Chapter 1239: The Three Swindlers
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Hammer…smashes it? When the three King Refiners of the Inferior Artifact heard that, their eyes stared crazily as they imagined the scene in their minds, and they gasped in fear! Even Mo Junchen, who was an ace at the peak of the Golden Celestial Stage and the strongest person in the Earth Continent, couldn’t help but have a sudden twitch of his lips. He looked at Xu Que with an odd stare and felt that he had misjudged him.
Xu Que felt Mo Junchen’s gaze, and he immediately looked at b.u.t.tface and hollered, “All right, stop fooling around. Punish them with something else. We have other important matters to work on. Today is Tree Planting Day. I hope you all plant some sensibility in your hearts.” When Duan Jiude and b.u.t.tface heard what he had said, they were stunned and they looked at each other without a clue. Both of them felt that Xu Que was acting a little strange today, as if he had become a good man!
Xu Que didn’t pay any attention to them. He looked at Mo Junchen and said, “Elder Brother Mo, they like to joke around. Let’s leave them alone. The pressing issue at the moment is to go to the Equipment Refining Sect. After that, there’s something more important to resolve!” He reminded Mo Junchen that after dealing with the matter of the Equipment Refining Sect, he would need to rush to the Heaven Continent.
“Well, all right!” Mo Junchen nodded. For someone in his Cultivation Stage, it was uninteresting to stay in the Earth Continent. He wasn’t like those rulers in the Six Major Celestial Realms who liked to stay and dominate such a small place. He had a greater vision. He hoped to be in a bigger world where he could continue to advance and progress. Mo Junchen wanted to go to the Heaven Continent also. But Xu Que had reminded him that he had to deal with the matter of the Equipment Refining Sect first. It was not only because he was the 101st Sect Leader of the Equipment Refining Sect, but he eventually had to eradicate the hostility between the Equipment Refining Sect and the Exploding Heavens Faction.
“Oh yes, Elder Brother Mo, if the matter here is resolved, you can join our Exploding Heavens Faction. The Exploding Heavens Faction has a bit of influence in the Heaven Continent. If you become one of us, we can take care of each other when we get there!” Xu Que spoke with a faint smile, looking urbane and gentle.
When Duan Jiude and b.u.t.tface heard this invitation, they instantly realized what was going on. They almost slapped their foreheads and shouted awesome. They finally understood why Xu Que was acting strangely. After all, the dude was famous for his viciousness—his way in dealing with the enemy was malicious. But this time he didn’t pay any attention to the three King Refiners of the Inferior Artifact and he looked like he was too lazy to fuss over them. He was just pretending! The rationale for his pretense, obviously, was to misinform Mo Junchen, and then entice the strong ace at the peak of the Golden Celestial Stage to join the Exploding Heavens Faction so that when they were in the Heaven Continent, they would have a vigorous and powerful human s.h.i.+eld!
“Wait a minute, Faction Leader; we have very stringent conditions for recruiting members. First, he must be handsome; second, he must be upright; and third, he must be willing to help the weak. You can’t recruit people casually!” b.u.t.tface stood up immediately and spoke righteously. After following Xu Que for so many years, b.u.t.tface had learned some sanctimonious talk and was able to lie blatantly.
Duan Jiude was obviously more gifted in this respect. He immediately squinted at Mo Junchen to size him up. He spoke in an eccentric manner, “Faction Leader, the old man here is thinking the same way too. Anyway, the mission statement of the Exploding Heavens Faction can’t be changed. If he wants to join the Exploding Heavens Faction, he must meet the three requirements. Otherwise, even if he’s the strongest ace, we’ll never accept him!”
Xu Que saw the two were cooperating with him, and he was instantly amused. But he made a face and snorted, “What do you mean? Are you questioning my ability to judge?” He pointed to Mo Junchen and said to Duan Jiude and b.u.t.tface, “Look carefully, Younger Brother Mo…bah, no, Elder Brother Mo, isn’t he handsome? Although he’s a little older, he’s still pa.s.sable. Besides, I believe in Elder Brother Mo’s character. As for helping the weak…uh, Elder Brother Mo, back in the day, did you help the weak?”
“Uh…” Mo Junchen’s face was flushed, he touched his nose out of embarra.s.sment, and it was rather hard to answer. If Xu Que said that he was handsome, he felt it was nothing. If Xu Que said that he was upright, he agreed that he had a clear conscience. But now Xu Que had asked him if he had helped the weak and he was really ashamed. After all, this was a cruel world. How could he have so much time to help the weak? But when he saw Xu Que’s effort to protect him that he even quarreled with his two friends, he was still somewhat touched. Immediately, Mo Junchen said, “Rest a.s.sured, if I join the Exploding Heavens Faction, I’ll abide by its mission statement: have a strong sense of justice to help the weak!”
