Appearing

Zhao Ping'an used the Absolute Shadow Flying Blade, a peak-level Human-grade hidden weapon technique, which had only one characteristic: extreme speed. It was so fast that opponents could barely catch a glimpse of a shadow.

When the sound of air being cut reached the ears of the onlookers, the white-clothed man's head exploded into several pieces like a watermelon, splattering red and white everywhere.

Everyone who witnessed this scene turned pale with fear and discomfort, scattering in all directions. Many shouted as they fled:

"Someone's dead!"

"Someone's dead at the City Lord's Mansion!"

Some who were closer even vomited as they ran, a scene too gruesome to behold.

These common folk had never witnessed such a bloody scene before.

"You two, take a message to Zhou Ruiming for me. Tell him it was I, Zhao Ping'an, who killed him. Also, tell those three from the Royal City at the City Lord's Mansion to behave themselves in South Ridge City. I have a bad temper. If they dare to cause trouble again, I can't guarantee they'll make it back to the Royal City. Now get out!"

After casually killing the white-clothed man, Zhao Ping'an turned to the two city guards who were hiding nearby and hadn't fled, speaking in a chilling tone.

"Zhao Ping'an?!"

"Yes, yes, sir! We will deliver the message!"

Upon hearing Zhao Ping'an's name, the two city guards' faces changed drastically. They nodded frantically, their faces filled with terror. They abandoned their carriage and the corpse, bolting towards the City Lord's Mansion as fast as they could, fearing they would end up dead there if they were any slower.

"Grandmaster Zhao, thank you for saving our lives! My Wang Family will surely repay this kindness!"

At this moment, Wang Linzhao, holding his sister Wang Linxue's hand, approached Zhao Ping'an and bowed together.

After bowing, Wang Linxue looked nervously at the resolute and tall Zhao Ping'an, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

At sixteen or seventeen years old, she was at the age where young love begins. In her time of crisis, the powerful Zhao Ping'an descended like a divine soldier, leaving a deep impression on her innocent heart.

Unfortunately, Zhao Ping'an had long since given up on love. He merely waved his hand and vanished before them in a flash.

"Zhao..."

Seeing the figure appear dozens of meters away in an instant and then quickly disappear from sight, Wang Linzhao could only helplessly lower his half-raised hand, unable to say what he wanted.

"Let's go, little sister. We need to report this to Father and Grandfather as soon as possible. If I'm not mistaken, the Grandmaster who died was likely sent from the Royal City to track a fugitive. If we mishandle this, our Wang Family could be ruined!"

Seeing his sister still staring blankly in the direction Zhao Ping'an had left, Wang Linzhao pulled Wang Linxue's arm and said with a solemn expression as they headed towards the Wang Manor.

"Grandmaster! Second Brother, you're saying that white-clothed man was a Grandmaster!"

Wang Linxue exclaimed in shock, snapping back to reality. She hadn't seen his palm strike and hadn't realized the deceased was a Grandmaster.

If any of his Grandmaster friends were to hold the Wang Family accountable for this matter...

Thinking of this, the intelligent Wang Linxue's expression also turned solemn, and she quickened her pace towards home.

In the central reception hall of the City Lord's Mansion...

"What? White Ghost was publicly robbing a Wang Family young lady for cultivation, and Grandmaster Zhao, who happened to be passing by and watching, killed him on the street? And he was also looking for a woman?"

Ouyang Yun, who was drinking tea with Zhou Ruiming, roared in shock upon hearing the report from the city guard kneeling at the entrance.

"Reporting, reporting, sir, yes... yes..."

The city guard replied, stuttering nervously.

"Useless! Useless! Can't do anything right, only mess things up! How could he provoke that killing god Zhao Ping'an at this time? What's in his head, mush? Looking for a woman? I think he's driven by lust!!!"

Ouyang Yun was furious. He couldn't understand what White Ghost was thinking, wandering around the city at this time, and even hiring two Houtian Martial Artist city guards who were long stationed at the City Lord's Mansion and knew little about most of the forces in the city to drive for him.

"Brother Ouyang, now is not the time to vent your anger. We need to think about how to explain this to Grandmaster Zhao and those three in the backyard! We can't afford to offend either side."

Zhou Ruiming waved the two kneeling men away and then said to Ouyang Yun with a worried expression.

"Explain? How can we explain? We can only tell the truth. As for Grandmaster Zhao, it seems the two fourth-tier Spiritual Medicines I have will be gone..."

Ouyang Yun muttered regretfully.

Those were treasures he had been saving to break through to the fifth level of the Grandmaster realm, and now...

Zhao Ping'an paid no mind to the affairs of the City Lord's Mansion. He already knew that the strongest person in the entire Profound Water Dynasty was only at the peak of the Great Grandmaster realm. Of course, there were Great Grandmasters in the other three prefectural cities as well. Although he didn't know the exact number, it was about the same.

To the current Zhao Ping'an, Great Grandmasters couldn't even break through his defenses, so any number of them would just be fodder.

Zhao Ping'an soon left South Ridge City, heading towards Wu'an Mountain.

Outside South Ridge City, Wu'an Mountain was the only place with a large quantity of Spiritual Medicine. Tian Yiming, who was already injured and cut off from information, would need the Spiritual Medicine there to heal and replenish himself if he wanted to reach the border.

In this ancient, isolated agricultural society, it was difficult for anyone other than major powers to know the specific situation in various regions. Therefore, Zhao Ping'an guessed that Tian Yiming's understanding of South Ridge City was likely based on outdated information.

Of course, if the other party didn't show up, he wouldn't lose much, just spend a little more time accumulating Deduction Points.

Dozens of miles north of South Ridge City, a disheveled figure was carefully hiding in the canopy of a large tree. His body was also covered in leaves, making him difficult to find even if someone searched carefully.

(A makeshift ghillie suit for ancient fantasy worlds)

"South Ridge City! Where is this? A Spiritual Medicine mountain? The Sun Family, a congenital aristocratic family? It's you, cough cough..."

Tian Yiming carefully held a very detailed map. The map was made from the tanned hide of an unknown Demonic Beast. It clearly marked the locations of all major and minor cities in the Profound Water Dynasty, along with brief descriptions of the main forces and precious resources within the cities. Villages and towns were briefly mentioned, with only larger ones having names.

After coughing a few times, clutching his chest, Tian Yiming quickly put away the map, took a sip of water from his flask, and, confirming no one was around, quickly jumped down from the tree, set a direction, and sped off.

Zhao Ping'an was still leisurely heading towards Wu'an Mountain. He had no idea that his intuitive guess would actually come true.

"Whoosh!"

"Bang!"

A sharp whistling sound and an explosion quickly followed, after which, one after another, fireworks shot into the sky.

"Huh? A signal flare? That's... in the direction of Wu'an Mountain? No way..."