Behind them, the husband of Xuan Xian stood up angrily. His face is now a bloody mess after trying to rub the glass shards off his skin.

“You SLUT!” Seeing how the boy held his wife’s arm to keep her upright, he roared angrily and charged over.

Without a second word, Kairos turned and palmed him in his chest. The man flew off like a swine struck by a carriage and crashed heavily into the floor, laying there unconscious.

Kairos had no spare energy to bother about this nasty person. Just by infusing soul energy to protect the lady’s heart is already taking up all of his focus.

Xuan Xian however recovered quicker than expected. She woke from her unconsciousness and looked up weakly. Seeing how the young boy struck her husband, she felt nothing at all in her heart.

It not because of how useless her husband is that she doesn’t feel anything but because her world has already crashed down with no way of returning to before.

Her heart is dying. She feels that there no longer is a meaning to live. To die is to better, and she craves for the relief it offers.

But as the warm energy infused into her and healed her, she gritted her teeth and pulled her thoughts out of the abyss.

There is still a promise she had made to her son.

“Xiao Zhu De, remember, mommy promises you, I will always live strong no matter what. So no matter where you are, you must try your best to stay strong alright?

We are not blessed in this life, so we need to be tough.

If you ever feel that things are too difficult and you are too tired, just think of mommy. You can come home anytime, and mommy will always be here for you.”

She had promised her young child ages ago. And now, even after he was gone, she will keep it. If her son is in another world now, then he will be there alone and frightened without her.

She felt a need to stay strong and live well so that Zhu De can also be strong no matter where he is now. Not only that, there is still one more good reason for her to live on.

A tiny face probed out from behind the door. A small girl that appears to be about five.

She peeked at Xuan Xian and gave her a large endearing look that easily spoke of her concern.

“Ling’er, mommy, is alright,” Xuan Xian says as she forces herself to stand upright.

When Kairos saw the little girl and her love for both her children, he understood how this woman can be so strong.

If her son is her hope, then Ling’er is her support, and they are both her strength.

Twelve years old. That is how young the students that just enrolled in the academy are. Although everyone in Saint Empire was already normalised to the militant state’s method of conscripting all the children once they reach the age of twelve, there is no doubt that they are still young kids precious to their parents.

A single woman will not be able to survive alone in a slum such as this. Even if her husband is violent and jobless, the reason she is unmolested going in and out of this place is still thanks to him.

Admittedly, the reason she could tolerate him and this place is because of those that depend on her.

“Madam, your son is a hero. Do not only cry for him but remember him as one.”

“T…tell me what happened…,” she spoke, her voice hush like dry hay rustling in the air. What she needs now is not consolation, but the truth.

“We were raided by Orcs. Someone named Calculus had stirred up their nest and led their armies to us for his personal gains.

At that time, we were truly running on our last legs, and each of our lives depended solely on one another. Any cowardice in our group would mean death.

It was your son’s bravery that has saved many, and I am proud to have known him.”

She took a deep, shattering breath and calmed herself. She knows that he had not gone into the details and only sincerely praised her son because of her current condition.

After she felt more in control, she nodded her head and motioned for him to continue.

For a while he told her everything that happened during the exam and at the end, she sighed. Her son is indeed the fine young boy as she remembered.

Kairos suddenly spoke up during her silence, “Madam, have you got a hard rod or mace-like object that you can spare?”

Xuan Xian looked at him oddly for a moment and then nodded her head. If her son could trust him and give away his life, there must be something special about this boy. Then, with her own eyes, she wants to see what it is.

She went into her kitchen without question, took out a black metallic rolling pin and handed it to him. Behind her, her tiny little girl followed her about.

Looking at the metallic object, Kairos’ face went wide with surprise.

The material of this rolling pin is actually dense ten-thousand years frost metal.

Weapons that are crafted by this will easily become Titan rank, Earth grade. And possible to even make a Heaven grade weapon out of this.

Although for the current Saint Empire, it is still not possible to manufacture items out of such material, these sort of high-quality items still roam the markets after being imported into the empire.

