Chapter 176: Martial Saint

Chapter 176: Martial Saint

"If I can consistently unleash Spirit Force while in that mental state, does that mean I have become a Martial Saint?"

"Reaching that state is what we call awakening the Martial Will. Actually, it's not that hard. It's not enough to constitute a new cultivation stage... If you just follow your heart and extend your Martial Will, you can enter that state pretty easily. The real challenge is staying in that state," Su Feiyu explained.

"Not that hard...."

Li Pin pondered for a moment.

That seemed to be... true. As long as his opponent could threaten or excite him, he could easily enter the state where his boundless spirit controlled his limited qi and blood.

If he encountered opponents who failed to excite him... then it was safe to say he didn’t even need Spirit Force to deal with them.

Since that was the case... it seemed he had truly condensed his Martial Will and could activate it at will.

Wouldn’t that mean that he had actually....

"Have I actually become a Martial Saint?" Li Pin wondered.

Su Feiyu nodded affirmatively.

He had done it without breaking any limits, without experiencing any dramatic battles or life-threatening situations.... It just happened....

Was breaking through to the Martial Saint realm this easy?

He had always been told that it was the most mysterious and challenging step of any martial artist’s cultivation journey, a step that had trapped countless grandmasters for decades.

"Achieving Martial Saint status is akin to being reborn from the near-death experiences. In life-and-death situations, one perceives their true self and comprehends their will. Martial Saint Li, it seems that when you achieved this status, you too experienced a life-and-death battle," Su Feiyu said enviously.

Life-and-death? Blood battles? Wasn't human evolution about discovering one's shortcomings through repeated limit-breaking battles? Weren't perilous battles standard practice?

Li Pin understood that suffering Injuries was inevitable in martial arts training. Getting killed because of inadequate skill wouldn’t even be surprising.

"Strictly speaking, I'm not even a great grandmaster yet," Li Pin remarked, noting that he hadn't fully refined his martial arts system yet.

However... that wasn’t a big deal. Becoming a great grandmaster wasn't a prerequisite for achieving Martial Saint. In reality, breaking through martial arts realms didn't follow such rigid rules. For many geniuses, the barriers between realms were almost negligible.

Like Song Wuya and Duan Yidao. And... Wang Liancheng, who could already battle a Martial Saint while still in the Core Formation realm.

Grandmasters refined their martial arts systems to better understand themselves and the fundamental principles of their system. Doing this would enable them to find the path that suited them best.

"I intend to condense a Martial Will based on justice. While fiery and destructive Martial Wills associated with slaughter are exceptionally potent in combat, they are difficult to sustain. A Martial Will around justice is relatively easier to sustain. As long as I adhere to the principles of fairness and maintain the Theory-Practice Unity, I can easily ascend to the peak Martial Saint realm," Su Feiyu said.

She then added with a serious tone, "The Martial Will is the foundation of a martial artist. In life-or-death battles, many cultivators specifically target and weaken a Martial Saint's Will in an attempt to significantly diminish their combat prowess. Therefore, it is imperative that you never disclose your Martial Will to anyone."

Li Pin nodded. He had heard of this before. Perhaps his Martial Will could be described as "strengthened by challenges."

However, with Li Pin's points suddenly surging from 1745 to 2045, the gap between him and Zhao Yushi became an insurmountable chasm. With only three days left, even if Li Pin stopped hunting altogether, it would be difficult for Zhao Yushi to catch up to him.

After all, most of the beasts in the competition area had already been killed. Her only chance at a comeback would be for her to leave the competition area. However, there would be countless mid-tier and high-tier ferocious beasts. Not even a fully-equipped official Astral Cultivator could guarantee a complete retreat, much less a Martial Saint like her.

Li Pin had stretched his score lead to 364, effectively securing the championship three days in advance. Unless Zhao Yushi had extraordinary luck and came across a critically injured high-tier ferocious beast, there was little chance for her to turn the table.

***

The spectators had already begun cheering for the soon-to-be champion.

Inside the control room.

Su Mai, Wan Qingshan, Ying Yu, Qiao Feiyu, and Zhang Songbai saw Li Pin and Su Feiyu’s rising scores.

"Three hundred points. Both of them received it at the same time too.... Only the Orc Warrior could account for this kind of score increase, right?" Zhang Songbai remarked enviously. "Li Pin is incredibly lucky... He even encountered an injured Orc Warrior. That young lass from the Taibai Royal Family has now climbed into the top ten too."

Su Mai smiled and laughed. "Hahaha! Luck aside, strength also plays a key factor. Even if they encounter a critically injured Orc Warrior, without enough strength, they might still fail to defeat it. This is a demonic creature on par with a High-Class Astral Cultivator."

Zhang Songbai felt a mix of emotions. "This should be the final ranking. Who would have thought that Taibai would end up the winner?" Zhang Songbai said somewhat wistfully.

They had specifically sent out Yan Hongtu, a practitioner skilled in battling ferocious beasts, to make a strong showing during the competition. But as it turned out... not only had Yan Hongtu failed to shine, but Zhao Yushi, the Great Sun Chosen One, and Cheng Yufeng were all overshadowed by the young man from Taibai.

"Li Pin, Li Pin..." Zhang Songbai repeated under his breath.

Given Li Pin's performance, he would almost certainly secure a position as a Dragon Prince. As a Dragon Prince, Li Pin would have to head to their Dragon Gate Hall for secluded training.

The martial arts environment in Taibai was notoriously harsh. Perhaps, if they were willing to invest more resources, they might be able to recruit him.

Ying Yu glanced at Zhao Sha's name, which had suddenly dimmed, and his expression darkened. "What happened?"

He had told Zhao Sha to team up with others if the situation changed to ensure his safety, but to his surprise, Zhao Sha had...

Died!

Not just him! His selected teammates, Poison Fang and Green Bird, had also perished!

Did they encounter unbeatable mid, or even high-tier ferocious beasts they couldn't handle?

Or....

Ying Yu quickly summoned someone and instructed, "Go to Zhao Sha's location and find out what happened. Report back to me."

The man nodded and left promptly.

While over forty participants had already perished in the competition so far, the sudden deaths of three people at once did attract some attention. However, the attention wasn’t that much to warrant a substantial discussion. After all, those were merely Quasi-Martial Saints who had yet to forge their Martial Will.