Star Crystal

"Hmph."

Li Pin let out a long breath.

The phantom beast image he had been visualizing in his mind dissipated.

The Qi and Blood, boiling like fire within his body, gradually subsided.

In an instant, an unprecedented weakness surged into his heart.

It felt like having a high fever for days, draining all the strength from his body. His spine even seemed unable to withstand the planet's gravity, making him just want to lie on the bed in the most comfortable position, completely still.

But...

Li Pin forcefully suppressed this bone-aching weakness.

He raised his left hand and wiped the bloodstains from his face.

A small wound.

It wouldn't leave him disfigured.

Then, he caught his breath and lifted his foot.

His shoes needed replacing; he had stepped too hard and they had split.

However...

Fortunately, he had managed to deliver that final kick in time.

The strike he unleashed with the Eight Fiends True Fire Strength was no less potent than a full-power burst from a Dan Jin Martial Artist, capable of collapsing house walls.

Yet, both his previous strikes had failed to kill this Cat Demon on the spot.

The true fatal blow had been the descending stomp.

This ferocious beast, in terms of muscle resilience and bone density, was far superior to him.

He estimated that even ordinary handgun bullets might not penetrate its body.

Even if hit ten times, as long as it wasn't a vital spot, it could still ferociously kill.

Moreover...

Ferocious beasts were also species that evolved by bathing in starlight, belonging to the Star Refiners among beasts.

This could be seen from the fact that a Cat Demon could walk upright like a "human."

It wasn't imitating humans, but that great Star God.

To shoot such a creature, there was a high probability the gun would explode upon firing.

"Hm?"

As he moved his foot, Li Pin seemed to notice something and quickly found a fingernail-sized crystal amidst the blood and flesh.

"This is... a Star Crystal!?"

When ferocious beasts and demonic creatures die, there's a chance they'll leave behind Star Crystals.

These are the primary materials for forging Star Artifacts.

The more powerful the ferocious beast or demonic creature, the higher the probability of leaving behind a Star Crystal, and the higher its quality.

For ordinary ferocious beasts like this Cat Demon, the possibility of a Star Crystal was infinitesimally close to zero.

Unless...

This Cat Demon, after evolving, had also consumed the Star Crystal of another, more powerful ferocious beast, and it remained undigested within its body.

Considering the preciousness of Star Crystals, Li Pin quietly pocketed the crystal to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble due to revealing his wealth.

"It's dead! It's dead! The Cat Demon is dead!"

Just then, a burst of exclamations erupted from the vehicle.

The shouts were filled with the joy of escaping death.

The confrontation between Li Pin and the Cat Demon had actually been decided in an instant, the entire process taking less than three seconds.

The people in the vehicle, who had been terrified to the extreme, were only now coming to their senses.

"It's okay now, it's okay, the Cat Demon is dead, we're safe."

"Wuwuwu... That's great, that's great..."

One passenger after another was filled with a mixture of surprise and joy.

Two of them even wept tears of happiness, having narrowly escaped death.

Li Yunyao also jolted awake at this moment.

"Brother!"

She screamed, jumped up, and rushed to the car window.

Li Pin waved at her.

Then, he walked around the front of the car, carrying his right hand behind his back, and slowly re-boarded the vehicle along the door.

"Thank you, Martial Master, thank you for saving us."

The driver was the first to stand up, his face full of gratitude.

The others on the bus were the same.

"You're welcome."

Li Pin said, "Report your location to the local defense hall."

He added, "I used a secret technique to stimulate my Qi and Blood, which consumed a lot. I need to rest. If you really want to thank me, just get to Sanshun Station as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll be there on time, we'll be there on time."

The driver nodded repeatedly.

"First, take Martial Master home so he can rest as soon as possible. He's our benefactor."

The others echoed his sentiment.

Li Pin didn't insist further. Getting back sooner was indeed a good thing.

"Brother..."

Li Yunyao looked at Li Pin, her face filled with excitement, worry, and disbelief. "You... you killed the Cat Demon!?"

