Chapter 32: Shuofeng Pass

  Gan Ping had been walking in the wilderness for two days since leaving Majia Village. He wore a long knife at his waist, which was forged by Old Master Ma and his men with meteoric iron from outer space. Although it looked ordinary, it was actually made of rare materials that cost a lot of money. Because Gan Ping was very strong, Old Master Ma had used this precious material to make the knife. The unassuming long knife weighed over 70 kilograms, thanks to the secret recipe that Gan Ping had given to the villagers two years ago; otherwise, even with meteoric iron, no one would have been able to forge it.

  Although this knife is already extremely heavy for ordinary people, it is as light as a dry firewood for Gan Ping. This is also the intention of the villagers, so Gan Ping did not put it in the storage ring, but hung it on his waist. When walking alone outside, having a weapon as a facade can avoid a lot of trouble.

  Huǒr was fast asleep in Gan Ping's arms, this little thing had been jumping around on Gan Ping's shoulders two days ago, but after discovering that Gan Ping was just walking in the wilderness, its excitement from leaving the village also decreased, and for the past two days, it had been snuggled up in Gan Ping's arms, sleeping soundly.

  That day, Gan Ping left it at Majiacun and went to Xiao Yuecheng alone. After that, Fang Zhengyuan and Li Zhuangui ordered the knife-scarred wolf and thirty other Wulin losers to lead 200 city soldiers to rush into Majiacun, killing anyone they saw. Under the sudden attack, many villagers were killed or injured without any defense. Village head Ma stepped forward to question them, but the leader, Knife Scar Wolf, raised his big knife against the old man without saying a word. This enraged Zhang's fire spirit in his chest, and with a sharp cry, it scratched open Knife Scar Wolf's skull. Then, it transformed into a stream of light, flying around the village, attacking anyone it saw without hesitation. Gan Ping had already instructed it to protect everyone before he left, so how could Fire Spirit show mercy? In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, more than 200 people were killed, with no survivors.

  Later, Gan Ping heard about Huo Er's heroic deeds and couldn't help but secretly admire him. Although he knew that Huo Er had the blood of the fierce beast Fei Tian Shen Hou, he didn't expect him to be so powerful. As a result, he studied Huo Er's small paws intently. Gan Ping slaughtered everyone in Xiao Yue City, while Huo Er also started killing in Ma Jia Village. This master and pet were truly connected by heart.

  Gan Ping also knew that slaughtering the Fang and Ning families in Xiao Yue City would be a big trouble. What he did that day must have been seen by someone, and if he were to pass through each city one by one, he would surely invite trouble. Although Gan Ping didn't care about so-called martial arts masters, time was pressing, and saving Ling'er was more important. If possible, it's better to avoid them.

  As soon as he thought of Ling'er, his heart felt a pang. Poor Ling'er's fate was so bumpy, suffering from one disaster after another, and now she had ended up in such a state. Gan Ping found a large vein of spiritual jade in the Wu Qi ring, but he didn't know where Xuan Mingzi had done evil to cut off an entire section of spiritual pulse and bring it back. Gan Ping took a piece from above, carved it into a jade pendant, and set up a small Zhou Tian Yi Mu dust transformation array on it. He used the spiritual energy of the wood element to nourish Ling'er's physical body, preventing any accidents. Although this array was only a temporary measure, for now, Gan Ping had no other way out, unless he could find a treasure belonging to the wood spirit to nourish her every day. Otherwise, this array was the best method he could come up with at present.

  Looking at the distant and towering city walls, Gan Ping let out a sigh of relief, finally arriving at the border. From here on, it would be the Fengling Kingdom, and after passing through the Fengling Kingdom, it would be the Gaotang Kingdom. On the west side of the Gaotang Kingdom was the legendary Xianshan Mountain. Majiacun was not far from the border, and Gan Ping had only walked for a few days before arriving at the border city of Shaofengguan. As long as he left this pass, he would be leaving the territory of Yanrong Kingdom and wouldn't need to be so careful on his journey. He could buy a horse and ride it wildly, rushing straight to Xianshan Mountain.

  Gan Ping sighed again and walked forward. He found that since the red-clothed little girl who had been entangling him got into trouble, he had been sighing more often. It was also funny to say that because of his haste and worry about Ling'er, even Gan Ping himself didn't remember to ride a horse on the way until he walked in the wilderness for a day before discovering this mistake. However, if he went to a nearby city to buy horses, it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble, so Gan Ping planned to buy horses after leaving Yan Rong State.

