Daqian Martial Saint

”How much for this?”

Chen Ping’an crouched down and pointed to a palm-sized, dark and grimy piece of hide on the stall.

”This?”

The gray-clothed man’s voice was hoarse. It was hard to tell if it was intentional or his natural voice.

”Ten taels of silver.”

”Ten taels?” Chen Ping’an chuckled.

He picked up the palm-sized piece of hide from the stall. The hide was cool to the touch, as if made from some special material, feeling completely different from sheepskin or cowhide.

Lines were drawn all over the diagram.

Chen Ping’an examined it closely and realized it seemed to be a Treasure Map.

Unfortunately... the hide was incomplete, with a full half of it missing.

’You dare ask for ten taels for a mere piece of hide!?’

Although he wasn’t short on ten taels of silver these days, he wasn’t a sucker either. Chen Ping’an countered.

”One tael of silver. I’ll take it!”

The gray-clothed man glanced up at Chen Ping’an. Just as Chen Ping’an expected him to show his displeasure, a hoarse voice sounded before him.

”Deal!”

Huh?

Chen Ping’an froze, the corner of his mouth twitching.

’Did I just get scammed?’

He had started by offering a tenth of the price, but it turned out he had still offered too much.

’Who could he even complain to?’

But since they had already agreed on a price, Chen Ping’an didn’t go back on his word.

It was just one tael of silver, anyway.

The hide was unusual; it would be nice to keep it as a collector’s item.

He paid with one hand and took the goods with the other; the transaction was complete.

Before leaving, Chen Ping’an asked the gray-clothed man where the hide had come from.

The man didn’t say much, only that he had found it in the mountains. Whether that was true or not was anyone’s guess.

Chen Ping’an didn’t think much of it, put away the map, and left.

In the Black Market, besides the regular stalls, there were also many temporary peddlers wandering around, soliciting business.

”Self-defense blades. Care to take a look?”

A small, skinny man with his head wrapped in black cloth approached Chen Ping’an mysteriously and made his pitch. He pulled aside his robe, revealing rows of daggers and short blades hanging inside, a field of shimmering steel.

”No need.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

To be honest, these so-called self-defense blades were of little use to him.

With his current Martial Dao strength, every move he made held immense power. In terms of destructive force, his hand-strikes were far more powerful than any ordinary dagger or short blade.

”It’s dangerous out there. It’s essential to buy a dagger for self-defense.”

The skinny man wanted to continue his sales pitch.

A faint smile touched Chen Ping’an’s lips as he turned and walked away.

”You...”

A flash of annoyance crossed the skinny man’s face, hidden beneath the black cloth.

But before he could do anything more, he saw a stocky young man fall into step right behind Chen Ping’an.

’An attendant?’

A flicker of doubt passed through the skinny man’s mind.

Watching the two of them walk toward the Black Market’s exit, he grew curious and followed them.

As he neared the exit, he froze.

He saw a large group of people standing outside the Black Market. They wore sabers at their waists and looked imposing and formidable.

When these people saw the young man emerge, they all made way for him and greeted him repeatedly.

Seeing this, the skinny man’s mind instantly cleared. He extinguished the unrealistic idea that had begun to form.

The skinny man wasn’t the only one who witnessed this scene outside the Black Market; so did several other men with malicious intent.

These men had seen Chen Ping’an’s naive appearance and thought they might follow him out to score some profit. But they never expected to eagerly follow him out only to be met with such a scene.

’With such a large group of Guards, what’s the point of wearing a mask?’

’Thank goodness...’

Someone thought, secretly rejoicing.

As they watched Chen Ping’an and his group leave, the men outside the Black Market ultimately didn’t say it aloud.

”Once you leave the Black Market, we are not responsible for your safety. You assume all risks.”

Among the people following the young man, some had Martial Arts Realms no weaker than their own. With such a large group present, who would have the gall to jump out and court death?

...

When Chen Ping’an returned home, Chen Erya was in her room reading, with Peony standing gracefully to one side.

The little girl was reading very intently, looking incredibly serene.

It wasn’t until Chen Ping’an walked into the room that the little girl finally noticed him.

”Brother, you’re back.”

The little girl jumped up, all traces of her earlier serenity gone.

”Young Master.”

Peony bowed respectfully in greeting.

”Mm.”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

”Why are you still up so late?”

”I was waiting for you, Brother,” Chen Erya said, her eyes crinkling. ”I don’t have much to do during the day anyway, so staying up a little later is fine. Besides, today is a big day for you.”

The little girl was as clingy as ever.

Chen Ping’an walked over to the little girl’s side and happened to see the title of the book on the table.

*Six Strategies*.

It was a profoundly deep booklet on the art of governing a state and strengthening a nation.

’Can the little girl even understand it?’

”Can you understand it?” Chen Ping’an asked.

”Not really. There are a lot of parts I don’t get,” the little girl said, a bit vexed. But her expression quickly brightened.

”But I feel like what it talks about is really interesting.”

Seeing Chen Erya’s genuine interest, Chen Ping’an thought to himself.

’It’s about time I sent the little girl to school.’

There were schools in Nanquan Lane, but they were of a very ordinary level. He felt it wasn’t quite right to send the little girl to one of them.

’I’ll go check out South City Lane another day.’

Chen Ping’an made up his mind.

The siblings chatted for a while, just like they used to, before they each went to bed.

Now that they had more rooms in the house, they had started sleeping in separate rooms.

...

The next day at work, around noon, Chen Ping’an received a gift from the South Town Garrison Command.

The gift was from Mu Wanjun, for his coming-of-age ceremony.

It had to be said, Mu Wanjun was truly generous; her gifts were always extravagant.

The gift was a Hundred Pattern Saber, forged from Hundred-Forged Steel and refined a thousand times.

It was a superior-quality Fine Iron Blade that had reached the Sharp Blade Level.

The Daqian Dynasty was founded on martial prowess, so everything was meticulously categorized. Just like Cultivation and Martial Arts, weapons also had grades.

The farming tools used by commoners, like hoes and sickles, were not even considered weapons.

The most basic weapons were those forged in an ordinary blacksmith’s shop, which were of the lowest quality.

A step above that were the fine weapons, painstakingly crafted by skilled blacksmiths.

The weapons used by regular Constables were fine weapons of this level.

A Sharp Blade, however, was a class above fine weapons. It was a true Martial Dao weapon, capable of withstanding the full force of a swing even when infused with surging Qi Blood.

The Hundred Pattern Saber from Mu Wanjun was precisely such a Sharp Blade.

In the entire Nanquan Alley Town Patrol Office, only Tian Fuliang possessed one.

Sharp Blades were also divided into ordinary and fine quality.

As for what was above a Fine Blade, that would be the legendary Treasure Artifacts.

Treasure Artifacts, as the name implied, were the supreme treasures among weapons. Even an ordinary Inner Qi Master was not qualified to possess one, not even the lowest quality Treasure Artifact.