Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 64: Achievement

On their way out of the gambling center, Fang Lingjue looked at Li Pin incredulously and uttered, "Ten million? First place in Jiang Province?"

Li Pin smiled and didn't say anything. He would have bet on himself at the other gambling centers too if he had more than ten million yuan.

When he cashed out his winnings, he'd make 200 million yuan.

Looking at Li Pin’s expression, Fang Lingjue finally realized that he was serious.

Fang Lingjue couldn't help but recall how Li Pin had been only strong enough to slay the Demonic Cat just not too long ago. Yet just half a month ago, Li Pin had killed a peak Core Formation expert like Demonic Sand. His rate of growth was truly astonishing.

With such an astonishing growth rate, no one could say with absolute certainty that Li Pin wouldn't develop Aura Force during the competition and claim first place.

"Wait here," Fang Lingjue said abruptly before quickly turning back to the gambling center.

Very soon, he came back out with a betting slip in his hand.

He had placed a six million bet in Fang Yubai's name. This sum was equivalent to all the cash he could muster at the moment.

"Let's go see who the experts are in the intermediate category and find out how strong those from the capital city are," Fang Lingjue suggested.

Li Pin nodded.

The experts from Solar Vermillion Sect might have settled for participating in the Jiang Province Martial Competition because they failed to break into the top ten in the capital city, but their ambition alone already spoke volumes of their strength.

Watching their fights would give him a sufficient understanding of the strength of the intermediate category competitors in the Taibai Kingdom.

"You are at a disadvantage because of your age," Fang Lingjue said. "In the past, the average age of the top ten of the Taibai Kingdom intermediate category has never been below thirty, and you are only twenty-two...."

"It's alright," Li Pin responded. "Generally speaking, how strong have the past national champions been in the intermediate and adult categories?"

"Most champions have been Aura Force or Aura Cultivation experts, and there have been two occasions where Internal Aura experts won first place," Fang Lingjue shared. "The adult category is primarily a contest between Aura Force Grandmasters, with some instances where Martial Saints who have manifested their Martial Will dominate all challengers."

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Li Pin nodded. It was as he had speculated. "Aura Force and Aura Cultivation.... Aura Force simply means reaching that particular standard of attack."

Li Pin was currently at this standard. When he created tremors across his organs, condensed the five qi's, and unleashed the Five Elements Unity, he was wielding Aura Force.

When martial artists who have connections reach this point, they would be able to pass the senior-level examination and be granted the grandmaster title.

Li Pin's next step would be to practice organ-tempering techniques such as the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art and Samadhi Heart-Training Art to constantly strengthen his internal organs.

When he could shatter the air and break the sound barrier without relying on techniques like the Five Elements Unity, he would have reached the External Aura level, the standard for the Aura Cultivation realm. By then, he would be able to attain the senior title without needing connections.

Of course, this was purely theoretical.

The Taibai Kingdom was a society centered around personal connections. To attain a senior title, even Aura Force Grandmasters had to first offer a toast to the committee leaders. Otherwise, the leaders could easily assign an Internal Aura Grandmaster to guard the gate during the practical assessment, making it impossible to pass.

Of course, if someone advanced further, thoroughly mastered Aura Force, reached the peak of the Inner Aura realm with fully tempered organs, and completed Blood Renewal, the review committee wouldn’t be able to suppress them. At that point, the grandmaster would be more than qualified to compete in the national championship, sweeping all opponents.

Once he claimed the top spot in the entire kingdom, no one would dare to withhold the senior title certificate from him.

Li Pin quietly focused his mind and examined his current state.

[Qi and Blood:33.72], [Primordial Qi: 30.45], [Mental Spirit:11.27]

[Aura Cultivation: 5/64]

[Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique: Qi-Nurturing Chapter: 81/101]

[Blood-Seething Secret Art: 36.41%]

[Great Sun Astral God Meditation Art: 4/1024]

[Astral Fall: 1/1081]

The cultivation methods he primarily focused on, the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art, Five Elements Body-Refining Art, Samadhi Heart-Training Art, Xuan Pin Gate, and Eight Enormities True Fire Force, were all practices aimed at advancing from Core Formation to Aura Cultivation stages. They collectively fell under the [Aura Cultivation] attribute. Hence, he did not detail these practices extensively.

He had lately made significant progress in the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique and Blood-Seething Secret Art. He was even getting close to reaching the Foundation Building stage of the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique.

Additionally, Li Pin gained new insights and significantly enhanced the power of the Blood-Seething Secret Art after fully unleashing it during his battle against Demonic Sand. This improvement surpassed the effects of using Blood-Seething Powder, reaching a thirty-six percent increase in his qi and blood level, elevating it from thirty-four to forty-six. This was a level that many Martial Saints couldn’t achieve.

