Xuan Ziwen had already made up his mind. If Xiao Hongchen managed to spot the "mistakes" he had deliberately made—even one or two—then he would admit the boy was truly gifted. Taking him on as a disciple would hardly be unacceptable.
But if Xiao Hongchen couldn't find even one mistake, then Xuan Ziwen couldn't be blamed for showing no mercy. After all, he had already done his utmost by agreeing to set a test. And since he had explained the process truthfully, Jing Hongchen wouldn't have any grounds to complain.
At first, things had gone exactly as he expected. Although Xiao Hongchen's Martial Soul let him control metal, the boy was rather poor in temperament and observation. He hadn't noticed any of Xuan Ziwen's mistakes.
Xuan Ziwen had been about to announce the results when the unfamiliar young man Meng Hongchen had brought along opened his mouth and called him Senior Brother.
If it had only been a matter of how the boy addressed him, that would have been a small thing. But the young man had claimed to spot three whole problems!
What a joke!
From the moment the boy had come within range of his perception, Xuan Ziwen had deliberately made only two mistakes, at most. If the kid wanted to show off, he could at least make it believable, couldn't he?
Still, since the unfamiliar young man had called him Senior Brother right away, Xuan Ziwen didn't mind giving him a little leeway. If the boy could actually point out the problems—even just one—Xuan Ziwen would forgive all his earlier offenses and take him as a disciple.
When the thought first occurred to him, Xuan Ziwen had been certain there was no chance of that happening. But reality had slapped him hard across the face!
The young man had really pointed out one of the mistakes he had deliberately made!
Just as Xuan Ziwen's thoughts were thrown into disarray, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help speaking up, interrupting them.
"Teacher Xuan, this kid dares to make such an outrageous claim..."
Before Xiao Hongchen could finish, Xuan Ziwen narrowed his eyes and cut him off. Then, with delight in his voice, he said to Xu Tianming,
"You're right. But since you said you found three mistakes, go ahead and point out the other two as well."
At his words, the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both dumbfounded.
Xiao Hongchen thought:
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"If Teacher Xuan really made a mistake, how could I not have noticed?"
"It's fake! This has to be fake!"
Meng Hongchen thought:
"Oh my god! Tianming really can spot Teacher Xuan's mistakes?"
"So he wasn't making an outrageous claim—he really does have some skill!"
"Hehe, now I can relax. From beginning to end, Xiao Hongchen has just been throwing a helpless tantrum like an idiot. Now Grandpa will definitely break his dog legs!"
Xuan Ziwen's words also let Xu Tianming breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he had complete faith in Columbina's perception,
this was the first time the power of an Otherworld God had clashed with this world's Soul Guidance Technology. It was only natural for him to feel uncertain about the outcome.
Thankfully, the result proved that Columbina's perception was remarkably accurate.
"The second mistake is in the middle of this sword. I can say for certain that when you engraved the Soul Guidance Array here, Senior Brother Xuan, you deliberately eased your hand a little. It doesn't affect the array's integrity, but in actual combat, this section of the Soul Guidance Array can withstand about twenty percent less Soul Power than the arrays in the other sections!"
After pointing out the second problem, Xu Tianming drew a deep breath, then went on to identify the final issue Columbina had discovered.
"As for the last one, it's in the hilt, where you made your final engraving, Senior Brother Xuan. To be honest, your engraving technique is excellent. At first, I didn't see what was wrong. It wasn't until you finished engraving and all the Soul Guidance Arrays on the sword resonated that I noticed. When engraving the final array, you kept increasing the force you applied. It still doesn't affect the sword's integrity, but it means that when the arrays on the blade resonate with the core Soul Guidance Array in the hilt, the resonance takes a full two seconds longer to activate than it would in a perfectly made Soul Tool Sword!"
Xuan Ziwen had initially looked at Xu Tianming with admiration. But after hearing the last problem, his expression instantly turned grave. He picked up the Soul Tool Sword he had made, infused it with Soul Power, and felt the resonance process of its Soul Guidance Arrays.
The core array activated. After a three-second delay, all the Soul Guidance Arrays on the sword resonated.
Xuan Ziwen was certain he hadn't made any mistakes while engraving the core array. After all, for many years, every Soul Engineer in the Sun Moon Empire had engraved the core arrays of Soul Tool Swords this way. And with every completed Soul Tool Sword, the time between activating the core array and achieving resonance among all the arrays was usually three to five seconds. His sword, which achieved resonance in three seconds, could even be considered a fine piece of work.
But if what the unfamiliar young man said was true...
Wouldn't that overturn a method of engraving handed down among Soul Engineers for hundreds of years?
Xuan Ziwen instinctively thought it unlikely.
Even if a genius in the Soul Engineer world could improve the method of forging Soul Tool Swords, he shouldn't be this young!
How old was this boy? Did he really understand Soul Tools?
But reason told him that practice was the true test. To find out if the unfamiliar young man was telling the truth, all he had to do was engrave the core array again according to the boy's instructions.
Xuan Ziwen was quick to act. He decided to do it right away.
But just as he was about to erase the core array on the Soul Tool Sword and engrave it again, Xiao Hongchen had another fit—and this one was particularly severe.
"Fake! Hahahaha! It's all fake! I knew it! If even I couldn't spot the mistakes, how could some brat who came out of nowhere see them? So this whole thing was staged by you, Xuan Ziwen! You just don't want to take me as your disciple, so you deliberately made things difficult for me! And because you were afraid I'd call you out, you found some brat who came out of nowhere and put on a show in front of me!"
"What kind of stupid mistakes are these? You set the test, and this kid's your hired actor. With you playing along, he can say whatever he likes!"
"But you still slipped up! I didn't expect this wet-behind-the-ears kid to be such an idiot! Hahahaha! This is too funny! He actually claimed that the resonance time of this Soul Tool Sword's core array can be shortened by another two seconds—that's pure fantasy! Does he think I'm some clueless outsider?"
"Just you wait! I'll call Grandpa over right now and let him judge this fairly. You dared to humiliate the future heir of the Hongchen Family. Neither of you is going to get away with it!"
After shouting his threats at Xuan Ziwen and Xu Tianming, Xiao Hongchen didn't spare Meng Hongchen either.
"And you, you idiot who can't even tell what family loyalty means! When Grandpa gets here, I'll report everything that happened. Just you wait for him to punish you under the family rules!"
Just as Xiao Hongchen finished his long tirade, something no one present had expected happened.
The masked Ye Guyi, who had stood quietly behind Xu Tianming the entire time, suddenly moved.
She strode forward two steps, raised her hand, and slapped Xiao Hongchen hard across the face.
The crisp sound echoed through the quiet Mingde Hall.
Ye Guyi felt an immense rush of satisfaction.
Although Xu Tianming had told her beforehand not to act without his order, she couldn't hold back any longer.
Daring to oppose her benefactor meant opposing her. Giving him just one slap to teach him a lesson was already letting him off easy.
As for the consequences her actions might bring—
She would take responsibility for what she had done. She would face them alone!
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