"Yes, the Cat Demon is dead, so practicing martial arts is indeed useful."

Li Pin said.

"But... but the books say... every ferocious beast is incredibly terrifying? They're like those powerful Star Refiners..."

"It's different."

Li Pin said, "Ferocious beasts and monsters are not as strong as Star Refiners. A Cat Demon like this can be killed by a Gang Jin Grandmaster. Many ordinary ferocious creatures have also died at the hands of Dan Jin Martial Artists. I caught that Cat Demon off guard, which is how I killed it. Alright, the bus is about to leave, go back to your seats."

"Is that so?"

Li Yunyao knew that things were not as simple as Li Pin made them out to be.

However, from this incident, she had already deeply realized how capable her brother was.

She listened to the sincere gratitude of the other passengers and looked at him with pride.

In reality, confronting ferocious beasts as a Martial Artist was far more dangerous than Li Pin described.

While many ordinary ferocious beasts had indeed died at the hands of Dan Jin Martial Artists, even more Dan Jin Martial Artists had died at the hands of ferocious beasts.

Even though the Cat Demon was relatively weak among ordinary ferocious beasts, it was by no means something any Level 2 or even Level 3 Martial Artist could fight unprepared.

It was just that...

Li Pin had no choice but to act in that moment, without time to consider or hesitate.

Other than condensing all his vital energy and unleashing the sharpest, most ferocious punch, he had no other option.

Fortunately, by utilizing the terrain, he managed to unleash two Dan Jin bursts in an instant and win.

Li Pin sat down in a seat in front of them and glanced at Lin Xiaolu behind him. "Were you scared? It's okay now, the Cat Demon is dead."

Lin Xiaolu shook her head vigorously, then nodded vigorously again.

Her pale little face was filled with lingering fear.

Li Pin didn't offer much comfort. He closed his eyes to rest and began circulating the Innate Qi Nourishing Technique.

In this world, cities, even county towns, had at least two or three Star Refiners stationed in them.

Just as monsters could sense Star Refiners from miles away, human Star Refiners' senses were slightly inferior, but if a powerful monster approached within a few miles of a city, the Star Refiners would sense it and either engage it or call for reinforcements.

Therefore, the safety of cities was generally guaranteed.

But rural towns were different.

There were no Star Refiners stationed in rural towns, only the defense hall's action teams. If a ferocious beast or monster appeared, it would take at least half an hour for help to arrive from the county town.

No one knew what could happen in half an hour.

However, it was unrealistic for everyone to gather in the cities.

Without people to grow grain and vegetables, the cities' enormous consumption could not be met.

Under these circumstances, many ordinary people who wanted to settle in the cities were forced to return to county towns and rural towns due to the exorbitant housing prices and astonishing living costs in the cities.

Coupled with the fact that various countries were developing county towns while also incorporating rural towns into them, promoting the integration of rural towns and county towns, it created an illusion that ordinary people were rooting themselves in county towns rather than rural towns, giving them some psychological comfort.

After one person called the Liuchuan County Defense Hall to report the situation, the driver quickly started the vehicle.

He glanced reverently at Li Pin, who had his eyes closed, and concentrated on maintaining a steady speed while driving.

Fortunately, the location where the Cat Demon appeared was not far from Sanshun Town, only a few kilometers away.

In less than ten minutes, the vehicle arrived directly outside the courtyard of Li Pin's home.

When Li Pin got out of the car, everyone else on the bus followed, bowing and thanking him with deep gratitude.

They all knew that if Li Pin hadn't happened to be on the vehicle this time, at least half of the more than a dozen people on board would have been lost.

Li Pin waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Watching them get back into the vehicle and leave with lingering fear, he somewhat understood why Martial Artists held such status in this world.

Why martial arts flourished in the Gaia nations.

With firearms being extremely inefficient and becoming a Star Refiner depending entirely on "aptitude" which was one in ten thousand, practicing martial arts...

Naturally became their only hope for self-salvation and self-preservation.