Chapter 149: Seed

This secret art was mystical! It had exceeded the domain of martial arts and delved into the mystical domain!

Countless people were rendered half-dead trying to condense their Lifeform Force Field. Hence, it was even more unlikely that a practitioner could turn into a celestial body and use their Lifeform Force Field to move the Astral Force Field. That was why Li Pin felt mastering the secret art would be harder than becoming a Martial Saint.

He recalled that Qin Guangming had mentioned this secret art contained elements of Astral Cultivator ideologies. He probably had been referring to the use of the Lifeform Force Field as a pry bar to move the Astral Force Field.

When it came to martial artists, even if they had cultivated to their limits, their Lifeform Force Field couldn't be strengthened to such a degree. In other words, their Lifeform Force Field couldn't become a pry bar.

"The only useful part of the Stars Overlord secret art to me would be the initial part on condensing a Lifeform Force Field."

While moving the Astral Force Field was beyond his abilities, manipulating the Lifeform Force Field was equally unimaginable.

Li Pin glanced at the manual. The more he studied it, the more he realized how profound it was. It went beyond the limits of secret arts, revealing a new path for cultivation. It was just that this path was currently in pieces and not a whole system. Therefore, he could only extract the portion on the Lifeform Force Field for his use.

"When a cultivator triggers the Stars Overlord secret art, the powers of their mental spirit, will, disposition, killing intent, pernicious aura, qi and blood will condense as one. With the vibration of qi and blood, they would counter and extinguish the opponent's disposition, mental spirit, will, and soul....

"There must be a way to defeat the enemy. Once the enemy is overpowered in these aspects, one can seize the opportunity to channel the power of their qi and blood, neutralizing the enemy at their lifeform level, then further destroying their physique on a biological level."

This secret art fused reality and illusion into one.

It was hard to interfere with the outside world with an illusory attack like the mental spirit. The Fist Intent and Spirit Force of great grandmasters and Martial Saints had been hyped up. However, without a certain level of attainment, a martial artist would not sense any difference.

If the spectators stood farther back, the Fist Intent and Sword Intent of Martial Saints would seem like child’s play. They might even begin to think they could do it themselves. This was because when the mental spirit attacked the mystical profoundness, there would be almost no impact on the material world.

However, the Lifeform Force Field condensed by the Stars Overlord was entirely different. Even without the final phase of destroying enemies on a material level, this form of secret art dealt lethal damage to life forms.

When a martial artist's qi and blood movement was under the mercy of their opponent, their body's circulations would be disrupted. What awaited them would be the destruction of the complex physical body, this fine-tuned "machine."

There was a saying that wherever the Lifeform Force Field reached, all lives would be annihilated. This saying didn't come about without reason.

When the practitioner reached a level where they could use the Lifeform Force Field to disrupt the Astral Force Field, magnifying the Lifeform Force Field's pressure endlessly through the Astral Force Field, the Stars Overlord would become a moving natural disaster.

"The possibility that martial artists could bring about natural disasters is low, but Top-Tier Astral Cultivators, however... their qi and blood level are many times stronger than normal people! It is entirely possible to rely on the Stars Overlord to condense and trigger the Lifeform Force Field, implicating a reach of several kilometers and turning a city into a death region."

Li Pin even tried to imagine the outcome should he face against a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator's Stars Overlord Secret Art.

In the end... he concluded that he wouldn't fare any better than ordinary people.

Li Pin took a deep breath. "The secret art of Top-Tier Astral Cultivators!"

Through this secret art, he could peer into the true world of Astral Cultivators. Their presence was akin to a mobile nuclear weapon.

Even if Astral Cultivators had no influence over technological weapons, humanity would be at the mercy of Top-Tier Astral Cultivators anyway.

"Although I had encountered Astral Cultivators in the Astral Hall, those Astral Cultivators were students that had only recently sensed the Astral God. They weren't able to fully control their strength and hence aren't considered an official Astral Cultivator ... The real Astral Cultivator's world...."

