Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 146: Learning the Sword

"Li Pin! Since you're so adamantly asking for it...." Su Song let out a low bellow, instantly activating his Blood Core. His seething qi and blood turned into a raging Force that filled his limbs. "I'll grant you your wish!"

Su Song took great and fast strides forward before throwing out a punch. As the punch cut through the air, the void space seemed to let out a long, heart-shaking, hissing sound, as if countless riders were yelling out concurrently. Su Song integrated all the sound waves and Force into his fist force.

As Su Song made his move, it didn't seem as if he was fighting alone. It was as if he had become one with the army behind him. A single person breaking the formation, a single person as an entire army!

"Take this! Multi-Directional Quake!"

***

"Gaudy," Li Pin remarked.

This punch did seem to carry a lot of weight, but its power.... was too scattered.

This was a common problem with all grandmasters who had never worked on figuring out their martial arts system. However, there was no helping it. It wasn't as if everyone could be like Lin Yuzhi, elevating their Sword Intent and integrating it with their sword technique and Force. Such a union made it hard for anyone to find any flaws in Lin Yuzhi's techniques.

As for this punch Su Song was throwing....

Li Pin strike, which was like a tsunami formed from a blazing and raging Force, suddenly turned soft. It was as if the tsunami had become like flowing water, and the bumpy mountain path had turned more level.

Li Pin's strike pierced through Su Song's attack, which had brought with it an impact akin to an entire army marching.

After that, Li Pin moved to the side.

Li Pin's movement caused Su Song's full-powered attack to miss. The abrupt loss of qi as well as the imbalance of his power shocked Su Song, causing his expression to falter.

"This is bad!"

Having been through more than one life-or-death battle, he erupted his qi and blood without hesitation. When Li Pin dodged his attack and slammed his palm toward him, Su Song quickly pushed out his left arm to put up a block.

Boom!

The impact from the block collided with Li Pin's palm force, and a series of stifled sounds rang out in void space. Even though both of them had attacked in a bit of a hurry, their collision created a shockwave, sending out blasts of erratic wind.

To Su Song's surprise, he found that Li Pin's palm force easily dispersed after their clash. This level.... didn't seem like that of a grandmaster! No.... I missed again?!

Su Song's skin pimpled with goosebumps. "This is very bad!"

After Li Pin's palm attack had been neutralized, Li Pin made a move once again. This time around, he struck out with his left hand. Still, he didn't use any flashy moves or make excessive movements. He simply went straight for Su Song's head.

Because Li Pin had dodged Su Song's first punch, the latter’s balance was thrown off. Moreover, Li Pin hadn't given Su Song any chance to regain his balance before he delivered his palm strike, forcing Su Song to hastily respond with a strike in his staggered stance. This cursory second strike had only managed to neutralize Li Pin's palm attack.

Now, facing Li Pin's left-handed palm strike, aimed at his head, Su Song couldn’t muster a third explosive attack. He could only watch with his eyes wide open as Li Pin's palm got closer and closer to his forehead.....

"Stop it!"

"Have mercy!"

Horrified, both Yuan Fang and Zhao Tianqiong cried out at the same time. They quickly erupted the powers from their qi and blood fiercely.

However, they had been too confident in Su Song. Having not expected Li Pin to turn the tables so suddenly, they had failed to take precautionary measures. Even if they wanted to save Su Song now, it was too late to do anything.

In the end, they could only watch in horror as Li Pin's powerful palm strike came slapping down on Su Song's forehead.....

When Li Pin's palm was one centimeter away from landing on Su Song's forehead, it came to an abrupt halt! The palm, infused with violent Force, stirred strong winds that brushed past Su Song's forehead.

Even though Li Pin's hand was one centimeter away from his forehead, the air currents formed from the Aura Force eruption still made Su Song feel as if someone had given him a few harsh slaps.

Li Pin was surprised, his palm hanging. "Your life was already on the line yet you still don't erupt the powers of your qi and blood, ignite your mental spirit, and surpass your limits to strike out a Spirit Force attack?"

Su Song, whom fear had overtaken, finally snapped out of it. The terror he had experienced at the moment of the life and death caused him to shiver. He was so scared that he went full-speed into erupting his powers and retreating explosively. He instantly drew his distance away from Li Pin's palm by over ten meters.

Something worth noting was that in a battle between similar-leveled grandmasters, if one party were to retreat, it'd mean that they had given up the initiative and put themselves at a disadvantage.

Their opponent would only need to take the opportunity to follow up and give chase relentlessly. As long as the opponent didn't make any mistakes, they'd be able to gradually win the battle.

Moreover, Su Song's retreat had been done very hastily, breaking his balance. Now, even Lian Hongchen would be able to follow up with a series of relentless attacks to defeat Su Song, let alone Li Pin.

Li Pin remained standing in his spot, watching the horrified Su Song who had retreated so much he stepped out of the ring. "You're not continuing?"

Prior to the battle, Su Song had been beaming with confidence. He had been radiating so much self-confidence it would have made anyone think he could snatch first place in the World's Top Martial Competition. However, Li Pin's question made Su Song's face flush up rapidly.

Yuan Fang and Zhao Tianqiong, who had erupted their qi and blood in a bid to save Su Song, also stopped in their tracks.

They looked very awkward.

They recalled the entire fight between Li Pin and Su Song, especially that moment when Li Pin's lethal palm attack had been about to land on Su Song's forehead....

Now that they thought about it, it seemed as though the entire fight had been within Li Pin's control. Be it when he had exchanged blows with Su Song earlier or when Su Song had retaliated in fury, Li Pin seemed to have handled the situation with ease.

