Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 315: Black Tortoise

The Dragonfist Sect had been passed down from the Great Moon era until now, preserving many precious manuals. Although the rapid development of martial arts had accelerated only in recent years, there had still been Martial Saints a hundred years ago. It was just that they were extremely rare. Those who could become Martial Saints in that era were all exceptional talents.

The heritage of the Dragonfist Sect originated from a Martial Saint from Great Moon. He was known as the "Truelord Black Tortoise[1]"

The Dragonfist Sect's founder was the chief disciple of Truelord Black Tortoise. After receiving the full inheritance from Truelord Black Tortoise and making a name for himself as"Heaven-Splitting One Punch," he established the Dragonfist Sect.

And what Truelord Black Tortoise had left behind for his disciple was... the Black Tortoise True Art.

***

In the study, Li Pin flipped through two manuals, one of which read: Black Tortoise True Art.

Shi Shihu, the sect's sect master—or rather, its former sect master and current vice sect leader—was standing right next to Li Pin. "This martial art is the core of the Dragonfist Sect. The other manuals, like the Azure Dragon Moon-Embracing Art and the Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique, are techniques that evolved over time, with Black Tortoise True Art acting as the foundation."

Shi Shihu couldn't help but reminisce about the history of the Dragonfist Sect when it was founded. "When the Dragonfist Sect was first established, it was extremely prestigious. Even the Great Moon Dynasty's first prince had personally attended the sect's opening ceremony.

"Unfortunately, when the Astral God descended, the Great Moon Dynasty misjudged the impact brought by the Astral Cultivators, ruthlessly suppressing and controlling those who succeeded in meditating on the Astral God. Initially, this was quite effective, and the Astral Cultivators were forced to flee to other lands.

"However, as time passed, especially with the emergence of the Master Astral Cultivators, the situation changed."

Li Pin had come across this piece of information in some books he had read as well.

The Great Moon Dynasty reaped what it had sown, and was attacked from all sides, leading to its complete destruction.

Although Great Shang had a hand in pushing things along, the Great Moon Dynasty's own poor decisions were the main culprit. Now, the land was laden with chaos, suffering in an era rampant with warlords.

Over the past few decades, Great Moon saw its population shrink from three billion to one billion, and its territory cut by more than half. This alone showed the devastation caused by the warlord era.

It was worth noting that back on Blue Planet, there had also been a history filled with decades of turmoil. However, the birth rate matched the death rate. Before the chaos, there were over four hundred million people, and after, there were still over four hundred million.

There were even statistics showing that the population had grown from four hundred million to five hundred million, showing an increase of one hundred million.

"Today, the Great Moon Dynasty has become history, but there are still many remnants of its forces that want to change the situation, to restore the Great Moon's unity. At the very least... they want to end the war," Shi Shihu said regretfully.

He sighed. "Unfortunately, the Astral Cultivators who first hated the Great Moon still loom over everyone. Sixty or seventy years hasn't been enough time to erase them from history. Instead, they have only become more powerful. Under their oppression, any Astral Cultivators born in this land are immediately taken away and indoctrinated with hatred.

"Over the decades, tens of thousands of Astral Cultivators left the Great Moon, but only a handful are willing to return and change the situation here."

"Everyone has to pay the price of their choices," said Li Pin.

"But this price is too heavy," Shi Shihu lamented, his expression grave. "And it's especially a price the common folk shouldn't shoulder."

He continued in a deep voice, "Those Astral Cultivators who left never came back, but those who do return, like Wu Muxuan, only intensify the oppression and enslavement of the people here under the influence of their hatred."

Li Pin glanced at Shi Shihu, looking slightly surprised.

He couldn't help but find Shi Shihu quite interesting.

"Twenty years ago, some of the remaining forces finally realized that Astral Cultivators couldn't save the Great Moon! Only by growing stronger ourselves, can we save the Great Moon!"

Shi Shihu, seemingly unaware of the strange look in Li Pin's eyes, continued in a serious tone, "Everyone realized that martial arts is Great Moon's only way out. So, the Heavenly Martial Alliance was formed. Out of the need to survive, martial arts experienced tremendous growth in just twenty years, even earning the nickname 'land of ten-thousand saints'. Other nations are fine with this... because in their eyes, martial artists pose no real threat."

"You're talking too much," Li Pin pointed out.

"What I mean to say is, if you need it, Sect Master, with your reputation as a Martial God, you could raise your hand and thousands would be at your beck and call," Shi Shihu quickly added.

"It'd also bring me more trouble."

"We can act in secret!" Shi Shihu said, "In recent years, both Great Shang and the Royal Empire have lost interest in Great Moon. The departments that target Great Moon's borders like Great Shang's Cold Moon Hall and the Royal Empire's Ninth Intelligence Department are no longer directly under the charge of Legendary Astral Cultivators. It has been like this since a decade or so back."

Li Pin glanced at Shi Shihu and could more or less guess what those Astral Cultivators were thinking.

The people from the Great Moon were just a bunch of rats hiding in the shadows, unable to stir up any real trouble.

However, that didn't matter.

Li Pin picked up the Black Tortoise True Art and asked, "So, you used the tortoise breathing technique recorded in here to condense a Lifeform Force Field?"

Noticing that Li Pin had changed the topic, Shi Shihu didn't dare linger on it and obediently replied, "Yes. When one enters the tortoise breathing state, their Vitality, Qi, and Spirit recover at an extremely fast pace. When comprehension of this secret art reaches a high enough level, it is possible to comprehend the legendary Innate Embryonic Breath phase."

