Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 295: The Wind and Fire Squad

Great Qin Immortal Dynasty, Heavenly Fire City.

A small city with a population of only a little over 800,000, located in a remote area, was a place traders usually couldn’t be bothered to visit.

But recently, it had seen an influx of outsiders, and now the city was bustling with a daily foot traffic of up to two million people.

The reason was simple, Heavenly Fire City was the closest city to the Heavenly Star Wasteland within the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty.

Many who wanted to venture into the Heavenly Star Wasteland or seize the opportunity to do business had flocked to this place.

This massive influx of people brought huge business opportunities to the small city, but it also posed a great challenge to public security.

Inside an inn in Heavenly Fire City.

Xu Ping’an was sitting cross-legged.

This was his third day in Heavenly Fire City, as well as his twelfth day since leaving the Imperial Capital.

"Huff!"

Xu Ping’an exhaled a breath of foul air, and with a slight movement, the muscles and bones throughout his body crackled like thunder.

During these twelve days, Xu Ping’an had been traveling and cultivating at the same time.

His Cultivation had now reached the Fifth Rank Ninth Layer.

And after taking the second Life-Death Reversal Blood Pill, his physical strength had finally broken through the strength of one dragon, reaching the force of one dragon and forty elephants.

In other words, Xu Ping’an’s physical strength had now stepped into the Seventh Rank Realm.

As for his True Yuan, he had encountered some obstacles, with both attributes halted at the Fifth Rank.

The main reason was that he was running out of resources.

Out of the fifteen Seventh Rank Cultivators, except for the five elders from Tiankui Sect, the rest had not left behind storage rings.

Even those five elders from the Tiankui Sect weren’t wealthy, and Xu Ping’an had spent all their savings to enhance his Cultivation in this period.

So now Xu Ping’an was a pauper.

Whether it was the strength of his physical body, the transformation of True Yuan, or the advancement of his Cultivation, all of them needed a large amount of resources.

It could be said that Xu Ping’an was a major consumer of resources.

"Alas, still poor; without resources, it’s indeed slow to increase strength," Xu Ping’an sighed.

This time, he had truly almost used up all his resources.

Especially his Soul Realm, the Heavenly Spirit Fruits and Clear Spirit Jade Liquid he had exchanged before were already used up during the Holy Refinement.

Even when Cultivating the Heavenly Heart Scripture, his Soul Realm advanced painfully slowly.

Of course, it wasn’t actually slow, mainly Xu Ping’an felt it was slow.

"You kid, how long have you been training? Your Cultivation has already reached the peak of the Fifth Rank, and you slaughter Seventh Ranks as if you were chopping vegetables, yet you still think it’s slow?" Lei Shi’s incredulous voice rang out.

Upon hearing Xu Ping’an’s words, he couldn’t help but want to curse.

This guy’s advancement speed could already be described as inhuman, and yet here he was, still complaining about being too slow, which was simply asking to be scolded.

Xu Ping’an smiled helplessly.

He could indeed kill Seventh Rankers much more easily now, but as long as his Soul Realm didn’t condense, there was still a fundamental difference between him and a true Seventh Ranker.

No matter how strong his body was, against those genius Seventh Rankers, he was still only at being killed.

The Seventh Rankers he had killed before were just the weaker ones.

They hadn’t practiced any Soul Combat Techniques, and such Seventh Rankers were just too weak.

True geniuses of the Seventh Rank would cultivate formidable Soul Combat Techniques.

Soul Combat Techniques were also a way to harness Soul Power.

Like Feng Cheng’s final Soul Transformation Sword, it was a type of Soul Combat Technique.

So Xu Ping’an hadn’t become so arrogant as to think he was invincible at the Seventh Rank Realm.

Even against some of the Seventh Rank low-layer cultivators who mastered powerful Combat Techniques, he might not be a match, and Xu Ping’an was well aware of this.

"However, you really are a big consumer of resources, kid. If you want to increase your strength quickly, the only way is to enter the Heavenly Star Wasteland. There, there are many powerful demon beasts and cultivators. Hunt some, and resources will come to you quickly," Lei Shi said.

