Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 143: Recovery

Li Pin stood before Lin Yuzhi's lifeless body and muttered, "Humans do have limits."

Lin Yuzhi's mental spirit might have been flourishing, but his qi and blood were finite. Bound by the confines of his mortal body, even with infinite vitality and battle intent, he had no choice but to bow his head in defeat when his Vitality, Qi, and Spirit were fully exhausted.

It was especially when his sword shattered that he realized he had lost. His spirit plummeted, and his life faded away completely.

He lost and died. But he died with purpose.

In his final moments, he gave Li Pin the most fulfilling battle he had ever experienced since coming to this world... Or perhaps, the most satisfying battle he had ever fought across both worlds.

Li Pin smiled. "This was indeed a satisfying battle."

Li Pin sat down cross-legged, his eyelids drooping as his Vitality, Qi and Spirit rapidly drained to their limits.

***

Cao Tianyou collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He was utterly drained. "He won."

Though Li Pin was the one engaged in a life-and-death duel with Lin Yuzhi, yet Cao Tianyou felt more exhausted than if he himself had been in a life-or-death struggle with an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster.

He knew this was because he had invested too much energy and focus into observing the fight. In contrast, while Zhao Yuan and Lian Xiyue were also astonished, they weren't as overwhelmed as he was.

Nevertheless... this was nothing short of an epic battle between Martial Saints!

Li Pin, despite having yet forged his Martial Will, managed to unleash three consecutive Spirit Force attacks. Given his age and extraordinary feats, it was only a matter of time before he was recognized as a Martial Saint.

Lin Yuzhi, on the other hand... was a bona fide Martial Saint. In his transcendent state, he was virtually indistinguishable from any other true Martial Saint. Not to mention, he had already been recognized as one for quite some time.

At most... it could be said that his understanding and mastery of these powerful techniques weren’t as profound as those of the seasoned Martial Saints, having only recently ascended.

It was understandable to feel utterly drained after watching such an intense battle. They wouldn't have missed a single detail, even if it cost them their sight.

Lian Hongchen muttered to himself, "Incredible."

He couldn't find any other words to describe how felt at this moment. In the end... he could only sum it up as "incredible."

Li Pin was only twenty-two. He had no Martial Saint as his personal mentor. Until a few days ago, he lacked a complete Martial Saint's inheritance. Moreover, he didn't have access to powerful auxiliary astral equipment and had to rely on common-grade Heavenly Treasures acquired through intermediaries.

Against all odds, he relentlessly fought his way to this point, defeating Lin Yuzhi in his extreme transcendent state, no less formidable than a true Martial Saint. Such strength and talent were beyond imagination. There were no words to describe it other than "incredible."

He could barely fathom what heights Li Pin would reach if he continued to grow at this pace.

Martial Saint? No! Becoming a Martial Saint would not be his limit!

He might even reach the pinnacle of Martial Saints and join the ranks of those Extreme Martial Saints across the kingdoms, or even the Six Extremities, in their pursuit of the ultimate martial throne, becoming the King of the Century!

The mere thought of witnessing the rise of such a legend, and even maintaining a friendly relationship with him, made Lian Hongchen tremble with excitement.

This thrill surpassed even the joy he felt when he broke through to the grandmaster realm and was promoted to deputy chairman of the Jiang Province Martial Society.

He was filled with anticipation and with a sense of accomplishment!

"Hmm!?"

At this moment, Lian Hongchen and Cao Tianyou were jolted out of their reverie seeing Li Pin suddenly sat down and his Vitality, Qi and Spirit rapidly declining.

"This is bad!"

Three consecutive Spirit Force attacks! And Li Pin unleashed them one after another despite not having forged a Martial Will! This would take a tremendous toll on his spiritual strength.

If things went wrong, Li Pin could bite the dust!

Both Cao Tianyou and Lian Hongchen simultaneously dashed to Li Pin's side with the highest speed they could muster.

Seeing the visible bloodstains on Li Pin's body and his faint, almost imperceptible breathing, Lian Hongchen immediately said, "I'll go request a piece of astral equipment right away!"

"It's useless. Astral equipment can't cure heart failure," Cao Tianyou replied gravely.

Heart failure was just like dying of old age. No matter how miraculous an Astral Cultivator or an astral equipment might be, they couldn't cure it.

"Unless we can get our hands on a bottle of the precious Great Sun Divine Water immediately, there's nothing we can do about it. His only hope for recovery is to endure this with sheer willpower."

Hearing Cao Tianyou's words, Lian Hongchen quickly calmed down.

There's no point in even considering the Great Sun Elixir. Even to Astral Cultivators, they were life-saving treasures reserved for critical moments.

He looked at Li Pin. "His injuries..."

Cao Tianyou explained, "He has practiced nurturing techniques before. I can sense a strong vitality within him, stabilizing his condition and preventing it from worsening. His injuries are severe, but they're not fatal. So, the key lies in his spirit and willpower."

This was what truly mattered. If he could endure this, he would survive and come back even stronger! After this, it would only be a matter of time until he achieved the rank of Martial Saint.

But if he couldn't... the conclusion of this battle between him and Lin Yuzhi would have been mutual destruction. The only difference was one would die first, and the other later.

Cao Tianyou instructed Zhao Yuan, "Get the Concentration incense. Also, go and acquire a portion of the Spirit-Restoring Incense."

