Daqian Martial Saint

Trade and commerce in White Stone City were quite prosperous. Many travelers came and went, frequently stopping in the shops and Treasure Pavilions that lined the streets.

Having arrived in a new place, Chen Erya was particularly lively, darting about the streets like a happy little deer.

”Tanghulu! Get your tanghulu here!”

As they walked down an alley, a vendor’s cry rang out.

”Brother, there’s tanghulu over there!”

Chen Erya’s eyes lit up.

Seeing the little girl’s expression, Chen Ping’an knew exactly what she was thinking. He smiled and said, ”Go on, get some.”

”Yay!”

The little girl ran over happily.

Peony, who was beside her, hurried to follow. ”Miss, wait for me!”

Watching the two of them skip and run so joyfully, Chen Ping’an felt his spirits lift as well.

From a temporary constable to his current position as Deputy Commander, it had been a long road. He could finally live a comfortable life with his family without worry.

”Brother, do you want one too?”

Not far away, Chen Erya stood in front of the tanghulu stall and called out to Chen Ping’an.

”No, thanks! You two go ahead and eat.”

Chen Ping’an replied with a smile and walked slowly toward them.

His mind continued to process information about the situation in White Stone City.

White Stone City had countless factions, large and small, but the ones that could be called first-rate were the three great families, the four great gangs, and the Commerce Alliance.

The three great families—the Chu Family, the Song Family, and the He Family—were roughly equal in power. Each was overseen by a Martial Arts Master at the Second Stage of Inner Qi. According to intelligence from the Weishui Garrison, the Chu Family was the strongest of the three, with more than ten Inner Qi Realm masters in their clan.

The Song and He Families were slightly weaker, with eight or nine Inner Qi Realm masters each.

As for the four great gangs, they were the Blood Oath Alliance, the Quicksand Gang, the Crocodile Gang, and the Iron Fist Gang. The gangs were slightly weaker than the families. Except for the Blood Oath Alliance, the other three gangs had about half the number of Inner Qi Realm masters as the families, with roughly four or five each.

However, compared to the three great families, the gangs had a wider reach, with members spread throughout all walks of life in White Stone City’s underworld.

The Blood Oath Alliance was firmly ranked first among the four great gangs. In terms of power, it was in no way inferior to the strongest of the three families, the Chu Family. It was led by an Alliance Leader at the Perfection level of the Second Stage of the Inner Qi Realm. In addition, they had over ten other Martial Arts Masters of the Inner Qi Realm.

Finally, there was the Commerce Alliance, the strongest of the eight major powers. The alliance consisted of thirty-eight smaller merchant guilds. It was overseen by a Martial Arts Master at the Perfection level of the Second Stage of the Inner Qi Realm and boasted over twenty other Inner Qi Realm masters, some of whom had also reached the Second Stage of Inner Qi.

However, because power within the Commerce Alliance was too decentralized, its overall coordination and organizational strength were weak unless core interests were at stake. Due to internal friction, it was difficult for them to exert crushing pressure on the other factions.

The interests of the eight major powers were intertwined, yet they were also in conflict. The relationships between them were too complex to be explained in just a few words.

’As the saying goes, a sparrow may be small, but it has all its vital organs. Though White Stone City is small, the tangled web of interests and rivalries here is no less complex than in Weishui County City.’

Chen Ping’an sighed inwardly.

Ten years ago, a small city of this size would never have attracted so many Inner Qi Realm masters. Anyone with any connections would have long since run off to Weishui County City.

But now, thanks to the profits trickling down from the newly opened Long’an Trade Route, considerable wealth had gathered in White Stone City, which in turn gave rise to such a large number of Inner Qi Realm masters.

By the time Chen Ping’an reached Chen Erya and Peony, they had already paid and were happily licking their tanghulu.

”Is it good?”

Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

”Mhm, it’s delicious! So sweet!”

A brilliant smile spread across the little girl’s face, her eyes crinkling with joy.

”Come on, let’s see what else is up ahead.”

”Okay.”

Leading the two girls, Chen Ping’an continued on his way.

In White Stone City, the true ruler wasn’t any of the eight major powers, but the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau, which held the mantle of legitimate authority.

No matter how arrogant the eight powers were, they wouldn’t dare to openly oppose the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau. At least... not unless their absolute core interests were threatened.

At most, they could only make small moves behind the scenes.

The White Stone Town Pacification Bureau, besides its main headquarters, had five subsidiary Urban Garrison Commands: East, South, West, North, and Central. Each Urban Garrison Command was overseen by a Chief of the Patrol Office. Well, ”Chief of the Patrol Office” was merely a title. Their actual rank was Candidate for Chief Constable.

Below the Urban Garrison Commands were the individual garrison posts.

After all, White Stone City was not as massive as Weishui County City, so there was no need to further subdivide the urban districts into smaller lanes and alleys.

Each garrison post was staffed with anywhere from eight or nine to about twenty constables.

In earlier years, the head of each Urban Garrison Command was at the Qi Blood Sixth Layer Martial Arts Realm. However, after adjustments made by the Weishui Garrison over the years, all five Urban Garrison Commands were now overseen by someone in the Inner Qi Realm.

There was no other way. Without an Inner Qi Realm master in charge, it was impossible to keep all the unsavory characters in the urban districts in check.

The main White Stone Town Pacification Bureau had a Commander-in-Chief, a Deputy Commander, and Inner Qi Tributors.

In total, the entire White Stone Town Pacification Bureau had just over ten Inner Qi Realm masters.

Excluding any support from Weishui County City, they couldn’t even claim the top spot among the eight major powers.

’No wonder White Stone City is so chaotic! In terms of overall strength, they can’t even beat the Commerce Alliance in a one-on-one comparison!’ Chen Ping’an grumbled to himself.

’Good thing they have a Commander-in-Chief at the Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown level to serve as their figurehead. He’s considered the nominal number one master in White Stone City. Otherwise, the Garrison Command would be completely disgraced!’

Regardless of the true situation in White Stone City, at least on the surface, there was only one master at the level of Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown.

’If someone at the Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown level is considered the top master, then under normal circumstances, wouldn’t that mean I can run rampant in White Stone City?’

’Hm, not bad! Looks like I came to the right place!’

Chen Ping’an was quite pleased with himself.

His realm wasn’t much to speak of in the whole of Weishui County City, but here in White Stone City, he could reign supreme and act without restraint. Of course, that was assuming he revealed his full strength.

’Still, I can’t get careless. After all, these are just the publicly known Martial Arts Masters. In the shadows, not to mention other unsavory characters from the Evil and Demon Daos, the Ten Thousand Demons Sect alone cannot be underestimated! Who knows how many hidden masters there are!’

’Celestial Rain Falling on the Crown... in the end, it’s still not stable enough! I need to achieve a Breaking Realm as soon as possible!’

As Chen Ping’an walked down the street, a hundred thoughts churning in his mind, he happened to see a small food stall not far away.

Watching the busy vendor reminded him of his time as a street patrol constable.

On a whim, Chen Ping’an pointed a hand at the stall.

”Come on, let’s go get a bite to eat over there and see how it tastes!”

These days, as his status continued to rise, his opportunities to eat at small street stalls had become few and far between. Now was the perfect chance to savor the experience again.