Chapter 33: Signing an Agreement
"Five Qi’s to Primordiality Art."
Looking at the small box Zhao Yuan had taken out, even Fang Lingjue felt a little covetous. The secret method of organs-tempering! The Five Elements Sect sure was generous.
Aura Force cultivation was divided into two sections: External Cultivation and Internal Cultivation, also known as External Aura Force and Internal Aura Force.
The cultivation of External Aura Force was more straightforward than that of Internal Aura Force; as long as one's physique was robust enough, speed was fast enough, and strength was powerful enough, one’s punch could break the sound barrier, triggering a sonic boom, forming a white qi wave, known as Aura Force, that would release from the body.
The power of the Five Elements Unity technique Wang Daoyi executed when he killed Cao Zuoqiu was already close to reaching the level of External Aura Force. As long as his physique had been a little more powerful and a little faster, he would've been able to unleash Aura Force. And if he had known a few people who could pull some strings, he would've surely been able to receive a senior title and be recognized as one of the elite few grandmasters of the city.
Whereas the cultivation of Internal Aura Force required the tempering of organs and blood and forming a unique natural frequency by simultaneously exerting force from the five viscera and six bowels to create a cyclical circulation of qi that begins from within the body, resonates outward, and returns within.
As the five viscera and six bowels were tempered through this process, even one’s bone marrow and blood could be thoroughly refined, reaching the apex of physicality. The power of Force released from the strike of an Internal Aura Force user would simply disregard any armor an opponent was wearing and directly pulverize them; such abilities led to Internal Aura Force users being also called great grandmasters.
However, after reaching the great grandmaster level, further training would no longer improve their strength, speed, and vitality, as evidenced by Spirit Force Martial Saints, who stopped tempering their bodies and instead focused on cultivating Spirit Force, which focused on gaining enlightenment. If one could achieve enlightenment regarding Spirit Force, one would be qualified to become a Martial Saint, genuinely standing at the pinnacle of the martial path.
For Aura Force Grandmasters, enlightenment may be achieved in an instant, or they could spend their entire lives seeking it but never find it. It was precisely because achieving enlightenment was so difficult that no matter how amazing a grandmaster's battle records or martial skills were, they would never have the qualifications to become Martial Saints unless they could use absolute strength and overwhelm all others within the adult division of the national competition.
Fang Lingjue's gaze lingered on Li Pin for a while. For the sake of Li Pin’s future, he had no qualms about Li Pin joining the Five Elements Sect.
Li Pin didn't take the box from Zhao Yuan's hand. He looked at Zhao Yan and asked, "What do I need to do?"
Zhao Yuan replied with great sincerity, "We hope you can join the Five Elements Sect, Master Li. In the future, all martial halls in Zanglong City will follow your orders. Additionally, the Five Elements Sect will groom you to be our flag bearer."
Li Pin was a bit surprised by Zhao Yuan’s response; however, after careful consideration, his words were reasonable. Cao Tianyou was already sixty-six years old; at best, he could live for another ten or twenty years. However, this life expectancy would be drastically shortened if he were to fight in these years.
Four years ago, Cao Tianyou brought Zhao Yuan and a group of elites to Jiang Province City to expand the Five Elements Sect; therefore, the Five Elements Sect in Jiang Province City already had a decent foundation. Meanwhile, the Core Formation Master, Cao Zuoqiu, who was responsible for Zanglong City, had died, leaving only the inept Qi Dongyuan, who was far from able to take care of a sect. It was now vital to find and recruit capable fresh blood into the sect to protect and strengthen its foundations in Zanglong City.
With the Five Elements Sect's information network, it took less than half a month to thoroughly investigate Li Pin’s background. Not only was Li Pin talented, but he also came from a family with a clean background, and his only ties to the martial scene were with the recently established Changfeng Martial Hall.
Furthermore, Li Pin had obtained the Five Elements Body-Refining Art off of Wang Daoyi's corpse, so they also wished to bring him into the Five Elements Sect to prevent the technique from being circulated beyond the sect. All of these factors led to Li Pin being the best candidate to take charge of the Five Elements Sect in Zanglong City.
"Since Sect Leader Cao asked you to gift me the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art, he should be optimistic that I will be able to cultivate to the Aura Force realm in the future. And I, for one, have confidence in my own talent. My future will not be limited to Zanglong City," said Li Pin confidently to Zhao Yan. "Therefore, I can only politely decline Sect Leader Cao's good intentions."
