This 10-second short video left Lin Ling completely stunned!
In the video, Chen Jue wasn’t just a size smaller than before; his entire demeanor had changed, as if he were a completely different person.
Chen Jue had been undergoing high-intensity training, waking up before 6 AM and going to bed before 10 PM, causing his daily calorie consumption to skyrocket.
He had lost over ten pounds, and his muscle definition was slowly starting to show, naturally giving him a more positive and energetic vibe.
In particular, the muscles and bones in his arms had been greatly enhanced by the repeated stimulation from the three Skills: [Stone Skimming], [Darts], and [Hidden Weapon Throwing].
Now, his grip strength alone was enough to squeeze a 70 kg grip strengthener. It wasn’t difficult for him to use his fingers, wrist, and forearm in unison to lift a 25 kg silver brick.
The difficulty lay in the fact that the silver brick’s surface was extremely smooth.
Additionally, the trapezoidal base was too wide—about 90% of his palm’s width—meaning Chen Jue could only get a purchase with the very tips of his five fingers.
He had to curl his fingertips inward, hooking the sides of the silver brick like claws to keep it from slipping.
’No wonder so many people before me couldn’t lift it!’
’This challenge looks simple, but it’s full of tricks!’ Chen Jue thought, lifting the silver brick. He held it with his palm facing down for three seconds before setting it back down.
If his grip strength hadn’t improved so drastically through training, and if the explosive power of his wrist and forearm hadn’t followed suit, he really might not have been able to handle such a large silver brick.
"Let’s congratulate this handsome fellow on his successful challenge!"
"A cash prize of 2,000 yuan!"
The two fitness influencers hosting the event looked on in astonishment. They hadn’t expected an ordinary person like Chen Jue, who didn’t look like a bodybuilder, to actually succeed.
While hyping up the crowd, the two influencers brought over a red envelope printed with "Grand Opening" and stuffed it into Chen Jue’s hands.
"Handsome, want to try and set a new record?"
"Hold it by the base for 30 seconds, and you’ll get another 3,000 yuan!"
"And if you can lift it from the front for 3 seconds, you can take this 150,000 yuan silver brick home with you!" Spurred on by the two influencers, the atmosphere grew even more frenzied.
Having just tried with his right hand, Chen Jue knew there were many tricks to this silver brick challenge.
’Even if I gave it my all, I probably couldn’t last for more than 30 seconds.’
Lifting this thing wasn’t just about explosive power; it was also a severe test of his hand’s muscular endurance.
As for the front of the silver brick, that was out of the question.
Even the bottom, with its edges, was incredibly slippery. When Chen Jue tried the front, his fingers couldn’t get any purchase at all; the surface was as smooth as if it had been polished and waxed.
’Not enough friction. Unless my grip strength increases several times over, I might be able to lift it from the front,’ Chen Jue thought to himself.
Just then, the fitness influencer called Brother Hua stepped forward to demonstrate how to lift it from the front.
He rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm as thick as Chen Jue’s thigh, its muscles coiling like the gnarled vines of an old tree—sturdy and powerful.
With a simple five-fingered grab, he cleverly used the initial tilted angle to wrench the silver brick up, holding it suspended with his palm down for about three or four seconds before setting it down.
"How about it?"
"Want to try the front challenge?" Brother Hua asked with a slight smile.
Chen Jue shook his head. He now understood how the man was able to lift the silver brick from its trapezoidal front.
Besides his superhuman arm strength, the man’s finger joints had become massive from long-term equipment training, and his palms were covered in thick calluses.
Furthermore, in that lift just now, he had cheated a little, cleverly adjusting the angle by moving the silver brick.
However, you’d need Brother Hua’s level of raw power to even attempt such a cheat. An ordinary person wouldn’t just fail to lift it; they couldn’t even get a stable grip!
"I’ll pass on the front. I’ll try holding the back for 30 seconds," Chen Jue said, deciding to try with his other hand.
The two thousand yuan from the red envelope had come too easily; he’d earned it in just a few seconds.
Now there was another three thousand waiting for him. Chen Jue wouldn’t give up without a try.
"Alright then!"
"Let’s get a round of applause from all our fans in the audience!"
"Let’s all cheer this handsome guy on and give him some encouragement!" Seeing that Chen Jue wanted to continue, Brother Hua flipped the silver brick over, returning it to its previous state with the trapezoidal base facing up.
"You got this, bro!"
"Hold on for 30 seconds and you’re a real man!" the audience members chimed in.
There were probably quite a few LSPs who had just come out of the Jingtang Club to watch the spectacle. Amid their cheers, they couldn’t resist cracking dirty jokes. They were truly a bunch of natural-born "Wet Men."
Chen Jue smiled slightly at their words, cleared his mind of distractions, and stood before the silver brick.
After the explosive effort with his right hand, his right arm was still a bit sore and swollen, making it difficult to exert force again. So, he switched to his left hand.
He had started training his left hand with [Stone Skimming] and [Darts], later adding grip strengtheners. Its strength was only a tiny bit less than his dominant right hand.
He adjusted his posture, sank into a Horse Stance, tightened his [Squeezing Valley Dao], took a deep breath, and yanked the brick up with his left hand.
With the brick inverted, its edges provided a point of purchase, making it not as difficult to lift as from the front.
When he’d held it for 3 seconds with his right hand, he actually had some strength to spare.
Switching to his left hand this time, he naturally lifted it just as smoothly!
