Free Web NovelChapter 143: Chapter 143: Ash Judgment Bell
The Ash Vow Abbot landed without sound.
That silence was more frightening than a roar.
His body was wrapped in countless vow strips. Some were white, some gray, some black, and some stained red. Each strip carried words, promises, failures, regrets. Behind him floated the cracked Ash Judgment Bell, suspended by chains that grew from his back.
The panel expanded.
[Ash Vow Abbot]
[Level: 34]
[Type: Vow-corrupted monastery remnant]
[Abilities:
- False Vow Binding
- Silence Law Backlash
- Burden Transfer Chains
- Ash Judgment Bell
- Vow Spirit Summoning]
[Weakness:
- Self-written vow core
- Purified vow intentions
- Law-thread severing]
Qin Mo’s face tightened.
"Law-thread fight."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
"Stay behind my field. No careless speech."
The Ash Vow Abbot raised one hand.
A vow strip shot toward Qin Yuchen.
It formed words midair:
I will protect and never retreat.
Qin Yuchen moved to cut it, but the strip curved toward his mouth.
Qin Yuheng intercepted with Law-Thread Severing Eye active. His sword cut not the paper, but the binding line inside it.
The strip burned.
The abbot turned.
"Commander," it whispered. "You refuse vows, yet command loyalty."
Qin Yuheng did not answer.
The bell rang.
Not loud.
But the sound struck the chest.
[Silence Law Backlash pressure detected.]
[Speech restriction increased.]
Qin Mo immediately covered his mouth again.
Qin Lian moved first.
She vanished into ash-shadow and struck the abbot’s back chains. Her dagger cut two vow strips, but black ash erupted and pushed her away.
Qin Yuchen attacked from the side, but burden chains rose from the ground, trying to wrap around his feet.
Qin Mo activated a Contract-Breaking Law formation, weakening the chains.
Qin Yuheng stepped forward with Gate Thunder Command Field compressed around the team.
The field helped.
False vow pressure weakened when team intent was clear.
The abbot raised both hands.
The three freed vow spirits appeared behind Qin Yuheng’s team—the young monk, the old food-giving spirit, and the abbot’s pure remnant. They were faint, but their golden threads remained.
A panel flashed.
[Purified vow intentions responding.]
The young monk’s golden thread blocked a chain aimed at Qin Lian.
The old spirit’s thread dissolved an ash hunger curse aimed at Qin Mo.
The pure abbot remnant weakened the boss’s bell chain.
Qin Mo’s eyes widened.
"Freeing them matters."
Qin Yuheng had expected as much.
The boss tried to punish that.
It struck the bell with its palm.
Ash Judgment Bell rang.
The courtyard transformed.
Each team member saw a vow circle beneath their feet.
Qin Mo’s circle read:
Complete the array or lose the team.
Qin Lian’s read:
Remain unseen or become useless.
Qin Yuchen’s read:
Stand guard and never move.
Qin Yuheng’s read:
Command all burdens.
The circles began tightening.
Qin Yuheng could cut one quickly.
Not all.
He looked at his team.
This was why he had refused to command them as extensions of himself.
"Break your own circle," he said.
Careful words.
Not a vow.
An order.
Qin Yuchen immediately stepped out of his circle instead of defending inside it. The vow cracked.
Qin Lian revealed herself deliberately, standing in open light. Her circle shattered.
Qin Mo looked at his formation circle and groaned.
"I choose incomplete work!"
He kicked one of his own formation stones out of place.
His circle broke.
Qin Yuheng looked at his own.
Command all burdens.
He raised his sword.
"I command choices, not chains."
He cut the circle.
The Ash Judgment Bell cracked further.
The boss recoiled.
Qin Yuheng sent a jade pulse.
Final sequence. Law threads first. Bell second. Core last.
Qin Mo activated the Contract-Breaking Law Crystal.
Qin Lian struck the left bell chain.
Qin Yuchen struck the right.
Qin Yuheng used Law-Thread Severing Eye to identify the self-written vow core inside the abbot’s chest.
It was not where the panel suggested.
It was hidden behind the words:
I feared failure.
That was the root.
Not evil.
Fear.
Qin Yuheng stepped in.
The abbot’s chains wrapped around his arm.
They tried to transfer vow weight.
Protect every child.
Feed every hungry mouth.
Guard every gate.
Save every dying soldier.
Lead every lost soul.
His mind shook.
Gate Thunder Command Field flared.
Tri-Gate foundation stabilized him.
The True Soul Guiding Lantern in his storage warmed.
He did not accept the chains.
He did not reject the pure intention.
He cut the fear binding them.
His sword pierced the vow core.
Thunder and clear law-light erupted.
The Ash Vow Abbot froze.
The bell behind him cracked fully.
For a moment, the corrupted boss became the old abbot again.
He whispered, "The vows... were meant to guide."
Qin Yuheng answered, "Then let them."
The abbot smiled faintly. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Then dissolved.
The Ash Judgment Bell rang one final time.
This time, the sound was clear.
[Ash Vow Abbot defeated.]
[Ash Judgment Bell purified.]
[Three bound vow spirits freed.]
[Monastery fall truth discovered.]
[Final Evaluation greatly increased.]
The monastery changed.
Ash lifted from the courtyards.
The vow tablets no longer whispered. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The chains dissolved.
The black bell became gray-white, cracked but clean.
Qin Mo removed his mouth cloth.
"I survived the floor of dangerous speech."
Qin Lian said, "Barely."
He nodded seriously.
"Barely is still survival."
The settlement light descended.
Floor 26 was complete.
And Qin Yuheng felt something inside his class settle more firmly.
Commander’s Burden had not grown heavier.
It had become clearer.
