Shocking Heaven Thunder

The City Lord's Mansion was bustling with activity. All the powers in South Ridge City with Innate Martial Masters had gathered here, and Zhao Ping'an's Master, Zheng Hetong, was also present.

Early this morning, the City Lord's Mansion had notified these powers, including Zhao Ping'an who was outside the city. Starting around nine in the morning, the leaders of these powers had all gathered here.

They all had one goal: Tian Yiming!

Of course, these people were mainly responsible for finding Tian Yiming; the actual action would be taken by others.

After all, one couldn't expect a group whose highest cultivation was Half-step Grandmaster to surround and kill Tian Yiming, who was already a Sixth Level Grandmaster. That would be no different from seeking death.

The ones who would actually take action were four Grandmaster realm experts who had tracked him from the Royal City, Tianshui City. They consisted of one Eighth Level Grandmaster, one Sixth Level Grandmaster, and two Fourth Level Grandmasters.

As for those below the Grandmaster realm, they simply couldn't keep up with Tian Yiming's speed and would only be a burden.

"Report! Reporting to the City Lord, Grandmaster Zhao has arrived!"

In the reception hall of the City Lord's Mansion, more than twenty figures were seated. A guard suddenly ran in from a distance and knelt on one knee, reporting to Zhou Ruiming, who was seated in front.

"Oh? Quickly, lead me to welcome him!"

Zhou Ruiming's face lit up with joy, and he immediately strode out.

The Grandmasters who came from the Royal City (Tianshui City) were like pampered lords. Ever since they arrived in South Ridge City yesterday, they had directly dumped the task of finding Tian Yiming's whereabouts onto him, giving him only three days. After that, they swaggered off and settled into the backyard of his City Lord's Mansion.

These four people, even his Father-in-law, the Tiannan Prefecture Governor, couldn't afford to offend them. He could only entertain them well and urgently summoned all the powers in the city.

And the final piece of the puzzle was Zhao Ping'an.

He had no choice. Tian Yiming was a Sixth Level Grandmaster. Even though he was exhausted and slightly injured from being pursued and fleeing for a long distance, Ouyang Yun still couldn't take him down.

If they found him but couldn't keep him, he would be in serious trouble.

Soon, Zhao Ping'an appeared first, with City Lord Zhou Ruiming following half a step behind, and they entered the reception hall together.

Except for Zheng Hetong, who had merely stood up, everyone else respectfully greeted Zhao Ping'an.

Zhao Ping'an didn't put on airs. Although he didn't recognize most of them, he still smiled and responded politely.

"Master."

Finally, Zhao Ping'an walked up to Zheng Hetong and bowed respectfully.

His Master and Mistress had saved his life and provided him with a comfortable life. No matter how strong he became, to Zhao Ping'an, they would always be the closest and most respected people in his world.

Zheng Hetong happily helped Zhao Ping'an up. Everyone watching this scene, including City Lord Zhou Ruiming, was filled with envy and jealousy towards Zheng Hetong. Unfortunately, they could only harbor these feelings in their hearts, while outwardly maintaining smiles.

Despite their envy, upon seeing this, they all added Zheng Hetong to the list of people not to be provoked.

No one wanted to foolishly test if they would become the next Sun Family.

"Everyone, Grandmaster Zhao has arrived. You may now set out and search with all your might for Tian Yiming's whereabouts.

Remember, the moment you find Tian Yiming, you must fire a signal flare to transmit the news. If Tian Yiming escapes because someone drags their feet, I will be in trouble, and so will you!"

City Lord Zhou Ruiming said with a solemn expression, looking at the leaders of all the factions and speaking loudly.

"Yes! We will go all out!"

Except for Zhao Ping'an and Zheng Hetong, everyone else immediately echoed loudly.

Although Zhou Ruiming was only a Houtian Martial Artist, he had people behind him, so they had no choice but to obey.

Besides, they wouldn't be doing the searching themselves; they just needed to send out their subordinates. At most, a few subordinates would die, which was insignificant.

As for Zhao Ping'an and the other two, they had no subordinates to send out to search, so they just stood quietly. No one else dared to voice any objections.

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

"Master, Mistress, and all Senior Brothers and Sisters, please stay in the city these few days and don't go out. It's enough for me to handle this matter."

Upon returning to the Zhao Residence, Zhao Ping'an bid farewell to his Master and Mistress, instructing them.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You also need to be careful. I heard that when Tian Yiming escaped, he took five Shocking Heaven Thunders that can threaten Grandmaster experts. Three Grandmasters have already fallen to him, and he should still have two on him."

Zheng Hetong immediately relayed the information he had gathered from the City Lord to Zhao Ping'an, urging him to be careful.

"Okay!"

Zhao Ping'an nodded, turned, and left the Zhao Residence, heading towards the outskirts of the city.

He had seen records of the Shocking Heaven Thunder in the Sun Family's library. In a world where gunpowder existed, although there were no airplanes or rockets, cannons had already been developed. Correspondingly, hand grenades had also been researched.

The Shocking Heaven Thunder was a top-tier among them. At close range, it could shatter the Protective Qi of Grandmaster experts, but it was basically at its limit.

It posed no threat to Great Grandmasters.

To Zhao Ping'an, whose Body Cultivation had already reached the Martial Venerable realm, it was completely harmless.

The pinnacle of gunpowder weapons was called the Bombarding Heaven Cannon, which could threaten Great Grandmaster realm experts. However, hitting a Great Grandmaster was undoubtedly a fool's dream.

Usually, dozens of cannons would fire simultaneously, leaving the Great Grandmaster with nowhere to hide. But a few shells were not enough to kill a Great Grandmaster. Therefore, except for small countries like the Tianshui Dynasty, powerful dynasties, imperial dynasties, and even emperor dynasties, top sects, and cults did not attach much importance to gunpowder weapons.

This attitude caused the development of gunpowder weapons in this world to be very slow. Coupled with the fact that powerful individuals could easily detonate ammunition depots, it further stagnated the development of gunpowder weapons.

"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, who was walking out of the city alone, suddenly heard a cry for help from dozens of meters away. The mention of the City Lord's Mansion immediately piqued his interest.

Zhao Ping'an immediately used his Qinggong (lightness skill), moving like a phantom. In an instant, he appeared outside a group of people.

Because of his body-refining technique, his height had unknowingly surpassed 1.8 meters. He saw the situation in the center of the square through the layers of people.

A carriage marked with the City Lord's Mansion's insignia was stopped in the middle of the road. Two Houtian Martial Artists in City Guard uniforms were carrying a young girl, who had already been knocked unconscious, towards the carriage.

From the carriage window, a figure with a pale face but bright eyes was staring lecherously at the girl being carried over. Judging by his appearance, he was around thirty years old.

"Fourth Level Grandmaster? Could it be?"

Zhao Ping'an immediately recognized his cultivation level. The only Grandmaster-level experts in the city, besides himself who was rumored to be one, were Ouyang Yun from the City Lord's Mansion, and now the four who had arrived from the Royal City.

"Stop!"