With that, Qin Lie flicked his wrist, slinging the blood from his blade and sheathing it.

"Senior Brother Qin, your Liaoyuan Saber Technique has grown even more masterful."

To his right, a tall, thin man let out a sinister laugh and removed his Face Armor. A Seven-Section Bright Silver Whip was coiled around his waist.

"I just wonder if Junior Brother Lv still remembers who brought you that fiery liquor when you were forced to kneel in the icy pool for secretly learning the Divine Weapon Techniques?"

Lv Cheng swallowed hard.

This was Chu Mo, Furnace Master of the Quenching Pavilion. On the web of the hand that gripped his whip, a crescent-shaped scar was still visible—a burn from molten iron he’d received while testing a sword years ago.

Behind them, the Crown Prince in White Clothes was unhurriedly polishing a Jade Ring with a Jiao Xiao handkerchief, a silver light glinting between his fingers.

"This Prince does not have much time."

The Crown Prince in White Clothes spoke suddenly, his voice as soft and sibilant as a striking viper. "Where is the Treasure Armor from Divine Weapon Valley?"

A sudden silence fell over the scene as everyone stopped talking.

Lv Cheng’s expression soured as he stared at Qin Lie and Chu Mo.

"Cowards!"

He straightened his back and looked at the two men, whose expressions were darkening. His own face was icy. "You were cowards thirty years ago, and thirty years later, you’re still cowards, even after reaching the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

Thirty years ago, when that Nine Realms Qi Cultivation Supreme Grandmaster wielded a Divine Weapon and brought down Divine Weapon Ridge, there were, of course, secret reasons behind it.

Qin Lie and Chu Mo were nothing more than traitors who had sold out their master for personal glory. Naturally, Lv Cheng despised them.

Qin Lie’s expression darkened.

"Junior Brother, you’re as stubborn and obstinate as ever. The man standing before you is the Crown Prince of the Yuwen Family from Northern Daqian. Now that the Great Zhou has fallen into chaos, the Daqian will naturally restore order and set things right. That Female Witch of the Great Zhou has brought suffering upon the world, so it is only right for the Daqian to raise the banner of righteousness.

"Junior Brother, let me give you one last piece of advice. If you tell us what we want to know, you might be able to preserve some of Divine Weapon Ridge’s legacy."

The Divine Weapon Six Decrees of Divine Weapon Ridge, a technique that allowed one to command all manner of weapons, could only be cultivated by the Sect Leader’s direct heir. This, naturally, made them green with envy.

Lv Cheng scoffed, a half-smile, half-sneer playing on his lips.

"Senior Brother Qin, did you know that when you first joined the Sect, Master assessed all of your aptitudes and innate talents? For years, you’ve all thought Master was biased, but the truth is, your own abilities were simply lacking. You were never qualified to cultivate this technique."

At this, Lv Cheng raised his head. "If my Martial Dao foundation hadn’t been shattered by that severe injury all those years ago, the two of you would be as helpless as stray dogs before me today."

Qin Lie’s expression grew even more grim, and even Chu Mo, who had been smirking to the side, turned sullen.

The Crown Prince in White Clothes behind them, however, merely watched the drama unfold with a faint smile.

"After all these years, Junior Brother Lv, your tongue is still as venomous as ever."

Qin Lie suddenly erupted into motion. His Yanling Saber cleaved the night, tearing through the air as the aura from its blade shot forward ten feet.

When the blade was but half an inch from Lv Cheng’s throat, the Seven-Section Whip, though moving second, arrived first, wrapping itself around the saber.

Chu Mo chuckled darkly. "Don’t be so hasty, Senior Brother. Junior Brother Lv responds better to a soft approach than to brute force."

With that, he suddenly tossed out an ebony box. "Junior Brother, do you remember this?"

A shriveled, dried head rolled out of the box.

Tangled in the white hair was a bronze hairpin, fashioned in the standard style of the Divine Weapon Ridge Sect, a design favored by the Sect Leader.

The moment he saw the shriveled head clearly, the blood in Lv Cheng’s veins seemed to freeze solid.

’Back when Senior Sister passed the partial scroll of Celestial Craftsmanship to me, she had tapped the vital acupoint between my brows with this very hairpin three times.’

Now, its tip was caked with blackish-brown blood, looking even darker in the gloom of the night.

"This old hag was stubborn to the very end."

