Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 295: The Great Moon Country

One hour later.

Li Pin had found something to wear by now. Although it was hard to say he was dressed, saying he was covered up wouldn't be wrong.

There were three holes in this outfit.

It was the kind of clothing you could throw away, and no one would bother to pick it up.

"So... where am I exactly?"

Li Pin walked along a muddy road, looking at the small thatched huts on either side. He hadn't seen buildings like this even back in the Blue Planet's rural areas, let alone in developed countries.

"If it weren't for the fact that I could still sense Gaia's familiar Celestial Magnetic Field's movements, I'd have thought I had transmigrated again."

Li Pin continued walking for a while.

Finally, he saw some figures up ahead. They were a dozen or so children, either wearing nothing or were dressed in extremely tattered clothing. These children were sun-tanned, dirty, and visibly malnourished. A few of them, looking about seven or eight years old, were so thin that their ribs pressed against their skin.

Wearing only ragged pants, they clutched onto some kind of plant and stared wide-eyed as Li Pin passed by.

As he walked past them, Li Pin noticed a few adults as well. Most of the men were shirtless. Few were wearing shirts, but they were tattered and very old.

Their clothing was in far worse condition than Li Pin's.

The women fared no better.

Even though Li Pin seemed to have entered what resembled a small town, there were barely any concrete buildings around, making it clear to Li Pin that this was a poor and underdeveloped place.

Even though Li Pin wasn't considered fair-skinned, he still stood out in sharp contrast to the dark yellow-tanned complexions of the locals.

Li Pin had only seen skin tones like these on Blue Planet, on old farmers who spent their days toiling under the sun. Their complexion was so yellow it appeared dull, so dull that it seemed to glow.

Li Pin looked at his outfit, which was relatively clean despite the holes it had.

He had originally pilfered this piece of clothing thinking it wasn't a big deal. However, this sight before him made him realize that he might've deprived a family of a valuable possession. Nonetheless, Li Pin didn't intend to return it anytime soon.

He was looking for some sign that could tell him where he was. He looked around but couldn't even see any power lines.

"This place... is truly impoverished. Even in the poorest rural areas, you wouldn't find a town with tens of thousands of people and fewer than one in ten with access to electricity?"

Li Pin looked down at the road he was treading on. It was shabby and riddled with potholes. Yet, it was the main entry and exit route into this small town.

As he walked, more and more people appeared on the road, yet no one tried to strike up a conversation with Li Pin. They saw his relatively fair skin and avoided him. Some even looked at him with hostility.

At this moment, a voice came from beside Li Pin.

It was a man dressed like a security officer. He looked to be in his forties.

Li Pin didn't respond to the man, not understanding him.

Seeing Li Pin's lack of response, the man stammered as he switched to another language.

"Do you speak Tianyuan's language?" Li Pin asked.

This was the only language he knew.

"I do... a little..." answered the man tentatively.

Through a mix of guesswork and Li Pin's look of rudimentary understanding, the man gleamed he needed assistance, so he asked "Do you need help?"

"Where is this place?" Li Pin asked.

The man looked puzzled by the question. Soon, he gestured for Li Pin to follow him.

He led Li Pin to an enclosed courtyard at the edge of the town.

Well, it was more like a manor.

It covered over 100,000 square meters and there were several buildings inside. All of the buildings inside were made of concrete.

Li Pin felt a faint sense of returning to modern society.

After the man conversed with someone inside the villa, the iron gates opened, and another man in a similar security uniform led Li Pin into the courtyard.

There were quite a few people dressed similarly inside the courtyard.

Are they security personnel? Li Pin thought.

They all looked to be armed.

On a nearby "training field" that stretched thousands of meters, there were several vehicles parked. Among them were two modified pickup trucks, armed with machine guns.

These equipment... this level of armament would be unimaginable on the Blue Planet or in either Taibai or Tianyuan.

The security personnel led Li Pin to the main building.

The main building was substantial. It was five stories high and covered an area of over eight hundred square meters.

The building's exterior didn't stand out much in this rural place, looking like a standard rural mansion. It was quite grand, but nothing out of the ordinary.

However, when Li Pin stepped inside, he was surprised by the degree of luxury. Numerous servants and attendants were bustling around within.

Li Pin then saw a middle-aged man in a suit. Glasses perched on his face, he projected a scholarly demeanor as he waited in the living room.

From the second floor of the living room, another man looked down at them, wearing a casual robe and looking quite dignified.

To Li Pin's surprise, there was an Aura Cultivation Grandmaster beside the man. However, unlike other Aura Cultivation Grandmasters who were bursting with vitality, this one gave off a sense of energy akin to oil burning under intense heat, as if he had used extreme techniques to push his potential to the absolute limit, becoming a Grandmaster at a great cost.

Without proper recuperation, this person likely would not live past fifty.

"I am a translator from Xiangye City. You may call me Qiao Wen. How should I address you, sir?"

"My surname is Li." Li Pin replied. "I'm a..."

Considering how underdeveloped this place was, their communication infrastructure should be inadequate. Therefore, assuming they hadn't yet heard of the term Martial God, Li Pin opted for a simple title.

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"I am a Martial Saint who practices asceticism."

Revealing his strength was meant to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Under Qiao Wen's astonished gaze, Li Pin continued, "I lost my way while traveling through a forest and wandered for days until I arrived here. I'd appreciate it if you could provide some information about this area."

