I'm extremely interested in Nen abilities.

On the raft, Jingyang suddenly turned around and looked at the central lake that he had originally regarded as "Runway Island".

Across the misty "Central Lake," Little Drop sat down and looked back at the coastline she had come from, sending a telepathic message: "I've walked all this way, and I've realized I didn't go left, but right."

Jingyang reached into his robes and grasped the jade pendant hanging around his neck.

Many whispers lurked in the mist, sometimes loud, sometimes soft, sometimes near, sometimes far, like a ghost bewitching him and urging him on.

[Just like Jingyang's, the coastline here also veers to the right.]

Two arcs that should have connected at the vertices suddenly break apart, with one arc being mirrored and flipped to become completely parallel to the other arc, never to intersect.

Jingyang activated the divine character on the jade pendant, his eyes focusing their energy.

The mist over the "Central Lake" seemed to be dissipating, revealing the land beneath. Similar circular coastlines were also shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

The little droplet's star icon isn't located on the island in front of it at all, but much further behind.

Jingyang turned back and looked in the direction he had come from. The fog dissipated in his cone-shaped vision, and the false image of a calm sea disappeared. The land that had been there before reappeared, and Kate was still standing on the shore watching him, without moving.

“I want to leave these completely hidden islands…” Kate said, then suddenly realized something was wrong. She met Jing Yang’s gaze on the raft near the shore and asked in surprise, “You’ve already made a vow?”

"Huh? Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

On the raft, Jingyang waved his hand and threw a psychic bullet backward, which exploded on the sea surface, creating waves that pushed the raft back.

He quickly returned to shore. With the blessing of the divine word, his eyesight improved greatly. Looking into the distance, he saw another almost identical ring-shaped island further away from the ring-shaped landmass revealed after the fog dissipated on the "Central Lake"... and Xiao Di should be on one of those ring-shaped islands.

So, this godforsaken place isn't Runway Island, but Mosquito Coil Island?

Jing Yang imagined it for a moment and was speechless. He thought the shape of Whale Island, Xiao Jie's hometown, was bizarre enough, but he didn't expect there to be something even more bizarre. This was probably an archipelago, but it just so happened that the archipelago was arranged in a structure resembling a mosquito coil...

Jingyang looked out over the sea behind him, but beyond the thin mist, there were no other ring-shaped landmasses.

It seems that we are on the outermost edge of "Mosquito Coil Island".

"If it really is shaped like a mosquito coil, that would be fine, the vortex lines are drawn in one stroke, and the ring-shaped island under our feet is a single piece. But if it's not a mosquito coil, but concentric circles, then we'll have to cross the sea directly..." Jingyang said, sensing the doubt in Xiaodi's voice, and then remembered that he hadn't reminded Xiaodi to use the 'cone' to break the illusion.

He decided to use the Moon Mark to contact Kurapika as well.

Kurapika seemed to still be hiking in the fog. Like Shizuku, after being reminded by Jingyang, he immediately activated the Divine Character and condensed the Cone to see through the truth hidden in the fog, seeing circles of land and the sea between them.

Xiao Di said, "[Since these illusions can be seen through by the character 'God,' they are probably the work of the True Martial King. There might really be the character 'God' scattered across the island.]"

[He's scribbling everywhere; he should be fined.] Jingyang muttered.

After a brief silence, Kurapika asked with a puzzled look, "We should have thought of using the 'Cone' much earlier, but it seems we inadvertently overlooked it..."

Kurapika has the ability to enhance visual reconnaissance capabilities, and in such a foggy environment, he should have thought of using it immediately. However, he only remembered it now after Jingyang reminded him. Kurapika didn't know that Jingyang only realized this after discovering the huge anomaly of the island disappearing because of Kite.

"It's noise coming from the fog. There's something dirty in this fog!" Jing Yang asserted. "It's more than just dirty fog; it's practically black fog. This black fog probably wants to trap us, to trap everyone to death..."

He was using the Moon Mark when he noticed Kate observing him, so he asked, "By the way, what were you saying to me on the shore just now? What oath or something?"

Kate glanced at him a couple more times. Anyone who notices their intended conversation partner suddenly becoming distracted would also give him a second look.

