The Medallion
Chapter 1741 Don't Play Dumb With Me

However, since the recorder's job was only to arrange and record the results of the test, he had no right to interfere with the choices of the participants taking the test. Therefore, upon hearing Rocky's request, he signaled the staff to bring a pillar-shaped stone that was about thirty centimeters high. Then, it was put in the center of the test spot where Rocky was.

The Strength Testing Stone was refined using a special technique, and thus it could remain in a fixed volume although the weight varied. The range of power it could endure would depend according to a specific need, so it was usually used for this kind of advanced test.

"You just need to hit the pillar in front of you with your strongest strength. Then, if you were able to release a strength that is greater than or equal to one thousand pounds, the stone will break," the recorder informed Rocky.

Rocky nodded slightly to acknowledge what the recorder said. Then, he stood in front of the stone and began condensing his spiritual power. After a moment, he stretched his palm out and pushed his spiritual power into the stone.

Upon seeing Rocky's unimpressive movements, the people in the crowd shook their heads. In their opinion, a palm strike as weak as that would never be able to break a thousand-pound stone. However, just after Rocky's strike landed on the stone, something big caught their attention.

Boom!

The stone suddenly let out a muffled explosion and a strange light flashed from within it. One could faintly feel that the impact that was received by the stone was constantly increasing.

Eventually, cracks appeared on the surface of the stone.

"That's impossible! His casual palm strike is that strong?"

"I'm also surprised. It seems that we have misjudged his strength at all."

"But can he really break the record with only that move? It will be very impressive if he can!"

Just as the audience was thrown into an uproar, the cracks became larger as if the stone could break at any time.

At this time, everyone's eyes were focused on the stone as they held their breaths. They were waiting for the final moment that it would break.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the entire stone was shattered into ashes.

Seeing this, the people could not help but gasp in shock. They did not expect that Rocky would really be able to easily break the record that Moore and Holden had set. Moreover, the stone did not simply break. It was turned to ashes. Hence, it was obvious that Rocky used excessive strength to destroy it.

'Hmm. It seems that I miscalculated the strength that I released...' Rocky took a look at his palm and shook his head lightly. After gaining his new-found power, he hadn't been able to completely control it. Right now, he didn't know his limit yet. Hence, the blow he unleashed just now was a bit beyond his expectation.

At the same time, Holden had failed to break the stone weighted one thousand and two hundred pounds. After his failed attempt, he left the test area with a dejected face. That was when he heard that someone was able to level the record that he had just set. Of course, this made him even more disappointed. Out of his curiosity, he checked who it was and found out that it actually Rocky. At first glance, he was already able to recognize Rocky. He was a bit taken aback because he did not expect that he would be the one to level his record.

"Why is that guy here? So, he is also a Spiritual Emperor? I did not expect that." Then, Holden immediately squeezed into the crowd to get a closer look. This time, he also fixed his eyes on Rocky. Even the recorder was stunned at what just happened. He did not expect that multiple low-grade Spiritual Emperors would be able to break the thousand-pound stone.

"So, what do I do now?" Rocky asked the recorder who was still in a daze.

"Um, you can still continue the test by challenging heavier Strength Testing Stones. Otherwise, you can stop here and you will be graded by your current performance," the recorder said. According to the rules of the first round, the participants could have three chances for each test. For Rocky, who had only used his first attempt, he could still try it twice.

"I see. Then, let me try the stone of one thousand and five hundred pounds," Rocky said after thinking for a while. He thought that if his rank was too low, he might eventually get kicked out of the contest. Usually, the top fifty spots would be occupied by the premium-grade and middle-grade Spiritual Emperors. So, Rocky deemed that it was necessary to land at least within the top eighty spots to ensure that he could retain his position in the contest. Therefore, he wanted to earn more points in this test for the time being.

At the same time, when everyone heard that Rocky wanted to directly challenge the stone of one thousand and five hundred pounds, their eyes widened, and they could just look at each other with their mouths wide open. After all, this was already a level that was for the medium-grade Spiritual Emperors.

Soon enough, the Strength Testing Stone of one thousand and five hundred pounds was brought and placed in front of Rocky.

As he took a deep breath, Rocky launched another palm strike toward the stone. From the eyes of the spectators, it was not that different from what he did previously.

"Ha! I'm sure that he cannot break this one," Holden snorted coldly. Seeing how ordinary the palm strike seemed, Holden was confident that Rocky would have no way of breaking the stone.

Even the people present felt the same. They shook their heads and shared the same opinion. It was a level that was for the medium-grade Spiritual Emperors. Hence, a palm strike as weak as what Rocky unleashed would be insufficient.

Sure enough, after Rocky landed his palm strike, the stone did not react at all.

However, just when everyone thought that Rocky had failed, something unexpected happened again. In the blink of an eye, the stone suddenly burst out without any warning. The broken pieces of rubbles splashed around with great momentum. In fact, if there wasn't an enchanted barrier that covered the test area, the fragments of the stone might have flown directly to the audience.

Of course, the spectators were flabbergasted after witnessing this.

"The one thousand and five hundred pounds stone broke... He actually has the strength comparable to the medium-grade Spiritual Emperors! With this, he has broken the highest record for the low-grade Spiritual Emperors!"

"Who is this guy? Why haven't we heard of him before? He is so damn powerful!"

"I don't think anyone here knows him! I wonder where in the Ethereal Region this guy is from."

For a moment, Rocky's remarkable performance caused a major sensation.

At the same time, Holden glared at Rocky with a livid face. He knew that Rocky would be a thorn in his flesh in this contest. Moreover, he was so pissed off because someone had just taken the limelight away from him.

The recorder was also astounded as he looked at Rocky. Then, he asked as he stammered, "A-are you still going to try again?"

"No. I think that would be enough," Rocky said as he waved his hand. He felt that upon breaking the one thousand and five hundred pounds stone, he was already able to get enough points for that test. Of course, he knew that he could still do better. But in order not to expose his real strength and identity, he decided to stop for now.

Hence, as Rocky refused to continue the challenge, the recorder finally verified his test result.

"Humph! That is not such a big deal! If I used my full strength earlier, I could also do the same!" Holden talked loudly on purpose so that the people could hear him. It was just his way to save his dignity. The people who heard him looked at him. They could see that Holden was not convinced of the outcome of Rocky's test. However, everyone saw that he could not even break the one thousand and two hundred pounds stone. Hence, no one believed that he could compete with Rocky.

Of course, Rocky also heard what Holden just said. As he looked in Holden's direction, he saw that he was staring back at him with overflowing hostility. However, Rocky did not really care about him, so he just left the test area and headed to the other ones.

Seeing this, Holden immediately followed him.

Rocky eventually noticed that Holden was tailing him. But since he did not have the time to deal with Holden, he just ignored him.

However, soon enough, Holden was able to catch up to Rocky. Upon seeing that no one was around, he seized the opportunity to stop in front of Rocky. Then, he asked, "Hey, brat. Who the hell are you? Tell me now!"

"Why are you yelling at me? Do I know you?" Rocky asked as he feigned ignorance.

"Don't play dumb with me! We have already met each other before. How dare you play a trick on me at that time?!" Holden shouted as he fumed in anger.☐☐☐