[The academy elder's boot had already come down. A hairline crack split the core array on the paper, and Huo Yuhao's fingers abruptly tightened. He Caitou raised a hand and held his shoulder.]
["Don't move yet. The Sky Screen is still playing."]
[He Caitou stared at the blueprint, his voice heavy. "The core formation runes were only three strokes from completion. The person crushing them never wanted to find out whether they would hurt anyone."]
[Wang Yan spoke quietly. The elder in the image stopped as well, his boot descending no farther.]
[The elder withdrew his foot. Dust already stained the soul tool blueprint. "Since you claim it can let commoners defend themselves, hand the complete core over to the academy for review."]
[The boy braced himself against the ground and looked up, his fingers brushing the blood on his forehead. "If I hand over the complete core, the academy will classify it as a forbidden technique. You'll detain me, too."]
[The elder's sleeve hung down. The disciples guarding the gate had already surrounded the boy. "Young man, your refusal to submit to review proves you know perfectly well that something is wrong with this thing."]
[Jing Hongchen stared at the disciples. "Detain someone to force a confession, then call his refusal to surrender the blueprint a guilty conscience. Shrek certainly makes its reviews convenient."]
[Xu Tianran stopped tapping the armrest. "If the academy can use its disciples and reputation to seal off a technology, it can also choke the lifeblood of the empire's military."]
[The Sky Screen zoomed in on the blueprint. Beside the three unfinished strokes of the core formation runes was a tiny annotation: "Can still be operated with a commoner's insufficient soul power."]
[He Caitou raised his face. "Ordinary people can operate it. No wonder they're