The Heavenly Court is gone, I don't want to be a True Lord.

As Zhang Shuo finished speaking, the way the surrounding crowd looked at Zuo Qi changed, becoming more scrutinizing.

Zuo Qi didn't want to pay attention to these people, and just silently looked in the direction of Lin Yujun in the distance.

He wondered when this so-called competition would finally begin.

Others thought he was guilty and became even more disdainful.

Some people wanted to say something sarcastic, but they saw Lin Yulian had already stood up in the distance, and then a servant of the Lin family ran over quickly and invited everyone over.

Lin Yulian smiled as she faced the crowd.

"Fists and kicks have no eyes. Everyone is doing this for the sake of the Lin family, and Yulian has a duty to protect everyone's safety."

He then pointed to the dozens of stone locks of varying sizes in the training ground behind him.

"Everyone may wish to demonstrate their strength first. The heaviest of these stone locks weighs 3,200 jin, and the lightest weighs 800 jin. Please proceed according to your ability."

The crowd stirred, seemingly surprised that the test was so simple, yet so brutal.

In a contest of pure strength, the one with a higher level of skill naturally has the advantage.

However, most of the people present were at the second level of cultivation. Some of them were arrogant and proud. A look of joy flashed in their hearts. They were confident that their strength was amazing. If they were to fight in the arena, they might not be a match for Qin Chen, but if they lifted the stone lock, they might have a chance.

One of the men, who was extremely burly and had shoulders as broad as a door, stepped out from the crowd.

"If you're not in a hurry, then I, Han, will go first."

Lin Yu smiled and introduced to everyone, "Han Meng, a brother my elder brother made friends with. He is now serving in the garrison. He is only twenty-five years old this year and is already a centurion in the army."

Everyone praised it.

Han Meng was indeed very fierce. He walked towards the stone locks, starting with the lightest one weighing 800 jin, picked it up with both hands, lifted it up and down three times, and then walked to the next one.

800 jin, 1000 jin, 1300 jin...

Until he was faced with a 1,600-pound stone lock, he could no longer maintain the standard three-rise-three-fall movement.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Yuxiao, saying, "Miss Yu, I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

Lin Yu's small eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, tinged with affection, "Brother Meng, you're already very impressive."

It's obvious that the two are dating, which is actually quite normal. Lin Yuxiao's older brother is on good terms with Han Meng, so it's perfectly normal for him to introduce his sister to Han Meng.

No one was surprised.

"Han Meng is incredibly strong. He almost lifted a 1,600-pound stone lock. Even a master of the third level of training might not have that kind of strength."

"I've heard my father say that stone weights are the best way to train strength. They require the coordination of the waist and stance, and the mobilization of the whole body's strength. Brother Han Meng can lift a 1,600-pound boulder, which not only shows that he is physically strong, but also has excellent overall coordination and a solid foundation."

"That's right. I heard that if a second-level martial artist reaches the peak, being able to lift a 1,000-pound stone lock is considered to be a sign of great talent."

The young ladies and gentlemen of the Lin family were discussing it, and people below began to go up on stage.

The second person to go on stage was Zhang Shuo.

Before going on stage, he glanced at Zuo Qi with a hint of provocation.

Zuo Qi didn't bother with it.

I just watched quietly.

Zhang Shuo's strength was not great, but it was not bad either. In the end, he failed on the 1,400-jin stone lock.

People went up on stage one by one, and only two people surpassed Han Meng, stopping at 2,000 jin and 2,300 jin respectively.

Besides Zuo Qi, only two people remained, and Qin Chen was one of them. Clearly, these two were recognized as the strongest people present.

Zuo Qi glanced at the other person—Chen Yuan. He had spoken to Lin Yulian earlier, but he wasn't from the second branch of the family; he was from the first branch.

There are no young ladies of the Yu generation in the eldest branch of the family who are still young at home. It is unknown which young master of the eldest branch knew this news and sent her to attend this gathering.

Qin Chen strode towards Chen Yuan and said with a smile, "Chen Yuan, shall we go first?"

