Trouble Comes Knocking

Sometime later, a middle-aged scholar wearing a silk robe appeared beside Zhao Ping'an and spoke softly.

"Hmm? Who are you?"

Zhao Ping'an asked doubtfully. He had sensed someone approaching him long ago, but he hadn't paid it any mind.

"I am the shopkeeper of this establishment, Wang Fugui! You look unfamiliar, is this your first time in South Ridge City?"

"That's right, Wang Fugui? Your name is very down-to-earth..."

"Down-to-earth? What does that mean?"

"Nothing, it means approachable. Hometown dialect."

Zhao Ping'an let slip and quickly mumbled.

"Oh! Thank you for the compliment, Young Master. Would you like to try these two hammers? Our shop is having a promotion: anyone who can lift these two Black Gold Iron Hammers and swing them a hundred times can choose any weapon on this floor to take away! The condition is that you can only use physical strength!"

"Really? Choose anything on this floor?"

"Really!"

Wang Fugui nodded seriously.

"The hammers don't count!"

Seeing Zhao Ping'an's eyes fixed on the Black Gold Treasure Hammers in front of him, he immediately added.

"Tch, no fun..."

Zhao Ping'an muttered with some disappointment and strode forward.

Even though he couldn't take the hammers, the weapons on this floor were worth at least ten taels of silver each. It was better to get something for free.

At this moment, their conversation had attracted the few customers on the first floor. Seeing them both gathered around the two Giant Hammers, the customers immediately crowded around.

"Someone else is here to challenge the Black Gold Treasure Hammers!"

"Judging by his build, this young master is a Practitioner!"

"So what if he's a Practitioner? When this promotion was first launched, weren't they all Practitioners? Thousands of people tried, and only one succeeded!"

"That's true. Each of these Black Gold Treasure Hammers weighs over 350 jin. Unless you have divine strength, it's hard even for a Grandmaster to swing them without internal energy or true qi!"

(But why would a Grandmaster care about the ordinary weapons on the first floor? It's just like the saying: what they desire, they cannot lift; what they can lift, they do not desire!)

"Quick, look, he's starting!"

"This... so easily? It seems Old Wang has met a tough opponent this time!"

"Not bad!"

Amidst the whispers of the surrounding customers, Zhao Ping'an's hands had already gripped the handles of two hammers.

"Lift!!!"

Zhao Ping'an, one hammer in each hand, let out a low growl and instantly lifted the two great hammers.

"They're quite heavy! Must be seven hundred jin combined."

"Seven hundred and thirty-two jin, four liang, and eight qian..."

Hearing the question, Shopkeeper Wang Fugui reflexively replied.

"Clang!!!"

Zhao Ping'an wasted no words, raising the two Black Gold Treasure Hammers and striking them together.

A deafening Metal Clang instantly resounded throughout the first-floor hall of Wang's Weaponry Shop.

Afterward, under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he began to swing them casually.

(Everyone else was stunned)

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!..."

A whistling Gale instantly appeared around Zhao Ping'an's body, causing the surrounding Weapon Racks to shake continuously.

"Crash!"

As a Weapon Rack filled with long sabers was knocked over by the whistling Gale, the long sabers scattered across the floor immediately jolted the stunned crowd awake.

"Stop, stop, stop! Young Master, please stop quickly! You've passed the test!"

Wang Fugui, jolted awake, shouted immediately.

Looking at the densely swung twin hammers, he feared that if he were any later, the shop would be torn down.

"Thump! Thump!"

Zhao Ping'an quickly stopped, gently placing the hammers back in their original positions. If he accidentally damaged the floor, he wouldn't have the money to compensate.

"Young Master is truly a Divine Person! May I know your esteemed surname? You may choose any weapon and take it with you!"

"My surname is Zhao."

Zhao Ping'an replied perfunctorily and began to wander around the first floor.

"Hmm, this one it is. Can you get me a Scabbard for it?"

After looking around, he picked up a great saber that looked the heaviest and was priced at over fifty taels of silver. He weighed it in his hand, swung it a few times casually, and then spoke to the shopkeeper.

"No problem! Xiao Liu, bring the scabbard for this saber!"

"Okay, Shopkeeper... Here is your scabbard, honored customer."

In front of the Wang's Weaponry Shop, Wang Fugui watched Zhao Ping'an leave with the saber in one hand and large strides, falling into thought.

It wasn't that he felt bad about the saber worth tens of taels. The Wang Family was one of the great families in South Ridge City, so this was just a drop in the bucket.

What puzzled him was Zhao Ping'an's identity.

With that kind of strength, ordinary innate martial masters might not be his match. And there were only so many innate martial masters in South Ridge City. He might not know all of them, but he had at least heard of them. Among them, there was no one like this.

"Xiao Liu, go find someone to inquire about where this person came from. With his strength, he shouldn't be unknown!"

"Okay, Shopkeeper."

"I didn't expect an unexpected gain. Now I won't have to look for a saber to continue my cultivation!"

Weighing the great saber, which was thirty to forty catties heavy, in his hand, Zhao Ping'an happily walked towards his Senior Disciple Brother's house.

Since he didn't want to expose his cultivation, Zhao Ping'an decided to present himself as someone with innate divine strength.

"Hmm? Someone dares to follow me?"

Zhao Ping'an, walking with his back to the setting sun, sensed that two gazes had been fixed on him for several minutes. Even when he turned onto another street, they didn't move away.

"Interesting. The Wang Family Weaponry Shop wouldn't do something so undignified, nor would it be worth their while. Then who could it be?"

He asked himself if he had offended anyone since entering the city. Moreover, he was unknown. Who would track him for no reason? Could it be...

"No way?"

Zhao Ping'an suddenly thought of something, and a frown creased his brow as he muttered to himself.

Soon, in Pear Blossom Alley, Zhao Ping'an's path was blocked. There were two people in front and two behind him. All of them were dressed in uniform martial artist's attire, and their cultivation was at the late stage of the Martial Practitioner Realm.

On the heart position of their chests, a golden character "Sun" was embroidered in a flowing script.

"Sun? The Sun Family, one of the three great families?"

Looking at the large "Sun" characters, Zhao Ping'an was completely confused. He seemed to have no connection with the Sun Family.

"The four of you are looking for me? I don't think I know any of you?"

"You naturally don't know them, because you're not worthy! But you shouldn't have spread the news of Huixin's pregnancy. Your few casual words have ruined my plans of several years. Do you know your crime?"

Zhao Ping'an had just asked when a young voice interrupted him.

At the corner of the alley entrance behind him, two figures reappeared, one old and one young.

The young one was around twenty, while the old one was at least fifty. However, the surging Xiantian True Qi on his person constantly revealed his Innate Martial Master identity.

Of course, the young man holding a pitch-black, sheathed long saber, dressed in White Clothes Like Snow, with a feminine appearance, also had good talent. His cultivation had already reached the sixth level of the Houtian Martial Artist Realm.

"Huixin? Zhao Huixin? I didn't expect the child in her belly to be yours. Looking at this setup, you're probably a Direct Descendant Young Master of the Sun family. Tsk tsk, no wonder you're so arrogant!"