Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 150: Uproar

"Li Pin!" Having been listening to Zhou Yun'an speaking and envying the brilliant prospects of the competitors, Fang Lingjue was startled when he heard the name. "Did you just say Li Pin?"

"Yes," Zhou Yun'an replied with a chuckle. "When I first saw his age, twenty-three, I was quite impressed. I thought, 'Wow, what a young prodigy! For the Tianyuan Society to evaluate him so highly means we'll likely be seeing him at the World's Top Martial Competition for years to come.'

"But then I realized he's from the Taibai Kingdom... Hahahaha! It got me thinking, maybe Grandmaster Li will age faster than the average person. Maybe he's twenty-three on paper but looks closer to thirty-two?"

Jiang Shaoliu added, "I don't doubt his skills. The Tianyuan Society is pretty reliable in that regard. But let's face it, fudging your age a little is pretty standard practice. Most people might fake their age by a year or two. But if it's the Taibai Kingdom... I won't be surprised if it turns out Li Pin already has a kid in elementary school!"

Among the member nations of the Tianyuan Federation, Taibai had a notorious reputation for falsification. While it might have hidden talents that rivaled those of other countries in other fields, the martial arts world was where Taibai's fabrications were most prevalent.

Especially after Martial Saint became a recognized title, whenever people heard someone was a Martial Saint, they'd often follow up with the question "Are they from Taibai?"

Of course, Taibai wasn't the only country with such practices. To some extent, it was a strategy that created a veil of uncertainty, serving as a form of protection for Martial Saints.

After all, it was one thing for the elderly Martial Saints, whose potential was limited and who didn't have the hope to burn themselves out to meditate on the Astral God. But the young Martial Saints in their prime, on the other hand, could very well become Top-Tier Astral Cultivators in the future.

For Martial Saints like these, not only would the Tianyuan Federation compete fiercely to recruit them, but the other major factions in the Six Extremities would also go to great lengths to win them over. Some extremist factions might even resort to killing them if they couldn't have them.

Should these extremist factions dare to make a move, they would undoubtedly face fierce retaliation from the Top-Tier Astral Cultivators who were once Martial Saints. It was even possible that legendary figures would intervene personally to completely eradicate them.

Nevertheless, they had still brought about the greatest tragedy in martial arts history—the fall of the King of the Century, Titan!

Titan was the only King of the Century in human history to not have stepped into the realm of the Astral Cultivators.

Given these circumstances, despite the title of Martial Saint becoming increasingly common, the Tianyuan Federation chose to continue allowing it.

"No!" Fang Lingjue interjected firmly. "It's true!"

"Hm?" The middle-aged man was taken aback. "You mean—"

"The news about Li Pin is true," Fang Lingjue said solemnly, taking a deep breath. "Li Pin, not only is the fact that he has the strength to unleash Spirit Force true, his age is also true. He is indeed twenty-three years old."

Fang Lingjue looked at Jiang Shaoliu and Zhou Yun'an. "As I have said before, even though I've reached the Aura Cultivation realm, I couldn't even win the Jiang Province championship, let alone the national competition. This is all because of Li Pin."

His words made the others exchange glances.

After a long while, Zhou Yun'an, the prodigy of the White Crane Sect, finally managed, "Old Fang... are you saying... Li Pin is really only twenty-three!? A twenty-three-year-old Martial Saint capable of unleashing Spirit Force!?"

"Yes," Fang Lingjue responded heavily. "I’ve watched Li Pin grow step by step before my very own eyes. By the time I returned to the White Crane Sect, he had already achieved the feat of slaying a Martial Saint..."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Yes, it was one of our Taibai Martial Saints, but his real combat strength shouldn’t be inferior to that of a Blood Renewal grandmaster! This is something I know for certain!"

Slaying a Blood Renewal grandmaster! These words made everyone present draw in a sharp breath.

Among those seated at the table, Fang Lingjue and Zhou Yun'an were the only grandmasters, and they were only at the organs-tempering level. The others were at the relatively low level of Core Formation.

But now, Li Pin had supposedly killed a Blood Renewal grandmaster, someone who was not only clearly stronger than any of them... but was also a recognized Martial Saint in Taibai....

Despite their frequent mockery of the Taibai Martial Saints as being unworthy of the title, they acknowledged that becoming a Martial Saint required a certain level of genuine skill. Yet this Li Pin, at just twenty-three, had slain a top-tier grandmaster in the organs-tempering and Blood Renewal phase... This was simply....

"Li Pin! He is a true, peerless genius!" Fang Lingjue said, his tone filled with respect and awe. "He is the most gifted martial prodigy I have ever encountered in my life. And when I say 'encountered,' I don’t just mean those I've personally met, but also the highly renowned geniuses I've seen online."

Recalling the individuals Zhou Yunan had listed earlier, Fang Lingjue continued, "Among the top five contenders Tianyuan Society listed with the highest chances of winning the championship, whether it's Cheng Yufeng and Zhao Yushi in the Martial Saint realm, the the Great Sun Chosen One, or the famed Duan Yidao and Song Wuya...

"I believe that, in as little as three years, or at most six, Li Pin will surpass them all, defeating them head-on!"

