Explosion in Silence

Xuan Ziwen had long since made up his mind: if Xiao Hongchen could accurately pinpoint the "mistakes" he had intentionally made, even just one or two, he would acknowledge the boy's truly extraordinary talent and would find no issue in taking him under his wing.

However, if he failed to identify even a single error, then he could not be blamed for being heartless. After all, he had already done his due diligence by setting the test, and if he reported the process truthfully, even Jing Hongchen would have no grounds for complaint.

Initially, the facts were exactly as he had anticipated. Although the boy Xiao Hongchen's martial soul could control metal, his temperament was mediocre and his observational skills were weak; he hadn't noticed any of the various mistakes Xuan Ziwen had planted.

He had been on the verge of announcing the test results when the strange boy brought over by Meng Hongchen suddenly spoke up and called him "Senior Brother."

If it were merely a matter of address, it would be a triviality, but he never expected this stranger to claim he had spotted a full three issues!

What a joke!

From the moment that boy appeared within his perception, he had only intentionally committed two mistakes in total. Even if the boy wanted to show off, he should at least be somewhat grounded in reality, shouldn't he?

Still, given that the boy had addressed him as Senior Brother, he could afford a bit more tolerance. If the boy could truly identify the problems—even just one—he would forgive all previous offenses and be willing to take him as a disciple.

As he thought this, Xuan Ziwen assumed such a scenario was impossible, but reality slapped him hard in the face!

The boy had actually pointed out one of the mistakes he had intentionally made!

Just as Xuan Ziwen's thoughts were in turmoil, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but interrupt.

"Teacher Xuan, this brat is actually spouting nonsense..."

Before Xiao Hongchen could finish, Xuan Ziwen narrowed his eyes, cut him off, and spoke to Xu Tianming with a tone of pleasant surprise:

"You are correct. However, since you claim to have found three mistakes, why not point out the other two all at once?"

At these words, the siblings Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were both stunned.

Xiao Hongchen's inner thoughts:

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"If Teacher Xuan really made mistakes, how could I possibly have missed them?"

"It's fake! This must be fake!"

Meng Hongchen's inner thoughts:

"Oh my god! Brother Tianming actually managed to see Teacher Xuan's mistakes?"

"So he wasn't just spouting nonsense, he actually has real talent!"

"Hehe, now I can rest easy. From start to finish, it was just that idiot Xiao Hongchen throwing a tantrum. Grandfather will definitely break his legs for this!"

Xuan Ziwen's words also allowed Xu Tianming to breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he had great faith in Columbina's perception, this was, after all, the first collision between the power of an Otherworld God and the soul tool technology of this world. It was only natural that he felt uncertain about the final outcome.

Fortunately, the facts proved that Columbina's perception was incredibly accurate.

"The second mistake is in the center of this sword. I am certain that when you were engraving the soul array here, Senior Brother, you intentionally reduced your force. While it doesn't affect the integrity of the array, in actual combat, this section will be able to withstand about twenty percent less Soul Power than the rest of the arrays!"

After pointing out the second issue, Xu Tianming took a deep breath and identified the final problem Columbina had discovered:

"As for the last one, it is the hilt you engraved last. To be honest, your technique is brilliant, and at first, I didn't see the problem. It wasn't until you finished and all the arrays on the sword resonated that I realized you had been increasing your force throughout the entire process of engraving the final array. While it doesn't affect integrity, it causes the arrays on the blade to resonate with the core array in the hilt two seconds slower than a perfect Soul Tool Sword would!"

Xuan Ziwen's gaze toward Xu Tianming had initially been one of appreciation, but after hearing the final point, he turned solemn. He gripped the Soul Tool Sword he had crafted, injected his Soul Power, and felt the resonance of the arrays.

The core array activated, and after a three-second lag, all the arrays on the sword resonated.

Xuan Ziwen was certain there was no issue with his core array engraving; after all, for many years in the Sun Moon Empire, all Soul Engineers had engraved core arrays this way. For all finished swords, the time between the activation of the core array and the full resonance of all arrays was typically three to five seconds. His sword, which took three seconds, could even be considered a high-quality product.

But if what this strange boy said was true...

Wouldn't that overturn the engraving methods passed down by Soul Engineers for hundreds of years?

Xuan Ziwen subconsciously dismissed it as unlikely.

Even if there were a genius in the world of Soul Engineers capable of optimizing the forging method, they shouldn't be this young!

How old was this boy? Did he really understand Soul Tools?

But his reason told him that practice is the sole criterion for truth. Whether the boy was right or wrong would be clear once he re-engraved the core array according to his instructions.

Action-oriented, Xuan Ziwen moved quickly.

However, just as he prepared to erase the core array on the sword to re-engrave it, Xiao Hongchen had another "episode," and it was particularly severe:

"Fake! Hahahaha! It's all fake! I said that if even I couldn't see any mistakes, how could some brat who popped out of nowhere see them? It turns out this was all a performance directed by you, Xuan Ziwen! You just didn't want to take me as a disciple, so you intentionally made things difficult! And because you were afraid I'd call you out, you found this brat to put on a show for me!"

"What kind of bullshit mistakes! You're the one who set the test, and this boy is your actor. With your intentional cooperation, isn't it whatever you say it is?"

"But you were careless in the end! I didn't expect this wet-behind-the-ears brat to be such an idiot! Hahahaha! It's hilarious, he even claimed the resonance time of this core array could be shortened by two seconds—what a fantasy! Does he really take me for a layman who knows nothing?"

"Just you wait! I'm going to call my grandfather to judge this. Daring to humiliate the future heir of the Hongchen Family, you two are doomed!"

After screaming his threats at Xuan Ziwen and Xu Tianming, Xiao Hongchen didn't even spare Meng Hongchen:

"And you, you idiot who can't even distinguish blood relations, once Grandfather arrives, I will report everything truthfully. Just wait to be punished by the family law!"

Just as Xiao Hongchen finished his long rant, a situation occurred that no one present had anticipated.

Ye Guyi, who had been wearing a mask and standing quietly behind Xu Tianming the entire time, suddenly moved.

She walked straight forward two steps, raised her hand, and delivered a fierce slap to Xiao Hongchen's face.

The crisp sound echoed through the quiet Mingde Hall.

Ye Guyi felt an incomparable sense of satisfaction in her heart.

Although Xu Tianming had instructed beforehand that no one was to act without orders, she could no longer bring herself to care about that.

To dare oppose her benefactor was to oppose her; giving him a single slap to teach him a lesson was already letting him off easy.

As for the potential consequences of such an action.

She would take responsibility for her own deeds; she would bear the burden alone!