<h4>Chapter 177: Advance</h4>


    Li Pin and Su Feiyu arrived at the supply town.


    Well, calling it a town was a bit of an exaggeration. Strictly speaking, it was a semi-underground fortress that was made up of dozens of such structures. Each fortress was cast with extremely thick reinforced concrete, capable of withstanding a cannon st with little more than a puff of dust.


    Each fortress had its own function, primarily focused on rest, recovery, and resupply.


    The medicinal supplies used for treating injuries, rare in the outside world, weremon here. Astral Crystals and ferocious beast meat were also sold openly. Furthermore, aircraft frequently arrived at the town, bringing supplies and taking away items that needed to be transported.


    The town''s "simple" architecture suggested that while the Tianyuan Federation had established a foothold here, the area was far frompletely secure.


    When Li Pin and Su Feiyu arrived, they found other contestants around the town, clearly here to rest and resupply too.


    Many eyes were drawn to Li Pin.


    "That''s Li Pin?"


    "He really is young. It''s hard to believe he''s only twenty-three!"


    "The younger generation always surpasses the older. At just twenty-three, and with it being his first timepeting in the World''s Top Martial Competition, he''s already taken first ce in the preliminary round....


    “Although this year was slightly different from usual, it is still a testament to his strength. The World''s Top Martial Competition will be his stage to shine for a long time toe."


    Murmurs of discussion spread among the contestants.


    Su Feiyu was surprised to hear their words. After a brief pause, she turned to Li Pin with excitement. "You made it to first ce?"


    Li Pin was just as surprised. "First ce?"


    <i>I really took first ce so easily? Aren’t there five seededpetitors ahead of me? </i>


    He was familiar with the five seededpetitors. There were Song Wuya and Duan Yidao, both having prowess rivaling Martial Saints. There were also true Martial Saints, like Zhao Yushi, Great Sun Chose One, and Cheng Yufeng.


    <i>Wait. I am also a Martial Saint now? Well, it makes sense then, </i>thought Li Pin.


    "That''s right," Li Pin responded.


    He then recalled the strength the Great Sun Chosen One had disyed during his battle with the Orc Fighter and was no longer surprised that he ended up in first ce.


    Su Feiyu looked at Li Pin, her eyes sparkling. "That''s... unbelievable."


    She continued, "But considering you became a Martial Saint at twenty-three and took first ce in the preliminaries, it doesn''t seem so hard to believe either."


    Li Pin smiled. He hadn''t thought much about it.


    At that moment, a woman who looked to be in her early thirties, d in battle armor and bearing a long spear, approached them. She had a heroic andmanding presence. She had bandages wrapped around her body, but those didn’t diminish her charm one bit. Instead, they enhanced her heroic presence.


    "That''s Thunderbolt Spear—Zhao Yushi," Su Feiyu introduced with a whisper.


    Zhao Yushi was one of the three Martial Saints. She was also the only female among the five seededpetitors.


    Martial artists differed from Astral Cultivator. In martial arts practice, men had an inherent advantage in physical strength, making it easier for them to be powerful martial artists.


    When it came to the number of Martial Saints, it had to be known that eighty percent of them were men, if not more. Thus, Zhao Yushi had always remained very popr throughout the World''s Top Martial Competition. Her attractiveness and confident demeanor further contributed to her appeal. She had amassed a massive fanbase,prising both men and women.


    If she chose to debut as a celebrity now, she would undoubtedly be the brightest star in the Tianyuan Federation.


    However, no Martial Saint would lower themselves from their esteemed status to be a mere celebrity unless they had a particr interest in it.


    Zhao Yushi looked at Li Pin with eyes filled with battle intent. "Li Pin! You''ve surprised me, but... the preliminary round is merely the opening act of the World''s Top Martial Competition. The round-robinpetition is where the true champion will be determined. I hope you can surprise me again in that arena, just like you did in the preliminaries."


    Li Pin looked at Zhao Yushi. "<i>Oh?</i>"


    Sensing the battle intent radiating from her, he couldn''t help but smile and nod. "I''ll give it my all in the round-robinpetition."


    "I look forward to it."


    With those words, Zhao Yushi headed straight out of the small town, seeminglypletely disregarding her unhealed injuries.


    She was nning to give it one more shot, hoping to surpass Li Pin and reim first ce.


    "Zhao Yushi has always been fiercelypetitive. Shees from the Zhao family, a renowned martial arts lineage within the Tianyuan Federation. Their family has produced six Martial Saints. While none of them have sessfully be an Astral Cultivator, the family still holds considerable influence and maintains strong ties with many Astral Cultivators.


    "However, because Zhao Yushi is a woman, she had not been highly regarded during her youth. Because of this, she devoted herself to relentless training and eventually surpassed all her peers within the Zhao Family, bing the most outstanding member of her generation.


    “She''s participating in the World''s Top Martial Competition to prove to everyone that she, a woman, can also im the honor of the world champion."


    Li Pin nodded. "So... she''ll definitely give it her all to win, won''t she?"


    Su Feiyu nodded firmly. "Yes. She''ll likely be your toughest opponent in the round-robin."


