Chương 2: I promise!

Krune couldn't believe what he had just heard. Shouldn't they at least ask for his opinion?

Although he could not help but think that way, he didn't say anything. He knew very well that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! The girl and the man seemed to come from a very powerful background, and perhaps, they were even from 'that' Wang clan. If he went with them, he wouldn't have to fear being hunted anymore. Though, at the same time, thinking back over the past 3 years of his life where he just fled, he couldn't help but ponder.

'Is it really okay to flee again? Didn't I just decide that if I got the opportunity, I would definitely become stronger? Didn't I want to show everyone that a wisp can also achieve great things? Sure, I thought that the chance would be in my next reincarnation. But if I used this reason to flee again, that would just be an excuse!'

The old man looked at him and didn't say anything. He could more or less tell what the wisp was thinking due to his higher cultivation. Then again, he decided that he wouldn't care. It's just a wisp, after all. If he brought it along with them, at least the little girl would stop throwing a tantrum every now and then. So, he simply nodded. Not to mention, he felt that there was something slightly off about this. Feifei was being a lot more forceful than she usually was.

Feifei immediately became joyful and looked back at the wisp, saying.

"Little guy, come with us! I won't let any baddies hurt you anymore."

Although Krune was conflicted, he started to move in the direction of the spaceship with them. It was close by, so it would only take a few minutes for him to reach it. But deep down, his mind was still making what seemed to be his greatest decision to date.

'Is this really what I want? I've been pursued my entire life. Every day I just wanted to stay out of trouble. If I go with them, will it really prove anything?'

The closer they got to the ship, the more intense the conflict in his mind became. At a distance, Krune could see the Wang Clan spaceship, and on its side, the Wang Clan insignia. Even for Krune, who had lived in this forest, the Wang Clan was still something he heard of from time to time. Well, who wouldn't tremble after hearing the name of one of the big four from the Western Protectorate! Though, even with that, he still thought that this current situation wasn't exactly what he wanted.

The ship was enormous, and the crew could be seen running everywhere, finalizing the minor details before taking off. Eventually, just when they were about to board the ship, Krune stopped. The girl and the old man looked back at him, slightly confused. Krune then gathered all the courage he could find to say his next words.

"I can't go."

The old man and girl duo looked at him with surprise, especially the old man. Does this wisp even know what kind of opportunity he was throwing away? The Wang Clan was one of the biggest clans of the Western Protectorate, not to mention with hundreds of sectors under its banner! On top of that, they're one of the big four as well! Even if this wisp came from a planet that dogs don't even want to piss on, he's bound to know about the Wang Clan, right?

If Krune could smile at the moment, the smile he would be showing would definitely be bitter. But after some time, the feeling that was crushing him disappeared. He then looked back at Feifei and said.

"Miss Feifei, I haven't told you my name yet. I'm named Krune. Before you ask, we wisps are born from the energy of heaven and earth. In short, we don't have any parents to speak of. And because of this, we also don't have a family name either. Even the name Krune is something I thought up myself."

"I am eternally grateful for what you did for me, but I can't go with you. I know about the Wang Clan. I know what kind of opportunity I'm leaving behind, but I can't go. I'm unwilling! During the entirety of my still short life, I've been pursued by wisp hunters and demon beasts. Wisps are great cultivation resources, and I learned that in the worst way possible. I've seen the already few existent wisps being taken away, only being thought of as money, resources, and so on."

The little lady was indeed too young, all those words left her confused, but she could still feel the little guy's feelings at least.

But the one who was really surprised was the old man. He was an expert, and as someone assigned to protect the little lady of the Wang Clan, he was definitely one of the big shots out there. Because of his extremely high cultivation, he could tell that Krune wasn't lying. He couldn't help but change his impression of this wisp a little.

"I'm unwilling! I don't want to flee like this. I finally decided to get back at them. I want to show those hunters and everyone else that I'm not just some measly cultivation resource. I want to prove that I can be just as strong as everyone else, that we also have dreams and feelings. If I go with you, an easy life will probably be waiting for me. But that's not what I want anymore. Then again, this situation is quite funny. If you had appeared a day before, I probably would have gone with you without hesitation."

"Miss Feifei, senior, I'm sorry, but I can't go with you. Krune will remember this favor for the rest of his life, and if there comes a day where this weak wisp can pay it back, this little one will definitely do so."

Feifei looked dejected and was about to argue when the old man whispered to her.

"Feifei, I know that you want to bring him with us, but he probably won't change his mind even if you try. Let me give it a try first."

He looked back at Krune with a stern face. His impression of the wisp had become a little better, but that was all. Someone as old as him had seen such changes way too many times.

"Krune, you said that you want to become strong, to prove yourself, and to get back at them. But as a wisp, you should know how limited your life span is. Usually, a person with an average talent would take up to 20 years to break through into the Foundation Establishment Realm, and that's considering they have help and the resources necessary for it. But for wisps, 10 years is already the maximum their life span can go. Their only advantage is their intelligence. They can achieve an adult mind at the age of 2 or 3 without any help, but that's all! If you don't breakthrough into the next realm before that, you will simply die."

Before Krune could even reply, UIncle Feng continued speaking.

"And I might tell you this since you probably don't know this part. The amount of life span gained per breakthrough is proportional to the individual's base life span. Take a human, for example. The life span of a human is around 100 years. There are very few cases where people can pass this limit without breaking into the next realm. When they break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, their life span will double. This means that they gain 100 more years to try and reach the Core Formation Realm, which is obviously much harder than reaching Foundation Establishment."

