Chapter 188 - The Shared Oath and the Dangerous Whisper
Su Bai stood up.
The moment he moved, everyone in the hall looked toward him.
They had entered the Fallen-Star Sanctuary as young geniuses from different sects, clans, and holy lands.
Now, after Outpost No. 1, they looked a little older.
A young shield cultivator was the first to step forward.
His neck was still wrapped in medicine cloth where the Soul-Bloom corruption had nearly entered deeper. His face was pale, but his gaze did not waver.
"Brother Su," he said, cupping his fists. "I will not go deeper."
The hall became still.
The shield cultivator lowered his head. "I am too weak. If I follow, I will only become another person you have to save. I do not want to turn my courage into someone else’s burden."
No one mocked him.
Another cultivator stepped forward after him.
"My injuries are too heavy. I can still stand, but if the next battle is worse than Outpost No. 1, standing will not be enough."
A formation disciple smiled bitterly and raised his cracked array plate.
"My formation plates are almost exhausted. My storage ring is also full. Thanks to Brother Su, I have already gained more than I ever expected. If I continue, greed will be walking in front of reason."
A few people let out soft breaths.
More cultivators followed.
Some admitted they were afraid. Some said they had reached their limit. Some wanted to escort the injured back toward the safer route. Some said they still wished to go deeper, but their bodies no longer allowed it.
The reasons were different. The decision was the same.
They would not continue into the deeper part of the Fallen-Star Sanctuary.
Su Bai listened quietly.
He did not look disappointed. He did not persuade them.
That made several people’s eyes redden slightly.
After the last person spoke, the shield cultivator from earlier took a deep breath and stepped forward again.
"Before we separate, we have one more request."
Su Bai looked at him.
The shield cultivator hesitated for a moment, then said, "If Brother Su is willing, we wish to form an oath with you."
Su Bai paused.
The hall became quieter.
The cultivator continued, "We cannot follow you deeper, but that does not mean we want to end this connection here. After leaving the Sanctuary, if Brother Su ever needs us, we will stand behind you. If we meet again in the future, we hope Brother Su will also regard us as people who once shared life and death with you."
Another cultivator added, "Not just a verbal promise."
A third said, "Brother Su has the Blood Ink Pen. The same one used before with the Blood Iron Sect cultivators. If Brother Su is willing, use that to write the oath."
This time, Su Bai was truly surprised.
He looked at them for a long breath.
The young cultivators standing before him were not from one sect. Some came from small sects, some from clans, some from scattered powers that usually would not even sit together peacefully, much less swear an oath with someone from Radiant Sky Sect.
But now, their expressions were serious.
No one seemed to be joking.
Su Bai felt something warm settle quietly in his chest.
In his previous life, he had learned one lesson very well.
Words were light.
Promises were lighter.
People could say many touching things when everyone was emotional, then forget them the moment profit, pressure, or elders appeared.
Verbal promises were like tea steam. They looked warm, but one careless wind and nothing remained.
Contracts, however, were different.
A contract had weight. A contract had consequence.
Su Bai trusted consequence far more than memory.
So he smiled.
"Then, as you wish, I will draft an oath."
The cultivators straightened.
Su Bai looked across the hall and said, "But remember this clearly. This does not go one way. If you treat me as sworn kin through this oath, I will treat you as sworn brothers and sisters too. If one day you stand behind me, then when trouble finds you, I will not pretend I do not know your names."
The words landed heavily.
Several people’s expressions changed.
For some reason, that promise felt more reassuring than any heroic speech.
Su Bai took out the Blood Ink Pen and a blank parchment.
The moment the pen appeared, a faint blood-red luster spread across its body.
Su Bai lowered the pen.
The tip touched the parchment.
The Blood Ink Pen bit into him at once. A thin line of blood flowed from his finger into the pen, and a faint sliver of soul essence was drawn out with it.
Su Bai’s expression did not change.
He wrote slowly.
The words formed one line after another.
It was an oath meant to survive memory, distance, sect politics, and future storms.
[From this day onward, those whose names are written here shall be sworn kin by blood, soul, and shared peril.]
[We do not demand identical paths, nor do we bind one another’s freedom.]
[But we shall not betray, sell, harm, deceive, or abandon one another for greed, fear, command, or resentment.]
[When one is hunted unjustly, the others shall not become the hunter.]
[When one is in true need, the others shall not turn away if aid is within their power.]
[If conflict of sect, clan, or command arises, we shall not raise a killing hand against one another without first seeking truth.]
[Those who violate this oath shall have their blood reject them, their soul mark expose them, and their path remember their betrayal.]
[This covenant is witnessed by blood, sealed by soul, and carried by all who sign.]
When the final word settled, the parchment gave off a faint red glow.
Su Bai wrote his name first.
The Blood Ink Pen drank again. A sliver of soul essence entered the contract.
He placed the pen down in front of the shield cultivator.
The shield cultivator looked at the oath.
His fingers trembled once, then he picked up the Blood Ink Pen and wrote his name.
The pen bit into him.
His face turned pale at once, but he gritted his teeth and did not stop. Blood entered the pen. A thin sliver of soul essence followed. His name glowed red on the parchment.
The contract accepted him.
One by one, the others stepped forward.
Some winced. Some shook. Some nearly dropped the pen when the soul pain struck, but no one retreated after touching it.
Each person wrote their name willingly, and each name settled into the parchment with a faint blood-red mark.
