Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 257: Origin

"Which faction do you represent?" Li Pin asked.

"No need to ask. Just come with us,” said the middle-aged man, stepping forward. "You only need to know that the important figures above us value you highly. If you leave with us, you'll gain benefits you've never even dreamed of in your life."

"Such generosity." Li Pin chuckled lightly. "Then my first request is to have them hand you over for me to deal with. I wonder if they'd agree to that."

The middle-aged man's expression froze. He recovered quickly and lowered his voice. "Martial Saint Li, please don't make this difficult for us. We are just following orders."

He glanced at the others around him. "You should be able to tell that we aren't weak. Amongst the seven of us, there are five Martial Saints, three of whom are Extreme Martial Saints. Surely you don't need me to explain what kind of power lies behind the influence that can mobilize such a lineup...."

"I can tell." Li Pin nodded. "I can also tell you’re quite lacking in the brains department. Even if you didn't find out about how I crushed the mental spirit of six Martial Saints during the attack on the Dragon Gate Hall, you should have at least learned about my victory over thirteen Martial Saints in one go. So..."

His gaze swept over the seven people present.

"What makes you think that you'd be able to deal with me with just five Martial Saints and two grandmasters?"

"Li Pin..." The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down. "We aren't here to be your enemy. We've come to offer you a tremendous opportunity."

He tried to sound more sincere. "We've reviewed your records. Even if your talent isn't as exaggerated as Tianyuan Society claims, the fact that you became a Martial Saint in under two years means your future is far beyond being limited in the martial artist impasse.

"Additionally, we know that earlier on you rose quickly with support from the Qin Family, and later... you became Xiang Tianxing's disciple, right? Xiang Tianxing is a firm conspiracy theorist, believing that merging one's will with Atomic Will inevitably distorts oneself. But the influence behind us... can perfectly solve that problem for you."

"Can perfectly solve that problem...." Li Pin thought for a moment and quickly realized something. "The people behind you are from Great Shang? The Astral Palace combination route?"

The middle-aged man smiled faintly but did not deny it. "We can't say it."

He merely said, "The people behind us are far more prestigious than you can imagine. Tianyuan doesn't value your talent, and Fu Qingtian isn't even willing to give you focused special training but just thought of using you as a decoy. But the influential figure behind us would never treat you like that. If you leave with us and join us, the resources you'll receive will far exceed anything you can imagine!

"When the King of the Century Competition arrives, it won't be difficult to equip you with a full set of rare astral equipment. With those, combined with your potential, I believe the King of the Century title this season will be yours."

"Let me guess," Li Pin said. "From your tone, this influential figure of yours dares to refer to Fu Qingtian, Tianyuan's Supreme Expert, by name.

"Therefore, they must be close to the Supreme Expert or have some connection to him... There are only two Legendary Astral Cultivators in Great Shang recognized as Supreme Experts. One guards the country, and the other is Zhao Kunwu, who joined the Special United Squad."

The middle-aged man's face immediately changed.

Li Pin pondered aloud, "No, Zhao Kunwu is a Supreme Expert. He wouldn't personally order an attack on me. But since you sound so bold, as if you don't care about Fu Qingtian at all... Let me think, only one group fits that description.

"Self-proclaimed Quasi-Legendary, personally taught by Supreme Expert Zhao Kunwu, the one who paved Great Shang's new path of the nine Astral Palaces, claiming to have Astral Techniques with prowess that can contend against Legendary Astral Cultivators... Cang Shengdao, am I right?"

The middle-aged man was so shocked his breathing seemed to pause for a second. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

However, he quickly recovered and coldly said, "I don't know what you're talking about. Martial Saint Li, please come with us. Who knows, we might be colleagues in the future. There's no need to escalate things to the point of pointing weapons at each other.”

Li Pin laughed softly."At least let me verify your capabilities if you want me to go with you. I can’t leave with just anyone. If it turns out your faction can't even produce a decent expert, what would become of my reputation?"

"Verify our capabilities? How do you want to verify that?" asked the middle-aged man.

"How about this? We'll fight, and from there I'd be able to assess if you guys are strong," Li Pin said.

The middle-aged man sneered. "You want to fight me?"

"You?" Li Pin looked at him. "Aren't you overestimating yourself? How could you possibly be my opponent all alone?"

His gaze swept over the remaining six. "What I mean is, all seven of you come at me together. If you can last a minute, I'll spare your lives."

As soon as these words were spoken, the middle-aged man's face flushed red. The eyes of the Martial Saints with him turned cold, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

The middle-aged man gravely said, "Li Pin... It seems you really think you've become invincible after defeating Ye Chengyuan? Maybe I've kept too low a profile! I have hidden my name so much that you've mistaken me for some nobody!

"My name is Wang Hualong. Thirty-one years ago, I dueled with Li Xuanzang, the sect master of the Hidden Dragon Sect, on Mount Tian. Back then, I was already an Extreme Martial Saint. Twenty-five years ago, I had a fortunate encounter, and for the past twenty-five years, my qi and blood has not waned, and my cultivation has progressed further!

