Shi Tou walked up to the rock, his tanned body and bulky body positioned nicely in front of the rock while his chest hair swayed with the wind.
Shi Tou cracked his knuckles as he grappled with the rock to find a proper grip as he slowly inched closer towards the rock.
After fixing his grip on the rock he pulled it close to him as he lifted it up slowly, past his waist, past his shoulders, until it crossed his shoulders. With a final push, he lifted it over his head as the beads of perspiration rolled down his chest hairs and onto the ground.
The fibres of his muscles seemed like it was tearing apart as he trembled while waiting for the examiner to give the signal.
"Okay, qualified!"
Shi Tou immediately dropped the rock and did a guts pose. He immediately turned to the examiner without even a second of hesitation as he spoke.
"Sir, I want to challenge a heavier weight."
The examiner nodded his head as he sized up Shi Tou who was in front of him.
"For a student of the Black Tiger School, ferocity is a must, go ahead and challenge the heavier weight. If you can't lift it, it is no shame to give up as well."
Shi Tou walked up to the huge rock weighing 200 KG, he did the same routine as he did previously before grabbing hold of the rock. He struggled as his feet slid closer and closer to the rock before he found his anchor and lifted the rock up to his knees.
He struggled in an awkward pose as his face turned red as his knees started to tremble. He reached the utmost of his limits as he felt a bright ray of light shine down upon him, in his mind, memories flashed of when he was younger, his father …
"This Shi Tou, other than having strength, what does he have? I'm going out for tobacco for my pipe." He never returned again.
His mother, who always gave him encouragement and fed him no matter what…
His first girlfriend who broke his heart and destroyed his confidence.
The power surged through his body as he lifted up the rock with all his might, reaching his chest level he felt the power leave his body once again as the final struggles came to an end. He let go of the rock as it landed on the floor, thus ending his attempt.
The examiner walked towards him as he pats his back
"In life, the only bad attempt is the one you didn't attempt."
Shi Tou nodded, hot tears streaming down his face, his hopes and dreams renewed. He turned once again towards the examiner as he asked.
"Can I stay here as the next guy makes his attempt? We have a bet." Shi Tou turned his head and stared at Zhu Jiao.
The examiner nodded his head as he expectantly looked at Zhu Jiao and beckoned him to step forward.
Zhu Jiao walked up to the stage and greeted the examiner, next he turned to Shi Tou and asked him.
"So… What's the weight that I have to beat?"
Shi Tou felt the blood rush to his head as his face flushed red. He angrily exclaimed as he pointed at the 200kg rock at the corner.
Walking to the rock, he could hear the crowds of people gasping in shock talking to their friends beside them.
He smiled while listening to their conversation, crystal clear.
"He's going for the 200kg rock!"
"If he lifts it, it'll be a miracle."
"I heard only 3 people ever lifted it successfully and they've all become famous cultivators."
Zhu Jiao calmed himself down as he controlled his body with 100% of his focus. This was a task that required his full attention in order to pull it off.
Lifting a 200kg rock was easy enough, but lifting it up and pretending it was difficult for him was the biggest difficulty.
Arriving at the rock he decided to take off his top to show off his chiselled body. Glistening with perspiration the sunlight accentuated every curve and line of his body, making the female cultivators off stage thirsty.
Zhu Jiao caressed the rock as if deep in thought finding a spot to grab that would grant him the greatest grip. After grabbing onto the rock he slowly pulled himself close to the rock as he slowly started to lift it gently.
On the surface, he looked like he was struggling, with his face turning red but internally he was also struggling, but for a completely different reason.
"Okay…. Okay… easy does it, easy does it. I'll hold it here for another 5 more seconds before I lift it higher… Once it's at my shoulder I'll make it slip just a little before finally lifting it all the way up over my head and come back with a triumphant victory."
-----
In the far end of the training courtyard, a bee was harvesting nectar from the flowers, "Bzzz bzzz" It flies from flower to flower collecting the nectars ready to feed the queen and her colony.
After harvesting the nectar from all the flowers on the right side of the courtyard, it changed its sight to the left side of the courtyard. The only way across is through the centre of the courtyard, where a certain young man is lifting up a stone.
----
Zhu Jiao now still trembling, finally straightened his back with the rock now approaching his shoulders. He lifted it onto his shoulders as it started to slip just a little bit.
"Hufff….."
The audience held their breath as they saw the rock slip down from his shoulders before he caught hold of it again as they started breathing comfortably again.
Zhu Jiao smiled internally as he thought to himself, "The worst part is over, now to just hoist it upwards to victory."
---
The bee was on a roll, it had been making great progress in collecting nectar and finally after the last flower patch it would be able to go back to the hive. It had to fly past a huge mountain just to get to the other patch, but it was worth it. As it flew past the giant mountain, the mountain started to move, it moved higher and higher until it revealed a face, that came face to face with the bee.
Staring at the bee, Zhu Jiao's eyes immediately lit up, a flash of a few different colours scrolled through his eyes.
"IT'S A BEE!"