Chapter 305: Smug Senior Brother Wen Ang

A twelve-year-old boy, six feet tall, drew countless stares as he sprinted around Shuoyue City, shouldering an eight-foot-long Long Spear that weighed more than ten thousand catties.

“Wen Ang, you’re already out of breath just from running with a Long Spear? You’re pretty pathetic!”

As he passed the Celestial Heart Hall’s Martial Arts Arena, many disciples teased Wen Ang.

The words held no real malice and were said entirely in jest. Of course, that was on the condition that they had no idea how heavy the spear truly was.

If they had known the spear’s weight, they probably wouldn’t have been able to joke about it at all.

And when he was outside the city, the merchant caravans and common folk heading to the morning market in Shuoyue City who saw Wen Ang were laughing at him for real.

A boy not even as tall as the spear he was carrying, running with it and looking a complete mess—what a sight!

For a hundred li, Wen Ang gritted his teeth and persevered.

His Cultivation was at the Golden Core Realm, so he heard every last word, whether it was a joke or a taunt. It was a good thing Wen Ang had such a steady personality; if it had been Cailing, a fight likely would have broken out.

When Wen Ang passed by the Martial Arts Arena an hour and a half later, the disciples who had been teasing him earlier grew even more curious as they saw him. He looked as if he’d been drenched, soaked through with sweat and utterly exhausted.

“Wen Ang, come take a break! You didn’t stay up all night, did you? As senior brothers with more experience, we have to warn you: you’re still young. Getting into *that kind of stuff* so early isn’t good for your growth.”

Hearing this, Wen Ang couldn’t take it any longer. He stopped and planted the butt of his Dragon’s Roar Demon-Slaying Spear on the ground.

BOOM!

With that one sound, the entire Martial Arts Arena trembled. The impact not only shattered more than a dozen bluestone tiles but also created dozens of cracks, each several zhang long.

“Anyone who can lift this spear, I’ll wash their clothes for a month!” Wen Ang declared, panting heavily.

“Wen Ang, who are you looking down on? If someone at the Golden Core Realm Early Stage like you can lift it, there’s no reason we can’t. We’ll just assume you were talking nonsense just now; that bet doesn’t count.”

But Wen Ang held his head high and declared, “I, Wen Ang, am a man of my word. This goes for every single disciple in Celestial Heart Hall: anyone who can lift this spear, I’ll wash their clothes for a month.”

“Damn, you’re actually serious,” a disciple said. “In that case, don’t blame your senior brothers for taking you up on it. Can you even handle washing all those clothes?”

“And if none of you can lift it,” Wen Ang said, “then starting today, you all have to call me Eldest Senior Brother.”

“Hah! You’re a crafty one for your age, with ambitions to match. You want to be our Eldest Senior Brother? Fine, I’ll be the one to see just how heavy this spear of yours is.”

The first disciple to step up was amused by Wen Ang’s words. He walked over and grabbed the Dragon’s Roar Demon-Slaying Spear. His Cultivation was at the Golden Core Realm Late Stage, so he figured, ‘It’s just a spear, how heavy can it be?’

But when he tried to lift it, he found the Long Spear didn’t budge an inch.

Curious, he put more force into it, but the Long Spear still refused to move.

The disciple laughed awkwardly, then gripped the shaft with both hands and heaved with all his might.

But, to everyone’s surprise, the Long Spear remained rooted to the spot, completely immobile.

The disciple gave up. He couldn’t help but give Wen Ang a thumbs-up.

“Damn, it can’t be that ridiculous, can it? Is the spear really that heavy?”

The crowd broke into discussion.

A moment later, a disciple who refused to believe what he was seeing shouted, “Let me try!”

“It’s Senior Brother Lin!”

“Senior Brother Lin is naturally gifted with Divine Power. Isn’t this overkill?”

“…”

Senior Brother Lin strode forward. He didn’t underestimate this spear. He held out his hands, spit into his palms, rubbed them together, and then gripped the shaft.

“HYA!”

With a roar, he leaned in and pulled up, his face flushing beet red as he used every last ounce of his strength.

