Banquet

"Continually taking herbal medicine would gradually build drug resistance in the body, but secret arts had no such thing as resistance."

As Li Pin refined the Blood Burning Secret Art, he nurtured himself through Embrace Dan.

Thanks to his precise grasp of the changes within his body, his adjustment of qi and blood after embracing qi into Dan was not carried out passively. Though he had drawn upon the Embrace Dan body-refining portion of the Five Elements Body Refining Technique, the most important thing was still his own feedback.

So long as he ensured it would not cause any negative harm, he would use whichever method was most efficient.

In just two days, his qi and blood had risen to 31.04. The speed was undeniably astonishing.

"At this rate, one month... one and a half months at the latest, and my qi and blood will reach 34. That's two or three times faster than expected."

Li Pin thought to himself.

Being able to precisely control his own condition and guide his cultivation in the right direction meant he had not wasted even a moment, nor had he taken nearly any detours.

Under such circumstances, the three to five months ordinary people needed to temper their physiques had been drastically compressed by him.

Ring, ring, ring!

At that moment, Li Pin's phone began to ring.

As soon as he answered it, Fang Lingjue's voice came through. "Today is Grandmaster Cao's birthday. Time to set off."

"I'll come down right away."

Li Pin replied.

Cao Tianyou's sixty-sixth birthday was not considered a major milestone, but this Gang Refining Grandmaster intended to celebrate it on a grand scale, so naturally there were many invitees.

As one of the few Embrace Dan masters in Canglong City's martial arts circle, Fang Lingjue was among those invited. The two had arranged to go together at noon.

After going downstairs, Li Pin looked around by the entrance for quite a while. Only when he heard Fang Lingjue's voice did he head over to a luxurious, imposing golden Phantom sedan parked at the roadside.

At that moment, people beside the car were secretly taking pictures.

One of them was a rather exquisitely dressed woman, teasing Fang Lingjue about something.

Only when he saw Li Pin approach did Fang Lingjue say, "Look, my boss is here."

The woman gave Li Pin a surprised look, and her eyes seemed to brighten even further.

Before she could step forward to say anything, Li Pin had already opened the door and gotten in. "What were you talking about?"

"Girls these days really are bold."

Fang Lingjue did not elaborate and quickly started the car.

Li Pin did not pursue the topic either. "You changed cars? What happened to that Swift you had before?"

He added with a smile, "I've never ridden in this class of luxury car in my life. I'm benefiting from your generosity."

"You're carrying thirty million in cash, aren't you? A car worth a little over two million—couldn't you buy one whenever you wanted?"

Fang Lingjue said, "Grandmaster Cao invited people with status and standing today. We can't exactly drive there in something too shabby."

"Then it's fortunate you came to pick me up. Otherwise, I was planning to ride a bike there. I might not even have made it through the door."

Li Pin said.

He did begin considering buying a car.

He felt somewhat embarrassed always hitching rides from Fang Yubai and Fang Lingjue.

He did not need a luxury car costing over two million like Fang Lingjue's. He only needed something appropriate for his current position.

A Blue Horse X7 seemed quite good.

"How could that be... After you signed that agreement with the Five Elements Sect, you're practically half of the Five Elements Sect's standard-bearer for the next few years. I don't believe they didn't call and offer to drive you over."

Fang Lingjue said.

Li Pin had indeed received a personal call from Qi Dongyuan yesterday, but since he had already agreed to go with Fang Lingjue, he had naturally declined.

Screech!

Just then, the car braked sharply and suddenly came to a stop.

Had Li Pin not reacted quickly, he might have lurched forward and smashed into the air vent.

He looked ahead...

The road was clear. There had been no accident.

Then he noticed Fang Lingjue staring at him fixedly. Though his hands were still on the steering wheel, he was not watching the road at all, his face filled with disbelief.

"You... you embraced Dan!?"

"Drive. Stopping in the middle of the road makes accidents very likely."

Li Pin urged him, then said, "Is that strange? I comprehended Dan Jin two months ago. I've spent a full two months polishing it since then, so naturally I broke through."

"Two months..."

Fang Lingjue drew in a breath of the cold air from the car's air conditioner. "Twenty-two years old, Embrace Dan, and without guidance from a renowned master beforehand..."

"Stay calm."

Li Pin said, "You said it yourself. Without any guidance from a renowned master, I explored on my own and mastered force training. Now that I have the Five Elements Sect's core inheritance, the Five Elements Body Refining Technique, along with your and Grandmaster Cao's Embrace Dan experience, embracing qi into Dan in one stroke is perfectly reasonable."

"Is that really reasonable?"

"It is completely reasonable."

Li Pin gave an affirmative answer.

Looking at Li Pin's face, more than a decade younger than his own, Fang Lingjue suddenly felt as if he had spent half his life cultivating into a dog.

Back then...

Within the White Crane Style, he had also been considered a minor genius.

Though he could not compare with those senior brothers viewed as inheritors of the mantle, he had still confidently believed that his future achievements would not be lacking.

But now...

He suddenly felt that the waves behind the Yangtze River had pushed the waves before them onward, while the earlier waves died upon the beach.

People's talents truly could not be measured by the same yardstick.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

At that moment, a series of honking sounds came from behind them.

If Fang Lingjue had not been driving a golden Phantom and the other cars had not kept their distance, then after stopping in the middle of the road for so long, someone would likely have already pulled up beside them.

"Hoo..."

Only after quite a while did Fang Lingjue start the car again.

Then he suddenly remembered that Li Pin, like him, would be participating in the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Tournament.

Although Li Pin had previously killed the Cat Demon and personally slain Wang Daoyi, those two situations had both been somewhat exceptional, so Fang Lingjue had not taken them too seriously.

But now...

He had embraced Dan.

He had embraced Dan with more than two months remaining before the martial arts tournament began.

In theory, people needed three to five months to nurture their physiques to the peak of the Embrace Dan realm. But when it came to a genius like Li Pin, who could not be judged by common sense...

Two months should be about enough, right?

With his experience from three life-and-death battles, coupled with an Embrace Dan cultivation similar to his own...

By then...

He might truly have a chance to break into Jiangzhou's top ten!?

He might even compete alongside him for a place in the National Tournament!?

At that thought, his mind could not help but lapse into a brief daze.

Without realizing it, that young man who had entered Changfeng Martial Hall more than four months ago, seemingly only to find a job, had already grown in martial cultivation to a level no weaker than his own.

The car sped forward with the flow of traffic.

Along the way, no one dared cut in recklessly and disrupt the driver's experience.

The car soon arrived at Xingyao International Center, where the Cao family was holding the birthday banquet.

Because of the existence of Star Gods and Star Refiners, any institution with a bit of prestige liked to use "Star" in its name.

It was like how, during a certain period in Taibai's past, everyone had liked giving themselves names in the style of the Star Alliance.

When Li Pin and Fang Lingjue arrived, quite a few people seemed to have gathered outside Xingyao International Center.

Some young men and women among them held signs and photographs as they waited.

Li Pin took a glance.

They were unmistakably photographs of An Youran.

At that moment, he seemed to recall that Cao Tianyou had indeed invited several local celebrities to sing and perform for this birthday celebration.

As he pondered, the car had already driven into the hotel through another passage.

Here, Zhao Yuan, Qi Dongyuan, and several Five Elements Sect executives had been waiting in advance.