For the next six hours, Krune struggled like crazy as his hands began to shiver. Not only did he have to refine the spherical clay in the mysterious fire, but he also had to extract the excess essence generated from the village head, ensuring to not take any of his bloodline.
In other words, Krune required a lot of precise control, having no room for mistakes. Had Krune been younger, around 20-30 years old, this would have been a lot easier on him. Then again, it wasn't like he had such an option.
Thus, he persisted stubbornly, finally beaming with a smile when the color of the flame changed once again. Throwing aside the tools, he used his hands, beginning to mold the clay-like substance.
As the fire raged forth, the clay began to be compressed once again, gradually getting smaller and smaller. However, it still retained its original weight. So, Krune's hands were hurting a lot.
For the next three hours, he was constantly working on the clay, slowly shaping it into a tiny pair of wings. As time passed, the pair of wings turned crystalline as Krune's forehead was soon covered in sweat.
His skin was slightly charred, looking like he would drop dead any moment. However, at the very last moment, his expression morphed into maniacal glee, turning around as he shouted, "Chen'er! Come here! Quick!"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtUpon his shout, Chen Xue climbed over the glass wall and arrived before him.
"Turn around and show me your back," Krune said as Chen Xue did as told, revealing her bare back to him.
"From today onwards, your destiny has changed, into one that would change the world…" Krune said solemnly, gently placing the pair of crystalline wings on her back, watching her flinch in pain as her skin was singed before the pair of wings melted into her body, soon vanishing. "As an Imperial Warlock."
"Moon Wasp, that's the name of your Imperial Arms, one that has become part of you and would be inherited by your successor through your blood," he said, pointing at a box in the corner of the cave. "Everything that I can think of, I've placed them there for you."
Without saying another word, Krune began to work on the flames, creating some preparations as he condensed a similar cup as before and dropped the Nightmare Core prepared for Wang Hao into it.
However, this time, the process was slightly different as he wished to proceed in the same route as the village head. After all, the end product turned out to be superior compared to his expectations, so he didn't wish to pull punches this time around.
He kneaded and already created a mold, one in which the process would be automatically carried out by the fire. He used the properties of the fire and how the clay reacted to it before to make a design in which the end result would finish forming.
Eventually, once the Nightmare Core finished dissolving into the clay, Krune finally turned around, facing Wang Hao as he told him, "Your Imperial Arms is called the Sun Wasp. And…"
"You will always be my pride and joy."
At this moment, he was neither Su Zixin nor Krune, but a simple grandpa that loved his grandson, Wang Hu.
Facing Chen Xue, he told him, "Once it finishes forming, place it on the back of Hao'er just like what I did for you. All the materials I prepared for him are within the box next to yours."
Saying so, he took a final glance at the two children that he had wholeheartedly taught everything in his power. "I guess this is what it feels like to have disciples."
Smiling, Krune climbed into the tub, watching his figure melt quickly. A minute later, there was a squirming clay in the tub that was constantly reducing in size, beginning to take shape.
Despite tears streaming down their face, Wang Hao and Chen Xue didn't speak a word, staring at the scene without even blinking, watching the process take even longer than Chen Xue's since it was being done automatically thanks to Krune's arrangements.
A day later, a pair of crystalline wings formed in the tub as the fire within it had vanished. Chen Xue gently picked it up and placed it on Wang Hao's back, watching the other party wince in pain for a moment as it melted into his body, only leaving behind a small scar behind.
Feeling the power brimming forth from within his body, Wang Hao kneeled on the floor, sobbing, "Grandpa!"
While that was happening, Chen Xue stood beside him, gently patting his shoulder as she was silently shedding tears. Upon her pat, he turned his head, looking at her to see her shake her head.
Sniffing once, he wiped his tears, controlling himself from crying as the two of them approached the two boxes placed in the corner of the cave.
Picking it up, they noticed that it contained things in relation to their Imperial Arms, the methods of use, the various ways in which they would affect the Nightmares, and so on.
There was also a detailed instruction as to what they had to do upon heading to the County Academy, their admission tokens, and much more. There was also a bag of money placed in each, along with clothes and other accessories that Krune had bought for them, necessary to mingle in the County Academy and socialize there.
There was a small slip attached to it that read, "For the next five years, prove your excellence in the County Academy without revealing your true identities. Gain the qualifications to attend the Imperial Academy. Once you reach there, work in investigating the cause of suffering in the world. This, I leave in your hands."
"Wait, there's something else," Chen Xue said, looking at the bottom of the box to see two items placed there, a pen and a sword. And on both of them was an engraved sentence. Both Chen Xue and Wang Hao received a set of pens and swords.
On the sword, it read, "In battle, I am mighty!"
On the pen, it read, "In conflict, I am mighty!"