But how on earth did she find this?

Kairos himself had only known about this metal recently. Being poor, he had little chance to shop at the busy market street, but because he recently to acquire a bulk of cheap metal weapons for the trade fair, he had to go in and out of weapon shops.

That was a rare occasion for the five brothers, and they took their time ogling on all the weapons on display while making their purchase.

In one of the shops, encased within a barrier crystal, they chanced upon an unbelievable silver Frost Metal sword made of this ore. Just by nearing it caused the five of them to shiver from the unnatural cold, and it left them a deep impression.

Since Kairos did not know about this metal previously, it is highly unlikely the woman or her husband or any of her neighbours could identify it either, since they are all of the poorest class among the commoners. But fortunately for her, this also means that the precious and expensive metal has gone without notice.

Kairos had not known that Xuan Xian acquired it by chance before moving into the capital. Ever since she picked it up, she had been using this cold metal to shape and flatten dough. Its cooling nature is perfect for making some puff pastry, and it actually earned her a job at a rich man’s mansion as a maid.

Taking the metal in hand, Kairos excused himself to sit at a corner nearby, causing Xuan Xian and her daughter to look curiously at the young boy. Since Kairos did not explain his purpose for asking for the pin, the timid woman did not think it was proper to ask.

In just a moment, Kairos sat cross-legged with a tranquil mind that is no different from a lake without ripples.

He called out to the fire dragon Ki within himself and summoned it purposefully. It took him more effort than usual since the dragon does not seem to like the chilly rod in his hands, but nevertheless, it obediently went to work.

The flames and the frost clashed, creating an energy blast in his hands, and the resulting rebound knocked him back powerfully. The rolling pin flew away from his hands, and in the process, it knocked down a stack of rotting stones by the street side.

The power shocked the mother and child, and Xuan Xian quickly sent her daughter back into the house. Her feet pattering across the uneven, flaking plaster ground, but he did not seem to notice.

“Hmm. It’s not going to work this way.”

Kairos reopened his eyes and gingerly picked up the pin again. The metal hummed gently in his hand, seemingly trying to disperse the remnants of the fire Ki that was on it.

“Frost energy huh? Like Edward’s arrow tips?

Let’s try.”

Determined to make this work he closed his eyes in concentration once more.

Knowing that, if there is a fire array that is similar to the fire palm manual, there must be a frost array too. He recalled during his Selfless Cultivation, when his soul became one with the greatest mountain, the deepest oceans, and the highest heavens, and carefully searched through his memories. During that time, a massive amount of information had appeared in his head, but it was like a spool of wool that was hard to make head and tails out of.

Fortunately, having already done this once, it is easier to identify another. Even if the energy signature is each array is different, the fundamentals are still somewhat similar.

As if knowing what he is trying to do, the gift of creation course through his body like a surge of electrified inspiration. It had been there since he started cultivating the Origin manuscripts, just that he never noticed anything strange.

If not for altering Cultivation methods, creating several formidable arrays, guiding the creation of Secret Arts, and even weapon refinement, others would not have felt their heads spun and told him how incredible it was.

Of course, he didn’t take their words to heart.

Difficult to create Secret Arts? Impossible to alter cultivation methods? It felt rather easy in his hands, even… mediocre.

But, when the Emperor conferred him a nobility, a suspicion finally began to form in his heart.

“Maybe…

…Their standards were really low?”

If the others heard this, they would puke out blood. Low standards, your head! If cultivation methods and martial arts could be easily made, then what had all their ancestors been doing?

Those geniuses of every generation that refined the different manuals tirelessly would all turn in their graves if they could hear his thought.

Not only that, it was only once, but he could even share his combat enlightenment with others.

The odd trance he experienced and subsequent rays of light that forcefully pulled up the average ranks of the Snowdrifts made him interested in replicating the effects. But after asking around, Snow and Small deduced that it might be the legendary Will of the Heavens, an impartation of the true mysteries of the world.

