I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

In the early Shen hour of the afternoon, Xie An arrived at the Blood Ridge Black Market, his face covered.

As he approached the entrance of the canyon, he saw Zhang Lin anxiously greeting him from afar.

"Old brother, you've finally arrived."

Recently, Xie An had been coming here at dusk each time, as the Black Market was just opening then. Today, Xie An had deliberately advanced the time, arriving in the early Shen hour, but seeing Zhang Lin's anxiousness, he instinctively thought something was delayed.

"Is something delayed?"

Zhang Lin said, "That's not it. It's just that some situations have arisen. I wanted to inform you in advance, but I couldn't find you, old brother."

Xie An also became a little uneasy, "Situations?"

Xie An was always cautious. Even for a deacon of the White Feather Hall, Xie An had secretly investigated and understood for several months. He had finally negotiated everything, and he didn't want any problems at the last moment.

The martial world was dangerous, and for someone like Xie An, without any background, he especially lacked a sense of security.

Under Zhang Lin's explanation, Xie An understood the general situation:

A deacon was the most basic manager in the Tiger Wolf Gate. Although the position was small, the Tiger Wolf Gate attached great importance to it. According to the usual practice, the Kao Gong Hall (Hall of Merit Assessment) would send someone down to assess the ability of the new deacon on-site.

The Kao Gong Hall established by the Tiger Wolf Gate was somewhat similar to the Ministry of Personnel's Kao Gong Division in the imperial court. It was specifically responsible for assessing the merits and demerits of officials, recording the assessment results, and ultimately using them as the basis for officials' promotion, transfer, retention, dismissal, or punishment.

The Tiger Wolf Gate's imitation of the imperial court in establishing the Kao Gong Hall showed that it also wanted to ensure that the promotion of managers within the sect was based on evidence and to achieve fairness. The helmsman of the sect had the ambition to build a great sect.

Originally, the Kao Gong Hall was only sending down a deacon surnamed Zhang, who was an acquaintance of Zhang Lin's. They had already made arrangements to go through the motions.

However, because of Zhang Biao's death, the Kao Gong Hall had strengthened the review and assessment of personnel promotion in the White Feather Hall and had unexpectedly sent a high-level elder, surnamed Tang.

Elder Tang was strict and inflexible, and his relationship with Hall Master Wei and Zhang Lin was not good. He was impervious to persuasion.

Things had changed.

After listening carefully, Xie An was not too alarmed.

He had originally planned not to rely entirely on personal connections for promotion and had been working hard to practice his skills for some time to deal with bad situations.

Now, although there was a bit of an accident, Xie An didn't think it was a big problem.

"Thank you, Brother Zhang, for informing me. I understand."

Zhang Lin was very remorseful, "I'm to blame for not doing this well. I thought we could just go through the motions, but I never expected a big figure like Elder Tang to come personally, making you have to get serious, old brother."

"Brother Zhang is too kind. If it weren't for Brother Zhang's recommendation and guarantee, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have this opportunity. By the way, is this Elder Tang very remarkable?"

"Of course. Elder Tang's position in the Kao Gong Hall is not below the Hall Master's. Although he is inflexible, he is upright and appreciates talent. If you can get Elder Tang's appreciation, old brother, then your future will be limitless."

Xie An was slightly stunned and didn't say much more.

Seeing that Xie An didn't show any resentment and looked calm and composed, Zhang Lin once again thought highly of Xie An in his heart and said, "Elder Tang is already waiting inside. I'll take you in. The assessment will mainly be divided into weightlifting and combat. Your weightlifting should be no problem, old brother, but the combat…"

Zhang Lin led Xie An into the canyon while explaining the details and precautions of the assessment.

Unconsciously, they arrived at the elegant small courtyard in the Black Market.

As soon as he entered the door, Xie An felt a serious atmosphere coming over him.

A refined middle-aged man wearing a black Tang suit sat on a master's chair under the eaves, with a tall, burly man with a knife standing behind him. Even in the snowy weather, the man was only wearing a thin jacket, revealing bronze-colored muscles, and the knife he was holding was five feet long, creating an imposing presence.

Even ten meters away, Xie An could feel the powerful aura released by this man.

"Elder Tang."

Zhang Lin led Xie An to the center of the courtyard, cupped his fist towards the Tang-suited old man, his attitude extremely flattering.

