Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent

Chapter 325: Royalty

Wen Xingchen respectfully bowed. "Master."

"You're here," Li Pin responded.

Li Pin's gaze didn't linger on Wen Xingchen, however. It bypassed him and fell directly on the three individuals standing with Wen Yusheng: an old man, seemingly in his seventies; a middle-aged man in his forties, and a young woman in her twenties, elegant and full of grace.

While their ages drew attention, what stood out was the aura around them. The old man and the middle-aged man were quite obviously High-Class Astral Cultivators. As for the woman, no older than twenty, she was clearly a Martial Saint.

A Martial Saint of her age shouldn't be affiliated with Wen Yusheng, much less two High-Class Astral Cultivators.

Even the children of a Master Astral Cultivator—blessed with vast resources, trained by renowned masters, and gifted with extraordinary talent—wouldn't dare dream of becoming Martial Saints before twenty. At best, they would only reach the Aura Cultivation stage.

"It seems that explains how you can so easily rent astral equipment and gather resources to form the Lifeform Force Field," Li Pin remarked.

The old man stepped forward with a slight smile. "Is there a possibility that the reason Xingchen was able to condense the Lifeform Force Field was actually due to the astral equipment in our possession?"

He bowed politely. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wen Langya. Decades ago, I went by another name—Lin Langya."

Li Pin nodded, his expression nonchalant. "Hmm."

The old man paused for a moment, slightly thrown off.

Li Pin looked back at him, puzzled. Why did he stop talking after introducing himself?

Wen Yusheng quickly interjected, "Martial God Li is not a native of Great Moon. He comes from Tianyuan."

Lin Langya finally understood. He introduced himself again, "I am Lin Langya, titled King Langya by the thirty-first emperor of Great Moon and the current heir of the Lin Royal Family."

He paused briefly, then continued, "Of course, there is no longer a Great Moon Royal Family, only the Lin Clan remains."

"So..." Li Pin looked at Lin Langya, "what exactly are you trying to say?"

Seeing Li Pin remain unmoved, Lin Langya, mindful of the current state of the Great Moon Royal Family and Li Pin's origins in Tianyuan, patiently explained, "I hope to gain your help, Martial God Li. We wish to prevent chaos and this rampant trend of warlords in Great Moon. We want to free the people from the suffering of war and poverty and to restore the prosperity and glory of the Great Moon era."

He paused slightly. "Once this is done, we are willing to honor you, Martial God Li, as our National Advisor. The Dragonfist Sect will rise as the foremost sect in Great Moon, and we will provide you with all necessary resources for your cultivation—materials, techniques, secret arts, and everything you need." @@novelbin@@

He glanced at Wen Xingchen. "We are willing to offer even a set of astral equipment for condensing the Lifeform Force Field."

"I'm not interested," Li Pin declined calmly. "If there's nothing else, please leave. Don't disturb my cultivation."

Lin Langya frowned at Li Pin's response.

At this moment, the middle-aged man beside him stepped forward and spoke solemnly. "Martial God Li, you might think restoring the nation is far-fetched, but in reality, the Lin Clan has been preparing for this for many years.

"When the royal family fell, the main branches—even the strongest—suffered losses of tens of thousands and were nearly wiped out, leaving only a few collateral lines like ours. Yet, in the purges that followed, fewer than a thousand survived. We had to disperse. Some changed their names and settled here, others moved abroad...."

His voice rose with resolve. "But the Great Moon ruled this land for over four hundred years. Even disregarding the last few decades, we still have a deep foundation. For sixty years, we've been preparing for this. Our people abroad have even secured the support of influential figures from the Solar Radiance and the East Sea's Thirty-Six Nations.

"As long as we produce a Master Astral Cultivator, we can join the Human Alliance and become an internationally recognized power. By then, even the Royal Empire and Great Shang will no longer dare to interfere openly on our soil."

"In that case, shouldn't you seek a Master Astral Cultivator instead of me?" rejoined Li Pin.

"No," refuted the middle-aged man, eyes burning with passion. "You, Martial God Li, are the second in the world to attain Martial God status and can even guide others with unique items to achieve it. Your importance surpasses that of a Master Astral Cultivator. If you were to represent Great Moon—"

Before he could finish, Li Pin's gaze shifted sharply to Wen Xingchen.

Wen Xingchen froze, not understanding why Li Pin had suddenly looked at him so sharply. He called out cautiously, "Master—"

"It seems I shouldn't call you Wen Xingchen but rather Lin Xingchen," Li Pin said.

"Master, you may call me whatever you prefer..." Wen Xingchen promptly replied.

Lin Langya sensed Li Pin's shift in mood, and he quickly tried to smooth things over. "We merely coaxed this information out of him through conversation. It wasn't his fault."

