Chapter 123: Reservation

Lian Hongchen delivered dozens of packages containing cultivation resources. Apart from the most valuable Heart Essence Fruit, Immortal Golden Pill, and Pill of Rebirth, the packages included a full range of nourishing items, such as Dragontiger Pills.

The overall value of these resources was in the tens of millions. The key point was that many of these resources were distributed by quantity and were not available on the open market.

"Grandmaster Li, please take your time and use these resources. I'll try to apply for another batch next month," Lian Hongchen said with a smile. "However, the next batch won't include Heart Essence Fruits, Immortal Golden Golden Pills, or the Pill of Rebirth.

"However, once you win the World's Top Martial Competition in the month after, you can apply for treasures even more valuable than these."

Li Pin nodded. "Alright."

Lian Hongchen then provided some final reminders before gracefully taking his leave.

After his departure, Li Pin turned his attention to the table littered with an array of exquisite gifts and nodded. "They arrived just in time."

He had been worried that his Qi-Nurturing and Foundation Building Chapter were progressing too slowly. The timely arrival of these resources might solve this problem.

"Both grandmasters and Martial Saints have a physical limit of forty points. To surpass this limit, a martial artist must either be born with innate divine strength or consume top-tier medicinal treasures to increase their limit," Li Pin pondered aloud.

Many of the world's top Martial Saints, including some who had transitioned to Astral Cultivation, had their eyes on Wang Liancheng. They were waiting for him to reach his limits so they could provide him with an abundance of the finest medicinal treasures, aiming to determine the true extent of human capabilities.

However, Wang Liancheng had been secluded and protected since he began Aura Cultivation three years ago. To this day, no one knows how far he has progressed.

In the future, once the World's Top Martial Competition rolled around and Li Pin participated, he might also enjoy such treatment.

Astral Cultivators were exceedingly rare. There were only a few thousand of them among the 340 million people of the Taibai Kingdom.

Additionally, the Tianyuan Federation had deployed elite Astral Cultivator units to neighboring countries to defend against level five and six perilous regions, further depleting the number of Astral Cultivators available here.

Compared to martial artists, the path of an Astral Cultivator was far more demanding. If it worked, it worked. If it didn't, no amount of meditation would let them bask in even the slightest starlight.

There were a few ways to increase the number of Astral Cultivators in a nation. One way was to encourage higher birth rates, thus enhancing the odds. Many countries did this.

Another approach was to increase the number of Astral Cultivators through alternate means. One such way was to utilize the supplementary profession of Astral Cultivators, martial artists.

The Taibai Kingdom boasted a long history of peace, and the sole level-four perilous region within its borders, the Death Valley, only posed a relatively minor threat to the kingdom. This combined with the kingdom's advantageous geographic location meant that the kingdom had fostered a strong sense of security.

Though the kingdom bordered the expansive Shadow Forest, that danger was shared by several nations. The Taibai Kingdom was not at the forefront against this threat.

As a result, the populace had grown accustomed to a tranquil existence, with little immediate concern for the dangers the ferocious beasts and demonic creatures posed. However, it was no exaggeration to say that martial arts were universally practiced in all countries bordering perilous regions.

Even so, news of perilous regions undergoing changes and the subsequent rampages of demonic creatures, destroying cities and toppling nations, was still commonplace.

Not long ago, countless demonic creatures surged out from the Degenerate Temple, a level-six perilous region within the southern barrier of Nanli Country, south of Taibai Kingdom. They wreaked havoc over a thousand miles, and to this day, the death toll remained undisclosed.

Given the circumstances, the demand for Astral Cultivators was at an all-time high.

It was believed that the sixth princess was planning to participate in this year's World's Top Martial Competition out of the desire to secure a newly opened spot in the Dragon Gate Hall, which the Central Dynasty offered.

Despite being merely a rumor, it still inspired countless people to follow suit. That was because the Dragon Gate Hall was said to possess a set of legendary astral equipment! This legendary astral equipment was a supreme treasure capable of increasing a Martial Saint's success rate in refining qi into Spirit by ten to twenty percent!

A piece of legendary astral equipment! In this world, the pinnacle of Astral Cultivation was the Legendary Astral Cultivator!

At its core, the title legendary was merely a distinction. A supreme expert, just like the legendary Astral Cultivator, was also legendary in their own right. This indicated the astronomical value of "legendary" astral equipment.

If top-tier astral equipment were already considered strategic assets in the Taibai Kingdom, then legendary astral equipment...

Oh... wait. There isn't a single set of legendary astral equipment in the entire Taibai Kingdom. Oh, well.

Li Pin shifted his attention back from these random thoughts and looked at the boxes. He scanned the medicines before picking up a Heart Essence Fruit and swallowing it.

"Organs-tempering and Blood Renewal..."

As Li Pin consumed the Heart Essence Fruit, he felt like he had swallowed, not one, but dozens of hot peppers. The fruit sent an intense wave of heat surging through his body, frantically burning his internal organs and rapidly boiling his blood, purging it of all impurities.

Li Pin quickly activated the Blood Renewal technique from the Five Elements Body-Refining Art, concentrating as his qi and blood circulated rapidly under the guidance of his Force.