“There’s a certain thought hidden in this fog that can cloud the judgment of those within it,” Kate said with certainty. “The only way to escape the fog is to swear an oath.”

"What's going on here?" Jing Yang was completely confused. "Is there any connection between these two things? Why can you get rid of it by making an oath, and what kind of oath is it?"

“The oath of a vow.” Kate looked at him calmly. “With your strength, you should be able to understand what I’m saying.”

It's not that being strong automatically leads to the acquisition of certain knowledge, but rather that since Jing Yang possesses such strength, he has most likely already mastered a great deal of experience related to Nian.

"It's still the same question, what kind of oath should we take?" Jingyang asked him earnestly.

At the same time, Jingyang focused his mental energy on his ears, triggering the divine jade pendant around his neck.

Just then, Kurapika's voice came through the Moon Mark: [Using the divine word to enhance hearing, I can hear even more sounds from within the black mist...]

Xiao Di focused her breath in both ears and listened carefully to the thin mist around her.

[I should have thought of that sooner. Since it can enhance eyesight, it can certainly enhance hearing as well.] Jingyang's thoughts echoed. [Since focusing on the eyes and enhancing them is called 'Cone,' then focusing on the ears and enhancing them is... let's call it 'Listening'! I wonder how the auditory acuity of 'Listening' compares to melody?]

The effect was immediate. After Jingyang's ears were enhanced with the "Listen" function, the three heartbeats became clearer and clearer in his ears.

Kate looked at him, and even the slightest rustling sound of his clothes as he moved was crystal clear.

The woman behind them was already showing signs of waking up.

Jingyang listened intently to the black mist. The indistinct murmurs gradually coalesced into a sob, as if someone were lamenting in grief, heartbroken and devastated. "This vow of my life, what can I do?" There were no clear words, but a complex mix of emotions related to the vow surged into Jingyang's heart, causing him to feel a profound sorrow and wavering.

Can vows truly be kept?

How can one determine if their vow is truly firm?

Breaking the oath...

“It seems you heard it too.” Katie stared intently at Jing Yang, whose expression had become complicated. “What exactly is the voice in the mist trying to say?”

Jingyang sighed repeatedly, then waved his hand wearily, "It hurts, it hurts so much! I can't really say anything about it."

"Huh?" Jing Yang suddenly realized something was wrong and looked at Kate suspiciously. "You're asking me? Didn't you seem to know the situation very well? Didn't you hear the voice in the black fog?"

Kate said, "I heard it, but I couldn't make it out."

He didn't explain, only saying, "In short, now that you've heard it, you should understand the key to leaving here."

"Yes," Jingyang sighed, "That's right, swear an oath!"

In fact, Jingyang had doubts about this. With the blessing of the word "divine," he was already able to see through the concealment of the black mist, and even without doing anything else, he could theoretically leave this place on a raft.

“By making a vow, you can leave,” Jing Yang said slowly. “This is an island of vows, an island of trials. Make a vow, keep the vow, and prove yourself. I think if you break the vow, the result will be…” He recalled the unfortunate guy who jumped off the Sky Arena, “like Alpha Edward, driven insane by the delirious voices, and finally taking his own life.”

Kate remained expressionless, indicating that he also knew that Alpha = Edward, so he most likely knew that this place was related to the True Martial King.

Money!

Jingyang became increasingly certain that the person Kate hadn't mentioned who had also clearly heard the voice in the black fog was none other than Kate's teacher—King Freecss.

Chapter 195 Oath

Could it be that Comrade Xiao Jin is also in these archipelago?

Jing Yang was both eager and hesitant. Jin Freecss was truly enigmatic—mysterious, powerful, and incredibly intelligent, yet his thought process was completely different from normal people… There's a reason Hunter x Hunter is jokingly called "Where's Dad?"—this guy is just too unreliable!

Kate, unaware of his hidden grievances against his master, nodded and said, "That's right, the Island of Oaths. According to current research, for some reason, only Nen users can enter this island, and once inside, they must swear an oath and accept certain restrictions..."

"Although, it's a bit of nonsense," Jing Yang complained. "Oaths and constraints are either subconscious inclinations that naturally form a habit, or they require profound awareness and unwavering belief to be valid. How effective can an oath made casually be? Incomplete belief is no belief at all!"

Kate said, "You're right. But it's different here."

