Back in the Blacksmith Hall, Marcus had already received the news that Krune returned. So he was expecting him to drop by sooner or later. Soon, an attendant contacted him to tell that Krune had arrived. Marcus then dropped what he was doing and went out to receive him.

"So you finally came, you made me wait a lot, no?"

Krune just laughed and gave some excuse.

"It was a sudden mission of the guild, sorry for that.

Marcus just brushed this information aside, though.

"Alright, forget that. Come in and show me the Hexagonal Shields. I want you to tell me how they did during the gathering and if there was any problem."

Krune nodded and went inside with Marcus. He then took all the shields out and gave them for him to check.

"I see, it seems like they received a lot of attacks. There are even five of them with a few cracks inside. But it isn't anything serious, and I can fix them in no time. You also did an excellent maintenance job on them. Otherwise, some of them might even have broken by now. So tell me, how did you use them during your time there?"

Krune then explained the battles he had gone through and how he used the elements to fill the shields. He also told that he used them as conductors for Tribulation Lightning, which surprised Marcus very much.

"I see, no wonder you got one of the slots for the Divine Path Sect Entrance. Very well, I will do a full check on the shields, and you can come back later to take them."

Krune nodded.

"How much will it be to fix the Shields?"

Marcus refused any payment, though.

"There is no need for payment, just the fact that you are using the Flying Shields that I made on the Divine Path Sect Exam is already enough. You might not know this, but having a name is extremely important for us blacksmiths. It will help bring a lot of jobs for us."

Krune didn't refuse the offer since he knows that Marcus wouldn't lie about this.

"Alright, then. I will be back tomorrow."

Krune then returned to his room and spent his night reinforcing his foundation as always. He still planned to keep doing it until before his group goes to the Divine Path Sect Entrance.

The next day, Krune sent a message to Tasier and went to the training room. Tasier appeared there just a minute after. Krune was on the arena, waiting for him.

"Okay, show me what you've got during this month and a half."

Tasier eyes lit up and he flew above the arena as well. Tasier really wanted to see the difference between him and Krune during a battle.

The protection formation of the arena activated, and Tasier immediately took flight. He wanted first to try Krune out and see how he deals with long-range attacks. Too bad though, long-range is Krune's specialty. It only took Krune a few seconds to utterly suppress Tasier. Noticing that he made a mistake, Tasier immediately changed his tactic and dashed at Krune. He can now activate his lightning skills several times faster than before, so he doesn't need all that space anymore.

Krune saw that and smiled. He can see that Tasier put a lot of effort during the time they didn't meet. But that was all. He was still not Krune's match. He wasn't even able to get close to him to start with. Krune's forte is long-range combat, so his lightning movement skills are obviously top-notch. Krune doesn't even need to use Tribulation Lightning anymore. Of course, that is considering that his opponent isn't too strong.

Krune purposely delayed the battle so that Tasier could show his skills. After he saw everything he wanted, Krune defeated Tasier straight away.

"Very good, you didn't let my efforts in teaching you down. I reckon that if you did the Elemental Test again, you should get around six thousand points. That is an amazing progress considering the time that you had to practice."

Tasier was obviously very proud of himself too.

"I had some of the Core Formation Elders in the Thunder Hawk Territory to practice with me. Only they could fight against me, so it helped to sharpen my numb feelings for the external lightning element a lot."

Krune agreed that it was an excellent idea. The battle is still the best way to bring out one's potential. Krune then spent the rest of the day guiding Tasier as he had promised. Still, without Spiritual Energy Meridians, it was evident that Tasier already has some difficulty to improve any further. Fortunately for him, his race has an amazing lightning affinity. He should be able to increase his proficiency up to eight thousand points while still in the Foundation Establishment.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Tasier had paid enough spirit stones for ten sessions, and today was just the first one. He was planning to have Krune help him as much as possible. He even has a lot of spirit stones on him at the moment, just in the case that he needs more.

Krune then thought about another thing.

"Did your elders from the Thunder Hawk territory not bother you about your new lightning control?"

Tasier immediately nodded.

"They did, but then I said that I signed a blood contract not to spread this knowledge around. At first, they became worried. But I also explained that secrecy was the only rule, so they let me be after that. As demon beasts, we are very straight forward with our thoughts. So they asked me to thank you for the help you gave me so far. As for the supposed secret, they believe that once I become a Divine Soul Realm Thunder Hawk, I will be able to get rid of the blood contract and spread the teachings."

Krune nodded, and they finished Tasier's training for the day.