    Li Pin gazed at Zhao Yushi''s figure, paying attention to her slender yet powerful physique, noticeable even with armor on....


    After a moment, he shook his head.


    "Her waist is a bit too thin, one punch would break it. But since she''s a spear user, it shouldn''t matter much."


    Li Pin couldn''t help but nce at Su Feiyu.


    <i>She isn’t much better either. With those small arms and legs, how much force could she muster?</i>


    Li Pin could tell that if she faced an opponent who excelled in raw power, her ulna, radius, and humerus would be broken in minutes.


    A chill raced down Su Feiyu’s spine as she noticed the way Li Pin was looking at her. Fortunately, at that moment, a group of people approached them.


    The leader of the group was none other than Ying Long, a candidate the Tianyuan Society closely monitored, second only to the five seededpetitors.


    "Li Pin! Killing ferocious beasts is impressive, but it''s nothing special. Yan Hongtu once dominated the three Martial Saints early on and held the top position for a long time. As for you... if I''m not mistaken, you were lucky enough to encounter a critically injured high-tier ferocious beast, which caused your score to soar, right?"


    The Eagle Talon Sect prodigy''s expression was indifferent. "But in the round-robin stage, it''s not about luck, it''s about real strength! Without strength, even if luck gets you the top spot in the preliminaries, you''ll eventually reveal your weakness in the round-robinpetition."


    Li Pin was puzzled. "So?"


    "Don''t get yourself injured in the first match of the round-robin stage and withdraw early on. I''m looking forward to facing you," Ying Long said sternly.


    With that, he waved his hand and led his "teammates" away.


    Su Feiyu frowned. "These people..."


    She then quickly turned to Li Pin. "Ignore them. They''re just jealous of your impressive achievements."


    Li Pin nodded. "I know."


    This was to be expected. It was only natural that there would be a few participants unskilled at fighting ferocious beasts. These people would surely be dissatisfied with him taking first ce. That was even more the case since he had snatched that ranking by killing a high-tier ferocious beast.


    Those unaware would assume it was mere luck.


    Those participants, especially those who made it into the top ten but ranked much lower, would certainly do everything in their power to defeat Li Pin.


    Li Pin smiled faintly. "Very well. This is a good thing."


    "You..."


    "Take some time to rest and recover in the town," Li Pin said.


    "How about you?"


    "I''ll continue hunting ferocious beasts, of course.”


    Li Pin turned around and walked out of the town.


    "Top ten young martial arts prodigies from across the Tianyuan Federation, gathered here for the World''s Top Martial Competition, unleash your full potential and try to defeat me!"


    Since he wanted them as provoked as can be, he would have to work harder to maintain his first ce.


    Su Feiyu wanted to say something but ultimately refrained. She understood that men liked topete and show off their strength. That was especially the case for someone like Li Pin, who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts at just twenty-three. His sharpness was his defining trait.


    Likewise, that was also what she liked about him.


    ***


    In the remaining days, Zhao Yushi, Yan Hongtu, Great Sun Chosen One, and Cheng Yufeng fought desperately to hunt ferocious beasts in an attempt to shake Li Pin’s firm hold on the top spot. Yan Hongtu was one thing, but Zhao Yushi, Great Sun Chosen One, and Cheng Yufeng were all Martial Saints!


    As Martial Saints, having someone who hadn’t even reached their realm outperform them left them feeling humiliated. That was especially the case since their opponent was only twenty-three. While it was true that the younger generation often surpassed the older generation, they, as experienced Martial Saints, were reluctant to ept such a ring defeat.


    Unfortunately, things did not unfold as they wished. As they exerted their efforts in hunting, Li Pin did the same. Moreover, unlike them, the audacious Li Pin had already left thepetition area and reached the boundary between thepetition zone and the Shadow Forest.


    Despite the increased presence of mid-tier ferocious beasts in this area, Li Pin''s sharp senses allowed him to avoid them in advance. If he were lucky enough to encounter some injured or wed medium-tier ferocious beasts, he could rack up on hundreds of points.


    Under these circumstances, Zhao Yushi, Great Sun Chosen One, and Cheng Yufeng''s scores not only failed to surpass Li Pin but fell further behind. On thest day of the preliminary round, Li Pin''s score reached an astounding 2621 points. Zhao Yushi, despite her desperate attempt, could only bring her score up to 2155, trailing by 466 points. This was an insurmountable chasm.


    While Zhao Yushi had performed rtively well, Cheng Yufeng only managed 2075 points, putting him in third ce. The Dragon Gate Hall expert, Yan Hongtu, took fourth ce with 2070 points, 5 points shy of Cheng Yufeng. Despite his extensive knowledge of beast habits, he still missed out on the top three by a narrow margin.


    Song Wuya and Duan Yidao weren’t the ones to snatch fifth and sixth ce; they belonged to the Great Sun Chosen One and Nan Lifeng, respectively. This revealed another dark horse who outperformed the two top-seededpetitors.


    As the preliminary round of the World''s Top Martial Competition concluded, Li Pin advanced to the next round with a score far exceeding the second-cepetitor.