He continued, "We hope to work together with you, to invite you to join us. This information is also meant for internal circulation. It should—"

Li Pin cut him off with a wave of his hand. "It seems I haven't agreed to anything with you."

At this moment, Wen Xingchen suddenly realized what had happened. His face turned pale, and he immediately knelt down. "Master, I—"

"This isn't your fault. It's my oversight," Li Pin said calmly.

Li Pin might not have spelled it, but things like these were common sense! Anyone loyal to Li Pin's interests would have known the value of Skill Crystals and kept their mouth shut without needing a reminder.

The fact that Lin Langya could extract this information from Wen Xingchen only showed one thing: Wen Xingchen trusted Lin Langya with his own secrets.

However, that was understandable.

How long had Wen Xingchen known him for? Not even a year.

The Lin Clan, on the other hand, had trained him for over a decade. The fact that he had become a Martial Saint at twenty-four was solid enough proof of the resources they had invested in him.

"Martial God Li, we have come with sincerity," said Lin Langya.

He waved his hand, and soon after, a young girl stepped forward, setting down the box she had been carrying.

She opened it, revealing a set of rare astral equipment. It was crafted from Soul Stone, Celestial Eye Crystal, Titan Stone, and rare Astral Crystals.

With this set, combined with Li Pin's recent optimization of the Lifeform Force Field condensation process, it was enough for those who had mastered the Innate Embryonic Breath to condense their Lifeform Force Field and reach the level of Quasi-Martial Gods.

"I believe you'll find this set of astral equipment quite necessary. It's our gift to you," Lin Langya presented sincerely.

"Is that so? But if I don't plan on cooperating with you, can this set of rare astral equipment still be considered a gift?" Li Pin countered.

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, wanting to speak his mind.

This was a piece of rare astral equipment! How precious was that! Its value was beyond measure! Even Great Shang, known for selling anything, would price a single piece in the hundreds of billions. And this was a complete set! Aside from country-level transactions, individuals simply couldn't afford such treasures!

However, before he could voice his thoughts, Lin Langya spoke first, "Of course. As I said, this is a gift—one we hope will lay the foundation for future cooperation."

"Oh? So the plan's changed? No longer an invitation, but now a partnership?" Li Pin mused. "Seems like you've come prepared with several contingency plans."

"Martial God Li, someone of your caliber, a prodigy second only to the warlords, deserves nothing less than our utmost enthusiasm and caution," Lin Langya flattered.

His demeanor had shifted. The pride he carried himself with, as a member of Great Moon's royal family, had faded.

Lin Langya had originally hoped to use Great Moon's grandeur to impress Li Pin and pull him into their camp. However, when he saw that this approach wasn't working, he changed tactics.

"I suppose the astral equipment Wen Xingchen used to condense the Lifeform Force Field is more than just a rare astral equipment? Great Moon's foundation truly is extraordinary," Li Pin remarked.

They had to have even better treasures if they were willing to gift him with a piece of rare astral equipment.

Lin Langya sighed. "No matter how deep the foundation, decades have passed without producing a single Master Astral Cultivator. What good is it?"

He then introduced, "This is Lin Yuxuan, the most outstanding among the younger generation of our Lin clan in Great Moon. At only twenty, she has already reached the Martial Saint realm. She excels in thirteen combat techniques, four secret arts, and holds a master's degree from the Great Shang Royal University. She also possesses a unique gift and extraordinary intuition...."

Li Pin couldn't help but glance at her. Intuition gift?

"I wonder if she would be fortunate enough to catch your eye, Martial God Li. Our two families could form a strong partnership and mutually benefit from it," Lin Langya suggested.

"There's something I believe you've misunderstood. You seek my help to restore your nation, but what exactly do you offer in return? Protect the Black Gold Mine? If I wanted, the Dragonfist Sect could handle that easily. So why would I involve myself in your affairs and invite trouble?"

Li Pin's gaze fixed on Lin Langya. "Perhaps I should respond with a more straightforward question. Are you worthy?"

As these words left his lips, both Lin Langya and the middle-aged man, Lin Fuxing's expressions changed.

"Martial God Li—"

"You can leave now," Li Pin stated, shifting his gaze toward Wen Xingchen and Wen Yusheng. "You two as well."

"Martial God Li—"

Despite the insult, Lin Langya took a deep breath and composed himself. "I hope you'll reconsider. A collaboration between us would be a union of strength. Farewell."

Having left those words behind, he turned and left.

Lin Fuxing followed, instructing Lin Yuxuan to take the box and prepare to leave.

"Wait," Li Pin said calmly. "Put the items down."

He glanced at Wen Xingchen. "I'll give you a Skill Crystal to compensate for the rare astral equipment. From now on, we're even. You're no longer my disciple."