  Only when he walked closer to Gan Ping did he feel the grandeur of this pass, with its towering city walls that reached as high as fifty zhang. On top of it, rows of soldiers wearing iron armor and holding weapons were patrolling. Although Yan Rong was a small country, its military strength was extremely strong. This was because it was located in the north and bordered on the edge of the Tian Ling Mountains. Everyone was martially inclined and physically strong, and there were several iron mines within the borders that produced high-quality iron, making their weapons excellent. Therefore, even though the neighboring Fengling Country had an area several times larger than Yan Rong's, they did not dare to start a war lightly.

  Gan Ping stood under the city wall, and couldn't help but feel a little dazed. Such a vast and magnificent city was something he had never seen before. Just as he was standing there in a trance, a middle-aged man walked by him. Seeing Gan Ning's shocked expression, he couldn't help but show a mocking smile on his face. "Country bumpkin!" Gan Ping suddenly woke up with a start, rubbed his nose and looked at the receding figure with a wry smile, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

  A long queue had formed at the city gate, where a group of soldiers had set up a checkpoint. An officer was checking each person with a scroll in hand. Gan Ping's heart skipped a beat as he took down his long knife from his waist and put it into his ring, dusting himself off before striding towards the city gate. If they didn't recognize him, that would be fine; but if they did recognize him as the fugitive being pursued, then he would force his way through - after all, there shouldn't be anyone in this city who could stop him.

  Recently, Gan Ping has been selecting a treasured sword in the Wuchuan Ring. Every night when he rests, he practices his skills without stopping. However, for some reason, he is unable to fly with his sword. He couldn't find any explanation in Xuan Mingzi's memories either. This makes Gan Ping somewhat annoyed. If only he could ride his sword and soar through the skies, that would be much more convenient than going through all this trouble. He could just fly directly to the Xiwu Mountains.

  Even so, Gan Ping did not give up. Each of these artifacts had its own unique refining method, and it was likely that his own method was incorrect, which is why he couldn't apply them. Unfortunately, none of the magical treasures in Xuan Mingzi's memory were present, otherwise he could have chosen one and succeeded. What Gan Ping didn't know was that Xuan Mingzi had used evil artifacts, and on the day of the heavenly calamity, these once-famous evil artifacts were burned to ashes along with Xuan Mingzi by the Nine Heavens Fused Origin Flame. There was no way to find them now. It was fortunate that this black lacquer ring was only a storage item and had not been refined using evil or external methods, otherwise it would have also turned to ash.

  As the team slowly walked to the city gate, Gan Ping had already heard the loud-voiced officer holding a scroll shouting: "Lift your head, lift your head, who are you talking to? You, let me take a look, damn it, you're not a wanted criminal, why are you lowering your dog head? Get out!" The officer seemed to have a very violent temper, and with one kick, the young man in front of him stumbled forward, almost falling down, but still quickly ran forward, not even daring to turn his head back, apparently extremely afraid of the officer.

  The officer continued to shout and scold, questioning every passerby. If he encountered a young and strong person, he would take a few more glances. If he met a woman, he would inevitably take advantage of her, but fortunately, he knew his limits and would let them go after taking advantage of them. It didn't cause any disturbance. Gan Ping had never seen so many people or such an arrogant officer before. He was curious and looking around when he suddenly heard a familiar voice - it was the middle-aged man who had mocked him outside the city just now.

  That middle-aged man was standing next to the officer, trying to get close, "Commander Wang, why are you coming out today? Isn't it just a small flag leading the team every day?" The officer and this middle-aged man seemed to be familiar with each other, checking the passersby while laughing and scolding: "Zhang Old Six, why do you always wander around here every day? Didn't they issue a wanted notice from above? No way, I can only drink wind here, damn it!" The tone was full of dissatisfaction. Zhang Old Six smiled and said to him: "I'm just busy with business in this area, what did this guy do? It's laborious for you to take the trouble, isn't it killing a chicken with a bull knife?"

  "Shoo, shoo, shoo! Stop flattering me. I know what you're up to, and others don't know about it either. Don't mention it, or else... Alas, you'd better not speak carelessly. This gentleman is the one who killed the city lord and over a thousand people from the Fang family in Xiao Yue City. Good grief! Even I don't know how many times I've escaped death myself. If this great god were to come, would I dare block him? Those above also understand these things; I'm just down here making an appearance.

  "Hiss——" Zhang Old Six took a deep breath of cold air. "My heavens, this is even more formidable than the legendary Lone Thief! May the Bodhisattva protect us, don't let this evil spirit come to our Shuo Feng Pass!!!"

  Lao Liu and the officer were talking when Gan Ping walked up to them.