218: Ten thousand tons? That's nothing!
"For this competition, you must wear the magic-banning belt throughout the entire process. Neither side is allowed to use any True Qi, nor are you permitted to use magic power or Magic Treasure for assistance."
"Violating the rules will result in an immediate loss."
The Captain of the Guard read out the competition rules and then brought over three magic-banning belts.
This magic-banning belt consisted of two parts; once one part was fastened to the body, it could forcibly prohibit the circulation of True Qi within the body.
However, powerful Cultivators could break through this Restriction, so the belt had a second capability: high-precision detection of True Qi fluctuations.
As soon as it detected any flow of True Qi within the body, it would immediately sound a conspicuous alarm.
The stronger the person, the more disadvantaged they were in this regard; the stronger the individual, the more immense their True Qi, and the stronger the fluctuations of that True Qi. As soon as they channeled even a little True Qi, the detection Spirit Stone embedded within would immediately sense it and sound a clear alarm.
"Young Master Su, we are no match for you when it comes to magic power, but when it comes to strength, you are sure to lose!"
Kaina laughed heartily, her expression one of absolute certainty in victory.
Although Kailin did not speak, the expression on her face was much the same.
When it came to tests of strength, the sisters truly feared no one.
"Both sides, prepare yourselves!"
"The first event of today's competition: Pillar of Heaven!"
The referee announced loudly.
No sooner had the voice fallen than over a hundred burly men at the side of the arena roared and pushed over a giant refined iron pillar, five meters in diameter and about fifteen meters long!
The surface of the giant pillar was rough and covered in antique-style patterns. Its weight was so immense that as it was pushed over, it crushed the bluestone floor along the way, causing the ground to sink noticeably.
"Those two girls are going too far!"
Seeing this pillar being pushed up, Kaidun III on the viewing platform stood up in anger.
In the VIP seating area, Luo Luo looked at the iron pillar being pushed up and also frowned slightly.
She whispered: "This is an iron pillar forged from refined iron. The density of refined iron is itself about twice that of ordinary iron. I fear this iron pillar weighs over 10 million catties!"
"It's that heavy?"
Wen Yunyao, Lin Bingqing, and An Ran were stunned by this weight, their faces blank with shock.
10 million catties.
That meant this iron pillar weighed 5,000 tons!
If they could use True Qi, it would really be nothing for a Nascent Soul Cultivator like Su Yang.
But now, in this competition, they could not use True Qi; they had to rely purely on physical strength.
They had originally thought victory was assured, but now they were feeling a bit unsure.
Crimson Phoenix watched the competition below dismissively: "Don't worry. He has fused with four pieces of the eternal emperor battle armor; this little bit of weight is nothing."
Hearing Crimson Phoenix's words, they felt a little more at ease.
They continued to watch the competition on the field.
"The rules for the first round of the competition: the three of you will take turns stepping forward to shake the giant pillar with both hands, causing it to completely leave the ground. The person who holds it for the longest time wins. You have three attempts, and the best result will be taken."
"I'll go first!"
Kaina, unceremoniously, was the first to step out.
She walked up to the giant pillar, pressed her hands against the cold, rough iron surface, and took a deep breath.
"Rise!"
With a delicate shout, she exerted force with both arms suddenly!
"Creak... Boom!"
The heavy refined iron giant pillar was actually slowly pried up by her. One end lifted off the ground first, and then the giant pillar, which had been lying on the ground, was lifted straight up by her just like that!
She held the giant pillar steadily in the air.
Ten breaths.
Twenty breaths.
Thirty breaths.
By forty breaths, Kaina's face was already flushed.
However, she glanced at the confident Su Yang, thinking that since he was so confident, perhaps he could do it too.
So, she gritted her teeth and persisted.
Until eighty breaths, when her hands began to ache.
Not wanting to persist any longer, she immediately dropped the iron pillar, and the entire martial arts arena shook.
