Daqian Martial Saint

In Weishui County, reaching the Initial Realm of Profound Light meant one had entered the ranks of true Martial Arts Masters. It was also a benchmark for measuring the strength of a First-class Influence.

Weaker First-class Influences would have three or four masters in the Initial Profound Light Realm anchoring their power, while stronger ones would have five or six, or even seven or eight, presiding over them. Some First-class Influences had even produced Martial Arts Masters in the Profound Light Middle Realm.

Above the First-class Influences were the so-called Top Level Influences, namely the Four Great Noble Families within Weishui County City.

Of course, "Top Level Influence" here was measured on the scale of a single county.

Besides the Four Great Noble Families, there was actually another colossal Top Level Influence in Weishui County: the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office.

However, although the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office was powerful, it was internally riddled with corruption from the Noble Families. Many key positions within the Garrison system were held by members of these families.

If the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office were to truly make an enemy of the Noble Families and encroach upon their interests in Weishui County, it would likely suffer a backlash from within first.

Therefore, although the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office was large, it could not be considered in the same league as the Four Great Noble Families.

To put it simply, the Four Great Noble Families of Weishui were half-masters of the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office.

Even when orders came down from the Canglong Province Garrison Command, effectively controlling the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office required the consent of the Four Great Noble Families.

This was also why, despite the considerable strength of the local powers, the Daqian Dynasty was no longer at its peak and showed signs of a great edifice on the verge of collapse.

The local powers were too big to control, and the central government struggled to command them!

This was one facet of the Daqian Dynasty’s decline.

The Long’an Trade Route involved the core interests of the Four Great Noble Families and the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office. The forces invested in it were naturally immense. In fact, it wasn’t just the Four Great Noble Families; most of the First-class Influences in Weishui County City were also involved in establishing the Long’an Trade Route.

From Weishui County City alone, the number of Profound Light Realm masters invested in the Long’an Trade Route was unknown.

But the powers involved in opening the Long’an Trade Route were not limited to those from Weishui County City. Other factions participated as well, such as the Lin Family of Earth Fire County City, the Xiao Family of Li Yang County City, and the Shadowless Blade Sect of Canglong Province. Furthermore, the Canglong Province Garrison Command also had a hand in establishing the trade route.

The Long’an Trade Route was a chaotic, motley mix of characters. With interests intertwining and powers deeply entangled, the situation was incredibly convoluted—a complete mess.

For a mere trade route patrol, Chen Ping’an’s current Martial Dao strength at the Profound Light Middle Realm was more than enough to protect himself.

But if he were to accidentally get entangled in the core interests of the trade route’s operations, his Profound Light Middle Realm cultivation would be far from enough!

’Still not strong enough. I need to keep cultivating diligently!’

Chen Ping’an sighed, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

He glanced up slightly and saw the Golden Finger Panel floating in the air.

Realm: Profound Light - Bright as Day

Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt Perfection, Flying Locust Stone Perfection, Public Door Thirteen Blades Perfect, Thirteen Grand Protectors Cross Training Perfect, Golden Bell Shield Perfection, Gale Blade Technique Perfection, Eight Steps Chasing Cicada Perfection, Flying Star Swordsmanship Perfection, Great Vajra Palm Mastery (341/400), Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill Minor Achievement (9/640)

...

After cultivating for the past few days, he had already mastered the Flying Star Swordsmanship to the Perfection Realm. As a top-tier superior cultivation method, when Chen Ping’an cultivated it to the Perfection Realm, the amount of Profound Light he spawned with the help of the Golden Finger Panel was naturally considerable.

However, now that Chen Ping’an’s Martial Arts Realm had entered the Profound Light Middle Realm, every step forward was extremely difficult. The perfection of his Flying Star Swordsmanship had only managed to push him to the verge of the Middle Stage; he had not truly entered the Middle Stage of Bright as Day.

