The vast, empty training ground was set with over a hundred tables where the clansmen gathered, laughing heartily while tearing into large hunks of meat and drinking deeply from their bowls. Although the clan was not excessively wealthy, on the day of the Annual Sacrifice, ensuring everyone could eat and drink their fill was certainly achievable.
“Brother Fan! A toast to you!” A burly man, thick-set and broad, hoisted a large wooden bowl.
“Ah Niu, come on,” Teng Yongfan stood up heartily. After clinking bowls, the two downed their drinks in one go.
“Brother Fan, your son Qingshan faces the assessment today. Are you confident?” Ah Niu asked with a smile.
“Of course, I am,” Teng Yongfan retorted, his eyes widening slightly.
Ah Niu lowered his voice conspiratorially. “My little brat is the same age as your son. I secretly tested mine, and he can already lift a forty-jin sandbag. Ha! I remember when you were six, Brother Fan, you could only manage fifty jin. This time, my son might just be the strongest among their peers.”
In a settlement where no methods for cultivating internal energy were known, innate talent and diligence were the sole determinants of one's future standing.
In his childhood, Teng Yongfan possessed immense natural strength coupled with relentless hard work, spending every day working the forge; only through that dedication did he now possess the power of a thousand jin.
The grandson of the Old Clan Elder, Teng Yunlong—Teng Qingshan’s older cousin, Teng Qinghu—could lift sixty jin at age six, and by nine, he was hefting a massive three-hundred-jin boulder. Such talent surpassed even Teng Yongfan’s early showings. The clan placed tremendous hope upon Teng Qinghu.
“My son Qingshan, well, he can eat like an ox since he was small. Anyone who can eat that much certainly won’t be worse than your child,” Teng Yongfan declared, appearing full of conviction.
In truth, Teng Yongfan felt a distinct hollowness in his gut, primarily because he had never secretly tested Teng Qingshan’s strength.
“Eating well makes one formidable?” Teng Qingshan, seated at a nearby table, glanced at his father, Teng Yongfan, but felt perfectly at ease within himself. Thanks to the practice of Xingyi Neijia Quan (Form-Intention Internal Martial Arts), Qingshan had never needed to reveal his true capabilities to his parents. Therefore, the upcoming clan assessment caused him absolutely no pressure.
He had begun generating internal energy at the age of three, and had now been practicing for nearly three years.
Coupled with inheriting his father’s lineage, his physical constitution was naturally superior. The strength of his current body was absolutely guaranteed to stun everyone present.
“Since Father and Mother place such high expectations on me, I cannot let Father be disappointed.” Teng Qingshan, who had concealed his power until now, decided it was time to reveal a fraction of his ability.
Due to last night’s heavy snowfall, the training ground was carpeted in drifts deep enough to reach the knees. However, after being trodden upon by thousands of feet, the snow had packed down solidly, and a light scattering of ash and dried plant matter had kept it from becoming too slick.
Today was New Year’s Eve, and the entire afternoon had been steeped in joyous revelry throughout the Teng Family Village.
Given their fierce and spirited customs, this celebration naturally segued into contests of archery skill, wrestling bouts, and spear techniques…
As the sky darkened, Teng Qingshan and his younger sister, Teng Qingyu, stood amidst the crowd, watching a wrestling match unfold.
“Put some strength into it, Black Bear! Don't let a little fellow defeat you!”
“Cousin, Cousin!” A crisp voice rang out from beside Teng Qingyu.
Teng Qingshan looked down at his sister standing before him, then turned his gaze to the two men locked in struggle within the five-zhang circular ring. These two were his cousin, Teng Qinghu, and his paternal cousin, Teng Qinghao. Teng Qinghao was the son of the Spear Master, Teng Yongxiang, and was already eighteen years old.
His cousin, Teng Qinghu, would only turn twelve after today.
Teng Qinghu stood nearly seven chi tall (approaching 1.75 meters, with one chi equaling 25 centimeters), while Teng Qinghao measured seven chi and six cun (1.9 meters).