Chu Mo lifted his foot and crushed the skull, splattering brain matter onto Lv Cheng’s black boots. "It wasn’t until I crushed her ten fingers, joint by joint, that she finally told me about the Divine Weapon Armor hidden away in Divine Weapon Ridge. She put me through quite a bit of trouble."

Lv Cheng trembled from head to toe. "Back then, when you were in so much pain from training you couldn’t even lift your legs, it was Senior Sister who massaged your shoulders and stimulated your blood flow!"

His eyes were bloodshot, seeming to split from rage. A vessel at the corner of one eye burst, and blood began to trickle down his face.

"How could you do this? How dare you do this!"

The Crown Prince in White Clothes suddenly clapped his hands and chuckled, his Jade Ring catching a cold glint of light in the twilight.

"Mr. Lv, are you aware that a Daqian army of twenty thousand is less than a hundred li from here? If you hand over the Divine Weapon Armor, this Prince can guarantee these women and children..."

He suddenly flung out several Refined Iron Darts. The tips pierced the collars of three children climbing a tree, pinning them to the dead branches.

"...will live out their days in peace."

Cries from the children at the base of the cliff rang out, only to be quickly muffled by the women’s hands.

The children’s whimpers from the bottom of the cliff cut through the mist, feeling like a rusty file being dragged back and forth across Lv Cheng’s heart.

His eyes fixed on a blood bead dangling from the corner of Qin Lie’s cloak, and his own lips twitched into a smirk. "Beneath the third bellows in the east wing of the Sword Casting Hall lie the Mandarin Duck Swords your elder brother left behind."

The wrist of Qin Lie’s sword hand trembled almost imperceptibly.

The sharkskin wrapped around the hilt had long been worn to a smooth patina, but now, a fresh bloodstain seeped into it. It was from a wound in his palm, torn open by the hilt itself.

"That pair of short swords with the jade-inlaid hilts..." Lv Cheng’s breath came in ragged gasps, like a broken bellows. "Your nephew traded them last month for three bushels of rice."

Lv Cheng glanced at the women and children huddled in a corner and said in a low voice, "Qin Lie, did you know that one of your nephews survived that day? He grew up and started a family. Over there... among them... is your own blood..."

A flicker of emotion crossed Qin Lie’s eyes. After a long moment, his expression turned cold. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"So what?"

Lv Cheng’s bloodshot eyes suddenly turned to Chu Mo. "And you, Senior Brother Chu. Do you remember what’s in the cellar of the Quenching Pavilion...?"

Lv Cheng’s head snapped up, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"Enough!"

Qin Lie roared, his blade shattering the green flagstone at his feet.

A flying shard of stone grazed Lv Cheng’s cheek, plowing a gash across his cheekbone so deep that the bone was visible.

Lv Cheng chuckled softly, closed his eyes, and uttered a single word.

"Coward!"

The Crown Prince in White Clothes still wore a slight smile, but his expression held a hint of impatience.

"Don’t make this Prince wait too long."

After a moment of silence, Qin Lie drew his saber and walked toward Lv Cheng.

...

A short while later, Qin Lie sheathed his saber. Chu Mo shook the bits of flesh from his Nine-Section Whip and glanced at Lv Cheng’s body, beheaded by a single strike from Qin Lie. A cold sneer spread across his face.

"Senior Brother, your saber has gotten slow."

Qin Lie remained silent, not speaking for a long time.

Chu Mo glanced at the lifeless bodies of the women and children lying in pools of blood, clicked his tongue, and re-coiled the Nine-Section Whip around his waist before hurrying over to the Crown Prince in White Clothes.

He cupped his hands respectfully. "Crown Prince, I recall that Divine Weapon Ridge has a secret passage. Back when the ridge was destroyed, I personally heard the Sect Leader say that the Sect’s entire foundation was hidden down there. That passage contains a thousand years of Divine Weapon Ridge’s accumulated treasures. Even that Nine Realms Qi Cultivation Supreme Grandmaster searched for a long time without success and had to leave empty-handed.

"I know a little about it. If we search, I’m certain we’ll be able to find a trace of it!"

The Crown Prince in White Clothes was suddenly intrigued. ’A thousand years of Divine Weapon Ridge’s accumulated wealth... Even if I don’t obtain the Divine Weapon Armor, finding the weapons they’ve amassed over the centuries would be a great merit.’ With the Daqian’s vanguard of three hundred thousand troops sweeping through Yanbei Dao, the more weapons they had, the better.