“Good, then you can make an oath, and after that you’ll be part of the Exploding Heavens Faction,” Xu Que said. Mo Junchen immediately put out three fingers and was ready to swear by his Inner Demons. But suddenly he stopped and realized something was amiss. He hadn’t even made a proper decision to join the Exploding Heavens Faction. Why was he making an oath?
“Don’t mind us, Elder Brother Mo. This is the ritual of whoever wants to join the Exploding Heavens Faction. Everyone has to do it. This oath exists in name only. After all, we’re all good people. We won’t break the oath. This ritual is only counted on as the guarantee and sincerity of those who join the Exploding Heavens Faction,” Xu Que explained. Mo Junchen opened his mouth and wanted to say something. But b.u.t.tface stared at him and said, “Look at him, this fellow is indecisive. He’s definitely not a man with a clear conscience.”
“Yes, the old man also feels that this decision is too hasty. Why don’t we wait until we get back to the Heaven Continent and have informed 3,000 deacons and millions of members to decide whether he could join the faction or not?” Duan Jiude nodded. Xu Que immediately pretended to be in a dilemma, and he looked at Mo Junchen.
Mo Junchen was startled by Duan Jiude’s words. There were so many people in the Exploding Heavens Faction—3,000 deacons and millions of members in the Heaven Continent—it must be a huge force. No wonder it could compete with the Equipment Refining Sect in the Earth Continent. Obviously, it had an eminent background. As for why their Cultivation Stage was so low, yet they addressed Xu Que as Faction Leader, Mo Junchen didn’t think much about it. After all, in his eyes, Xu Que was very strong and had amazing talent. If he could become a Faction Leader, perhaps he had inherited it. The former Faction Leader might be an ace at the Golden Celestial Stage who had just pa.s.sed the position on to Xu Que. And there was this dog that had such a frightening physical body, even the first-rate h.e.l.l King’s Prison Suppression Physique wasn’t comparable to it. It was hard for him to fathom its Cultivation Stage. There must have been reasons for him to be able to become the Vice Faction Leader. As for the sloppy old man, although he was only in the Human Celestial Sage, his fortune-telling with the turtle sh.e.l.l hadn’t been simple, it was an Ancient Inheritance. He did qualify to be an Elder.
Everything in Mo Junchen’s eyes was reasonable and natural. And Xu Que’s dilemma made him feel a little embarra.s.sed. Xu Que had gone against his subordinates to help him join the Exploding Heavens Faction. He felt that he would have gone too far if he continued to s.h.i.+lly-shally in this matter. And Xu Que was right. These vows were nothing to Mo Junchen. He had pursued a clear conscience all his life. The trivial matter of helping the weak was very simple for him so he had nothing to worry about.
“Good, since Younger Brother Xu…no, since Faction Leader Xu said so, I shouldn’t evade this any longer. Today, I, Mo Junchen, swear to heaven, swear by my Inner Demons, that I will join the Exploding Heavens Faction, abide by the mission of the Exploding Heavens Faction, and never violate it.” Mo Junchen raised three fingers and made an oath—his voice was powerful.
Many of the cultivators of the Equipment Refining Sect, including the three King Refiners of the Inferior Artifact, were dumbfounded. Mo Junchen had just gotten out of the G.o.d of h.e.l.l’s realm and had never heard of the Exploding Heavens Faction, but they all knew very well that the Exploding Heavens Faction wasn’t a faction that had a strong sense of justice! Previously, they realized that Mo Junchen had wanted to refuse the offer, so they thought it wasn’t good to expose the evil deeds of the Exploding Heavens Faction in front of Xu Que and the others. But they had never thought that Sect Leader Mo would have been fooled in a few words. He had even pledged. Now it was too late to stop him. At that moment, everyone was looking at Xu Que, b.u.t.tface, and Duan Jiude with odd expressions. They cried in their hearts, the three d*mn swindlers!
“Well, very well, Younger Brother Mo…uh no, Elder Brother Mo. From today on, you’re the Guardian of our Exploding Heavens Faction. The duty of the Guardian is very simple. If the opponent doesn’t offend us, we won’t attack them. But if they initiate the attack, we’ll annihilate them.” Xu Que said magnificently. He patted Mo Junchen’s shoulder again, as if to hand over a very important responsibility.
“Yes!” Mo Junchen immediately nodded, his face was extremely serious and stern. He felt that his life would be different from now on. What was the use of being the strongest ace in the Earth Continent? He had to explore a broader world. Moreover, he had such a powerful force like the Exploding Heavens Faction behind him, there was nothing he couldn’t do.
“Heh, heh, congratulations, Guardian Mo!”
“We believe in our Faction Leader’s judgment, Guardian Mo, we’re all people on the same side now.” b.u.t.tface and Duan Jiude said one after another. They were grinning from ear to ear. They had fooled a strong ace at the peak of the Golden Celestial Stage into joining them. They were very pleased with themselves!