Entering the City

Jiang Ping An changed his clothes, leaving himself disheveled and grimy, his long hair covering half his face as he stood at the gates of the county city.

"Pay the entry tax. Five copper coins!" A soldier stopped Jiang Ping An.

With an expression of pained reluctance, Jiang Ping An carefully took five copper coins from his bag and handed them over unwillingly.

He was not short of money now, but he had to act as though he was. Otherwise, these people would grow endlessly greedy and demand even more.

Only after taking the money did the soldier put away his weapon.

Jiang Ping An had not actually wanted to come to the county city. He did not believe that the most dangerous place was the safest place.

He had come to the county city solely to figure out a few things.

What was the "Blood Qi Art"? What were Blood Qi Pills? How strong exactly were these soldiers, and what level was his own strength at?

He knew nothing.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will fight a hundred battles without defeat. It was unwise to rashly come into conflict with them.

Take the previous battle, for example. He had not known that cultivators could not easily engage Martial Warriors in close combat, and he had nearly been beaten to death.

This time, he had come to gather information.

This was his second time in Flat Water County.

He had come here once with his father. The first time he saw it, he had been stunned by its prosperity.

When he was little, his wish had been to leave the village and live here.

People's faces on the streets had once overflowed with smiles, but now they were nearly nowhere to be seen.

As he passed a teahouse, he heard the lively chatter within. He went inside, ordered a cup of tea, and quietly sat in a corner.

"The front lines have been defeated again."

"These people must have rocks in their heads. Our Spirit Terrace Kingdom clearly isn't strong, yet they were incited into starting a war. The ones who suffer are us common folk!" an Old Man said resentfully.

"Shh, you can't say that!" someone hurriedly warned him.

"What can't be said? Look at the Great Summer Kingdom—how well they treat their people. During wartime, they waive all sorts of taxes, and their people help the country too. Now look at our Spirit Terrace Kingdom—it's not worth a damn!"

"Don't talk about that. Have you heard? Someone over in Great River Village killed a whole lot of soldiers."

A well-informed middle-aged man spoke up.

"Really? Who would dare do something like that?"

"The details aren't clear yet. Anyway, a lot of soldiers died, and they sent many more soldiers over there."

"Serves them right! Good riddance!"

Smiles appeared on many faces in the teahouse.

Jiang Ping An said nothing. He quietly sat in the corner, listening to the discussions around him.

Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, he knew that the road he intended to walk was not wrong.

He had also learned that not every country oppressed its lower-class people as harshly as Flat Water County did. The Great Summer Kingdom, for instance, did not go too far.

The lodging was above the teahouse, so Jiang Ping An stayed there. Over the following days, aside from cultivating, he went downstairs to listen to people talk about all kinds of experiences and news.

Having lived in the village all his life, he heard many things he had never understood before.

Whenever the subject turned to cultivators and soldiers, he would casually add a few words, probing for more information.

After five or six days of inquiry, he obtained the information he wanted.

Flat Water County had four thousand iron cavalry, three thousand of whom guarded the border near the Great Summer Kingdom.

The soldiers of Flat Water County were divided into five ranks. The first rank was generals, the second was Great Captains, the third was Middle Captains, followed by Team Leaders, and finally ordinary soldiers.

These people practiced martial arts, cultivating the "Blood Qi Art," which increased their strength.

His current strength was comparable to that of a low-ranking Middle Captain. He was far inferior to a Great Captain, and even weaker than some powerful Middle Captains.

He had heard that a Great Captain's strength was equivalent to Qi Refining Level 6 through 9 for cultivators.

Generals were even stronger, at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer. There were even rumors that generals had reached the level of Martial Masters, equivalent to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The other book he had seized was called "Phantom Blade." It was a Martial Skill with three levels, a Martial Skill commonly used throughout Flat Water County.

Once one mastered the First Floor, one could create one phantom blade image. The Second Floor could create two, and the Third Floor could create three.

