At the scene, at this very moment, everyone's gaze converged on Lin Chen.
Lin Chen could clearly feel it—those gazes behind him, one after another, stabbing into his back until it felt hot.
Some say that eyes have no real killing power.
But ever since his qi and blood reached 1500, Lin Chen had discovered that his five senses had become much sharper. Just like at this moment—although he didn't turn around, he could clearly sense the many lines of sight behind him.
It was a very mysterious feeling.
The instant Lin Chen stepped out from the ranks, the gazes of Yu Yongnian and the other two instructors also fell on him.
At first, the three of them didn't pay much attention, but a few breaths later, their expressions grew serious. They exchanged glances, each seeing surprise in the other's eyes.
Strength is a manifestation of how vigorous one's qi and blood are.
The greater the strength, the more vigorous the qi and blood, and vice versa.
At this stage, a trainee's qi and blood still floated on the surface of the body and could not be fully restrained. Having taught so many batches of trainees, the three instructors could already judge a trainee's level of strength by carefully observing their appearance.
This was also why, earlier, when Zheng Kai tried to hide his strength, Instructor Liu was able to see through it at a glance.
From their careful observation just now, there was a high possibility that Lin Chen's strength had indeed reached four hundred jin.
"Brother Yu, did you give him some special treatment?" Instructor Liu asked in a low voice, curiosity in his tone.
"Sending him to work in the dining hall—does that count as special treatment?" Yu Yongnian replied calmly, a single sentence that left Instructor Liu silent.
What kind of special treatment was that?
Instructor Liu and Instructor Chen exchanged a look. In their hearts, both had already decided that Yu Yongnian must have helped Lin Chen behind the scenes and privately given him special treatment—he just wasn't willing to admit it.
As for why Yu Yongnian had taken a liking to Lin Chen and even stepped in to help him, only Yu Yongnian himself knew.
"This disciple wishes to try the four-hundred-jin stone pedestal."
Standing before the stone pedestal, Lin Chen looked at the three instructors and spoke solemnly. As soon as the words left his mouth, another wave of uproar erupted behind him.
Although from the moment Lin Chen stepped forward, the trainees present had already begun to guess, they still couldn't quite believe it. After all, it was simply too unbelievable.
What if… what if Lin Chen had something else to say?
Or what if Lin Chen had misheard and taken four hundred jin as three hundred jin?
Although the probability of that was very small, how could it be smaller than Lin Chen increasing his strength by two hundred jin in three months?
"Begin," Instructor Liu nodded in agreement.
If Yu Yongnian had helped him, then Lin Chen reaching four hundred jin wasn't that shocking. Instructor Liu wouldn't be too surprised.
Lin Chen grasped the stone pedestal with both hands and began to exert force slowly.
"Oh, he really dares to grab it. Just wait and see—ston… stone… it's off the ground… wait a moment—he lifted it!"
Grip, lift, to the abdomen.
Lin Chen completed it in one smooth motion, without any pause or hesitation.
Thus, a single sentence from many of the trainees went through three different tones, broken and halting.
Mockery, doubt, disbelief…
Not far away, Xu Botao and Cheng Ying stood with their mouths slightly open. Yan Dexing's eyes were wide, Zhao Jingchuan was speechless, and Lu Yongfeng remained expressionless.
"Lu… Lu-brother, he lifted it. Your record's been matched!"
After a long while, Yan Dexing suddenly shouted. Lu Yongfeng rolled his eyes inwardly.
Do I not have eyes? Could I not have seen it?
Could I not know that my record's been matched?
You shouting like that so everyone can hear—what's your point?
Why are you so excited? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the one who matched it.
Lu Yongfeng's heart was surging with emotion, yet his face remained completely expressionless.
At the scene, it wasn't dead silent, but an indescribable atmosphere permeated the air.
"How did he do it?!"
Finally, someone among the trainees voiced the question that everyone was thinking at that moment.
Three months ago, he had still been at the very bottom, ridiculed by everyone and dubbed the stingiest person in the history of the Martial Hall. In the blink of an eye, his strength had reached four hundred jin, instantly placing him among the top ten of the Martial Hall.
