South Ridge City

But the Game Panel required him to run, so run he did. He had tried traveling with Lightness Skill, but unfortunately, the Game Panel wouldn't recognize it.

After glancing at the panel, Zhao Ping'an sat inside the carriage and closed his eyes again, continuing to absorb Heavenly Qi.

On the uneven road, two carriages traveled one behind the other at a steady pace, one luxurious and one ordinary.

When Zhao Ping'an's Training Progress in the Primordial Chaos Art increased by nine points, he felt the carriage slow noticeably. At the same time, the voices from both sides of the road grew many times louder.

Curious, he lifted the cloth curtain covering one side of the window and looked outside.

"Have we reached South Ridge City?"

Beyond the window, peddlers and porters streamed past without end, mixed among them were many martial world figures carrying weapons. Their cultivation wasn't much to speak of, though; the strongest seemed to be only at the fourth or fifth level of the Houtian Martial Artist Realm.

Most people traveled on foot, with only a handful on horseback. Their party was the only one riding in carriages.

The Blazing Blade Sect was a notable force in the area around South Ridge City. Though it couldn't stand against the City Lord, it certainly had close ties with the City Lord's Mansion.

So when the two carriages bearing the Blazing Blade Sect's insignia reached the city gate, the soldiers guarding it didn't stop them at all. They let them pass straight through and even shouted at the commoners blocking the way to clear a path.

The Profound Water Dynasty was divided into Three Prefectures, Twelve Commanderies, and Forty-eight Cities.

South Ridge City, where Zhao Ping'an lived, belonged to Tannan Commandery, one of the four commanderies under the Southern Prefecture, one of the Three Prefectures.

The other two prefectures were the Northern Prefecture and Zhongzhou Prefecture.

Tannan Commandery governed only four cities: the commandery seat, Tiannan City, and three small-to-medium-sized cities—South Ridge City, Annan City, and Fengning City.

Each city covered an area of roughly a hundred li in every direction, with a varying number of villages and towns under its jurisdiction.

South Ridge City had only just reached medium-city size. Its walls stood three zhang high and were more than one zhang thick, and looked to be built from enormous blocks of bluestone.

It had four main gates to the east, south, west, and north, with a secondary gate on either side of each main gate.

As for the city's exact size, Zhao Ping'an didn't know. He only knew it could hold around a hundred thousand people. Including the farmers in the surrounding area, the population under South Ridge City's jurisdiction was about two hundred thousand.

According to his Master, Zheng Hetong, the strongest person in South Ridge City was a fourth-level Grandmaster Realm expert, also the strongest within a hundred li of the city.

He was a Guest Elder of the City Lord's Mansion, and his presence secured the mansion's place as South Ridge City's foremost force.

Beneath the City Lord's Mansion were the city's three great lineages, all forces with Xiantian Peak experts or even Half-step Grandmasters.

Below them were sects like the Blazing Blade Sect, which had late-stage Xiantian martial masters, as well as escort agencies, gangs, and the like.

Of course, the City Lord's Mansion answered directly to the dynasty. Even without a Grandmaster, no one dared provoke it.

"Whoa!"

At a modest residence in the city, the carriage came to a gradual stop at the coachman's call.

"Young Master, we're here!"

The coachman spoke softly to Zhao Ping'an inside the carriage.

"Mm, got it."

Zhao Ping'an lowered the curtain and replied quietly.

He hadn't brought any luggage. Apart from the Hundred Refinement Blade his Senior Disciple Brother had given him and two changes of clothes, he didn't have a single coin to his name. He was as poor as they came.

Of course, for a Houtian Martial Artist, the Hundred Refinement Blade was a fine weapon. If he sold it, it would fetch at least a few taels of silver.

But Zhao Ping'an was a Great Grandmaster now. How could he do something so beneath him?

The Hundred Refinement Blade was now just a keepsake to him, after all, it was the first weapon he had ever obtained.

Of course, the blade had another use: it helped him practice the God Slaying Saber Strike, and weighed just over ten kilograms.

Once he mastered the God Slaying Saber Strike, it would truly be nothing more than a keepsake. After all, Zhao Ping'an's Qi was countless times more powerful than the Hundred Refinement Blade.

Martial artists had a defining trait at each stage, making it easy to tell their realm at a glance.

For example, Houtian Martial Artists developed Inner Force, which greatly increased the power of their moves but couldn't leave their bodies.

Innate Martial Masters condensed Xiantian True Qi. Their True Qi could extend several inches beyond the body—each level added an inch, with the maximum reaching almost a foot—and could be infused into weapons, giving them greater staying power and destructive force.

In the Grandmaster Realm, one gathered Qi and forged it into an aura. Qi protected the body and greatly increased its defense. Below the Grandmaster Realm, one couldn't break through it without a Divine Weapon.

Moreover, a Grandmaster's Qi was more condensed and could extend farther beyond the body—from nearly two feet at the first level to almost one zhang at the ninth, with each level adding a foot.

Zhao Ping'an, as a Great Grandmaster, was a human-shaped missile. His more condensed Qi could reach nearly two zhang at its closest, and almost ten zhang at its farthest.

Every punch and kick carried tremendous power.

As things stood, Zhao Ping'an could use his palm as a saber and unleash a five- or six-meter-long Saber Aura, slicing through gold and breaking iron as easily as if they were clay.

As his realm improved, the Saber Aura's range would continue to grow.

After getting out of the carriage, Zhao Ping'an noticed the words "Zhao Residence" written above the gate of the house in front of him.

"Come on, Ping'an. If you come to South Ridge City in the future, you can stay here. Just treat it as your home."

Zhao Xiuyun stepped down from the carriage as well and walked over to Zhao Ping'an, speaking softly. Master Zheng Hetong had already left the carriage halfway there.

"Mistress, this residence..."

Zhao Ping'an immediately took the bundle from his Mistress and asked.

"My father gave it to me. I spend most of my time up on the mountain, so it's been empty."

"Oh, all right, Mistress."

Zhao Ping'an nodded. He knew why his Mistress had done this.

After all, his aptitude for martial arts was truly poor. He had been practicing for nearly four years, yet the realm he showed was only the second level of the Warrior Realm.

That was thanks to Master Zheng Hetong giving him a medicinal bath every day. Without those baths, he would probably still be stuck at the Martial Disciple Realm.

There was little chance he could earn a living by relying on his martial prowess.

Of course, that would have been true under normal circumstances. The circumstances now were clearly anything but normal.

There were no guards at the gate. When Zhao Ping'an hurried over and knocked, an old man over fifty came out.

"Who are you looking for? Oh, Miss, you're back! Please, come in!"

"A'Fu, this is Zhao Ping'an. I told you about him. From now on, this is his home too."

Zhao Xiuyun gestured to Zhao Ping'an beside her and spoke softly.

"Eh? Good! Good! Good! This old servant will remember. Ping'an, Ping'an? What a good name. Welcome home, Young Master Ping'an."

The old man, A'Fu, immediately swung the gate wide to let them in. The coachman drove the carriage toward the back courtyard.

"Hello, Butler Fu. Just call me Ping'an. I'm not worthy of being called Young Master."

"No, no, just call me A'Fu. A Young Master is a Young Master; we can't ignore the proper etiquette."

"All right, we're all family here. No need to stand on ceremony. From now on, you can call him Butler Fu, and he can call you Young Master. Come on in."

Zhao Xiuyun looked at the two of them, shook her head, and headed inside as she spoke.