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Chapter 94: Martial Saint
Chapter 94: Martial Saint
Chapter 94: Martial Saint
What did it mean to be the chairman of a major provincial martial society?
It meant that with a single command, thousands would mobilize to carry out his orders.
It meant that with a simple gesture, those in the Core Formation realm could pass the exams for Associate Senior and Senior levels, in turn creating millionaires and billionaires.
It meant that a casual signature on a procurement list could sustain over a dozen factories and invigorate the economy of a county-level city.
This was someone whom even Qiu Chufeng, the Sect Master of the Solar Vermillion Sect, the Taibai Kingdom Martial Saint, and the steward of billions of assets, could not meet casually.
Yet, here he was in a conference room, sitting together with Lin Yuzhi, chairman of the Jiang Province Martial Society.
Chairman Li couldn't help but feel slightly surprised when he saw that half of Qiu Chufeng's hair had turned white. However, he didn't let his surprise show on his face. In the end, part of Qiu Chufeng's current predicament was a result of Lin Yuzhi's deliberate maneuvering, using the investigative team to pressure the Solar Vermillion Sect.
Lin Yuzhi began, his voice indifferent, "Tomorrow marks the start of the round-robin competition. You've come in a hurry. I trust this means the preparations of the past half-month have brought me good news."
Qiu Chufeng stated bluntly, "Rest assured, Chairman Lin. I've obtained evidence against Li Pin. Now, please sign this investigation order. Li Pin won't have a chance to participate in the martial competition."
Qiu Chufeng promptly retrieved and laid out the information Jiang Zhenhai had compiled before Lin Yuzhi.
Examining the documents briefly, Lin Yuzhi was struck with some surprise. "Performance-enhancing drugs?"
"Yes, precisely. The use of banned substances!" Qiu Chufeng asserted firmly. "There is no other way to explain how a young man who has only been in the Core Formation realm for three months could defeat Zhou Chaoguang, a renowned Aura Cultivation Grandmaster."
"Are you planning to get him banned over suspicion of using banned substances?" Lin Yuzhi asked. "Li Pin has the backing of the Five Elements Sect and the chairman of the local martial society in Zanglong City. He's also closely associated with the deputy chairman, Lian Hongchen. Unless we have clear evidence, we cannot take action against him."
Qiu Chufeng realized this was much more complicated than he had thought. Li Pin wasn't just an unknown newcomer.
"I will find the evidence against him!" Qiu Chufeng declared firmly.
Lin Yuzhi immediately understood his intent. Having dealt with similar matters frequently, he was not surprised. However....
"A lifetime ban?" Lin Yuzhi chuckled softly. "Sect Master Qiu, this small of a price will satisfy you?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Chufeng felt reassured. It was clear that Chairman Lin harbored resentment toward Li Pin for disrupting his good relationship with the Gu family.
Nevertheless, he still needed to seek Lin Yuzhi's approval. "Chairman Lin, are you suggesting...?"
"A Core Formation at twenty-two, even manifesting Aura Force! If he's given time to develop... he will likely achieve Aura Cultivation, or even master Spirit Force," Lin Yuzhi remarked.
Qiu Chufeng nodded heavily in agreement. "This youth... must not be allowed to remain alive."
"I will issue an investigation order for Li Pin to cooperate with the inquiry into the allegations of using banned substances. As for anything else, I will deny any involvement," Lin Yuzhi concluded.
"I understand," Qiu Chufeng responded immediately.
Qiu Chufeng continued, "Li Pin is so young, yet he has already achieved Core Formation and even manifested Aura Force. His arrogance and defiance mean he won't surrender easily. He will undoubtedly resist fiercely!
"Given his record of killing Zhou Chaoguang, I might end up using excessive force while attempting to apprehend him.... It's truly regrettable to see such a talented individual fall so tragically."
"There's no reason to pity such a person. He resorted to using banned substances, killed competitors, and disrupted the normal order of the martial competition, all to win first place in Jiang Province," Lin Yuzhi said calmly. "His death is no great loss."