A strong desire formed in Li Pin's heart.

When would he be able to achieve this height? When could this mortal body of his be comparable to nuclear missiles? When would he be able to use solely the power of his physical body to bring an entire country to its knees?

However, he knew reaching a thousand miles required taking many small steps.

And his first step was...

"Martial Saint!"

Li Pin shut his eyes.

The World's Top Martial Competition had better not disappoint me.

***

Tianyuan Dynasty.

It was one of the world's few developed countries and the Tianyuan Federation's unquestionable core; the key part of the Six Extremities. They were so strong that they superseded all the other countries' supreme influences.

In a town about a hundred kilometers away from the Tianyuan Dynasty....

No, it wouldn't be accurate to call it a town. Though the jurisdiction level was low, its population was at an astonishing 320,000. Amongst the population of 320,000, there were 50,000 to 60,000 people who practiced martial arts.

The remaining were either the families of the martial artists or people who worked in the service industries, providing service to the 50 to 60 thousand martial artists.

As for why there were so many martial artists in the town... that was simple to answer—this town was where the White Crane Sect's headquarters was situated.

In fact, twenty-six years ago, this town's name was changed to "White Crane Town" because of the existence of the White Crane Sect's headquarters.

***

In a popular restaurant in White Crane Town, a man who seemed to be in his thirties was receiving congratulations from the people with whom he shared a table.

"I never expected you, Fang Lingjue, to go through a second spring and and attain a breakthrough to Aura Cultivation. That's impressive."

"Isn't that right? When you left the White Crane Sect back then, Jiang Shaoliu and I thought that you gave up on practicing martial arts. Who would've thought that after keeping low for a year, you would suddenly come back having reached Aura Cultivation."

"Only thirty-four disciples from our batch were picked by Martial Saint Chang Longdan. In the end, only Zhou Yun'an and yourself managed to attain a breakthrough to Aura Cultivation, and acknowledge a Martial Saint master before turning thirty-six. You leave us really envious."

"Old Fang, now that you've become an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster, you could join the sect's top management. Don't forget about us after gaining success."

The speakers toasted the man at the head of the group.

The man was no other than Fang Lingjue, Changfeng Martial Hall's hall master who had gone to the White Crane Sect's headquarters for training a month ago.

Fang Lingjue brushed off the compliments with a wave. "It's just Aura Cultivation. It's nothing much. The world is filled with geniuses and talents, and there are so many powerful figures out there. Aura Cultivation is but a small step in the martial arts path."

A middle-aged man who appeared to be a few years older than Fang Lingjue said, "A small step? Aren't you being too modest? That's unlike you."

"That's because, back then, I had yet to witness a truly high mountain when I was on my martial arts journey," replied Fang Lingjue.

"High mountain? How high?"

Fang Lingjue shook his head.

The middle-aged man smiled and probed, "Haha, regardless of how high the mountain is, would that mountain be as high as our masters in the White Crane Sect?"

Jiang Shaoliu also smiled as he chimed in," Fang Lingjue, Grandmaster Fang. You should stop diminishing yourself. You have attained Aura Cultivation and you're only thirty-six. You're still under the intermediate category. It shouldn't be a problem for you to participate in the national competition.... I remember you're from Taibai?"

As he said this, he instantly lit up. "Taibai's martial arts scene... Damn it, that's right! You're from Taibai, why not go score a national champion title!? Wouldn't that be such a great honor!? It wouldn't be a problem for you to be then listed in White Crane Sect's Hall of Honor!"

"An Aura Cultivation attempting for a champion title..." Fang Lingjue waved his hand. "You are all overestimating me; I can't even get to be the champion of Jiang Province."

"Haha, you're too humble. What's the champion of Jiang Province? I remember that Taibai went through a few seasons where their champions within the intermediate category in the national competition were only at Aura Cultivation," the middle-aged man said.

