ERA OF DESTINY-Chapter 152: THE BIRTH OF BONES AGAINST THE WEEDS– III

Kiaria looked at their faces.

Excitement flickered in their eyes – but beneath it, tension lingered. The transformation had strengthened them, yet the weight of expectation had settled just as quickly.

"Cheer up," Kiaria said.

The words were simple.

But to them, it sounded less like comfort and more like a reminder.

Kiaria himself had not fully understood why the pavilion chambers were empty, nor the exact structure of responsibility that awaited them. Yet when the Golden Willow embraced him earlier, fragments of understanding had flowed quietly into his consciousness.

He watched their eagerness carefully before speaking again.

"Geng," he began, "you must learn alchemy well."

Geng straightened instinctively.

"Alchemy exists in three forms – pill, concoction, and essence. The books I gave you contain knowledge of medicinal plants and their properties. Study them thoroughly."

He paused briefly.

"Your cauldron will greatly increase the success rate of pill formation. It will ensure stability. But stability alone does not define mastery."

Kiaria’s gaze sharpened slightly.

"I have a question for you."

Geng’s eyes brightened.

"What is it, Master?"

"Suppose you encounter an old man on the verge of death. You have thirty minutes to save him."

Kiaria’s tone remained calm.

"A pill’s grade is determined by the number of refining cycles. Each cycle requires ten minutes. The more cycles, the purer the pill, and the faster its medicinal effect manifests."

He did not blink.

"With your cauldron, failure is nearly impossible."

A brief silence settled.

"What will you do?"

Geng fell silent.

His excitement shifted into contemplation.

"Mimi," Kiaria said evenly, "you consider it as well."

Silence deepened between them.

Kiaria did not rush them.

He stood calmly and allowed silence to press against their thoughts.

Time passed.

Nearly ten minutes later, Geng finally lifted his head.

"Master," he said carefully, "I would refine one cycle first. Stabilize his condition. After he recovers slightly, I would prepare a higher-grade pill."

Mimi stepped forward.

"Master... does the thirty minutes include preparation and processing of raw materials?"

Kiaria looked at them for a brief moment.

Then he spoke.

"A dead person does not need a pill."

The words landed heavily.

Both of them stiffened.

They did not understand.

Kiaria saw the confusion in their eyes and continued.

"You were given thirty minutes."

His voice was even.

"You used ten minutes to think."

Silence thickened.

"Your answers were not wrong. Mimi identified the hidden condition. Geng proposed a practical solution."

He paused.

"But what is the value of a perfect answer delivered too late?"

Their expressions dimmed.

"An alchemist does not refine pills alone," Kiaria continued. "He refines time."

"Every moment costs a life."

"If you hesitate, you lose a cycle. If you delay, you lose a patient."

His gaze sharpened.

"You must be prepared before the crisis. Knowledge cannot be gathered when death is already knocking."

He stepped closer.

"If you do not understand diseases and bodily structures, you will not know when to intervene."

"If you do not understand your environment, even the purest pill may become poison."

Silence followed.

Geng lowered his head.

Mimi’s confidence faded slightly.

"Do not be discouraged," Kiaria said calmly. "It is better to fail here than to bury someone because you hesitated."

Geng clenched his fist.

"I was wrong."

"Then correct it," Kiaria replied, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "With everything you have."

He turned to Mimi.

"In addition to Earth-elemental control and spatial mastery, you will master weapon refining."

Mimi straightened immediately.

Kiaria raised both hands.

His forefingers touched their foreheads.

White light condensed at the tips – two luminous orbs formed.

The inheritance flowed into their sea of consciousness like sealed volumes opening within their minds.

Alchemy for Geng.

Weapon refining for Mimi.

Both inhaled sharply as knowledge settled.

"Now," Kiaria said, lowering his hands, "we address the true matter."

He descended toward the lower floors.

They followed closely.

Halfway down, he spoke again.

"Do you remember my words?"

They hesitated.

"Master," Geng said cautiously, "you have spoken many things. Which do you refer to?"

Kiaria smiled faintly.

Seeing him relaxed, they exhaled slightly as well.

"Nothing comes without a price."

Their expressions grew serious again.

"Mimi," Kiaria continued, "every weapon you forge must be submitted beneath the Golden Willow on the top floor. The Willow will assess its grade and relocate it to the appropriate chamber."

"It will decide."

Mimi nodded solemnly.

"And you, Geng," Kiaria said, "your responsibility is heavier."

"You will refine pills every day."

"Three pills must be offered to the Willow daily."

"According to their grade, the Willow will grow. When it breaks through, chambers will open."

"That is the cost."

They understood.

Growth was not inheritance.

It was contribution.

Kiaria continued.

"Grade is not determined by refinement cycles alone. Materials have limits. Exceed them, and the pill collapses."

"The same applies to weapons."

"If weak material carries strong cores, it shatters. If strong weapons bear weak additions, depletion accelerates."

