However, Lian Pinghai still hadn't given up; he was gritting his teeth and persevering.
After another seventeen breaths, through his desperate efforts, about ten percent of the two stone bodies still remained in contact.
Everyone understood that the longer this situation persisted, the more of Lian Pinghai's internal power would be consumed, and the more impossible it would become to separate the two ebony gold giant rocks.
At this point, a look of regret appeared in the eyes of many. Lian Pinghai was now trembling like a sieve, clearly having reached his limit.
A look of helplessness also appeared in the eyes of the gentle-looking middle-aged man. In terms of strength, Lian Pinghai's internal power already made him a rare expert among first-rate masters.
But as a military man, he knew that success was success and failure was failure. He would not relent in the slightest because of this.
But just then, several muffled sounds, almost imperceptible, came from several acupoints on Lian Pinghai's body.
The sound was not too loud and was mixed in with the sound of his joints popping like beans, so even the gentle-looking middle-aged man nearby did not notice any difference.
Almost at the same time, Lian Pinghai let out a sudden roar.
With a "bang!", the two giant rocks separated in an instant, under the disbelieving eyes of everyone.
One of the giant rocks, like a wheel, was sent flying into the distance by his palm, rolling swiftly away with a "rumble-rumble."
Immediately after, Lian Pinghai staggered back a step, completely exhausted, his entire body as if it had been drenched in water.
"Excellent! Worthy of his fame! Brother Lian has officially passed this first test. You may now enter the courtyard, and someone will arrange for you to rest for a while. The subsequent tests will be personally arranged by the General."
The look of disbelief on the gentle-looking middle-aged man's face vanished in a flash. He hadn't expected Lian Pinghai to have reserved so much profound internal power at the end. He hadn't even seen that coming.
Just before Lian Pinghai struck the giant rock away, Li Yan, who was in the crowd, suddenly felt his ears twitch slightly. He then glanced at several acupoints on Lian Pinghai's body before resuming his nonchalant appearance.
After Lian Pinghai entered the Duke's manor, the young servants in green immediately brought out two very sturdy, large wooden frames. Underneath the frames were rows of small wooden wheels.
Then, with their combined effort, they loaded the two ebony gold giant rocks onto the two wooden frames respectively.
Once loaded, they covered each of the two rocks with a piece of red oilcloth. Two young servants on each side pushed the two frames towards each other.
When the two frames were perfectly aligned, they were pressed tightly together. Two young servants reached out and uncovered one red oilcloth each.
With another "bang!", the two ebony gold giant rocks automatically shot forward and once again stuck firmly together.
"Alright, which other hero is willing to give it a try!"
The gentle-looking middle-aged man continued to look around. As his voice fell, someone indeed stepped forward in response…
Subsequently, four more people came up. They more or less borrowed Lian Pinghai's method, but none of them could separate the two giant rocks again.
One person only managed to "rub" the rocks apart by about thirty percent before exhausting his strength and failing.
Li Yan stood in the crowd, stroking his chin with one hand, his eyes slightly narrowed.
He had already seen that the two ebony gold giant rocks were Yin-Yang Stones, which were difficult for mortals to find. These stones were usually found extremely deep underground, where yin and yang both opposed and generated each other, yet also attracted each other.
These stones were not considered particularly precious, so they weren't too rare in the cultivation world. However, because they contained some yin-yang power, they were often used by some cultivators as auxiliary materials for refining medicinal pills.
But for this item to be in the mortal world, it was definitely not something an ordinary person could obtain, especially two large pieces like these.
'Such large pieces of Yin-Yang Stone, once they stick together, it would be impossible to separate them without three or four thousand jin of force. If a martial artist has cultivated to the first-rate realm, an Internal School Master could infuse the seam with internal power to gradually isolate the yin-yang forces, and it could be done. An External School Master of the first-rate realm could also possibly do it with brute force, just like Marshal Hong back then. With his external art's immense power, he had a sixty or seventy percent chance of prying them apart. Other than that, the so-called second-rate masters in the martial world would be lucky to even budge them.'
Li Yan thought to himself.
"Alright, it seems no one else is willing to try this morning. In the afternoon, at the Hour of the Goat, there will be another two hours for you heroes to try. This will continue for three days and then it will end!"
After asking a few more times, the gentle-looking middle-aged man saw that apart from whispers, no one else was coming forward, so he prepared to turn and leave.
This was something they had expected. There weren't that many first-rate masters, and not that many who were willing to join the Duke's manor.
Even though four people had gone in earlier, after the General reviewed them, it would be good if one or two were kept.
But just then, a calm voice came over.
"I'll give it a try!"
The gentle-looking middle-aged man, who was about to leave, froze. He turned his face slightly again, his gaze sweeping towards the source of the voice.
In his view, those who were going to come up would have already come up. There was no commotion at the edge of the crowd, so it was clear this person had been standing in the crowd for a while.
'He's quite patient!'
He thought to himself. The rest of the crowd also looked towards the source of the voice, and soon, many eyes were focused on a short-haired youth with a dark complexion.
Upon seeing him, a buzz of discussion erupted.
"Who is this? So young? Brother Zhang, do you know him?"
"Don't know him. How old is he? Has he already cultivated his martial arts to the first-rate realm?"
"You must be joking. This is the Duke's manor. How dare he go up without some confidence? Isn't he just causing trouble?"
