xie Jinnian stared at the scene in astonishment, then exclaimed repeatedly, "This Chen Mo actually has this skill! Could he be someone with naturally great strength?"

The surrounding crowd began to discuss which faction this boy belonged to.

Hearing the surrounding whispers, Chen Bao and Chen Mei were so shocked they stammered, "Six...six hundred and fifty jin?! Wasn't that martial arts student with internal strength only six hundred and fifty jin?"

At this moment, in the center of the training ground.

Chen Mo did not end the test there, but slowly walked towards the 700-pound stone lock.

"What?! He's going to challenge a 700-pound stone lock?!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Even the most knowledgeable and experienced elders in the family were astonished.

Lifting a 700-pound stone lock requires exceptional internal strength.

In the Zhao family's camp, Zhao Huayuan and Zhang Chong sat side by side in the front row, while the rest of the people sat in the back.

Zhang Chong looked up at the familiar figure in the arena, who was about to try the same 700-jin stone lock as him.

A look of doubt appeared on his face. "There has never been a Ming Jin martial arts student in Anyang County who can lift a 700-jin stone lock."

Zhao Huayuan, standing to the side, appeared relatively calm. "He's just at the peak of Ming Jin. So what if he can lift 700 jin? It only shows that he has superhuman strength. He will definitely have a hard time winning in the skills test."

Zhang Chong nodded. "That makes sense."