"Wyatt Barnes is right." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁 "That’s indeed the case." "Whether it’s Wyatt Barnes taking the Thunder Punishment oath as Arlo Drake requests or Arlo Drake taking the Thunder Punishment oath as Wyatt Barnes requests, the result will clearly show whether Wyatt Barnes has crippled Arlo Drake’s spiritual roots!" "However, from the looks of it, Arlo Drake seems reluctant to take the Thunder Punishment oath as Wyatt Barnes demands!" "That’s indeed the case." As Wyatt Barnes spoke, numerous voices of doubt regarding Arlo Drake arose among the crowd. When Wyatt Barnes asked Arlo Drake to take the Thunder Punishment oath as he demanded, not only did Arlo Drake hesitate, but he also tried to frame Wyatt Barnes, insisting Wyatt take the oath instead! Wasn’t he the one who first brought up taking the Thunder Punishment oath? At the crucial moment, did he become cowardly? Is this not a clear sign of a guilty conscience? To the thousands of disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect present: Between Wyatt Barnes and Arlo Drake, whoever takes the Thunder Punishment oath as per the other’s request would lead to the same result. But, because the idea of taking the oath was first proposed by Arlo Drake. So, subconsciously, they all felt it was more fitting for Arlo Drake to take the Thunder Punishment oath as Wyatt Barnes demanded! Once voices of suspicion towards Arlo Drake emerged, they became unstoppable like a flood breaking its dam! This was something Arlo Drake never anticipated. At this moment, he even felt like he was ’hoisted by his own petard’! "Arlo Drake, did you hear that? All the fellow brothers, sisters feel it’s more suitable for you to take the Thunder Punishment oath..." Meanwhile, Wyatt Barnes looked at Arlo Drake with a mocking expression and said lightly. "As long as you take the Thunder Punishment oath, the truth will naturally be revealed. Then, if you aren’t struck dead by divine lightning, it also means you didn’t lie, proving that I indeed crippled your spiritual roots!" This feeling of ’countering an opponent’s move’ made him feel unprecedentedly exhilarated! Didn’t you, Arlo Drake, want to prove it by taking the Thunder Punishment oath? Faced with a crowd of Black Tortoise Sect disciples, Arlo Drake’s face turned green and white, his mind in turmoil. Though he strongly wished for Wyatt Barnes to die at the hands of his master, ’Maximus Lee’. Yet, regarding whether Wyatt Barnes had indeed crippled his spiritual roots, he wasn’t sure. Because he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain if Wyatt Barnes was truly responsible for the loss of his spiritual roots! In this bizarre world, things happen every moment, including events beyond explanation. Maybe the disappearance of his spiritual roots was merely coincidental, unrelated to Wyatt Barnes. If that’s true, taking the Thunder Punishment oath would be tantamount to suicide! Even though his spiritual roots are off now, and his cultivation can only remain stagnant. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t value his life! In fact, he cherishes his life more than ever now. Because, with his cultivation unable to progress, his lifespan is fixed, no longer extendable through increased cultivation. Which means, each additional day he lives is a day closer to death! Thus, he dare not take the Thunder Punishment oath as Wyatt Barnes demands. Because he’s afraid of dying! He won’t take that gamble! What if his spiritual root loss is completely unrelated to Wyatt Barnes? If that were so, wouldn’t his death be unjust? "Arlo Drake truly has a guilty conscience." "Tsk tsk... Seems he was falsely accusing Wyatt Barnes all along, and Wyatt never crippled his spiritual roots." "I almost believed him for a moment." The disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect whispered among themselves, their words reaching Arlo Drake’s ears, causing his face to turn pale without a way to refute. "Didn’t you claim earlier that you had a ninety percent certainty that Wyatt Barnes crippled your spiritual roots? Why at this crucial moment do you have cold feet?" Seeing Arlo Drake mess up the situation further, Maximus Lee’s face turned grim, then he looked at Arlo Drake and transmitted his voice: "With ninety percent certainty, isn’t it worth taking the risk and betting on it? Perhaps Wyatt Barnes is bluffing, intentionally intimidating you from taking the Thunder Punishment oath? With a ninety percent success rate, if you bet correctly, Wyatt Barnes is done for!" Maximus Lee’s words were filled with a tone of persuasion and temptation. Ninety percent success rate! If he wins the bet, he lives, Wyatt Barnes dies! Upon Maximus Lee’s reminder, Arlo Drake’s eyes lit up, then he gritted his teeth, making up his mind. However, just as Arlo Drake was determined, with a fearless momentum, looking towards Wyatt Barnes, ready to take the Thunder Punishment oath as Wyatt demanded. Wyatt Barnes spoke first, sounding a bit lazy: "How boring! Arlo Drake, if you feel you’re at a disadvantage by only having you take the Thunder Punishment oath as I request..." "Then, I’ll also take the Thunder Punishment oath at the same time as per your request, how about that? This way, you should be willing, right?" Having made up his mind after Maximus Lee’s encouragement, Arlo Drake