Rynar was now grunting, using all of his power, and finally pressed upward, the bar moving shakily but steadily.

The barbell stayed above him for a moment before Garion helped him set the bar back on the rack.

He then sat back up. His arms were shaking, but soon a wide grin appeared on his face.

"I did it!"

Meanwhile the elders, including Raviel, were in disbelief. "He actually lifted that?"

Garion smiled proudly. "Of course he did. One rep of 300 kgs, and he does it cleanly."

Rynor whistled, impressed despite himself. "Alright, that's not bad, brother."

Garion grinned. "Good, because you're next."

Rynor froze. "Wait, what? I was just complimenting him..."

Garion only smiled, patting his shoulder. "No excuses. You're up."

Rynor sighed dramatically and got on the bench. "If I die, bury me with the dumbbells."

Dahlia smirked. "Don't worry, I'll take your spot in training tomorrow."

Garion laughed. "Alright, same thing. Deep breath… now down... slowly!"

Rynor lowered the bar, his arms shaking immediately. His teeth clenched, face reddening.

Garion shouted. "Push!"

Rynor roared, his arms trembling as the bar went up. The sound of the weights clinking echoed across the gym.

Then he racked it and sat up, breathing heavily but smiling. "Easy…"

Garion raised an eyebrow. "Easy?"

Rynor grinned weakly. "Okay, maybe not easy… but fun."

The disciples clapped, and even the elders murmured in awe.

Garion looked at Dahlia. "Your turn."

Dahlia blinked. "Wait... me too?!"

Garion nodded. "Of course. You're my first disciple. You're not skipping this."

Rynar and Rynor exchanged mischievous looks.

Rynar smirked. "Come on, senior sister. Show us who's boss."

Rynor added. "Yeah, you always yell at us during training. Time to prove you can back it up."

Dahlia sighed, tying up her hair. "If I drop this bar on my face, I'm haunting you two first."

The twins laughed while Garion gestured for her to get into position.

"Quit stalling, Dahlia. You know the form. Lie down, grab the bar tight, plant your feet, and straighten your back."

She sighed, rolling her shoulders once before lying down on the bench. "Alright, alright. Let's get this over with."

But before she could even touch the bar, Garion started adding more weight.

The twins' eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait... Master, what are you doing?!"

Garion calmly kept adding plates until the bar bent slightly under the weight.

Dahlia sat up instantly, pointing at him. "What the hell, Master?! Why did you increase it?!"

Garion's grin widened. "Because you're the strongest among them. It's only fair I test your limit properly."

Dahlia looked at the barbell in horror before turning back to Garion.

"Fair?! That's not fair! That's suicide! How heavy even is that?!"

Garion glanced at the barbell and quickly counted the weight.

"It should be about three hundred and fifty kilograms. It's not that heavy."

The twins shouted in unison. "Three hundred and fifty?!"

Even the elders, who were sitting on the floor resting, looked up in shock.

Rendric muttered under his breath. "That's heavier than three of me combined…"

Raviel whistled low. "Garion, are you sure about this?"

Garion chuckled. "Don't worry, Patriarch. I'm spotting her. She's trained under me for years. She can handle this."

Dahlia shot him a glare. "You say that like you're not the one who's trying to kill me."

Garion crossed his arms, smirking. "Stop talking and start lifting. You've got this."

The whole hall fell silent as Dahlia lay back down again. She gripped the bar tightly, jaw clenched.

Her knuckles whitened under the strain even before she even lifted the barbell.

Garion stood right behind her, ready to spot her if she couldn't handle it.

"Alright. Breathe deeply and focus. Don't think about the weight. Just try to do your best to lift it."

Dahlia inhaled slowly, her chest rising. Garion's hand lightly touched the bar.

"Now push!"

With a loud exhale, Dahlia pushed the bar off the rack. The metal groaned. Her arms shook immediately, but she held steady.

Garion grinned. "Good! Now bring it down... slowly!"

The bar lowered toward her chest, every inch a struggle. Sweat began to form on her forehead.

Rynar clenched his fists nervously. "Come on, sis, you've got this!"

Rynor shouted. "Push! Don't quit now!"

Dahlia's face turned red as she growled through her teeth. "Shut up! I'm trying!"

Garion laughed. "Now push with all your strength! Come on!"

With one last burst of power, Dahlia roared, her arms shaking violently as she pressed the bar upward.

The bar moved slowly, but still moving until her elbows locked out completely.

Then she slammed it back onto the rack and lay there, panting, chest rising and falling rapidly.

Garion grinned proudly. "Perfect. One rep, clean form."

The twins shouted in excitement. "She did it!"

Even the elders clapped this time, unable to hide their amazement.

Raviel chuckled, crossing his arms. "I take back what I said, Garion. She's definitely your disciple."

Garion smiled. "Of course she is. She's the standard I expect from all my disciples."

Dahlia sat up slowly, her arms trembling but her eyes shining. "That… was insane."

Garion laughed and patted her shoulder. "That's how you grow stronger. Not by fear, but by trusting in yourself."

Dahlia smirked weakly. "Next time, I'm picking your weight, Master."

Garion grinned. "Deal. But remember, I don't go easy either."

The twins exchanged a look, not knowing what to say.

Garion turned toward the elders, who still stared in stunned silence.

"Now you see the difference, right? Even my disciples, who are still young, can already perform better than all of you."

One of the elders clenched his fists and complained angrily

"That's because our path is already different. Your focus is on the body, while ours is on our mana. It's not the same."

Garion smirked. "Oh, I know."

He then pointed at the barbells that they used to do squats.

"That's exactly why I only made you lift fifty kilograms, which is six times lighter than theirs, and you still struggled."

The elder went silent, his face turning red as the other disciples tried not to laugh.

Garion crossed his arms. "So don't make excuses. Power is power."

"No matter what path you walk. If your body can't keep up, your mana won't save you in a real fight."

Raviel chuckled beside him. "He's right. If you can't even lift your own weight, how can you expect to carry your clan's pride?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

The elders lowered their heads slightly, realizing they couldn't argue.

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