novelburst
Chapter 329: Power
Chapter 329: Power
Chapter 329: Power
"All three of us together?" Yun Wu frowned. "Sect Master Li, what do you mean by that?"
Li Pin didn't mince his words. "We all know why you're here—to take me to the Martial God Hall. You've even divided the spoils with the Royal Empire. Wen Xingchen goes to them, and I go to the Great Shang.
"None of that matter. What's important is that none of you can match my strength. So... come at me together. It's your only hope."
He paused. "Though, even that hope is slim."
"All three of us together, and that's our only hope?" Liang Chi couldn't help but laugh at Li Pin's words. "Do you even know who you're talking to? Li, who do you think you are? The founder of the Martial God Path, Li Pin himself? Even he knows his Celestial Force Field can't withstand a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator who can transform their body into pure energy!"
"You're not Li Pin, so how would you know if he can fight against an Astral Cultivator with starlight transformation?" rejoined Li Pin.
He continued, "I'm still willing to use you to showcase the Martial God Path to the Dragonfist Sect, so you’d better make your move. If not—"
Liang Chi's roar cut him off. "How arrogant!"
In the next moment, Liang Chi surged forward. A burning, intense qi and blood erupted from him like flames, soaring into the sky.
Amplified by a special Astral Technique, the fiery qi and blood almost became tangible, resonating with the top-tier natal battle armor he wore. He resembled a phoenix bathed in flames, carrying scorching heat as he closed the distance of several dozen meters with a burst of speed.
"Kneel!"
With a low growl, he spread his five fingers wide, aiming to grab Li Pin's head like a raging inferno.
His form transformation alone caused the temperature in the plaza to soar. The Dragonfist Sect's dry flags and posters caught fire spontaneously, turning the square into a sea of flames.[ref]This is implying that Liang Chi has already transformed himself into energy.[/ref[
Faced with the fiery onslaught of the Top-Tier Astral Cultivator, Li Pin simply slid his right foot back and arched his body like a drawn bow, effortlessly avoiding the strike.
As the phoenix-like figure descended, aiming to scorch everything in its path, brilliant blue lightning exploded from Li Pin. His clenched fist, like an arrow shot from a bow, collided with Liang Chi's fiery claw in a deafening crash.
Rumble!
Lightning and flames erupted simultaneously.
Visible shockwaves compressed the air, forming a gray-white ring of airwaves that blasted in all directions. The impact caused the burning banners and posters in the plaza to shred to ashes, scattering into the air.
A violent explosion erupted around Li Pin, shattering the ground in a three to four-meter radius. Debris was flung into the air.
Before the shattered stones could rise far, they were caught in the shockwave of the two's head-on clash, hurtling toward several parked cars dozens of meters away like bullets.
The extremely sturdy glass shattered instantly, setting off wild alarms.
Liang Chi, who charged down like a phoenix, not only had his flames extinguished but also felt the terrifying force from Li Pin's strike tearing through his arm, threatening to shatter his bones, nerves, and muscles.
That power surged through him, causing him to be involuntarily thrown off balance as he lunged downward.
At that moment, another arm pierced the air with lightning speed, closing in like a thunderbolt at this supposed moment of weakness.
The Aura Force radiating from Li Pin's strike ignored the flames still burning on Liang Chi and locked tightly around his throat with pinpoint accuracy.
Liang Chi was appalled. "This is bad!"
He felt an overwhelming force erupting from Li Pin's iron grip, far beyond what his fragile throat could withstand.
He was fully convinced that his throat would be crushed to dust in an instant under this force.
In that critical moment, dazzling starlight erupted from Liang Chi. Bathed in its brilliant glow, his solid form began to liquefy, as if his carbon-based body were turning into plasma.
Under the crushing Force of Li Pin's iron grip, Liang Chi shattered into starlight.
Yun Wu's pupils dilated. "What's this power?!"
Li Pin's voice rang out. "Now, I will teach you the first method to counter an Astral Cultivator's starlight transformation."
Having taken his starlight form, Liang Chi flashed away, leveraging his lack of a solid form and the absence of air resistance to instantly retreat dozens of meters before reconstituting his body.
Yet, the moment he solidified again, he saw what resembled a Nine Heavens Kunpeng riding the wind and thunder with unbelievable speed, filling his entire field of vision.
Alongside this vision came the terrifying fist force infused with thunder, crashing toward him with the weight of a thousand tons. The fist tore through the air, generating a visible shockwave. A roar vaguely echoed behind it.
This punch broke the sound barrier, arriving before the noise did.
"Damn it!"
