Chapter 137

Someone said, because what they were seeing at this moment was only Xu Yang's profile, not his front.

"I just noticed him; he is very handsome. I didn't expect you, Linger, to look down on him," said the woman who had first asked.

Huang Linger showed a look of disdain: "What's good about a pretty boy? The one I, Huang Linger, want to marry is a heaven-gifted genius who can ascend the dragon."

Back then, after her sister in the Huang family was defiled by the Jade Butterfly, Lu Ren refused the marriage. She had originally wanted to marry Lu Ren, but the Gu family offered better conditions, and Lu Ren was determined to leave; otherwise, she could have married Lu Ren.

"He can participate in the Wu Ke Examination; his talent is probably not bad. Linger, you actually look down on him?" Someone showed a look of suspicion.

In a tiny Huang family, even the head of the family had only reached Qi Gathering Major Success. A woman from the second branch actually dared to look down on a martial artist who could participate in the Wu Ke Examination?

"Looking down on him means looking down on him. What's strange about that?" Huang Linger's words were somewhat evasive.

"Don't talk, it's starting!"

It just so happened that the examination started at this moment, and everyone's attention was attracted over.

Huang Linger secretly rejoiced; fortunately, she had covered it up. If they continued to chat, she was truly afraid that the truth of the matter would be guessed.

In fact, as Xu Yang reached Qi Gathering Major Success, quite a few people already suspected that the person who had been rejected was her, because it was only normal for Xu Yang to look down on her; the possibility of him actively proposing and then being rejected by the Huang family was minimal.

No matter how much Huang Linger disliked Xu Yang, the Huang family wouldn't let her have her way.

"Mud-legged boy, you end here. Even Eldest Uncle said you can only reach this point," Huang Linger thought to herself.

If Xu Yang were to ascend the dragon, any fool would know that the one being rejected would certainly be her; a dragon-ascending prodigy would not proactively seek a second-room daughter from a small, obscure household. Only a daughter of the four great families would be worthy of a dragon-ascending prodigy.

Beside the arena was an open space, cut into four squares, corresponding to the four groups of A, B, C, and D.

Xu Yang had a fate with the character "C" and was assigned to Group C. In his group, there were also three Weiyuan Hall disciples, namely Zhang Yong, Zhang Hong, and Sun Tao.

It had to be said that he truly had a fate with Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong; they could even be assigned to the same group in the Wu Ke Examination.

In front of each open space, four iron locks larger than a washbasin were placed.

The first hurdle of the Wu Ke Examination was lifting iron locks. The four iron locks corresponded to one thousand jin, two thousand jin, three thousand jin, and four thousand jin, respectively.

The four iron locks also corresponded to the four grades of A, B, C, and D, and then the results were divided into upper, middle, and lower based on the number of times the iron lock was lifted.

This hurdle tested the foundation of the martial path, the vigor of true qi, and the degree of physical tempering.

Generally, those at the early stage of Qi Gathering Major Success could lift a one-thousand-jin iron lock, those at the mid-stage of Qi Gathering Major Success could lift two thousand jin, and those at the late stage could lift a three-thousand-jin iron lock.

As for the four-thousand-jin iron lock, under normal circumstances, only marrow-cleansing candidates could lift it.

It wasn't that marrow-cleansing martial artists could only lift a four-thousand-jin lock, but that there was no need to have heavier ones. At a weight of four thousand jin, except for some people born with divine strength, basically no one at the late stage of Qi Gathering Major Success could lift it.

So there was no need to have heavier iron locks.

"I am not born with divine strength, but my flesh has been tempered by Diamond true qi, so I fear it's no different from being born with divine strength. I should be able to lift a three-thousand-jin iron lock, but there is no need."

His current cultivation base was only at the mid-stage of Qi Gathering Major Success.

This was still after having Lin Cheng's three Qi-Benefiting Pills and Zhang Si Shui's more than one hundred taels of silver for hard cultivation over these few months to have this cultivation base.

The technique of lifting iron locks was what Sun Tao had taught him before. The Wu Ke Examination was not about lifting the heaviest iron lock; the result was not necessarily the best.

This hurdle tested comprehensive ability, the degree of polishing of true qi and flesh; it mainly looked at the number of times the iron lock was lifted. Of course, the weight would also have a bonus.

It was just that if you lifted a three-thousand-jin iron lock once, the result would absolutely not catch up to you lifting a two-thousand-jin iron lock twenty times, because for each level of lock, it had to be lifted at least twenty times for the result to be calculated.

At this moment, the lock lifting had already begun. The first to take the stage was Sun Tao, who chose the two-thousand-jin stone lock, looking somewhat relaxed.

"Start!"

At the signal of the invigilator, he moved, his entire body's aura surging.

Xu Yang counted along, discovering that Sun Tao stopped after lifting it forty times, his face flushed red. After putting down the stone lock, a large amount of sweat suddenly broke out all over his body, and his arms trembled slightly.

"C-1, lifted the lock forty times, result C-upper!"

The invigilator said, and the minor official beside him hurriedly recorded it.

For the result of lifting the lock, exceeding twenty times was considered qualified, which could get a "lower" evaluation.

Exceeding thirty times was "middle," and forty times was "upper."

And because upper, middle, and lower could not specifically describe the candidate's performance at a certain level, the number of times was generally recorded to facilitate subsequent scoring and screening.

Sun Tao's cultivation base should be approaching the late stage of Qi Gathering Major Success; it was just that if he lifted a three-thousand-jin stone lock, he absolutely couldn't lift it twenty times, which was why he chose to lift the two-thousand-jin iron lock.

The Wu Ke Examination also required using one's brain; if you didn't use your brain, you might get a zero.

"Senior Brother Sun, the title of Martial Scholar is secure!"

Sun Tao retreated, and Xu Yang and the other two walked over.

"Small matter!"

Sun Tao smiled. His goal was not the Martial Scholar title, but ascending the dragon.

The lock lifting continued. The next few people all lifted one-thousand-jin iron locks.

Xu Yang suddenly felt a pair of sharp eyes looking at him. He turned his head to look, only to see the Gale Hall disciple Zhu Yang making a throat-slitting gesture at him. ===== CHAPTER 138 =====

The lock-lifting continued; the next few people all lifted one-thousand-jin iron locks.

Xu Yang suddenly felt a pair of sharp eyes watching him. He turned back to look and saw Zhu Yang, a disciple of the Gale Hall, make a throat-slitting gesture at him.