Truth and Monument

Jing Hongchen had been dragged out of Mingde Hall by someone from the Worship Hall.

He had been buried in a pile of blueprints, checking the parameters of a Core Array, his hands covered in charcoal dust. When he heard the message, he nearly knocked over the ink bottle.

The messenger had said only, "Teacher Kong wants you there immediately." Without another word, Jing Hongchen put down his work and hurried over.

Ye Yulin had arrived before him.

The usually taciturn Level 8 Soul Engineer stood ramrod straight on the steps outside the Worship Hall, a rare look of confusion on his face. He too had apparently been intercepted along the way and was completely in the dark.

"Old Ye, did Teacher Kong summon you too?" Jing Hongchen hurried up the steps and lowered his voice.

Ye Yulin nodded, his lips pressed together. "He only said, 'Come immediately.' Nothing else."

"That's more like it." Jing Hongchen actually breathed a sigh of relief. "Whenever Teacher Kong gets an idea, he can never wait even a moment.

"Come on, let's go inside and see."

The two stepped into the hall side by side.

Then they saw a Kong Deming they had never seen before.

The old man stood in the middle of the hall, his beard and hair slightly bristling, his eyes blazing, and his face flushed with near-excitement.

His staff stood propped casually to one side. He gestured with both hands and muttered to himself, now stopping short, now turning halfway around on the spot.

He looked like a madman who had struck gold.

The three little ones crouched in a corner: Meng Hongchen hugged her knees and watched curiously, Xiao Hongchen stood with folded arms, deep in thought, and Bao Liang looked completely unperturbed, as if everything had gone according to his calculations.

"Little Toad! Little Ye! You're here!" Kong Deming crossed the distance in two strides and seized Jing Hongchen's wrist with startling strength. "Come listen-today, I've been taught a lesson by three children!"

Jing Hongchen: "...Huh?"

Ye Yulin: "?"

Without waiting for them to react, Kong Deming repeated what the three children had said.

"First, space itself can serve as a carrier; there's no need to restrict ourselves to metal.

"Second, a Life-Bound Soul Tool might be able to grow on its own, like a Soul Beast or an External Soul Bone, rather than needing to be fed materials constantly.

"Third-" He paused, his voice ringing like a great bell. "Use forging to purify metal! Hammer it as though it were alive, force out its impurities, and bring out its potential!"

Three ideas, all from the mouths of children under ten.

When Jing Hongchen finished listening, he froze on the spot.

Even Ye Yulin opened his mouth, a rare reaction from him, and it stayed open for a long while.

"This..." Jing Hongchen looked at Kong Deming, then at the three little ones. His mouth opened several times before he managed a complete sentence. "They said all that?"

"Every word of it!" Kong Deming nodded emphatically, his eyes shining even brighter. "I've thought it over. The first two will take at least several decades of verification and accumulated work, but as for the third, forging-we can take the first step right now!"

Jing Hongchen drew a deep breath, his mind racing.

Forging.

The word struck his mind like a bolt of lightning.

He suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.

During the holy war four thousand years ago, Sun Moon had seized a great number of Hidden Weapons and forging manuals from the Tang Sect.

Those Hidden Weapons were still sealed away in the lowest-level storeroom of Mingde Hall. Each had a safety mechanism attached, and forcing one apart would destroy it completely.

He had examined those Hidden Weapons back then. They had a cold, hard feel and fine, intricate textures, and they sat more comfortably in his hand than many Soul Tools of the same level.

Even then, he had vaguely sensed something was off: Hidden Weapons were just inanimate objects, so why did they feel superior to Soul Tools?

But the thought had only flashed through his mind before it was buried beneath the array blueprints covering his desk.

Looking back now-

The Hidden Weapons were probably so exceptional precisely because the Tang Sect had used forging techniques.

Blow by blow, they had hammered all the excess impurities out of the metal, giving it that dense texture.

"Back then... I clearly did suspect something..." Jing Hongchen murmured, his voice tinged with regret. "Tang Sect Hidden Weapons felt even better than Soul Tools. Why didn't I think one step further?"

"It wasn't that you failed to think," Kong Deming said with a wave, his tone unusually gentle. "This path was simply too primitive, so primitive that everyone overlooked it without thinking.

"We were like fools searching for gold while guarding a mountain of it-forging was there all along; no one ever looked down."

As soon as he finished, the three began discussing it in front of the children, as though no one else were present.

Kong Deming naturally took the lead. He was the most senior person there and the most skilled in Soul Tool Technology, while Jing Hongchen and Ye Yulin chimed in and filled the gaps.

"If forging really works," Jing Hongchen said, stroking his chin, "Sun Moon got hold of quite a few Tang Sect Hidden Weapons during the holy war four thousand years ago.

