Chapter 164: Luck

Three days, five days, seven days, nine days! Time continued to pass as the competition progressed.

At the start, when all the participants descended into the competition area, they were in peak condition and their efficiency in hunting down ferocious beasts was astonishing.

However, as time went on, their physical stamina dwindled. The primordial qi expended from repeatedly tapping into their Blood Core couldn't be fully replenished, leading to a twenty percent overall drop in combat power. For those who overexerted themselves, the decline was even steeper, having lost more than fifty percent of their strength.

Though the ferocious beasts in this competition area were generally weaker, even an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster wouldn't dare claim they could defeat even the weakest Demonic Cat without suffering any injury or energy loss.

It was similar to how an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster would need to resonate internal organs and erupt their Blood Core to defeat a Core Formation Master. If they were to hold back... a Core Formation martial artist could turn the tables. There had been similar instances of this in the past.

Under these circumstances, as fatigue set in, everyone's pace in hunting the ferocious beasts significantly slowed. By halfway through the competition, even Yan Hongtu, who was in first place, experienced a decline in his rate of points accumulation.

In the first three days, he averaged over two hundred points per day. This equated to killing about twelve Demonic Cats each day. But now...

For him, reaching an increase of one hundred points in a single day would be considered a good performance.

Meanwhile, three participants who initially didn't stand out, the Great Sun Chosen One, Zhao Yushi, and Cheng Yufeng had maintained a steady performance. Though their earlier scores were less impressive compared to Yan Hongtu, they had consistently performed well. By the ninth day, their scores had closed in on Yan Hongtu's.

They were now less than 100 points behind his 1,565 points. Given their steady daily increase of around 150 points, they would surpass Yan Hongtu within three days and claim the top three spots.

It was no surprise to see these three Martial Saints performing steadily. What truly surprised everyone was the name that ranked fifth.

Li Pin!

He was the twenty-three-year-old Taibai prodigy, having been featured extensively by the Tianyuan Society. He had attracted significant attention.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

When he first climbed to eighth place, many speculated that he had been lucky, having perhaps come across an injured mid-tier beast and taken advantage of the situation to break into the top ten. They thought that as the competition progressed and others caught up, he would soon be pushed out of the rankings.

However, the result was quite the opposite. Not only did he maintain his position in the top ten, but he continued to steadily rise. Even the seeded contestants like Song Wuya and Duan Yidao were ranked below him.

His consistent performance... mirrored that of Cheng Yufeng, the Great Sun Chosen One, and Zhao Yushi.

This consistency even caught the attention of the Astral Cultivators from the competition's organizing committee, who were amazed at his progress. However, some went as far as to report him, suspecting foul play. In response, the committee discreetly sent people to observe Li Pin.

The result proved that everything Li Pin did fully complied with the competition's rules. He was genuinely relying on his own strength to hunt one ferocious beast after another, securing fifth place, only behind Yan Hongtu and the three Martial Saints!

What was most astonishing was that while the three Martial Saints' point increases had begun to slow, Li Pin's rate of accumulation...remained astonishingly steady.

With the ebb and flow of competition, he not only had a solid chance of surpassing Yan Hongtu, who specialized in hunting ferocious beasts, like the three Martial Saints had, but he also had a strong possibility of surpassing all three and claiming the top spot.

***

"There's something wrong, definitely something wrong."

In another lounge. The number of people present was noticeably higher.

At that moment, watching as Li Pin seemingly just killed another Giant Demonic Spider and earned forty-two more points, one of the Martial Saints representing Divine Sword Manor could no longer sit still.

The Martial Saint spoke with firm conviction. "Li Pin is only twenty-three and just a grandmaster. How could he possibly keep fighting for so long? I'm convinced that he either took some kind of shot or drug! I request the committee to conduct a second covert investigation on him!"

At this time, Li Pin was just three points behind Cheng Yufeng, who held the fourth position. With that score difference... even killing a single Demonic Cat would be enough for Li Pin to overtake him.

The ranking from hunting ferocious beasts was only meant to determine the top ten for the round-robin tournament and didn't represent the final standings.

However, for a mighty Martial Saint to be surpassed by a martial artist who hadn't even fully refined his martial arts system would deal a blow to the reputation of Divine Sword Manor, the foremost sword sect within the Tianyuan border.

"What kind of shot or drug could sustain a martial artist's peak combat efficiency for this long? If such a drug exists, give me a dozen!" retorted Tuo Bafeng, who was representing the Taibai Kingdom.

He went on, "There have always been those grandmasters capable of challenging and defeating Martial Saints. Song Wuya can do it, Duan Yidao can do it, and Li Pin might just be another one of them! Is it so hard for your Divine Sword Manor to acknowledge someone else's excellence?"

"No matter how excellent he is, there has to be a limit! Even if Li Pin started training since birth, there's no way he could have surpassed a Martial Saint at such a young age! There's definitely something wrong!"

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't."

"I also think he should be re-evaluated."

"Is there any signal from where Li Pin is? Broadcast the footage from his area, and we'll all witness how many beasts he kills in one day. That way, we can determine if his fifth-place standing is truly deserved."

Others joined in the discussion as well.

Some were driven by jealousy, but most just enjoyed the commotion.

The commotion quickly reached the organizing committee, including Wan Qingshan. As a member of the Tianyuan Royal Family, he took a moment to consider.

