Chapter 15: Weapon Master

Every time Chen Yuan met Wenrou, her outfit was different.

This time, Wenrou’s outfit even slightly stunned Chen Yuan, who had grown accustomed to the performances of countless ‘teachers’ and whose heart was as still as water.

Today, Wenrou was not dressed like the proprietress of a restaurant, but rather like a female knight-errant roaming the Jianghu.

Her makeup was light and subtle, and her hair was tied into a simple high ponytail with a red silk ribbon.

She wore a set of black martial arts attire, but it was a bit small, tightly wrapping around her plump and alluring body, outlining breathtaking curves.

The hem of the lower garment was abruptly cut off at the base of her thighs, with high slits on both sides. As she walked, her two long, straight, fair, and radiant legs loomed before Chen Yuan’s eyes.

Chen Yuan would give this look a nine out of ten; the missing point was the lack of black high heels with red soles.

After all, ‘red and black facing the heavens, magical power is boundless.’

Unfortunately, high heels did not exist in this world.

“Manager Wen, what business do you have with me?”

Wenrou scrutinized Chen Yuan carefully and suddenly said, “Recently, two major families in Lianshan City were exterminated through Blood Sacrifice one after another. Do you know something about this?”

“On what basis does Manager Wen think I should know?”

“A woman’s intuition.”

Wenrou reached out a finger and lightly pointed at Chen Yuan. “After the bodies of Duan Kun and the others were found by the Blackwater Gang, I found an opportunity to take a look. They all died at the hands of a fast blade.”

“Last time you set a trap to deceive Zuo Xinglie. If I’m not mistaken, Zuo Xinglie’s famous techniques, the Autumn Water Swift Hong Blade and the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique, should both be in your hands.”

“There is a ninety percent chance that Duan Kun and the others died by your hand, though I don’t know why you wanted to kill them.”

“After Duan Kun died, rumors spread in Lianshan City that evil villains had entered the city, followed by the extermination and Blood Sacrifice of two major families.”

“All these events linked together seem to be related to you. Do you dare say you don’t know?”

Chen Yuan smiled.

This woman, Wenrou, was indeed worthy of being an intelligence agent for the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower; she had deduced several things based only on a few clues.

Although not entirely correct, they were indeed related to him.

“So, Manager Wen has come to threaten me? To tell the Blackwater Gang that I killed Duan Kun?”

Wenrou curled her lips. “I only suspect; I have no absolute evidence. Any intelligence in my Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower must be based on solid factual evidence before it is recorded.”

“Furthermore, since you dared to come to me in the first place, you should know the rules of our Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower. We do not use this information to threaten anyone, nor do we take the initiative to sell intelligence.”

As the premier intelligence organization in the Jianghu, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower could be said to hold the secrets of countless major Sects and masters.

The reason they could survive while knowing so many secrets without being destroyed was that the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower followed the rules and knew what should and should not be said.

Various speculations and suspicions, even with a ninety percent probability, would not be listed as conclusive intelligence by the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower.

Similarly, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower would not take the initiative to go to your enemies and sell your information just because they possessed it.

For instance, Zuo Xinglie’s whereabouts were already known to the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower.

But unless the Profound Whale Gang took the initiative to find the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower and pay a high price, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower would absolutely not go to the Profound Whale Gang to sell that information.

At the same time, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower had an unwritten rule.

That is, those who take the initiative to provide them with intelligence are considered friends of the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower within their system.

For such friends who can frequently provide intelligence, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower naturally grants preferential treatment.

For example, they are given priority for intelligence, and if outsiders come to inquire about them, the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower will cover for them and not sell their information.

Current Chen Yuan was actually already considered a friend of the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower.

He had provided Wenrou with news about Zuo Xinglie, which was a significant contribution.

While it wasn’t enough for the entire Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower to cover for him, at least with Wenrou, Chen Yuan’s information wasn’t something just anyone could dig up.

It was precisely because Chen Yuan knew the rules of the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower that he had dared to approach Wenrou with peace of mind.

“I certainly trust the reputation of the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower. However, regarding the Blood Sacrifice, I can only say it wasn’t my doing.”

Chen Yuan tapped the table and said, “At the same time, I have something I’d like the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower to handle.”

“What is it?”

“Spread the news of the Blood Sacrifice by evil beings in Lianshan City to the Murong Clan in Dragon City. Don’t make it too obvious; it should be natural. Moreover, only spread it to the Murong Clan in Dragon City, not to the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance.”

In the original plot, after Jiang Kaitai had been conducting Blood Sacrifices in Lianshan City for a while, the matter became a huge scandal, even being spread by passing merchants. Only then did the Murong Clan and the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance find out and send people to investigate.

This time, Chen Yuan wanted to act in advance. He couldn’t let Jiang Kaitai sacrifice to the Divine Artifact for that long, or his power would become somewhat uncontrollable.

Similarly, the Murong Clan was an indispensable link; they had to send people over.