"A Martial Saint who practices asceticism!" Qiao Wen quickly stood and respectfully bowed. "It is my honor to meet you."

By now, the man upstairs who was wearing a long robe seemed inclined to come down. The Grandmaster next to him attempted to dissuade him, but he clearly failed as the man descended the staircase, wearing a smile.

The man introduced, "Martial Saint Li, welcome to the land of ten thousand saints, Molong Country's Xiangye City."

His Tianyuan dialect was even more fluent than Qiao Wen's.

"This, here, is our city's lord, Wen Yusheng, Lord Wen," Qiao Wen quickly introduced.

Xiangye City?

Li Pin glanced at the basic infrastructure outside, which was inferior even to a town in Taibai, and found it peculiar.

They call this a city?

But then, something clicked in his mind.

The land of ten thousand saints?

"This is the Great Moon Country?"

Wen Yusheng nodded. "That's right."

So it really is Great Moon Country!

The land of ten thousand saints was once one of the world's superpowers before the Astral God's descent!

Due to an ill-fated decision by the royal family, the Great Moon Country was fractured during the era of turmoil, falling into chaos for decades afterward. Even today, the Great Moon Country's land was said to be governed by three hundred warlords.

Of course, warlords were what the external people addressed them as. Internally, the leaders of these factions had long since declared themselves kings or generals and lords.

Molong Country, bold enough to call itself a nation, was likely one of the more powerful factions.

"Martial Saint Li, you have chosen to come to an excellent place for your training."

Wen Yusheng smiled and extended an invitation, "Just a hundred and thirty kilometers south of Xiangye City lies the most famous martial arts sanctuary in Molong Country—the Dragonfist Sect. Over thirty years, this sect has produced dozens of Martial Saints—nearly one every year.

"Its westward lays the Ancient Beastfolk Battlefield, a popular training ground and exploration site for many Martial Saints. Eastward is the largest mining region from the Great Moon period, yielding not only black iron ore—ideal for forging weapons—but also the precious materials mithril and refined gold, which are essential for crafting high-grade astral equipment."

Hearing this, Li Pin's interest was piqued.

He had no immediate intention of returning to Tianyuan and was keen on focusing on his own training, seeing his journey along the path of the Martial God to its end.

"How strong are the ferocious beasts and demonic creatures?" Li Pin asked.

Wen Yusheng patiently explained, "The Ancient Beastfolk Battlefield is the site where the decisive battle between Great Moon's army and ferocious beasts as well as demonic creatures took place.

"Apart from certain demonized creatures like bats and scorpions, most threats come from Skeleton Demons—mutated from beastfolks and human soldiers who perished there. They are comparable to real Astral Cultivators in strength.

"As for the mining area, it's home to numerous Ghouls and Majins. They are primarily high-tier demonic creatures."

Li Pin nodded. High-tier demonic creatures...

He planned to seek out some demonic creatures to spar with as part of his training. At his current level, high-tier demons were most suitable for practice without the aid of the Celestial Magnetic Field.

Wen Yusheng warmly offered, "Martial Saint Li, if you intend to explore or train in the Ancient Beastfolk Battlefield, we'd be more than willing to assist you. We can provide for your accommodations and daily needs here in Xiangye City."

Li Pin glanced at Wen Yusheng and quickly understood his intentions.

He hoped to leverage Li Pin's power as a Martial Saint to drive away those Skeleton Demons, keeping them at a safe distance from Xiangye City.

Li Pin didn't mind. Considering he'd be training here for a while, he needed food and lodging. It was mutually beneficial.

Nodding, Li Pin replied, "Agreed. But I'll need a guide for my first trip to the Ancient Beastfolk Battlefield."

Wen Yusheng looked at the grandmaster beside him. Receiving the grandmaster's nod of agreement, Wen Yusheng smiled and turned his attention back to Li Pin. "Of course, I'll arrange that for you, Martial Saint Li."

"Thank you," Li Pin responded. Then, glancing down at his clothes, he asked, "Do you have money?"

"The currency issued within Molong Country isn't widely accepted, so we mainly use the Royal Empire's gold yuan as currency..." Wen Yusheng said.

He looked at an elderly butler and instructed, "Bring ten thousand gold yuan."

"No need for that much," Li Pin interjected. "A thousand will do."

Wen Yusheng did not insist.

Soon, Wen Yusheng arranged for Qiao Wen to take Li Pin to rest and change clothes.

"My Lord, based on the pressure Martial Saint Li gave me, he truly possesses the strength of a Martial Saint. But since his background is unclear, letting him stay in your estate might be...."

"It's alright. I've already asked someone to invite Mr. Qiao over. It shouldn't be an issue," Wen Yusheng responded, sighing. "The number of demonic creatures from the Ancient Beastfolk Battlefield keeps increasing. Although we've collapsed many of the exits, they still occasionally emerge, disturbing the people. As their city lord... I can't ignore this...."

The man looked at Wen Yusheng.

It was precisely because of Lord Wen's compassion, treating the people as valuable human beings, that he loyally stayed by his side, willing to protect him.

"Even if this Martial Saint only stays a few days, it's just the cost of hosting. Should he fail to drive off the demonic creatures, we'd end up spending even more to request assistance from the Dragonfist Sect's Martial Saints."

A flash of worry crossed Wen Yusheng's face. "If the expenses get too high and we can't meet this year's tax obligations... the consequences would be unthinkable."