Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Under these intense stares, Ning Chan didn’t sense any malice directed at him.

Based on the current interactions, Ning Chan felt assured enough to teach them how to make these "treasures."

However, seeing the admiration and awe on their faces, Ning Chan smirked slightly.

"Wuqinuo, stretch out your hand." Wuqinuo, startled, his gaze still fixed on the sphere, still dazed. He instinctively moved to extend his right hand, only to feel the tightness and pain from the recently set arm, still immobilized by splints.

He blinked, then vigorously wiped his left hand against his clothes before extending it toward Ning Chan.

He didn’t know what Ning Chan intended to do, but he was deeply grateful to Lord Holy Son for saving him from a life of disability.

Ning Chan gently placed the sphere—half as big as his palm—into Wuqinuo’s hand, then watched as the man’s jaw dropped, looking like he might faint.

"Oh, my Holy Lord, it’s like a water spirit—it’s melting in my hand!

My palm is sweating—is it going to slip? Oh heavens, I don’t dare squeeze it—it’s so slippery!

No, it’s rolling—

Lord Holy Son, please take it back quickly—I can’t hold on much longer!"

Even though the sphere wasn’t moving in Wuqinuo’s large palm, he felt as though it had come alive, slipping around.

In just a short moment, sweat beaded on Wuqinuo’s forehead.

Watching this scar-faced, towering, muscle-bound man recoil like a kid scared of bugs, his voice going shrill, the onlookers found the scene rather amusing.

Yet, out of deference to Wuqinuo’s intimidating presence, they stifled their laughter—until Kane’s bright laughter broke the tension like some strange trigger, and soon, everyone burst out laughing.

Hearing them, Wuqinuo shot them a glare, though the effect was diminished by the tears in his eyes. His angry but pathetic expression only made them laugh harder.

Though they didn’t know the term "contrast cuteness," they were experiencing it firsthand.

Before, their fear of these knights had outweighed their respect. They avoided disturbing them whenever possible, terrified that the slightest misstep might provoke a fist like a sledgehammer smashing into them.

But now, seeing Wuqinuo like this, they realized he wasn’t so frightening after all.

Noticing Wuqinuo’s legs beginning to tremble, Ning Chan’s eyes curved in amusement, a faint smile on his lips as he retrieved the sphere and handed it to the person laughing the loudest in the crowd.

This man’s voice was booming, his laughter booming like a subwoofer.

Bob’s laughter cut off abruptly, his grin frozen, his expression twisting slightly.

Thankfully, he had both hands free—otherwise, he might’ve had to lie flat on the ground just to feel secure.

His large, fan-like palms clamped tightly around the sphere, leaving no gap, as if the slightest opening would let it escape and shatter on the floor.

The person behind him, blocked by the angle, hadn’t seen the exchange. Noticing Bob’s sudden silence, they leaned forward curiously—only to see his unusually grave expression.

"Hey, what’s wrong?" They nudged Bob’s arm, only for him to jerk away as if stung, yelping, "Don’t touch me!"

The shouter froze. What was this? Since when had Bob become more skittish than a stray cat?

Seeing this, Wuqinuo felt revitalized. He laughed uproariously, grinning smugly. "Still laughing at me? You think you can handle that treasure any better?"

Bob shot him a glare before carefully presenting the sphere back to Ning Chan. "Lord Holy Son, you should hold onto this treasure."

Ning Chan looked at the two tightly clenched hands and said, "You said you'd give it to me, at least open your hands properly."

"No need to be so nervous. You'll be handling these regularly in the future, so just get used to it now. By the way, what's your name?" Ning Chan clasped his hands behind his back, not taking the sphere. Instead, he studied Bob as if intending to chat with him.

Bob looked at Ning Chan with eyes glistening, the sweat on his palms making him feel as though the object was slipping around uncontrollably. Every nerve in his body was tense.

"My name is Bob Wright."

"Alright, Bob. Then please pass it to the next person so everyone can get a feel for it." Ning Chan glanced around, and instantly, the laughter and chatter died down, replaced by a tense atmosphere.

If it weren't for the fact that Ning Chan himself had brought out the sphere, the current scene would have looked like they were passing around an already lit bomb.

Bob's eyes lit up as he followed Ning Chan's gaze and zeroed in on the person nearest to him. Without hesitation, he shoved the sphere into their hands. To prevent them from dropping it out of nervousness, he even kept his hand over theirs for a moment longer, helping them grip it firmly.

Then, as the sphere was passed along, those who had already held it gradually relaxed, while those who hadn't remained wary of when it would land in their hands.

Without exception, everyone kept their distance from the person holding the sphere, afraid of bumping into them and causing the precious object to shatter on the ground.

"Saint Ning, is this divine artifact really something we can make?" The last person to receive the sphere was Guang Wu. Looking at Ning Chan's casual expression, he recalled the saint's earlier words.

Guang Wu collected himself and carefully ran his fingers over the sphere. He held it up to the sunlight, watching the halo it cast, his heart filled with excitement.

"Of course. I came here precisely to have you build the kiln first. Once the raw materials arrive, we can start production." Ning Chan retrieved the glass sphere from Guang Wu's reluctant hands and then unrolled blueprints, instructing them to gather people to dig and construct the kiln.

The temperature required for glassmaking is higher than that for pottery, so the kiln design required special modifications.

Thus, Ning Chan stayed at the estate until the glass kiln was completed. Along the way, he also taught the craftsmen brick-making and lime production, stockpiling materials for future building projects when funds allowed.

After several trial runs in the glass kiln using pre-collected raw materials—wasting some materials in the process—Ning Chan declared the kilns ready for use.

In truth, even without these tests, Ning Chan could sense whether the kilns were properly built. With his fire-based superpower, he was essentially a human thermometer. To check if the temperature met the standard, he only needed to use his ability.

As Guang Wu and the others gazed at what they had created, they felt a lump in their throats. Such exquisite vessels had actually come from their hands—something they had never dared to imagine before.

However, one thing bothered them: due to their initial lack of skill, the early products inevitably contained impurities and flaws. Yet even these were stunning "treasures" that could fetch high prices if sold. But Saint Ning disagreed.

All substandard pieces had to be smashed immediately. The tinkling of broken glass was like gold being thrown away!

Fortunately, Ning Chan considered these materials too valuable to waste and didn't discard the broken glass. Otherwise, given how rare it was, someone would have picked it up and sold it the moment it was tossed out.

Ning Chan had the craftsmen melt the shards down again, turning them into large glass panels. He planned to build a greenhouse garden near the church.

Though, he had only proceeded because he'd heard this region was free of hailstorms—otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to construct a glasshouse.

Once the glass workshop began producing, Ning Chan ordered his subordinates to start building hype.

When the auction officially began, and Ning Chan unveiled the first collection of finished products on the auction block, the audible gasps in the crowd told him they had a winner.