Chapter 199: Evolve

Outside the mansion.

Su Feiyu watched as Li Pin, having cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes, regained some color. She couldn't help but ask again, "Are you sure you don't want me to challenge you? I deferred my challenge in the last round, so I'm next in line to fight...."

"No need." Li Pin smiled faintly. "I'll stick to my own pace."

Seeing the car waiting at the mansion entrance, Su Feiyu didn't press further. She simply said, "Let me know if you feel you're not in top condition. All of us from Taibai are counting on you to bring back the honor of being the world champion."

Li Pin nodded. "I understand. This is an opportunity to face off against formidable opponents, so I’ll naturally give it my best. Aside from that, I'm also determined to win that piece of rare astral equipment Prince Su promised."

Su Mai glanced at Li Pin. "You overtrained yourself after receiving the top-tier astral equipment yesterday, didn't you? I wonder if giving it to you early was the right call."

"It was absolutely the right call," Li Pin assured him.

Soon, he parted ways with Su Feiyu and boarded the vehicle heading to the World's Top Martial Competition. The only one who followed him was Tuo Bafeng.

As the tactical advisor, Tuo Bafeng felt compelled to say something, to make his presence known. But as soon as Li Pin settled into the car, he closed his eyes and began to rest.

This prompted Tuo Bafeng to close back his mouth awkwardly and remain silent.

Right. It's better not to disturb him. Let him rest and get into the best condition for the upcoming challenges.

***

Although Li Pin had closed his eyes, he wasn’t merely resting. He was assessing his current physical state.

Despite having only practiced for one day, his qi and blood and mental spirit had all undergone dramatic changes. It was to the extent that even he was surprised by these changes.

[Qi and Blood: 44.02], [Primordial Qi: 41.18], [Mental Spirit: 26.35]

[Innate Qi-Refining Technique: Qi-Refining Chapter: 46/1000, Foundation Building Chapter: 36/1500]

[Blood-Seething Secret Art: 36.15%]

[Stars Overlord: 1/?]

Among the two main attributes, his qi and blood had increased by 0.14, a value that theoretically would have taken him over a decade of hard work to achieve.

But the key was his mental spirit! It had skyrocketed by 1.04!

Although his mental spirit attribute hadn't reached its limit, this attribute typically required years of painstaking cultivation. For many who had been in the Martial Saint realm for over a decade, an increase of one or two points in mental spirit would be considered a good achievement.

Most Top-Tier Martial Saints had a mental spirit value of around thirty, with Tuo Bafeng being a prime example.

Extreme Martial Saints were usually those with qi and blood over forty-five and mental spirit around forty. Their mental spirit was often much lower than their qi and blood.

This was primarily because enhancing mental spirit was inherently more challenging than cultivating the qi and blood. The practitioner had to repeatedly experience life-or-death situations. They also had to dedicate countless hours to training. Secondly, an excessively high mental spirit could disrupt the normal flow of qi and blood within the body.

Each Extreme Martial Saint possessed their own unique transcendent state. This transcendent state referred to elevating their mental spirit to match the level of their qi and blood. When both attributes exceeded forty-five, the qi and blood and mental spirit operated in parallel.

This state was similar in nature to the transcended state Lin Yuzhi had once achieved before his death; a do-or-die situation with no possibility of retreat.

The difference lay in how long Extreme Martial Saints could sustain this state, which varied based on their foundations. The gifted ones could maintain it for as long as a year, while those slightly less talented might manage a month or two.

In this state, they would disregard life and death to hone their Martial Will to the utmost. They would either engage in life-or-death battles and contend for the title of the King of the Century, or plunge into perilous regions to slay ferocious beasts and demonic creatures.

Ultimately, they embark on the final path to transcendence; burning themselves out, only to shine with the most dazzling brilliance.

Li Pin thought to himself.

My qi and blood is increasing... too quickly. At this rate, my qi and blood level will rise to forty-five by the time the competition ends... meeting the Extreme Martial Saint standard.

He sensed a profound shift in the Innate Qi-Refining Technique's Foundation Building Chapter, as if it had suddenly revealed a new path for "evolution."

By transforming the Xiangliu within the Eight Enormities True Fire Force into Zhulong, he activated the "Foundation Building" mechanism.[1]

The Foundation Building Chapter seemed to be setting the groundwork for a cultivation path rooted in the mythology of the Zhulong?

His attention returned to the progress of the Innate Qi-Refining Technique's Foundation Building Chapter.

The original value of 25,000 had been drastically reduced more than tenfold to 1,500.

Li Pin couldn't understand.

Great Sun Golden Crow, Lunar Youying... Yet it's the Zhulong that perfectly aligns with this chapter? Is it because the original intent of the technique is the pursuit of immortality, and the Zhulong fits this goal better than the Great Sun Golden Crow and Lunar Youying?

When setting the foundation for his cultivation, he’d personally prefer to use the Great Sun Golden Crow as the base. After all, the Great Sun Golden Crow had evolved from the Great Sun. It might eventually link to the Stars Overlord Secret Art.

Yet now...