Fang Lingjue smiled. "The champion of Jiang Province is really something. If you don't believe me, I can send invites for the next Jiang Province Martial Competition. All of you can come watch."

"Sure, we'll remember the promise."

Zhou Yun'an changed the topic. "By the way, the World's Top Martial Competition is about to commence. Who do y'all think will be the champion of this season?"

"Isn't that obvious? It would surely be the Southern Sea Sword Saint, Cang Beixuan," Jiang Shaoliu replied without hesitation.

"I didn't mean the adult category, I meant the intermediate category! Zhou Yun'an still has a chance to participate in another season of the martial competition," the middle-aged man said.

The Zhou Yun'an they had mentioned had achieved Aura Cultivation when he was only thirty-three. He was indeed one of the most promising participants. Even Fang Lingjue paled a little in comparison due to his age.

Zhou Yun'an started, "In the past, the Dragon Gate Hall would only pick Martial Saints from the adult category to train them into Dragon Princes. This season, however, they will be considering one or two from the intermediate category.... Other than benefits that are far better compared to the normal and core members, most importantly, the Dragon Princes have the right to use legendary astral equipment!

"What does that mean? It means that they kicked it off with a higher probability of succeeding at mediating the Astral God compared to other Martial Saints! A ten to twenty percent more chance!

"Because of this change, even the people who were viewed as important successors have been called out to fight for the chance! These people were previously made to keep a low profile for fear that they would suffer from emotional setbacks. As such, this season's intermediate category would surely be a chaotic battle of the saints!"

Fang Lingjue was shaken. "Chaotic battles of the saints! What you mean is that... there won't be just one Martial Saint!?"

"Based on the information I've received from an authoritative organization—the Tianyuan Society—there will be three Martial Saints! They are Divine Sword Manor's Cheng Yufeng, the Great Sun Divine Sect's Great Sun Chosen One, and Thunderbolt Spear Zhao Yushi," Zhou Yun'an listed.

Everyone at the table sucked in a breath of cold air.

Fang Lingjue's countenance turned grim. "Three Martial Saints!?"

The Martial Saints from the outside world weren't like those in Taibai. The term "Martial Saint" in Taibai was viewed as a job title.

Of course, there were other countries that also operated in the same manner as Taibai. But in the outside world, there were no exceptions in that Martial Saints were powerful martial artists who had condensed Martial Will.

Now, three of these powerful individuals had emerged due to Dragon Gate Hall's special permission to use legendary astral equipment!

The most intense season in the history of the World's Top Martial Competition had only two Martial Saints participating. The record would be broken this season it appeared!

"And this is when only the seed participants have been confirmed. There might be others hiding in the shadows, ready to take people by surprise."

Zhou Yun'an paused for a moment. "This is especially the case as there are plenty of strong contenders this season other than the three Martial Saints. For example, you have both Lunar Ice Strike Duan Yidao and Shooting Star Song Wuyan registering for the competition!"

The others' eyes all widened. "Lunar Ice Strike, Shooting Star...!"

These two had yet to condense Martial Will, but they were regarded as legends! This was because they held records of killing Martial Saints—not defeating, killing!

That was the reason why the two were considered to be even scarier than the three Martial Saints.

Zhou Yun'an went on, "Other than those five, the information from Tianyuan Society also stated that there are tens of participants with the potential to reach Martial Saint, capable of striking Spirit Force. Blackbird King's Black-Face Deity Zhao Sha, the seed participant nurtured by Central Dynasty's Dragon Gate Hall, Yan Hongtu, Eagle Talon Sect's Ying Long, Taibai Kingdom's sixth princess...."

Having finished listing the individuals, he paused. However, he seemed to have been reminded of something and added with some disbelief, "Although, the Taibai Kingdom seems to be doing especially great this season.

"Other than the sixth princess, there's also a young man by the name of Li Pin who was also on the potential contenders list. What's exaggerating is that Li Pin is only twenty-three years old. Haha, twenty-three. Don't you think this is a joke?"