Xu Ping’an nodded.

Hunting enemies is the fastest way to obtain resources.

"There are roughly ten days left before the Heavenly Star Divine Palace opens. It’s time to set off," Xu Ping’an mumbled to himself.

After preparing himself, he left the inn.

At this moment, Heavenly Fire City was bustling with noise and excitement.

The streets, which were rarely frequented by cultivators, were now teeming with them.

Among them were forces from various factions, sects, and loose cultivators who had all arrived here.

Xu Ping’an also noticed quite a few experts. Although these experts did not reveal their aura, Xu Ping’an could assess their strength.

For example, if he felt that someone’s aura was unique and he glanced at them, that person would immediately notice and turn to look back at him.

At that moment, the character for ’fierce’ in his mind would throb.

Based on the intensity of the throbbing, Xu Ping’an could roughly judge the other person’s strength.

Once, Xu Ping’an tentatively looked at a Ninth Rank elder.

The elder immediately looked back at him, and the character for ’fierce’ in Xu Ping’an’s mind throbbed violently, almost leaping out of his mind. Frightened, Xu Ping’an hurriedly ran away.

If he hadn’t fled so quickly, the other party might have really made a move against him.

After that incident, Xu Ping’an dared not use this method to test others again. If he happened to encounter someone with a bad temper, he might really be slapped to death, and that would be truly unjust.

"The Fenghuo Squad is recruiting members to join us on a trip to the Heavenly Star Wasteland to hunt demon beasts. We need three more teammates. Those interested can sign up."

Just as Xu Ping’an was about to reach the city gate, a shouting voice arose.

Xu Ping’an originally didn’t want to pay attention, but then a young man suddenly stopped him.

"Brother, it seems you are quite strong. Are you planning to go to the Heavenly Star Wasteland alone? Why not join our Fenghuo Squad? Together we can venture into the Heavenly Star Wasteland, and it’s good to watch each other’s backs," the young man quickly approached and said.

Xu Ping’an glanced at the other’s cultivation, and immediately lost interest.

Fourth Rank, Seventh Layer Realm.

With that level of strength, going to the Heavenly Star Wasteland was practically a death wish.

"No need, I prefer to be alone," Xu Ping’an refused.

But the young man wasn’t ready to give up and hurriedly said, "Brother, think it over. My strength may not be up to par, but my teammates are all quite strong. We even have a Sixth Rank expert in our squad."

After speaking, the young man pointed towards five other people in the distance.

Xu Ping’an looked towards the group, three men and two women.

Four were of the Fifth Rank, and one was of the Sixth Rank, but the Sixth Rank Cultivator wasn’t very advanced, only at the Third Layer Realm.

With such strength, Xu Ping’an could kill them all in a single breath.

"Not interested," Xu Ping’an refused again.

However, the young man wasn’t willing to quit and whispered in Xu Ping’an’s ear sneakily, "Brother, I’ve discovered a secret place with a large amount of treasures, including Tianlong Marrow."

"Tianlong Marrow?" Xu Ping’an paused in his steps and couldn’t help but look at the young man.

The latter, seeing Xu Ping’an’s interest, immediately brightened up and hurriedly said, "It’s true, I’m not lying to you. I found an unexplored valley under a cliff, with many corpses inside. I also saw under a rock in the depths of the valley a pool of golden liquid exuding an unusual fragrance, and many dragon race demon beasts guarding it."

Surprised, Xu Ping’an showed a look of astonishment.

Golden liquid, unique fragrance, guarded by dragon race demon beasts—it could possibly indeed be Tianlong Marrow.

This Tianlong Marrow was a superb treasure that could strengthen soul power. If he could obtain it, it might be possible to elevate his Soul Realm to the level of ’a heart as clear as a mirror,’ or even higher.

"If that’s the case, then I’ll join you to check it out," Xu Ping’an said.

"Great, that’s fantastic! Welcome to the Fenghuo Squad. Let’s go, I’ll take you to meet the other teammates," the young man said joyfully, in a rush.

Xu Ping’an chuckled lightly and followed the young man toward the other teammates.