The Blood Iron Sect cultivators did not sign.
They already had a soul contract with Su Bai, one that bound them more tightly than this oath. When Su Bai glanced at them, they silently cupped their fists.
Ji Ruyue, Han Yuelin, Liu Meng, and Qin Baoshan also did not sign.
Su Bai stopped them before they could step forward.
"You four do not need this."
Liu Meng froze. "Senior Brother?"
Su Bai looked at them and said calmly, "I trust our sect more than I trust a contract."
To Su Bai, that meant a great deal. It meant his trust in the Radiant Sky Sect was undeniable.
Meanwhile, the four fell silent.
Ji Ruyue’s expression remained cold, but her gaze softened slightly. Han Yuelin smiled faintly, as if he had expected nothing less. Qin Baoshan cupped his fists without a word, while Liu Meng’s eyes reddened.
For them, that was enough.
But what surprised Su Bai was that the signing did not stop with those who had chosen to remain behind.
Some who had decided to continue deeper also stepped forward.
Zhuge Jing smiled and wrote his name. His face paled slightly, but his fan remained steady in his other hand.
"This kind of record is clearer than memory," Zhuge Jing said.
Lin Weiyang came next, looking almost happy.
She signed with bright eyes, as if the Blood Ink Pen was not biting into her soul but completing some rare mechanism test.
When she finished, she exhaled and said, "Painful, but elegant."
Chen Feng looked at her.
"You call that elegant?"
"It functioned exactly as designed."
"That is not the same thing."
"To an artificer, it is close."
Chen Feng stared at the contract for a long moment.
He hesitated only briefly, then he stepped forward and wrote his name.
The Blood Ink Pen drank from him.
His expression tightened.
After his name settled, Chen Feng lowered the pen and looked at Su Bai.
"If our sects oppose each other one day, I will not stand on the side that raises a killing sword against you."
The words were stiff, but sincere.
Su Bai nodded.
"That is enough."
Yan Lie stood not far behind.
For a while, he did not move.
The pride in his eyes had not vanished, but it had been tempered by everything he had seen. He glanced at the contract, then at Su Bai, then past Su Bai. Toward Liu Meng.
Liu Meng was helping Bai Zhi sort pills and did not notice at first.
Yan Lie’s jaw tightened.
After several breaths, he stepped forward.
Even Su Bai looked slightly surprised.
Yan Lie picked up the Blood Ink Pen. His name appeared on the parchment in a bright red stroke.
When he finished, he looked past Su Bai again.
This time, Liu Meng noticed.
She blinked.
Yan Lie immediately looked away and coughed.
"I simply think," he said, "that a cultivator should remember debts of life and death."
No one exposed him.
That was kindness.
Or entertainment saved for later.
Bai Zhi also stepped forward.
She held the pen gently. She wrote her name with graceful strokes.
Her gaze moved briefly toward Su Bai.
Perhaps after this, he would not avoid her so obviously.
Perhaps.
Su Bai felt that gaze and silently looked elsewhere.
Some dangers had nothing to do with miasma.
More names were written.
Each name made the parchment heavier. Spiritually.
It became less like paper and more like a shared weight.
Finally, Tang Ziyan stepped forward.
Su Bai’s expression changed.
Before she could pick up the pen, he reached out and lightly held her shoulder.
"You do not need to write your name on this."
Tang Ziyan froze.
The hall also froze.
Many gazes moved over silently.
Tang Ziyan slowly turned her head and looked at him.
"Why?"
Su Bai thought for a moment.
"I have a separate contract for you. You can sign it later when we are outside."
Tang Ziyan’s eyes narrowed.
"What kind of contract?"
Su Bai froze.
Several people nearby leaned closer without realizing it.
Su Bai hesitated, then he leaned slightly closer and whispered near Tang Ziyan’s ear.
"A marriage contract."
The old storage hall became silent. Even the injured cultivators forgot to look injured.
Tang Ziyan stared at Su Bai.
Su Bai looked back.
A long breath passed.
Tang Ziyan’s ears slowly turned red.
The red spread faintly toward her neck.
Su Bai suddenly realized that perhaps this was not the best place, time, tone, or audience.
Tang Ziyan turned around.
She picked up the Blood Ink Pen.
Su Bai’s eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Too late.
Tang Ziyan wrote her name on the sworn kin covenant with one smooth motion.
The Blood Ink Pen bit into her, taking blood and soul essence. Her face paled slightly, but her hand did not shake. Her name glowed on the parchment.
Su Bai stared at it. His thoughts stopped, then they began moving in a very messy direction.
This oath was a sworn kin covenant. Sworn brothers. Sworn sisters.
Blood and soul witnessed.
If Tang Ziyan signed it, did that mean they were now sworn siblings?
If they became sworn siblings, then if she became his Dao Companion later, would that become—
Su Bai’s expression became difficult to describe.
’No. Wait.’
That was not the first condition. The first condition of marriage was not contract structure.
It was consent.
His mind steadied slightly.
’Good.’
A person must not lose the main point because of oath wording.
Tang Ziyan put down the Blood Ink Pen and looked at him.
Her face remained calm, but her ears were still red.
"Hmph."
Her voice was soft, but everyone heard it.
"Who would marry a scoundrel like you?"
After saying that, she turned away.
Unfortunately, the slight pout at the corner of her lips weakened the attack.
The hall remained silent for another breath.