"But you're only a wisp. Your life span is only 10 years! Even after reaching Foundation Establishment, you will only gain 10 more years. If you want to reach Core Formation, you'll have to make do with what remained from your life span plus the extra time you get from your breakthrough. This is why no one takes wisps seriously. This is why no sect or any other power would accept wisps under normal conditions either. That's because they don't have a future! Think about it once more. Do you really not want to come with Feifei? At least you'll live in peace during the few years you still have."

After listening to Uncle Feng's explanation, Krune's mind felt like it was struck by lightning! He knew that wisps had very limited life spans. Even knowing that, he probed from the nearby villages. He found out that Foundation Establishment cultivators gained 100 years of extra life after the breakthrough. But the fact about it being proportional to one's base life span was something completely new to him. In an instant, his mind went into turmoil.

'Should I give up? The Foundation Establishment Realm already seemed like a far-fetched dream, but now it seems like even if I reach it, it won't have much of a meaning.'

Krune kept silent for a few minutes, but neither Feifei nor the old man rushed him. Even Feifei understood that it was hard to digest this truth.

After mulling over it for some time, that unwillingness he felt when he was about to be captured started to grow again. Eventually, it had reached the same point as before. Since he had made up his mind, why should he hesitate?

'To hell with everything! If I'm going to die either way, I'd rather die trying!'

With that, Krune looked back at them and said in response.

"Thank you, senior, for the words of advice. After all you've said, my mind is still made up. I still wish to try it! I probably... no, I most likely wouldn't succeed. But as I've said before, I simply can't let it go. My life span is already short anyway, so why don't I just give it my all?"

The old man looked deeply at the wisp in front of him. After a while, he only let out a sigh. Feifei beside him was already tearing up.

Krune noticed this and was taken aback. No one has ever cried because of him! He had no idea about what to do. He was lost. But then he remembered that as a wisp, a being of energy, he could control the energy around his body and change his own form to look like something else. Of course, he would still have an energy-like appearance, so no one would ever be fooled by that.

He started to fly like a sparrow, jump like a frog, formed a mini pool of energy, took the form of a whale, and splashed the energy around. He could only think of doing that to see if Feifei would cheer up.

When Feifei saw all of that, she burst into laughter. She almost rolled on the ground from laughing too hard. The old man by the side was quite pleased with the wisp's performance. He indeed looked like a strict elder, but for him, who had been protecting Feifei ever since she was born, he obviously saw her like his own granddaughter and loved her very much. There was also the promise he made back then.

Krune saw that and was relieved.

"Is Miss Feifei happy now?"

Feifei looked very happy at that moment when suddenly, an idea formed in her head.

"I am! Since you don't want to come with me, I will let you go, but you have to promise me one thing first."

Krune looked a little lost but agreed with it nonetheless.

"As long as I can accomplish it, Miss Feifei can count on me."

Feifei smiled in response and said.

"When you become strong enough, you must come back to me, then we can marry!

Both Krune and Uncle Feng were taken aback.

"That came out of nowhere!"

Didn't she listen to anything that was said just a while ago? The chances of such a thing happening were almost nonexistent! And what was this talk about marrying? Both Krune and Uncle Feng thought the same thing. He was just a wisp. The Wang Clan would never accept such a proposal.

Uncle Feng immediately scolded her.

"Feifei, stop fooling around! What's this marrying thing you're talking about? You're just a child! Do you even know what marriage means? Besides, he's just a wisp. Let's forget about the fact that he probably wouldn't even be alive to see that future. Even if he does live that long, do you think your father would permit that?"

The old man could also have said that you couldn't marry a wisp since it wasn't a man or woman. But then he remembered that all demon beasts could achieve a human form once their cultivation was higher enough. Simply put, the weaker the type of life form, the earlier they can change into human form. For divine beasts, for example, they can take on a human form only when they reached the Void Breaking Realm.

How about wisps?

Foundation Establishment! They're so weak that they could immediately change into their human form as soon as they achieve their first breakthrough. Their gender was also only able to be seen after that. From what he knew, their personalities were what decided what gender they'd have by then, and he was certain that this wisp was bound to be a man!

It's not like there were no Foundation Establishment Realm wisps in existence before. If they looked after one, they could definitely find some out there. With Feifei's status, it would be way too easy for her to find one. But this kind of Foundation Establishment Realm wisp wasn't something that could be found in Makui Planet, that's for sure.

Feifei did not give up and started throwing a tantrum.

"I don't care! Krune, at least, is funnier than all those annoying guys father keeps forcing me to meet! I don't like any of them! Krune is much better!"

Of course, Feifei wasn't thinking about marriage as something important at all! She just thought that since she had to have a husband, a funny one like this wisp would be better. She wasn't thinking about race or status at all. But surprisingly, there was one more reason that she hadn't told them behind this thought.

Krune was at a loss for words. Not long after, he suddenly started to laugh! He couldn't help but like this little girl even more. Who would ever propose marriage to a wisp?

'Feifei probably doesn't even know the importance of those words.'

In fact, even Krune didn't understand the concept of marriage well. From what he found out so far, it was more like getting some kind of permission to have children or taking away the other family's daughter.

He then looked at Feifei and replied with a light chuckle.

"Haha! Sure, I'll make sure to become someone strong enough to the point that even your father will have nothing to complain about. In my life, I promise I will only like Wang Feifei and no one else!"

Krune looked at Feifei and couldn't help but think.

'Well, she would have probably forgotten about this meaningless promise by the time she arrives back to her clan anyway. So, this shouldn't cause any trouble for me. Haha!'

Though, poor Krune had no idea about the implications of today's words.