Of course, legend or not, he wasn’t bothered by it. What he wanted to know is if he could enter that trance again.

Although he eventually failed to reproduce the effect where a myriad of combat intents poured into him like a flood, he was confident of making the Frost Array.

He recollected the ancient voices he heard in his memory, during his Selfless Cultivation trance. The whisperings were still as unfathomable to him as before, and even though they were speaking clearly, he could not make out anything.

With a tranquil heart that refused to be stirred, he delved deeper into his memories, knowing what he is looking for must be there.

Finally, after a long while of deciphering the voice, he finally understood a few words, “ni…heave.. f..ros … array”

“The nine heavens frost array (九天玄冰陣)?”

An unknown array appeared in his mind, giving him an understanding of a new form of Element – Frost.

In fact, he had actually seen a star formation like this during his selfless cultivation. It is just that he was unable to identify it previously.

When the information entered him, the knowledge felt like an obedient child that to him at his beckon. He confidently sent his Origin Energy through various meridian points following the Frost Array.

No one would believe what Kairos is now doing without seeing it with their own eyes.

It is the same method for any practitioner who is cultivating. However, each person could only follow one cultivation method because the Ki they develop will reject other forms of refined energies. One’s Dantian could be home to just a kind of Ki, which is why if someone was to practice another Cultivation half-way through, they risk dropping a rank or even losing all their cultivation.

Of course, Jones who had switched over had a leap of faith, but he could also tell how amazing the cultivation incantation was and made his choice decisively.

However, it was a profitable gamble, as the usual limitations of cultivating methods do not bind the Origin’s Cultivation Method. Like its namesake, it is the source of all energies, and it could assimilate all kinds of cultivation cycles without harming the practitioner.

Kairos soon completed a cycle of his Soul Energy around his body and a powerful cold spread around him.

Unlike what he believed, coldness does not have any energy signature of its own, but instead, it draws out the heat from its target, and let the energy dissipate into the surroundings.

Then, just like before, a tiny roar echoed in his mind and a new frost dragon Ki is born.

“Okay! Now for the final step!”

He directed this new frost dragonling from his Dantian into the Ten-thousand Years Frost Metal in his hands, and his soul energy engraved the complex runic patterns onto the metal rod, refining it.

Since he had never inscribed on a rod shape object before, it took him much longer than before and require far more concentration.

During this time, Xuan Xian’s husband who had fainted from the pain stirred and began to awake. He groggily shook his head, wincing from the still open wounds. But, before he could swear in anger at his foul luck, he spotted the boy, and a nervous shudder ran down his spine.

Wordlessly, the man left the house and ran out. On the way, he did not even spare his wife a second glance.

After two hours of engraving process, four times the usual length of time he needed, a perfectly refined Nine Heavens Frost Array appeared on the rolling pin.

Seeing this he nodded with satisfaction and then infused a bit of his soul energy into the thing. Confident that his work was perfect, Kairos did not need to test it out. However, Xuan Xian being a non-practitioner wouldn’t be able to use it, so he wanted to store energy within the rod.

Unfortunately, as he expected, his Origin Energy dissipated shortly afterwards, and a frown appeared on his brows. He continued to try various ways for another hour with no success.

Unlike Ki, soul energy contains his life force and spirit, and ought to impart his will into the weapon granting limited control over what it does.

“Maybe… the frost dragon can be infused?”

Since the Fire dragonling could act on its own and devour rampant energies, Kairos has long since suspected it is somewhat sentinel. He tried to infuse the frost dragonling into the metal, and immediately, a huge amount of life energy was drained from him, turning his face pale.

The ten-thousand years frost metal is indeed powerful. It has far more capacity than a standard steel metal.

Kairos quickly stopped the infusion into the weapon. He knows that at his rank, even if he sent everything he has in, the metal would still be able to absorb more.

Then he cut off his connection with the soul energy within the rolling pin, and just from that he almost fainted.

Severing the link is the same as losing a significant amount of life force. Before he did that he was still able to draw back his energy, but will be unable to physically part from the object without his infused Ki dissipating into the air. However, that would render his efforts pointless.