There were five competitions. If she exhausted all her strength in the first one, she would be at a disadvantage for the subsequent ones. Anyway, he only needed to lose one to lose the whole thing, and they still had plenty of opportunities.
"My turn!"
Kailin stepped forward.
Her method was more steady. She pressed her hands against the giant pillar and exerted force from her core, waist, and abdomen. Her movements were not as explosive as her sister's, but they appeared more effortless.
The giant pillar lifted off the ground steadily and was held securely by her.
Fifty breaths.
Sixty breaths.
Seventy breaths...
She persisted for a full hundred breaths before evenly setting the giant pillar down.
Kailin did not change her expression.
Obviously, she also didn't want to use all her strength in the first round.
Over a hundred thousand people in the martial arts arena screamed and cheered.
"Then, it is my turn next."
Su Yang stepped forward.
Under countless gazes, he walked to the side of the giant pillar. He neither took a horse stance nor gathered his strength; he just casually extended his right hand and lightly placed his five fingers on the iron pillar.
Then, under the stunned gaze of everyone, as if he were merely lifting a rush of straw, he flicked his wrist—
That 5,000-ton refined iron giant pillar was actually lifted by him with one hand!
Lifting the heavy as if it were light, steady as a rock!
Not only that, he also casually weighed the giant pillar in his hand; the 5,000-ton iron pillar was as light as a toy in his hands.
Then, with ease and grace, he raised it with one hand above his head, arm extended, without moving a muscle!
This scene left the two sisters, Kaina and Kailin, completely dumbfounded.
Although they also had energy to spare, they did not have such an effortless display.
This strength... so strong!
They looked at each other and both saw shock in the other's eyes.
One hundred breaths.
Two hundred breaths.
Three hundred breaths...
Time passed; a full quarter of an hour had gone by, and Su Yang still wore a smile, holding the giant pillar with one arm, as understated as if he were holding a child's toy.
The longer the time, the quieter the atmosphere at the scene became.
After a quarter of an hour had passed, the entire arena was silent. Everyone had their mouths wide open, including Kaidun III on the viewing platform.
No one had expected Su Yang's strength to be this formidable!
Su Yang felt it was about enough, so he casually placed the giant pillar back in its original spot, not even raising a speck of dust.
"Two princesses, do you still wish to try? You still have two more attempts!"
Su Yang said to them without changing his expression.
Kaina and Kailin, the two princesses, looked at Su Yang unwillingly.
In this event, the possibility of them wanting to beat Su Yang was almost impossible.
"You win."
The two were quite straightforward; they did not dwell on this sure-to-lose event, nor did they continue to waste their strength on it.
"The first event, Su Yang wins!"
The Captain of the Guard announced the competition result loudly.
"Good! Good!"
Kaidun III laughed heartily upon hearing this result.
Apart from Kaidun III, there were no cheers at the scene; there was only amazement and discussion.
"The second event, Moving the Cauldron!"
The referee's voice spread throughout the arena.
Another hundred or so people carried up a giant four-legged cauldron.
The lower part of the giant cauldron had a circular slot with a diameter of five meters, which could just fit onto the refined iron giant pillar from the first event.
A dozen or so Cultivators stood the giant pillar up, then lifted the giant cauldron and slotted it onto the giant pillar.
The original 5,000-ton refined iron giant pillar plus this giant cauldron brought the weight to 8,000 tons.
This was not the end.
A few more Cultivators manipulated iron sand to fill the inside of the giant cauldron, bringing the total weight of this iron pillar and giant cauldron structure directly to 10,000 tons.
"The rules for the second event: the contestant must lift the structure composed of the iron pillar and the giant cauldron off the ground, circle the arena once, and not let the iron sand fall. The one with the shortest time wins; if the iron sand spills, it is an immediate loss!"
"Now, the competition begins!"
"I'll go first for this one!"
This time, the younger sister, Kailin, went first.
One hundred thousand spectators were all watching her with rapt attention.