A School Place for a Deadly Oath

"The price?"

Tang Hao frowned, suspicion flickering in his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Chu Chen gave him a mocking smile.

"It's simple. I can give Tang San this place... but he has to pay a price for it, doesn't he?"

"And Uncle Tang, I don't mean to look down on you, but in your current state, I doubt you could scrape together a single copper soul coin."

Tang Hao's face flushed red, and murderous intent surged in his eyes again.

Harsh as Chu Chen's words were, they were true. Tang Hao was penniless.

"So..."

Chu Chen turned his gaze to Tang San.

"You're the one who wants the place, Tang San. It's only fair that you pay the price yourself, right?"

Tang San's expression changed, and he instinctively stepped back.

"What could I possibly..."

"You'll have something one day!"

Chu Chen cut him off, his tone calm but certain.

"Aren't you going to a Soul Master Academy? Don't you want to become a Soul Master? Once you're capable enough, you'll naturally acquire treasures."

Alarm bells rang in Tang San's mind.

The central tenet of the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record flashed through his mind: never reveal your trump cards, and never make promises about the future lightly.

But the place was too tempting, especially now that his father had acknowledged him and had even been willing to turn the whole village against him for it...

"What do you want?"

Tang San gritted his teeth.

Chu Chen stroked his chin as if considering the question.

"I haven't decided exactly what I want yet. Let's make it three conditions for now. I'll tell you when I've decided."

"No!"

Tang San refused at once.

"What if you demand something impossible? What if you simply ask me to die?"

"Little Scumbag, you think far too highly of yourself. What use would I have for your miserable life? Even scattering your ashes would pollute the air..."

Chu Chen scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt.

"As for the conditions, I guarantee they'll be within your power. And I'll only ask for tangible things. For example, if you acquire a treasure in the future and I take a liking to it, you'll have to hand it over without question."

Tang San hesitated.

It sounded fair, but it was a trap.

"Treasures you acquire in the future" covered far too much. Who knew what he might find?

What if it was something truly precious...

Tang San glanced at Tang Hao, who had also fallen silent.

As a Titled Douluo, Tang Hao understood perfectly well that such a promise meant handing over part of his son's future opportunities.

And on the Douluo Continent, legends of gods truly existed. In other words, an oath was not something to take lightly!

But the whole village was watching...

Unless they abandoned their peaceful lives and openly broke with the village, what could they do?

Even if they killed someone, the place they seized would be useless. Worse, Tang San would lose the most precious years of his development.

After much deliberation, Tang Hao made his decision.

He glanced at Tang San, confidence rising within him.

The heir to the Clear Sky Hammer, a genius with Twin Martial Souls—how could a mere three conditions constrain what he might become?

"Agree to it," Tang Hao said in a low voice.

"It's only three conditions."

Tang San shuddered and stared at his father in disbelief.

But when he met Tang Hao's unwavering gaze, he finally lowered his head. His voice came out strained.

"...Fine. I agree."

"Just agreeing isn't enough!"

Chu Chen shook his head, suspicion plain in his eyes.

"A promise from either of you is worthless. I don't trust you. You'll have to swear an oath—a deadly oath!"

"You!"

Tang San glared at him.

"What, having second thoughts?"

Chu Chen spread his hands innocently.

"Then go home. I'm not eager to give up the place anyway."

Tang Hao immediately clamped a hand on Tang San's shoulder, gripping so hard that Tang San grimaced.

"Fine. Swear it!"

Tang San drew a deep breath. Rage and humiliation nearly spilled from his eyes, but the pain in his shoulder and his father's unyielding grip forced him to yield.

"I..."

Tang San ground out each word through clenched teeth.

"I, Tang San, swear that if Chu Chen gives me Holy Soul Village's work-study place at Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy this year, I will fulfill three conditions he sets in the future."

"Those conditions must be fulfilled solely with tangible treasures I acquire in the future, and only with things within my power to obtain."

"If I break this oath..."

Tang San paused, apparently weighing his words, but Chu Chen cut in unhurriedly.

"If you break this oath, you'll never advance another level. Your cultivation will stagnate for life, and every time you cultivate, your inner demons will turn on you, your Soul Power will collapse, and your Martial Souls will shatter. You'll wish you were dead..."

"Chu Chen, you've gone too far!"

Tang San's eyes widened. Growing stronger through cultivation had been his goal in both his lives. This curse was vicious beyond measure.

"What, you don't want to?"

Chu Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Or were you never planning to keep your promise? Is that why you won't swear?"

"I'll... swear!"

Tang San gritted his teeth, the words almost a growl.

"If I break this oath, I, Tang San, will never advance another level. My cultivation will stagnate for life, and every time I cultivate, my inner demons will turn on me, my Soul Power will collapse, and my Martial Souls will shatter. I'll wish I were dead..."

As the last words left his mouth, an invisible law seemed to pass through the world. A faint chill touched Tang San's brow, as though an indescribable restraint had quietly wound itself around his soul.

His face paled. Had something truly accepted his oath?

The villagers watching did not understand the intricacies of it, but seeing Tang San look so humiliated and frightened, they began whispering among themselves.

"That Chu Chen kid is ruthless..."

"But it's a good oath! That ingrate needed to learn there's a price!"

"And Tang Hao, forcing his own son to swear an oath like that, all for a school place..."

Chu Chen was not finished. He turned to Tang Hao, his gaze calm, though his Soul Force had quietly enveloped his body. Behind his back, his right hand brushed the Flame Ji Ring, making sure he could draw the Fire Thunder Seed at any moment.

"Your turn, Uncle Tang."

Tang Hao's face darkened.

"Me? What oath am I supposed to swear?"

"It's simple."

Chu Chen spoke one word at a time.

"Until Tang San fulfills those three conditions, you must not harm anyone in Holy Soul Village in any way—whether by attacking them yourself, plotting against them indirectly, hiring someone else, using another person to do your killing, or anything of the sort."

"If you break this oath..."

He paused and met Tang Hao's murderous stare.

"The consequences will fall on your son. All of Tang San's Martial Souls will shatter, leaving him powerless for life. And every time you use Soul Power, your Martial Soul will lash back at you, causing unbearable pain!"