“Even if I were to face Wang Liancheng today, I wouldn't consider myself inferior, let alone the likes of Li Xuanzang back then! And now, Li Pin, you dare claim to challenge me, along with four other Martial Saints and two grandmasters, all at once... You...."

A pernicious aura shot from his eyes, and his powerful Martial Will exploded. It was like a dazzling sword light piercing the sky, forming a soul-shaking mental spirit impact. "Arrogant...!"

Li Pin started, "You're lacking in novelty, I've already..."

Bang!

Li Pin made a move. "Lost my patience."

Realizing that words wouldn't get through, he chose to persuade them in the simplest way possible.

With a burst of force from his feet, a wave of violent power slammed into the ground, sinking the soil within a one-meter range down by one foot. Before the violent force and airwaves could even spread, Li Pin's figure had already broken through the void.

Terrifying qi and blood erupted from Li Pin like a prehistoric Tyrannosaurus awakening. The overwhelming ferocity tore through the space between them and struck down toward Wang Hualong with brutal, violent force.

Eight Enormities True Fire Force, Taowu!

Not the Lunar Youying, not the Great Sun Golden Crow! It was a pure strike of aura force, unleashed by channeling the qi and blood within him. The moment the strike was released, the space was crazily compressed. All airflow lost its existential space, causing every living thing within this area to suffocate.

This phenomenon, coupled with the rolling ferocity and crushing pressure, made a sense of unprecedented fear of death explode in Wang Hualong's mind. This is bad!

A pressure no less than when he once encountered a high-tier ferocious beast sent his adrenaline surging. His spiritual will ignited to its peak in an instant.

Wang Hualong had always been wary of Li Pin. Now, with this sudden attack, though he was unable to evade, the terrifying life-and-death pressure, combined with his own mental will, instantly triggered the full eruption of his qi and blood, as well as his mental spirit.

In an instant, this person who had become an Extreme Martial Saint as early as thirty years ago and had stabilized his powers and honed his skills to an unimaginable level unleashed the strongest attack of his life.

"Sword Sweeping Mount Tian!"

He had been unable to draw his sword in time, so he used his body as a sword. As his Vitality, Qi, and Spirit burned to the extreme, Wang Hualong vaguely felt his mental spirit ascending and his qi and blood surpassing its limits. It was as if he had entered an unprecedented state of transcendence.

Under this state, he unleashed a sword strike that seemed to have reached the pinnacle of his life’s potential. The strike was so powerful Wang Hualong couldn’t help but wonder whether it might straight up kill Li Pin, the man they so desperately sought to recruit.

However, this was no more than an illusion that shattered as fast as it had formed.

Wang Hualong’s rising Sword Intent, which had seemed invincible, was suddenly torn apart and shattered by a force of sheer brutality, ferocity, and dominance.

It was as if an ancient ferocious beast had trampled through everything, destroying the peak of sword intent that Wang Hualong had condensed into this sword attack.

Then, the remaining force continued, slamming into his sword-turned-punch strike.

It crushed everything in its path!

It was just like when he had once faced that high-tier ferocious beast and was utterly obliterated in a crushing defeat!

At the moment of impact, an overwhelming force, far beyond anything a Martial Saint should possess, obliterated his punch with crushing might, then tore through his arm and blasted into his body.

In the eyes of the other nearby fighters, they saw Li Pin's figure suddenly explode forward, with a fierce wind swirling as he charged.

His terrifying speed lifted the fallen leaves off the ground and shredded the grass along the way.

By the time they could clearly see Li Pin again, what appeared before them was a scene of utter horror.

The strongest among them, their captain Wang Hualong, had his entire arm shattered into a mist of blood, as if struck by a special anti-material sniper bullet.

Everyone felt their minds go blank with a buzzing sound.

"Captain!?"

Before they could even cry out in shock at the sight before them, the force from the collision of punches exploded. The area they stood felt as though it had been hit by mortar shells. It destroyed and obliterated the surroundings.

The violent force dispersed, destroying everything on the ground.

Within a three-meter radius of Wang Hualong's position, large amounts of dirt were blasted up from the ground, lifted into the air, then shredded by the following burst of winds, turning into dust and sweeping across the area for tens of meters.

Even the grandmasters and Martial Saints standing several meters away were hit by the flying dirt and stones, feeling a sharp pain.

It was as if they were being pelted with stones by a child at close range.

Several Martial Saints shouted at the same time.

"This is bad! Captain!"

"Hurry and help!"

"Save him!"

However, before they could rush into the dust-covered battlefield, they saw Li Pin gripping Wang Hualong's head with his left hand, dragging out what remained of his half-shattered body. His arm, along with half his torso, had been blown apart, revealing shattered internal organs...

Yet, Wang Hualong, through sheer force of will, was still alive.

His eyes were filled with uncontrollable fear, his blood-covered face wide-eyed, staring desperately at the other team members rushing toward him...

In utter despair, he opened his mouth and uttered a single word.

"Run..."