26 The Divine Throne of Doom and Slaughter (II)

Looking into the distance, Long Xingyu let out a sigh, "It looks like the demon race is making their move. Haochen, remember, the demon race is powerful, but we mustn't yield to them. As knights, we have to protect our homeland until the last drop of our blood is exhausted."

"En!" Long Haochen nodded as he gave his answer. In his heart, his father wasn't a mere teacher, but a target of his worship. Without personal experience, he wouldn't have imagined that a Divine Throne was so formidable. In that vast sea of spiritual energy, he had ravaged the heavens and the earth. That bright Judgement left an indelible mark in Long Haochen's heart.

"Father, do we have to leave this place?" Long Haochen asked

Long Xingyu lowered his head towards him and said, "Yes, but, you are not coming with us."

"Eh?" Long Haochen was astonished, giving a look full of incomprehension to his father.

Long Xingyu faintly said, "A little chick who never leaves his parent's protection will never be able to reach the heights of the heavens in the great sky. I had planned to guide you for three years, but it looks like we will have to part earlier. I will take your mother back to the Temple Alliance to deal with a few matters and to honor an agreement of mine.

"The Temple Alliance isn't a suitable place for you. If you were to come along with us, I am afraid you would never turn into a Divine Knight like me. You have to walk your path, step by step, relying on your own efforts to gain everything, and you will possess your own honor as a knight."

Long Haochen suddenly held his father's waist, his gaze becoming very sad. "Father, I don't want to part with you and mother!"

Bai Yue looked at Long Xingyu with an imploring gaze.

Long Xingyu stroked Long Haochen's head, "Silly boy, if you stay by our side from beginning to end, your heart will forever be filled with a feeling of dependence and concern. And even if you were to come with us to the Temple Alliance, you wouldn't be able to stay by my side forever. Thus, I have to leave you for a few years, I have too many matters to handle. I have already made my decision: you have to remain here."

Long Haochen was still shocked, he tried to control the tears that were dripping from his eyes. Bai Yue had already returned to the log cabin, crying uncontrollably.

Long Xingyu pulled Long Haochen in front of him, and told him in a low voice, "Haochen, before we leave, Father has to teach you one last thing."

Long Haochen answered absentmindedly, "What is it?"

Long Xingyu said in a low voice, "Spiritual Stoves."

"Spiritual Stoves?" Hearing these two words, Long Haochen's body couldn't stop shaking. During these two and a half years he trained by his father's side, he heard Long Xingyu speak about Spiritual Stoves countless times. But at those moments, Long Xingyu didn't give him any directions regarding his training in the use of spiritual stoves.

Long Xingyu nodded. "Spiritual Stoves are spiritual smelting furnaces. Learning to use them is not really about ability. It is rather one of the most valuable magical treasures in nature. There are a lot of knight abilities that can be chosen, but except for a few that will depend on your innate talent, most will be acquired from practice. But Spiritual Stoves are not the same. The vast majority of Spiritual Stoves enable you to use abilities that cannot be acquired through practice, and Spiritual Stoves are all different. Each of them has unique properties, and even if different people practice using the same Spiritual Stove, the result produced will be different.

"There are many kinds of Spiritual Stoves, a total of 74 types have been catalogued at present. Each of them are only suited to some vocations, and there are a total of 23 that are suited for the knight vocation. Even though some are more suitable for knights, warriors can also use them."

Long Haochen was gradually becoming more and more fascinated by his father's explanation about Spiritual Stoves. "Father, where can I acquire a Spiritual Stove?"

Long Xingyu answered, "Generally speaking, they can only be found in places where a lot of spiritual power has gathered or in ancient ruins. In any vocation, there is, on average, only one person out of 1000 who possesses a Spiritual Stove. That also applies for knights. However, Spiritual Stoves are a common goal sought by all vocations. That is because only by possessing a Spiritual Stove can one really become more formidable than others of the same step."

After speaking these words, Long Xingyu placed a black ring on Long Haochen's index finger. As if it had synchronized with his finger, that black ring had contracted enough to be a perfect fit.

"This has a six-layered seal. In this ring, I sealed all the powerful skills used by Retribution Knights from the 4th to the 9th rank. Every time your spiritual energy reaches a high enough rank, you will be able to break through a part of the seal and study each of these skills one by one."

Then, he drew out a book and passed it to Long Haochen. "Everything you need to know regarding Spiritual Stoves is explained, in detail, in this book. I don't have the time to show you in person, so you will have to learn by yourself, understood?"

"Father… " Long Haochen let out that word as his eyes turned uncontrollably red.

"Do not forget the favor you owe to the one who gave you this blue ring."

Long Haochen gently nodded; after he awakened his inner spiritual energy, Long Xingyu had told him to what extent he had to be grateful towards the mute girl who left him that ring.

As he poured his spiritual energy into it, the thin golden pattern on the ring almost looked alive as a thin blue light appeared and started to shine strongly. Long Haochen took the book recording the mysteries of the Spiritual Stoves.

That ring he received was an extremely valuable spatial ring; inside, up to 10 cubic meters of various articles could be stored. It originally only contained a defensive ability that created a thin blue shield when stimulated. As long as spiritual energy was poured into that ring, the shield would always exist, and its strength would increase together with the spiritual energy. Long Xingyu said that it was a rare kind of enchantment.

Looking at Long Haochen, who was packing his book inside the ring, Long Xingyu lightly sighed, "Haochen, although I have a lot of pretty good equipment, I don't plan to give it to you. It is because weapons and equipment are only valuable when you obtain them by relying on your own efforts. This way, you will really be able to treasure them."

"Father, I don't want to separate from you." Long Haochen's tears finally stopped falling.

Long Xingyu held his son in his embrace, and sighed, "Haochen, your emotions are your strong point, but also your weakness. Remember, neither Father nor Mother will be by your side in the future; you will have to become a taciturn person, you cannot wear your heart on your sleeves.

"Don't cry, this is only a temporary separation. Father hopes that the next time we meet each other, you will be able to make me look at you with new eyes.

"Father and Mother are going to leave. I cannot leave you any equipment, but there is a gift that I prepared for you a long time ago."

As he said that, Long Xingyu let go of his son's hand, and put his right hand on his own chest. After pressing it tightly, a strange white light was released.

The white light was gentle, followed by a particular energy that undulated before it started to pulse, giving a dizzy feeling to the ones who looked at it.

That was neither the energy from the Sacred Light nor Long Xingyu's spiritual energy. Long Xingyu slowly stretched his palm out under the gaze of Long Haochen, who looked quite impressed. In his father's palm, there was a white radiance. A meter tall mini cauldron1 appeared in Long Xingyu's palm.

A white radiance was being emitted from that white cauldron that was softly moving up and down, creating a mesmerizing sight.