Free Web NovelChapter 142: Chapter 142: The Third Vow Courtyard
The Third Vow Courtyard was empty.
That made it more unsettling than the first two.
No tablets.
No chains.
No statues.
Only a wide field of ash and a single bell tower at the far end. The bell inside the tower was black, cracked, and silent. Beneath it stood a sealed gate leading deeper into the monastery.
As soon as Qin Yuheng’s team entered, the gate behind them closed.
A panel appeared.
[Third Vow Courtyard]
[Trial]
Face the vow you have not spoken.
[Warning]
Unspoken desires may take form.
Defeating them by denial alone may fail.
Qin Mo slowly removed his mouth cloth.
"I do not like the phrase ’unspoken desires.’"
The ash stirred.
Four figures rose from the ground.
Each looked like one of them.
But not exact copies.
They were versions shaped by suppressed wishes.
Before Qin Yuchen stood a version of himself wearing heavy guardian armor, standing before the Qin Estate gate with no path beyond it.
Before Qin Lian stood a shadow without a face, perfectly hidden, perfectly untouchable, perfectly alone.
Before Qin Mo stood himself lying peacefully under a tree, surrounded by completed formations that maintained themselves forever.
Before Qin Yuheng stood another Qin Yuheng.
This one wore a commander cloak, held a thunder spear, and stood before kneeling soldiers, healed family members, destroyed enemies, and opened treasure chests.
The false Qin Yuheng smiled.
"You want to protect them all."
Qin Yuheng did not answer.
"You want Father healed. Grandfather relieved. Mother unworried. Siblings strong. Family safe. Blood Sun destroyed. Rewards multiplied. Enemies outplanned. Allies saved. Tower conquered."
The false version stepped closer.
"You deny nothing. Why pretend restraint is not just delayed possession?"
Qin Yuheng looked at it.
The copy’s words were not entirely false.
That was the danger.
The Third Vow Courtyard did not attack with lies. It attacked with truth taken too far.
Beside him, Qin Yuchen faced his own figure.
The guardian version spoke.
"If you leave the gate, someone may die. Stay. Guard forever. Let others climb. Your duty is protection."
Qin Yuchen’s face tightened.
He wanted to protect his siblings. He wanted to protect the family. He wanted to protect the team. The temptation to become an unmoving wall was real.
But a wall could not follow those who needed him beyond the gate.
He raised his sword.
"Protection that never moves becomes a prison."
He struck.
His false self shattered into ash.
Qin Lian’s shadow copy spoke without sound, but everyone felt its meaning.
If no one can see you, no one can hurt you.
If no one depends on you, you cannot fail them.
Become perfect shadow.
Qin Lian closed her eyes. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Then she stepped forward, not backward.
"A shadow still belongs to light."
Her dagger pierced the faceless copy.
It dissolved.
Qin Mo stared at his peaceful self.
The copy was lying under a tree, drinking tea, while formations repaired themselves in the background.
Qin Mo looked genuinely pained.
"This one is cruel."
The copy smiled lazily.
"No danger. No urgent repairs. No exploding arrays. No one asking you to inspect suspicious objects."
Qin Mo sighed.
"That does sound good."
The copy held out a cup.
Qin Mo almost reached for it.
Then he stopped.
"If everything is finished, then I stopped choosing."
He kicked the tea cup.
The dream-like copy shattered.
Qin Mo looked heartbroken.
"I hope the Tower feels guilty."
Now only Qin Yuheng’s copy remained.
The false commander smiled.
"They all passed because their desires are simple. Yours is larger."
Qin Yuheng lifted his sword.
The copy lifted a thunder spear.
"Will you deny wanting power?"
"No."
"Will you deny wanting your father healed?"
"No."
"Will you deny wanting Blood Sun destroyed?"
"No."
The copy’s smile widened.
"Then accept me."
Behind the copy appeared visions.
Qin Zhengyuan fully healed.
Qin Wanshan standing without hidden worry.
Mu Qinglan smiling without coldness in her eyes.
Qin Yuze and Qin Xue’er awakening powerful talents safely.
Silent Heaven Army standing invincible.
Blood Sun Hall burning.
Tower rewards evolving endlessly.
Everything Qin Yuheng wanted.
Everything good.
Everything dangerous if pursued without limit.
The copy extended a hand.
"Make the vow. Save them all. Destroy all enemies. Never fail."
The vow threads were invisible, but Qin Yuheng felt them.
One sentence would bind him.
Perhaps the Tower would reward it.
Perhaps his class would grow.
Perhaps Commander’s Burden would deepen into something stronger.
But a vow to never fail was not courage.
It was arrogance disguised as devotion.
Qin Yuheng spoke carefully.
"I want power."
The copy paused.
"I want my family safe. I want my father healed. I want Blood Sun destroyed. I want my team to live. I want rewards that can build a future."
The copy smiled again.
"Then—"
"But I will not vow to save everyone."
The courtyard shook.
"I will not vow to never fail. I will not vow to carry every burden. I will choose, act, learn, and pay the price of my choices."
The false commander’s face changed.
"That is weaker."
"No," Qin Yuheng said. "It is honest."
He activated Gate Thunder Command Field.
Not to command others.
To align himself.
Strength.
Spirit.
Battle.
The three foundations of his class stabilized.
He stepped forward and cut the false commander from shoulder to chest.
The copy cracked.
Before shattering, it whispered:
"One day, honesty will still demand blood."
Qin Yuheng did not deny it.
The copy dissolved into ash.
The Third Vow Courtyard cleared.
[Third Vow Courtyard cleared.]
[Unspoken desire acknowledged.]
[False absolute vow refused.]
[Commander’s Burden stabilized.]
[Silence law backlash: 0%]
The bell tower gate opened.
Inside, the third bound vow spirit waited.
It was the abbot.
Not the boss yet.
Only a remnant of what he had been before corruption fully consumed him.
He knelt before a cracked tablet.
I will preserve the monastery’s vows.
Beneath it, carved in his own hand:
Even if I must bind all souls to do so.
The abbot spirit looked at Qin Yuheng.
"I feared failure," he whispered.
Qin Yuheng said nothing.
"I turned vows into chains. I told myself chains were stronger than faith."
Qin Mo looked at the tablet.
"This false clause is self-written."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
That made it harder.
A corrupted vow added by another could be cut cleanly. A vow twisted by its own speaker was rooted deeper.
The abbot spirit lowered his head.
"Cut it."
Qin Yuheng asked, "Do you release it willingly?"
The abbot trembled.
"Yes."
That mattered.
Qin Mo built the separation formation.
Qin Yuchen and Qin Lian stood guard.
Qin Yuheng placed one hand on the tablet and cut the self-binding clause.
The abbot screamed.
The bell above the tower rang once.
Ash exploded outward.
The abbot spirit dissolved.
But from the bell itself, a darker figure awakened.
A tall monk made of ash chains, cracked vows, and black bell fragments descended from above.
[Ash Vow Abbot]
[Level: 34]
[Floor Boss]
[Status: Awakened by release of final bound vow spirit]
The true boss had arrived.
