Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 193: Swordsman

The Great Sun Chosen One advanced with his massive frame, exuding a suffocating pressure. "I thought you were much stronger. You actually gave me quite a scare earlier!"

He gestured with his hand. "Come on! Have you not eaten yet? Put some effort into it!"

He was a prodigy who had reached the Martial Saint realm at just twenty-eight years old. His innate talent was exceptional.

While he lacked the divine strength of Wang Liancheng, his formidable physique, honed through years of arduous training, had allowed him to accumulate an astonishing forty-one points of qi and blood without relying on any heavenly treasures.

Even Li Pin hadn’t reached such a qi and blood level until he refined the Essence-Gathering Pearl.

As a prodigy, the Great Sun Chosen One was destined to shine at the World's Top Martial Competition, earning the admiration of countless people. However, during the preliminaries, an Beastfolk Fighter stunned him with a single blow. Then, witnessing Li Pin's overwhelming victories over Cheng Yufeng and Yan Hongtu, he quickly realized that there would always be someone stronger.

He couldn't bring himself to challenge Li Pin due to a sense of gratitude. Feeling a pang of conscience, he decided to keep a low profile during the competition. Instead of challenging Martial Saints like Zhao Yushi and Cheng Yufeng, or other seeded competitors like Song Wuya and Duan Yidao, he set his sights on Nan Lifeng.

As soon as Nan Lifeng took the stage, he exuded an aura of unparalleled power. It seemed as if he was about to show the results of his thirty years of seclusion training and shock the world. Yet, when they truly clashed, the Great Sun Chosen One was astonished to discover that the imposing and intimidating Nan Lifeng was essentially all bark and no bite.

Not entirely, though. Nan Lifeng did manage to unleash the Spirit Force. But his strength and physique were simply outmatched. Though Nan Lifeng had some advantage in speed, it wasn't significant enough to be overwhelming

It was like a martial artist with 100 attack power, 80 defense, and 120 speed against another martial artist with 150 attack power, 150 defense, and 100 speed.

The result was a nearly one-sided domination.

Stimulated by the Great Sun Chosen One, Nan Lifeng fought back fiercely. However, whenever Nan Lifeng erupted with Spirit Force, the Great Sun Chosen One would block it immediately. Without Spirit Force, Nan Lifeng's punches and kicks could not affect the Great Sun Chosen One at all.

After all, the Great Sun Chosen One's relentless attacks offered no chance for Nan Lifeng to gather strength. How much damage could a hasty outburst inflict?

Sometimes, Nan Lifeng would land a few punches on the Great Sun Chosen One, but the latter wouldn’t so much as flinch from those.

In contrast, every blow from the Great Sun Chosen One inflicted explosive damage on Nan Lifeng and sent him flying several meters in the air, even reaching ten meters at times.

***

"Great Sun!"

Having been hurled back for the fourth time, Nan Lifeng hacked out a mouthful of blood. He realized that his methods were ineffective against this towering, iron-clad opponent.

With a sudden movement, he lured the Great Sun Chosen One into attacking. As the attack missed, Nan Lifeng leaped into the air, his legs scissor-kicking toward Great Sun Chosen One's head with tremendous force.

Using the momentum from his leap, Nan Lifeng twisted violently onto the Great Sun Chosen One's back, aiming to hurl the Great Sun Chosen One through the air.

Just as Nan Lifeng's legs were about to connect, the Great Sun Chosen One reacted with a low growl. He braced his core, and a golden aura enveloped him as he crouched, his feet digging deep into the ground. The explosive force shattered his shoes, revealing his toes.

Having done this, Nan Lifeng's deadly scissor kick and the follow-up throw failed to move the Chosen One even an inch.

Nan Lifeng's face paled as he realized the dire situation he was in. "No!"

In the next moment, the Chosen One grabbed Nan Lifeng's right leg, which was locked around his neck. With a burst of force, he snapped Nan Lifeng's shinbone and forcibly "peeled" him off. With a powerful fling, he hurled Nan Lifeng towards the ground like a whip.

The terrifying scene prompted Nan Lifeng's tactical advisor to shout urgently, "Surrender! Surrender! Request intervention!"

Anticipating this moment when Nan Lifeng's scissor kick failed to move the Great Sun Chosen One, the shout for surrender came at a crucial time. The judging panel reacted promptly, aware that if Nan Lifeng were slammed down, he would almost certainly die.

Given that a dead person couldn't respond to a surrender request, they acted quickly. A beam of starlight shone from below the arena and infused Nan Lifeng's body.

Bang!

