"Huh?" Everyone looked over at once, only to see a woman dressed like a noble lady step down from a large, wide carriage. Her hair was styled in elegant clouds, her face adorned with flowers and a golden hairpin swaying as she walked, her long dress flowing and her earrings sparkling—a real head-turner. Jack Young had already noticed her, since she looked exactly like the person in charge, so he instinctively took a second look—yet he really couldn’t tell that this woman was actually Qin Han!
"Could it be a case of mistaken identity?" Jack looked left and right, then decisively shook his head: "No way! That masculine-spirited woman Qin Han? Impossible, the difference is just too big—he couldn’t recognize her at all!
"It’s definitely her. You guys just don’t understand women’s makeup," Fang Lingji declared, totally confident. Then she excitedly waved and shouted toward that side, "Qin—Han—!"
The woman was walking along, but when she heard that shout, she instantly stumbled, then stared in disbelief over at them. Seeing her expression, Jack Young finally had to admit—good eyesight isn’t everything. That masculine-spirited woman had simply changed clothes, and it was like she’d become a whole new person.
Qin Han—or rather, now she didn’t look all that masculine anymore. There was still a bit of a manly vibe, but it just made her seem more heroic. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, waved to Lingji, then puffed her cheeks and huffed at Jack Young. After that, she walked up onto the stage, stood before the pedestal, and took a deep breath.
All the onlookers quieted down. They knew the long-awaited conference was about to start.
"Fellow martial artists, I am Qin Han, 14th generation heir of Sword Casting Cliff. Greetings to you all." The young woman bowed politely and introduced herself. Only then did Jack Young realize Qin Han’s real name. But you could tell she wasn’t used to acting so ladylike—her arms and waist looked awkwardly stiff. "On the order of the current Ouyezi, I hereby announce in Eight Directions City: The Weapon Appraisal Conference—begins now!" With a flourish, she yanked off the canvas cover, revealing what lay beneath.
It was a pool about a meter deep, looking exactly like a giant inkstone carved from black jade. The water inside was dark and mysterious; even though it was only a meter deep, it felt bottomless. A breeze blew in, making the canvas flap noisily, but Jack Young saw clearly—the water in the pool didn’t ripple at all. It was as still as a block of black stone.
"So this is the Hundred Arms Pool, the Floating Pagoda Water?"
The crowd below grew excited, with people surging forward to get a look at the legendary treasure. Blacksmiths from all over the martial world especially had a look of pilgrimage in their eyes.
People whispered to each other: "Qin Han? Never seen her before." "This woman’s surname is Qin—she must be a direct descendant of Ouyezi."
"Everyone, today’s Weapon Appraisal Conference follows the usual rules. Please present any weapons you wish to have appraised. The Hundred Arms Pool is a treasured heirloom passed down through generations at Sword Casting Cliff, so we can’t allow random junk to be thrown in. I’ll do a quick inspection first, and if there’s no issue, you may put your weapon into the pool. If your weapon doesn’t sink, Sword Casting Cliff will engrave it with the Divine Weapon seal. If you have rare materials or exceptional sword billets, you may also submit those. If the materials are suitable, my ancestor will personally forge a weapon from them." Qin Han waved her hand: "If you’re interested, present your divine weapons!"
A cheer went up—blacksmiths from sects, freelance masters, even wandering heroes with exotic weapons all crowded forward. Unless you were a famous martial artist with a signature weapon, who wouldn’t want the title of ‘Divine Blade’? It wasn’t just a fancy name—it meant real status. Even the plainest little knife could instantly skyrocket in value, and its owner might become famous overnight.
Especially for blacksmiths—if one of their creations got the Divine Weapon seal, it was like getting verified on Weibo: instant golden reputation, and their fame in the martial world would soar.
"I’ll go first!" a blacksmith couldn’t wait and rushed onto the stage, holding a sword case in both hands. The moment he opened it, a shimmering blue glow spilled out, tinting the eyebrows and hair of everyone in the front row. "Wow! That’s gotta be a top-tier divine weapon!" The crowd gasped in awe. This sword looked like it had been upgraded several times in an online game—so flashy, it was almost showing off.
Qin Han glanced at it, nodded, then shook her head, and finally made a "please" gesture: "Into the pool."
The blacksmith, sword in hand, stepped up to the Hundred Arms Pool, looking as nervous as someone checking their college entrance exam results. He held the sword over the pool, then gently let go.
The sword fell into the Floating Pagoda Water, bobbing up and down twice. Everyone’s eyes bounced along with it. But as it soaked in that deep, mysterious water, the sword’s glow started to fade—it looked tough on the outside, but weak inside. After flickering twice, the light vanished completely, and with a gurgle, the sword sank to the bottom, never to rise again.