He could help but sigh in relief after checking himself and making sure that he can still call out another frost dragon Ki should he recover some Origin Energy.

With everything done perfectly, Kairos back stood up and walked to Xuan Xian and smiled warm-heartedly.

“Madam, your son was under my command at the time of his death, and I was unable to save him, even though he had rescued many of my men.

I cannot undo the past, but I would like to honour his deeds.

Seeing how much you love your son, I know that he loves you just as dearly and would like you to be protected to live on strongly.

This rolling pin has been imbued with my Ki through a special technique of mine. If you use it to hit somebody, it will automatically spend about a thousandth of its energy, fully capable of knocking out a normal person without you needing to infuse any Ki on it at all.

If one day you need to use more force to protect yourself, just call out to the pin, and it will respond to you.

Remember, this energy is limited. When you feel that its strength is waning, you can come to look for me. My name is, Kairos, a Second-year student of Saint Cadets Academy.”

He said, and then looked at her with a calm expression on his face.

For a moment, the older lady who is almost three times his age almost blushed.

His features are clean and refined, with a look that felt ethereal. Especially after cultivating the frost dragon Ki within himself, his features had become even more refined than before, far beyond any person she had seen before.

“Thank you Kairos. Is my son really a hero?” she asked once again, wishing for confirmation so she can always remember her son fondly.

With a smile on his face he said, “Yes, he did what others could not without hesitation. Not many men could be as brave as Zhu De was. I have watched him with my own eyes, and out of everyone there, he was one of the few that bravely rushed into the midst of the Orcs and successfully pushed them back, knowing it was suicide. He saved many lives that day. If not for him, we might have perished eventually.”

A tear rolled down her cheeks but her face beamed with pride.

For a moment, her deathly pale face once again regains some liveliness.

“Madam. We have collected all the spoils from the bodies of the Orcs that attacked us and decided to split it up among all who had fallen.

This share is for your son. Please use it to live a good life.”

Saying thus, he handed her one of the pouches he had prepared beforehand.

With shaking hands, she opened the pouch and inside revealed over a dozen crystallised essences of the Orcs.

Each crystal was between the size of the tip of a pinky finger, to some as large as a thumb.

The small ones are all E rank crystals, while the thumb-sized ones are D rank.

She stared at the treasures in shock and secretly glad that her husband had left.

In Saint Empire, the most frequently used currency is either ores like the green copper or magical beast crystals.

Although she had only seen crystallised essences at the old master’s mansion where she worked at, Xuan Xian knows how valuable they are.

Even a single D rank crystal is enough for a small family to live well for two to three years.

With this many crystals, she could even buy a house and have some leftovers.

Despite how grateful Xuan Xian looked, Kairos knows that this money is only a temporary fix for her.

“Madam. I have been made the student president. Since your son was part of my team, his rank would have risen as well. His stipends would be of the rank of a Corporal First class. Although measly compared to Zhu De’s worth, it would be somewhat helpful, I hope.”

Kairos becoming a student president means that his rank now is the same as a commander in the army. All the second years in Saint Cadets Academy will be managed under him. This is a rather high rank in the military, and it actually gives him some perks, such as promoting those under him.

Raising Zhu De’s rank to Corporal first class is his current limit, and he gladly did so, not just for him but for all who died in his team. The eleven that fell during the ten days siege and the three that during the Orc War Chief raid.

Then, in the end, he added, “Madam, I will need help on several purchases in the market. May I look for you in the future if I require aid?”

He asked very politely as he bowed his head slightly and Xuan Xian’s eyes widen.

She had heard the boy telling him that he is made student president. This means that Kairos is now of a completely different world than she is. When he spoke of requiring her aid, she knows that she will be the one who would benefit instead.

If she says yes, she can expect a commission from him every time he requires something, and this could even mean that she can quit her job and support Ling’er!

She quickly nodded and grasped the young man’s hand in gratitude.

Kairos smiled and placed a warm hand on her shoulder then took his leave.