Chapter 201: Gratitude

The Great Sun Chosen One remained silent.

He felt that if he kept talking with Li Pin any further, he would no longer be able to suppress the anger welling up inside him.

Despite Li Pin's serious demeanor and seemingly rational arguments, he seemed to possess a unique talent for rubbing people the wrong way.

The Great Sun Chosen One was already restraining himself because he considered Li Pin his "savior." If it had been anyone else, he would have already drawn his sword and killed them.

He quietly sensed the fury in his heart.

This was... the Vajra Demon Slayer Wrath!

Of course, the Vajra Demon Slayer Wrath was merely the principle of the technique he cultivated. His true Martial Will was...

"Buddha loves all beings! But Buddha also knows rage!"

The Great Sun Chosen One’s Blood Core burst forth as if a blood lotus had bloomed inside him. The power within the blood lotus resonated throughout his body, linking and creating tremors across every tendon. It was forging his entire being into a unified whole, extracting every bit of strength from his tendons and bones.

The Great Sun Chosen One suddenly raised both hands high, and his powerful Martial Will erupted. In the clash of wills, a Buddha radiating endless brilliance seemed to rise behind him.

The Buddha was seated upon a lotus, appearing towering and immeasurable. Hands forming a sacred mudra, he descended from the heavens with unstoppable force, aiming to crush Li Pin.

For a moment, it felt as if what was about to be subdued was not Li Pin, but an entire world.

"What an incredible Fist Intent!" Li Pin remarked.

He then pushed his Martial Will to the extreme and quietly sensed the colossal Buddha descending from the heavens. He felt the overwhelming dominance of the Martial Will which sought to annihilate the world with a defiant and apocalyptic strike in the name of "Rage."[1]

Blood Core eruption! Blood-Seething Secret Art!

When the Great Sun Chosen One's fist finally struck down at Li Pin, a visible shockwave exploded outward, with him at the center. This was the pressure from his qi and blood, pushed to their utmost limit, compressing the surrounding air.

This sudden anomaly caused many veteran Martial Saints to rise abruptly.

"This is...!"

"The human body's limit!?"

"Has Li Pin... already touched the limits of the human body!?"

Even the Great Sun Chosen One's tactical advisor had a look of disbelief on his face.

The human body's limit!

Has Li Pin's physique... reached the level of an Extreme Martial Saint!?

Amidst the collective astonishment, Li Pin, brimming with this oppressive aura, seemed like a ferocious beast roused from its slumber.

His qi and blood radiated outward from his body with terrifying malevolence. The pressure Li Pin was exerting right now was comparable to that of a mid-tier ferocious beast, hardly still human.

There were no words, no mystique. He simply raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and transformed his fist into a palm, like he was supporting the heavens with a single hand.

The profound and mysterious Lunar Youying unfolded within his hand, making it seem as though what he lifted was not merely an arm, but an entire world. A world which... despite being only slightly over ten meters wide, contained domain transformations, a realm of chaos and nothingness.

Buzz, buzz!

The Buddha the Great Sun Chosen One manifested struck with overwhelming might into the world Li Pin's Lunar Youying revealed.

Before the Great Sun Chosen One’s fist even landed, the force emanating from it had already compressed the space less than a meter between them.

The force from the explosive fist aura, combined with the already high-frequency vibrating field, rapidly heated the surrounding air. The boiling qi and blood within both fighters further fuelled the heat. The moment the shockwave erupted, the air seemed to ignite spontaneously, emitting blinding sparks.

It was as if a meteor had plummeted through the atmosphere at high speed, the friction between it and the air making it combust into a trail of flames and flying debris that shot out in all directions.

Amidst this intense friction and vibration, neither fighter's attack wavered. They continued their head-on clash without any unnecessary moves.

Bang!

A muffled thunderclap seemingly echoed through the air. Everyone felt a violent jolt in their minds, as if an invisible, ultra-low frequency sound wave had passed through, leaving their heads in a daze.

As this ultra-low frequency wave swept across the area, a fierce wind suddenly arose where the two stood. The energy and hurricane-like force had been compressed to such a degree it couldn’t be contained any longer, and it exploded outward in all directions.

Li Pin and the Great Sun Chosen One were the first to bear the brunt of this force. Their sleeves were simultaneously torn to shreds, the fabric scattering in the wind before being further ripped apart and carried off into the distance.

The violent force from the collision reverberated through their bodies, pounding and shaking their bones and tendons.

Li Pin's qi and blood surged violently. The blood flames that burned on the surface of his body seemingly extinguished.

The penetrating force shook his arm bones, traveled down, and attacked his internal organs. It then dissipated through his legs and crashed into the ground. His tailored martial arts shoes, which had cost him thousands, couldn’t bear this ferocious force and shattered to bits.

The terrifying power relentlessly battered him, nearly pushing his spine to its limit. Even Li Pin had to bend slightly and take half a step back with his right foot into a bow stance to support himself.

Despite this, he still slid back two meters. But... he had blocked the strike.

Force is reciprocal. The Great Sun Chosen One experienced the counterforce just as intensely.

