The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-78

"Amazing!"

"One of the sergeant positions in the Black Armored Army is going to be taken by this Zhu Da."

The many warriors in the surroundings exclaimed. It was because this warrior was the only one who dared to challenge lifting a boulder that weighed ten thousand Jin ever since the start of the entrance examination today. He almost succeeded as well.

He placed down the ten thousand Jin boulder on the ground. The boulder was many sizes bigger than the human body and many people shrank back just looking at it.

"Junior Martial Brother! Hand me the plate for the Second Rated Warrior!"

The disciple of the Gui Yuan Sect, who was doing the recording, took a black plate from his martial brother. There was only the word 'Two' written on the front of the plate.

That Gui Yuan Sect's disciple wrote the words 'Zhu Da' on the back of the plate. He then smiled and tossed the plate toward Zhu Da, "Brother Zhu Da, you are almost at the level of a First Rated Warrior. Although you aren't able to fight for the position of Centurion, you have a high chance of claiming the position of the Black Armored Army's sergeant."

"Hmph, I ate ten baskets of dumplings this morning and am feeling bloated. Otherwise, I'd definitely be able to lift it up." The fat man picked up his great hammer, took the plate, and walked to the side.

"Qingshan, I'll go fight for the Black Armored Army's sergeant position. If I were to encounter this fatty, I'll just admit defeat directly. I won't even be able to receive a simple wave of his hammer." Teng Qinghu said to Teng Qingshan, who was right next to him. "Oh right, Qingshan, when are we going for the entrance examination to lift that boulder?"

"I'm in no hurry. You can watch and take the exam whenever you want." Teng Qingshan stood amongst the crowd as the others went for the entrance examination in succession.

******

In the blink of an eye, an hour passed by.

"Make way! Let me try!" A loud bellow rang out and a strong-looking young man who was covered up in beast hide walked into the center, heading toward the boulder that weighed two thousand Jin.

He stretched out his steel-like arms, clamping them down onto the black boulder and supporting the base steadily with his hands. The words 'Two Thousand Jin' had been written out clearly with a brush in white ink on the black boulder.

"Hurgh~~" With a deep roar, the body of that strong-looking young man trembled slightly and that black boulder was lifted up.

"Great!"

"He's the man."

Cheers rang out in the surroundings and the young man who was wearing beast hide smiled and tossed the black boulder to the side.

"Are you going to lift the ten thousand Jin boulder?" the Gui Yuan Sect's disciple who was in charge of recording smiled and asked.

"I'll pass." the young man shook his head.

"Name and age." The Gui Yuan Sect's disciple took a plate for a Second Rated Warrior from the side.

"Fu Junfan! Sixteen!" the young man said.

"Sixteen years old?"

"A Second Rated Warrior at the age of sixteen years old? This young man has a bright future ahead."

"Where did his kid come from? He so amazing."

The warriors around were all very shocked. Most of the people who joined the Black Armored Army were over twenty years of age and those who were stronger tend to be older. Teng Qingshan also threw a glance toward the young man by the name of 'Fu Junfan'. "Sixteen years old? Wouldn't that make him slightly younger than me?"

The Yearly Sacrifice was happening in several days. After the Yearly Sacrifice, Teng Qingshan would turn seventeen years old.

"Fu Junfan!" The person, who was really in charge of the entrance examination, was a stout middle-aged man in gray clothes. He had been silently watching the progression of the entrance examination. Fu Junfan, who was only sixteen years old, had given him such a surprise that he took a longer look at him.

"This Fu Junfan is now the third Second Rated Warrior thus far! There hasn't been a single First Rated Warrior. Eldest Brother, this time, there seem to be less powerful experts joining the Black Armored Army."

"It has only been an hour. Don't be anxious. The experts are still hiding." A cold voice sounded near Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan cast a glance in that direction. The person who spoke was a skinny cold-looking man who had two scars on his face and carried a huge war saber. "It's him!" Teng Qingshan thought to himself when he saw the man. Teng Qingshan had encountered this man at the inn when they were having breakfast. He remembered that there were seven other people who were with his thin-looking man.

"Judging by their tone, this scar-faced man should be an extremely powerful warrior." Teng Qingshan thought.

...

The entrance examination progressed steadily, and as time passed, there were more and more people watching from the sides.

"Haha, I'll go next!" A loud bellow rang out and Teng Qinghu went up to the center.

Teng Qingshan's eyes lit up.

"Qinghu should be able to lift two thousand Jin." Teng Qingshan was well aware that even if Teng Qinghu didn't use inner strength, he should be able to lift two thousand jin with just his brute strength since he had some had some success in the cultivation of the Tiger Fist. If he were to complement it with his inner strength, he would be able to lift up to three or four thousand Jin.

Without putting down his bag, Teng Qinghu put his hands around the two thousand Jin boulder.

"Rise!" He bellowed out loud.

The two thousand Jin boulder was raised high up and green veins were popping up on Teng Qinghu's muscular arms.

He casually placed down the boulder. "Boom." The two thousand Jin boulder landed heavily onto the ground.

"Haha... You don't have to ask. I'm still unable to lift that ten thousand Jin boulder." Teng Qinghu laughed heartily and said. His straightforward temperament brought about friendly laughter amongst the crowd. People usually wouldn't detest strong men with a straightforward temperament.

That member of Gui Yuan Sect laughed and asked, "Your name and age."

"Teng Qinghu! Twenty-two this year! After the Yearly Sacrifice, I'll be twenty-three!" Teng Qinghu said outright.

"After the Yearly Sacrifice, everyone will be one year older. There's no need to say this." The member of the Gui Yuan Sect chuckled and wrote down Teng Qinghu's name on that plate.