Eighteen meant Teng Qinghao was fully grown. Twelve was still firmly within boyhood.
Teng Qinghao was nicknamed ‘Black Bear’ because of his immense strength; among clansmen his own age, Qinghao was nearly ranked number one.
“Hah!”
“Hmph!”
Teng Qinghu and Teng Qinghao gripped each other’s upper arms, locked together like two wild oxen locking horns. Veins bulged on their foreheads as they glared fiercely at their opponents. One was destined to become the foremost strongman of the Teng Village; the other was currently the strongest among the younger generation.
“Hmph!” Teng Qinghao suddenly wrenched his arms with force.
“Out!” Teng Qinghu let out a sharp roar, using the momentum to violently entangle his opponent's arms. Simultaneously, he tripped his foe’s foot and shoved Teng Qinghao hard. Teng Qinghao was sent flying completely out of the ring.
“Damn it all,” Teng Qinghao scrambled up, swearing good-naturedly. “Qinghu, you little rascal! I knew you were strong and destined to surpass me one day. But you could have given your older brother a little face! You’re only twelve after today, yet you’ve already surpassed me. It seems I’ll never have a chance to beat you again.”
Teng Qinghu let out a low chuckle.
Just then, the voice of the Clan Elder, Teng Yunlong, boomed from a distance.
“All clansmen, gather over here!”
Immediately, those engaged in wrestling, archery, and other contests converged toward the center. Soon, over two thousand people formed rings three layers deep around the open space. In the cleared circle at the center, Clan Elder Teng Yunlong’s face was flushed with pride as he announced loudly, “The population of the Teng Village grows, and the men of each generation are stronger than the last! Haha… Every strong man in our clan started as a child. You all know what must be done now, yes?”
A wave of excited murmuring swept through the crowd.
“Qingshan!” His father, Teng Yongfan, and mother, Yuan Lan, both turned to look at Teng Qingshan. Teng Yongfan murmured, “Your father has never asked anything significant of you as you grew up, but today, you must fight for honor. Remember, a man’s glory is earned with his own two hands!”
“I understand, Father,” Teng Qingshan nodded solemnly.
He knew that in the Teng Village, even the position of Clan Elder was inherited by the most powerful. Any man who wished to command respect had to rely solely on his own capability!
“Now, all boys who are turning six, come to the center!” Teng Yunlong called out clearly.
Although they said six, these children would technically only turn six tomorrow. Since the festival was today, the matters would naturally be concluded in a single day.
“Father believes in you,” Teng Yongfan offered his son a faint smile.
“Brother,” Teng Qingyu, held securely in her mother Yuan Lan’s arms, stared wide-eyed at Teng Qingshan, shaking a tiny fist. “You are the strongest!”
Teng Qingshan smiled and then walked through the crowd toward the center. The clansmen instinctively parted, allowing the children to move forward. The entire Teng Village numbered over two thousand souls, and there were fifty-five boys the same age as Teng Qingshan. These children stood respectfully within the central circle.
Clan Elder Teng Yunlong glanced at the darkening sky.
“Light the torches!” he commanded loudly.
Instantly, several clansmen lit the torches placed around the training ground, dramatically brightening the area.
“Children, listen carefully,” Teng Yunlong addressed the fifty-six youngsters. “Each of you will take a turn and walk over there. We have stones ranging from ten jin up to a massive one weighing a thousand jin. Lift whatever weight you can manage. If you lift it above your head, you succeed.”
“First up, Teng Qingling!” Teng Yunlong consulted the list in his hand.
A profound silence fell over the surroundings.
For the men of the Teng Clan, the six-year-old assessment, alongside the coming-of-age ceremony at sixteen, were the two most significant events of their formative years. The results of the six-year test could already hint at a child’s future achievements.
Everyone, especially the children’s parents, watched their sons with nervous anticipation.
“Teng Qingling lifts fifteen jin! Next, Teng Qingze.”
