Changfeng Dojo.
Shanhu had overtrained yesterday and so woke up late this morning. She arrived at the dojo slightly later than usual.
Upon entering the dojo, she found that everyone had gathered in the training area.
Yang Danqing, Xu Huan, Zhang Le, including the two coaches who hadn't taken leave yet and a few early students.
They didn't seem to be training.
Instead, they were looking at one person warming up, as if preparing for some kind of test.
That person...
"Li Pin is back?"
Shanhu was overjoyed.
"Bang!"
The next moment, a muffled boom came from the strength testing machine, which seemed to shudder violently.
The noise startled Shanhu.
Suddenly, it was as if she realized something. She quickly strode over to the strength testing machine.
When she saw the "391" displayed on it, her heart throbbed with shock.
"How is this possible!?"
Disbelief was written all over her face.
"This kind of strength..."
"Elixir Energy! Elixir Energy! This is really Elixir Energy!"
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!"
Yang Danqing, Xu Huan, Zhang Le and the others were equally stunned.
Yang Danqing, in particular, was filled with a sense of awe and lament at Li Pin's progress.
"What happened? Elixir Energy!? Is the power Li Pin just demonstrated... truly Elixir Energy!?"
Shanhu felt as though she was in a dream.
For the past month, she had been busily training every spare moment, her dedication bringing impressive progress.
She had been looking forward to challenging Li Pin once he returned from his hometown, but now...
He'd reached the Elixir Energy level!?
"Can someone please tell me what just happened?"
Shanhu was bewildered.
"This morning, when I bumped into Li Pin, I casually mentioned... 'After a month's absence, your strength must have increased significantly', right?"
Xu Huan, with a complex expression on his face, said bitterly, "I swear, I was merely making a polite comment, but... he nodded, saying that he had come to understand the mystery of forming the Elixir..."
His face was a picture of awkward disbelief.
His only thought at the time, "Are you messing with me?"
A Tier Two Martial Artist, returning from a home visit with newly acquired Elixir Energy.
Even for a cheater, such progress doesn't happen, does it?
"It's my fault. I insisted he should test his strength, and now... you all saw the result."
Zhang Le said bitterly while standing to one side.
He glanced at Li Pin, who was recovering his Qi and Blood, opened his mouth to say something, but finally summed it up in three words.
"What a monster."
"So there are truly geniuses in this world."
Yang Danqing said, "Before the Star Arrival Festival, Master Fang once said that the newly opened martial arts school will be led by Li Pin with a salary of one million a year. I was a little dissatisfied. While it's true that Li Pin possesses great talent, reaching the Transformed Energy level required for leadership would surely take years. Back then, to console myself, I reasoned that he was young and handsome, which appeals to the younger generation. I, an old man, couldn't compare to him. But now..."
He shook his head with a touch of desolation: "We can't generalize people."
"Elixir Energy, Elixir Energy..."
Shanhu, trembling slightly, approached Li Pin.
After a while, she managed to ask, "You... have you really reached the Elixir Energy level?"
"Yes."
Li Pin nodded, "I encountered a Cat Demon in my hometown."
"Cat Demon!?"
At this revelation, Shanhu, Yang Danqing, Xu Huan, and Zhang Le all shared a look of shock.
"Cat Demon!?"
Shanhu repeated the words in a startled cry.
Clearly, she understood what confronting a Cat Demon implied.
"Yes, under those circumstances, it was either me or the Cat Demon."
With a calm tone, Li Pin spoke of the event as if it was an insignificant matter, "In the face of life and death, my mind was clear, I threw a punch, and when it landed, my spirit, will, Qi and Blood were boiling, united as one. I took advantage of the terrain and, at the cost of exhausting my own Qi and Blood, killed the Cat Demon. After the fight, I reflected upon it and realized that the exerted strength was indeed Elixir Energy."
The news of him killing a Cat Demon would eventually reach Pavilion Master Fang, but it wasn't something he couldn't disclose.
So he spoke openly about it.
Despite his casual recounting, the listeners could imagine how perilous his situation had been.
Just as Li Pin had said, it was either him dead or the Cat Demon.
Indeed, there had been many martial artists who, when faced with a life-threatening situation, comprehended the higher realms of power transfer and entered a new domain.
Everyone thought that such events only occurred in stories, films, or novels. They never imagined that it would happen right before their very eyes.
Li Pin, a man who risked his life to achieve Elixir Energy...
They could not help but be envious.
"A genius."
Yang Danqing sighed with admiration, "Now that he has Elixir Energy, reaching 'Holding Elixir' will be just a matter of time. Li Pin has a boundless future."
"Who would have thought that I'd be privileged enough to witness the rise of a genius."
Xu Huan said, "Li Pin, have you signed up for Jiangzhou's Martial Arts competition? I can't wait to see how far you'll go."
"I knew Li Pin could reach Elixir Energy, but I never thought it would happen so soon."
Zhang Le also sighed with emotion.
A young man who had joined Changfeng Dojo less than three months ago had brought them too many surprises.
But they also realized the vast gap between them and true geniuses.
"In fact, I had mastered the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound before I even went to university, and moved from outward strength to inward power. During my university years, although I didn't physically train, from time to time I would contemplate the mystery of Transformed Energy. In the past few months, as my physical conditioning improved, I naturally entered the realm of Transformed Energy. Possibly, Master Fang foresaw this, and that's why he entrusted me with leading a dojo."
Li Pin explained with a smile.
"Attaining the Transformed Energy level at twenty-two, especially attaining it with Elixir Energy, is astonishing. I'm afraid only disciples groomed by Martial Saints can reach this level at such a young age."
At this time, Yang Danqing had also slightly adjusted his attitude.
He was older and only wanted a peaceful life until retirement, without a strong desire to strive upwards.
So after resetting his mindset, he even had the mood to tease: "Could it be that Master Li is actually a secret disciple of some Martial Saint?"
Li Pin just smiled and didn't respond, only saying, "Elixir Energy does not imply 'Holding Elixir'. Also, I've exhausted all my previous accumulations. From now on, I can only rely on myself, one step at a time."
Yang Danqing, Shanhu, and the others thought that Li Pin's "previous accumulations" referred to his high school and university martial arts training years. They didn't know that Li Pin was referring to his previous life's decades of experience.
In his previous life, he had reached the peak of Transformed Energy, and at the cost of exhausting his Qi and Blood, he managed to output a few Elixir Energies.
And now...
He had fully caught up to his previous life, returning to his peak state.
Without the experiences from his previous life, he will have to rely solely on himself for his future journey.