Gifting a Treasure

More than two months ago, Zhao Ping'an had casually slapped to death White Ghost, who was trying to abduct a young woman in broad daylight. After saving the Wang siblings, Wang Linzhao and Wang Linxue, he hurriedly left South Ridge City.

It had been nothing more than a trivial thing done on a whim. He hadn't given it a second thought.

But to the two he'd saved, it was a kindness as vast as the heavens.

After all, the man he'd killed had been a Fourth Level Grandmaster, an opponent the entire Wang Family could never have defeated, even if they had thrown everything they had at him.

You could say that Zhao Ping'an's casual act had indirectly saved the entire Wang Family.

When the current Wang Family head, Wang Qingyu, learned what had happened, she immediately convened a family council. In the end, they decided to do everything in their power to forge a Treasure Saber for Zhao Ping'an.

Its main material was a piece of Outer Realm Profound Iron that the Wang Family's ancestors had acquired by chance.

After centuries of searching, the Wang Family had finally discovered how to melt it ten years ago. But a man is not guilty of a crime, yet he is guilty of possessing a jade.

The Treasure Saber's emergence would inevitably spark a mad scramble.

The Wang Family's strongest member had only reached the Eighth Level Innate. They couldn't protect the saber at all; worse, it could bring them disaster.

Now, Zhao Ping'an's sudden rise presented them with a perfect opportunity.

The Wang Family immediately summoned all their top forging masters to the earthfire vein in the depths of their forge and began crafting the saber with the strength of the entire Lineage.

After more than two months, the Treasure Saber had finally taken shape that very morning.

To prevent trouble from brewing, the Wang Family quickly gathered its important members and set out of the city with the saber. They carefully made their way through the mountain forest toward Wu'an Mountain, leaving only the Wang Family head, Wang Qingyu, behind to watch over the family.

They didn't reach Wu'an Mountain until noon, when the sun stood high overhead.

"Understood. Let them in!"

"Yes, my lord!"

At Zhao Ping'an's command, the guard immediately turned and ran toward the gate.

Soon, an plainly dressed old man of about sixty, followed by several figures, hurried to Zhao Ping'an's pavilion under the guard's lead.

Among them were the Wang Family's second young master, Wang Linzhao, and its beloved jewel, Wang Linxue, whom Zhao Ping'an had saved before.

They walked behind a middle-aged couple, curiously looking around at everything.

Zhao Ping'an leaped down from the roof, opened the entrance on the first floor, and invited everyone to take their seats in the reception room.

"This old man is Wang Yuanzheng of the Wang Family, its previous head. I now serve as the family's First Elder. It's an honor to meet you, Young Master Zhao."

"These two are my..."

Wang Yuanzheng introduced his entire party to Zhao Ping'an.

They included his second son, Wang Qingshan, and his wife, Song Mingyue; the siblings Wang Linzhao and Wang Linxue, the most talented youngsters of the Wang Family.

(That's right: Wang Linxue, the Wang Family's beloved jewel, was also one of the most talented members of its rising generation. She was even a little more talented than her second brother, Wang Linzhao.)

His cousin, Wang Yuanxin, the Wang Family's Second Elder, and his elder cousin, Wang Yuanpei, the Wang Family's Third Elder.

There were seven of them in all.

Before Zhao Ping'an could ask, Wang Yuanzheng went straight to the point: they had come to give him a saber.

It was strapped to Wang Qingshan's back, wrapped tightly in silk.

"You've come to give me a saber?"

"That's right, Young Master Zhao. First, we want to thank you for saving the Kirin Son of our Wang Family from danger. Second, our family can't protect this saber; it would bring us disaster rather than good fortune. Third, we hope to build a closer relationship with you."

"To be honest, and I hope you won't laugh at us, my Wang Family is at the bottom of the heap in South Ridge City. We still haven't produced a single Ninth Level Innate expert. So we'd like to ask you to lend us a little support over the next ten years, just enough to keep our family from falling into decline."

At first, Wang Yuanzheng had actually intended to propose a marriage alliance, but he changed his mind at the last moment.

Zhao Ping'an was far too powerful, while they were far too weak. If the two families joined by marriage, the Wang Family would inevitably become his subordinate. That wasn't something he wanted.

There was one more thing he hadn't said aloud: if Zhao Ping'an hadn't turned South Ridge City upside down over the past six months, forcing every faction to keep its head down and behave, the Wang Family would probably already have begun to decline.

The reason was that his own strength had started to ebb.

The path of martial arts was like rowing upstream: if you didn't advance, you fell back.

Take the Innate Realm, for example. Its utmost lifespan was a hundred and fifty years, but once a person passed sixty, their Qi and Blood began to decline. Not only did progress in martial arts become several times harder, they also needed vast quantities of Spiritual Medicine to keep their bodies in shape.

That was why a saying had long circulated in the martial world: "If you haven't entered the Innate Realm by thirty-five, you'll never make it in this life; if you haven't become a Grandmaster by sixty, your path ends here."

The higher realms each had their own age limits, too.

If you couldn't break through to the next major realm before reaching the age limit, your cultivation would have reached its end.

"Let me see the saber."

Zhao Ping'an felt little about any of this. He was advancing far too quickly. After a brief pause, he spoke softly, eager to see why the Wang Family thought a weapon alone could win him over.

They had no idea how powerful he truly was.

At Zhao Ping'an's words, a gleam entered Wang Yuanzheng's eyes. He immediately motioned for his second son to present the saber.

"Please have a look, Young Master Zhao!"

Wang Qingshan promptly untied the silk from his back, revealing a long saber as black as ink. Holding it out in both hands, he stepped before Zhao Ping'an and spoke respectfully.

"Mm."

Zhao Ping'an didn't stand on ceremony. He nodded and reached out to take the saber.

"Hm?"

The moment it touched his hand, Zhao Ping'an's eyes lit up.

The saber was about four chi long—around one meter and thirty centimeters—and two cun wide. Its overall design resembled a Ming-dynasty Brocade Spring Saber, yet it weighed over a hundred jin.

That was more than ten times the weight of an ordinary fine-steel saber.

Clang!

The saber sang as it left its scabbard, cold light flashing so brightly that everyone squinted.

Ting!

Zhao Ping'an lightly flicked the blade with his left hand. A clear, melodious ring instantly filled everyone's ears and lingered on and on.

"Fine saber!"

Zhao Ping'an gazed at the flawless blade in his hand, his eyes shining.

He hadn't merely tapped it just now. He'd used thirty percent of his Body Cultivation strength and a wisp of True Essence.

The saber had withstood it without a scratch, completely exceeding his expectations.

Even a Fifth Order Supreme Grade saber would have been damaged by a blow using thirty percent of the Body Cultivation strength of a Martial Venerable at his peak.

But this saber was unscathed. Its material had to be extraordinary.

"Hm? Why hasn't it been sharpened?"

Zhao Ping'an had been about to test the saber's edge when he looked up, puzzled, at Wang Yuanzheng.

"Uh... well... the thing is, this saber is made from an exceptionally precious material. More than two hundred years ago, one of our Wang Family ancestors came across a piece of Outer Realm Meteorite Iron, and this saber was forged from it.

"We found a way to melt and forge it, but sharpening it... our Wang Family doesn't have the ability to do that. We don't even know the saber's precise grade.

"But I can assure you, it's at least Fourth Order. You can use it without worry."

Seeing Zhao Ping'an's puzzled expression, Wang Yuanzheng explained with some embarrassment.