Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 219: Trivial Matters

The lively scene lasted for half a day. With Su Feiyu assisting in receiving the Jiang Province local officials, Li Pin didn't have to expend too much effort.

After everyone left, including Su Feiyu, who would spend the night in a hotel, Li Yunyao eagerly said, "Brother, do we really have such a big place now? And it's just outside Jiang Province? Only sixty kilometers away from Jiang Province City!?"

Li Pin nodded. "Mmhmm."

Qin You had not yet left. He was quite excited for Li Pin as well. "A noble with real power, and one who has a fief... This kind of honor is incomparable to any amount of money...."

He looked at Li Pin. "I wonder how you plan to invest and develop this fief? If you need any help, just say the word, and the entire Qin Family will do everything it can! Additionally, as long as your policies are open-minded, we can find a way to attract billions in investment for you!"

"There's no hurry," replied Li Pin.

Given his reputation and status, if he really wanted to attract investment, he could easily establish a prosperous town in his fief with just a word. Attracting several hundred million wouldn't be a problem, let alone a hundred million.

With so much capital invested, his fief would visibly become enriched and prosperous.

In addition, his fief was only sixty kilometers away from Jiang Province. Due to the recent Degenerate Temple incident in Nanli Country, a large influx of people had moved into Jiang Province. With a bit of help... it wouldn't be difficult to break the population scale of his fief into the millions.

For instance, the famed Singapore was only two-thirds the size of his fief. That city had a population of over five million and a gross domestic product ranked in the top fifty of all countries worldwide.[1]

It was a city, yet it ranked 50th in a country-level ranking!

If Li Pin were to heavily invest and develop his fief, as he grew and stepped into the realms of Astral Cultivator, High-Class Astral Cultivator, Top-Tier Astral Cultivator, and even the Master Astral Cultivator, he might be able to take advantage of the turmoil in Nanli Country to develop his fief to become close to the level of Singapore.

However....

"It's not a hereditary fief, after all. I'll just wait and see," Li Pin explained.

Qin You quickly understood that Li Pin was concerned about the life-and-death moment that all Martial Saints had to face. He smiled and said, "Controlling the investment amount and setting things up in advance wouldn't hurt. After all... the timing is the best now in Nanli Country."

He was optimistic about the development prospects of the fief.

"The Federation won't stand by and do nothing about the Degenerate Temple. Before long, they will undoubtedly organize a force, or even multiple teams composed of High-Class and Top-Tier Astral Cultivators, led by Master Astral Cultivators or even Legendary Astral Cultivators, to storm into the Degenerate Temple's territory and carry out a siege."

Seeing him so enthusiastic, Li Pin did not insist. "If you're not afraid of the investment potentially going to waste, you can lay the groundwork first."

"A 23-year-old Martial Saint who has claimed the title of being the best in the world, soon to further his studies in the Dragon Gate Hall as a Dragon Prince... If even you can’t break through that barrier and complete the transition into an Astral Cultivator, then there aren't many others in the world who would have the capability. I don’t believe that hurdle can stop you."

Qin You was clearly full of confidence in Li Pin.

Seeing this, Li Pin didn't say much more.

Becoming an Astral Cultivator....

He wasn't planning to convert his cultivation before he had truly reached the limits of martial arts. It was foreseeable that if he delayed refining qi into Spirit and transitioned, it would certainly attract some rumors. The development of his fief and the investment confidence of other organizations might be affected in turn.

However... he had said what needed to be said; whether Qin You listened was his own choice.

***

The next day, Lian Hongchen and Cao Tianyou came to visit.

Li Pin was meeting with several individuals, including Lian Ying, who had graduated from the Astral Hall and officially joined the Guardian Hall.

Although Li Pin had already resigned from his position as an instructor at the Astral Hall, everyone knew that his future would be limitless if he could surpass the life-and-death obstacle after winning the World's Top Martial Competition.

Thus, they took the chance before Li Pin transitioned into an Astral Cultivator to come by and visit, hoping to establish connections for their future development.

Moreover... Li Pin had the makings of a great teacher. Even if he couldn't enter the realm of Astral Cultivators in the future, his talent and experience in guiding disciples were enough to earn the respect of these new and upcoming Astral Cultivators.

Naturally, any astute Astral Cultivator would seek an opportunity to pay him a visit.

Li Pin had someone invite Lian Hongchen and Cao Tianyou in.

Upon seeing that Li Pin had guests, Lian Ying quickly excused himself so as not to take up any more of his time.

Watching the three leave, Lian Hongchen seemed to recognize Lian Ying. "This person... Isn't he the new Astral Cultivator who joined the Guardian Hall half a month ago?"

Li Pin nodded, not dwelling on the matter.

He gestured. "Please, take a seat. What brings the both of you here so early in the day?"

Recalling the deference of the newly appointed Astral Cultivator toward Li Pin, Lian Hongchen suppressed his surprise.

Since Li Pin had claimed the championship, becoming world champion, they'd mentally prepared for such occurrences.

