“What did you do!”

“I… I didn’t mean it…”

An angered girl was looking at her younger brother who was holding a part of a precious gift. It was the girl’s only reminder of her father that had vanished five years ago. Even though the father had returned to them, the toy robot still had a huge sentimental meaning.

“I’m sure that it can be fixed…”

Zhang Jun, who had been left with the arm on the ground, started to slowly move towards his older sister. Before he could try to attach the dislocated arm Zhang Xiu pulled away.

“No, you’ll just make it worse, don’t touch it!”

Xiu quickly smacked Jun’s arm away with all her might. But this also caused him to drop the robot arm that he was holding. The two looked in shock as the toy part flew into the distance. Though these two were still children, their strength was already immense. Their bodies came from a nascent soul master which somewhat enhanced their inner Qi and body as well.

They were still children though, they didn’t really go through proper training yet. Jun was quick to turn around to try and catch the arm but so did his sister. Both of them tossed each other at it which caused them both to collide with each other.

“Ow…”

“Oof…”

Soon they realized that they were both down on the ground. Jun also felt that he landed on something harder and as he tried to get up, he heard a crunching sound. With shock plastered all over his face, he quickly tried to remove himself from the floor.

“N...no… I didn’t mean to, it’s because sister wouldn’t listen…”

What the two kids discovered was a broken toy robot arm. While previously it might have only required a quick glue job, now on the other hand, the elbow joint was also broken. The fingers that were actually operational were also a bit cracked as this toy was made from rather soft materials that imitated plastic more than metal.

Zhang Xiu looked at the broken part that didn’t look salvageable. Then she turned her head to the person that was responsible for it. Her brother was standing there and prattling on that it wasn’t his fault. She didn’t want to hear it, thus she raised her fist up towards him with the intent to strike him.

While Jun was only five, his sister was still older. While no proper training was given, she performed some breathing exercises to enhance her Qi already. If the smack that was flying towards him connected the young man would probably feel it the next day.

But as the small fist was about to land on little Jun’s cheek it connected with a strange bubble-like substance. Instead of hitting his face, Xiu’s fist bounced back. This rebound caused her to float into the air while also being surrounded by a shiny transparent bubble.

“Now, now, you two shouldn’t be fighting over trivial things like this.”

The two children heard a man’s voice call out from afar. Soon they saw the bright white hair and chiseled jaw of their father as he floated their way. The moment Jun saw Zhang Dong approach he went silent, his head dropped as he evaded his gaze. Xiu on the other hand burst out in tears while squirming around.

“But daddy, he… he destroyed the toy that you left me!”

“Oh? He did?”

Zhang Dong glanced towards Jun who was trying not to look at him. He then slowly approached the young boy that was floating in a bubble of his creation.

“I-I didn’t mean to… I just w-wanted to help…”

For once he tried to explain himself to the father that he never knew. Finally, he gathered up some courage to look at the man that was approaching him. The young boy expected to see a stern look of disapproval but instead, he saw a big smile. The confusion continued as he felt a large hand being placed on his head, then his hair being messed up by some rough petting.

“Is that so? Good going then.”

“Good going?”

Both Jun and Xiu were confused as they floated down to the floor. The bubbles that were holding them in the air soon burst and they both landed on their posteriors. While Jun was just confused, Xiu was still mad. She looked at the destroyed robot arm that she cherished and was close to bursting out in tears.

“But daddy…”

“Now, there is no need to cry, it’s just a toy and toys can be fixed, just wait a moment and daddy will fix it.”

“Daddy can fix it?”

“Yes, I’m the one that made it for you, I wouldn’t be much of a craftsman if I couldn’t fix the items I make.”

Zhang Dong laughed out in a gentle fashion while pointing his finger towards the cracked robot arm. With a little wave, it was brought over towards a nearby table. The rest of the pink robot was brought over here as well and the kids were a bit astonished to see the parts floating around while being covered by a golden glow.

“I guess this will be the first time for both of you, let me show you have daddy crafts treasures. First, we bring out the materials, in this case, I don’t need much, just enough to cover the damages.”

Zhang Dong placed the cracked robot arm next to the toy along with a grayish clump that looked similar to clay. When he turned to look at his children they seemed to be really interested in this procedure which made him smile even more.

“But daddy… how will that gray thing fix it?”

