Chapter 228: Opening a path

In a mansion reserved exclusively for Dragon Princes, three men and two women were casually chatting in the cinema room. Though a duel between two Top-Tier Martial Saints was playing on the massive screen, none of them were paying attention.

"Second place?! Li Pin jumped straight to second on the Hidden Dragon List?! What gives him the right? How did he deserve that!?"

The person speaking was a man in his early thirties dressed in red. "Sure, as the champion of the World's Top Martial Competition, he is certainly qualified to make it into the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List. But in every past competition, even the champions who made the list only ended up in the lower half of the top ten! Song Wuya is a perfect example of that. But jumping straight to second place? That's just ridiculous!"

Another man chimed in, "Hong Feng’s right. When it comes to strength, the top three on the Hidden Dragon Lists all possess the strength of Extreme Martial Saints. Which one of them isn't stronger than Li Pin?

"Take Fang Ziyou, for example. How old was he when he entered the Dragon Gate Hall? Just twenty-four. Though he wasn't the champion of the fourteenth World's Top Martial Competition, he still secured second place and didn't think much of that title.

"Sure, that makes him a year older than Li Pin, but Fang Ziyou's ranking rose slowly over the years, and until now, he's still only ranked fourth! But Li Pin? He just shows up and snatches second place right away!"

A woman in a long green dress shifted her gaze toward the man sitting in the main seat. Clad in white, he exuded an air of elegance and grace. "Brother Xujin, Li Pin had swooped in and taken your spot just like that... It's completely unfair."

The man whose spot Li Pin had taken was none other than Zhang Xujin. He had held second place on the Hidden Dragon List for six consecutive seasons.

Zhang Xu Jin chuckled, his demeanor calm. "

Heh

, no rush. Even Mo Tingyu hasn’t reacted despite having been pushed out of the top three. Why should I be worried?"

"But he took your position..." the woman in green insisted.

"No matter. To me, second or third place makes little difference. As long as I can't surpass Cang Yunxiao, there's no point in trying to climb the ranks."

He paused briefly. "Besides... people like Mo Tingyu and Fang Ziyou won't just stay quiet. Let's sit back and see what they do first. We'll soon find out how much this newly crowned world champion is truly worth."

His tone was composed, reflecting the clarity of a man who, at forty, knew exactly what he sought.

Tianyuan's Number One? The King of the Century? None of that concerned him.

His ultimate goal had always been to gather enough points and resources. This would allow him to use Dragon Gate Hall's legendary astral equipment and take that crucial step. By achieving the extreme transcended state, he could meditate on the Astral God. From that moment, his life would undergo a tremendous transformation.

Just the thought of those Top-Tier Astral Cultivators, whose Starlight Bodies transcended the boundaries of life and death, granting them lifespans of over a hundred years, excited him.

It was something worth striving for.

***

Li Pin's sudden rise to second stirred up quite the debate. Some, like Zhang Xujin, remained calm, focusing solely on transitioning into an Astral Cultivator, completely devoted to his training.

However, many more Martial Saints were eager to test the strength of this newly crowned world champion.

Speculation ran rife regarding why these Martial Saints had not participated in the World's Top Martial Competition. Some, as Wan Qingshan suggested, were disinterested in the title, while others were hindered by pressing commitments.

Nevertheless, Li Pin's rise, which displaced those from the top three and top ten, stirred intense competition over the stakes, amounting to tens of thousands of points.

Even those who wished to avoid confrontation with Li Pin found themselves compelled to act, driven by the significant annual loss of over a hundred thousand points.

In this situation, the number of people seeking information about Li Pin surged.

Were it not for the unwritten "one-month" rule, challengers would have already made their move.

***

The turbulence in the outside world was well within Li Pin's expectations. In fact, he was a bit looking forward to it.

However, his anticipation was short-lived as he quickly became absorbed in studying the Martial Saint-level techniques and inheritances. At the Martial Saint realm, speed, strength, or defense were no longer the sole determinants of victory.

Some techniques had even surpassed the martial arts domain, reaching the level of divine abilities. Even Li Pin found them awe-inspiring.

For instance, the Supreme Ice Frost Technique.

Martial Saints, harnessing their mental spirit to attain unparalleled perception and control, could refine a type of energy known as Dark Ice Liquid into their body. In critical moments, this energy could merge with their qi and blood, evolving into a force that inflicted devastating freezing damage.

Another formidable technique was the Heavenly Demon Finger. This technique not only required the activation of Martial Will to disorient opponents but also integrated hypnotic effects. When these elements combined, opponents struggled to discern reality from illusion, often falling prey to a lethal strike as they lost their focus.

There was also the Thunderbolt Extreme Brilliance Technique.

The Thunderbolt Extreme Brilliance Technique involved refining a unique crystal, the Primordial Electric Crystal, to enhance physical condition. Practitioners meditate on thunder and channel it into their bodies with immense mental spirit. Once activated within the enhanced physical state, the thunder propelled them into an "overload" condition, akin to being stimulated by a powerful jolt of lightning.

In this state, both neural reaction speed and qi and blood circulation surged, making their strikes as powerful and unstoppable as rolling thunder.