Xie An also cupped his fist and called out, "Elder Tang." When he looked up at this Elder Tang, he found that the person's temperament was somewhat similar to the Tang Qingfeng he had met before, but he was younger.

Could it be that they are all from Tang Family Fort?

"Hmm."

It's just that if he passed the assessment later, Elder Tang, as the elder of the Kao Gong Hall, would still have to personally verify his appearance. If he didn't pass the assessment, there would be no need to do so.

But seeing Xie An's white hair, a flash of disappointment flashed in Elder Tang's eyes, "Although my Tiger Wolf Gate has only been established in Qingwu County for thirty years, it is also a famous sect. Anyone who wants to be a manager must have the strength of entering the Copper Skin Realm. It's definitely not something you can get in with just a recommendation."

Speaking of which, Elder Tang glanced at Zhang Lin, "If this person's strength is very different from what is stated in the letter, Zhang Lin… I have to record a mistake for you."

Zhang Lin's body trembled, and he quickly cupped his fist and said, "Elder Tang, rest assured, the person I recommend is definitely strong. I am wholeheartedly thinking of the sect and have no bias."

Elder Tang nodded with satisfaction, "If the person you recommend really has the ability, I will naturally record your merit in recommending talent for the sect. Tongshan, begin."

"Yes, Elder."

The two-meter-tall strong man immediately moved out five stone locks of different specifications from the corner, "Elder Tang has always been fair in assessing new managers. Here are five stone locks, weighing four hundred, five hundred, six hundred, six hundred and fifty, and seven hundred catties respectively. You choose a stone lock and lift it over your head, staying there for three breaths."

Xie An nodded to the strong man, then walked to the stone locks and looked at them one by one. Finally, he set his sights on the last two stone locks.

Six hundred and fifty catties was the weight Xie An had previously estimated for his weightlifting.

After all, he didn't have accurate stone locks at home to test with. But Xie An felt that lifting six hundred and fifty catties with one arm wouldn't be a problem, and if he struggled, he could try seven hundred catties as well.

Logically speaking, Xie An didn't like to stand out.

But this time it was different.

The one who came was Elder Tang, who was comparable to the Hall Master of the Kao Gong Hall. Zhang Lin had previously reminded him: If he could get Elder Tang's appreciation, his future would be limitless.

Therefore, Xie An felt that this was a rare opportunity to show himself.

He must seize it firmly.

Being able to advance and retreat, to bend and stretch, is what a great man should do.

Without saying, Xie An could sense everyone's thoughts: they simply thought he was an old man and not very useful.

Thinking of this, Xie An felt that he should go all out even more.

He walked to the seven-hundred-catty stone lock and first used his hand to hold the handle to familiarize himself with the feeling.

Hmm?

This scene surprised everyone around him.

Zhang Lin had previously seen this old man Xie An assassinate Zhang Wei and Lu Wei with his face covered, and seeing him shoot continuously with a single finger drawing the bow, he initially judged Xie An's weightlifting to be four hundred catties. Now he wanted to lift seven hundred catties at once?

Even Tongshan, this strong man, was taken aback, instinctively feeling that this old man was too ambitious and that it was impossible.

Even Elder Tang slightly looked sideways, holding a tea bowl in one hand and gently stirring the tea leaves with the lid of the teacup in the other, leisurely reminding him: "Just do your best, don't force yourself. If you hurt your body because of this, my Tiger Wolf Gate will not be responsible."

Obviously, Elder Tang didn't think that the old man in front of him could lift seven hundred catties, fearing that he would strain his body, so he kindly reminded him.

Even a Copper Skin Realm martial artist who has reached the Great Success stage, lifting six hundred catties is almost the upper limit. If you force it, it is easy to sprain your waist and strain the ligaments of your arm. In severe cases, you may even break your spine.

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Tang."

Xie An said thank you, then stepped forward and squatted into a horse stance. He gripped the handle of the stone lock tightly with his right hand and exerted his strength forcefully. The stone lock stayed at his waist for two breaths, then was suddenly lifted over his head by Xie An.

Xie An stood upright, the raised stone lock steadily horizontal above his head.

Tongshan and Zhang Lin both widened their eyes at the same time.

Swish!

Elder Tang could no longer remain calm, the body leaning against the back of the chair immediately sat up straight, a pair of condensed eyes blooming with a strange light, his heart greatly shocked: "This old man is over half a hundred years old, yet he has such divine power!"