Zheng Hetong clearly felt deeply attached to the Blazing Blade Sect and didn't want to leave just like that. But he knew that if he stayed, he would bring his young disciple endless trouble and invite Song Lieyang's suspicion.
Besides, his wife had long grown tired of him constantly going out to fight and kill. Leaving the Blazing Blade Sect was the best choice.
"Ping'an, your Master's ties to the Blazing Blade Sect run deep. Give him a little time to come around."
Watching her husband's somewhat lonely back, Zhao Xiuyun rose as well and spoke softly, her tone complicated.
"It's fine. I believe Master will come around. I'm a little tired, so I'll go rest first."
While Mistress was busy worrying about Master, Zhao Ping'an promptly made himself scarce.
He still hadn't figured out how to explain his abnormal strength to Master and Mistress. As for what outsiders might think, he didn't care.
If anyone dared to reach for him, they shouldn't blame him for cutting them down.
"Hey! You..."
Watching Zhao Ping'an dash into his room, Zhao Xiuyun raised a hand, then let it fall helplessly.
"That brat didn't even tell me how he trained himself to become so powerful."
Of course, Zhao Ping'an hadn't returned to his room to rest. As a Great Grandmaster who cultivated both the inner and outer arts, he could go three days and nights without sleep and still not feel tired.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he drew in Heavenly Qi while letting his thoughts wander.
"What story should I make up? A chance encounter at the bottom of a lake? A mysterious old man dropping from the sky? Swallowing a strange fruit in the woods? What a pain!!!"
Zhao Ping'an was so frustrated as he drew in Heavenly Qi that he nearly lost control of his breathing.
For one thing, there weren't any lakes near Feather Mountain, just a few small ponds.
For another, Feather Mountain didn't produce any spirit herbs or fruits. It was all ordinary trees and plants. There was no way some rare fruit would suddenly appear, and he'd just happen to find and swallow it right when it ripened.
"Looks like the old man is the only believable option..."
After thinking it over for a long while, Zhao Ping'an settled on how the story would go.
Now he just had to figure out how to tell it convincingly...
Zhao Ping'an stayed in his room until the sun set before emerging, refreshed and full of energy.
"Did I forget something?"
After spending the whole day drawing in Heavenly Qi and fleshing out the story behind his sudden strength, Zhao Ping'an stretched as he looked at the dimming sky outside. Something felt off, he murmured.
"Grrrr..."
Suddenly, his stomach began to growl.
"Time to eat... Eat? Damn it, Zui Chun Lou!"
Zhao Ping'an finally remembered what he'd forgotten. He was supposed to host the City Lord, the Zhao Family's Old Master, and the Blazing Blade Sect's leader tonight, but he'd forgotten to book a restaurant—and to tell any of them about the banquet.
"There should still be time!"
Zhao Ping'an muttered to himself. He sensed that Mistress had gone somewhere and wasn't home, and Master hadn't returned either.
"Neither of them is here? Whatever, I'll send someone to deliver the invitations first."
Zhao Ping'an shook his head and strode out.
He first went to the Blazing Blade Sect's largest property in South Ridge City, which also served as the sect's city headquarters.
Fortunately, Song Lieyang had just returned.
After finding Song Lieyang, he asked him to send invitations to the City Lord's Mansion and the Zhao Family's Old Master, and to book the third floor of Zui Chun Lou.
As for the money, the Sun Family's gold and silver had been stacked in box after box.
Aside from its fixed assets, he also had a twenty-percent share of its cash reserves.
Song Lieyang readily agreed to Zhao Ping'an's request.
After a day spent sorting through the spoils, he'd discovered that the Sun Family really was loaded. Just thirty percent of its assets had doubled the Blazing Blade Sect's wealth.
He was very pleased.
As for Zhao Ping'an's departure, it made no difference to Song Lieyang. The sect had managed just fine with or without him before.
It was Zheng Hetong's departure that made him ache a little. The Blazing Blade Sect had dozens of Houtian Martial Artists, but only five Innate experts—including him.
Still, compared to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and all kinds of rare treasures, that was nothing.
Around seven in the evening, on the third floor of Zui Chun Lou.
As the host, Zhao Ping'an arrived early. He'd scheduled the banquet to begin at exactly eight, the start of the Xu hour, so there was still half an hour to go.
But someone had arrived even earlier: Song Lieyang and the Blazing Blade Sect's Second Elder, Song Feichen.
The reason was simple. Of the three factions Zhao Ping'an had invited, the City Lord's Mansion was more powerful than the Blazing Blade Sect, while the Zhao Family was closer to Zhao Ping'an. By comparison, they could only make the extra effort to arrive early.
Soon, the Zhao Family's Old Master came upstairs with four people. Zhao Ping'an's Master and Mistress were among them. After introductions, Zhao Ping'an learned who the other two were: Mistress's second elder brother, Zhao Muzhen, and third elder brother, Zhao Muhan. Her eldest brother, Zhao Muyu, had gone to Annan City on business and wouldn't be back anytime soon.
Next, City Lord Zhou Ruiming and the Grandmaster Ouyang Yun came upstairs with two people at the eighth level of the Innate Realm.
From childhood through his previous life, Zhao Ping'an had never before shared a table with so many people who had spent so long in positions of power.
But in this world, where strength ruled above all, the Game Panel had made him the most important person present.
The banquet went smoothly. No one was foolish enough to start trouble.
Zhao Ping'an also announced how he planned to divide the Sun Family's Industry. Since the Blazing Blade Sect had no objections, no one else protested.
The Zhao Family's Old Master refused the ten percent allocated to the Zhao Family, and Zhao Ping'an put the entire share under Zhao Xiuyun's name instead.
Zhao Ping'an had no issue with that. He'd given the Zhao Family ten percent out of consideration for Mistress. He had no ties with the rest of the Zhao Family—in fact, there was even a little bad blood between them.
And the root cause of the Sun Family's Annihilation Calamity had been Zhao Huixin.
If Zhao Ping'an hadn't been strong enough, he would have been the one to suffer.
Once they'd eaten and drunk their fill, everyone took their leave. Sitting at the same table as two Grandmasters (as they believed them to be) had put them under immense pressure.
On the way back to the Zhao Residence, Zhao Ping'an told Master and Mistress the story he'd spent so long polishing, delivering it with vivid emotion.
In essence, he'd run into an old man of unknown cultivation in the woods on Feather Mountain. The old man had said Zhao Ping'an had an extraordinary physique and was born with immense strength: he wasn't suited to cultivating qi, but he was perfect for cultivating his body.
The old man had then taught him a powerful body-tempering technique and given him a fragrant pill. After that, Zhao Ping'an's body had grown stronger at an astonishing pace, while the pill had sent his qi cultivation soaring by the day.
A few months ago, the medicinal power in his body had finally run out, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the Grandmaster Realm.
As for the mysterious old man, after passing on his teachings, he had simply broken through the air and left.
"King of Martial Arts?!"
After hearing Zhao Ping'an's tall tale, Zheng Hetong suddenly exclaimed.
Clearly, Zhao Ping'an's story had reminded him of something.
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