Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 60: Celebrity

Li Pin was both surprised and delighted. "To some extent, there seems to be an intrinsic connection between my senses and mental spirit. It makes perfect sense that enhancing my mental spirit would also strengthen my clairvoyance ability."

When he concentrated, he was able to observe his condition down to a cellular level. However, if he dove any deeper, he'd start to experience symptoms like heart failure and mental fatigue. These were signs of a low mental spirit attribute.

If he could continuously enhance his mental spirit attribute, his perceptual abilities would improve further. This would not only increase his sensitivity to the external world but would also enhance his control over his perceptual abilities, leading to more detailed observations of his internal state. At that point, being able to observe changes down to a molecular and atomic level wouldn't be a mere distant dream anymore.

"There are two ways I can enhance my mental spirit. One is the slower method of cultivating the meditation art, which may still pay off in the long run. As for the other one...."

Clash it against other people's Martial Wills! thought Li Pin.

Through repeated clashes and tempering, his mental spirit attribute would increase. The stronger the Martial Will he clashed against, the better the tempering effect.

Moreover, during this process, he would be able to observe the principle behind this type of tempering with his innate Clairvoyance talent, greatly amplifying the enhancement brought about by the tempering.

It became foreseeable that if he endured countless trials and tribulations, his mental spirit attributes would undoubtedly mature and flourish.

"There are going to be a lot of formidable opponents in the Jiang Province Competition ..." Li Pin muttered to himself.

Thinking about this, he became increasingly eager for the start of the Jiang Province Competition.

"Soon, very soon."

***

By the time the next day came around, Li Yunyao's condition had noticeably improved. Li Yunyao consumed a lot of medicine, and by afternoon, her movements weren't any different from a normal, healthy person's. It was as if she had fully recovered.

Seeing this, Li Pin didn't have the two of them loiter around any longer and immediately sent them to the station.

Shortly after Li Pin returned to his condominium, Qi Dongyuan came to visit him with the Great Sun Astral God Meditation Art Li Pin had requested.

Li Pin had realized by now the importance of the mental spirit attribute, so he wasted no time diving into the cultivation of this meditation art. Little by little, he refined the practice to find the method that had the least impact on him while maximizing the increase in his mental spirit attribute.

***

Time flew by, and it was already April 27th.

On this day, Fang Lingjue finally returned to Zanglong City after having stayed in Jiang Province City for over ten days.

Upon his arrival, he dragged Li Pin toward the martial society before he could even begin his cultivation.

***

There were only a few days left until the Jiang Province Martial Competition officially began.

Li Pin and Fang Lingjue had originally planned to go there a few days early to get used to the environment. However, since the martial society's chairman, Jiang Qingyue, was hosting a banquet for all the martial artists registered for the competition, they were compelled to stay for a few more days.

Very soon, their car arrived at the martial society.

The last time Li Pin came here was half a year ago for the martial certificate examination. This time, however, things were different.

As soon as they entered the main hall, the martial society's deputy chairman personally came up to them and greeted them with a huge smile. "Hall Master Fang, Master Li, for the Changfeng Martial Hall to have two Core Formation experts at once, it is very lucky. You two are truly the role models for the martial artists in Zanglong City."

As he spoke, he turned his eyes toward Li Pin. "I have always wanted to meet you, Master Li. You have contributed a lot in sustaining the peace and stability of the martial arts society in Zanglong City. For this, we owe you a thank you."

"You're too kind, " Li Pin responded.

"Haha, Hall Master Fang and Master Li, the chairman has been waiting for you guys. Welcome in!"

As he spoke, the deputy chairman made a sweeping gesture and led them to the banquet hall.

By now, the banquet hall was already quite lively and crowded, with approximately three to four hundred people present.

The Jiang Province Martial Competition was divided into three categories, the youth category, the intermediate category, and the adult category.

The prerequisite for participation in the youth category was to be a level-one martial artist. The intermediate category required one to be a level-two martial artist, and the adult category demanded one to be a level-three martial artist. All of these people were invited to the banquet.

Despite the predominance of youth and intermediate participants, there was no shortage of skilled martial artists in the adult category. With three to four hundred individuals gathered, the venue was brimming with talent.

Li Pin followed the deputy chairman of the martial society toward the table where Jiang Qingyue was seated.

They only walked for a short while before people began to recognize Li Pin, and a murmur of discussions quickly arose among the crowd.

"Master Li, he is here."

"That's Master Li Pin of our Five Elements Sect! He will undoubtedly be one of the top ten candidates in the Jiang Province Martial Competition this time."

"Master Li, he is a tough one! He has only been around for half a year, but he has already defeated two Core Formation experts. Those are Core Formation experts, not Core Force martial artists! Master Li is definitely the most outstanding young talent in Zanglong City."

Standing beside Li Pin, Fang Lingjue couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion well up within him as he looked at Li Pin, who was the center of attention. While he was still in Jiang Province City, news of Li Pin killing Demonic Sand had already reached his ears.

When he heard about the news, he was left in a daze for several days. This was also why he decided to remain in the city until now. He didn't know how to face Li Pin, the radiant, peerless genius. He was, after all, one of the first few to witness Li Pin's gradual growth, step by step, until now. However, after struggling for ten days, he finally figured things out.

Gold would shine wherever it was.[1]

Despite lacking any proper inheritance and coasting through his university years for three years, Li Pin formed his core at an astounding pace. This fact made it clear to him that Li Pin was destined for the global stage, where he would undoubtedly command universal admiration.

He had been mentally preparing for this day, knowing it would come sooner or later. The only question was whether it would be three, six, or even nine years from now. Or... right now.

***

Li Pin exchanged greetings with the crowd. Having been part of Zanglong City's martial circle for less than six months, in which he had mostly only focused on his cultivation too, he didn't recognize many people. He only recognized the few acquaintances he was familiar with, like Jiang Qingyue and Qi Dongyuan.

Despite this, it didn't stop Li Pin from feeling a sense of joy. Zanglong City was merely one of the many cities in the Taibai Kingdom, yet there were already about three to four hundred people who registered to participate in the Jiang Province Martial Competition. This served as a rough estimate of the number of martial artists in Zanglong City and the extent of their achievements.

Going further, a rough estimation of the total number of participants in the Jiang Province Martial Competition could also be made. Just the intermediate category, which Li Pin was a part of, should comprise more than a thousand participants. Out of the one thousand participants, even if only one out of ten achieved Core Force, that would still make more than a hundred of them.

It was no wonder that even Fang Lingjue, who had condensed his qi into a Core, couldn't be sure that he'd be able to make it into the top ten with a hundred percent certainty, let alone snatching first place.

How strong is the champion of the intermediate category going to be... could he be a peak Core Formation... Or maybe... an Aura Force expert? Li Pin wondered.

When Jiang Qingyue caught sight of Li Pin, he greeted him with a smile and immediately invited him to take a seat at his table. "Master Li! Come and have a seat!"

There were six people on the table. Among the six, two of them radiated intense and fiery aura.

By the time Li Pin stood beside them, he had already discerned that both men were, without exception, Aura Cultivation Grandmasters.

In Zanglong City, less than ten people had achieved Aura Force, with only there being a handful of genuine Aura Cultivation Grandmasters. Excluding Jiang Qingyue and Cao Tianyou, who no longer engaged in actual combat, the two men before him were likely the pinnacle of martial arts in Zanglong City.

1. It means no matter where one is, true talent and ability will be recognized. ☜