"The martial society has Spirit-Restoring Incense in its inventory. I'll go get it now," Lian Hongchen responded.

Cao Tianyou hesitated briefly. "Inventory items.... there may be news about you getting appointed as the acting chairman, but the official order hasn't been issued yet. If you use the inventory items now—"

Before he could finish, Lian Hongchen shook his head and cut him off. "We must prioritize the situation. There's no time to worry about that."

Cao Tianyou nodded. He instructed Lian Xiyue and Zhao Yuan, "Stand watch outside. Make sure no one disturbs Grandmaster Li."

"Understood," The two responded and quickly left.

Cao Tianyou also kept his distance from Li Pin to avoid causing any interference. He positioned himself at the entrance of the training area as a secondary line of defense. If someone managed to get past Lian Xiyue and Zhao Yuan, he would at least be able to hold them off for a while.

Shortly after, Lian Hongchen returned. He didn't just come back with a substantial amount of Concentration Incense and Spirit-Restoring Incense, but also had a set of high-grade astral equipment.

After helping Li Pin put on the Astral Equipment and lighting the Spirit-Restoring Incense, Cao Tianyou and Lian Hongchen had done all they could.

From this point on, the rest would be up to Li Pin himself.

***

As the chairman of the Jiang Province Martial Society, and with the national competition just around the corner, Lin Yuzhi's sudden disappearance from the capital was a grave matter.

And now, Lin Yuzhi was gone, dead. Given the gravity of the situation, Lian Hongchen had to navigate the delicate aftermath.

Fortunately, Li Pin had gone through the proper procedures when challenging Lin Yuzhi to a duel, setting the date three days later. Their duel was thus legal and compliant with the rules.

At most, Lin Yuzhi, as the chairman of the martial society, could be criticized for neglecting his duty to oversee the national competition and instead engaging in a life-and-death battle with Li Pin, unable to distinguish between priorities.

However, Lin Yuzhi had come with the mindset of either achieving success or dying in the attempt. He sought to transcend himself through this battle with Li Pin. If he won, he would officially step into the realm of Martial Saint. At that time, Taibai would have a new Martial Saint. What awaited him would be a whole new world.

Not only would his position as chairman become unshakable, but he would also have a great chance of advancing further, possibly entering the association and reaching a level comparable to that of his backer, Lu Changkong. By then, no one would care about a mere day's absence.

As for defeat... death was the only outcome. Once dead, all things would be null.

Time crawled by as they waited anxiously.

Apart from Cao Tianyou, Lian Hongchen, Zhao Yuan, and Lian Xiyue, no one knew that when Lin Yuzhi accepted Li Pin's challenge, he had already undergone a spiritual evolution and embarked on the path of extreme transcendence to engage in this life-and-death duel with Li Pin.

Furthermore, Cao Tianyou and Lian Hongchen were concerned that if word got out, someone might disturb Li Pin's recovery.

Thus, from the perspective of the wider community, excluding Lin Yuzhi's relatives, his demise in Li Pin's hand didn't cause much of an uproar. People were at most surprised by Li Pin's rapid growth.

With the precedents of Qiu Chufeng and Chi Xingyu, and the widespread underestimation of Lin Yuzhi's true strength, the higher-ups only sent a routine investigation team to confirm the legality of the duel, without any further action.

Under such circumstances, Li Pin was able to meditate and recover quietly for six days without any disturbances.

***

After six days, Li Pin had noticeably lost some weight. However, his overall Vitality, Qi, and Spirit gradually stabilized and recovered.

This allowed Cao Tianyou, having barely rested, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

In the morning on the seventh day, Li Pin, deep in meditation, opened his eyes.

When Lian Hongchen received the news and rushed over, Li Pin had already consumed some water and supplements, slightly regaining color.

Seeing him, Lian Hongchen heaved a sigh of relief.

"Grandmaster Li, you have finally pulled through. This is wonderful," Lian Hongchen said.

Li Pin nodded slightly. "Thanks for looking after me for the past few days."

"It’s my responsibility," Lian Hongchen replied with a smile. "The appointment from above has already come through. If it weren’t for you, I don't know how long I would have to wait to take over as acting chairman from Lin Yuzhi. It’s me who should be thanking you for your hard work."

Li Pin nodded again.

"You should take some time to call your family," Lian Hongchen added. "Patriarch Qin has even called me. I told them you were undergoing a special training session and couldn’t be disturbed."

"Alright."

"About that battle..." stated Liang Hongchen.

Lian Hongchen initially wanted to say that Li Pin's choice had been too risky.

However, considering that every martial artist, especially true Martial Saints, possessed an unwavering resolve, unyielding to external influences or persuasion, and that the martial path was an inexorable journey of constant progress, he ultimately said, "You have a bright future ahead of you. There’s no need to risk your life."

Li Pin smiled slightly. "If I didn’t take risks, how could I witness such brilliant swordsmanship?"

Lian Hongchen was not surprised by this answer. He didn’t press further but instead brought out a box. "This is a Pill of Rebirth. I figured you’d need it most right now."

"Alright."

He himself had the Lesser Rebirth Pills, which, in sufficient quantities, could match the effects of the Pill of Rebirth. Nevertheless, he still appreciated Lian Hongchen's thoughtful gesture.