Calming his emotions, Lian Hongchen quickly found the words. "Martial Saint Li, I wish to represent the Jiang Province Martial Society in appointing you as our lifelong honorary chairman."

Cao Tianyou was full of smiles as well. "Martial Saint Li, with your current achievements, merely holding the position of an elder in our Five Elements Sect is far too inadequate, even if it's in name only.

"Therefore, I would like to nominate you as the Supreme Elder of the Five Elements Sect. You'll be granted the same authority and benefits as the Sect Master without requiring you to attend to mundane sect affairs."

Li Pin glanced at Cao Tianyou. "Forget about making me a Supreme Elder. Just an honorary elder title is enough; we had an agreement back then."

Hearing the mention of their past agreement, Cao Tianyou regretted it deeply.

However, he also understood that Li Pin's words meant he could leave the Five Elements Sect if he wished. By agreeing to retain an elder title, Li Pin was already showing some consideration and courtesy to the sect master.

If Cao Tianyou were to further insist on making Li Pin their Supreme Elder to represent their Five Elements Sect... he'd be crossing the line.

Cao Tianyou hurriedly apologized, "I was presumptuous. If you think it's inappropriate, we will do as you suggested. Your continued association with the Five Elements Sect is our greatest honor."

Li Pin nodded slightly.

Then, Li Pin turned to Lian Hongchen and said, "The same goes for the lifetime honorary chairman title. I'll likely be at the Dragon Gate Hall for the next year or two, so it's best to appoint someone else for this role."

Lian Hongchen tensed up and stood abruptly. "Martial Saint Li, it was my oversight..."

"It's fine." Li Pin waved his hand. "I just don't have the energy to waste on trivial matters. But both of you are welcome to visit me whenever."

Lian Hongchen and Cao Tianyou exchanged glances, unable to suppress their joy.

Although Li Pin had declined their invitations, his words made it clear that he was willing to acknowledge them. With the bright future Li Pin had ahead of him, getting his recognition alone meant that they could secure their position as long as he was alive.

With things out of the way, the atmosphere relaxed significantly.

During this time, a few of Astral Hall's students came to pay their respects. At this point, only the Astral Hall’s prospective Astral Cultivators were worthy of meeting him.

As for the rest....

The chairmen from various cities' martial societies within Jiang Province or even those from across other provinces in Taibai were turned away.

Given his status, he no longer needed to concern himself with mere city-level or provincial-level martial societies' chairmen. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

***

After the visitors left, Li Pin began to earnestly instruct Li Yunyao, Lin Xiaolu, and Qin Rouran in martial arts.

Since he would soon leave for the Dragon Gate Hall to train for a while, he planned to craft a comprehensive cultivation plan for the three of them.

He was not expecting much, but he wanted to help them reach the Core Formation phase at least before he completed his precipitation at the Dragon Gate Hall.

***

The next day.

In Li Pin's courtyard.

He quietly watched Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu practicing their fist arts.

He was now equipped with a ring forged from Platinum Essence, a bangle forged from Mind Gem, and a necklace forged from Sky Pearl. In addition to the twenty-seven points in his mental spirit after he had settled down in his cultivation, he could sense the flow of their qi and blood as they practiced. He didn’t have to be in contact with them to feel it.

Whenever either of them showed any flaws in their practice, he immediately corrected them.

If they encountered problems they couldn't grasp, he would help them guide the circulation of qi and blood in their bodies.

Admittedly, this approach greatly affected their martial arts cultivation.

It was similar to instructing someone on driving by telling them how much to turn the wheel and when to do it instead of teaching them how to use the mirror and act according to their own judgment.

Without a doubt, drivers like that would turn out half-baked and were prone to accidents. Similarly, even if Li Yunyao and Lin Xiaolu were to eventually reach the Core Formation stage, they would likely be among the weakest in that realm.

However... even if they couldn't beat other Core Formation martial artists, would they at least be able to win against Transformative Force martial artists?

And once they reached the Aura Cultivation phase, wouldn’t they be able to defeat Core Formation martial artists too?

So what if it'd be only overpowering those in lower realms? Wasn’t that how it worked between Astral Cultivators and Martial Saints?

Most Astral Cultivators had only manifested their Force. Yet, can’t they still beat ninety percent of Martial Saints easily? Wasn't that also a form of realm suppression?

The training session continued for half a day.

Then, a car arrived at Li Pin's mansion.

Zhou Xiuyuan and a man who seemed to be in his thirties stepped out.

"Martial Saint Li, the City Lord has received your request to visit. The City Lord would like to invite you over."

"Alright."

Li Pin gestured for Lin Xiaolu and Li Yunyao to continue their practice.

He then got into the car with Zhou Xiuyuan and the middle-aged man.

On his first day back in Jiang Province City, he had sent a request to visit City Lord Xiang Tianxing.

Thankfully, Xiang Tianxing didn't make him wait too long.

If Li Pin wanted to truly master the Stars Overlord Secret Art, he had to have a conversation with this lord of the Guardian Hall.

1. A real-life example. ☜