Almost simultaneously with the infusion of starlight, Nan Lifeng's body was violently slammed into the ground by the Great Sun Chosen One, sending shockwaves in all directions. Even the impact-resistant Seismic Rock fractured under the ferocious force, creating a spiderweb of cracks and scattering debris.

Nan Lifeng couldn't escape the fate of being knocked unconscious by the brutal force. Fortunately, the protective starlight spared him from being turned into a pulp.

***

Tuo Bafeng remarked,"The true strength of a martial artist is only revealed through life-and-death battles. Those who have spent years in seclusion, sparring only with their sect-mates, may believe they have reached the pinnacle of martial arts.

"But when they face the world's best and compete against martial artists from different nations, they quickly realize that their so-called ‘mastery’ is insignificant. There are countless martial artists out there who could easily defeat them."

Li Pin nodded, strongly agreeing with him.

Nan Lifeng was a perfect example. And so was himself.

If not for the World's Top Martial Competition, where he'd battled ferocious beasts and fought against Zhao Sha and Green Bird, he wouldn't have realized he had unknowingly condensed his Martial Will and entered the Martial Saint realm.

The Great Sun Chosen One, having defeated Nan Lifeng, radiated an oppressive aura like a diamond-skinned deity.

Li Pin, initially planning to challenge Zhao Yushi tomorrow, nodded in satisfaction.

Zhao Yushi wasn't weak, but her fighting style was somewhat one-dimensional. When facing opponents she could overpower, she was devastating. But against those who could counter her, her performance would suffer significantly. Her strengths and weaknesses were clearly defined.

In contrast, the Great Sun Chosen One, though his performance against the Beastfolk Fighter had been underwhelming, his battle with Nan Lifeng today showcased his undeniable strength.

His offensive and defensive capabilities far exceeded those of the average Martial Saint, particularly his defense; injuries that would be fatal to most Martial Saints seemed to barely faze him. This kind of strength would allow Li Pin to fight freely and without reservations.

With that in mind, Li Pin's gaze toward the Great Sun Chosen One grew noticeably friendlier.

***

As the crowd went wild, the Great Sun Chosen One stepped down from the stage.

Nan Lifeng, defeated, made no move to continue.

The host's gaze turned to Song Wuya. "Next, let's welcome the heir of the Shooting Star, Song Wuya, to the stage!"

As soon as the host finished, Song Wuya strode onto the stage, saber in hand. His eyes first met Li Pin's, then quickly shifted to Duan Yidao.

"Lunar Ice Strike Duan Yidao, we're both seeded competitors, renowned swordsmen in the Tianyuan region. We are fortunate to be in the same realm and have both defeated Martial Saints despite being outmatched. What do you say? Shall we settle this on stage today and see who's superior?" Song Wuya proposed.

"Why not?" Duan Yidao responded calmly.

He too carried a sword and stepped forward onto the stage.

This scene immediately caused the crowd to erupt in excitement, and murmurs of discussion spread among the spectators.

Even Li Pin was a bit surprised. "Why are they fighting each other already?"

Shouldn't they start by challenging the weakest opponents and then gradually move up to the stronger ones?

It was only the first day, but there had already been a battle between Martial Saints, and now two of the top seed contestants were about to face off. Even the finals might not be this exciting!

"This doesn't make sense," Li Pin commented.

After all, if they both ended up injured and needed ten days or more to recover, how could he experience the Shooting Star and Lunar Ice Strike swordsmanship and intent?

Tuo Bafeng seemingly figured out something. "They... must have been motivated by you, Martial Saint Li."

He cast a deep look at Li Pin. "In previous seasons of the competition, though one or two of the top ten contestants might have been slightly stronger, they didn't exert enough pressure to make others feel so threatened. But your display of power was so dominant, especially when you effortlessly blocked that Dragon Gate Hall prodigy's sword strike with your bare hands.

"It's created a suffocating sense of pressure for the other competitors."

He glanced at Song Wuya and Duan Yidao. "Perhaps these two are aiming to break through to a new level with this battle! By clashing their strongest swordsmanship against each other, they might be able to individually, or even together, forge their Martial Will and enter the Martial Saint realm!"

"Martial Saint?"

Li Pin's expression turned into one of surprise when he looked at Song Wuya and Duan Yidao.

These two had been able to achieve victories over Martial Saints while they were still in the great grandmaster realm. How exciting would the upcoming matches be if they broke through to the Martial Saint realm themselves?

"Perhaps we will witness an exceptionally brilliant swordsman duel next," Tuo Bafeng mused. "Because these two are going all out."