"Master..." Leo couldn’t hold it in any longer. "Do you think she’s in trouble?"
Corvin shook his head.
"No. She’s with that man in white. I’d guess they’re both from the Assassin Temple."
"Assassin Temple?"
Leo’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
Corvin took Leo’s hand and studied the ring. He muttered under his breath.
"Isn’t this a Spatial Ring?"
The moment he said it, a soft light flickered from Leo’s finger. When Corvin’s fingertip touched the ring, a thin blue circle rose from its surface.
Corvin stared in shock.
"You’re a lucky kid. That little girl must have left this for you. Its value can’t even be measured. Never forget that. That girl is very interesting."
Leo scratched his head. His pretty face was full of confusion. He had no idea what his master meant.
"Master, do you know how the man in white made those scary men disappear?"
A small smile touched Corvin’s lips.
"They disappeared because he struck them with the Thousand Strikes Spiritual Stove. The people of the Assassin Temple use it to tear their enemies apart, then burn them to ash without leaving a trace."
He looked at Leo.
"Your Spiritual Energy grew because of a Spiritual Stove too. It burned away the dirt inside your twelve channels and helped you move forward. That’s why your body changed. That is no small favor. Remember it. And if you ever get the chance, repay it. You can’t owe them forever, unless..."
"Master!"
Leo cut in.
He never interrupted anyone. But he was so hooked on Corvin’s words that he didn’t even notice.
"What is a Thousand Strikes Spiritual Stove? Was that the white light I saw?"
Corvin nodded.
"You can think of it that way. Simply put, it’s like a smelting furnace powered by Spiritual Energy. It changes energy in many different ways. Every Spiritual Stove belongs to only one special person."
He went on.
"You don’t need to study Spiritual Stoves yet. Just know this: they are extremely rare. Having a stove like the Thousand Strikes doesn’t make someone a great power for sure. But without a stove, no one can ever reach the top." Enjoying the story? Read on at NovelPing.
"Oh..."
A wave of envy rushed through Leo’s heart. *What if I could get a Spiritual Stove too? What would that feel like?*
He looked at the ring on his finger. He thought of the little girl.
"I already told Garron to inform your family," Corvin said. "You’ll get one day off every week to go home. The rest of the time, you’ll train here with me."
Leo gasped. He asked nervously.
"Master, will you still give me the Elemental Training Liquid?"
Corvin nodded.
"Every time. Right before you go home. If you do well, I’ll give you something even better. A medicine that works wonders on anyone’s body."
His voice turned stern.
"But if you don’t meet my expectations, I’ll kick you off this mountain. You will no longer be a Knight Squire of the Knight Temple."
As he said this, Corvin’s eyes grew deep. A faint regret flickered in them. But he hid it well. Leo didn’t notice at all.
The moment he heard his master, Leo nodded hard. His eyes burned with stubborn courage.
For Mama’s health, he would follow every order with all his heart. And he knew his master was teaching him all this for his own good.
Corvin nodded, satisfied.
"From today, I’ll teach you all kinds of knowledge in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, you’ll practice. You must remember everything I teach. For everything you forget, I’ll take a piece of your Elemental Training Liquid."
He had clearly found Leo’s weak spot. With one small warning, he scared the boy so much that all Leo could do was nod, again and again.
"Now tell me," Corvin said. "What do you know about the Temple Alliance?"
Leo answered right away.
"Master Garron taught us that the Temple Alliance is a union. It has the Knight Temple, the Warrior Temple, the Assassin Temple, the Mage Temple, the Priest Temple, and the Spiritual Temple. These six temples work together to protect the last land of humanity."
Corvin nodded.
"Correct. But that’s only the basics."
He took a deep breath and began.
"Thirteen thousand years ago, in the ancient age, humans slowly took over the Holy Demon Continent. By then, dozens of human countries had risen on the main land. They ruled the whole continent and made humans its masters." Read the latest chapters at novelping . com.
"Each country grew its own knowledge, its own technology, and its own farming. That was when humans advanced the fastest. People lived in peace and comfort, and the whole continent flourished."
"Then those peaceful days ended, and war began. Those ten countries fought each other again and again. Slowly, they shrank, until only three big countries were left. None of the three dared to make a rash move. That balance lasted thousands of years. We call that era the Seven Glorious Thousand Years of Humanity."
"It lasted another six thousand years. Then the Demons came, and that glorious age ended in an instant."
For a moment, fear and hatred showed in Corvin’s eyes.
"People were living their normal lives when nine stars lined up in the sky. A giant crack tore open above the eastern part of the continent."
"Seventy-two Demon Gods poured out of it. And they brought plagues with them, spread through their evil breath."
"For one hundred days after they first appeared, every living thing, whether a wild animal, a Magical Beast, or a human, changed horribly the moment that gas touched them. They became Demons and obeyed every command of the Demon Gods."
"By the end of those hundred days, the seventy-two Demon Gods had an army of millions."
"Luckily, their evil breath didn’t last longer than a hundred days. If it had, I fear humanity would have ended right then."
Leo was only a little boy. He had no great duty on his shoulders, and he knew it. So he listened like he was hearing a story.
But he hadn’t forgotten Corvin’s threat. So he tried his best to remember every word.
"Seventy-two Demon Gods. And each one had an unbreakable defense. They are ranked by their power. They led the army of changed Demons and attacked, meaning to wipe out humanity. From the day those seventy-two Demon Gods came, humanity fell into a dark age. And it still hasn’t ended."
"After six thousand years of fighting each other, the human countries were already broken. We had saved a few key treasures and powers. Even so, we were weakening against the Demon armies. We were close to the end."
"That was when the greatest powers of humanity stepped forward. The six Temple Halls, which had risen three thousand years earlier. After a long, hard struggle, they stopped the Demons from spreading."
"But our Temple Alliance stands on only a small piece of land. Just one quarter of the whole continent."
Corvin’s voice rose. His eyes blazed.
"That is why today I’ll teach you your first lesson. Remember the pain and the shame the Demons gave us."
"As knights, we must protect our homeland. We must protect our loved ones. We must protect our entire people."
"You will say these words every single day. And you will gain enough power to protect the people we are sworn to protect."
Leo’s heart pounded.
He didn’t understand everything. But those words burned into him.
Then Corvin leaned in, and his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Now, Leo. There is one more thing no one has told you. It’s about your mother.