Zhao Yuan and Qi Dongyuan glanced at each other; they had expected this response from Li Pin.
"We naturally believe that with your talent, Master Li, your future would not be limited to Zanglong City. We firmly believe that in three or at most six years, you will soar to the skies and become renowned." Zhao Yuan smiled. "If a day ever comes when you feel that the Five Elements Sect is holding you back, Master Li, we will fully support you in spreading your wings so you can soar to greater heights and become renowned throughout the Jiangzhou region. In addition, as long as you remain in Zanglong City, the Five Elements Sect’s promises will continue to be valid."
Li Pin glanced at him and asked, "Are you not afraid that I'll agree now and leave Zanglong City immediately after obtaining the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art?"
"We trust in your character, Master Li," Zhao Yuan replied without hesitation.
They didn't actually trust Li Pin's character, but they were confident that with their sect's abilities, controlling Li Pin wouldn't be an issue. As long as Li Pin joined their sect, they would naturally find ways to gradually influence Li Pin to consider himself as an integral part of the sect.
Of course, perhaps with Li Pin’s talent, there may come a day when the entire Five Element Sect would no longer be able to provide him with any assistance, and he would still choose to venture out and leave the Five Element Sect to expand his horizons. But by that time, the Five Element Sect should have already overcome its current crisis.
At such a time, Li Pin would likely have at least reached the realm of Aura Force. With the sect’s past magnanimous treatment toward him and their years of to-be-friendship, if the Five Elements Sect encountered troubles, they were confident that Li Pin would not stand idly by when they needed him. This was equivalent to the Five Element Sect acquiring a future Aura Force Grandmaster as a backer. It would not be counted as a loss for them.
It wasn't difficult for Li Pin to read into their thoughts, and he felt that there was no need to screw them over too hard.
"I understand what you guys want. However, I signed up for the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Competition. If I can make a name for myself in the Jiangzhou Martial Arts Competition, I will likely stay and lay my foundation in Jiang Province City, so I'm afraid that your plans of borrowing my strength to take charge of Zanglong City won't work."
Li Pin’s tone became more serious. "Moreover, the Jiang Province Martial Competition is just a springboard. When the time is ripe, I will definitely go and make a name for myself at the national competition."
Zhao Yuan and Qi Dongyuan glanced at each other and laughed simultaneously. "If you can really be ranked in the national competition, Master Li, the Five Elements Sect will wholeheartedly congratulate and even honor you as our founding ancestor."
"Never mind," said Li Pin, waving his hand in refusal. “Hall Master Fang and I already have a signed agreement.”
Zhao Yuan glanced apologetically at Fang Lingjue and said, "As far as I know, the agreement between you and the Changfeng Martial Hall is only for one year, right?"
Zhao Yuan smiled faintly. "Since you're confident that you can show your talent in the national competition, then how about this: if you can become ranked in the national competition, my sect will prepare a lavish and generous gift to congratulate you on your bright future. However, before you achieve a ranking in the national competition, why don’t you join our Five Elements Sect when the agreement with the Changfeng Martial Hall has concluded? "
"Are you sure?" Li Pin asked Zhao Yuan, “What if I finish the Jiang Province Competition and immediately go on to the national competition and succeed in winning a ranking?”
Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "Hahaha, if that is the case, our Five Elements Sect will instantly offer the lavish and generous gift as promised."
However, he clearly didn't believe that Li Pin had the ability to do so.
Although Li Pin was interested in the Five Qi's to Primordiality Art, he didn't want to screw the Five Element Sect too severely. "Let's do it this way: during the national competition, I will fight as the Changfeng Martial Hall's secondment to the Five Element Sect."
“That would be best." Zhao Yuan immediately agreed as he felt that the earliest national competition that Li Pin could fight in would possibly be the one three years from now. Still, it was more likely to be the competition six or even nine years from now. Such a long period of time was enough for the Five Elements Sect to recover from its current crisis.
"Then let's sign the agreement," Li Pin said without further ado.
"Please sign here then," replied Zhao Yuan, smiling. "You can release Core Force in one strike even before reaching the realm of Core Formation, so there is no doubt that you can pass the associate-senior rank assessment. I do know quite a few fellow martial arts practitioners in Jiang Province City. One of them is in charge of the martial arts certificate examination, which will begin shortly. Would you like to head there now, Master Li?"
Li Pin smiled faintly. "That is not urgent."
Once he made it into the top ten of the Jiang Province Marital Competition, the martial society would naturally offer him the Associate Senior Title Certification, saving him a trip.
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