But the Long Spear only wobbled slightly; lifting it was completely out of the question.

Many of the disciples couldn’t help but gasp. ‘Even Senior Brother Lin can’t lift it? Just how heavy is that spear?’

Several more disciples who refused to believe it stepped up to try one after another.

As expected, not a single one could lift it.

A Mentor at the Soul Emergence Realm who was nearby saw the commotion. His curiosity piqued by the spear, he also walked over to try.

“Your bet is your own affair. I’m just curious to test this spear—it has nothing to do with any of you,” the Mentor said, turning to Wen Ang. “May I try?”

Wen Ang, who had mostly recovered his breath by now, nodded and said, “Please, feel free.”

The Mentor reached out with his right hand and gripped the spear. First, he used a bit of force to get a feel for it, then discreetly channeled his power and lifted the Long Spear. He gave it a few twirls in his hand.

Though he moved it slowly, the sheer weight of the spear’s body still caused the air to whistle.

The disciples standing nearby quickly backed away, afraid of getting even slightly grazed by the Long Spear.

The Mentor set the spear down, his gaze toward Wen Ang filled with a complex, unreadable expression.

“Wen Ang, this spear of yours must weigh more than a hundred thousand catties, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. One hundred and eight thousand catties.”

“A fine spear!” the Mentor exclaimed in admiration, then left with his hands clasped behind his back.

When the disciples heard the spear weighed one hundred and eight thousand catties, every single one of their jaws dropped to the floor.

At that moment, Wen Ang stood up, a hint of smug pride on his face.

He lifted the Long Spear with one hand, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and swept his gaze over the crowd. “Remember the bet,” he said. “Starting today, you all have to call me Eldest Senior Brother. Don’t you dare go back on your word!”

He finished with a laugh and strode away.

Only after Wen Ang was a good distance away did the other disciples finally snap out of their stupor.

“Holy shit, one hundred and eight thousand catties… and that kid lifted it so easily! Where the hell does he get that kind of strength?”

“That’s not what we should be focusing on! Shouldn’t you be thinking about how we actually have to call that little runt Senior Brother now?”

“No, no, worse! If we call him Eldest Senior Brother, doesn’t that mean we also have to call that little troublemaker Cailing ‘Eldest Senior Sister’? Oh, my god… my world is collapsing!”

Regardless of what those disciples were thinking, Wen Ang felt like a victorious rooster, puffed up with pride. It was impossible to describe how satisfied he felt.

But as the saying goes, extreme joy begets sorrow.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he saw his master staring at him with a stern face. Wen Ang’s heart immediately clenched with nervousness.

“Master, I have returned.”

“You’re half an hour later than I expected.”

“It’s not like that, Master. I was held up at the Martial Arts Arena by the senior brothers. They insisted on testing the weight of my spear.”

“If that’s the case, then you deserve to be punished even more,” Chu Fan said, his face stern. Even Cailing, standing nearby, didn’t dare to utter a word. “Do you know where you went wrong?”

“I know. I shouldn’t have wasted my morning. I should have returned immediately after completing my task.”

“That is only one part of it, and a minor transgression at that. But you have also committed a major one. Think again.”

Wen Ang thought about it, racking his brain, but he couldn’t come up with anything.

“I am too foolish. Please enlighten me, Master.”

“The greatest taboo for a Cultivator is to show off. When you walk the Jianghu, you should always keep as many trump cards hidden as possible, not reveal every skill and treasure you possess for all to see. Today, this happened within your own Sect, where you are among kin, so it’s not a major issue. But what if you were outside? If someone with malicious intent learned of your Long Spear and took an interest in it, do you think you’d be able to keep it?”

Upon hearing this, Wen Ang was struck with a sudden realization and immediately fell to his knees.

“Enough. Seeing as this is your first offense, I will not pursue the matter. If it happens again, the punishment will be doubled. Cailing, you remember my words as well. In the future, when you walk the Jianghu, you must have your own secrets. Don’t let everyone know everything about you. Do you understand?”

“We will take it to heart, Master!”