Chapter 38: Artist
Aura Force.
People who had reached this stage had become legends on Blue Planet, just like gods.
Back on the Blue Planet, Li Pin had been involved in the martial arts world for over ten years and had heard about a handful of Aura Force martial artists. However, despite actively seeking these individuals out, Li Pin was never actually successful in meeting any of them. He did, however, come across people who claimed to be Aura Force martial artists. Unfortunately, they all turned out to be fakes fishing for fame and compliments and nothing more.
However, in this world, those people were considered the true management. Astral Cultivators would seek Core Formation advice from them, and reputable Aura Force martial artists would even be bestowed aristocratic titles by the royal family. They would then be qualified to be part of the local council.
Even if an Aura Force martial artist didn't have a renowned reputation, they'd still easily be able to obtain a decent standing in the martial scene. One could be a county-level martial society's chairman or even a city-level martial society's vice-chairman. As long as it wasn't a major city, an Aura Force practitioner would be more than eligible to assume the role.
Zanglong City only had a chairman, an honorary chairman, and three vice-chairmen. All the three vice-chairmen had only attained Core Formation.
From this point, one can see what status an Aura Force expert held, and Cao Tianyou was one such Aura Force Grandmaster.
Cao Tianyou examined Li Pin, and he was suddenly hit with a realization.
"Mmhmm!?" he muttered in surprise. "You achieved Core Formation!?"
As he said this, the chatting guests seated at the table turned to look.
"Thanks to the profoundness of the Five Elements Body-Refining Art and Grandmaster Cao's personal experience, I achieved new comprehension in the past half a month and was fortunate enough to take that step," Li Pin explained.
Cao Tianyou was delightfully surprised. "Good, that's great."
Li Pin had signed a contract with Five Elements Sec, so the stronger he became, the more stable their status would be in Zanglong City.
"This is a tremendous improvement within a short time," said Cao Tianyou.
"This is Master Li who just joined Five Elements Sect?" asked one of the elders who had been chatting with Cao Tianyu.
Li Pin glanced at him and vaguely felt that the energy he gave off was similar to that of Cao Tianyou. This immediately made Li Pin realize something.
Was this Jiang Qingyue, the martial society's chairman?
Cao Tianyou smiled as he said, "He is the brightest star in Zanglong City's martial scene—Li Pin."
Elder Jiang Qingyue's face was adorned with smiles. "I've heard of your name more than once myself, Master Li. You've slayed the demonic cat in Liuchuan County City and captured a wanted criminal that Zanglong City has been trying to capture for a long time. Now that I've seen you in person today… you're younger than I imagined. Young people nowadays are impressive. Zanglong City's future would surely be in the hands of the youngsters."
"President Jiang, you are too generous with your praise," Li Pin responded.
"I was just being honest," Jian Qingyue said.
Cao Tianyou spoke up. "Brother Jiang probably doesn't know this yet but Li Pin has already registered for the Jiang Province Martial Competition. He hadn’t attained Core Formation then and wouldn't have high hopes to be ranked. But now he has achieved Core Formation and could train his physique in the next few months to bring his Core Formation to the peak condition. With his physical combat ability, he has great hopes of getting into the top ten."
He then continued while smiling, "This time around, for the people who stand a chance at making it into the top ten, not only do we have Fang Lingjue, we also have Master Li as well. If we do secure two slots in the top ten, surely it would be a brilliant addition to Chairman Jiang’s resume."
Having heard this, Jiang Qingyue smiled and looked at Li Pin with more cordiality.
Even if Li Pin wasn't able to make it into the top ten this season, with his age, he would have great promise in the next season.
Even if the next season didn't work out, there would still be the season after that. Jiang Qingyue had heard that he was only twenty-two. He could participate in four more Jiang Province Martial Competitions. Jiang Qingyue could already foresee how much glory this young martial artist could bring to his name.
"Would you like to join the Zanglong University's Martial Arts Faculty, Master Li? Once you graduate, Zanglong University will plan a career path for you to become an Associate Senior Professor, Professor, then gradually onto the head of an office before and eventually becoming the dean," another middle-aged man suddenly extended an invitation to Li Pin.
Some universities had martial arts faculties, but most Core Formation Masters earned millions or even tens of millions annually. The schools couldn't possibly afford to give them such a high salary.
As such, these schools were only able to hire one to two level-three martial artists. Other than the top ten universities, no other universities could attract Core Formation Masters.
The Zanglong University, which was not that famous, was no exception.
Li Pin glanced at this middle-aged man, who seemed to be the principal of the Zanglong University, and politely declined the offer. "I have to use what little time I have left to focus on the competition."
"This is Mayor Tian, Tian Fei Yu. He takes care of culture, education, and publicity."
Cao Tianyou introduced the man then smiled and asked, "Are you keen on having Master Li attend the competition as a university student, Mayor Tian?"
Tian Feiyu smiled and replied, "Being a student doesn't conflict with being affiliated with a certain martial hall."
Cao Tianyou and the rest nodded. They knew that was true.
Although Li Pin was only twenty-two, his age didn't really grant him that much of an advantage when he was participating in the intermediate category. However, if he were to leverage the identity of being a student, he'd be able to gain fame from doing well in the competition even if he didn't manage to get into the top ten.
Naturally, if his reputation soared, Zanglong City—and, in turn, Tian Feiyu, who was the mayor—would naturally gain the interest of the influential parties in Jiang Province.
In the future, if Tian Feiyu desired to make it up the ladder, he could climb from deputy mayor to become the mayor [1]and eventually to Jiang Province. It'd be a wonderful achievement to his record.
"I'm afraid we would have to let Mayor Tian down. Master Li is no longer a student. He was previously studying at Hanyang University, but had been expelled and had his student status revoked. If he wants to attend Zanglong University, he will have to retake the examinations, and this will cause him to miss the Jiang Province Martial Competition. If he were to wait for the next season, he would be twenty-five then… It'd be too old for him to be a student then," Zhao Yuan commented.
Cao Tianyou was astonished. "Mmhmm? What happened?"
"I had investigated this before I invited Master Li to join the Five Elements Sect," continued Zao Yuan, shooting Li Pin an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Master Li. We had to find out about your character… but the truth be told, Master Li is indeed someone of moral integrity."
Li Pin's expression changed a little. He had a feeling Zhao Yuan and Cao Tianyou were playing good cop, bad cop.
"It's fine, the innocent need not defend themselves," he replied.
"That's a good one: the innocent need not defend themselves," Zhao Yuan complimented sincerely. "Master Li's actions live up to this statement as well. He experienced injustice but he did not retaliate with physical force."
Zhao Yuan continued, "A few months back, Master Li was framed in Hanyang University and was subject to public criticism. Back then, he foolishly attempted suicide. "
"What happened? If it's true that someone had framed him and spread false rumors, we have to investigate!" Tian Feiyu said angrily.
"We have already investigated this in the process. Someone had intentionally stirred up a storm and fanned it secretly." Zhao Yuan sighed. "I did not intend to bring this matter up on such an occasion but this involves a board member of Hanyang University. If we were to leave this matter be, once Master Li succeeds in the Jiang Province Martial Competition, the whole world will know of his past experiences. At that time…"
After pausing for a moment as a concerned expression flashed on his face, Zhao Yuan continued, "The ones affected will not just be Hanyang University. Even Mayor Tian might be affected and as such, be blamed for poor supervision."
1. Even though the author introduced Tian Feiyu as the mayor earlier, he is actually the deputy mayor. He was introduced as the mayor as a greater sign of respect. ☜
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