Chapter 116

Inside the livestream, Le Jingchen was explaining to the audience the rules and process of the Sky Pillar stage.

"The specific process for the Sky Pillar stage is... In the first round, each contestant reports their target weight, then takes the stage one by one to lift the Sky Pillar."

"This continues for a total of three rounds. In the end, each contestant will be scored based on their best result across the three rounds."

"It's important to note... during the process of reporting target weights in each round, contestants cannot know the weights reported by other contestants."

"In other words, before each round's stage appearance, aside from the weight they themselves have to lift, how much the other contestants will lift in that round—whether higher or lower than theirs—will only be known after each contestant takes the stage one by one."

Gang Shan, standing by, said, "So it seems a key point in this stage is judging one's own极限 strength."

"Misjudging one's own limit strength—if you judge it too low, your score will be low, but if you judge it too high and can't lift it at all, that round fails, wasting a chance to lift the Sky Pillar, and you might even get injured," Gang Shan said slowly.

Le Jingchen nodded in agreement, "That's right. In my estimation, in the first round, all contestants will report a relatively light weight to adapt and warm up, conserve stamina, and gauge the maximum weight of Sky Pillar they can lift."

He glanced at Qian Shen and He Dayou beside him, muttering inwardly, "Even as rich as Qian Shen, as strong as He Dayou... after coming to this arena, in comparison to these contestants, they seem weak and poor."

In a flash, he looked at one, one.'

Finally, it was Bai Zhenzhen’s turn to go up for the second time.

With a loud bang, the Sky Pillar, which had been slowly descending, was suddenly halted.

Le Jingchen said, "The drawback of imitation demon tendons and muscles is that it easily reduces one's control over their body, leading to inaccurate judgments. For ordinary people who want to gain powerful physical strength, the best way is still to use medicine..."

The purple-skinned man slowly walked up to the stage, and the number 2000 kilograms appeared on the pillar body of the Sky Pillar.

"Those with sufficiently high physical refinement not only possess great strength and speed but also must have a profound perception and insight into their own physical condition."

He estimated silently, "With my strength level, I should be able to lift at most 6500 kilograms, right? Should I push it a bit higher? Try to hit my limit..."

At this moment, he was solely focused on himself, only to explode with his maximum strength in the next round.

Zhao Tianxing said nothing, because he felt that if he, as the weakest present, let out sighs or even exclamations, he would seem like a clown.

At this moment, he only saw himself in his eyes, only his own flesh and blood.

Zhang Yu reached out to touch the base of the Sky Pillar, feeling the weight pressing down from above, and thought to himself, "So this is what a 3600-kilogram Sky Pillar feels like?"

Wang Hai had said this: If you must watch physical refinement streamers, you can watch Gang Shan—he has rich experience in physical refinement, doesn't sell medicine or techniques, and is one of the rare streamers with a good conscience.

"As for the extraordinary muscle mass of demon descendants, and the physique and control of a figure like Yu Xinghan, which requires careful training from a Golden Core cultivator—these are conditions ordinary people simply cannot have..."

Looking up at the slowly descending Sky Pillar, the Ziyun man let out a light shout, stretched both palms upward, and slammed them fiercely into the base of the Sky Pillar.

After Zhang Yu finished, next came Le Mulan, who lifted a 7500-kilogram Sky Pillar; Song Hailong successfully challenged 8300 kilograms; Hu Yuntao lifted 8800 kilograms; and Yu Xinghan even broke through 9000 kilograms.

"There are only three chances. Should you aim for a result close to your strength limit, or try to challenge a result beyond your strength limit?"

Chu Qiuhe, however, failed when challenging the 6800-kilogram Sky Pillar.

But even the three- or four-thousand-kilogram Sky Pillar still stunned many of the students present.

Offstage he hadn't felt it, but now standing at the center beneath the Sky Pillar and looking up... there was a sense that the entire sky was blocked out.