’At this rate, even if I cultivate the Great Vajra Palm to the Perfection Realm, it’ll be difficult to enter the Late Stage. Breaking through to the Profound Light High Realm is out of the question!’

’And that’s with the huge leap from Great Success to Perfection. If it were the usual progression from Entry Level to Minor Achievement, or Minor Achievement to Great Success, the gains would probably be even smaller. Just as I thought, once you reach the Profound Light level, the benefits from superior cultivation methods—even top-tier ones—are extremely limited!’

’It seems if I want to progress quickly, I have to focus on Divine Skills!’

Right now, Chen Ping’an already had one Divine Skill, the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill, but if he wanted to continue making steady progress, he would ultimately need to cultivate other Divine Skills.

Divine Skills were hard to come by, so he had to start paying attention to any news about them from now on.

’I wonder if I have enough Merit, could I exchange it for a Divine Skill from the Weishui Garrison Commandant’s Office’s Treasure Vault.’

Chen Ping’an thought to himself.

In theory, it should be possible! But... to actually make it happen, there were numerous constraints besides just having the Merit itself!

Now that Chen Ping’an was an accomplished martial artist, he could theoretically go several nights without sleep without it affecting his condition. However, getting an hour or two of rest each night was still beneficial for his mental state.

The cultivation of the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill didn’t involve many external forms; it was mainly about operating the Heart Method. So, Chen Ping’an sat cross-legged on his bed and began to circulate the True Qi in his body, creating a resonance with the Seed of Profound Light between his eyebrows.

+1!

+1!

...

Streams of Cultivation Experience flashed before Chen Ping’an’s eyes.

Just as Chen Ping’an was immersed in cultivating the Divine Skill, his ears twitched slightly as he heard a noise.

Someone was approaching!

Chen Ping’an reacted instantly.

Outwardly, however, his expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

CRASH!

With the sound of a window shattering, a figure burst in from outside. The figure was incredibly fast, like an afterimage, and a cold glint flashed in the moonlight.

"Just what I was waiting for!"

Chen Ping’an’s eyes flew open as he fearlessly struck out with his bare palms.

Great Vajra Palm!

The attacker’s gaze sharpened as they instantly recognized the origin of Chen Ping’an’s technique.

SCREECH!

Chen Ping’an’s bare palms collided hard with a Longsword, producing the ear-piercing sound of metal on metal.

’Inner Qi Third Level Perfection!’

In that instant, Chen Ping’an had judged the power level of his opponent’s sword strike.

The figure maneuvered in mid-air, easily neutralizing the force of Chen Ping’an’s palm strike. With a leap, they landed on the windowsill. Looking down at Chen Ping’an, their voice held a note of astonishment, "Inner Qi Third Level Perfection?"

Chen Ping’an narrowed his eyes. The light around the Seed of Profound Light between his brows flickered as he tried to sense the opponent’s Martial Arts Realm. However, the other person seemed to be shrouded in a layer of aura that obscured them, making it impossible for him to gauge their realm for a moment.

’A Concealing Breath Technique!’ Chen Ping’an’s gaze hardened. His opponent’s Martial Arts Realm wasn’t nearly as simple as what they had just displayed!

’Who could it be?’

In an instant, all sorts of possibilities flashed through Chen Ping’an’s mind.

SHING!

The Yanling Saber left its sheath as Chen Ping’an roared, "Get down here!"

SWOOSH!

A dazzling blade light flared as Chen Ping’an slashed out, sending it toward the figure on the windowsill.

Gale Sword Technique—Gale Swift Blade Slash!

An immense power intent emerged, carrying the feeling of a howling gale. As the blade light flashed, the brick wall instantly collapsed as if it were made of paper.

The attacker’s figure instantly vaulted away, leaping down from the third story.

"Where do you think you’re going!"

Amidst flying debris and swirling dust, Chen Ping’an’s gaze was as sharp as a blade. He leaped and followed the figure down.