Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 104: Conflict

After calling Fang Lingjue and his family, Li Pin quietly waited for the arrival of the investigation team members.

As soon as the investigation team arrived, the team captain, Wang Tianyi, presented the search warrant, and Li Pin was quickly taken for questioning. Lian Hongchen accompanied him throughout the process, under the reason of overseeing the investigation to ensure no laws or regulations were violated.

During the process, heated arguments about Li Pin's upcoming participation in the Jiang Province Martial Competition were inevitable.

However, Wang Tianyi presented the video footage the Solar Vermillion Sect had provided, suggesting that Li Pin had allegedly used the banned Blood-Seething Powder and that allowing him to return to the competition without a clear explanation would be highly disrespectful to the other participants.

Additionally, since the martial arts competitions were being held simultaneously across various provinces, postponing the event for Li Pin alone wasn't an option. The investigation team's firm stance forced Lian Hongchen to contact Chairman Lin Yuzhi, but even that couldn't stop Li Pin from being forcibly taken away.

***

At the investigation team's office, Li Pin was merely cooperating. He wasn't taken to the interrogation room.

Wang Tianyi followed protocol. In theory, after Li Pin demonstrated the Blood-Seething Secret Art to prove his innocence, he should have been allowed to leave. However, he wasn't, and they still kept him for further questioning.

Meanwhile, as daylight broke, the round-robin matches for the Jiang Province Martial Competition's youth and intermediate categories officially began.

In an arena with a capacity of thirty-six thousand spectators, the round-robin competition kicked off with a battle between Gu Haoran and Li Pin.

Qiu Chufeng's death at Li Pin's hands occurred just last night, and only a handful of people in Jiang Province were aware of the news.

However, with Li Pin's previous victory over Aura Cultivation Grandmaster Zhou Chaoguang, his upcoming battle against Gu Haoran, an Aura Force expert from the capital city, drew the attention of countless spectators.

Many speculated that the outcome of this battle could determine the champion of the Jiang Province Martial Competition.

Yet, as the match began, Li Pin remained absent from the stage, stirring discussions among the audience.

Rumors, fueled by those with ulterior motives, quickly spread, claiming that Li Pin had sustained serious injuries in his fight with Zhou Chaoguang and had not yet recovered, forcing him to avoid facing Gu Haoran, a grandmaster in Aura Force.

Finally, after the referee called Li Pin's name three times with no response, he officially declared Li Pin's withdrawal, awarding Gu Haoran victory by default.

Many harbored suspicions about this outcome, but the martial society kept public opinion surrounding the martial competition suppressed. With what the media circulated, everyone had no choice but to accept the narrative that Li Pin had suffered severe injuries and acknowledged his inability to contend with Gu Haoran, another martial artist in the Aura Cultivation realm.

After all, it was considered quite normal for Core Formation martial artists to suffer backlash and be severely injured after defeating an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster.

The next day, Fang Lingjue faced off against the widely recognized seeded competitor Jiang Zhenhai.

Fang Lingjue started the fight with a strike of Aura Force, creating shockwaves and securing a decisive victory. His display of strength stunned the entire arena, with many proclaiming that Fang Lingjue had the potential to be ranked among the top ten nationwide.

Taking advantage of the spotlight, Fang Lingjue announced that the Jiang Province Martial Competition was corrupt, with the rankings predetermined. He claimed that Li Pin's exclusion was due to his threat to the predetermined order set by the martial society, which led to his unjust detention under false charges, causing him to miss the competition.

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Simultaneously, despite being a top contender, Fang Lingjue declared his withdrawal from the competition. Soon after, the Five Elements Sect followed suit, withdrawing on behalf of Li Pin.

The news sent shockwaves through the public.

***

Bang!

In the chairman's office of the martial society, Lin Yuzhi, finding nothing in his line of sight to throw in frustration, slammed his hand down on the table.

"Fang Lingjue!? The Five Elements Sect!? How dare they!"