"And if Xiong Wenwu represents raw strength, then Yu Xinghan represents the combination of strength and technique, able to tap deeper into the body's power, unleashing greater strength with less muscle mass."

"Sigh, when a person is weak and poor, every word and every move they make appears laughable in the eyes of the strong."

He Dayou asked, "Teacher Wang, how heavy a Sky Pillar do you think Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen can lift?"

Zhao Tianxing sighed to himself, "No helping it—this is an era where scores are king, immortality is revered, and money can reach the gods."

Clearly, in the Sky Pillar stage, Le Jingchen intended to label Xiong Wenwu and Yu Xinghan, who were competing for the championship, as demon descendants and Golden Core disciples, highlighting the greater accessibility and importance of medicine and super metabolic surgery for ordinary people.

"And among the demon-descendant students, Xiong Wenwu has the highest body weight and the strongest physical strength."

After lifting the 7000-kilogram Sky Pillar, he walked off the stage expressionlessly.

Sensing the weight of the Sky Pillar, perceiving his own body's condition, the support of each muscle and tendon throughout his body... Zhang Yu gradually formed an estimate of how heavy a Sky Pillar he could lift.

Wang Hai, He Dayou, and the others were watching Gang Shan's livestream while simultaneously watching the on-site competition.

Zhang Yu walked onto the platform, slowly coming to the exact center beneath the Sky Pillar.

Le Jingchen said, "How much physical strength can be exerted, and ultimately how heavy a Sky Pillar can be lifted, are inseparable from the limits of the human body and the contestant's own condition that day." "But for contestants with strong insight into their own bodies, this round basically allows them to accurately judge where their limit is and know how heavy a Sky Pillar they can lift."

In the rest area of Songyang High School, watching Zhang Yu's performance, Wang Hai also sighed to himself, "Sure enough, did he injure himself in the last match? Sigh, medicine isn't to be taken that way. This kid really... why didn't he ask me before taking the medicine?"

…

"Or could it be that the strong medicine he took in the previous match still hasn't worn off?"

And when Bai Zhenzhen stood beneath the Sky Pillar, feeling the force pressing down from above, she couldn't help thinking: "Sure enough, watching from the stands and actually holding it up on stage are completely different feelings..."

Qian Shen, listening from the side, nodded and said, "So that's how it is. Although this round is a competition, it's actually a challenge against oneself."

And upon seeing Zhang Yu's performance of 7,000 kilograms, Le Jingchen thought to himself: "Oh? Based on the level he showed before, he should have been able to lift a heavier Sky Pillar... Could Zhou Chechen's warning have taken effect?"

Clearly, no one was going all out in this round. All the contestants were adapting to the Sky Pillar, conserving their strength, and silently assessing how much weight their bodies could lift.

Wang Hai said calmly, "At least 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms should be no problem. Any higher... I can't say for sure either."

…

In the livestream room, Gang Shan said, "Ah, this is overestimating his own ability."

"No matter how arrogant they used to be, or how much of a splash they made in school, their actions now, set against these strong competitors on stage, will only become ridiculous and clownish." While Le Jingchen and Gang Shan were talking, the second round of the Sky Pillar had already begun.

"The final champion of the Sky Pillar round should be between Xiong Wenwu and Yu Xinghan."

Feeling the state of her body, especially the throbbing of each scar, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: "Next round, I'll try 8,000 kilograms. That should be pretty close to my limit."

As all the contestants submitted their target weights for the first round, the competition officially began.

Over in the other livestream room, Gang Shan and Le Jingchen watched the students take the stage one by one.

As for why they were watching Gang Shan's stream, it was on Wang Hai's recommendation.

With a shout, he easily stopped the Sky Pillar at 3,500 kilograms, then lifted it slightly to feel the pressure coming from the pillar.

After Bai Zhenzhen finished, it was Zhang Yu's turn to take the stage again.

"Only in the third round will they go all out and push for their limits."

