Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine and Improving Qinggong

After entering, Ouyang Yun saw Zhao Ping'an sitting there motionlessly and the clearly displeased expressions of the three people beside him, and immediately began to introduce them.

"Well, sit down. You must be here for Tian Yiming, right? This is his head. Where is my spiritual medicine?"

Unfortunately, Zhao Ping'an showed no reaction, merely nodding indifferently and getting straight to the point.

"This..."

Ouyang Yun turned his gaze to Chou Wanren, the one with the highest cultivation among his companions.

"Grandmaster Zhao, we wouldn't carry a Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine with us. We need to confirm Tian Yiming's death and verify your identity before we can retrieve it from the Royal City Treasury for you."

Although angered by Zhao Ping'an's dismissive attitude, might made right. This was not Profound Water City, so Chou Wanren could only explain.

He had learned from Ouyang Yun that the overly young Grandmaster before them not only had his cultivation reach the peak of Grandmaster Ninth Layer but had also cultivated a Human-grade Lightness Skill to the Great Accomplishment realm. Even if the four of them attacked together, they probably wouldn't be able to touch the corner of his clothes.

"What? No spiritual medicine? You dare to play me?"

Hearing Chou Wanren's explanation, Zhao Ping'an's expression turned cold, and he said in a chilling voice.

He didn't care how they would report back to Profound Water City to complete their mission. In his eyes, without the spiritual medicine, they couldn't take Tian Yiming's head. He wasn't afraid of them reneging on the deal either; the blade in his hand was not for show.

"This... Give me one day. Before noon tomorrow, I will come with the spiritual medicine!"

Seeing Zhao Ping'an's change in demeanor, Chou Wanren pondered for a moment and immediately replied.

"Chou Wanren, is it? I hope you don't lie to me, or I can't guarantee what I might do. Also, control the people you brought! If there's another incident, none of you will be going back. Get out."

Zhao Ping'an's eyes emitted an eerie radiance, staring intently at the three of them. They felt their scalps tingle and cold sweat break out on their foreheads.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The three of them didn't want to stay there for another second. After Zhao Ping'an spoke, they quickly fled the hall and sped out of Wu'an Mountain.

Ouyang Yun apologized and immediately chased after them.

Zhao Ping'an flickered to the damaged main gate, which Tian Yiming had destroyed, and watched their fleeing figures for a long time in silence.

The sky was already beginning to darken, with half the sun having set below the horizon.

"Time for dinner..."

Glancing at the sunset, Zhao Ping'an returned to his attic.

Soon, the report on the losses from Tian Yiming's attack was compiled by the accountant sent by his Master, Zheng Hetong, and handed to Zhao Ping'an.

Among them, the herb farmers only suffered some fright, with no casualties. The guards suffered twelve deaths and twenty injuries, most of whom were crippled. The rest were damages to the buildings.

The final accounting showed a total loss of about three thousand taels of silver, the largest portion of which was for the compensation of the deceased.

As for the damaged gates and houses, they weren't worth much.

Money was just a number to Zhao Ping'an now; he didn't care about it. Moreover, he had just found five thousand liang in Gold Notes from Tian Yiming, worth fifty thousand liang in silver.

At noon the Second Day, right after lunch, Zhao Ping'an received ten Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicines from Chou Wanren and Ouyang Yun. Zhou Ruiming had also asked Ouyang Yun to deliver a bank note for five thousand liang in silver for the reconstruction of Wu'an Mountain.

Five were the agreed-upon reward, two were a form of apology from Ouyang Yun, and the last three were an apology from Chou Wanren.

As the saying goes, one shouldn't hit a smiling face.

Facing the two men again, Zhao Ping'an no longer had a cold expression, though he certainly wasn't overly enthusiastic either. He calmly accepted the spiritual medicines and handed over the head. The other two Grandmasters had not come this time.

As for the other items in Tian Yiming's possession, the two men didn't mention them at all.

This confirmed for him that the imperial court clearly did not know about the existence of that Treasure Map.

After receiving Tian Yiming's head and confirming his identity, the two quickly took their leave and departed.

The weather around South Ridge City had little seasonal variation, with temperatures consistently around twenty degrees Celsius year-round. After being left out overnight, the head had already begun to smell.

Zhao Ping'an knew nothing of ancient preservation methods.

After watching the two leave Wu'an Mountain, Zhao Ping'an, carrying the spiritual medicines, quickly returned to his second-floor study.

"I wonder how many Deduction Points each Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine will give me?"

Looking at the ten Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicines neatly arranged before him, Zhao Ping'an muttered and reached out to grab one.

To him, the type, effect, or toxicity of the spiritual medicine didn't matter; as long as the grade was sufficient, it was fine. Therefore, he didn't bother checking what kind of spiritual medicines the two had sent.

As Zhao Ping'an's right hand grasped a Ginseng with a golden luster, a window immediately popped up on his Game Panel.

[Ding, External Energy detected. Absorption will increase current Deduction Points by 5%. Absorb (Y/N)?]

"5%? Not bad. Yes!"

As Zhao Ping'an made his choice, the Ginseng in his hand rapidly withered and shriveled.

Simultaneously, a stream of warmth surged into his body and quickly disappeared into the depths of his physique, its whereabouts unknown.

The Deduction Points on his panel also quickly increased from 50% to 55%.

As one Fourth-grade Spiritual Medicine after another turned dry and yellow, the Deduction Points on Zhao Ping'an's panel rose all the way to 100%. The spiritual medicines were also completely used up.

He immediately began to use Deduction Points to deduce the movement technique, Soaring Dragon Void Steps.

As he clicked on the faintly glowing [Deducible!] text, the streams of warmth that had previously disappeared without a trace reappeared from within his body, surging into his mind.

However, it had no adverse effect on him, only prompting a new window to appear on the panel:

[Ding, Yellow-grade Martial Art Soaring Dragon Void Steps has begun deduction and advancement. Current progress: 0%, deducing...]

At the same time, the total amount of [Deduction Points] in the corner dropped directly from 100% to 35%.

Then, under Zhao Ping'an's gaze, after about thirty seconds, the deduction progress increased from 0% to 1%. This meant that completing the deduction would take approximately 50 minutes, nearly an hour.

He didn't sit in the room and wait. He picked up a Special Heavy Long Saber and headed to the Training Ground behind the house to begin his martial arts training for the day.

Nine Forms of Hegemonic Saber, Purple Light Ghostly Eyes, Five Thunders Sky Severing Palm, Phantom Flying Dagger. One after another, he practiced them continuously. There was no Qi splashing everywhere or ghostly figures, only simple swings of the saber, chops of the palm, and the throwing of stones, watching the copper coins hanging in the distance remain motionless.

Those who knew would know he was practicing martial arts. Those who didn't might think he was playing house.