After receiving the plate for the Second Rated Warrior, Teng Qinghu walked back to where Teng Qingshan was and said, "Qingshan, look at this plate. There's nothing special about it. It's just pitch-black with a few words written with a brush." Teng Qingshan had just started looking at the plate when a familiar-sounding voice suddenly rang out, "Make way!"

Teng Qingshan turned his head and saw that the scar-faced man had squeezed through the two warriors and walked to the center.

"Who pushed m——" One of the two warriors who had been pushed immediately shouted angrily and was about to curse. However, upon seeing the huge war saber the other party had on his back, he immediately shut his mouth, not saying another word.

The war saber on the back of the scar-faced man was six Chi long (1.5 meters). Ordinary people would not be able to utilize such a huge saber.

That scar-faced man walked straight up to the center toward his target—the ten thousand Jin boulder!

Till now, there had not been a single person who was able to lift up the ten thousand Jin saber fully.

"He's going to lift the ten thousand Jin?"

"Seems like this person isn't someone to trifle with either. " A group of people in the surrounding discussed amongst themselves. However, all of their eyes were on that scar-faced man.

The scar-faced man did not put down his saber. He immediately placed his hands on the ten thousand Jin boulder.

"Hmph!" With a furious cry, a hint of green light appeared on the face of the scar-faced guy. The black boulder that weighed ten thousand Jin was lifted up and the green veins on his arms popped up. He then tossed the boulder casually to the side. The ten thousand Jin boulder landed strongly onto the ground, sinking deep into the ground.

The middle-aged man wearing gray clothes who was behind the other younger Gui Yuan Sect disciples could not help but stood up, laughing, "Excellent, First Rated Warrior! The first First Rated Warrior has appeared in the entrance examination today! Brother, your name and age please!"

"Gong Yangqing! Thirty-six!" The scar-faced man said coldly.

"Gong Yangqing? That Gong Yangqing from the Xuyang County? That Gong Yangqing who had single-handedly annihilated three hundred bandits?" The other warriors were instantly taken aback by astonishment.

"The Great Master of the Ram Horn Mountain in Xuyang County? Why is he here as well?"

"Doesn't Gong Yangqing have seven sworn brothers? Since he's here, his brothers should be here as well."

The appearance of this famous expert piqued everyone's interest.

In the Land of the Nine Prefectures, Yangzhou had thirteen counties, and nine of the thirteen counties were controlled by Qing Hu Island. One county was controlled by the Gui Yuan Sect and one county was controlled by the Tie Yi Sect. The other two counties were controlled by a mix of many sects and influences and the people living in these two counties lived miserably.

The people in the Jiangning County were considered very fortunate.

The Xuyang County was one of the two counties mentioned.

"Why has the Great Master of the Ram Horn Mountain came to our Jiangning County to join the Black Armored Army?" Some of the warriors discussed softly amongst themselves.

Qinghu also watched the scar-faced man and listened to the commotion coming from the people around him. He then lowered his voice and said excitedly, "Qingshan, Gong Yangqing is an amazing figure. He was the Great Master of a big sect in the Xuyang County. You must be careful of him when you are fighting for the position of Centurion in the Black Armored Army.

Teng Qingshan smiled. Other than the time he had fought against the Flood Dragon, he had not really revealed his true powers before. Therefore, Qinghu didn't know how powerful he was.

"Centurion..." Teng Qingshan only smiled as he watched the others take the entrance examination. He had secretly claimed the position of Centurion.

...

In the blink of an eye, about four hours had passed.

"Everyone!" The middle-aged man in gray clothes stood up and said in a loud voice, "The entrance examination in the morning will end before noon. There's still a bit more time to noon and those who wish to take the entrance examination should hurry! Otherwise, we'll continue in the afternoon!"

Teng Qingshan turned to cast a glance toward a stone 'sundial' in the far distance.

The sundial was a simple instrument to measure time and the process of making it was not very complicated.

"Up till now, there have been twenty-one Second Rated Warriors and the only First Rated Warrior is Gong Yangqing." Teng Qingshan remembered these very clearly. Till now, the only one who had attracted his attention was Fu Junfan, who was of the same age as himself, as well as Gong Yangqing and his seven brothers.

Gong Yangqing himself was a First Rated Warrior while his seven brothers were all Second Rated Warriors. There was also a possibility that those seven brothers had held back.

"Qingshan, when are you going to take the test? In the afternoon?" Teng Qinghu asked.

"If I were to take the examination in the afternoon, then won't I have to pay for my own lunch?" Teng Qingshan joked as he walked up to the center with a grin.

"Lunch? Pay for your own lunch?" Teng Qinghu was stunned when he heard that.

According to the rules of Gui Yuan Sect, those who had passed the entrance examination would have free food and things provided by Gui Yuan Sect. If Teng Qingshan had not taken the entrance examination before lunchtime, he would have to go out to buy his own lunch.

"That young man is heading toward the ten thousand Jin boulder!"

"He can't possibly be thinking of lifting up the ten thousand Jin boulder, right?"

The crowd soon quieten down when they saw the direction Teng Qingshan was walking toward and all of them stared at Teng Qingshan. Even Gong Yangqing and his seven brothers were looking in Teng Qingshan's direction.

He grabbed tightly on both sides of the ten thousand Jin boulder.

"Rise!" Teng Qingshan let out a low bellow.

Hu!

The ten thousand Jin boulder was lifted up above his head with ease. Teng Qingshan then tossed the stone casually.

"Haha, it's another First Rated Warrior! The second First Rated Warrior in the morning has appeared." The man in gray clothes laughed and said, "May I ask for your name and age?" The warriors in the surroundings were all breaking out in commotion as well, wondering who on earth this young man was.

"Teng Qingshan!" Teng Qingshan smiled and said, "Sixteen!"