now hearing Wyatt’s words, was struck as if by lightning. The words that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down. Wyatt Barnes’ confidence, Wyatt Barnes’ indifference, utterly shattered the hard-won confidence he had built. To him, if Wyatt Barnes really had crippled his gifted spirit root, then Wyatt Barnes could not possibly make a Thunder Punishment oath at the same time as him. Let alone proactively propose such a condition! And now, with Wyatt Barnes making such a proposal, it’s clear that he’s unafraid. At this moment, Arlo Drake’s confidence was in tatters... "He surely realized you wanted to risk everything, so he chose to strike first... Don’t be afraid, agree to him! Make the Thunder Punishment oath with him!" Maximus Lee looked through the situation, timely reminding Arlo Drake. However, at this moment, with Arlo Drake’s hard-earned confidence shattered, how could he possibly listen to Maximus Lee’s words? He just felt Maximus Lee wanted to use him as a gamble. If they win the gamble, Wyatt Barnes dies! If they lose the gamble, he dies! No matter the outcome, Maximus Lee doesn’t suffer any substantial loss. With this mentality, how could he agree to Wyatt Barnes’ proposal? "Yes! My gifted spirit root wasn’t crippled by you, Wyatt Barnes... I accidentally got rid of it myself while cultivating!" Looking at Wyatt Barnes again, Arlo Drake’s heart trembled, and he quickly spoke. Arlo Drake’s words naturally caused a commotion at the scene. No one expected the truth to come out like that. "Turns out, Arlo Drake was slandering Wyatt Barnes!" "Hmph! I suspected it all along... this Arlo Drake is not a good person!" "This time, he’s put Elder Maximus Lee in a tough spot." Thousands of Black Tortoise Sect disciples whispered among themselves, causing a noisy uproar. Some also suspected that Arlo Drake slandered Wyatt Barnes entirely at Maximus Lee’s behest. Of course, they only dared to think this within their hearts and not say it out loud. Wyatt Barnes laughed, knowing his strategy of advancing with retreat had succeeded. Just now, the reason he said he wanted to make a Thunder Punishment oath with Arlo Drake was because he was observing Arlo Drake’s expression the whole time. Seeing Arlo Drake resolute, seeming to have made some decision. He guessed that Arlo Drake wanted to risk everything! So, he chose to strike first, utterly shattering Arlo Drake’s resolve! If he really made the Thunder Punishment oath with Arlo Drake, he wouldn’t dare. Only because Arlo Drake’s gifted spirit root was indeed crippled by him. To be precise, it was devoured by him! Now, hearing Arlo Drake’s words spreading, Wyatt Barnes secretly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had made the right gamble, becoming the final winner. Hearing Arlo Drake’s words, Maximus Lee’s face turned exceedingly dark. With Arlo Drake saying what he did, Maximus Lee knew that today’s matter was set in stone! His idea to use this opportunity to eliminate Wyatt Barnes, due to the presence of Arlo Drake as a ’foolish teammate’, was thoroughly dashed. Coldly glancing at Arlo Drake, letting out a low grunt, Maximus Lee turned and left, not uttering a single word to Arlo Drake from beginning to end, clearly truly angered. "Arlo Drake, next time you want to cooperate with your master to falsely accuse me, make sure to find a more plausible excuse... This time’s excuse was too poor, full of flaws!" Having become the final victor, Wyatt Barnes was high-spirited as he said this to Arlo Drake, turning and stepping through the air back to his ’Beta House’. Watching Wyatt Barnes’ silhouette disappear from sight, Arlo Drake trembled with rage while his eyes were also wide open, gritting his teeth. His fists tightly clenched, fingertips dug deep into his palms, even as blood continued to flow, he seemed to feel no pain. The thousands of mocking stares directed at him nearly drove him mad! "Wyatt Barnes, Wyatt Barnes... Once my cousin arrives, you will unquestionably die! Unquestionably die!!" Understanding that, with his gifted spirit root crippled, he could no longer be a match for Wyatt Barnes and unable to personally seek revenge, ’Arlo Drake’ pinned all his hopes on his cousin who was soon to arrive. At present, he viewed his cousin as his last straw of salvation! What followed was a month of calm. A month later, outside the Fire Worship Sect’s Black Tortoise Sect, an unexpected visitor arrived. A dusty middle-aged man made his appearance, quickly blocked by a patrol team led by a Bronze Flame elder of the Black Tortoise Sect. "Who are you, to dare trespass into our Fire Worship Sect’s Black Tortoise Sect?" The Bronze Flame elder shouted sternly. The middle-aged man was tall, his appearance ordinary; he carried a sheathed long blade on his back, standing there like an indomitable iron tower, exuding majesty. "I’m ’Long Drake’, I’ve come this time solely to join the Fire Worship Sect!" Even facing the Bronze Flame elder, the middle-aged man remained composed, speaking calmly. Soon after, the Bronze Flame elder produced a Spirit Pearl capable of testing gifted spirit roots. Through testing, the middle-aged man’s gifted spirit root was revealed to be a ’Blue Spirit Root’! Upon learning the middle-aged man’s gifted spirit root was a Blue Spirit Root, the Bronze Flame elder’s attitude became somewhat more courteous.