Chapter 197: Uncle, You Can't Even Handle This?

The swirling shadow energy slowly receded, and the tangible darkness surrounding them settled into calm. Dark red blood spilled from Yan Moxie's abdomen.

Lust smoothly flourished his longsword and sheathed it.

"Uncle, you're not cutting it. You've lived all these years for nothing." Taoist Priest Xuanqing shook his head in disappointment, acting as though the battle hadn't quite satisfied him.

Yan Moxie clutched his abdomen, blood soaking his palm. The wound wasn't deep—Taoist Priest Xuanqing had clearly held back. Otherwise, his opponent could have easily run him through during his momentary lapse in focus.

He showed no disappointment at his defeat, only grim solemnity. Victory and defeat were commonplace in battle, and he wasn't a sore loser, even if this particular loss felt slightly unfair.

Had it not been for that eerie voice suddenly whispering in his ear, he would have fully unleashed his trump card, and the outcome would still be up in the air.

Still, a loss was a loss. Just because he had a trump card didn't mean Lust lacked one. Judging by how unsatisfied Lust looked, he definitely had some powerful ace hidden up his sleeve. Even if Yan Moxie had gone all out, there was no guarantee he would have won a fight to the death.

"Whatever, I can't expect too much from an old man. We'll say you barely passed." Taoist Priest Xuanqing casually dug in his ear and flicked the wax into the distance.

"Thank you," Yan Moxie said heavily.

"Then let's hear how your Revolutionary Army plans to cooperate with the Seven Deadly Sins. You'd better have something massive in mind—we don't have time to play house with you." Taoist Priest Xuanqing was fully in character now, his tone growing more arrogant by the second.

"Rest assured, I won't disappoint you. However, this is a matter of great importance. I hope to speak with Pride in person."

"Tell me what it is first, and I'll consider whether to notify the Leader. If it's something minor, I have full authority to handle it myself."

Yan Moxie took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Kill the nobles of the Imperial Capital!"

"What!? Kill the Imperial Capital's nobles!?" Taoist Priest Xuanqing was genuinely shocked. Had the Revolutionary Army grown this bold? Taking out fringe nobles wasn't enough—they wanted to strike at the nobles in the Imperial Capital itself?

Realizing his exclamation broke character, he quickly shifted into a sneer. "Heh. And here I thought you had something big planned. Just killing a noble or two? You need our help for that?"

Yan Moxie paused, gaining a profound new appreciation for the absolute lawlessness of the Seven Deadly Sins. Was killing an Imperial Capital noble actually a minor matter to them?

On an international scale, if another country assassinated a core noble of the Chiyan Empire, it would practically mean a war to the death. The two empires would launch into a full-scale conflict over it.

"For certain reasons, the Revolutionary Army cannot move against these nobles ourselves. Therefore, we hope the Seven Deadly Sins can lend a hand. Rest assured, Lust, the compensation will be extremely generous."

Taoist Priest Xuanqing sneered. Su Mu had already analyzed the Revolutionary Army's motives with him. "Certain reasons" was just an excuse—they clearly wanted to use the Seven Deadly Sins to draw the Empire's fire while seizing the chance to eliminate the nobles who staunchly supported the Royal Family.

"Uncle, don't treat everyone else like idiots. Your Revolutionary Army just wants the Seven Deadly Sins to eradicate your political enemies for you. For your faction to grow this large, you must have inside men among the Imperial Capital nobles. However, because you're bound by the unspoken rule against killing nobles, you want to use the Seven Deadly Sins to slaughter the royalist nobles, right?"

Yan Moxie's heart sank. He hadn't expected Lust, who sounded like a mere youth, to be so sharp. He had seen through the Revolutionary Army's exact intentions at a single glance.

Deciding to be straightforward, he admitted it directly. "Exactly. But this won't cause any losses for the Seven Deadly Sins. You've already killed a noble, locking yourselves in a war to the death with the Chiyan Empire. Your ranking on the wanted list is even higher than the Revolutionary Army's. Taking out another noble changes nothing for you, and we will provide a reward that will definitely leave you satisfied."

"What kind of reward?" Having just lost a bottle of Gold Potion, Taoist Priest Xuanqing was keenly interested in this part.

Yan Moxie's brow twitched in surprise. Was this the sheer audacity of the Seven Deadly Sins? Lust hadn't even asked who the target was. He only cared about the price, as if assassinating anyone made absolutely no difference to them.

"A Royal Power Artifact!"

Those words made Su Mu, who was listening on the side, frown slightly. He had absolutely no idea what a Royal Power Artifact was.

Fortunately, Taoist Priest Xuanqing hadn't lived to such a ripe old age in vain; he was exceedingly knowledgeable.

"You have a Royal Power Artifact?" Taoist Priest Xuanqing's face was plastered with doubt. "If you actually had one, would you still be chased around by the Chiyan Empire? And even if you did, why would you ever trade away a treasure like that?"

"We do possess a Royal Power Artifact, but it is incomplete. Just as you said, if the Revolutionary Army had a complete Royal Power Artifact in our hands, we wouldn't be in our current predicament."

At that moment, Su Mu sent a telepathic message. "What is a Royal Power Artifact?"

Taoist Priest Xuanqing hurriedly replied in his mind, "Lord Envoy, a Royal Power Artifact is the most powerful Artifact in this world. You know of the Seven Kings, right? A Royal Power Artifact is a peerless divine weapon that the Seven Kings forged by exhausting the entire strength of their nations!

"Rumor has it that the reason the Seven Kings can claim the title of King and crush all Gold powerhouses is largely due to their Royal Power Artifacts. They are divine weapons that surpass the Gold Tier and sit far above Gold Artifacts!

"Royal Power Artifacts are the defining treasures of the Seven Great Empires!"

The weapons of the Seven Kings? Su Mu's eyes shifted, his interest piqued. He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. Still, he was well aware that whatever Royal Power Artifact Yan Moxie was offering couldn't be too powerful, or else he would never have used it as a bargaining chip.

"As far as I know, the Seven Artifacts of Royal Authority should be in the hands of the major Royal Families. How did you get your hands on one?" Taoist Priest Xuanqing narrowed his eyes.

"Most Royal Power Artifacts are indeed in the hands of the empires' Royal Families. However, only the scabbard of the Longyuan Empire's Sword of Royal Power remains."

Taoist Priest Xuanqing was shocked. "You have the Sword of Royal Power!?"

Yan Moxie shook his head. "As I said, it is an incomplete Royal Power Artifact. The Sword of Royal Power was shattered a century ago during the War of the Seven Kings. The fragments fell into the hands of various factions. To recreate the Sword of Royal Power, they added rare materials to their fragments and eventually forged twelve swords. Later generations named them the Twelve Swords of Royal Power, and we possess just one of them.

"Legend has it that if you gather all of the Twelve Swords of Royal Power, the true glory of the Sword of Royal Power can be restored!

"You have to understand that the Longyuan Empire's Dragon King is revered worldwide as the strongest powerhouse alive, making him the most terrifying existence among the Seven Kings. As a result, his Sword of Royal Power is also hailed as the world's ultimate Artifact!"

Taoist Priest Xuanqing's breathing grew heavy at the explanation. What a treasure!

"Lust, this is the utmost sincerity our Revolutionary Army can offer. The Twelve Swords of Royal Power are scattered across the Seven Great Empires. We simply lack the manpower and energy to track them down right now, otherwise we would never offer such a treasure as payment."