"If they didn't all have safety mechanisms that would destroy them completely if they were forced apart, I'd have taken every last one apart, no matter what, and studied the secrets of their forging!"

Ye Yulin nodded. "There was indeed something peculiar about the feel of those Hidden Weapons.

"What a shame."

"Exactly." Kong Deming clapped his hands. "That's why I called you two here. Mingde Hall and my place both have materials, furnaces, and craftsmen. You'll be responsible for making this path work.

"I'll oversee the effort and offer guidance."

At that, Kong Deming suddenly turned and smiled at the three children. "But you came up with these ideas, so it wouldn't do if I didn't ask you. What if, by asking, I get another novel idea out of you? Wouldn't that be a windfall for me?"

Bao Liang's eyes lit up.

He really did have a suggestion.

"Grandpa Kong, Grandpa Jing," he said, raising his hand as though speaking in class, "forging means controlling metal and sensing it, right? Xiao Hongchen has the Three-Legged Golden Toad Martial Soul. He can control metal naturally, and his affinity with it is ridiculously high.

"Wouldn't he be perfect for trying his hand at forging?"

Jing Hongchen slapped his thigh. "That's right!"

He nearly slapped his own head crooked. How could he, the boy's own grandfather, have forgotten his grandson's ability?

"How did I not think of that?" Jing Hongchen looked sharply at Xiao Hongchen, as though seeing his grandson for the first time. "A golden toad that controls metal-he's a born forging prospect!"

Kong Deming was equally delighted by the surprise.

He looked at Xiao Hongchen, and a thought arose unbidden.

The boy could keep his composure, sit still, and endure tedious work, and he had the golden toad's metal-controlling ability as a foundation. If Kong Deming personally guided him, from forging all the way to a Life-Bound Soul Tool, how far could he go?

Kong Deming suddenly spoke, his tone unusually solemn. "Xiao Hongchen, would you be willing to take me as your master?"

The hall fell silent in an instant.

Even the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Xiao Hongchen stiffened on the spot, his eyes wide as saucers.

Bao Liang and Meng Hongchen both froze too, their mouths hanging open.

Jing Hongchen nearly pulled his beard out. Wait, was Teacher Kong about to... take a disciple?!

That Kong Deming.

That Father of Soul Tool.

The man every Soul Engineer in all of Sun Moon believed in.

The idol Xiao Hongchen had worshipped to his very bones since childhood.

He was now asking Xiao Hongchen if he wanted to become his disciple.

Xiao Hongchen's brain crashed on the spot.

"I-" His lips moved, his voice tight. "Grandmaster... are you serious?"

"When have I ever joked about such things?" Kong Deming raised a brow.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath, then another. His eyes reddened, but he stubbornly held back the moisture gathering in them-

"I'm willing, Master!"

His voice was so loud that the entire Worship Hall hummed.

He had practically shouted it, eager to kowtow to Kong Deming on the spot.

Kong Deming waved a hand. "No kneeling.

"We don't go in for that here."

Xiao Hongchen forcibly straightened his bending knees, the corners of his mouth turning up despite himself.

Beside him, Bao Liang suddenly piped up, "If Xiao becomes Grandpa Kong's disciple, wouldn't he be of the same generation as Grandpa Jing?"

Bang-

Jing Hongchen smacked the back of his head. "No matter who he takes as his master, I'm still your grandfather!"

Bao Liang rubbed his head, grimacing, and muttered, "I was just saying," but there was a clear smile on his lips.

Watching this, Meng Hongchen suddenly tugged on Bao Liang's sleeve and whispered, "Little Baozi, I want to take a master too."

Bao Liang paused, then gestured toward Ye Yulin with his chin. "Go on."

Meng Hongchen blinked, gathered her courage, and ran over to Ye Yulin in little steps.

She tilted her small face up and said in a clear, childish voice, "Grandpa Ye, I want to learn from you. Would you be willing to teach me?"

Ye Yulin looked down at the little girl, who didn't even reach his waist, and remained silent for two breaths.

Then he turned and looked at Jing Hongchen.

Jing Hongchen folded his arms and haughtily turned his face away. "I wouldn't trust anyone else... You, old rascal, will just about do."

Ye Yulin froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. In all the years Jing Hongchen had known him, it was the first time he had seen him laugh so freely.

"All right!" Ye Yulin bent down and gently ruffled Meng Hongchen's hair with his large, rough hand, his voice unusually gentle. "Don't worry. I promise to cherish you like my own granddaughter.

"From now on, your concerns are mine."

He straightened and looked at Jing Hongchen, his eyes full of smiles. "You old bastard, thank you."

Jing Hongchen snorted and said nothing, but he couldn't suppress the curve of his lips.

His grandson had a master, and so did his granddaughter. Both were among the very best in all of Sun Moon.

What more could he, their grandfather, ask for?