Chapter 108: Force

Hiss!

Zhou Xiuyuan, Zhang Shan, Zhao Si, Xue Baiyi, Chi Shuang, and the other students watching gasped in shock.

Watching Lian Ying receive a slap squarely to the face, they almost felt their own cheeks sting.

They, who had only been watching, felt the pain, not to mention Lian Ying himself.

The slap left him completely dazed, not only from the shock of being slapped but also from the Force contained in Li Pin's palm that sent a tremor through his cerebral cortex.[1]

Him! Lian Ying! A distinguished Astral Cultivator, destined to oversee at least a county, or perhaps even a city or province, and to become the guardian of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people, had actually been humiliated by a mere martial artist. He was slapped right in front of dozens of students from the Astral Hall!?

While accidents could occur during a sparring match, and Li Pin might not have been entirely at fault for the slap, to him, this was simply....

A disgrace! An utter humiliation!

Lian Ying roared furiously, his qi and blood surging with immense force. "Li Pin! If I don't teach you a lesson you'll never forget for the rest of your life, I'll write my name backward!"

His raw power, which had been honed from years of slaying ferocious beasts and martial experience, burst forth violently. It erupted like a volcano suddenly set ablaze.

Li Pin remained calm. "You're finally acting a little like an Astral Cultivator, but it's still not enough."

Before Lian Ying could fully unleash his power and draw distance between him and Li Pin, Li Pin closed in on him. Mimicking Han Li, Li Pin used his body as a weapon and charged forward, crashing heavily into Lian Ying with the force of a powerful thrust.

Just as Lian Ying was about to elevate his qi and blood to its peak, flooding his entire being with immense power like a volcano on the verge of erupting to unleash his ultimate attack, Li Pin hit him with the impact of a speeding car. Moreover, he struck him in the most vulnerable spot.

The impact immediately dispersed Lian Ying's powerful but poorly controlled qi and blood. Not only did it fail to protect him, but the force of Li Pin's blow drove deep into his chest, not only causing him to feel immense pain but also sending his qi and blood into a frenzy.

Moreover, Li Pin hadn't simply been aiming to inflict damage through this collision; his main focus was to leverage the momentum from the collision itself.

The force of the collision sent Lian Ying flying through the air.

For both martial artists and Early-Stage Astral Cultivators, leaving the ground was highly detrimental. The earth was the source of all strength. Once off the earth, both martial artists and Astral Cultivators became like drifting weeds with no roots. They would be unable to exert more than sixty percent of their strength.

Right after Li Pin had sent Lian Ying flying, Lian Ying was instantly hit with a realization, causing him to calm down completely.

At that moment, he finally recognized his greatest mistake.

He had been too careless.

He might be an Astral Cultivator, but he was still at the early stage. His Force was not yet fully developed and his strength was not properly coordinated.

In contrast, Li Pin was a renowned Aura Cultivation Grandmaster with a record of killing the Martial Saint Qiu Chufeng! Not only so, he had even cultivated his Fist Intent, a precursor to the Martial Will!

Clearly, Li Pin was the stronger opponent, and his boast about facing three of them revealed his strength.

Yet, Lian Ying, maintaining his pride as an Astral Cultivator, adopted a high-handed attitude in his battle with Li Pin. He had failed to adopt more effective strategies, allowing himself to repeatedly fall at a disadvantage. Now, he had even been knocked off the ground!

A newly born lion could never defeat a hyena!

Furthermore, as the saying goes, even a lion would use its full strength when hunting a rabbit!

Astral Cultivator might have had significant advantages over martial artists when it came to qi, blood, and physical prowess, but this advantage wasn't absolute. Historically, there have been many cases where Official Astral Cultivators were killed by Martial Saints for various reasons.

Realizing this and recognizing his dire situation, Lian Ying finally came to a realization!

At this moment, his mind became crystal clear, as if his thoughts had broken free from some kind of restraint.

He had finally grasped the truth!

He firmly guarded his vital points, took a deep breath, and with a thunderous shout, proclaimed, "Zhang Shan, Zhao Si, since he dares to challenge all three of us, what are you waiting for!? Let's fight together as brothers!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shan and Zhao Si were momentarily stunned.

Others looked on with puzzled expressions.

However, they were renowned as the Three Sworn Brothers of the Peach Garden. Witnessing their leader being struck by a mere martial artist, coupled with Li Pin's earlier provocation, they really joined in.

"Li Pin, I, Zhang Shan, challenge you!"

"You want to take on three of us at once? I, Zhao Si, will make that happen!"

The two roared, their qi and blood surging, and charged onto the stage at full speed.

Bang!

With a burst of Force, Lian Ying, having been launched into the air, was blasted several meters backward by Li Pin's Aura Force strike. He was sent crashing heavily to the floor and continued to slide for an extra five to six meters.

"Good timing!"

After sending Lian Ying flying, Li Pin laughed heartily. With a thought, he erupted his Blood Core.

Rumble!

As soon as his Blood Core erupted, Zhang Shan and Zhao Si saw what seemed like flames igniting on Li Pin's body!

It was as if a cannonball had detonated, transforming into a blazing fireball that scorched the air.