Shi Shihu's expression turned solemn. "All these years, I couldn't truly grasp the mystery of the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique. It wasn't until Martial God Li Pin's Lifeform Force Field theory was made public that I realized how the process of condensing the Lifeform Force Field, transitioning from death to life, was remarkably similar to the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique.

"With this insight, I finally glimpsed its secret. Later, I used the entire sect's resources to rent a piece of legendary astral equipment, risking everything to finally condense a Lifeform Force Field."

Hearing that, Li Pin's eyes drifted to the technique he was holding. Innate Embryonic Breath Technique.

It was true that the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique shared a high resemblance with the condensation of the Lifeform Force Field in the way it transitioned from life to death.

Truelord Black Tortoise truly lived up to his reputation as a character who had become a Martial Saint before the Astral God era.

"This technique makes my trip to the Dragonfist Sect worthwhile," Li Pin murmured.

He had already started forming ideas on how to further reduce the difficulty of condensing a Lifeform Force Field. However, he'd need to test the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique first to know for sure.

"How much usable funds does the Dragonfist Sect have now?" Li Pin asked.

"Erm..." Shi Shihu responded awkwardly, "Originally, I went to Great Shang to trade for Essence-Gathering Pearls to help a highly gifted elder in our sect attain a breakthrough.

"However, after I comprehended the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique and seemed to touch upon the mysteries of the Martial God path, I used all of our funds, along with the sect's inherited legacy, to rent a piece of legendary astral equipment. Now, the Dragonfist Sect only has basic funds left, totaling less than ten million."

He quickly added, "Sect Master, if you need funds, I can have people gather them immediately. We can raise a billion within a month without issue."

A billion... that's not even enough for ten Primordial Electric Crystals.

If Li Pin really wanted to make money, he'd have to do it through the Black Gold Mine.

"That will do for now," said Li Pin.

He left with the Black Tortoise True Art's manual, planning to study it further.

As for the Azure Dragon Moon-Embracing Art, having flipped through countless manuals in the Dragon Gate Hall, Li Pin no longer cared for this martial art.

***

In the following period, the people of the Dragonfist Sect noticed that aside from having a new sect master, their lives seemed no different from before.

As for this new sect master, his battle with Shi Shihu left everyone deeply impressed by his strength. Furthermore, given that he was likely the only Martial God in Great Moon, the Martial Saints didn't seem to be against him becoming their sect master.

While Li Pin stayed at Dragonfist Sect, the Xiangye Territory quickly mobilized and occupied the Black Gold Mine area in Fenglin and Hanmu Territories.

During this time, the Xiangshi Territory naturally tried to take advantage of the situation and extort money from them, but after Wen Xingchen and Xu Bao made a visit, Cui Sheng was scared into submission.

Taking this opportunity, Wen Xingchen ordered Cui Sheng to return the money he had "borrowed." @@novelbin@@

However, as all of this happened, Li Pin did not interfere with Xiangye Territory's actions.

In the short term, his only requirement was to secure and develop the treasure-filled Black Gold Mine.

***

One month later.

In the Dragonfist Sect's training courtyard reserved for the former sect master, Li Pin slowly opened his eyes.

The Black Tortoise True Art was really profound.

However, to Li Pin, grasping any martial art that interfered with the body's internal transformations was something that could be done in a matter of time, just like the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique. Half a month ago, he had already mastered the gist of it.

After another fifteen days of practice, he could now enter the Innate Embryonic Breath state at will.

It was a state similar to sleep, yet not quite sleep. When in this state, his Vitality, Qi, and Spirit would recover rapidly.

If the practitioner's Vitality, Qi, and Spirit were already abundant, they could further nourish the body, tap into potential, and nurture the mind.

"It's quite similar to the primordial qi in the Innate Qi-Refining Technique but more comprehensive."

Li Pin quietly sensed the changes in his body.

The Innate Qi-Refining Technique had begun to fall behind his growth, and the Foundation Building chapter focused on tapping into physical potential, which was also no longer useful to him. The Thunder-Magnetic Elemental Body's effect was better.

The primordial qi cultivated through the Qi-Refining Chapter could only serve as a supplement to the technique's recovery trait. For healing injuries, the recovery trait was superior to the primordial qi.

However, the Innate Embryonic Breath Technique from the Black Tortoise True Art gave him hope for optimizing the Innate Qi-Refining Technique.

Indeed, you can never underestimate anyone. If people on Blue Planet could create such a marvelous technique as the Innate Qi-Nurturing Technique, how could a more populous and martial arts-advanced world like Gaia not have similar arts?

Unfortunately, in this era of chaos, much has been lost. The rise of Astral Cultivators has overshadowed the brilliance of martial arts, causing many legacies to vanish into history, no longer able to shine as they did centuries ago.

He had reviewed many Martial Saint legacies, but they were all from after the Astral God's arrival.

As for the Martial Saint legacies from before the Astral God's arrival... he hadn't seen much of them.

"This is a good time to give the people of Dragonfist Sect something to do."

He had a feeling that if he could combine existing martial arts and complete this optimization, the Martial God realm would no longer be something exclusive to him but would truly enter the lives of the masses.

1. TL note: Yes it sounds a little iffy, and would probably sound better as Truelord Xuanwu. But I'm keeping the Black Tortoise for some consistency with the other constellations. ☜