Shocking Heaven Thunder

The City Lord's Mansion was bustling. Every force in South Ridge City with an Innate Martial Master had gathered there, including Zheng Hetong, Zhao Ping'an's master.

Early that morning, the City Lord's Mansion had notified all these forces, including Zhao Ping'an, who was outside the city. By around nine, the leaders of those forces had all gathered there.

They all had just one target—Tian Yiming!

Of course, their main responsibility was only to find Tian Yiming. Others would handle the actual fighting.

After all, they couldn't expect a group of people whose strongest members were only Half-step Grandmasters to surround and kill Tian Yiming, who was already a Sixth Level Grandmaster. That would be no different from courting death.

The ones who would actually fight were the four Grandmaster Realm experts who had tracked Tian Yiming from Tianshui City, the Royal City: one Eighth Level Grandmaster, one Sixth Level Grandmaster, and two Fourth Level Grandmasters.

As for anyone below the Grandmaster Realm, they couldn't keep up with Tian Yiming at all and would only be a burden.

"Reporting! City Lord, Grandmaster Zhao has arrived!"

More than twenty figures sat in the City Lord's Mansion's reception hall when a guard suddenly came sprinting from afar. He dropped to one knee and reported to Zhou Ruiming, who sat at the front.

"Oh? Hurry and take me to welcome him!"

Zhou Ruiming's face lit up, and he immediately strode outside.

The Grandmasters who had come from the Royal City, Tianshui City, acted like pampered lords. Since arriving in South Ridge City yesterday, they had dumped the task of finding Tian Yiming on him and given him only three days to do it. Then they had swaggered into the back courtyard of his City Lord's Mansion to stay.

Even his father-in-law, the Tiannan Prefecture Governor, couldn't afford to offend these four. All Zhou Ruiming could do was cater to their every need and urgently summon every force in the city.

And the final trump card was Zhao Ping'an.

He had no other choice. Tian Yiming was a Sixth Level Grandmaster. Even after fleeing a long way under pursuit until he was exhausted and somewhat injured, Ouyang Yun still couldn't take him down.

If they found him but failed to hold him, Zhou Ruiming would be in deep trouble.

Before long, Zhao Ping'an entered the reception hall, with City Lord Zhou Ruiming following half a step behind.

Everyone except Zheng Hetong, who merely stood up, respectfully greeted Zhao Ping'an.

Zhao Ping'an didn't put on airs. Though he didn't know most of them, he still smiled and greeted them in turn.

"Master."

At last, Zhao Ping'an walked over to Zheng Hetong and respectfully bowed.

His master and Mistress had saved his life and given him a comfortable, well-fed life. No matter how strong he became, they would always be the people he loved and respected most in this world.

Zheng Hetong happily helped Zhao Ping'an to his feet. Everyone watching, including City Lord Zhou Ruiming, was consumed with envy and jealousy toward Zheng Hetong. They could only keep it to themselves, though; on the outside, they all wore smiles.

Though envious, after witnessing this scene, they all added Zheng Hetong to the list of people they must never provoke.

No one wanted to be foolhardy enough to find out whether they might become the next Sun Family.

"Everyone, Grandmaster Zhao has arrived. You may now set out and search for Tian Yiming without holding back.

"Remember, the moment you find Tian Yiming, you must fire a signal flare and send word. If he escapes because anyone drags their feet or disobeys orders, I'll be in trouble, and none of you will get off lightly!"

City Lord Zhou Ruiming looked gravely at all the leaders and spoke in a ringing voice.

"Yes! We will do everything in our power!"

Everyone except Zhao Ping'an and Zheng Hetong immediately chorused in reply.

Though Zhou Ruiming was only a Houtian Martial Artist, he had powerful backing. They had no choice but to obey.

Besides, they wouldn't have to fight themselves. They only had to send their subordinates out to search. At worst, they'd lose a few men. No big deal.

As for Zhao Ping'an and Zheng Hetong, they had no subordinates to send out looking for anyone, so they simply stood quietly. No one else dared object.

Soon, everyone had left. Zhao Ping'an took his master back to the Zhao Residence.

"Master, you, Mistress, and my senior brothers and sisters should stay safely in the city for the next few days. I'll handle this myself."

Back at the Zhao Residence, Zhao Ping'an bade farewell to his master and Mistress and urged them to stay put.

"Don't worry, I know my limits. You need to be careful too. I heard Tian Yiming took five Shocking Heaven Thunders that can threaten Grandmasters when he escaped. Three Grandmasters have already fallen to him, so he should still have two left."

Zheng Hetong immediately told Zhao Ping'an what he had learned from the City Lord, warning him to be careful.

"Understood!"

Zhao Ping'an nodded, then left the Zhao Residence and headed outside the city.

He had seen records of the Shocking Heaven Thunder in the Sun Family's library. Gunpowder had already been discovered in this world. Though they had no airplanes or rockets, cannons had already been developed, and grenades had followed.

The Shocking Heaven Thunder was one of the best of them. At close range, it could blast through a Grandmaster's Protective Qi, but that was about the limit of its power.

It posed no threat at all to a Great Grandmaster.

And it was even less of a threat to Zhao Ping'an, whose Body Cultivation had already reached the Martial Venerable Realm.

The pinnacle of gunpowder weapons was called the Bombarding Heaven Cannon. It could threaten Great Grandmasters, but hitting one with it was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Usually, dozens of cannons fired together, leaving a Great Grandmaster nowhere to dodge. But a handful of cannonballs couldn't kill one. So, apart from small countries like the Tianshui Dynasty, the powerful dynasties, Imperial Dynasties, Emperor Dynasties, top Sects, and religious orders didn't pay much attention to gunpowder weapons.

That attitude had caused gunpowder weapons in this world to develop very slowly. On top of that, powerful experts could easily detonate ammunition depots, bringing their development to a near standstill.

"Let go of me! I'm not going to the City Lord's Mansion! I'm not going! Second Brother, save me!"

Zhao Ping'an was walking out of the city alone when he suddenly heard someone calling for help a few dozen meters away. The mention of the City Lord's Mansion immediately caught his interest.

Zhao Ping'an used his Lightness Skill at once. His body blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared outside a crowd.

Thanks to his body-tempering technique, he had grown to over six feet tall without even noticing. He peered through the layers of people and saw what was happening.

A carriage bearing the City Lord's Mansion's insignia stood in the middle of the road. Two Houtian Martial Artists dressed in City Guard uniforms were carrying an unconscious young woman toward it.

At the carriage window, a figure with a pale face but bright eyes stared lecherously at the girl being carried over. From his appearance, he seemed to be around thirty.

"Fourth Level Grandmaster? Could it be...?"

Zhao Ping'an recognized his cultivation at a glance. The only Grandmaster-level expert originally in the city, aside from himself—though people had mistakenly spread word that he was one—was Ouyang Yun of the City Lord's Mansion. Now there were also the four who had come from the Royal City.

"Stop!"