He stopped at the lowest floor.

They reached the central alchemy platform.

Kiaria turned.

"Step back."

They obeyed immediately.

Kiaria raised two fingers and touched the birthmarked scar upon his forehead.

From the mark, a black orb emerged.

With a subtle motion of his hand, he sent it downward.

The orb struck the center of the platform.

It expanded.

The Black Sea Cauldron manifested in its complete form.

No longer cracked.

Its surface was carved with endless patterns resembling maps of forgotten lands.

It radiated authority.

Geng stared in awe at the massive structure.

The air itself seemed heavier around it.

Kiaria stood before it without expression.

Kiaria turned toward Mimi.

"Don’t you want to see what is yours?"

For a brief moment, she forgot she stood before a God. She nodded with unconcealed excitement, a girlish gesture slipping past her composure.

Kiaria chuckled softly and patted her head.

The touch caused her concealed rabbit ears to spring out instinctively.

Geng burst into laughter.

Mimi glared at him, embarrassed.

Kiaria touched the birthmarked scar on his forehead once more and drew out a dark green orb. Without warning, he flicked it away from them.

The orb shot forward and struck the pavilion floor.

The impact shook the entire structure. Stone cracked and the platform shattered.

Before the debris could fall further, golden vines surged outward from the Willow Tree. They spread across the fractured surface, glowing intensely. Within moments, the shattered floor was restored as if it had never broken.

Geng finally understood why the Willow must never be neglected.

The orb expanded.

It transformed.

Wanxiang Zhenchui.

The hammer’s handle and outer body were pitch black. The head was hollow within, and through intricate carvings, a deep blue beam could be seen pulsing inside. Ruyi-green orbs were embedded along both sides of the hammerhead and at the tip of the handle, radiating restrained power.

"Mimi," Kiaria said, "this is your weapon."

"Wanxiang Zhenchui."

"It can transform into ten thousand forms according to your will once you wield it. But it will not recognize you easily."

His gaze shifted briefly to Geng.

"You must earn its approval. Just as you must endure the pressure of the Black Sea Cauldron to claim it as yours."

"Rest assured, Master," Geng said firmly. "We will earn their recognition."

Kiaria laughed lightly.

"Do not rush."

He gestured toward the cauldron.

"The carvings on its surface are not decoration. They are a spatial land. Touch it, and you will be drawn inside. The pressure there increases on its own. Even gods endure hardship within it."

He looked at them steadily.

"I have placed seals upon both artifacts. With the protection of your robes and the presence of the Willow, you will not die."

"But survival does not mean comfort."

They nodded solemnly.

"Strengthen your physiques. Raise your cultivation. Study the books. Only then attempt to wield them."

Kiaria then walked toward the cauldron.

"Geng. Mimi."

"I will demonstrate refining once."

"This will be my final teaching for you."

He sat before the platform and closed his eyes.

From the scar upon his forehead, Roga Rong’s blood emerged from his Sea of Consciousness. It hovered in the air – enough to fill two bowls – dense and powerful.

Kiaria extended his hand.

The Coiled Twin Dragon Cauldron appeared in miniature form within his palm.

He opened his eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, it flew eight feet away and expanded into its full size.

Roga Rong’s blood flowed into the cauldron.

Kiaria turned his head slightly toward them.

"I will refine beast flame from this blood."

"For your sake, I will render the cauldron translucent."

"Observe carefully."

"Especially timing... and fire control."

Then he faced forward.

Kiaria raised his hand.

The cauldron lifted into the air and hovered steadily above his palm.

He opened his hand.

Earth Core Green Fire emerged.

Mimi’s eyes widened. "This– isn’t this the flame that killed the Slave Master?"

"Silence. Observe."

Kiaria’s tone was calm, but absolute.

"If you miss even a single step in this process, refinement will fail. And sometimes, failure does not leave a body behind. Flames explode. Refiners die."

Geng and Mimi swallowed.

Kiaria turned his palm toward the cauldron. The green fire detached from his hand and flowed inside. Yet the blood hovering within did not react.

"Although I am speaking to you," Kiaria said evenly, "the flame is already working."

"The heat you see is not touching the blood."

He glanced at them briefly.

"It is heating the cauldron first."

The translucent surface revealed the truth. The fire circled the inner walls, raising temperature gradually while leaving the blood untouched.

"My flame burns according to will. But every fire has different properties. You will understand that when the sealed Chapters in your inheritance are opened."

His gaze returned to the cauldron.

"Now we proceed to complexity."

The fire condensed.

"Temperature control," Kiaria continued. "Distance of heat emission. Structural endurance of the vessel. Always calculate how far the heat will spread before it spreads."

A faint tremor rippled through the air as the temperature rose.

"Keep distance in advance. Never react after damage begins."

The green fire narrowed into thin threads, weaving through the interior like precise lines.

"Now... technique begins."

Kiaria’s hand shifted slightly.