This was the power of his condensed and extremely compressed qi and blood, bursting out all at once.

In that instant, this power transformed into two powerful Aura Force strikes, shaking the air and creating shockwaves. With fiery and violent momentum, they crashed into the oncoming Zhang Shan and Zhao Si.

The overwhelming suffocation and pressure made the two feel as though they were facing an Official Astral Cultivator, just like when they were newly admitted.

"Not good!"

"Go all out!"

Zhang Shan and Zhao Si roared, simultaneously unleashing their qi and blood.

They executed all the martial arts techniques they had learned from both the mentors at the Astral Hall and their private tutors. Casting aside any flashy moves, their counterattack indeed showed that they were giving it their all.

However... it was useless.

The power of Li Pin's Blood Core Eruption surged through like a tidal wave. As their fists collided, the air in front of them was completely blasted apart, creating a deafening roar. The sound was so intense that it would cause an ordinary person to feel as though their eardrums had been pierced through by steel needles, causing them excruciating pain.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Bang!

The three of them trembled simultaneously.

Despite Li Pin's Aura Force strike, he didn't manage to gain any advantage against the two Astral Cultivators who had yet to fully master their strength.

However....

Just as Zhang Shan and Zhao Si were still reeling from the violent collision, Li Pin stomped his feet. With a surge of power channeling through his spine, he contorted unnaturally, his bones echoing with a series of sharp cracks.

With that stomp, he redirected the full force of the three-way collision into the ground. Almost simultaneously, he struck out with both hands. In his spiritual world, he conjured a vision of a ferocious nine-headed serpent rearing up and unleashing a torrent of shadowy attacks.

"Xiangliu!"

Both Zhang Shan and Zhao Si turned pale.

However, the situation left them no room to catch their breath.

All they could do was muster all their strength, using the absolute physical prowess of Astral Cultivators to deliver a powerful blow and clear the obstacles.

Bang!

A shockwave no less intense than the previous clash exploded between their fists, the impact visibly rippling up their arms and shredding their sleeves on the spot.

Zhang Shan and Zhao Si's arms rippled with waves of force, pushing them back. The pure, domineering power seemed to penetrate their bodies, forcing them to retreat several steps.

"Not bad! But you can do better!"

Li Pin felt the raw power surging through his arms, crashing into his body and shaking his internal organs. He laughed heartily. "Again!"

As he laughed, he took a sudden step forward. Like a meteor chasing the moon, he closed in on the two retreating Astral Cultivators.

Stomping on the stage's floor, a torrent of power surged from his thighs, flowing up his spine like a raging flame into his arms.

His mastery of martial arts allowed him to continuously extract every ounce of qi and blood from his muscles, concentrating it in his spine, and merging it with the blazing, violent force.

Eight Enormities True Fire Force! Vermillion Bird Bifang!

The ferocity of the attack was overwhelming not only for Zhang Shan and Zhao Si, who were directly in its path, but also for the other Astral Cultivators who had not yet joined the battle. They couldn't help but widen their eyes, their minds reeling.

For the first time, they realized how powerful a martial artist could be. They came to the stark realization of just how weak they were in comparison.

"Astral Cultivators must not be humiliated!"

At this moment, Lian Ying, whom Li Pin had previously blasted away, roared loudly as he soared through the air like a white crane, charging back into the fray.

The immense physical prowess of an Astral Cultivator allowed him to withstand attacks far better than those at the Core Formation, Aura Cultivation, and Martial Saints realm. Even the fabled King of the Century would be humbled in a pure test of durability.

Because of this, while Zhang Shan and Zhao Si engaged Li Pin, Lian Ying not only recovered his strength but also gathered his remaining energy to launch another attack.

At the moment Lian Ying lunged forward, he took a deep breath and achieved perfect unification of his will, qi, and strength. His body was perfectly coordinated inside and out. He channeled all the strength throughout his body and manifested his Force, sending out ripples of force like a tempest.

Then, just as Li Pin was about to pursue Zhang Shan and Zhao Si, Lian Ying launched a tremendous strike at Li Pin.

Lian Ying roared, "Nine Heavens Crane Roar!"

"Excellent!" Li Pin boomed.

Li Pin, initially pressing his advantage to attack Zhang Shan and Zhao Si, suddenly pivoted around. His fiery and intense force, combining the essence of the Vermillion Bird and Bifang, descended like a meteor from the heavens, carrying blazing flames. It smashed forcefully against Lian Ying's Nine Heavens Crane Roar.

Bang!

The clash, devoid of any tricks, exploded once more between them, causing a thunderous sound that reverberated through the surroundings. This impact was more than twice as fierce as the previous ones.

As the shockwaves dispersed, both fighters simultaneously fell back. Lian Ying even cracked the thick rubber mat with his stomp.

During his retreat, Lian Ying clearly felt his qi and blood surging uncontrollably, spilling from the corner of his mouth. The sensation was so intense and disorienting that it left him feeling lightheaded.

Yet, as he recalled the extraordinary experience of delivering that punch, a surge of disbelief and excitement filled him. It seemed that he had... manifested his Force!

1. A part of the brain responsible for thoughts and actions. ☜