Seeing this, the audience below began to cheer and jeer, counting along with Brother Hua at the side: "1, 2, 3..."
Chen Jue ignored the commotion from the crowd. His attention was completely focused on his left hand. He noticed that after holding it for four or five breaths, his entire arm began to grow stiff and rigid.
This was a sign of muscle overload, exceeding his strength limit, just like doing an anaerobic grip strengthener exercise.
Normally, Chen Jue should have relaxed his hand and taken deep breaths to supply his body with oxygen, but he was in the middle of a 30-second countdown challenge.
If he let out that breath, his strength would dissipate, and the silver brick would surely slip from his grasp!
’3,000 yuan!’
’It would take me several days of work to earn that!’ Chen Jue secretly encouraged himself.
Just as his left hand was about to give out, an idea flashed in his mind, and he hurriedly called up his panel.
He took the free attribute points he had accumulated on the panel and added 0.01 to his [Constitution] Attribute.
The next moment, a warm current spread throughout his body, and Chen Jue felt the stiffness in his left hand’s muscles partially alleviate!
The energy in his chest that was about to dissipate was reignited!
’It’s working!’
Overjoyed, Chen Jue continued to endure the strain from the inverted silver brick.
He discovered that adding 0.01 free attribute points to [Constitution] could buy him about four or five seconds of anaerobic burst time.
By the time the audience’s count reached 30 seconds, Chen Jue had spent all 0.05 of his accumulated free attribute points. Only then did his left hand finally release, dropping the silver brick heavily onto the electronic scale.
Just then, a notification popped up on his panel:
——————
[Ding~]
[Completed one high-intensity anaerobic exercise. Your left hand’s explosive power and endurance have slightly increased.]
[Strength Attribute +0.01]
[Note: Using attribute points on Constitution to replenish stamina is merely a clever trick. Your left hand has suffered unavoidable muscle damage and minor rupturing of subcutaneous capillaries from being in a prolonged state of overload. Please ensure adequate rest and recovery.]
——————
’I’m injured?’
The moment he let go of the silver brick, Chen Jue’s entire left arm felt numb. Even the slightest movement sent a sharp, stabbing pain through it.
In just those 30 seconds, his body had also broken out in a profuse sweat. His entire back and forehead were soaked, as if all his stamina had been completely drained.
"Challenge... successful!"
As for Brother Hua at the side, he was completely dumbfounded. It took him a good while to grab the microphone and announce the success.
Ever since he had started it, this silver brick challenge had taken the internet by storm. Every challenge video he posted received an enormous number of views.
In an attempt to find true hidden masters, and also to gain more publicity and online popularity, Brother Hua had traveled with this silver brick to major cities, specifically seeking out various physically capable professionals to take on the challenge.
Construction workers who laid bricks and tied rebar, movers who loaded and unloaded cargo, farmers who tilled fields and grew vegetables, physical education students from sports academies, wrestlers from the grasslands, and so on.
Many people could lift the silver brick with one hand for 3 seconds, but almost none could complete the next step: the 30-second endurance record challenge!
Those who could complete such an endurance challenge were almost all professionally trained bodybuilders or athletes.
He never would have imagined that just by hosting a casual event and a quick livestream in Hang City today, he would encounter a hidden master!
"Dude, that was amazing!"
"What do you do for a living?"
"How long have you been training?" Brother Hua asked, a look of utter amazement on his face. He took the large red envelope prepared by the gym owner and stuffed it into Chen Jue’s hands without a hint of reluctance.
While inquiring about Chen Jue’s profession, he also told the cameraman filming the livestream to get a closer shot.
"I’m just an office worker."
"I only started working out about half a month ago."
Chen Jue waved his hand humbly at the camera and added a quiet request, "Please don’t livestream me. Brother Hua, if you post this video later, remember to mosaic my face! I’m a small-time content creator myself!"
Brother Hua was slightly taken aback. He sized up Chen Jue and realized the young man really didn’t look like a serious athlete.
He wore glasses, looked scholarly, and you could even see a bit of a belly pooch under his sportswear.
Aside from his arm definition, which was barely decent, the rest of his physique was even worse than some of the students he trained.
But as soon as he heard that the other guy was also a fellow video creator, Brother Hua’s interest was piqued.
"Sure! I’ll have my editor fix it for you in post!"
He first agreed to do the post-processing for Chen Jue, then took out his phone to add him on WeChat.
Coincidentally, Chen Jue’s "Brother of Special Skills" ID was just starting to gain traction. The thought of interacting with a major influencer like Brother Hua, who had millions of followers, could lead to significant gains. So, he accepted the friend request, planning to chat more later.
However, in the two influencers’ livestreams that had just captured Chen Jue holding the silver brick for 30 seconds with his left hand, the chat had exploded.
All sorts of small gifts and bullet comments were flooding the screen.
"This dude is sick!"
"He just made 5,000 off Brother Hua in one go. That’s almost as much as I make in a month of screwing bolts (sniffle)."
"What a great flex! 10/10! Said he’s only been training for half a month? If you can get arm strength like that in half a month, I’ll take your last name! How come I can’t lift this silver brick after training for years? (crying laughing emoji)"
"It’s scripted! Confirmed, it has to be scripted!"
"Didn’t you see the little bro do a Horse Stance? He must be a master of the Eagle Claw Skill (dog head)."
"Brother Hua, drop the address! I want to arm-wrestle this little bro in person, have a go at it! (husky sticking its tongue out)"