Chapter 107: Actual Combat

"The three of us... together?"

Li Pin's words took Lian Ying by surprise, and his face quickly flushed red.

Who were they!? They were Astral Cultivators! The future pillars of the nation! The only guardians capable of defending against ferocious beasts and demonic creatures!

Li Pin was actually asking all three of them to take him on at once?!

Lian Ying roared, "Li Pin! Do you really think that just because you've beaten a few martial artists, you can claim to be the best in Jiang Province!? You're so arrogant, you don't even acknowledge us!"

With a burst of power, he leaped several meters forward, landing squarely on the sparring platform at the center of the classroom, striking a solid horse stance.

"

Ha!

"

As his qi and blood erupted, an immense force surged through him. In an instant, the colorful T-shirt he was wearing was torn apart, shredding into pieces, revealing his powerful, gleaming muscles.

"If Astral Cultivators are allowed to enter the competition, you wouldn't stand a chance! Who do you think you are? Let me show you the true might of an Astral Cultivator!" He boldly pointed at Li Pin who was below the stage and declared, "Come and fight me!"

Li Pin burst into a hearty laugh. "Very good! That's the spirit!"

Young people really were full of energy!

Zhou Xiuyuan quickly tried to intervene. "Calm down! Grandmaster Li, calm down!"

He was well aware that Astral Cultivators weren't that easy to deal with, but he clearly couldn't stop Li Pin's enthusiasm.

With an explosive burst from his legs, Li Pin took two steps, leaped several meters into the air, and landed in front of Lian Ying.

"It's actual combat! Actual combat!"

"Wow, Mr. Li is taking on Lian Ying! Lian Ying is one of the top Astral Cultivator students in our year. They say he's close to fully coordinating his physical strength and qi and blood, almost manifesting his Force. Among us, only Chi Shuang and Xue Baiyi are slightly stronger than him."

"This is the kind of lesson real men should watch! Other instructors just lazily demonstrate a few sets of punches and make us follow their forms. It's so boring! I'd rather stay home and watch videos."

Some people were clearly enjoying the spectacle.

"Zhang Shan, Zhao Si! Why aren't you joining in? You three call yourselves the 'Three Sworn Brothers of Peach Garden,' and you're always inseparable from Lian Ying. Now that he's up there, you two should join him! Didn't Grandmaster Li say he'd take on all three of you?"

"That's right! Grandmaster Li has even killed a Martial Saint before! A Martial Saint! That's someone who can hold their own against an official Astral Cultivator!"

"Eh? We can't even fully control our strength yet, so we're not considered official Astral Cultivators. How could just one or two of us stand a chance against Grandmaster Li? We'll have to fight him together."

There were a few Astral Cultivators who had been left dissatisfied with Li Pin's arrogance and decided to stir up trouble. They were all young and still in the process of meditating on the Astral God, with promising futures ahead. It wouldn't be easy for them to submit to a mere martial artist.

As soon as Li Pin stepped onto the stage and faced Lian Ying, he sensed something unusual. "

Hmph...!

"

It was like standing before a delicate work of art. When admiring, handling, or moving such an exquisite piece, anyone would instinctively become cautious and feel restricted.

And this was with no hostile intent, just the desire to spar and teach.

If Li Pin had murderous intent, this sensation would have been even stronger, directly affecting his performance. In that case, he might not even be able to unleash half of his strength.

Li Pin understood why this was the case. "Such a charisma-focused profession...."

It was the effect of the Atomic Will.

Although the Atomic Will had less influence over intelligent lifeforms, it still exerted an immediate, noticeable impact.

However, Li Pin's mental spirit was formidable, nearly reaching eighteen points. Combined with his nearly perfected Fist Intent, an early form of his will, and intense concentration, he quickly managed to suppress ninety percent of the effect.

Li Pin stood before Lian Ying, smiling as he gestured for him to make the first move. "After you."

Lian Ying frowned.

Compared to Li Pin's calm demeanor, his explosive display of tearing his clothes now seemed somewhat excessive, losing its grandeur. Straightening his posture, he clasped his hands behind his back. "As an Astral Cultivator, I don't wish to take advantage of a martial artist. You go first."

However, try as he might, with his upper body bare and with the few tattered pieces of cloth hanging from his shoulder, Lian Ying couldn't project and maintain the demeanor of a master. There was an unshakable air of absurdity about him.

Seeing this, Li Pin didn't bother with further courtesies. He stated directly, "In a martial artist's fight, the fastest way to immediately grasp your own shortcomings is through direct confrontation. In this battle, I won't hold back. I'll use this to show you the difference between Core Force, Aura Force, and pure physical strength."

With that, Li Pin simply called out, "Be careful."

After that, he leaned forward and took a step, launching his attack.

Even though he didn't erupt his Blood Core, his extraordinary talent allowed him to reach mastery in controlling his own power.

Apart from being handsome, energetic, charismatic, and exuding confidence, Li Pin came off as rather unremarkable during a casual conversation. He was unlike other martial artists who stood nearly two meters tall. Those people had a certain type of oppressive physical intimidation to them.

Yet, the moment Li Pin struck, all his previous battles, from slaying Wang Daoyi, fighting alone against Demonic Sand, battling Zhang Chiyan, Han Li, and Zhou Chaoguang, engaging in blood-soaked fights with Qiu Chufeng and Qiu Chuyun, and the recent massacre of dozens from the Solar Vermillion Sect, converged into a terrifying, unstoppable force.