The higher one cultivated, the more powerful it naturally became.

When Jiang Ping An learned this, lingering fear rose in his heart.

Cui Xiao, whom he had fought, had only mastered the First Floor of "Phantom Blade" and had merely been the lowest-ranking Middle Captain.

If Cui Xiao had been even a little stronger, Jiang Ping An would definitely be dead by now.

Jiang Ping An also gained some understanding of cultivator realms. Cultivation did not mean becoming an immortal; it merely made one stronger than ordinary people.

If cultivators wanted to become powerful, they needed to learn spells. But he had none—only a Breathing and Meditation Technique.

"There's a Wanted Poster at the city gate! It's for the person who killed Middle Captain Cui Xiao! Turns out the murderer is a child!"

Someone entered the teahouse and loudly shared the news he had just received.

"A child? Really? A Middle Captain is so powerful—how could a teenager kill one?"

The guests in the teahouse were greatly shocked.

They had discussed the matter over the past few days too, but they had not known the culprit was a teenager.

"Of course it's true! I saw the portrait with my own eyes!"

"I heard those soldiers had searched for him for many days without finding him. They suspected he might have fled into one of the towns, so they made Wanted Posters..."

The man sharing the news suddenly saw something. His pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly turned his head away.

"They're posting Wanted Posters at the gates outside the city now, and they're putting them up in the other towns too. If I were that teenager, I'd hurry east. The mountains there are steep and rugged, so horses can't climb them. But he'd need to watch out for bandits—there are a lot of them over there."

Jiang Ping An pressed down the brim of his hat and walked out of the teahouse as though nothing had happened. Once outside, he quickly headed toward the eastern gate.

Only after Jiang Ping An had gone far away did the man sharing the news raise his head and look over, muttering, "Boy, stay alive."

Before long, many people saw Jiang Ping An's portrait.

Those who often drank tea at the teahouse shuddered violently when they saw it.

Wasn't this the teenager who often sat in the corner?

He had actually dared to come to Flat Water County's city!

Jiang Ping An arrived at the eastern gate. Wearing a straw hat, he walked out at an unhurried pace.

Everyone was looking at the portrait by the gate, their attention not on him.

"Stop!"

A soldier suddenly shouted.

Jiang Ping An's heart tightened, and he was about to break into a run.

"Open your bag. Let me see what good stuff you've got in there," the soldier said greedily.

Seeing that Jiang Ping An was alone, and that his profile showed him to be a child, yet his bag was bulging, the soldier suspected there might be something valuable inside that he could snatch.

Jiang Ping An pressed down his hat and handed over the bag.

It was full of clothes, along with a few copper coins.

The soldier threw the clothes onto the ground and rudely stuffed the copper coins into his own pocket.

"Get lost... Wait! You're..."

"Pfft—"

Jiang Ping An drew the man's blade and swiftly chopped off his leg.

Just focus on robbing my money. Why did you have to look any closer!

The soldiers here did not have the protections enjoyed by Great Summer Kingdom soldiers. Once they became crippled in battle, they would be abandoned.

Killing such scum would be letting him off too easily. Crippling him and letting him be cast aside until he starved to death—that was far more painful.

"Ahhh—"

A miserable scream echoed across the entire eastern gate.

Jiang Ping An had not wanted to make a move, but the other man had forced his hand.

He seized a horse and charged out of the city.

"The murderer! That teenager is the murderer who killed the Middle Captain!"

At those words, the soldiers who had been preparing to stop him instantly scattered.

This guy could even kill a Middle Captain. Against trash soldiers like them, wouldn't he kill one with every swing? Whoever tried to stop him would die.

"Hurry and report it to the higher-ups! Tell them the person who killed the Middle Captain fled through the eastern gate!"

"Damn! That kid has some nerve—he actually dared to sneak into the city!"

"Hurry and chase him! We can't let him get away!"