Luo Wei recalled the intricate details of the talent mixture's production in his mind. Although the information was vast and complex, years of study and familiarity had made him confident in it.
However, when it came to the actual hands-on operation, he still felt a strong sense of challenge. The process was not only tedious and meticulous, but it also imposed extremely strict timing requirements.
The talent mixture had to be completed and consumed within seven days; otherwise, its potency would sharply diminish.
Considering that the Thunderbolt Fruit was also gathered from the Valley of Thunder, the entire production process required careful planning. Any misstep could waste both the precious ingredients and the effort.
"Hey..."
Just as Luo Wei was deep in thought, little Shirut woke up from his nap, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and sat on the bed with a confused expression.
"You're finally awake," Luo Wei said, chuckling as he gave Shirut a light pat.
Sitting upright, Luo Wei noticed something remarkable: after waking, little Shirut had not only grown visibly taller but also had sprouted teeth.
Previously, Luo Wei had been worried that Shirut would never grow teeth. If that were the case, he would have had to break stones to feed him constantly—an exhausting prospect given Shirut's voracious appetite.
Now, seeing the small but shiny white teeth in Shirut's mouth, Luo Wei was relieved. The teeth were as bright as pearls and seemed extremely sturdy, much like human infants' first teeth.
To test them, Luo Wei found a brittle stone and handed it to Shirut.
Koishi Root immediately crunched down with a crisp "click," easily chewing the stone into pieces before swallowing it down.
"Come, repeat after me: I'm Shirut," Luo Wei encouraged, attempting to teach him to speak.
"Hey?" Shirut blinked blankly.
"I'm Shirut," Luo Wei said again.
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," Shirut babbled, his voice stretching out endlessly.
Luo Wei: "..."
This little guy was clearly intelligent enough to understand basic logic. Why was he still just babbling nonsense? Could it be that Shirut's kind had a different way of learning to speak?
Evening arrived, and El came home carrying a large bundle of ingredients, her head bowed slightly as if deep in thought.
"Sister, what's wrong?" Luo Wei asked.
El clearly loved being called "sister." Every time she heard it, a small smile would bloom on her face. She sat down casually and said, "It's nothing, just something that happened in the Time Cave."
"What happened?" Luo Wei's heart tightened slightly.
"A guy pretending to be from the Warner Protoss sneaked into the Time Cave and somehow managed to anger the Spirit of Norn," El explained.
"Who was it?"
El shook her head. "I don't know. He called himself Illidan, a hunter from Warnerheim, but after checking the records, there's no such person."
Luo Wei pondered for a moment. "The Spirit of Norn is extremely powerful. Wasn't it able to discover who he really was?"
"Normally, yes... but strangely, the Spirit of Norn seems clueless this time," El said.
Luo Wei quietly let out a breath of relief.
The Spirit of Norn's origin was shrouded in mystery, making its capabilities unpredictable. Although Luo Wei had disguised himself with the Holy Deed before, he had worried that the Spirit might have ways to see through it.
It seemed, at least for now, that he had been overthinking it.
"Hey, why did you buy so many ingredients?" Luo Wei finally noticed the heavy bags in El's hands.
El smiled. "Aren't you leaving tomorrow? I wanted to make you something delicious before you go."
Over these past days, Luo Wei had been living comfortably, enjoying delicious meals prepared by El—far better than the greasy food in taverns. Having a sister really was wonderful.
---
The next day, Luo Wei and the other hunters returned to Asgard via the Rainbow Bridge.
However, Luo Wei had barely arrived home when a Heroic Spirit Warrior came knocking.
"Rovey Garrison?" the warrior asked in a solemn voice.
"Yes," Luo Wei replied.
"The Heavenly Father wants to see you. Come with me," the Heroic Spirit said.
Luo Wei was momentarily stunned, and nervousness bubbled up inside him. After all, during the hunting festival, he had contributed heavily to Princess Skadi's humiliating defeat. He couldn't help but fear that the King of Gods was now summoning him for punishment.
Following the Heroic Spirit through Asgard's grand palace, they turned corner after corner until they arrived at a massive iron gate.
"The Heavenly Father wishes to see you alone. Enter," the Heroic Spirit instructed before turning to leave.
With his departure, the corridor grew eerily quiet. The air became colder, and the silence pressed heavily on Luo Wei.
Unlike Odin, whose style was often bold and warm, Kuur's character was deep and reserved. His preferred architecture was darker and colder, much like the atmosphere now surrounding Luo Wei.
Staring at the closed iron door, Luo Wei felt an odd sense of dread creeping into his heart. He swallowed nervously.
But no matter how much he wanted to flee, it was not his decision to make.
After hesitating a moment longer, Luo Wei finally reached out and pushed the door open.
"Crackling..." The door creaked ominously as it swung open, sending an involuntary shiver down Luo Wei's spine.
Beyond the doorway lay a dimly lit room. Only a few rays of light filtered in from slits in the walls, like the dying glow of the setting sun slipping into a secret tomb.
Cautiously, Luo Wei stepped into the gloom.
"Boom!"
The heavy iron door slammed shut behind him, cutting off what little light there was and plunging the room into complete darkness.
"Father of the Gods!" Luo Wei called out, his voice trembling.
There was no answer.
The next moment, a piercing scream echoed through the darkness. A black shadow suddenly materialized before Luo Wei, swinging a massive warhammer toward him.
Startled, Luo Wei instinctively drew Verrigan's Fist and clenched his left hand tightly.
Shield of Light!
"Crack!"
At the critical moment, the Holy Light Shield manifested, blocking the incoming hammer strike, but the shield cracked loudly, on the verge of shattering.
In the faint glow of the Holy Light, Luo Wei finally caught a glimpse of his attacker.
His pupils shrank in horror.
The figure before him wore a grotesque yin-yang mask. One half of the face was a rotting corpse—withered flesh barely clinging to bleached bone—while the other half was a perfectly normal human face.
A face that looked exactly like Luo Wei's own.
The yin-yang-faced creature sneered sinisterly.
Blind Light!
Luo Wei released a powerful beam of holy energy straight into the creature's face.
Yet, the shadowy figure remained unaffected. It raised its hammer and attacked again.
"Crack!"
The Shield of Light shattered completely, vanishing into particles of light.
The dark figure pressed forward mercilessly, forcing Luo Wei into a desperate defense.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Their warhammers clashed again and again. Luo Wei's skills were slightly superior, but the dark figure's raw strength overwhelmed him.
Worse yet, the creature seemed impervious to pain. Even when Verrigan's flames scorched its hand, it didn't so much as flinch.
Luo Wei even landed a solid hit on it once, but the blow achieved nothing.
Gradually, Luo Wei's defenses faltered under the relentless assault. Sweat poured down his face, and his arms grew numb.
Finally, with a thunderous blow, the dark figure struck Luo Wei square in the chest, sending him flying backward with a spray of blood.
"Cough, cough..."
Struggling to his feet, Luo Wei staggered backward, his heart pounding in terror.
At that moment, the Holy Deed at his waist suddenly flashed.
The Pointer of Holy Light shot out, directing his attention sideways.
Without hesitation, Luo Wei spun around and swung Verrigan's Fist toward the direction indicated by the Pointer—
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