Chi Xingyu, the deputy chairman of his allegiance, was standing in front of him.

"This is all Lian Hongchen's doing. If not for him, Fang Lingjue and the Five Elements Sect wouldn't dare to openly defy your authority even if they had a hundred lives!"

"Lian Hongchen..."

Lin Yuzhi was aware that Lian Hongchen had a close relationship with Li Pin and the Five Elements Sect, but he didn't expect Lian Hongchen to jump out so eagerly.

"Does he think he can bring me down with this?" Lin Yuzhi sneered. "How naive."

He issued a direct order, "Suppress the news and prevent it from spreading. Release a clarification at the same time and state that Li Pin withdrew from the competition due to his injuries. As for Fang Lingjue's withdrawal... spread the word through unofficial channels that he knew he couldn't defeat Gu Haoran and win first place, so he willingly withdrew!"

"This matter is likely to cause a huge uproar... there might even be new investigation teams coming down."

"I know more about what investigation teams do than any of you. I can handle it. As for the uproar..." Lin Yuzhi showed no fear. "Even if they all know that the competition is rigged, so what?

"We are the official authority! Our word is the truth! Everyone else is just spreading rumors! Inform the Enforcement Department to cooperate and arrest a few people who are spreading these rumors. Accuse them of spreading false information to set an example!"

"What about Fang Lingjue?" asked Chi Xingyu.

"We have plenty of ways to deal with him," replied Lin Yuzhi.

Lin Yuzhi paused for a moment. Then, he continued, "But before that, we need to find a way to squash that disgusting and annoying flea, Lian Hongchen."

"Chairman, perhaps we could start with the Five Elements Sect," Chi Xingyu suggested. "The Five Elements Sect has swallowed up a lot of assets. Could Lian Hongchen have embezzled some of it?"

Lin Yuzhi replied, "A new investigation team is bound to come, but I anticipated this situation when I had Wang Tianyi investigate Li Pin the night before. I've already made arrangements, and the new investigators will certainly be from my faction."

Lighting a cigar, he leaned back leisurely, his eyes cold. "Trying to challenge me? They've gone too far!"

***

"Actually, you didn't have to go that far," Li Pin said to Fang Lingjue at the Changfeng Martial Hall. "You've already manifested Aura Force. If you had continued to participate, forget about entering the top three, you could've even won first place."

"The top three spots have always been coveted by the major factions in Jiang Province, let alone the top spot," Fang Lingjue chuckled. "In the past, I didn't have the qualifications to aim for the top three, not to mention first place.

"I used to think these things were far out of reach, so I didn't bother to pursue them. But now... now that it's all happening to me, if I still don't do anything to help change things in the Jiang Province martial arts community, it might deteriorate beyond repair."

He waved his hand and continued, "Though it may seem impulsive, let me do what I can to restore fairness and justice in the Jiang Province martial arts community. Besides, my original goal was just to be in the top ten in Jiang Province and make it to the round-robin. Even if I withdraw now, I would still have achieved my goal and it won't have much impact on me."

Li Pin smiled. "I'd have really liked to see you become Jiang Province Number One."

Fang Lingjue said with his eyebrow raised, "Ha, what's the point of being number one in the intermediate category? If one wants to aim for number one, one might as well aim to be number one in the adult category! The champion of the adult category is the true Jiang Province Number One!"

"The adult category..." muttered Li Pin.

Before the round-robin competition for the intermediate category began, the top ten competitors for the Adult Category in Jiang Province had already been announced.

Wang Pengju, Nie Wuji, Xiao Dingshan, Zhao Shenyan. They were all renowned Aura Cultivation Grandmasters and were all significantly more qualified than those in the intermediate category.

Thinking of this, Li Pin couldn't help but find it a little regretful that he hadn't registered for the adult category from the start. However, he didn't dwell on it too much.