He pointed to the floating mist around him, "The environment here ensures that any oath will be successful; once it is made, it will be effective."

"Any?" Jing Yang asked suspiciously.

“Any,” Kate said. “Of course, oaths and constraints are a double-edged sword. A strong oath inevitably requires great constraints. You have to give as much as you want to gain. This is the most basic rule of nature, and it is no exception here.”

Jing Yang pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This is clearly a trap."

“A powerful Nen ability requires significant limitations, or constraints, to be bound by it. That’s the premise.” He held up a finger. “So, suppose I want a powerful Nen ability that requires a vow to take shape, even if it means bearing heavy constraints—if my desire for this ability is that strong, I would have already achieved this vow ability before coming to this island, right? It’s not like you can only make vows and impose constraints in this godforsaken place.”

Kate looked at him quietly.

Not long ago, his master, King, walked through the mist on this island of mist, and said with a smile: "If I wanted a powerful Nen ability that could only be formed by making a vow, but had to bear the heavy shackles of constraints that I was unwilling to pay before, and did not think it was worth it—then my belief in this vow ability is not firm in essence. Once I leave this so-called ghostly place shrouded in black mist, this island of vows, I'm afraid I will soon break the vow by violating the constraints."

"Why is that?" Kate asked at the time.

Jin understood what he was asking. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I guess that King Vihugo of the True Martial Kingdom once wavered because of a vow. Perhaps his queen disappeared because of it, which is why there are so few records about her now. Maybe she was destroyed by the heartbroken Vihugo, or maybe it was directly caused by the loss of control of his Nen ability..."

"We do not know how much Hugo regretted it or how much inner torment he suffered, but he left this place in order to relieve his inner pain. Regarding vows and constraints, a single thought can lead to utter ruin."

……

A murmur came from the black mist, as if someone was raving madly, full of mournful cries.

Jingyang couldn't help but sigh. The late Zhenwu King, whose later years were fraught with misfortune, what on earth was he doing? What was wrong with him? Why did he leave behind such a place and set up such a trap?

No wonder that Edward jumped off the Sky Arena; he was probably driven insane by the black mist long ago…

A faint rustling sound of clothes came from behind him, but Jingyang's hearing was extremely sharp thanks to the "Listening" enhancement on his ears.

He looked back and saw that the woman bound by ropes had clearly woken up, but her eyes were still closed.

"Now that you're awake, stop pretending. Look, I haven't killed you, so let's chat, shall we?" Jing Yang said. If it weren't for his heightened hearing, he really wouldn't have been able to tell through her disguise.

Kate looked at it for a moment, then suddenly said, "I'm afraid she heard our conversation. She..."

"Is she swearing?" Jing Yang thought to himself, when the clear heartbeat coming from the woman's chest stopped abruptly, like a broken string.

A deathly aura, both cold and hot, assaulted Jing Yang at close range, drilling into his heart.

With a thud, Jing Yang staggered back two steps, his heart pounding rapidly twice, a phantom pain shooting through him. He took a deep breath.

“Dead?” Kate leaned down, lifted the woman’s eyelids, and confirmed that she was indeed a corpse.

He looked at Jingyang and said, "You don't look too good."

"It's nothing." Jing Yang slowly exhaled. "I'm a soft-hearted person, I just can't stand seeing people die."

As he spoke, he raised his foot, and bang!

He kicked the woman's body away, and it fell into the sea with a "plop".

Kate: "..." Is this a soft heart?

Looking back, Jingyang saw a vast sea beyond the black fog, and further in, a series of islands, also shrouded in black fog.

"You're not thinking of paddling out on your little raft, are you?" Jingyang said. "The vast ocean is not an easy place to go."

Kate said, "Of course not, I just came to check out the outermost area."

"What about the innermost part? Have you already seen it?"

Kate said directly, "There are six levels in total, inside and out, and this is the outermost roundabout. I think you might have already made a connection."

"six!"

Jing Yang read the number aloud, and as a Nen user, he instinctively thought of the six major systems of Nen abilities.

He looked at Kate. "When you came here, which level of the island were you on? Never mind, never mind."

He waved his hand again before he could finish speaking.

Kate said, "From the inside out, the second floor. I already know you're a pilot because you're here. There's no harm in telling you."