He could distinctly feel his radius being displaced and misaligned under the terrifying impact. Had he not practiced the Vajra Body Technique, which made his bones significantly stronger than those of an ordinary person, this counterforce could have snapped his radius.

Moreover, Li Pin had been standing on firm ground, so he had been able to brace himself and withstand the strike. The Great Sun Chosen One, on the other hand, was in mid-air, making it not possible to dissipate the attacking force through the arena floor.

As a result, he had been forced to bear the full brunt of the strike with his body.

He had long since tempered his body to brush off blows from a grandmaster’s Aura Force as long as it didn’t hit a vital spot. However, the counterforce, which had nearly pierced his internal organs, had still managed to knock him back three steps.

It was like someone crashing full force into a wall. If the wall didn't break, the person would rebound. The Great Sun Chosen One was in just such a state. Overall, this exchange ended in a draw.

"Good!" remarked Li Pin, feeling his entire arm going almost numb from the shock of the impact.

His qi and blood churning inside, he sincerely praised, "Great Sun Chosen One, you didn't disappoint me! Next—"

"I concede!"

Before Li Pin could finish, the Great Sun Chosen One suddenly raised his left hand and shouted, "Judge, I concede!"

"Concede?" A middle-aged man from the judging committee looked at him in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"I am serious. I concede. I'm out," the Great Sun Chosen One declared.

Seemingly unwilling to stay on the platform for even half a second longer, he quickly ran off.

Hit and run, exhilarating!

The Great Sun Chosen One thought inwardly.

"???"

Li Pin, whose blood was still boiling, was left completely baffled.

The Great Sun Chosen One was indisputably a formidable opponent! Especially considering how he excelled in head-on confrontations, this fight was more exhilarating than those with Cheng Yufeng! So, why then...

Li Pin called out, "Wait!"

But before he could say more, the Great Sun Chosen One said, "In the Shadow Forest, you saved my life. If not for you, I would have died at the hands of that Beastfolk Fighter. I, the Great Sun Chosen One, have always been someone who repays kindness. No need to thank me—this is what I should do. Farewell."

With that, he jumped off the arena.

Even if Li Pin wanted to call him back now, it was already too late.

Li Pin was speechless.

"Repaying kindness...? If you're really so eager to repay me, you could have at least finished the match."

They were only halfway through the fight. He had just gotten into the zone too. His blood had just begun to boil, but this guy just ran off!

What kind of situation is this?

The host didn’t know what to make of this. "

Uh....

"

However, seeing that the Great Sun Chosen One had already run off the stage, the host had no choice but to step in and maintain the atmosphere. "It seems our contestant, the Great Sun Chosen One, is truly a man of sentiment and honor. Because Li Pin saved his life from an Beastfolk Fighter a few days ago, he chose to withdraw as a way of repaying Li Pin...."

He quickly continued, "Despite this unexpected turn of events, let's congratulate Li Pin for securing victory in the second round and accumulating his third win."

***

The Great Sun Chosen One returned to his resting area. He looked at his quickly swelling, trembling arm and let out a long breath. "Good thing I ran fast."

While summoning someone to check his injuries, the Black Tortoise Dharma King pondered aloud, "You—"

"You're not seriously thinking I should have continued fighting Li Pin until there was a clear winner, are you?" The Great Sun Chosen One looked at him in surprise. "No way... No way! If these people couldn’t see, surely you could. Just now, I used ‘Defiant-Buddha Rage' and unleashed my strongest killing move, 'The Great Sun Buddha Universal Salvation Seal!'

"And yet, look at the result! Li Pin didn't dodge or evade but took it head-on! And it seemed... the impact on him wasn't much worse than on me."

The Black Tortoise Dharma King was taken aback. His expression shifted slightly as he quickly realized the implications.

"My greatest strength lies in my practice of the 'Great Sun Tathagata Sutra,' specifically the Buddha's Golden Body. Although it's not yet perfected and still at the Vajra Body stage, no one in the Martial Saint Realm can match me in a head-on clash!

"When I spoke with Li Pin before the match, he influenced my emotions. I don't know if he deliberately did it or if he simply has the talent to make people mad, but he seemed to have been provoking my emotions, forcing me to unleash my strongest strike!"

The Great Sun Chosen One sneaked a glance at Li Pin as he walked off the stage, clearly unsatisfied. "He took my strongest move head-on and still came out unscathed! I wouldn’t have been able to draw with him even if I continued the fight! I'd have just ended up getting beaten up! It's better to use the excuse of gratitude to leave the stage with my reputation intact!"

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The Black Tortoise Dharma King was enlightened, and he nodded in agreement. "You made the right choice. In fact, that's exactly what I was going to say. Li Pin is probably nearing the human limit.

"Fighting him would be too risky. We can forget about winning first place; let's just aim for second. After all, there's more than one spot for the Dragon Prince. What's the difference between first and second?"

"I, the Great Sun Chosen One, am indifferent to fame and fortune. The Buddha loves all beings and cannot bear to see suffering in the world. Let them fight for first place till they bleed; I'm content to let it go."

1. This is the Defiant-Buddha Rage Secret Art. ☜