The early-stage Astral Cultivators in the Astral Hall far surpassed Aura Cultivation Grandmasters in terms of physical prowess and endurance. This fact alone excited Li Pin.

"Alright, I am planning to return to the White Crane Sect to enter seclusion. Now that my Aura Force has manifested, I am confident I can step into the Aura Cultivation realm," Fang Lingjue said with a pause. "Who knows, I might even earn the 'legitimate successor' title."

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors," Li Pin replied with a smile.

The White Crane Sect was an enormous martial arts sect within the Tianyuan borders. Similar to a martial arts academy, it boasted a vast influence that extends far and wide. Alongside the Eagle Claw Sect, Tai Chi Sect, and Eight Trigram Sect, they were known as the Four Great Sects of Tianyuan.

The number of disciples within the Taibai Region alone was estimated to be in the millions.

They chatted leisurely for half a day. After that, Fang Lingjue took his leave.

Li Pin calmly walked back to his courtyard.

The bodies and bloodstains from his battle with Qiu Chufeng had been cleaned up, but the damaged flowers and plants at the entrance remained unrepaired. This was clearly a massive project.

Furthermore, a death had taken place within his new home, the one he had only moved into half a month ago, turning it into a place of misfortune.

Normally speaking, the psychological impact of an event such as this should theoretically haunt him for the rest of his life. Therefore, demanding 500 million yuan in compensation from the Solar Vermillion Sect was entirely justified.

"It feels like it was only yesterday that we fought under the moonlight... What a nostalgic day," Li Pin mused, concentrating on assessing his condition.

Life evolves through a process of destruction and rebirth.

Though his battle with Qiu Chufeng was not as life-threatening as his encounters with Han Li and Zhou Chaoguang, it was still a perilous ordeal. Yet, he had unleashed his most powerful attack with exhilarating satisfaction.

Through such life-and-death struggles in which he went all out, he saw significant growth in his Aura Cultivation progress, physique, and mental spirit. This growth was far more rapid than through conventional training alone.

"Almost there. In another half month, I should achieve mastery over the Aura Cultivation realm. Then, I can begin the transition from External Aura to Internal Aura cultivation," Li Pin estimated.

Of course, if he engaged in several more high-intensity battles, where he experienced the profound impact of force resonating through his organs, tearing his muscles, and even straining his bones, he could potentially shorten this timeline.

"Huh?"

Li Pin seemingly sensed something and smiled. "Why are you two here?"

Immediately, Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu ran over.

"That's elder sister's place, not really our home. We are much more comfortable here with you, brother," Li Yunyao said.

Li Pin quickly realized something but didn't show it on his face in front of Lin Xiaolu. He simply said, "Stay wherever you feel comfortable. There's plenty of room here."

"Okay!" Li Yunyao replied cheerfully.

Once they found a private moment, Li Pin cornered Li Yunyao in her bedroom. Closing the door, he asked, "What's going on?"

Li Yunyao blinked her big, innocent eyes. "Nothing."

"Did you get into trouble?"

"No."

"Ha, I can tell you're up to something as soon as you open your mouth. Are you trying to trick me?"

"No!" Li Yunyao answered, looking a little aggrieved. "It's just... it's just that I don't feel very comfortable there."

"Huh?" Li Pin frowned. "Is Qin Guangming not treating you well?"

"No... he treats us quite well."

"Then it must be someone else."

"Not really."

Li Yunyao hesitated for a moment before taking out her phone. "Just see for yourself."

Li Pin took the phone and played the video she had selected.

"Who doesn't have a few poor relatives? Yunyan is indeed sensible, and she's pregnant with your second brother's child. Plus, Li Pin is quite successful, so we thought we could reach out to them and see if we could help. Since you find them noisy and low-class, and you're uncomfortable living with them, then forget it."

In the video, Qin You was talking to Qin Rouran, saying, "I'll find a chance to talk to Guangming and ask him to find another place for the family. We have plenty of houses available."