“Teng Qingze lifts ten jin! Next, Teng Hong!”
...
One child after another stepped forward to attempt the lift. Every time a child managed a slightly heavier weight, a ripple of appreciation went through the crowd, and the parents beamed with delight.
“For six-year-olds, lifting ten or twenty jin is usually considered decent,” Teng Qingshan mused internally. The physical capabilities of ordinary people here were certainly much stronger than those in his previous world. “Being able to lift thirty jin is quite remarkable. My father managed fifty jin at six, which was considered exceptional. And Cousin Qinghu lifted sixty jin.”
Teng Qingshan sighed softly to himself.
“Hup!” A short, round little boy managed to hoist a forty-jin stone in one breath.
“Teng Qingjiang, haha, very good! Forty jin! The best so far!” Clan Elder Teng Yunlong laughed heartily.
“Tsk, tsk, Ah Niu’s little one is quite strong. It seems he’ll be a fine warrior in the future.”
“Ah Niu, I didn’t know your boy was this strong.”
A wave of admiration swept through the onlookers. The strongman named Ah Niu showed a simple, honest smile, clearly overjoyed.
...
After most children had taken their turn, the majority had not exceeded twenty jin. The little fat boy currently held the top spot.
“Last year’s batch of over sixty children saw their best lift reach forty-five jin. I wonder if this year’s group can surpass that,” low discussions began circulating within the family ranks; the caliber of a child was something parents took extremely seriously.
Suddenly—
“Teng Qingwei, twenty-five jin! Next, Teng Qingshan!” Teng Yunlong’s voice gained a sudden, sharp intensity. After all, this was his grandson-in-law; although Yuan Lan was only his adopted daughter, Teng Yunlong’s concern for his daughter and son-in-law’s family was no less than that for his own direct line.
The two thousand-plus spectators fell silent.
All eyes fixed on the child standing in the center—a child neither tall nor plump, utterly unremarkable in appearance—Teng Qingshan!
The intense focus stemmed from the fact that Teng Qingshan’s father was the clan’s foremost strongman, Teng Yongfan. If the father was peerless, what would the son achieve?
Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan held their breath, and even little Qingyu widened her eyes, staring intently at her older brother.
‘How heavy should I lift?’ Teng Qingshan wondered as he walked toward the arrangement of stones.
He walked past the ten-jin, fifteen-jin, and twenty-jin stones, moving steadily toward the rear without pausing.
“That boy, Qingshan…” Many people felt their hearts leap into their throats. “He isn't even testing the smaller ones, just walking straight past them.”
“Sixty jin! And he’s still walking past!” Everyone grew tense. What had started as casual observation had turned into genuine anxiety, because the emergence of an exceptionally powerful clansman benefited the entire lineage.
“Seventy jin, and he hasn’t stopped!”
“Still moving backward!”
Many clansmen stared with wide eyes; even the usually composed Clan Elder Teng Yunlong looked nervous. As for Teng Qingshan’s father, Teng Yongfan, his face flushed with excitement.
One had to remember that the weight required to lift increased exponentially the higher one went. At the physical limit, adding even a single extra jin could cause a person to collapse.
“The strongest person in our clan’s history only managed to lift an eighty-jin stone at this age,” Teng Yunlong stared fixedly at Teng Qingshan. “He hasn’t stopped at eighty jin, he’s still walking? Does this little fellow genuinely possess this power, or is he deliberately making fools of us?” Teng Yunlong’s chest tightened.
The atmosphere over the entire training ground became extraordinarily tense.
Step by steady step, each forward movement ratcheted up the tension for everyone present.
Suddenly—
Teng Qingshan finally stopped. He halted directly before a heavy stone weight, a full one-hundred-jin lock.
‘The strongest person in the history of my Teng Clan only managed eighty jin at age six. I should earn some face for Father, but not overdo it. One hundred jin should suffice,’ Teng Qingshan calculated privately, looking at the stone before him.