The way he casually fought... it was like an adult toying with a child—or a master beating up his disciple....

Whether it was the way Li Pin utilized his strength, his control over the battle, or the clash of their spirits and wills.... they were on completely different levels.

The difference between them was far too big, so much so that Yuan Fang had a premonition that even he, a grandmaster who had organized his martial arts system, might not be able to gain an upper hand against Li Pin if they fought.

Maybe.... he'd be able to have a fighting chance against Li Pin if he were to perform secret arts. Even then, he wouldn't dare to guarantee he'd be able to come out on top even after using his secret arts.

Given Li Pin's capabilities, if it were in past years, Li Pin would definitely have the right to compete for the top ten position in the intermediate category of the World's Top Martial Competition!

"Is it that you didn't manage to adjust your condition properly? Shall we have another go?" Li Pin asked.

Su Song's face was beet red, but he didn't know how he should reply.

At that moment, Yuan Fang quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over for Su Song, "In order to send the invitation for the World's Top Martial Competition to you, Grandmaster Li, we'd started planning for the trip since last night. We hadn't had a drop to drink even till now.

"Now that we have confirmed that you indeed possess the capabilities to compete in the World's Top Martial Competition, our mission is considered completed. I think we should go get some food first."

Finally, Su Song snapped out of his flustered state, and his tied tongue came loose. "That's right, that's right. I haven't had a good rest and I'm also starving, so I naturally can't maintain my peak condition, let alone strike out Spirit Force. We've achieved the objective of our spar, and you have received the recognition of our team, Grandmaster Li. Let's end things here for now."

Seeing this, Li Pin more or less got a grasp of Su Song's level: Su Song was probably at about the same level as people like Qiu Chufeng. He might be able to strike out Spirit Force, but when doing so, he'd be at the most glorious moment of his life.

An opponent like this....

"Then let's leave it at that," Li Pin said.

It was too bad that he didn't even get a warm-up. He got pumped up for nothing.

"That's right, let's stop here for now," replied Yuan Fang, quickly taking out a box.

He opened the box. Inside was an invitation the size of an adult's palm. The invitation was red and had gold rims, looking very expensive and luxurious.

Yuan Fang proffered the box to Li Pin. "Grandmaster Li, this is your invitation to the World's Top Martial Competition. Please arrive at the location for the competition, Tianyuan Dynasty's capital, before the 10th of July. we will make arrangements for all the participants there and will also announce the competition’s details."

Li Pin nodded, receiving the box.

"Details of the competition?" Lian Hongchen caught on to that and questioned, "The upcoming competition isn't going to be based on duels?"

Yuan Fang glanced at Li Pin and hesitated for a moment. Then, considering how this wasn't much of a secret and anyone with a bit of status would be able to get access to the information, he replied, "The competition for the top ten positions in the upcoming World's Top Martial Competition should be related to ferocious beasts and demonic creatures."

Lian Hongchen quickly thought of something. "Ferocious beasts and demonic creatures?"

When the Tianyuan Federation was first founded, the World's Top Martial Competition's elimination rounds weren't conducted by duels. Rather, the contestants would fight ferocious beasts and demonic creatures.

However, this type of arrangement had too many unexpected factors, and the level of control the organizers had over it was too lacking, resulting in a high fatality rate. Therefore, in view of these issues, this form of competition fell out of favor due to its dangers and was banned.

This..... To think that the Tianyuan Federation is planning to go back to such a competition method....! thought Lian Hongchen.

Lian Hongchen couldn't help but ask, "There have been changes to the perilous regions?"

He then seemed to think of something and his countenance changed. "The Degenerate Temple!?"

"This is the higher-ups' decision. We have no idea." Yuan Fang shook his head. "Maybe it has nothing to do with the changes to the perilous regions but it's just to pick out the martial artists with the strongest capabilities and the greatest potential. These people would then be accepted into the Dragon Gate Hall and gain the opportunity to obtain legendary astral equipment."

He paused slightly. "After all, the right to use such great treasure mustn't be wasted on useless people."

Lian Hongchen nodded upon hearing this.

Seeing that Yuan Fang didn't continue on this topic, Lian Hongchen didn't push further but smiled and took a step forward. "Grandmasters, it has been an honor to have you as our guests. I've prepared a grand meal for everyone. Let's head to the dining hall. You'll get to have a taste of our Jiang Province's specialties...."

Yuan Fang and Zhao Tianqiong felt a strong urge to leave right away because of the matter regarding Su Song. However, they had previously mentioned that they were starving, so now they couldn't turn down Lian Hongchen and leave just like that. They had no choice but to accept the invitation.

Finally, after an hour permeated with a torturous atmosphere, Yuan Fang and the others left in a hurry.

This god-damned Jiang Province.... They never wanted to come back ever again.

***

"The 7th of October.... It's already 29 June today. We don't have much time left. Furthermore, we need to accommodate for some recovery time to adapt to the Tianyuan Dynasty. It's best for us to set off a week earlier," Lian Hongchen said.

"Mmm, let's do that then," replied Li Pin.

"You heard what Team Leader Yuan said too, Grandmaster Li. The World's Top Martial Competition might require participants to kill ferocious beasts and demonic creatures to decide on the top ten. Therefore, it's best for you to learn to use a weapon if possible.

"Without a weapon, humans are disadvantaged when fighting against ferocious beasts and demonic creatures; they have rough hide, thick flesh, and a strong vitality."

"Mmhmm," Li Pin nodded. "I feel that Lin Yuzhi's Limitless Sword Technique isn't bad."