She looked up at Su Li.
Su Li wore an innocent expression.
"You did that on purpose."
"Just happened to."
Talia flipped the refined steel block over and tapped its underside with a fingernail. "Just happened to? Your reason for leaving an obtuse angle here is exactly the same as the technique you used when repairing the wrist guard last time. Let the energy turn on its own."
Su Li said nothing, only smiled.
Violet sat in the corner, not a single word written with the recording pen in her hand. She stared at the refined steel test block with an expression like she had bitten into an unripe green olive.
She had studied for a hundred and fifty years, and the step into the third tier had taken her a full eight years to grind through. This human had walked in, sat down, and done it in less than a morning.
"Don't rush. There are still three layers of composite structures and dynamic balance ahead." Talia pushed over the second test block. "The difficulty doubles."
Su Li picked up the needle.
An hour later, the second test block was complete.
After Talia finished inspecting it, she expressionlessly pushed over the third block.
"No break?" Su Li glanced at the sun outside the window.
"What are you resting for?" Talia's tea had gone cold, and she had not taken a single sip. "If you really felt tired, I'd be relieved instead."
The third block. The fourth. The fifth.
Five test blocks, five different third-tier foundational circuits. Su Li completed every one of them, his time dropping from an hour to half an hour.
When Talia set the final test block back on the table, her fingers were a little stiff.
She turned and walked to the window, standing with her