The increase in his qi and blood level might be unstable and momentary—even impairing his self-control and hindering the use of Core Force—but it could still be the key to turning the tide at crucial moments.

He had studied various secret arts before, and unless they were of the sacrificial kind, the increase in strength was typically in the neighborhood of twenty percent.

With the Blood-Seething Secret Art optimized to this level without endangering his life, it had already become one of the top secret arts.

As for the Great Sun Astral God Meditation Art and Astral Fall, they were for cultivating his mental spirit and Martial Will.

Taking into account his relatively short time of cultivating them, the results were not yet significant.

These techniques essentially functioned to guide him on the path to becoming a Martial Saint.

Li Pin muttered, "The name 'Martial Saints,' also known as spiritual refining, is derived from their ability to generate force using spiritual power, referred to as Spirit Force. The academic term for this process is Spirit Qi Unity, which integrates both spirit and qi."

Based on his own understanding, Li Pin roughly speculated that this was akin to adding the [Mental Spirit] attribute to the [Qi and Blood] attribute.

Like him, if he were to comprehend Spirit Force now, the attack he unleashed would approximately equate to thirty-four + eleven, totaling forty-five in [Qi and Blood].

"If I consider Core Force and Aura Force as skills, then qi and blood are like my foundational attributes. The higher these attributes, the greater the damage I can inflict with my skills. Core Force and Aura Cultivation are passive abilities specifically designed to enhance these foundational attributes."

In this scenario, when Martial Saints instantly increased their attributes by over ten points through Spirit Qi Unity and then amplified it two or three times with Aura Force, they would undoubtedly deliver overwhelming blows to Aura Cultivation Grandmasters.

Li Pin pondered.

Besides... a Martial Saint capable of condensing their Martial Will would definitely have mental spirit attributes well beyond eleven points. Based on the 0.01 point increase in mental spirit from a one-point increase in Astral Fall, it seems that a Martial Saint capable of condensing Martial Will would need around twenty points in mental spirit.

Certainly, there might be problems associated with the conversion rate. For example, not all twenty points of the mental spirit attribute could be converted into qi and blood attributes. However, this was a realm of knowledge that was beyond Li Pin's current understanding.

The foundational attribute is the most important. However, my qi and blood level growth rate has started to plummet. I've achieved minor success with the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art and am making progress with the Samadhi Heart-Training Art. Furthermore, with my precise control over my body, my efficiency in tempering my organs shouldn't be any less than that of Cao Tianyou or Jiang Qingyue. Yet, after half a month, my qi and blood levels have only increased by 0.31 points.

He had formed his Core for a month and a half now, and his qi and blood levels have increased by 3 to 4 points.

Ever since he started tempering his organs, he had only managed to increase his qi and blood levels by 0.31 points even after experiencing a life-and-death battle. At this rate, it would take him at least eight to ten years to reach the human body limits—a qi and blood level of thirty-nine.

"Even as my understanding of the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art and Samedhi Heart-Training Art deepens, improving the efficiency, the physical limits of my body will still be the same. No matter how quickly I progress, it won't be like forming my Core, where I can increase by several points within one to two months.

There are only two methods to change this situation. The first is to rebuild my foundation and transform myself into someone who has strength on par with those naturally gifted with divine strength."

Li Pin took a glance at the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique.

The Foundation Building Chapter of the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique would be the key to implementing the first method.

"As for the other method... it involves harnessing external forces or secret arts to overcome my body's limits."

He once again set his sight on the Blood-Seething Secret Art.

This would be the key for him to surpass his physical limit.

Just like in his battle against Demonic Sand half a month ago, though he hadn’t fully grasped Aura Force, he used the boost from the Blood-Seething Secret Art to deliver a blow with power comparable to Aura Force. This experience laid the foundation for him to master Aura Force in the following weeks.

"If time permits, I need to utilize the Blood-Seething Secret Art more frequently and integrate it into my regular practice. Mastering the precise circulation of my Force while in this state will allow me to unleash Aura Force."

A hint of excitement flashed across Li Pin's eyes. He believed it wouldn't be challenging considering he could constantly monitor even the slightest changes within his body and replenish his energy with the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique.

***

Time passed as Li Pin assessed his own condition and observed one martial artist after another in combat. Unfortunately, after half a day of watching, he hadn't seen any spectacular matches.

In the afternoon, Li Pin and Fang Lingjue returned to the venue and headed to the fourth arena, as indicated by the text message.

They waited for a little over ten minutes before Li Pin's number appeared on the big screen.

Li Pin's spirits lifted instantly, and he briskly walked forward, arriving at the center of the arena.

The moment Li Pin stepped into the arena, a man with a dignified demeanor and an aura that was harmoniously unified followed closely behind him.[1]

A Core Formation expert!

Li Pin was up against a Core Formation expert in his first match!

1. harmoniously unified aura indicates true mastery over Core Formation. ☜