Chapter Eighty-Five: The City of Water

"...I wonder if you might be interested in a divine weapon?"

After a long stretch of silence, General Wang finally spoke.

"Divine weapon? I’m surprised you even know those words. Tell me more," Li Ju asked with evident curiosity.

Even within the State of Chen, the existence of such weapons was a secret shared only among the inner circles of the great sects. Not even the core martial artists recognized as the backbone of the martial world were privy to knowledge of these weapons.

Yet now, these words had come from the mouths of men from two small nations. This piqued Li Ju’s interest considerably.

"General Wang!" the prince of Shuicheng called anxiously toward his companion.

General Wang shook his head at the prince.

"We are both from Shuicheng, a city-state within the Great Oasis..." General Wang began, slowly unveiling their identities and past.

Shuicheng was a city-state nestled in the Great Oasis. Though not a powerful force, neither was it weak; other nations would not lightly provoke it. The city commanded sole possession of a small lake within the oasis, trading water with those beyond its borders. But one day, a man discovered an ancient tomb at the bottom of Shuicheng’s lake.

Shuicheng immediately began excavations and learned that the tomb belonged to a martial master of the Minor Three Prime rank from centuries past. From it, they obtained a martial inheritance of that rank and a precious divine weapon.

Though Shuicheng did its utmost to conceal the tomb’s discovery, word somehow leaked out. The secret reached the ears of Lin State, a mighty power within the Great Oasis.

Lin State, with its seven fortified cities, commanded one-sixth of the oasis and was among the strongest nations—its might far surpassed that of the city-state Shuicheng.

Having caught wind of the tomb, Lin State wasted no time launching an assault. Though Shuicheng had acquired the legacy, it hadn’t had time to convert that heritage into actual strength. When confronted with Lin State’s overwhelming force, they were swiftly and utterly defeated.

The ruler of Shuicheng fell in battle; only the crown prince was spirited away by General Wang, who risked everything to escort him toward Chen for refuge.

"That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t you have the divine weapon already? How could you possibly lose to another state within the Great Oasis?"

"As I recall, no martial artist of the Minor Three Prime level exists there, correct?" Li Ju raised his eyebrows after hearing the account.

Given the might of a divine weapon, even an ordinary internal martial artist wielding such a weapon could dominate others within the same rank, perhaps even challenge a master of the Minor Three Prime. Against a mortal army, such a warrior would be unstoppable unless confronted by a force of over one hundred thousand—something even Lin State would struggle to muster in this remote region.

Thus, a martial artist armed with a divine weapon should have been invincible in the Great Oasis. Yet Shuicheng had been wiped out with ease. Li Ju couldn’t help but suspect that a master of the Minor Three Prime rank might be hidden somewhere in these lands.

The prince and General Wang exchanged glances, both wearing awkward expressions.

"Ahem. The truth is... no internal martial artist has arisen in Shuicheng this generation. So the divine weapon was useless to us," General Wang admitted, somewhat sheepish.

"Well, that explains everything," Li Ju said, his mouth twitching in amusement.

He had suspected some hidden mastermind, some secret expert at play within the oasis, but the truth was far simpler: Shuicheng was simply too weak.

"So now the divine weapon is in Lin State’s hands?" Li Ju pressed, keen to know the fate of the weapon.

He couldn’t deny a certain desire for it. The two divine weapons he’d acquired from Tan Hai—the Withered Leaf Sword and the Twelve Red Fangs—were useless to him and had been traded to the Seven-Three Sect. The Bat Soul, obtained from Zhuge Huang, was set aside for its life-draining nature. In fact, he hadn’t brought the Bat Soul with him this time, wary that the Demon Cult might track it and thereby expose his own location.

Compared to peers of his level, he now lacked a suitable divine weapon. Having witnessed their power, he coveted one greatly—a martial artist with a divine weapon and one without were worlds apart in strength.

Though unsure whether he could wield the relic Shuicheng had found, a divine weapon was a divine weapon; best to acquire it first and see.

"No. Before Shuicheng fell, my father hid the divine weapon and the martial inheritance in a secret place known only to our royal line. Without one of us to guide them, no outsider could ever hope to find it."

"Even in ruin, neither Lin State nor anyone else will lay hands on Shuicheng’s divine weapon or that martial legacy!" the prince declared, voice trembling with hatred.

"I saw how easily you slew the Black Bandit King. You must be an internal martial artist yourself. If you help us reclaim Shuicheng, we will present the divine weapon to you with both hands," General Wang vowed solemnly.

Internal martial artist? Li Ju laughed inwardly.

"Who is this Black Bandit King you mentioned?"

"He is one of the three bandit kings acknowledged by the desert raiders, commanding thousands of followers. He’s a formidable internal martial artist himself; even the strongest nations in the Great Oasis hesitate to cross him. I suspect Lin State struck a deal with him, which is why he led a force in pursuit of the prince and me," General Wang explained.

"So that’s why there was an internal martial artist among the desert bandits—a bandit chief," Li Ju mused, feeling a twinge of regret.

He hadn’t realized he’d killed a figure of such value. If he’d known the Black Bandit King’s true identity, he would have squeezed every last bit of usefulness from the man before ending him.

"What a pity," he said. "That could have been quite a windfall."