Given Li Pin's age and cultivation... making it into the top ten would already be an extraordinary achievement. But now, he was aiming for first place....

After a brief pause, he waved his hand and called, "Phantom."

"Wan Qingshan, this kind of suspicion can't happen again!" Su Mai protested in dissatisfaction.

"This is only to ensure a fairer competition," Wan Qingshan replied.

"With Li Pin's current score, even if he slows down his pace in hunting ferocious beasts, as long as there are no unexpected incidents, he's guaranteed a spot in the top ten. Once he's there, he'll have to compete in the round-robin matches. By then, you'll naturally see if he's the real deal. So why keep secretly observing him?" Su Mai argued.

"We've verified everything thoroughly throughout the competition. This way, even if Li Pin does win the championship, no one will have any reason to doubt it," Wan Qingshan said with a smile.

Despite Su Mai's protest, it was futile. Soon, Phantom, the Martial Saint skilled in stealth and body technique, silently rushed toward the competition area, heading straight for Li Pin.

***

"The Eight Enormities True Fire Force is a fist technique, while the Infinite Sword Technique is a sword art. Merging the two is highly difficult. However, the integration of the Xuan Pin Gate, Five Elements Body-Refining Art, Great Sun True Radiance Technique, Chaos Meditation Art, and Blood-Seething Secret Arthas has progressed rather smoothly."

After organizing the cultivation methods, nurturing techniques and secret arts, Li Pin subtly devised a brand-new martial arts technique. He called it the "Great Sun Infinite Radiance Technique."

Before the

Core Formation

stage, this technique primarily focused on the cultivation methods of the Xuan Pin Gate, incorporating the combat style of the Eight Enormities True Fire Force with Bifang and Vermillion Bird as its ultimate moves.

At the

Aura Cultivation realm, the focus shifted to using the

Five Elements Body-Refining Art

and the Great Sun True Radiance Technique to temper the body and strengthen the qi and blood, while the Great Sun phantom, which took shape from the Chaos Meditation Art, tempered the mind and condensed Martial Will.

Additionally, the Blood-Seething Secret Art no longer merely ignited qi and blood. When the Great Sun manifested in the spiritual world, it ignited the Vitality, Qi, and Spirit, transforming into an even stronger secret art.

For this secret art, Li Pin mainly referenced Lin Yuzhi's state of ultimate transcendence.

Once the secret art had been perfected, it could elevate a grandmaster's Vitality, Qi, and Spirit into a transcendent state, just like Lin Yuzhi, and ascend to the Martial Saint realm.

Moreover, this state wouldn't bring about irreversible consequences. At worst, it would be like unleashing a powerful Spirit Force strike, leading to temporary exhaustion of both qi and blood, as well as Mental Spirit.

Li Pin named this secret art the "Great Sun Infinite."

However, both the Great Sun Infinite Radiance Technique

and the Great Sun Infinite Secret Art

were still in their early stages. It would still take time for them to fully evolve into a complete divine art, one that integrated combat technique, cultivation method, nurturing technique, and secret art like a meteor from beyond the skies.

"In the end, the root of the issue is that I haven't been cultivating long enough, and I know too little about the martial arts in this world."

At that moment, he heard something.

A tiger's roar?

Li Pin's movements became lighter as he cautiously moved forward to investigate.

He soon reached a small hill.

There, a fierce battle was taking place between a Crimson-Tooth Tiger that Li Pin had recently hunted and a robust figure about two and a half meters tall. This figure resembled a human, but its skin was dark green, and its head retained beast-like features, making it perfectly fit the description of a blue-faced, fanged monster.

The creature wore a skirt seemingly made from the hide of a Crimson-Tooth Tiger and in its hand was a spiked club, crafted from some unknown creature's bone. It growled lowly as it fought the Crimson-Tooth Tiger in a life-or-death struggle.

"An Orc Fighter and a Crimson-Tooth Tiger!"

Each of these two was worth around 100 and 110 points, respectively, indicating their combat strengths were nearly equal.

In the heat of this fierce struggle, both the Orc Fighter and the Crimson-Tooth Tiger were drenched in blood. The Orc Fighter had one arm torn off by the tiger, leaving it a bloody, mangled mess. The Crimson-Tooth Tiger, meanwhile, had been struck by the orc's club and broke its front leg.

At this rate, it was clearly heading toward a mutually destructive outcome.

Li Pin was a bit surprised. "Is this a bargain!?"

Was his luck really this good?

Earlier, he had encountered a wounded yet still powerful Crimson-Tooth Tiger. And now, he had the chance to intervene as these two mid-tier ferocious beasts wore each other out?

If things went smoothly, that would be an easy 210 points.

As Li Pin observed the fierce battle between the Crimson-Tooth Tiger and the Orc Fighter, he heard footsteps rapidly approaching from the distance. A moment later, a sturdy figure with a bald head, embodying the wisdom of both Taoism and Buddhism, appeared on the battlefield.

This attire...

It was none other than one of the three Martial Saints participating in the competition, the Great Sun Chosen One!

He immediately noticed the life-or-death battle between the ferocious beasts and smiled sincerely. "Seems I'm in luck!"

Then, seemingly sensing Li Pin's gaze, he turned to look at him. Without bothering to speak, he simply raised his hand and gestured toward a direction away from the battlefield.

The message was clear.