Chapter 27: Live Broadcast: Heavenly Vow

Pang Hu took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword. He needed to put his all into this one strike! No matter what, he had to at least force this elder to defend himself.

“Wait…” Jian Heng raised his hand.

Pang Hu paused. “Does the Vice Sect Leader have any instructions?”

“Use my sword,” Jian Heng said, handing his sword to Pang Hu.

“This…” Pang Hu was stunned. He could feel a dangerous aura coming from the sword the Vice Sect Leader had lent him.

“Hmph! No matter the weapon, there’s no way an ant like you could harm me,” the Sacred Flame Elder said confidently.

Of course, he was a little startled by Jian Heng’s action at first, but he quickly regained his composure when he remembered the Sky Steel Soft Armor he wore beneath his robes. With that armor, he was full of confidence again. It was a Heaven-Grade artifact he had obtained from a secret realm, and it had saved him from life-and-death crises many times in the past.

Jian Heng knew this might not be enough to significantly injure the other, but as long as this fatty could do better than average and put his all into the strike, forcing the other to dodge or defend, it would count as a victory for the Heavenly Sword Sect.

However, before Pang Hu could take the sword from Jian Heng, Wei Chen’s hand stopped him mid-reach.

“Senior?” Pang Hu asked in confusion.

“This is supposed to be a peaceful exchange. How could we use a Heaven-Grade weapon to attack the Sacred Flame Elder?” Wei Chen said with a smile.

Jian Heng frowned and tilted his head slightly in confusion, though he didn’t withdraw his hand. If they couldn’t use weapons, then what could they use? Their sect was the Heavenly Sword Sect, the word ’Sword’ was in the name. If not weapons, then what? Their barehands?

Even though there was a small branch within the Heavenly Sword Sect that taught unarmed combat techniques, it was only meant as a supplementary discipline for cases when their swords were broken or when it was inconvenient to use them.

It should be noted that each disciple carried a few spare swords in their cheap, mass-produced storage rings distributed by the sect. Those rings had very limited capacity, only enough to store necessities and several spare swords.

Because of that, the unarmed techniques mainly focused on fending off attacks and creating distance, buying enough time and gaining ground to draw their swords again as quickly as possible.

Without much suspense, Wei Chen’s sunny smile widened as he produced a strange item from his palm. It was a stick… a stick with a black, half-cylindrical reflective material at one end.

The moment Jian Heng saw this thing, his eyes suddenly grew sharp.

“What… is that?” he uttered with trepidation.

Jian Heng’s instincts and experience told him that this strange item was not some ordinary artifact. In fact, his survival instinct screamed that this thing was extremely dangerous, especially the black half-cylindrical part.

The Sacred Flame Elder was also startled. This strange item gave him a dreadful feeling, a feeling of death. It was as if he were staring straight at his inevitable demise. A chilling sense of powerlessness and inescapable doom crept up his spine.

“Wait, wait, wait! What is that thing!?” The Sacred Flame Elder pointed at the strange item in Wei Chen’s hand. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t use a weapon!?”

“It’s not a weapon,” Wei Chen replied with a straight face.

“I’d be a fool to believe that! If it’s not a weapon, then why is its power and danger even greater than Jian Heng’s sword!?” the Sacred Flame Elder protested.

“What I said is the truth, you know. This thing isn’t a weapon, it was never meant to be one. There’s not a single sharp edge anywhere, you see.” Wei Chen said as he displayed the “Indomitable Plunger” he had redeemed from the underworld shop.

But in the eyes of Jian Heng and the Sacred Flame Elder, especially the latter, it was different. The moment Wei Chen pointed that thing at him, even from afar, the Sacred Flame Elder felt an overwhelming sense of threat.

Inside the half-cylindrical end, there was a small trace of dried suspicious brown substance that emitted a powerful aura of death. It was so strong that the grass on the ground instantly withered, turning to black dust as the earth beneath it cracked and lost all vitality.

“Not a weapon, my foot! This thing is more dangerous than the Heaven-Grade Sword Jian Heng used! Do you dare to swear to heaven, using your cultivation foundation, that it’s not a weapon?” the Sacred Flame Elder roared.