Qiu Chufeng's resolve strengthened. "Exactly! Using banned substances to secure a top ten spot... Even in death, he must be publicly shamed to deter others! This will demonstrate the fairness and integrity of the Jiang Province Martial Competition!"
"I'll dismiss a temporary worker from the drug testing department under traceable conditions, but your focus is crucial. I was disappointed during the Zhou Chaoguang incident. This time, there can be no room for error!" Lin Yuzhi stated firmly.
"Rest assured, Chairman Lin," Qiu Chufeng replied solemnly. "I will handle Li Pin personally."
Lin Yuzhi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Qiu Chufeng, the Sect Master of the Solar Vermillion Sect, achieved the title of Martial Saint a decade ago. Despite his advancing age and declining condition over the years, his combat prowess still matched that of an Internal Aura Grandmaster. He was more than enough to deal with this.
Shortly after, Lin Yuzhi picked up his phone and placed a call. Soon after, his subordinates delivered an investigation order.
Lin Yuzhi signed the document and handed it to Qiu Chufeng. "Act quickly. This investigation procedure is not perfect. Ensure everything is resolved before Lian Hongchen catches wind of it. This is your final chance."
"I understand," Qiu Chufeng replied, taking the investigation order with a serious nod before turning to depart.
After Qiu Chufeng left, Lin Yuzhi reflected for a moment. "A Martial Saint against an Internal Aura practitioner.... Qiu Chufeng is unlikely to fail again."
Faintly smiling, Lin Yuzhi picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Grandmaster Gu, are there still any openings available at the Dragon Gate Hall?"
***
At ten o'clock at night, in the training room, Li Pin completed a session of the Samadhi-Heart Training Art and exhaled deeply. He then activated the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique to repair the strain on his organs.
Li Pin observed his condition. "Because my mental spirit attribute has grown, the efficiency of tempering my organs has increased. Now, what hinders me isn't the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique but rather the availability of medicinal herbs for replenishment."
He was nearing the Foundation Building Chapter of the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique.
However, ordinary medicinal herbs were barely sufficient to sustain the consumption of primordial qi from practicing the Blood-Seething Secret Art and the Samadhi-Heart Training Art, let alone unlock deeper potential in his physique. He needed top-tier herbs like the hundred-year-old wild ginseng, Reishi, and Fo-ti root.
"I have less than a million in my account, and Star Palace Entertainment hasn't had a dividend plan recently. These medicinal herbs cost over a million each... I can't afford them," he lamented.
Perhaps I should focus on improving the conversion rate of Heavenly Treasures. Consuming medicinal meals to replenish primordial qi could boost the efficiency of the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique by five or six times. However, during the process of harvesting, preparing, and digesting a significant portion of medicinal potency would be lost.
He needed to find a solution to this issue.
"The Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique essentially refines the essence of the Heavenly Treasures into the body to form primordial qi." Li Pin looked up. "Heaven, earth, all things, and living beings are fundamentally part of a unified whole. Refining primordial qi from nature's Heavenly Treasures to nourish oneself is like transferring a portion of the whole's energy from one area to another."
With this in mind, he could directly absorb energy from the essence of Heavenly Treasures to cultivate primordial qi, bypassing the need to prepare and digest medicinal meals. Skipping these steps would significantly increase efficiency.
This method seems feasible!
Furthermore, Heavenly Treasures were essentially formed by gathering essence from across the sky and the land... They possessed an exceptional ability to "absorb qi." When they absorbed qi for a long enough time, they eventually matured into Heavenly Treasures.
If he could directly absorb essence from the land and sky to nourish himself as Heavenly Treasures did, he could accelerate his progress in the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique.
With this idea in mind, Li Pin quickly retrieved a Reishi.
Holding the Reishi, Li Pin felt its medicinal energy flowing.
He consciously guided this energy to permeate into his body.
After about half an hour, he vaguely sensed something. With his precise perception and the guidance of the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique, it seemed that a trace of Reishi's medicinal energy was indeed entering his body. However, the efficiency was very low, much worse than when he prepared the Reishi as a medicinal meal.
At least I'm on the right track. Li Pin thought to himself.
He decided he would try again once his mental spirit attribute improved and his perception of the external world became more acute.
Setting the Reishi aside, Li Pin refocused. He began to sense the progress made over the past half month of uninterrupted, focused cultivation.
[Qi and Blood: 36.11], [Primordial Qi: 32.96], [Mental Spirit: 17.34]
[Aura Cultivation: 45/64]
[Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique: Qi-Nurturing Chapter: 94/100]
[Blood-Seething Secret Art: 38.21%]
As for the Astral Fall technique, which directly addressed the Martial Will, he had ceased its practice after grasping the profound mysteries of Spirit Force. He now focused more on meditating on the Chaos Universe to enhance his mental spirit.
This has boosted his mental spirit attribute to seventeen points. Additionally, utilizing the Blood-Seething Secret Art alongside the Samadhi-Heart Training Art to strengthen his internal organs further enhanced his qi and blood level.
He reckoned that, upon completing the Aura Cultivation progress, his qi and blood attribute would reach thirty-seven points.
"A qi and blood attribute of thirty-seven points often signifies mastery in the Aura Cultivation realm, or the completion of the Organs-Tempering phase. The next stage would be the Internal Aura and Blood Renewal realm....
"The Taibai Kingdom's criteria for professional titles is not rigorous enough. Those above the Senior Professional title are honored as grandmasters, yet even martial artists having just manifested Aura Force can be considered for a Senior professional title.
"Similarly, those Internal Cultivation Grandmasters who have reached perfection in the Blood Renewal realm are also granted Senior professional titles, which has led to confusion, even for me."
He had originally anticipated that reaching [Aura Cultivation: 45/60] would signify entering the External Aura realm.
In reality, reaching [Aura Cultivation: 1/60] already indicated entry into the Aura Cultivation realm. If this progress bar reached sixty, it would represent mastery in the External Aura realm. This would mean that he had reached the same level as Thunder Fist Zhou Chaoguang.
If exam scores were used as an analogy, Fang Lingjue, who had recently unleashed his Aura Force, would score around sixty points. Li Pin would score between seventy and eighty points. While Zhou Chaoguang would be considered to have achieved excellent marks, scoring at least ninety.
Despite the differences in their scores, they would all be considered to have passed the exam. Therefore, they would have the potential to attain a Senior professional title and be recognized as Aura Cultivation Grandmasters.
Of course, whether Fang Lingjue achieved this depended entirely on the leniency of the examiners, essentially on whether he had effectively entertained and bribed the right individuals within the martial society.
"After winning first place in Jiang Province, I can earn 200 million from the gambling center. I will use that sum to swiftly enhance the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique. Improving this technique will boost the efficiency of Organs-Tempering. By the time of the national competition final in a month, I might be able to master the Aura Cultivation realm."
Li Pin concluded that achieving mastery in the Aura Cultivation realm might not be sufficient for him to secure the national championship.
Unlike provincial-level competitors who lacked secret techniques, those in the national competition might possess them. To win the national championship, mastering Spirit Force remained imperative.
His current progress in meditating on the Chaos Universe to strengthen his mental spirit indicated that his mental spirit attribute should rise to somewhere between twenty and twenty-one points within a month. By then, he would have surpassed the prerequisite of understanding Spirit Force. However, whether he could truly grasp Spirit Force depended on specific circumstances.
Ring-ring!
Suddenly, Li Pin's phone rang. Upon answering, he heard Lian Hongchen's urgent voice.
—Li Pin! Listen to me! I've received word that Qiu Chufeng is leading a group to your residence. You must leave immediately and find a place to hide! The sooner, the better!