Seeking Death

The one who spoke was not Zhao Ping'an, but a young man rushing over from not far away. He looked at most just over twenty years old, yet his cultivation had already reached the Innate Realm, albeit only at the second level of Innate.

As the young man spoke, two Qi hand seals, each larger than his palms by a full circle, materialized on his hands and shot toward the chests of the two City Guard soldiers.

The two instinctively shoved the girl they were carrying in front of them as shields while retreating rapidly backward.

"Boom!"

The young man clearly recognized the girl. He slammed the Qi palm seals on his hands into the ground, shattering the blue stone bricks into pieces, then immediately raised his arms to catch the falling girl.

"Little sister! Little sister! Wake up!"

"Wang Linzhao! Could that girl be the Wang Family's treasured jewel, Wang Linxue?"

At that moment, a bystander recognized the young man and exclaimed in shock.

Wang Linzhao, the foremost of the Wang Family's third generation, had broken through to the Innate Realm at just twenty-two years old. Now twenty-four, he was one of the Four Young Masters of South Ridge City. The other three were Zhou Honghai, the second son of the City Lord; Li Xingjian, the foremost of the Li Family's third generation, one of the three great clans; and Wu Xingwen, the young escort leader of the Qingyuan Escort Agency.

All four had broken through to the Innate Realm in their early twenties, making them true figures of renown in South Ridge City.

"Who would've thought the people on that City Lord's Mansion carriage would set their sights on the Wang Family. Now this is getting interesting."

"Yeah, the Wang Family and the City Lord's Mansion have a close relationship. For something like this to happen..."

After learning the identities of the two, the gathered crowd immediately buzzed with discussion, clearly eager to watch the drama unfold.

As for the matter of forcibly seizing a woman in broad daylight, they seemed unfazed, as if this wasn't the first time they'd seen it.

"Truly, the world has decayed, rites and music have collapsed. Martial artists cultivate the body but not the heart. Fragile minds cannot wield great power, so they amplify their desires without restraint. I wonder if this is good or bad for the world."

Zhao Ping'an listened to the chatter around him and murmured to himself.

If his guess about the identity of the man in the carriage—the one with the kidney-deficient look—was correct, then the Tianshui Dynasty's political situation must already be rotten beyond recognition.

To actually appoint a demonic path martial artist to an official post, with no restrictions in place.

"City Guard! How dare you! To forcibly seize a woman of my Wang Family in broad daylight! I'm going to find Uncle Zhou right now and see who gave you the nerve!"

Wang Linzhao looked up at the two City Guard soldiers not far away, his face dark as he roared.

The Wang Family, being a weaponsmithing clan, had frequent dealings with the government, so they were old allies of the City Lord's Mansion. In truth, the Wang Family was subordinate to the Prefectural Lord's Mansion behind the City Lord.

By now, he had woken his sister, but she was too shaken, hiding in Wang Linzhao's arms and sobbing softly, pitiful and endearing.

Wang Linzhao shot a hateful glare at the figure on the carriage, then picked up his sister Wang Linxue and turned to leave.

Anyone bold enough to ride openly in a City Lord's Mansion carriage and command the City Guard was bound to be no simple figure, and their strength was uncertain. So Wang Linzhao didn't charge in recklessly.

Of course, the fact that his sister was still unharmed also played a direct role in his restraint.

"How amusing. Want to leave? Did I say you could?"

Just as Wang Linzhao turned, a soft, sinister voice rang in his ears.

He spun around immediately and saw that the pale-faced middle-aged man, who had been on the carriage over ten meters away moments ago, was now standing just over a meter behind him.

The surrounding crowd collectively stepped back several paces, all startled.

Just seconds earlier, as Wang Linzhao turned with his sister in his arms, a figure in white robes—pale-faced, gaunt, and lanky—had shot out of the carriage like a ghost, crossing over ten meters in an instant to appear behind Wang Linzhao.

That terrifying speed, combined with the appearance of a White Impermanence, made the onlookers feel as if they'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"What the hell, what kind of getup is that? Dressing up as a ghost to scare people in the middle of the day!"

Zhao Ping'an blurted out a curse at the sudden figure, his voice clear and loud.

In an instant, everyone turned to stare at him with strange expressions, though none recognized him.

Especially the White Impermanence-like figure, whose face twisted in fury. He hated nothing more than people commenting on his appearance.

But one person was an exception: Wang Linzhao. As a scion of a clan on par with the Blazing Blade Sect and the Zhao Family, his eyes widened the moment he saw Zhao Ping'an's face—clearly recognizing him.

"Boy, I hate it when people talk about my looks. And you, with no regard for your life, dare to call me a ghost in public? I hope in your next life, you learn to keep your mouth shut!"

The White Impermanence-like figure glared viciously at Zhao Ping'an, who stood out like a crane among chickens in the crowd, his voice icy.

At his gaze, everyone in front of Zhao Ping'an scattered like birds and beasts, clearing a path several meters wide.

"I have no regard for my life? You're the one who—whoa!"

Though the path opened up, the kidney-deficient figure didn't waste more words. As Zhao Ping'an spoke mid-sentence, his right hand swelled several times in size, forming a massive palm seal over three feet in radius, which shot straight at Zhao Ping'an's chest.

"Die!"

At the same time, the white-robed man roared, striking with full hatred, his Qi erupting at full force.

Even without any martial technique, one palm strike like that would kill even a Xiantian Peak expert on the spot—leaving not even a complete corpse.

"Courting death! Void Splitting Palm!"

Zhao Ping'an struck first, his right hand rising as a Qi palm seal several times larger than his opponent's flew out, smashing straight into the oncoming white-robed man.

The man, who had been full of disgust and rage, saw the massive palm seal—as big as his entire body—and his eyes went wide, his face twisting into terror.

Only one thought filled his mind: "It's over!"

He remembered a person, someone the City Lord had specifically mentioned to them, including the one their master had personally warned him about—the peak Grandmaster, Zhao Ping'an.

But back then, he'd only glanced at it and hadn't paid attention. Add to that the City Lord sending a few pretty women to drown him in pleasure, and he'd completely forgotten the face in the portrait.

"Boom!"

With a violent crash, a figure flew out like a kite with a snapped string, slamming directly onto the ground beside the City Lord's Mansion's carriage twenty meters away.

His right hand and half his body had already turned into scattered debris, but the powerful vitality of the Grandmaster Realm kept him from fully breathing his last.

"I also hate it when people interrupt me!"

"Shiiing!"

Zhao Ping'an sucked up a piece of rubble from the ground, flicked his wrist, and hurled it out, producing a sharp sound of air splitting.