A vague shock churned in the trainees' hearts, and the first to shout out loud was Gu Fei. He raised his fist high, his entire face flushed red with excitement.
"Do not bully the young for being poor. I knew it, Chenzi—you could do it."
Gu Fei lived in the same dormitory as Lin Chen and would occasionally hear Lin Chen talk about various martial arts legend stories. He didn't know where Chenzi heard these stories from, but they were always thrilling to listen to—especially when you imagined yourself as the protagonist.
There was one story he particularly liked. The protagonist was called Xiao Yan, and there was one line in that story he remembered very clearly.
Do not bully the young for being poor!
Lin Chen's performance right now was precisely the embodiment of that line.
"This is my brother!" Gu Fei turned around and shouted at a trainee behind him.
"Gu Fei, if you say it like that, then Lin Chen is my ass-buddy too. After all, I see Lin Chen's butt every day. Lin Chen's been different these past few months—I noticed it a long time ago," the trainee behind him said with a mysterious expression.
Another trainee beside them asked curiously, "Noticed what?"
"Lin Chen's farts don't stink anymore. They're filled with the scent of sweat and striving—intoxicating, easy to inhale, pleasant to smell."
Gu Fei: …
Other trainees: …
Up front, Yu Yongnian's face gradually broke into a satisfied smile. "Not bad."
"This disciple thanks the instructor for his cultivation. Without the instructor, there would be no disciple today."
"This is all your own effort. What does it have to do with me?"
Yu Yongnian rarely laughed so heartily. Beside him, Instructor Liu and Instructor Chen exchanged another glance.
Right—this master and disciple pair were putting on a performance now.
The relationship between Martial Hall instructors and trainees couldn't really be called that of master and disciple—there was only a title of instruction.
But in their view, Yu Yongnian had clearly poured his heart into Lin Chen. This kind of special care was the real master–disciple relationship. As for the two of them, in previous batches they too had trainees they favored and privately took care of.
"Lin Chen, four hundred jin."
Instructor Liu directly announced Lin Chen's strength, then looked at the other trainees. "Are there any other trainees who wish to come forward and try?"
When these words were spoken, a few trainees really did step forward. Unfortunately, none of them managed to lift the four-hundred-jin stone pedestal. Their strength had originally been around three hundred ninety jin. Stimulated by Lin Chen, they thought that perhaps they might suddenly burst forth and lift four hundred jin.
Unfortunately, in martial arts there is no luck. Strength cannot be faked.
One jin short is still not enough.
"Today is a rest day!"
With no one else stepping forward to test, Instructor Liu directly announced the day off and then left.
"Come to my courtyard a bit later."
Yu Yongnian left this instruction and also departed from the training ground.
When the three instructors were present, the trainees didn't dare act too boldly. But the moment the instructors left, Gu Fei was the first to run toward Lin Chen, with the other two trainees from Linhu Village following close behind.
"Chenzi, you're incredible. You actually jumped straight into the top ten of the Martial Hall."
"It's just tenth place," Lin Chen said modestly.
"That's not important. It's still top ten. As long as you don't specify, who knows it's tenth? When I go back to the village, I'll just say you're top ten."
Gu Fei's words made the corner of Lin Chen's mouth twitch. He thought of a joke.
If you ask someone their ranking and they say top hundred, they're probably outside the top eighty. If they say top ten, it's very likely they're among the last three. If they say top three, then they're third place.
People in fourth or fifth place won't say they're top ten—they'll say top five. And first or second place won't say they're top three.
"Lin Chen, you're really amazing."
"Lin Chen, how do you train?"
The other two trainees from Linhu Village were also excited, but Lin Chen could sense a faint trace of jealousy in their tone.
Human nature.
Even good brothers fear their brother suffering, yet also fear their brother driving a Land Rover—let alone those who were merely from the same village.
After giving a few perfunctory replies, Lin Chen left the training ground, saying that he needed to go to Instructor Yu.
Instructor Yu had told him to come later, but he couldn't really make Instructor Yu wait too long.