“Hah, just watch, this quite a handy item, it's called cheytine, while it might look like everyday clay, it can do much more…”

“Chyt…”

“C..ine?”

While the two tried to repeat the name of the mineral that he was using, he continued with his crafting presentation.

“When a craftsman reaches a high stage in his craft, they are able to create treasures without the need of any proper tools like hammers. First, we produce flames and toss the cheytine in…”

He continued by producing a bright golden flam with his hand. The gray clump of cheytine was then tossed into it along with the destroyed toy’s arm. This caused Xiu to flinch as it looked like her father was further destroying the toy that was made for her.

“No need to be scared, these are special flames used for crafting, they do not destroy, instead they create.”

It didn’t take long for the items to melt and bind with each other. With another wave of his finger, the liquid that was created started changing shape. Soon it took the appearance of the robot arm, now without any blemishes or cracks.

The two kids had their eyes glued to this phenomenon. While they had witnessed other people perform blacksmithing, they had never seen someone craft items in this way. This technique was something only a nascent soul master would be truly capable of.

It also required pristine concentration and the exact knowledge of what the craftsman was making. If for a fraction of a second Zhang Dong’s attention was brought elsewhere, the process would be ruined and even an explosion could occur. For someone with his experience, this was as easy as breathing.

The rest of the pink robot floated next to the now repaired arm. Soon the shoulder joint was connected back into place and the toy was back to its previous form.

“There we go, good as new. X-Warrior 1, perform the salute!”

Zhang Dong placed the toy robot down on the ground. The moment he gave the command the toy robot performed a previously implemented motion. It made a fist with its right hand and brought it over towards where the heart would be.

“It works!”

Zhang Xiu moved towards the toy and picked it up from the ground. She started to twirl around while holding it above her head while laughing. Then at the end of the spin, she placed the toy on the ground and grasped her father’s thigh.

“I love you, daddy!”

“See, there was no reason to cry or be angry at your brother.”

Zhang Dong placed his hand on both Xiu and Jun’s heads and ruffled them both up. While Xiu was giggling around, the younger boy remained silent. The boy was still somewhat reserved but there was a change. During the moment that he was repairing the toy, he noticed that Jun’s eyes were quite sparkling. It was clear that he was interested in the process but probably didn’t know how to express his interest.

“Now, don’t you two have something to say to each other?”

He stopped petting them, the two children looked at each other, Jun moved his head down while Xiu pouted while turning her head to the side.

“Now don’t be like that, accidents will happen, the toy can be easily replaced but you can’t replace your family.”

After a moment of pouting the two finally managed to reconcile.

“I’m sowwy…”

“Me too, I’m sorry…”

Zhang Dong just nodded while smiling, this was not over yet as he was still holding out on one last thing. While Xiu was happily looking at her toy, Jun continued to steal glances towards it.

“Hey Jun.”

The moment Zhang Dong called out to him, the small boy flinched and almost fell on his behind.

“No need to be afraid of your father, I brought something for you.”

“Something for me?”

“Yes, here.”

With a small wave of his hand, Zhang Dong brought out the other toy robot that he was holding in his spatial ring. The gift was placed on the ground close to the pink toy robot that belonged to Zhang Xiu.

“This is X-Warrior 2 and it's yours.”

“Mine?”

Zhang Jun looked at the blue robot that was standing on the ground. It was a bit bulkier than the pink one and clearly crafted with a more masculine look in mind.

“Yes it’s yours, daddy made it a long time ago but never had a chance to give it to you before he had to leave…”

While Zhang Dong tried to explain himself, his young child didn’t seem to care that much. He was more focused on the toy that was standing in front of him than on the explanation.

“Why don’t you give him a command, it reacts to the same ones like the one that your sister has.”

His plan was to create more of these toys later as he did love when these types of robots combined with each other. For that he would need to make at least two more, maybe one for himself and one for his wife. Then they could have them combine with each other to form the ultimate toy robot.

“C-can I?”

“Sure you can, it’s yours now, how about you play with your sister?”

Xiu looked at the blue robot that was there and then back to her own. Luckily for Zhang Dong she seemed to prefer the more girly looking model while her brother was taken in by the blue one.

The kids finally started giving out some voice commands while their father looked over them. This small moment of peace would be burned into his mind, helping him through the dire times they were heading in…