Chapter 159 -: 158 Excellently done!
Boom!
The loud crash at the door pulled everyone’s eyes away from the furnace. That single moment of distraction ruined the refinement.
Julius coughed hard, fresh blood spilling from his mouth as his face turned even paler. His chest burned, and he fought to steady his shaky breaths.
He looked at Rosalina, his voice low and tight.
"It seems... the dean has arrived." His heart pounded faster, heavy with the danger of their situation. The Lone King turned his head toward the door too.
"Do not fear," the Lone King said calmly.
"He cannot enter. But he is strong. He has forced his way up to the tenth floor." His brows pulled together slightly as he looked at Rosalina.
"There is a key near the door. Press and hold the red button on the right side. That will keep him out."
Rosalina’s face filled with worry. She glanced at Julius. He gave her a small nod.
"Go. We are not far from finishing. Once I succeed, we can escape with the celestial grade treasure." He tried to smile to reassure her.
Her eyes softened for a moment. She nodded, then turned to the Lone King. "Where is the button?"
He pointed at the large door. "Right side. Just keep pressing it."
Rosalina nodded once more at Julius, then hurried toward the door.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The crashes grew louder and stronger as she moved.
The whole room shook with each hit. Rosalina reached the door and slammed her hand on the red button.
She held it down hard, but the door still trembled violently.
Bam! Bam! Bam! The impacts grew worse, like something huge was trying to smash its way inside.
Julius had already started the next trial. Every loud bang made his face tighter with desperation.
If the dean broke through, everything would be lost. No treasure. No escape. They would all die here.
He pushed forward to the final stage.
Eight seconds... Boom!
Another failure. Julius swallowed the blood rising in his throat and forced down his cough.
The Lone King watched in silence, his face unchanged.
Ninety-eighth try.
This time Julius passed the ninth second right away. His heart raced as he counted toward ten. But just before he reached it....
Boom!
The explosion hit. The pain stabbed deeper than before, like a knife twisting hard into his core.
Julius clenched his teeth, but the hurt still tore through him.
"Hurry!" Rosalina’s voice rang out from the door. The crashes were getting even louder now.
The door sounded like it could break any second. Her face had turned a sickly yellow from the strain.
She kept pressing the button with all her strength, her arms shaking under the pressure.
Julius moved quickly to the next attempt. Nothing else mattered.
His face was deathly pale, but if he could just finish this, they would all be safe. He forced his focus back to the furnace.
He reached ten thousand degrees. He drew a quick, anxious breath.
One... two... seven... eight... nine...
Failure again. Ninety-ninth try.
The backlash struck like a hammer. Julius dropped to the ground, coughing violently.
Dark blood splattered across the floor. His eyes rolled back for a moment as pain ripped through his whole body.
"Julius!" Rosalina screamed.
Her eyes widened in terror. She tried to run to him, but she could not leave the button. The door kept shaking wildly behind her.
The Lone King stepped in. "Calm your breathing," his voice echoed as the space around Julius seemed to grow darker and quieter.
He pressed a hand firmly on Julius’s chest. "This is the last try. You can do it. Breathe in... breathe out. If you fail now, the dean will break in and kill you."
Julius’s face turned ghostly white at those words.
The burning pain still raged inside him, but he pushed it down with everything he had left and slowly climbed back to his feet.
One hundredth try.
All the materials flew into the furnace at once.
Julius raised the temperature straight to 7000°C, then quickly dropped it to 3000°C.
His breathing grew rough and ragged with every step, but this was the last one. He locked every bit of his focus on the furnace, making sure nothing went wrong.
The Lone King, who had stayed calm before, now showed clear excitement.
His face changed with each successful stage, growing more eager by the second.
"Hurry!" Rosalina’s voice rang out again from the door. "I can’t hold him much longer! He could break through any moment!"
The words hit Julius like a spark. He pushed faster.
He reached the eighth second, then the ninth. Everyone’s breath caught in their throats as he counted to the tenth.
Ten.
No explosion came this time. Julius’s eyes lit up. "Finally," he whispered, staring at the scroll for the next instructions.
When the furnace changed shape, it would become the body of a sword.
He kept his eyes fixed on the furnace.
A soft gray light spread across it as all the materials began to merge together on the surface.
The blue flames grew stronger and brighter. The furnace started to shift and stretch, covered in swirling gray light and dancing blue fire.
After so many painful failures, it was finally working. Julius could not look away.
A handle slowly took shape, glowing with blue flames. The sword began to form right before their eyes.
Rosalina watched too, still pressing the button hard.
She let out a shaky sigh of relief. Just a few more seconds and they could escape this nightmare.
The sword finished forming, wrapped in bright blue flames. Julius’s eyes shone with excitement.
He licked his dry lips. Now came the most important part, merging the sword with the Lone King’s memory remnant.
He slowly reached out and grabbed the handle.
An unbelievable power rushed into him, like he was holding something that broke every rule of the world. Julius turned toward the Lone King.
"Now the final step..." he said. "Lone King, now you will merge with the sword and become the true celestial grade invincible path treasure..."
As the words left his mouth, something sharp and cold shot straight through his throat.
Julius’s eyes widened in shock. He looked down. A sword had pierced clean through his neck, cutting like it was passing through soft tofu.
Rosalina, still holding the button, turned her head at that exact moment. Everything inside her froze.
Her brain went blank. Every muscle in her body locked up. No sound could escape her throat.
The Lone King’s small boyish body began to change. An ecstatic smile spread across his face as he grew taller and bigger, until he stood as a full-grown man.
Long auburn hair fell over his shoulders.
He casually pushed it back with his left hand while his right hand held the sword that now ran through Julius’s throat.
"Excellently done..." he said, his voice deep and satisfied.