With his innate ability to precisely control his body, he ensured that not a trace of the medicinal power was wasted.

By noon, the boiling, scorching sensation had only slightly subsided, still lingering within him.

Li Pin subtly sensed the state of his body.

[Internal Aura +13]

[Qi and Blood +0.41]

Li Pin nodded slightly. "Instant results, just as promised. It's truly a treasure that can save a grandmaster several years of arduous cultivation."

With the Heart Essence Fruit bringing him such results, Li Pin couldn't help but feel eager to see the effects of the Immortal Golden Pill and the Pill of Rebirth even more.

"The Heart Essence Fruit felt like a blazing furnace as it purified my blood and tempered my internal organs. I've recorded these sensations for future reference when I perform organ-tempering and Blood Renewal. However, the fruit's abundant energy was integral to the process, and I'll need to replenish it regularly."

As for how to replenish it, the answer lay in the omnipotent primordial qi!

Li Pin's eyes instinctively turned to the Pill of Rebirth.

Crafted from the finest medicinal materials by an Astral Cultivator, it was an exceptional pill for replenishing primordial qi.

Li Pin organized his thoughts.

"The medicinal power of the Heart Essence Fruit hasn't been fully refined yet. I shall head to the Astral Hall for some activity. Once the medicinal power is completely refined, I'll take the Pill of Rebirth. To maximize its benefits, I will attempt to restore the full medicinal power of the pill.

"While fully restoring a pill crafted by an Astral Cultivator is highly unlikely, even half of its medicinal power would significantly accelerate my progress in the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique."

So engrossed in his cultivation, he arrived at the Astral Hall just in time for the afternoon session.

***

There weren't many people at the Sixth Education Building today.

Ye Qinghua, Xiao Jin, and their friends arrived at the Sixth Education Building only to find the doors locked and a notice posted on top, causing them to frown.

"Appointments? Li Pin... has actually started an appointment system?" remarked one of the Astral Cultivators with surprise. "I got a notification yesterday but ignored it. I mean, Li Pin is just a temporary instructor. Who would've thought he'd be so bold as to implement an appointment system? Today's slots have actually been fully booked?"

"He has helped many students manifest their Force already. While this does not signify mastery or advancement in Force Cultivation, it's still a significant breakthrough. His classes will naturally be in high demand."

Xiao Jin echoed this sentiment with a cold smile, adding, "But he either doesn't realize it yet, or his pride won't let him admit it... Just yesterday, both Martial Saint Ran Jinghua and Grandmaster Yu Chijie began offering practical combat training. We have other options besides him."

"In addition to Martial Saint Ran and Grandmaster Yu, six other instructors are planning to offer practical combat training as well."

The Astral Cultivator student who had spoken earlier laughed and said, "We now have options and can choose other people besides him. I'm eager to see what will happen when more grandmasters and Martial Saints offer hands-on combat training. I wonder if Li Pin will still be so arrogant when no one signs up for his classes."

"Alright, let's go," Ye Qinghua said nonchalantly. "He has only a one-month trial period. If he wants to stay, he needs to prove his worth to enough students within this month. If we all actively boycott him and he ends up with no students, the appointment system will naturally be canceled."

"Yes, boycott him." Xiao Jin nodded. He added with a hint of mockery, " It seems people tend to forget their place once they taste a bit of success."

Hearing their two most respected seniors express similar doubts, and with all appointments booked, the other Astral Cultivators quickly departed for other instructors' classes. The attitudes of these two seniors had a significant influence on their peers.

Many were dissatisfied with Li Pin's decision to implement an appointment system, especially since several other instructors had similarly incorporated practical combat into their courses, providing more options. This dissatisfaction became more evident as a result.

In the blink of an eye, the tides were turned, and Li Pin went from a very popular instructor at the Astral Hall to a target of wide dislike.

However, compared to Ye Qinghua and the others, Lian Ying, Zhang Shan, and Zhao Si, as well as Xue Baiyi and Chi Shuang, quickly secured appointment spots and arrived early at the Education Building.

Arriving on time, Li Pin saw that all the slots had been booked and started the teaching session without further ado.

After class, Zhou Xiuyuan approached him and reminded him of the rumors circulating in the Astral Hall. He concluded, "Many students have expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment system. You might want to reconsider whether to cancel it."

He advised, "Our true goal at the Astral Hall is to build good relationships with these Astral Cultivators. Even though your teaching methods are highly effective, offending these students would be counterproductive."

"I know what I am doing," Li Pin responded.

After that, Li Pin went home and took the Pill of Rebirth according to his plan.

As a primordial qi-nourishing pill an Astral Cultivator personally refined, the Pill of Rebirth's effects were undeniable. Moreover, to Li Pin's surprise, the main function of the Pill of Rebirth didn't turn out to be increasing the upper limit of primordial qi. Rather, it focused on recovery, rapidly replenishing depleted primordial qi.

To Li Pin, this discovery was a pleasant revelation.

***

The next afternoon, Li Pin arrived at the Astral Hall early.

As usual,

twenty students had already booked their lessons in the Sixth Education Building.

Among them, Ye Qinghua and Xiao Jin, having successfully booked their appointments, exchanged knowing glances. Their smiles said it all.