Visualizing

"Star Refiner."

In the hotel room, Li Pin sat on the sofa, gazing out the window.

But his eyes lacked focus.

No matter how much the internet or television praised Star Refiners, it couldn't compare to the impact of personal experience.

That terrifying willpower interference, that horrifying Qi and Blood suppression...

It felt as if every cell in his body was screaming at him, warning him not to make an enemy of such a high-level being.

"No wonder Fang Lingjue told me back then that Martial Artists and Star Refiners are not even in the same league. They easily have over a hundred Qi and Blood, and their pure speed and strength are enough to crush any Embrace Dan or Gang Refining Martial Artist, leaving them no room to fight back," Li Pin said.

Only Martial Saints who condensed their martial will and possessed strong spirits, using their own martial arts to suppress atomic will, could barely contend with Star Refiners.

But even then, they wouldn't dare to engage head-on.

At most, when one Star Refiner was in conflict with another, Martial Saints could interfere from the sidelines, preventing them from being suppressed to the point of not daring to even act, unlike Embrace Dan or Gang Refining Martial Artists.

And those who could truly fight Star Refiners one-on-one...

Without exception, they were those who had cultivated to the extreme in the Martial Saint stage, achieving absolute perfection, truly standing at the pinnacle of the martial arts world, and were qualified to participate in the King of the Century competition to vie for the supreme title in the martial arts world.

"However... Martial Saints seem to have another path... that is to take a gamble, to refine Qi into spirit..."

Li Pin recalled the brief information recorded in the Five Elements Sect's ancient texts.

Martial Saints who had refined their mental will to the extreme could choose to burn themselves out to refine Qi into spirit. At that moment, their spiritual power would surge to its peak, allowing them to forcefully visualize Star Gods and step into the realm of Star Refiners.

This step...

Was like a moth flying into a flame, extremely dangerous, with only one in ten surviving.

Failure meant their Qi and Blood would be completely burned away, leading to death and the destruction of their path.

But if successful, they could bathe in starlight, rapidly replenishing their consumed Qi and Blood, moving from death towards life.

Moreover, since they had already walked the paths of Gang Refining, Embrace Dan, Gang Refining, and Spirit Refining, with that experience, even though the Qi and Blood a Star Refiner needed to circulate was far superior to that of a Martial Artist, their future growth rate would still become extremely fast.

Those who fawned over Star Refiners were often Embrace Dan or Gang Refining Martial Artists; Martial Saints rarely joined them.

Star Refiners would always proactively give Martial Saints sufficient respect.

Despite the slim hope, no one knew if a Martial Saint might eventually refine Qi into spirit, forcefully visualize a Star God, and soar to the heavens.

"The Heavenly Mandate has forty-nine paths, with one escaping. Martial arts entering sainthood is the only hope for those without 'talent' to become Star Refiners. Furthermore, once a Martial Saint visualizes a Star God, their strength will undoubtedly advance by leaps and bounds, quickly becoming true powerhouses among Star Refiners. This is also why martial arts are flourishing, and the nation is vigorously promoting martial arts through successive competitions," Li Pin mused, calming himself down.

Martial Saint.

Refining Qi into spirit.

Spirit.

A star map flashed through his mind.

The star map resembled the Milky Way.

In the center of the Milky Way, surrounded by starlight, a blurry figure appeared and disappeared intermittently.

He closed his eyes and quietly visualized, wanting to see the figure clearly.

He wanted to become one with the starlight.

He tried for an hour...

Failure.

There seemed to be a crucial element missing between him and the figure standing in the center of the starlight, preventing any connection and maintaining a dimensional gap between them.

It was like an ordinary person looking at a toy on a computer...

Missing a 3D printer.

"Aptitude."

Li Pin concentrated, quietly sensing the changes within himself.

He searched for the gains from his hour of visualizing a Star God.

The result...

Even though he pushed his talent to its limit, delving into the cellular level, and even further, to perceive the molecular structure of organic matter beyond the cells...

He still couldn't "see" any abnormality.

At best, his spirit felt slightly better.

Much like how closing one's eyes to rest restores mental energy.

"Spirit?"

Li Pin's heart stirred.

A Martial Saint's martial will, in certain circumstances, was a form of highly condensed spiritual power.

They burned themselves, refining Qi into spirit, reaching the pinnacle of sublimation, unleashing their lives at that moment to push their spiritual perception to the extreme, thereby forcibly visualizing the Star Gods.

They refined starlight into their bodies in a way similar to how the spirit interferes with matter, becoming Star Refiners.

So, if his spirit was strong enough, strong enough to refine starlight without burning himself...

"Entering the Dao through Martial Arts."

Li Pin slowly uttered the four words.

This path seemed difficult.

With almost no chance of success.

But...

Wasn't martial arts cultivation itself about defying heaven and fighting for life, turning the impossible into the possible time and time again!?

And if he could reach the peak through this path and explore the mysteries of the human body, wasn't that precisely what he had pursued his entire life?

"This world... truly brings surprises everywhere."

Li Pin wore a heartfelt smile.

He closed his eyes and began to visualize again.

This time, he no longer insisted on "clearly seeing" the Star Gods, but instead sought the most efficient way to strengthen his spirit through visualization.

In the evening, a small gathering was held within the Five Elements Sect.

Cao Tianyou personally pulled Li Pin to sit beside him and explained what had happened at noon.

Li Pin understood.

Since he wasn't the protagonist, he couldn't expect everyone to revolve around him.

Supporting characters should have the awareness of supporting characters.

Even a Gang Refining Grandmaster like Cao Tianyou had to smile apologetically in front of Judy and Shang Feng, let alone him, a mere Embrace Dan practitioner?

With Zhao Yuan, Qi Dongyuan, and Cao Tianyou intentionally trying to win him over, the atmosphere was very harmonious.

During the meal, Cao Tianyou seemed to recall something and mentioned, "For this year's Jiangzhou competition, you don't need to be too fixated on breaking into the top ten. Just treat it as gaining experience."

"Hm?"

Li Pin glanced at him. "I recall that in the previous dozen or so Jiangzhou competitions, the Embrace Dan Martial Artists ranged from a maximum of twenty-six to a minimum of eight?"

"I heard a rumor. Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, it's already spread, and I don't think it's far off."

Cao Tianyou said, "The Lihuo Sect is a top martial arts force in Jiangzhou, ranking among the top three in scale. This sect, like our Five Elements Sect in Canglong City, had sent elites to the Capital to explore the market, with their main focus on the Capital. But this year, for reasons unknown, their higher-ups have dispatched their personal disciples who are Martial Saints to compete. Several peerless geniuses are unreasonably powerful! Among them are people your age who have already refined Qi into Gang."

"Refining Qi into Gang at twenty-two?"

"Yes."

Cao Tianyou nodded. "The Lihuo Sect, feeling the immense pressure from the Capital, has chosen to withdraw their elites to participate in the Jiangzhou competition... Therefore, this year's Jiangzhou competition will be extremely fierce."

He paused. "If you had spent three to five years consolidating your Embrace Dan realm, you might have had a chance to contend with them. But you've only just entered Embrace Dan... So, I hope you..."

"I will do what I can."

Li Pin said.

"Then I can rest assured."

Cao Tianyou smiled and nodded.

The meal lasted until past nine o'clock before they dispersed.

Li Pin returned to his room. The moment he opened the door...

His body stiffened slightly.

The Dan Jin within him immediately surged.

There was someone inside!