But while weakening Jiang Kaitai, he also had to weaken the other side.

If both the Murong Clan and the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance came at the same time again, he probably wouldn’t even get a drop of soup.

Therefore, he had to let the Murong Clan receive the news early and send people, but he couldn’t let the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance come along.

By balancing the power of both sides, he could let them fight like the snipe and the clam, while he, the fisherman, reaped the benefits.

Of course, there would surely be various accidents; what he had to do was eliminate these accidents as much as possible.

Wenrou pondered for a moment, frowning slightly. “This task is a bit difficult. The Murong Clan is a top-tier great clan in Youzhou. Their Family’s Dragon City is not open to outsiders; it’s all Murong Clan members and vassals.”

“Even though my Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower has many secret agents, it is very difficult to infiltrate Dragon City to deliver news.”

“And it’s also difficult to keep the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance from knowing.”

“The Yiqi Guanhri Alliance is the exact opposite of the Murong Clan in Dragon City. Their Guanhri Valley relies on external merchant caravans for supplies.”

“If any merchant caravan hears the news and speaks out, it’s impossible to control. If it were a small matter, I could help, but for something of this difficulty, my authority is insufficient. It would require coordination with other branches of the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower.”

“Since you know our rules, you should also know our prices.”

“To be blunt, even if you sold your Heaven Wolf Gang, you couldn’t afford this bill.”

Chen Yuan nodded. “I know it’s a bit difficult, so I’m prepared to make a trade with you, Manager Wen, using a piece of intelligence in exchange.”

“What intelligence? Information on the level of Zuo Xinglie won’t be enough.”

“Then is information regarding a problem with the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s divine weapon, the Guan Ri Sword, enough?”

“What did you say!?”

Wenrou stood up abruptly, looking at Chen Yuan with a face full of disbelief.

“This is no joking matter. If you dare to fabricate such false news, not only will the Heavenly Wind Listening to Rain Tower not let you off, but the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance certainly won’t either.”

All the top-tier powers in the world were anchored by Divine Artifacts or Demonic Weapons. It could be said that their true trump cards were the Divine Artifacts or Demonic Weapons in their hands.

As long as the Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon remained, the Sect’s prestige remained.

Even if only one person wielded the Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon, the Sect would have a chance to rise again.

Conversely, if the Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon was gone, even if your Sect had thousands or tens of thousands of people, it would be hard to escape the fate of decline and destruction.

As a top-tier power in Youzhou, if the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s divine weapon, the Guan Ri Sword, truly had a problem, this news would absolutely be top-tier intelligence, more than enough to offset Chen Yuan’s request!

“Whether it’s true or false, you’ll know once you verify it.”

Chen Yuan said indifferently, “In recent months, very few Disciples of the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance have ventured out because ninety percent of them are trying to stabilize the Guan Ri Sword.”

“Since the death of the previous Alliance Leader of the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance, ‘Sword of the Morning Sun’ Feng Tianxing, no one in the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance has been able to become a Weapon Master.”

Wenrou said, “This is something everyone in the Jianghu knows. It was from then on that the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s prestige began to decline.”

The so-called Weapon Master was someone who could truly control a Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon.

A Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon might be owned by a power, but that didn’t mean that power could fully control it.

Only an existence truly recognized by the Divine Artifact or Demonic Weapon was qualified to be called a Weapon Master, and only a Weapon Master could truly unleash the full power of the weapon.

However, the way to be recognized as a Weapon Master differed for every power.

Some relied on Bloodlines, some on strength, and some on Formations or even sacrifices and other various methods.

Furthermore, some Divine Artifacts and Demonic Weapons followed no patterns at all.

These weapons were sentient existences, and the spirit of each weapon was different.

Therefore, some weapons didn’t need any specific inheritance method at all.

If the weapon liked the look of you, you could become the Weapon Master; it was that simple.

Conversely, even if your strength was heaven-shaking, if the weapon didn’t recognize you, you couldn’t become the Weapon Master.

This led to situations where the Divine Artifact of some powers was not in the hands of the strongest member, but rather a common Disciple who became the Weapon Master and held the Sect’s lifeblood.

The Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s divine weapon, the Guan Ri Sword, was relatively well-behaved, only recognizing cultivation strength and understanding of the Guan Ri Sword’s Sword Intent.

Thus, almost every generation’s Alliance Leader was a Weapon Master, able to maximize the weapon’s power.

But for some reason, the current Alliance Leader, Fu Zhenxiu, had not become a Weapon Master, which caused the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s prestige to plummet.

“The Yiqi Guanhri Alliance’s troubles don’t stop there.”

“It’s one thing to have no Weapon Master, but the Guan Ri Sword has even begun to grow restless. It refuses the offerings of the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance and cannot even provide them with a Divine Artifact Incarnation. This is a major event that truly affects the lifeblood of the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance!”

Hearing Chen Yuan say this, Wenrou’s gaze instantly changed.

This was truly a massive affair.

So massive that the Yiqi Guanhri Alliance might completely decline or even be destroyed because of it!