Chapter 164: Luck

Chapter 164: Luck

Three days, five days, seven days, nine days! Time continued to pass as the competition progressed.

At the start, when all the participants descended into the competition area, they were in peak condition and their efficiency in hunting down ferocious beasts was astonishing.

However, as time went on, their physical stamina dwindled. The primordial qi expended from repeatedly tapping into their Blood Core couldn't be fully replenished, leading to a twenty percent overall drop in combat power. For those who overexerted themselves, the decline was even steeper, having lost more than fifty percent of their strength.

Though the ferocious beasts in this competition area were generally weaker, even an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster wouldn't dare claim they could defeat even the weakest Demonic Cat without suffering any injury or energy loss.

It was similar to how an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster would need to resonate internal organs and erupt their Blood Core to defeat a Core Formation Master. If they were to hold back... a Core Formation martial artist could turn the tables. There had been similar instances of this in the past.

Under these circumstances, as fatigue set in, everyone's pace in hunting the ferocious beasts significantly slowed. By halfway through the competition, even Yan Hongtu, who was in first place, experienced a decline in his rate of points accumulation.

In the first three days, he averaged over two hundred points per day. This equated to killing about twelve Demonic Cats each day. But now...

For him, reaching an increase of one hundred points in a single day would be considered a good performance.

Meanwhile, three participants who initially didn't stand out, the Great Sun Chosen One, Zhao Yushi, and Cheng Yufeng had maintained a steady performance. Though their earlier scores were less impressive compared to Yan Hongtu, they had consistently performed well. By the ninth day, their scores had closed in on Yan Hongtu's.

They were now less than 100 points behind his 1,565 points. Given their steady daily increase of around 150 points, they would surpass Yan Hongtu within three days and claim the top three spots.

It was no surprise to see these three Martial Saints performing steadily. What truly surprised everyone was the name that ranked fifth.

Li Pin!

He was the twenty-three-year-old Taibai prodigy, having been featured extensively by the Tianyuan Society. He had attracted significant attention.

When he first climbed to eighth place, many speculated that he had been lucky, having perhaps come across an injured mid-tier beast and taken advantage of the situation to break into the top ten. They thought that as the competition progressed and others caught up, he would soon be pushed out of the rankings.

However, the result was quite the opposite. Not only did he maintain his position in the top ten, but he continued to steadily rise. Even the seeded contestants like Song Wuya and Duan Yidao were ranked below him.

His consistent performance... mirrored that of Cheng Yufeng, the Great Sun Chosen One, and Zhao Yushi.

This consistency even caught the attention of the Astral Cultivators from the competition's organizing committee, who were amazed at his progress. However, some went as far as to report him, suspecting foul play. In response, the committee discreetly sent people to observe Li Pin.

The result proved that everything Li Pin did fully complied with the competition's rules. He was genuinely relying on his own strength to hunt one ferocious beast after another, securing fifth place, only behind Yan Hongtu and the three Martial Saints!

What was most astonishing was that while the three Martial Saints' point increases had begun to slow, Li Pin's rate of accumulation...remained astonishingly steady.

With the ebb and flow of competition, he not only had a solid chance of surpassing Yan Hongtu, who specialized in hunting ferocious beasts, like the three Martial Saints had, but he also had a strong possibility of surpassing all three and claiming the top spot.

***

"There's something wrong, definitely something wrong."

In another lounge. The number of people present was noticeably higher.

At that moment, watching as Li Pin seemingly just killed another Giant Demonic Spider and earned forty-two more points, one of the Martial Saints representing Divine Sword Manor could no longer sit still.

The Martial Saint spoke with firm conviction. "Li Pin is only twenty-three and just a grandmaster. How could he possibly keep fighting for so long? I'm convinced that he either took some kind of shot or drug! I request the committee to conduct a second covert investigation on him!"

For this secret art, Li Pin mainly referenced Lin Yuzhi's state of ultimate transcendence.

Once the secret art had been perfected, it could elevate a grandmaster's Vitality, Qi, and Spirit into a transcendent state, just like Lin Yuzhi, and ascend to the Martial Saint realm.

Moreover, this state wouldn't bring about irreversible consequences. At worst, it would be like unleashing a powerful Spirit Force strike, leading to temporary exhaustion of both qi and blood, as well as Mental Spirit.

Li Pin named this secret art the "Great Sun Infinite."

However, both the Great Sun Infinite Radiance Technique and the Great Sun Infinite Secret Art were still in their early stages. It would still take time for them to fully evolve into a complete divine art, one that integrated combat technique, cultivation method, nurturing technique, and secret art like a meteor from beyond the skies.

"In the end, the root of the issue is that I haven't been cultivating long enough, and I know too little about the martial arts in this world."

At that moment, he heard something. A tiger's roar?

Li Pin's movements became lighter as he cautiously moved forward to investigate.

He soon reached a small hill.

There, a fierce battle was taking place between a Crimson-Tooth Tiger that Li Pin had recently hunted and a robust figure about two and a half meters tall. This figure resembled a human, but its skin was dark green, and its head retained beast-like features, making it perfectly fit the description of a blue-faced, fanged monster.

The creature wore a skirt seemingly made from the hide of a Crimson-Tooth Tiger and in its hand was a spiked club, crafted from some unknown creature's bone. It growled lowly as it fought the Crimson-Tooth Tiger in a life-or-death struggle.

"An Orc Fighter and a Crimson-Tooth Tiger!"

Each of these two was worth around 100 and 110 points, respectively, indicating their combat strengths were nearly equal.

In the heat of this fierce struggle, both the Orc Fighter and the Crimson-Tooth Tiger were drenched in blood. The Orc Fighter had one arm torn off by the tiger, leaving it a bloody, mangled mess. The Crimson-Tooth Tiger, meanwhile, had been struck by the orc's club and broke its front leg.

At this rate, it was clearly heading toward a mutually destructive outcome.

Li Pin was a bit surprised. "Is this a bargain!?"

Was his luck really this good?

Earlier, he had encountered a wounded yet still powerful Crimson-Tooth Tiger. And now, he had the chance to intervene as these two mid-tier ferocious beasts wore each other out?

If things went smoothly, that would be an easy 210 points.

As Li Pin observed the fierce battle between the Crimson-Tooth Tiger and the Orc Fighter, he heard footsteps rapidly approaching from the distance. A moment later, a sturdy figure with a bald head, embodying the wisdom of both Taoism and Buddhism, appeared on the battlefield.

This attire...

It was none other than one of the three Martial Saints participating in the competition, the Great Sun Chosen One!

He immediately noticed the life-or-death battle between the ferocious beasts and smiled sincerely. "Seems I'm in luck!"

Then, seemingly sensing Li Pin's gaze, he turned to look at him. Without bothering to speak, he simply raised his hand and gestured toward a direction away from the battlefield.

The message was clear.