Feeling the destructive force capable of turning a tank into scrap metal, Liang Chi cursed and immediately transformed into starlight again.
The thunderous punch ripped through the space where Liang Chi had just stood.
The fist never touched the ground, yet the tiles beneath him had shattered violently, debris flying everywhere and a cloud of dust rising.
"If he dares to solidify his form, I'll smash him to pieces again!"
Li Pin pivoted sharply, unleashing another burst of Force from beneath his feet.
The movement of the Nine Heavens Kunpeng coupled with his powerful spiritual perception allowed him to instantly lock onto Liang Chi's retreating position once again.
As he charged forward, a terrifying pressure surged forth, descending upon Liang Chi who had just reformed his body.
"Batter him until he can no longer sustain his starlight form!" Li Pin declared with a tone reminiscent of a teacher.
He struck again, forcing Liang Chi into starlight form once again. With a look of faint fear in his eyes, he was compelled to evade using this method.
Seeing Liang Chen being forced to enter his starlight form for the third time in a short period, Hei Sha couldn't contain his anger any longer. He exclaimed, "How dare you!"
Top-Tier Astral Cultivators could activate their Starlight Bodies, entering an energy state, but each activation imposed immense strain and consumed a tremendous amount of stamina.
At the end of the day, they were beings of flesh and blood. To gain the advantages of an energy form while confined to a mortal body—there was always a price to pay.
If Liang Chi was pushed into starlight form a few more times, his Starlight Body would undoubtedly collapse under the strain. If that happened...
"Li, you dare to oppose the Martial God Hall? You're courting death!" Hei Sha growled.
He expanded suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed from just under 1.9 meters to over 2.2 meters, becoming a small giant. A terrifying aura of qi and blood ignited around him like a raging flame.
Clearly, unlike Liang Chi, his Natal Astral Technique was a strength amplification ability!
Under this overwhelming power, he resembled a prehistoric beast. With each movement he made, he exuded a suffocating sense of oppression. The murderous intent he radiated, while not specifically directed at the Martial Saints of the Dragonfist Sect, made them weak all over nonetheless.
No Martial Saint would find the courage to engage this fearsome being in a head-on confrontation.
Hei Sha charged forward and unleashed a punch. "Die!"
His qi and blood, far exceeding that of Martial Saints and Martial Gods, caused his fist to unleash a violent gale as it surged forward, compressing the air into a solid wall. This air wall pressed down like a towering mountain, seemingly intent on crushing Li Pin into oblivion.
Rumble, rumble!
Thunder roared!
Just as the mountain-like air wall was about to collide with Li Pin, a brilliant flash of lightning erupted.
Like breaking the surface tension of water, the air wall splintered into countless cracks and shattered.
In that instant, a monstrous typhoon swept through the area, within a radius of dozens to over a hundred meters, lifting the neatly arranged tiles from the ground and scattering them in all directions.
A car parked over twenty meters away had its windows completely shattered, and the vehicle, weighing nearly a ton, was pushed several meters, almost tipping over.
The punch didn't even make contact. That was merely the result of the terrifying residual force generated from the collapse of the compressed air.
"Look out!"
Hei Sha, who had unleashed a thunderous blow, barely registered Minister Yun Wu's shout before realizing that Li Pin had suddenly appeared at his left side.
Fist force sliced through the air as electric sparks crackled around it, rapidly expanding in his peripheral vision!
The fist was headed for his temple!
Hei Sha was utterly horrified. "How can he be this fast?!"
As he hurriedly entered starlight form, a figure streaked toward the battlefield like a flash of light.
Minister Yun Wu had made his move.
Li Pin's fist force, originally aimed at Hei Sha, swiftly redirected and collided head-on with Yun Wu's blade.
Bang!
It was as if a heavy artillery shell had detonated in the plaza. The area within tens of meters suddenly blurred as countless tiles shattered, sending clouds of dust spiraling into the air.
As the dust cleared, a terrifying shockwave erupted from Li Pin's position, strong enough to flip the car dozens of meters away. A crater nearly ten meters wide and half a meter deep appeared underneath Li Pin's feet.
The collision of his fist, Aura Force, and sword light—despite Yun Wu's sudden strike and the advantage of his spirit weapon—yielded no advantage.
Yun Wu staggered backward under the explosiveness of Li Pin's Aura Force, retreating dozens of meters before he finally steadied himself, shock evident in his eyes. "Your strength... how is this possible...?"
"I already told you, the three of you should have come at me together," said Li Pin. He then continued, "Now, let me show you the second way to deal with a starlight body... magnetic field binding!"