As Li Pin took that single step, this overwhelming momentum fully erupted, causing Lian Ying, who had maintained his masterful poise just moments before, to turn pale.

Li Pin who was charging at him no longer seemed human; he had transformed into an unparalleled, ferocious beast. A terrifying demon god capable of endless slaughter and domination.

Lian Ying screamed in disbelief, "No way! Fist Intent!? The Fist Intent that can resist the suppression of the Atomic Will!?"

He had been waiting for the moment when Li Pin, suppressed by the Atomic Will, would make a fool of himself so he could unleash his full power and crush him with a thunderous assault, teaching him a lesson and showing who truly ruled the Astral Hall.

But now...

Though Lian Ying had always seemed defiant, it was because he had the strength to back it up.

In just over two years since his awakening, he had raised his qi and blood level to fifty-six points. His family, intent on honing his potential, not only provided him with extensive combat experience but also had him fight death-row prisoners and slay ferocious beasts.

As a result, he quickly recovered from the shock of Li Pin's aura. Relying on the absolute physical advantage of an Astral Cultivator, his internal strength surged violently. A powerful and cohesive force gathered within him, like a loaded cannonball. With a punch, he met Li Pin's fist head-on.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Power!

There was no flair or technique, but only raw, absolute strength!

In the world of martial arts, strength reigned supreme!

One sword could cut through the stars! One force could break all techniques!

Boom!

The two punches collided in midair, producing a deep, soul-shaking sound. A whirlwind swept through the area, forcing those nearby to squint.

"Good!" Li Pin roared.

The pure force hit his arm like a sledgehammer. Even though the power was great but lacked refinement, the sheer volume of it still crashed over him like an unstoppable wave. It was like a heavy sledgehammer clashing with a dagger. The weight difference meant the dagger, no matter how sharp, would be crushed to pieces in an instant by the hammer.

However, before Lian Ying's overwhelming force could further shatter Li Pin's momentum, Li Pin's arm trembled. With his unparalleled control over his own body, his muscles and bones contracted sharply. During this contraction, the force that had entered his arm was dissipated, evenly distributed across every part of his muscles structure, breaking down layer by layer.

As a result, he felt only a mild stinging in his arm but suffered no real damage.

This was the drawback of possessing power without precision. The destructive and penetrating power was nowhere near as concentrated as Force, let alone possessing the explosive might of Core Force.

After his failed strike, Lian Ying was momentarily stunned. "What the...."

He hadn't held back in his attack. His intention was clear: to break Li Pin's arm in one move, to crush him completely, and to make him lie in bed for ten days or more. This way, he could reflect on the consequences of provoking an Astral Cultivator as a mere martial artist. However, the result was completely different from what he had anticipated.

Before Lian Ying could figure out what went wrong, Li Pin's left hand suddenly jolted with force. He extended it straight out like a blade cleaving down from the heavens, aiming for Lian Ying's head. The thunderous clash between his arm and the air created a sound as if the very sky were being torn apart.

Aura Force!

Li Pin had unleashed Aura Force without even erupting his Blood Core!

The sight caused Lian Ying to be overtaken with shock. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat. But just as he was about to pull back, he hesitated out of sheer pride.

He was Lian Ying! An Astral Cultivator!

How could he, an esteemed Astral Cultivator, be forced to retreat by a mere martial artist? How would he maintain his dignity?

In this situation, despite knowing that retreating was the safest course of action, he instead converged his strength and thrust out his left hand, fingers spread, aiming to catch Li Pin's descending wrist.

But... it was useless.

Li Pin's wrist suddenly twisted like a slippery eel. As he shook off Lian Ying's grasp, his hand, now carrying the force of a thunderbolt, came crashing down on Lian Ying's shoulder with immense power.

Boom!

Lian Ying's body trembled violently, as though struck by a solid steel rod. The penetrating force pierced through his shoulder blade, driving deep into half of his body and sending shockwaves through his internal organs, causing his qi and blood to surge uncontrollably.

If not for his strength as an Astral Cultivator, with a body as powerful as a ferocious beast, this strike would have been enough to make anyone else, even an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster, cough up blood.

"Li Pin, you brought this on yourself!" Lian Ying roared in fury, his qi and blood surging as he prepared to unleash his most ferocious counterattack.

But just then, Li Pin, who had just slashed at Lian Ying's shoulder, turned his hand into a blade, then swiftly swung it to the right.

At that moment, the strike that had just hit Lian Ying's shoulder, when swung to the right, was now dangerously close to the back of Lian Ying's neck!

The change in technique was extremely fast and lacked the buildup of power, preventing the full force from being unleashed. Nevertheless, the neck was one of the body's most vulnerable spots, filled with blood vessels and nerves. If the strike landed, even an Astral Cultivator, even with their robust physique, could be knocked unconscious on the spot.

The thought of being knocked out and subdued in just two exchanges, despite his aggressive challenge, was utterly humiliating. Compared to that, retreating to avoid the blow didn't seem so unacceptable after all.

With this thought in mind, he powered his legs and swiftly retreated, trying to create some distance.

However, when retreating quickly, his upper body instinctively tilted backward. As a result, his head dropped slightly. What was initially aimed at his neck ended up striking the right side of his head... or more accurately, his face

Slap!

The crisp sound echoed clearly throughout the education building.