Fugitive

His first priority was the Golden Armor Technique: every morning from five to seven, then from eight to eleven, with the hour in between reserved for breakfast.

Next was the Primordial Chaos Art, from eight at night until one in the morning.

From one to six in the afternoon, he practiced five martial arts, adjusting the time spent on each as he saw fit according to its progress.

(From eleven in the morning to one in the afternoon and from six to eight in the evening, he ate and rested. His head could be severed and his blood could flow, but his midday nap would never be skipped!)

Early the next morning, before dawn, Zhao Ping'an had already washed up and was standing in the Training Ground behind his attic.

The Training Ground was not very large, only thirty meters long and twenty meters wide. Along its edge, the iron pillars he had brought were firmly planted in the ground.

Farther away stood row upon row of targets, ranging from one meter to ten centimeters in diameter, for him to practice concealed weapons.

As for Lightness Skill, the hills outside Wu'an Mountain made the perfect place for long-distance running. He could run to his heart's content.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!..."

As the sky gradually brightened, rhythmic thuds echoed across the empty Training Ground, drawing sidelong glances from countless early-rising herb farmers and guards coming off their shifts.

Unfortunately, the tall attic blocked their view. They could hear the sounds, but see nothing.

They all knew what place it was, and no one dared approach to take a look without permission.

On the eighth day of his training, Zhao Ping'an mastered the second-rate martial art Willow Leaf Dart. Afterward, he spent 10% of his Deduction Points and, in less than ten minutes of deduction, advanced Willow Leaf Dart into the first-rate martial art Soul Chasing Flying Blade.

[ Soul Chasing Flying Blade (First-rate Martial Art): 0/500 (Not Started, Simplified). Hit a target one meter in diameter from twenty meters away with a pebble 100 times to gain 1 point of Training Progress.]

Compared with Willow Leaf Dart, Soul Chasing Flying Blade could channel Xiantian True Qi into the blade. Its attack speed, range, and power had all made a qualitative leap.

After mastering Willow Leaf Dart, Zhao Ping'an could hit a stationary target without fail from within thirty meters. Against fast-moving targets, he could anticipate where they would dodge, achieving a hit rate of over 50%.

Naturally, this was closely tied to his powerful Great Grandmaster Body Cultivation.

A normal practitioner with Willow Leaf Dart at the mastery level could hit stationary targets without fail from just over ten meters away. Against fast-moving targets, the hit rate was only around 30%.

A little over half a month later, on the night before he escorted the first batch of mature Spiritual Medicine to South Ridge City, Zhao Ping'an mastered the first-rate martial arts Mystic Pupil Soul Bewildering Technique, Iron Mountain Palm, and Soul Chasing Flying Blade, meeting the requirements to deduce them into Human-grade martial arts.

Each martial art needed only 20% of his Deduction Points to reach the Human-grade level. That afternoon, he spent 60% of his Deduction Points and nearly fifty minutes to advance all three arts.

[ Soul Capturing Mystic Pupil (Human-grade Martial Art): 0/700 (Not Started, Simplified). Focus both eyes on the central hole of a copper coin ten meters away for 1 minute to gain 1 point of Training Progress.]

[ Void Splitting Palm (Human-grade Martial Art): 0/700 (Not Started, Simplified). Strike an iron pillar 100 times in a row with both palms to gain 1 point of Training Progress.]

[ Absolute Shadow Flying Blade (Human-grade Martial Art): 0/700 (Not Started, Simplified). Hit a target one meter in diameter from thirty meters away with a pebble 100 times to gain 1 point of Training Progress.]

The power of all three upgraded martial arts had made another qualitative leap, but it still wasn't enough for Zhao Ping'an.

That night, after dinner, Zhao Ping'an absorbed the eight remaining Third-grade Spiritual Medicines, along with ten more Third-grade Spiritual Medicines his Master, Zheng Hetong, had sent from elsewhere to be sold in South Ridge City. This brought the Deduction Points on his panel, which had already fallen below half, back above 90%.

The reason was simple: his Golden Armor Technique was nearly mastered.

Just as he'd expected, early the next morning, Zhao Ping'an's Golden Armor Technique reached the ninth level and achieved complete mastery. His Body Cultivation began to strengthen at a rapid pace.

As the sun rose, his physical cultivation officially broke through to the Martial Venerable Realm.

"Too bad my Deduction Points are still a little short, and Third-grade Spiritual Medicine probably won't work anymore..."

Facing the rising sun, Zhao Ping'an murmured regretfully as he felt the boundless power within him. Then he began to move slowly.

A breakthrough in physical cultivation was different from one in internal Qi. The sudden increase in strength could easily lead to an embarrassing mishap if he didn't take time to get used to it.

Although Third-grade Spiritual Medicine had stopped working, Zhao Ping'an had no intention of leaving Wu'an Mountain to seek higher-grade medicine in a bigger city.

He felt his cultivation still wasn't enough.

Time passed peacefully, without the slightest ripple.

Apart from returning to South Ridge City at the end of each month to spend time with his Master, Mistress, and a few senior brothers and sisters, and to deliver that month's mature Spiritual Medicine to the Alchemy Workshop, Zhao Ping'an spent the rest of his time at Wu'an Mountain, training day after day.

Half a year later, Zhao Ping'an had just finished his morning training and was eating breakfast when he received a letter. Its contents took him by surprise.

"A fugitive at the sixth level of the Grandmaster Realm? Tian Yiming? The reward is five Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicines?"

The letter had been sent in the name of the City Lord's Mansion. Its main request was for Zhao Ping'an to help the City Lord's Mansion capture the fugitive Tian Yiming.

It clearly described Tian Yiming's martial arts, his crime, the last place he had been seen, and the reward for capturing him. It also included a wanted poster with a remarkably clear portrait of Tian Yiming.

The whole thing was absurd. Tian Yiming had been a deputy general in the Profound Water Army, the Royal City's personal guard force in the Profound Water Dynasty. But one night, while on duty guarding a city gate, he got drunk and let a thief slip through the gate he was watching and into the Royal Palace.

As luck would have it, the Eighth Prince of the Profound Water Dynasty couldn't sleep that night. He went out for a stroll and happened to spot the thief, then shouted for help.

A thief bold enough to break into a Royal Palace guarded by a Great Grandmaster and several Grandmasters naturally couldn't have been weak. He was a Grandmaster himself. Seeing the large group of guards rushing over at the commotion, the thief, furious, flung a concealed weapon at the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince had only a Xiantian Peak guard by his side and had no chance to fight back. The weapon pierced his chest on the spot. Fortunately, he received medical attention in time and survived, but several of his meridians had been severed. He would never break through to the Innate Realm, and his life was ruined.

The Profound Water ruler flew into a rage and immediately launched an investigation. Tian Yiming had no close relatives and had a guilty conscience. As soon as the investigators set their sights on him, he fled before they could catch him.

After a month on the run, he reached South Ridge City, not far from the border, hoping to use it as a route out of the Profound Water Dynasty.