"I see this kid's aura is weak. I can't see any sign of him having cultivated internal energy. If he's an Internal School Master, wouldn't I be a peerless Transformation Realm master!"
Many people were sizing up the short-haired youth. That person was none other than Li Yan. At this moment, his face was calm, and he turned a deaf ear to the various doubtful voices around him.
Then, he walked step by step towards the open space in front of the Duke's manor gate.
The gentle-looking middle-aged man stared at Li Yan. Although his expression was calm, a strange light flashed in the depths of his eyes.
With his cultivation, he also could not sense the slightest bit of internal power from this short-haired youth.
Even from the weight of his footsteps on the ground, he felt that he was as weak as an ordinary mortal, definitely not the result of the lightness that comes from cultivating internal energy.
"Oh, may I ask this hero's esteemed name?"
The gentle-looking middle-aged man immediately asked. He could also see that Li Yan was not from the Imperial Dynasty. That head of needle-like short hair was somewhat similar to some of the foreigners he had seen.
"Zhang Ming, a humble villager. I once learned a few crude tricks from my master on the edge of the Great Green Mountains."
Li Yan replied. After hearing this, the gentle-looking middle-aged man looked carefully at the calm-faced Li Yan again, a few doubts arising in his heart.
The other party was so calm and spoke clearly. It was clear he was not insane. It seemed he was not just here to cause trouble.
The Great Green Mountains were too vast. The edge alone connected several countries, and Demonic Beasts several times more powerful than wild beasts often appeared there.
It was said that even Transformation Realm masters might not be able to retreat from there with their lives intact.
However, he had also heard some rumors that some martial world masters, after washing their hands of their past deeds and growing tired of the fighting, would go into seclusion on the edge of the Great Green Mountains.
They hoped to use this to further refine their martial arts, to take another step forward.
However, he still couldn't believe that this young man, who looked to be only in his twenties, could have such profound martial arts attainments.
But he had always been a man of deep shrewdness, his emotions never showing on his face. Well, if you want to try, then try.
If he could unleash even a hint of internal power or brute force, he could treat it as the other party genuinely wanting to test himself.
Otherwise, he would let the other party know what it meant to suffer in prison.
As Li Yan answered, he had already walked to the front of the two ebony gold giant rocks.
Having tempered himself in the mortal world for these years, he had mostly maintained a low profile. Today, after hearing the conversation of those three in the tavern, he suddenly felt like he should try a different approach.
In fact, as long as a cultivator did not wantonly slaughter mortals in the mortal realm, no matter how outrageously you acted, it would be difficult to provoke the wrath of other cultivators.
Cultivators already felt they were superior to mortals; it was only natural for them to have some special privileges.
Li Yan stood before the ebony gold giant rocks. He also did not move immediately, as if he were sizing them up. He stood there for more than ten breaths.
This time, the discussions below grew even louder.
"Why don't you make a move? Why the hesitation?"
"Did someone drug him before? Now he's sobered up and realized something's wrong, hahaha…"
"I see his gaze is clear, but it lacks the reserved brilliance of an expert. Even for an External School Master, you should be able to tell from their overflowing qi and blood. His physique is decent, but his hands are delicate. How does he look like an External School Master in any way!"
"That's true. Even if one practices the Tendon-Changing Art, one cannot hide the abundance of one's essence, qi, and spirit…"
The gentle-looking man in the arena, who had been staring at Li Yan, was also getting displeased.
"This Young Hero Zhang…"
But just as he opened his mouth, Li Yan suddenly placed his hands on the seam where the two ebony gold giant rocks met.
Although his fingertips couldn't fit into the crevice, with a low shout from him and a forceful push and pull in opposite directions with both hands, a "kaka" sound immediately came from under his hands.
The entire arena instantly fell silent. Before everyone's astonished eyes, the two giant rocks, which seemed to have been cast together from iron, began to separate bit by bit.
But before the two rocks had completely separated, a flush rose to Li Yan's face, making him look as if he were already struggling quite a bit.
Even so, it caused the gentle-looking man to clench his fist inside his long robe.
'What terrifyingly immense strength! He's actually using brute force to pull them apart!'
On Li Yan's side, after a slight pause, the fingers of the hands pressed against the edge of the rocks suddenly dug in. Ten fingers instantly and firmly inserted themselves into the newly opened crevice between the two rocks.
This caused everyone below to let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. They already knew that this man named Zhang Ming had extraordinary strength.
Now, after prying open a crevice with sheer force, he had inserted his fingers into the stone seam to get a better grip.
But they also saw the flush on Zhang Ming's face, a clear sign that he was also running out of strength.
If he couldn't separate the giant rocks in one go, there was a high probability that his ten fingers would be lost.
Under the powerful attraction, the two ebony gold giant rocks would instantly merge again, and Zhang Ming's fingers would be crushed into a meat patty.
This method was actually the most harmful to oneself, a bit of a gamble. If it succeeded, it succeeded. If it failed, his hands would be done for today.
A glint flashed in the eyes of the gentle-looking middle-aged man, and he involuntarily took a step forward.
Never mind what realm this Zhang Ming's martial arts had reached. Just at his age, with this kind of divine strength, this person was already a rare talent for martial arts.
The gentle-looking middle-aged man wanted to intervene and save him when his strength gave out, to at least preserve his hands.