Fang Lingjue's face, which was wreathed in awe, shocked everyone seated at the table.

"Three years, six years.... Even if we say it will take him six years to do it, he'll still only be twenty-nine by then! He could still participate in three more World's Top Martial Competition! Could it be..." Zhou Yun'an found it hard to believe. "By then, will all the young martial artists in the Tianyuan Federation be overshadowed by this monstrously talented young man?"

"That's... impossible," Jiang Shaoliu said, expressing his disbelief.

Fang Lingjue smiled faintly, his expression filled with absolute confidence. "We shall wait and see."

Zhou Yun'an, Jiang Shaoliu, and the others exchanged glances.

"Given that the contestants of the World's Top Martial Competition should arrive in the capital city a few days in advance, Li Pin and the others should already be here by now. How about we go and introduce ourselves, just to make a good impression?" Jiang Shaoliu suggested.

Regardless of whether Li Pin could truly reach the level of Cheng Yufeng, Zhao Yushi, the Great Sun Chosen One, Duan Yidao, or Song Wuya, the fact that the Tianyuan Society recognized him as a Quasi-Martial Saint spoke volumes about his talent and potential.

There was a high likelihood that he would forge his Martial Will and become a Martial Saint in the future. Building a connection with such a genius could never be a bad thing.

***

Many shared the same sentiment as Jiang Shaoliu and Zhou Yunan.

Following Lian Hongchen's extensive promotion of Li Pin's invitation to the World's Top Martial Competition, the Tianyuan Society quickly followed suit with the release of information about the outstanding candidates who were potential top ten or even top three contenders.

Within a short time, not just Jiang Province, but the entire Taibai region was sent into an uproar.

Prince Su Mai, the person in charge of the martial affairs for the Taibai royal family, immediately summoned Liu Xuanfeng, the chairman of the martial association.

In response, Liu Xuanfeng quickly summoned Deputy Chairman Lu Changkong, along with Executive Directors Zhuo Chengyu and Ding Aojun. They discussed matters on the way as they raced toward the main martial hall in Prince Su Mai's residence.

Upon arriving at the royal residence and being escorted into the main martial hall by servants, they discovered that in addition to Prince Su Mai, Luo Baiyu, a renowned Astral Cultivator, was also present. Furthermore, Sixth Princess Su Feiyu and her Martial Saint tutor were also there.

Seeing Liu Xuanfeng, Prince Su Mai wasted no time and placed the Tianyuan Society’s information in front of him. "Chairman Liu, explain this."

"This is a mistake on our part," Liu Xuanfeng immediately admitted. "We have long been aware of Li Pin and his growth trajectory. He started his martial arts journey at fourteen, trained diligently for five years with some achievements, but later, due to university, he seemed to have neglected his training...."

He quickly clarified, "No! Not neglected. During that time, he likely reached the level of Force Manifestation. Although it appeared he wasn’t focused on martial arts in university, in reality, he had concentrated on understanding the essence of Core Formation.

"He lived up to expectations, made significant progress, and within less than half a year after resuming his training, he reached the Core Formation Realm and made a name for himself in the Jiang Province Martial Competition."

"And then?" Su Mai asked indifferently.

"After that, we discovered that Jiang Province Martial Society Chairman Lin Yuzhi advised us that, with Li Pin’s talent, winning the national competition might be slightly out of reach. Instead, he suggested we let him remain out of the limelight for one more competition, using the three years to provide him with special training and cultivation...."

Liu Xuanfeng quickly presented a list. "Please examine this, Your Highness. It details the training resources we've expanded over this period."

"Is that so? But the information I received suggests otherwise," Sixth Princess Su Feiyu interrupted. "I heard that the Jiang Province Martial Society had predetermined the rankings, and that Li Pin, out of frustration, decided to withdraw from the competition."

Liu Xuanfeng broke out in a cold sweat. "That's partially true. We did become aware of this issue and have removed Lin Yuzhi from his position, but it was indeed our oversight... The Jiang Province Martial Society is now being led by Acting Chairman Lian Hongchen..."

"Enough," Prince Su Mai waved his hand and glanced at Liu Xuanfeng. "You were once the Crown Prince’s martial arts mentor, but your response to this matter is truly disappointing."

He turned his gaze to Lu Changkong. "As the Deputy Chairman overseeing the provinces in the Southern Jiang Region, if you don’t understand anything, why are you still in this position? Find someone who does."

At these words, Lu Changkong's face drained of color. With the Prince's direct rebuke, he knew there was no room for argument.

"Furthermore, Li Pin is a rising star from the Taibai Kingdom. At just twenty-three, the Tianyuan Society already holds him in high esteem, even my royal brother has heard of his name.

"Due to your martial society's negligence, he was unable to qualify for the World's Top Martial Competition through the national competition. As a member of Taibai, he should be joining us on our journey to the Tianyuan Capital."

Prince Su Mai shot Liu Xuanfeng a cold, indifferent look. "If we lose a promising talent like Li Pin, someone of our own, due to your inadequacies as chairman, the council will undoubtedly question your competence. Are we clear?"

Liu Xuanfeng nodded quickly. "Understood."

Prince Su Mai dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Alright, get this sorted as soon as possible."