Krune then returned to his room that night and spent his time reinforcing his foundation again. The next morning, he walked around for a bit when he finally bumped into Arlan.

"Oh! It's good that you are here."

Before Krune could even say anything, Arlan had already stuffed a spatial ring on his hand.

"This is for all the help you gave me and also a payment for the Myriad Energies Technique."

Krune looked inside and could see another ten some thousand Rank FIve spirit stones, there was even a little amount of middle-quality ones. Krune was surprised when he saw that and asked.

"Could it be that you were successful in making your first Spiritual Energy Meridian?"

Arlan laughed and shook his head.

"Not yet, but I already completed the nine pseudo ones. I'm now trying to form the first. But it is exactly as you said, this thing is really difficult to create. But I'm very close now, I believe that in at most a week, I should be able to finish it."

Krune then asked the same thing to Arlan.

"And what about the Makiu Continent Mercenary Guild and Divine Swords Sect? Did they ask anything about the fact that you can control elements much better now?"

Arlan shook his head.

"Although they think that you gave me some help. The Sect and Guild Head believe that my achievements with fire elements are due to my Pure Yang Body and also my superior talent. I was already considered powerful for the Makui Planet standards to start with, so they took it as a matter of course."

Krune then asked.

"Didn't they say anything about the wind and lightning element?"

Arlan just laughed again.

"They didn't. That is because I haven't shown the higher-ups my improvement with any of the two. They think that I'm only good like that with fire."

Krune finally let out a sigh of relief. One of the things that he was afraid of is that the Makui Continent Mercenary Guild and Divine Swords Sect would come to find trouble with him. He will make sure to ask Lofa later as well.

"By the way, you took longer than I expected to come to the Yule Continent. Didn't you say it would take at most a month?"

Arlan seemed a little embarrassed after hearing that question.

"Well, you see-"

Just as Arlan was about to give an excuse, they heard a female shout coming from the other side of the corridor.

"Arlan Rosier, you better not let me catch you!"

Arlan's face immediately went pale.

"Sh*t!"

Before Krune could even ask what was happening, Arlan had already disappeared from his sight. Not long after, a Core Formation Realm female cultivator passed by him like a tornado. She only gave Krune a side glance and kept pursuing Arlan. Krune was as puzzled as he could be.

Not long after, Krune found Ao in the training room practicing his swordplay as always. He then used this chance to ask what was happening with Arlan.

Ao immediately burst in laugh.

"That is his fiancé, Mina Gleen. She is the daughter of the Divine Swords Sect Leader, Kaio Gleen. In the past, it seems like Arlan and Kaio struck a deal, and he got that engagement."

Krune was taken aback.

"Does it mean that he is being now forced to marry because of that?"

Ao laughed even harder after that.

"Believe it or not, the one who asked for that engagement was Arlan himself."

Krune was even more puzzled now.

"Then why is he even running? Doesn't that mean that he likes her?"

Ao nodded.

"He does like her, and she likes him back, but the thing is that he doesn't want to marry so soon. As a cultivator and a talented one on top of that, he has a long life ahead. So he thinks it is still too early to think about settling down and start a family or whatever. The girl, of course, thinks the opposite. She wants to marry as soon as possible, so people will know that Arlan already has an owner. She is afraid that after he goes to the Divine Path Sect, someone will try to steal him from her."

Krune finally got to understand the situation. Ao then continued to explain.

"She wasn't like that. Before, when the two of them came to love each other, they both felt that marriage was something for much later. But at that time, Arlan's talent wasn't very apparent, so she wasn't afraid of anyone trying to take him away from her. She is the daughter of the Divine Swords Sect Head, after all. Who would try to steal him from her? But the story is totally different now that he is going to the Divine Path Sect Entrance Exam. If he fails, then it's all good. But if he passes, then she doesn't know what will happen if girls from much more powerful powers from other planets try to catch his heart. "

Krune finally understood Arlan plight.

"Weird, Arlan doesn't strike me as someone who would betray his lover, though."

Ao nodded.

"I also think so, but can you really understand women's hearts?"

Krune immediately started to sweat.

"I... I guess I should stay out of this."

Ao laughed again after noticing Krune's face.

"In your case, that is indeed an excellent idea."

It was exactly at that moment that a hand appeared on Krune's shoulder. He turned around to see whose hand it was and almost started to cry. It was none other than Mina herself.

"You are Krune, right? The one who made a group with Arlan during the first phase of the Martial Gathering."

Krune then turned to Ao once more, trying to ask for help. Or at least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, Ao disappeared without a trace.

'Shouldn't friends help each other?'