Chapter 34: Core Formation

After signing the agreement, Zhao Yuan and Qi Dongyuan warmly invited Li Pin to visit their place. However, Li Pin rejected them out of consideration for Fang Lingjue's feelings.

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan could only take the second best option and invite Li Pin to attend their sect master's 66th birthday celebration that would take place half a month later.

Cao Zuoqiu had already been buried. They had lost a Core Formation and several high-level Force Cultivation experts to Wang Daoyi, so this might cause the other influences in Zanglong City to start harboring ill intentions toward them. So, in order to showcase that the Five Elements Sect was still influential in Zanglong City, they planned to make Cao Tianyou's 66th birthday a big event and invite guests from different places.

Considering that the box he had just received contained Ciao Tianyou's personally handwritten experience on the subject of Core Formation and Aura Training, Li Pin didn't reject the invitation to his birthday celebration.

Li Pin sent off Zhao Yuan and Qi Dongyuan to the elevator and then returned to Fang Lingjue's office. When he was back, Fang Lingjue exclaimed, "Looking at you makes me feel like I'm looking at a rising sun. You'll probably be able to soar to great heights and your reputation will spread across the Jiang Province in the 17th, or at the latest, the 18th martial competition. All the other participants in the intermediate category will be left in your shadows."

Li Pin smiled and joked, "I've signed up for the upcoming martial competition as well. Are you feeling any pressure, Hall Master Fang?"

Fang Lingjue laughed. "Haha, what a joke. I, Fang Lingjue, am still a hot favorite to get into the top ten in the upcoming Jiang Province Martial Competition. I might even get the chance to be invited to participate in the national martial competition. As for you... you might be able to shine in the future, but you'll have to wait at least ten or more years before you can dampen my shine!"

This was, after all, Fang Lingjue's last year participating in the intermediate category of the Jiang Province Martial Competition. In the future, he'd have to join the adult category.

Li Pin, on the other hand, was only twenty-two, so he had more than ten years before he'd be forced to participate in the adult category.

Li Pin smiled and didn't continue saying anything.

Unable to resist the urge to flip through the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art, Li Pin only chatted with Fang Lingjue for a little bit before he returned to his condominium.

This was an organs-tempering secret art, something very precious in this world where martial arts prospered. You might find many martial arts that talked about Aura Force, but martial arts that spoke about nurturing and tempering the organs were few and far between. They belonged to legacies that weren't passed down to outsiders. Only the core disciples of each sect would inherit the legacies.

There was once a Martial Saint who had pushed for the Taibai Kingdom to establish a law that would protect Aura Training martial arts and would not allow them to be spread outside their respective sects to outsiders. He stated that the reason for this was to prevent adverse effects.

After all, if one were to cultivate Aura training arts without a proper art for tempering the internal organs, although the individual would be able to strike out Aura Force, the martial artist's internal organs would be destroyed and they'd have no more future in martial arts. It was not beneficial for the development of the martial arts world.

Although the law was not passed, the same Martial Saint took a step back to request for organs-tempering arts to be protected instead. The law was approved.

This showed how precious organs-tempering arts were.

If a martial artist were to sneakily learn martial arts for training Aura Force, the sect in question would have to go through proper procedures in the martial society and get approval before dealing with the scum.

This also meant that if someone was discovered to be stealing their sect's organs-tempering arts, they'd be protected by the law even if they were killed by the experts in the sect.

It'd be a loss for them to die.

This alone showed how valuable organs-tempering arts were.

The Five Elements Sect's organs-tempering art emphasizes the nurturing and tempering of the five elements and five qi's.... When I was first browsing the Five Elements Body-Refining Art, I felt that there was something missing. From the looks of it now, the thing missing was the Five Qi's to Primordiality.

Li Pin went through the book and thought,

Wang Daoyi didn't get his hands on the Five Qi's to Primordiality. That was why he had no choice but to take a step back and cultivate the Samadhi Heart-Training Art which he found somewhere to strengthen his internal organs.