The blacksmith was stunned, standing dumbly by the Hundred Arms Pool. Suddenly, he roared, "Impossible! My sword was forged with a thousand hammer strikes—it can even cut iron like mud! How could this happen? This is fake!" As he spoke, he reached out to fish the sword out of the Floating Pagoda Water.
Qin Han suddenly reached out, grabbed the man by the collar in a flash, and tossed him off the stage with a wave of her hand. "No nonsense in front of the Hundred Arms Pool!" Qin Han barked. "You call yourself a blacksmith? Next!"
One person shuffled away in defeat, while another stepped up brimming with confidence. With a clang, he drew a knife, plucked a hair, and tossed it in the air. The hair landed on the blade and was sliced cleanly in two.
"Whoa!" Those nearby saw it and couldn’t help but exclaim, "That’s real hair-splitting sharpness!"
Qin Han looked it over, then quietly said something to the blacksmith—too far away to hear. The blacksmith’s face turned furious, then he argued back a couple of times. Qin Han just shook her head helplessly and made a "please" gesture. The blacksmith, still steaming, tossed his hair-splitting blade into the Hundred Arms Pool. It floated for a while in the Floating Pagoda Water, but finally, with a gurgle, it sank.
"How could this be!" The blacksmith was stunned, shouting in disbelief: "Does it really only survive ninety-eight cuts without dulling?" Hundred-Cut Durable—if you’re even a little short, it doesn’t count. A blade that survives ninety-eight cuts is still valuable, but in the Hundred Arms Pool, it’s just another sacrifice. Once it enters the water, the Floating Pagoda shows no mercy—that’s been the rule for over a century.
"See, that’s why I warned you not to put it in," Qin Han said with a sigh. "Next!"
One person after another stepped up, tossing blade after blade into the Hundred Arms Pool. The Weapon Appraisal Conference wasn’t new, but every time it felt just as brutal. All sorts of weapons went into the pool, and very few floated. Even when they did, they looked like dead fish—just the hilt poking out, limp and lifeless. People said you could judge a weapon’s quality by the way it floated.
During all this, Qin Han showed off her top-tier appraisal skills, drawing constant praise from the crowd—no wonder she was Sword Casting Cliff’s heir.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look! The blade is standing straight up, half out of the water—that’s a true divine weapon!"
Everyone gasped. There in the Floating Pagoda Water, a sword was standing perfectly upright. Its material was unique—not metal, but jade. This jade sword didn’t even have a sharp edge, yet it outperformed all the metal weapons and became the divine weapon of the day.
"Young man, will you sell that sword? I’ll pay ten thousand gold for it!"
"Ten thousand gold? That’s cheap for a divine weapon—I’ll offer thirty thousand!"
Instantly, more voices rang out, bids flying everywhere. The Weapon Appraisal Conference was turning into an auction house. The young guy who brought the sword hadn’t expected this at all; he looked nervous and stammered, "I—I—Seniors, I…"
"Alright, everyone calm down. We’ll discuss the rest later." Qin Han brought the crowd under control with a commanding wave. "Next!"
Watching the weapons drifting in the Floating Pagoda Water, Jack Young suddenly had an idea. He said to the three, "I’m going to join the fun. You guys just watch from here."
"Huh? Does our Flower Palace have a divine weapon too?" Fang Lingji perked up, then thought of something and whispered, "If it’s the Ninefold Dragon Fang Whip, don’t bother testing—it already has the Divine Weapon seal."
"Oh, really?" That was news to him, but it made sense—if people knew the name, it had to be something special. "No, I’m not testing the whip. I’ve got another weapon. Not sure if it counts as a divine weapon, but I think it’s pretty extraordinary."
Jack Young turned and headed downstairs, drawing the attention of everyone in Drunken Moon Tower. They exchanged glances and followed him down. Jack didn’t mind; he took the opportunity to flip out a weapon—a short spear he’d confiscated from an alien.
This short spear was a real mystery. It was only ‘short’ compared to the alien’s height—at a meter and a half, it was pretty hefty for a human. As thick as a grip, pitch-black all over, and didn’t reflect light at all. It looked totally ordinary, yet weighed about a hundred kilos. The density was off the charts. If you tried to compare it to Earth elements, even osmium wasn’t this extreme (see Note 1).
If the elements making up this thing were the same as Earth’s, it would have to be radioactive. But Jack Young had carried it for ages and felt no radiation sickness. It could pierce the toughest alloy in the Pacific World with a single thrust. He didn’t know if it met the world’s definition of a divine weapon, but it was definitely no ordinary item.
Maybe this time, Ouyezi’s expertise could shed some light on it.