With a fierce roar, he pressed his palms firmly against the bottom of the Sky Pillar, but his body kept trembling under the weight of 6,800 kilograms, unable to stop the pillar from descending. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and retreat off the stage.

But Zhang Yu, standing by the arena, paid no attention to anyone's thoughts, nor did he even watch the contestants as they took the stage one by one.

So, as each contestant took the stage, the numbers on the Sky Pillar kept rising. Every student in this round showed a weight far higher than the previous round.

Wang Hai watched Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who were queuing up to report their target weights on the field, then looked up at the Sky Pillar in the sky, and thought to himself: "In this final round, aside from raw strength, the most important thing is the insight and judgment of one's own limit strength."

Hearing the number 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms, the people around all took a deep breath and began to sigh in admiration.

Le Jingchen, standing by, said, "The muscle mass of demon-blooded students far exceeds that of other contestants. So even with similar physical strength, their power output is often greater."

In the livestream room, Gang Shan asked, "Jingchen, who do you think will win the Sky Pillar round?"

And the numbers appearing on the Sky Pillar grew higher and higher—from 2,000 kilograms, to 2,500 kilograms, then to 3,000 kilograms...

After five seconds passed, the 2,000-kilogram mark on the Sky Pillar disappeared, and the pillar slowly rose back into place.

"A strong person or a rich person, when placed among those who are even stronger or richer, becomes poor or weak, then becomes ridiculous, and finally becomes a clown."

…

When Chu Qiuhe took the stage, he was already lifting a 3,500-kilogram Sky Pillar.

"What will you choose?"

The contestants would take the stage one by one, in order from lowest target weight to highest.

As Zhang Yu stepped off the stage, he nodded to Bai Zhenzhen, who was preparing to go up.

Especially as the Sky Pillar slowly descended, it felt as if the entire sky was pressing down, bringing an immense sense of oppression to those below.

"This extra muscle mass brings greater strength. In the previous two rounds of agility and speed tests, the extra bulk and weight were a burden, but in this round, it becomes an advantage."

"In the second round, they will aim for a weight close to their own limit, as a baseline score."

And not long after Lian Tianji had just lifted the 6,000-kilogram Sky Pillar...

…

The first contestant to take the stage was a Purple Cloud person.

While the two were commenting on the competition, the numbers on the Sky Pillar kept changing, but overall they ranged from two or three thousand kilograms to three or four thousand kilograms.

As the two had explained earlier, the contestants each chose a weight close to their personal limit, aiming to secure a guaranteed score in this round.

…

In the rest area of Songyang High School.

The Ziyun contestant who had just taken the stage let out a slight sigh of relief and walked off.

Gangshan laughed and said, "Sure enough, everyone is warming up in the first round, getting used to the force exerted by the Sky Pillar."

After watching for a while, everyone found that Gangshan and Le Jingchen's explanations of the physical competition were very accurate, so they kept watching until now.

Just as Le Jingchen was about to start promoting Ziyun Pharmaceutical's new technology again,

"Weakness and poverty are both highlighted by contrast."

…

With a burst of force from her body, the 7000-kilogram Sky Pillar was lifted by her.

This was the rule that Zhao Tianxing had summarized after extensive self-observation… He called it the Weak Poor Clown Theory.

Next, one contestant after another took the stage, each lifting the weight they had reported.

Because the first time he lifted the Sky Pillar, Zhang Yu had already clearly known his own limit, thanks to his understanding and mastery of his own body.

In fact, given his level, he could even sense how heavy a Sky Pillar this body could lift after an overload explosion.

So he did not waste energy in the second round to pursue a guaranteed score, nor did he go all out early in the second round, drawing the vigilance and pursuit of other contestants.

He casually lifted a 7000-kilogram Sky Pillar, neither attracting attention nor expending much effort, then focused wholeheartedly on gathering his spirit and conserving his strength, intending to display his peak moment on the final stage.