However, both arts were incompatible. This was why even though he could strike out Five Elements Unity by combining the resonance of his internal organs with all of his Force, he suffered from serious internal injuries. Thereafter, he didn't dare to repeat this act recklessly.

Li Pin took out the Samadhi Heart-Training Art and compared it with the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art.

The former was blazing and overbearing, while the latter was more neutral and gentle. Between the two, one was like an unorthodox art while the other was an orthodox one.

The Samadhi Heart-Training Art ignites the spirit fire, essence fire, and qi fire. The three fires then temper the internal organs, increasing efficiency. However, the burning of the Samadhi fires brings about extremely great damage to the body.

Li Pin thought of Wang Daoyi's age. Wang Daoyi was about forty to fifty years old. Although he had passed his prime, he should've still had more time before his physique entered a decline.

The reason he was in a rush to come to Zanglong City to seek revenge on the Five Elements Sect was probably....

He must've encountered some problems when cultivating the Samadhi Heart-Training Art, so he entered a decline much earlier than the average martial artist.

Li Pin's gaze landed on the blazing and overbearing Samadhi Heart-Training Art for a moment before he then turned to the neutral and gentle Five Qi's to Primordiality Art....

Although the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art was safe, tempering the organs took too long.

The Samadhi Heart-Training Art....

He wondered if his Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique would be able to hold up to it. Or maybe he could find a middle ground to have the two organs-tempering arts neutralize each other.

With his Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique as the base and adding on his micro-control of his body's condition, he could stop immediately at any time should there be any problem. It would be just a matter of time before he found the organs-tempering art that suited him the best.

Consolidating qi to form a Core, using the qi and blood's flawless and uniform condition to nurture the body. If I were to put in hard work in my cultivation at this time, my qi and blood would be able to reach a peak in three to five months. It'll be at 33 or 34. The next step will then be organs-tempering.

From this analysis, it seemed that after attaining Core Formation, organs-tempering wouldn't be far. Or rather, after the cultivation for the Core Formation phase was completed, one would be on the path of training for Aura Force.

When one's organs were strong enough to support the individual in striking out Aura Force, they'd be considered an Aura Force Grandmaster. They'd then be able to take the test for the Senior professional title and obtain the Grandmaster status.

When Force filled up one's body from outside to inside—permeating through the organs and bone marrow—the organs were tempered, and one went through a change of blood, it would be an easy pass for the Senior professional title.

Li Pin studied intensively for several days.

Aura Force and Aura Cultivation weren't only mere legends from his previous life anymore. They were as real as can be now.

Li Pin checked his current body condition.

[Aura Force: 1/1,846]

"I can't strike out Aura Force now, but at least I can see hope. Moreover... Core Formation, was it...?"

Li Pin moved and punched out.

Rumble!

The void space trembled, and a stifled rumble rang out in the training room that was twenty or so square meters. The entire floor was trembling slightly. It was like there was a heavy-duty truck driving by with the gas pedal floored.

[Core Force +1]

This time, he didn't visualize Taowu, Tengshe, Chilong, or any other of the eight evils. However, when he struck out the Fist Force, he still reached the standard of Core Force eruption.

"Soon."

Li Pin calmed down once again and started studying the Five Elements Body-Refining Art as well as the Core Formation understandings that Cao Tianyou and Fang Lingjue had documented.

***

Thirteen days later.

At Changfeng Martial Hall.

After Li Pin performed the Xuan Pin Gate, he didn't even take the initiative to activate Core Force when the qi and blood in his body suddenly started to seeth.

He instantly realized what this abnormal phenomenon was, and with a single thought, all the qi and blood in his entire body rapidly rushed toward one part of his body.

There was no danger at all. This wasn't an astonishing situation either.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Li Pin continued to circulate the Xuan Pin Gate and guided his qi and blood using the method he had recently comprehended.

In less than half an hour, all the qi and blood he could control were consolidated together and there wasn't the slightest bit of leakage.

He merely stood there casually and everything came into a uniform and flawless state.

"Just like that, I've succeeded in consolidating qi to form a Core."