He had no choice but to proceed with the Zhulong as the template for his foundation and see to what extent it could be enhanced.

While pondering, he took out another Pill of Rebirth and consumed it to replenish his primordial qi. At the same time, he operated the Innate Qi-Refining Chapter of the Innate Qi-Refining Technique to replenish the consumption brought about by his twelve-hour practice.

***

The vehicle soon arrived at the World's Top Martial Competition Venue.

Despite having taken two Pills of Rebirth, Li Pin's primordial qi was still somewhat visibly depleted when he made his appearance. Those Martial Saints with keen eyes quickly noticed this detail.

Connecting the dots, they swiftly concluded that they had hit the nail on the head.

"I told you so. Li Pin fought both Cheng Yufeng and Yan Hongtu, using secret arts twice in a row. There's no way he could have done that without any repercussions. He was just putting on a strong front, and we couldn't see it."

"As Martial Saints, there are bound to be differences in strength, but how could the gap be so large that he could defeat one opponent and then easily crush another just slightly weaker than a Martial Saint? He's clearly making a pretense!"

"I'm absolutely sure that Su Feiyu will challenge Li Pin next and pretend to lose. They're both from the Taibai Kingdom and are very close. They'll definitely coordinate and support each other."

The Martial Saints spoke confidently, their words filled with certainty.

Their gazes toward Li Pin were full of delight.

It turned out that Li Pin wasn't as powerful as they had imagined. This gave them hope that they could still compete with him for first place.

Amidst the various discussions, the contestants gradually arrived at their respective positions. However, some continued to watch Li Pin closely and discussed strategies with their tactical advisors.

The tactical advisors, in turn, carefully analyzed Li Pin's current condition and provided recommendations based on their assessments.

Tuo Bafeng watched this unfold and felt he should offer his own opinion as Li Pin's tactical advisor. However, before he could speak, Li Pin directly asked him, "What do you think? Between Song Wuya and the Great Sun Chosen One, who is stronger?"

Tuo Bafeng's pupils dilated. "You wouldn't be planning to—"

Before he could finish, Li Pin waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind."

He had promised Song Wuya that he would give him three days to stabilize his strength. He couldn't go back on his word.

This sudden shift left Tuo Bafeng uncertain. After a moment of hesitation, he finally said, "I suggest you challenge Ying Long or Nan Lifeng, especially Nan Lifeng. His injuries haven't fully healed. Even with two days of rest, he can only exert thirty to forty percent of his full strength. Challenging him would be the safest bet. If that doesn't work, then challenge Ying Long. His primordial qi hasn't fully recovered either."

"I know what I'm doing," Li Pin said.

Seeing this, Tuo Bafeng said no more.

Li Pin was a Martial Saint of this era! A Martial Saint was not a child. Each one had reached the pinnacle of human potential.

This was why, in recent decades, small countries have been almost entirely annexed by larger ones. A century ago, during times of peace, a single Martial Saint could destroy an entire nation.

Yes! Destroy a nation! Not a small one, but a country with a population in the tens of millions and a military strength ranked around 150th globally.

A nation could have tens of thousands of soldiers, but if it lacked advanced long-range combat capabilities and the firepower for saturation bombing, a Martial Saint equipped with weaponry worth billions could easily annihilate the nation and its army. It had happened before.

A Martial Saint's child was once killed by the locals while traveling in a certain country. As a result, the Martial Saint sent people to punish the culprits, but those people also ended up killed.

Enraged, the Martial Saint purchased the most advanced individual combat equipment from the Star Alliance and single-handedly waged war against a country with a population of over six million and an army of thirty thousand.

Despite the thirty thousand soldiers, that country had no air force, no navy, only a dozen or so tanks and armored vehicles, and fewer than fifty artillery and mortars. Moreover, the Martial Saint never engaged them directly, instead he used his equipment and relied on his wit and mobility to repeatedly slaughter the country's military.

The war lasted three months. In the end, thousands of soldiers died, and even the presidential palace was breached three times.

Faced with such terrifying power, the government had no choice but to disband. The new government immediately apologized to the Martial Saint.

This demonstrated just how terrifying the power of a Martial Saint was. Each Martial Saint had their own will and their own way of making decisions.

By now, the host had begun the warm-up again.

Since Su Feiyu had deferred her round before, she was the first to take the stage.

Aside from being the sixth princess of the Taibai Kingdom, Su Feiyu’s beauty had attracted a lot of attention, garnering her a fanbase. As she stepped onto the stage, enthusiastic cheers echoed through the arena of the World's Top Martial Competition.

Standing on stage, she immediately turned her gaze toward Li Pin. It seemed as though she was seeking his approval before issuing a challenge to him.

Li Pin did not respond.

In the end, Su Feiyu's eyes drifted from Li Pin to Nan Lifeng and Ying Long, lingering on them.

Her focus made the two of them uncomfortable, but in the end, Su Feiyu set her sight on Ying Long.

"I choose to challenge Ying Long."

1. Zhulong stands for Candle Dragon in Chinese mythology, it is depicted as having a human face and a serpent's body, and is said to control the day and night cycle. ☜