Chen Yuan smiled and looked at Qin Chen, then at Zuo Qi, "Brother Qin, there's another brother here."

Qin Chen said indifferently, "I have no interest in those irrelevant people."

Chen Yuan smiled helplessly at Zuo Qi.

"Then I'll go first and make a fool of myself."

Zuo Qi smiled and nodded.

……

"Yu Jun, when will Zuo Qi take the stage?"

Lin Yu smiled and asked Lin Yujun.

Lin Yujun shook her head slightly, "It depends on Brother Zuo himself. Anyway, I have confidence in him."

Lin Yunian, the fourth wife, sneered, "Sister Yujun, could it be that he's afraid to go on stage? He's not very famous, but he's making quite a show of it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yujun's expression immediately changed. "Lin Yunian, I'm talking to Yu Xiao. What are you doing getting involved? Do you want to be a woman too? No wonder my eldest sister said there are too many women in your fourth branch of the family."

Lin Yunian's face darkened.

He wanted to fight back, but was held back by the people around him.

With outsiders present, it's best not to expose the filth in these rooms.

……

Chen Yuan was quite strong and could be considered a gifted individual. He managed to lift a stone lock weighing 2,300 jin (approximately 1,150 kg) before stopping.

This drew applause and cheers from the crowd.

This is the best result so far.

Han Meng, who came from a military background, looked at Chen Yuan with burning eyes, clearly very interested in him.

To Zuo Qi's surprise, Chen Yuan returned to the crowd and came to Zuo Qi's side, saying, "Qin Chen comes from an extraordinary background and has outstanding talent, as he always has. Brother Zuo, please don't mind."

Zuo Qi glanced at Chen Yuan with surprise. "Some people say I'm a fraudster. Brother Chen, you don't mind?"

Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head, "I may underestimate myself, but I will not underestimate Miss Yu Chan's vision."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Don't worry, not many people really believe Zhang Shuo. Everyone's not stupid."

Zuo Qi didn't say anything more because Qin Chen suddenly walked up to him.

"You go up first."

Qin Chen's tone carried an air of condescension and arrogance.

Zuo Qi looked at him calmly. "Are you talking to me?"

Qin Chen said matter-of-factly, "Am I talking to a dog?"

"So you can talk to dogs? I don't talk to dogs, anyway."

Zuo Qi retorted directly.

They showed Qin Chen absolutely no respect.

This table was set up by Lin Yulian for Qin Chen. In a sense, he was brought by Lin Yujun to challenge them. Since he was there to challenge them, he naturally didn't need to be polite in the face of their mockery.

He didn't want to talk to Zhang Shuo much because Zhang Shuo wasn't considered a person in his eyes.

Qin Chen's eyes narrowed instantly, a sharp glint in them. "How dare you!"

Neither of them spoke loudly, but Qin Chen was the focus of everyone's attention, so naturally someone noticed them, and everyone's eyes immediately fell on the two of them.

Upon hearing Zuo Qi's words, the meaning in his eyes became strange.

The outsider brought by Lin Yulian, the sixth wife, seems rather arrogant.

Qin Chen clenched his fists, mindful of the occasion, and finally took a few deep breaths before letting out a cold snort, "Then I'll show you the difference between us!"

He strode towards the stone lock area, intentionally showing off, lifting an 800-pound stone lock with one hand, and before he could put it all down, he lifted another one.

He tried several times, until he finally used both hands when he was lifting a 2,000-pound stone lock.

From beginning to end, as Qin Chen lifted the heaviest stone lock, weighing 3,200 jin, with both hands, he let out a low roar and, with his face flushed, lifted it up three times. Although it was somewhat difficult, he still managed to complete the task with difficulty.

With a bang.

The stone lock fell to the ground, and instantly there was complete silence.

"Born with superhuman strength!"

"I heard that a martial artist at the third level of cultivation caused trouble in the city some time ago, but Qin Chen subdued him. Judging from his strength today, the news is true!"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

Qin Chen stood still, looking at Zuo Qi with a provocative gaze.

"What, do I have to ask you to come up?"