***

"Thunderbolt Extreme Brilliance Technique, Supreme Ice Frost Technique, Heavenly Demon Finger... these are far more than just martial arts. I could master them if I want, but... even if I do, it will only allow me to excel within the martial arts realm. And the martial arts realm..."

Li Pin took a moment to assess his condition. After two months of cultivation, his fundamental attributes had changed significantly.

[Qi and Blood: 54.14], [Primordial Qi: 42.18], [Mental Spirit: 30.98]

[Innate Qi-Refining Technique, Qi-Refining Chapter: 98/1000, Foundation Building Chapter: 166/1100]

[Blood-Seething Secret Art: 36.11%]

[Stars Overlord, Lifeform Force Field: 4/18000]

Aside from primordial qi, both his qi and blood and mental spirit had shown remarkable growth.

His qi and blood had surged to fifty-four, and his mental spirit was approaching thirty-one.

Moreover, his Lifeform Force Field Field now had a clear path forward, no longer displaying a "?" symbol but showing definitive progress.

And... he hadn’t taken that much time to achieve this level of progress.

By the looks of it, he was on the right track.

"Although I haven't fully completed the Foundation Building Chapter, the qi and blood enhancement it has provided is substantial. Even without the boost from the Essence-Gathering Pearl, it has raised my qi and blood limit by six points. Judging by the total progress of the Foundation Building Chapter... even with diminishing returns, my final qi and blood level should still reach around seventy."

Li Pin estimated the increase to be seventy now, not the sixty he had initially expected.

The Foundation Building Chapter was proving to be even more formidable than he had imagined.

Once his qi and blood reached seventy, he would focus on boosting his mental spirit.

The battle for the King of the Century might not be a stage reserved solely for Wang Lianceng.

"Through my study of the manuals, I now understand why nearly every King of the Century managed to successfully refine qi into Spirit and achieve the extreme transcendent state. After these Martial Saints defeated numerous top-tier opponents at the same level, their mental spirit, will, and conviction were honed to the extreme, culminating in an invincible aura.

"At that point, they would become the true uncrowned king of the martial arts world. With such an invincible aura, their mental spirit and conviction reached unprecedented levels of purity and power, pushing their qi-to-Spirit refinement to its limit...."

Li Pin paused for a moment.

With the Extreme Martial Saints refining their qi into Spirit one after the other, people had begun to grasp the essence of "refining qi into Spirit."

A Martial Saint's Spirit Force was about amplifying the qi and blood with the Mental Spirit, allowing them to unleash power beyond their limits. However, refining qi into Spirit was akin to refining and converting all qi and blood into the mental spirit attribute.

In the Extreme Transcendent state, Martial Saints could have both their qi and blood and mental spirit at forty-five. Depending on the purity of their faith, the conversion ratio could be as high as 1:0.8, 1:1, or even 1:1.2 or 1:1.5.

This astonishing conversion rate could elevate their mental spirit beyond one hundred points, a figure even Master Astral Cultivators could never hope to reach without external aid.

If the Martial Saint also wielded astral equipment....

A martial artist could use their terrifying mental spirit to forcibly engrave astral energy into their body, laying the foundation for becoming an Astral Cultivator. This was the truth behind Martial Saints transitioning into Astral Cultivators.

Of course, refining qi into Spirit meant abandoning the physical body to convert all the spiritual qi into mental spirit.

Unless the Martial Saint successfully embarked on the path of an Astral Cultivator and drew in astral energy to rejuvenate the body... even the strongest Martial Saint would be reduced to ashes during this process.

"The stronger the qi and blood, the greater the advantage in refining qi into Spirit. But this advantage is not absolute. Greater qi and blood can weaken the control over them with mental spirit, indirectly reducing conversion efficiency.

"However, this control can be improved through constant practice and refinement. It's manageable as long as the cultivator is young and doesn't delay for a decade or more, causing their qi and blood to decline."

Li Pin was only twenty-three. He wasn't in a rush. Moreover, with his innate "Clairvoyance" talent, he had no fear of his qi and blood increasing too fast for him to control.

"Is there really no path ahead beyond Martial Saint?"

Li Pin's gaze shifted to his Lifeform Force Field, which now showed progress.

"Not necessarily."

His mind flashed through the techniques he had studied recently.

After a moment, he opened the box that Steward Fang had sent over not long ago.

Inside was a Primordial Electric Crystal.

Though a mineral, the crystal was remarkably soft and could be directly consumed and digested. However, for those without sufficient control, consuming it would bring more harm than benefits.

Li Pin's eyes lingered on the crystal for a moment before opening his mouth to swallow it.

Immediately, he fully immersed himself in the "Clairvoyance" state, meticulously observing how the power of the Primordial Electric Crystal permeated and transformed his body.

"I don't know whether there's a path ahead of the Martial Saint, but after studying a vast collection of manuals... martial artists have far from reached the limits of their potential. The Thunderbolt Extreme Brilliance Technique is the best example."

Li Pin focused his mind to the extreme. "By utilizing the Primordial Electric Crystal, I will electrify my cells. Then, by inducing high-frequency vibration with Aura Force, I will cause microscopic friction between cells to generate electricity. Finally, I will use my Lifeform Force Field to manage and harness this electric current..."

If this path proved feasible... then the Martial Saint would no longer be the limit of what a martial artist could achieve!