Hearing that, Jian Heng smirked. Who would be foolish enough to swear to heaven using their cultivation foundation? It was obvious that this mysterious stick might be a Sovereign-Grade weapon, or even beyond that.

Still, he felt a little disappointed. With this thing out, there was no way the Sacred Flame Elder would dare take it head-on.

But contrary to Jian Heng’s expectations, Wei Chen spoke up.

“Oh? If I dare to swear to heaven using my cultivation foundation that this thing isn’t a weapon, do you dare to swear to heaven in the same way that you’ll take it head-on without dodging or defending? Otherwise, you’ll change your surname to Dog?”

“Huh?” Jian Heng was startled. What kind of logic was that? It was clear that the thing was a weapon.

“Mr. Wei, swearing to heaven using one’s cultivation foundation is no joking matter. In this world, there’s nothing more terrifying than heaven itself. It is very real, and it can directly affect one’s cultivation path,” Jian Heng warned.

“Fine! If you swear, then I’ll swear!” The Sacred Flame Elder smiled. If this guy really dared to swear, there was no way he would follow through. What could this guy possibly do to him anyway?

But who was Wei Chen? In his previous life he had been a nuisance streamer, well versed in trolling and skilled at reading people by their eyes. He knew exactly what the old bastard was thinking.

“No, you swear first. If I swear and you don’t dare take it head on, I’d be an idiot, right?” Wei Chen said.

“No! You swear first! If I swear, you might chicken out!” the elder insisted.

Wei Chen had none of it. “Are you stupid? Just add the condition, if I dare swear, then you must take it head on. If you refuse, you change your surname to Dog.”

Even after hearing this, the Sacred Flame Elder is still reluctant to do so. He suspected Wei Chen might pull some trick. But then he realized, if the other side dared not swear, he would not have to face the attack.

“Fine!” the Sacred Flame Elder said through gritted teeth, then solemnly swore.

“I solemnly swear to heaven, by my cultivation foundation, if Wei Chen dares to swear to heaven with his own cultivation that this mysterious stick is not a weapon, then I will take the attack from that fatty head on. If I refuse, I will change my surname to Dog.”

At the end of his vow, the sky seemed to rumble, as if heaven had heard and witnessed the solemn promise.

“Damn… this shit is actually real…” Wei Chen muttered, looking up at the sky in amazement.

“It’s your turn,” the Sacred Flame Elder urged.

“Mr. Wei… no, you don’t need to. Forget it,” Jian Heng said, shaking his head.

Seeing this, the Sacred Flame Elder smirked. As expected, this item was actually a weapon! But… what kind of weapon was it? Why was it so powerful?

But contrary to their expectations—

“I, Wei Chen, solemnly swear to heaven, by my cultivation foundation, that this item in my hand is not a weapon.”

Rumble!

The heavens responded with a deep rumbling sound.

Jian Heng shook his head. This Wei Chen was far too reckless. Joking with heaven was not something anyone should do, especially a cultivator who walks the path against the heavens. The heavens’ wrath affects cultivators far more than mortals without cultivation.

The Sacred Flame Elder smiled wickedly, expecting Wei Chen to suffer a heavenly backlash or tribulation that would weaken or cripple his cultivation.

But…

Nothing happened.

Even after waiting for a good ten minutes, there was still no reaction from Heaven.

“Huh?” The Sacred Flame Elder looked up at the sky. Why was heaven so slow to render judgment today?

“As I said, it’s not a weapon. It was never meant to be one in the first place,” Wei Chen said with a smirk before handing the Indomitable Plunger to Fatty Hu.

“What!? It’s not a weapon!? It’s really not a weapon!?” the Sacred Flame Elder blurted out in disbelief.

Jian Heng was equally shocked. He never expected that such a powerful artifact was not a weapon. His heart trembled in awe. If this thing wasn’t even designed as a weapon yet still carried this much power, how terrifying would it be if it were modified into one?

“Are you ready?” Wei Chen asked with his unique smirk as he stepped back a few paces, preparing to watch a good show.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep