The Medallion novel Chapter 37

Rocky was about to take out the Beast Encyclopedia when the morning siren set off from afar.

"Time flies so fast." Rocky just realized that it was already morning and the siren meant that everyone else was about to get up. He also had to go to kitchen to help with breakfast preparations, otherwise Mia would punish him more severely for cutting corners.

Actually, he was having a hard time with Mia since his very first day in the dragon field. But now that he didn't have the energy to deal with her, he had to keep a low profile.

Growing so big in such a short time, Uriah would draw suspicion if it was brought back so Rocky decided to keep Uriah in the bamboo grove to keep it from being seen. Later on, he went back to his room to get his practice uniform and headed to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, Rocky ran into Mia who seemed to be lost in thought over something.

"Master Mia..." Rocky greeted Mia as he came up to her.

Mia responded with a slight nod, "Your punishment is over. Return to the dragon field."

"Really?" Rocky was surprised by Mia's sudden display of mercy because his punishment only lasted for a day before he was told to return to practice. He even considered studying the Beast Encyclopedia while doing his errands in the kitchen.

"What are you still doing here? Move!" Mia shouted at Rocky as she saw him still standing there.

"Right away." Rocky turned around and left. In his present cultivation stage, Rocky should not get affected by his absence from basic training at all. The current practice was mainly for improving their physical strength. With the magical saliva, he could improve his strength several times stronger than what they could achieve from basic practice.

The reason why Mia freed Rocky from the punishment was never out of kindness. It was because of a secret letter she received from the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire after leaving the Grand Holy Hall. What was stated in the letter made her break her rules and decided to keep the secret letter to herself. She knew that the contents of the secret letter could dramatically overwhelm the whole royalty.

Seeing Rocky suddenly return, people began discussing and wondering about the possible reasons.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen for your punishment? What are you doing in here?" Curiously, Flint asked Rocky when he was passed by him.

"Who knows, just as I was starting to get lazy." Rocky shrugged his shoulders as he headed into the line with a grin on his face.

Mia soon presented herself in front of the young group.

"You have already been in the dragon field for quite a long time, and now I think you already know that being a spirit manipulator is not as easy as you thought it would be. And what you have done is just the beginning. Starting today, we will double the intensity of your training. Anyone who can't finish their training will not get fed," Mia sternly announced.

The young trainees began complaining that the practice was already too hard for them and it would be impossible for any of them to finish their training if its intensity was doubled. And failure to complete it meant they wouldn't be given their meals.

Mia checked out the young trainees and clapped her hands as a huge bronze tripod weighing seven to eight hundred pounds was dragged by a deputy. It was as easy as pulling a plate for him. When he placed down the tripod, the tremendous sound violently made the ground tremble.

"Your current challenge is to lift this bronze tripod. If you can lift this tripod right now, you will be freed from one month of training. Just so you know, among all the green royal spirit manipulators who I've trained before, only ten were able to lift it before leaving the dragon field while the rest failed. One of them is someone you all know, Shirley from the Ximen Clan. And she is also the only one who lifted this bronze tripod with only her fifth grade of the Mortal Stage. Typically, only people who are at least at the seventh grade of the Mortal Stage are able to barely lift the same bronze tripod. So it's virtually impossible for any of you to lift this tripod right now," Mia declared to them as she pointed at the tripod.

People roared when they heard the name of Shirley. They couldn't help but take a closer look at Bear. Coming from the Ximen Clan, Bear was also the strongest one among the royal spirit manipulators of that year. It was only him who could possibly lift the tripod.

Watched by so many people, Bear channeled his confidence and then raised his hand saying, "Master Mia, I know my gift and potential are probably worse than Shirley, but I still want to give it a try if you would allow me."

Mia approved his request with a nod.

Bear climbed the stage and stood in front of the bronze tripod. He then bent his knees slightly while reaching his hands to the bottom of the tripod and took a deep breath. Right away, he applied the dragon spiritual power to lift the tripod using all the strength he had in his arms. The bronze tripod swayed a little and was gradually lifted above the ground.

The crowd was taken aback as they wondered if Bear could actually break Shirley's record with his strength only at the third grade of the Mortal Stage.

Silently, Mia was shaking her head knowing that he wouldn't make it.

Soon, Bear suddenly swayed and the tripod fell on the ground with a loud bang.

Even in his failure, Bear received a loud round of applause.

Several other people also tried but even making the tripod move the slightest bit was extremely difficult for them. Bear was, without a doubt, the best among them.

"Anyone else? Alright, training begins now," Mia said to them as she thought that no one else was coming up. Suddenly, a voice came, "Master Mia, lifting the tripod means one month of exemption from training, right?"

Drawing all the people's attention, the voice came from none other than Rocky. Although Rocky astonished people with his skills the last time, people doubted his ability to lift that tripod knowing that he was only at the second grade of the Mortal Stage and that he had a weaker physique. It was absolutely impossible for him.