Tang Biao was met with a cold stare as icy as frost, causing him to instinctively step back.

Even in his wildest thoughts, he couldn’t have imagined that this young troublemaker would dare to return.

Not only did he come back, but he also dared to participate in the forging competition, openly provoking him.

Tang Biao felt stiff all over—not from fear, but because his brain couldn’t process the shock.

Subconsciously, he realized the situation today was extremely dire!

Back in his family, he had countless ways to make such a young troublemaker meet an unexplained end.

But now, in front of four grandmasters of forging and the Director, what could he possibly do?

Moreover, Master Minghua had said they needed to explain the origin and principles of their ideas.

This meant they had to compete in forging techniques with dignity and transparency.

The fame this young troublemaker achieved at sixteen with his work was immense.

Now, four years later, who knew how far he had progressed…

Could he surpass forging techniques?

Tang Biao’s throat made a gurgling sound, and he couldn’t utter a word for quite some time.

Tang Zifeng watched Tang Biao’s drastic change in demeanor, realizing for the first time how fragile his enemy was.

Before anything had even begun, he was already so fearful and uneasy.

Suddenly, he recalled what Qin Ruqing had told him before the competition started.

She had said he was slow-witted and needed her to teach him this skill of tormenting scum.

She excitedly said, “Tang Zifeng, you must not see Tang Biao as too powerful! Let me tell you, he’s nothing but a paper tiger who won’t amount to anything significant. Look at how his reputation has spread in Xiling since we arrived. Many forging grandmasters aren’t as famous as him, and I refuse to believe this happened without someone pushing for it. What does this show? He cares deeply about this! His inner self is very deficient and needs these false praises to fill the void!”

With a laugh, she said with an excited look like watching a play, “A big stupid man who has created a genius image for himself. I’m telling you, he enjoys all this so much that he’s afraid of losing it all. Tang Zifeng—he fears you! Everything he has gained is based on plagiarizing your work when you were sixteen. All his glory is built upon your talent! His heart must be filled with crazy jealousy and regret that he didn’t kill you back then, only to drive you out of the house.”

“Like this, you go up there, it would be best if you could stand with him, and then tear your black robe off with a slap. Do you believe he can be frightened on the spot?”

“Brave Tang Zifeng, don’t hesitate, just confront Tang Biao! While he hasn’t reacted yet, output frantically, grab the audience’s first impression characteristics and say, it’s best to sell some disasters. Do you know that your looks are particularly suitable for selling a disaster? And not just Tang Biao to catch on, you’ve also given yourself a pinch-

“That’s who you are! The real you! You’re so outstanding! So don’t be afraid at all, Tang Biao is no match for you. Hurry up and defeat him, then we can take over the Tang family…”

Afterwards, she began imagining how he would overthrow the current head of the Tang family and become the head himself, ideally with the Qin family following as their underlings… (haha)

Standing on the platform, Tang Zifeng smiled for some reason.

Fortunately, his expression was minimal, a slight curve of his lips forming a faint smile.

He calmly withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at Tang Biao, but instead bowed to Master Minghe and began his presentation.

“This spiritual weapon is called the Falling Star Bursting Ball, inspired by my thoughts at sixteen. That year, I began sketching the forging blueprint and gradually perfected it, reaching a point where I could attempt to create the physical object.”

With these words, the four grandmasters on the platform all showed astonishment.

Such conceptual creativity, thought of at sixteen?

Master Qishan was especially shocked, looking at Tang Zifeng several times and asking, “You had the forging blueprint drawn to the point where you could attempt to create the physical object at sixteen? How old are you now?”

Forging masters knew that once a blueprint reached the stage where a physical object could be attempted, the creation of the spiritual weapon was mostly completed.

Any remaining issues could be found and adjusted based on the effects of the actual object.

Before Tang Zifeng could speak, Master Yuantai picked up a form and pointed to a certain place for Master Qishan to see.

After seeing the words clearly, Qishan grabbed his beard fiercely, “You’re only twenty years old!”

Conceptualizing this spiritual weapon at sixteen, roughly designing the blueprint, and at twenty, actually creating the physical object with few issues?

If there were any issues unsolved, it meant the design might be flawed and ineligible for the competition.

Tang Zifeng nodded and continued, “However, after completing the initial design of the blueprint, I did not continue my research because my blueprint was stolen by my second uncle, Tang Biao.”

Wow!

There was silence on the platform, but the square below had already exploded!

Those forging masters didn’t even bother sitting on the small stools anymore; they stood up in shock.

They knew there was big news, but they didn’t expect it to be this huge.

Tang Biao had been revered by them as a leading figure among the younger generation of Xiling’s forgers.

Now you’re telling me he plagiarized?

Stole his own nephew’s design blueprint?!!

What did their years of praise for Tang Biao amount to!

Their first reaction was disbelief.

There was no way they could believe Tang Zifeng; otherwise, wouldn’t that mean they were all fools?

They began to curse loudly.

“Do you know what you’re saying!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! If it’s about ideas, it’s about ideas; if it’s about plagiarism, it’s about plagiarism. Now you’re turning the tables and saying your uncle stole your design from when you were sixteen. Don’t be so shameless!”

“I might as well say you’re plagiarizing your uncle. Come down!”

If this little beast says anything…

They began to angrily accuse, “Tang Zifeng! How dare you distort the truth in front of the forging masters and the chief! Clearly, you plagiarized my blueprint, hastily attempted to create the physical object without fully understanding the blueprint, and ended up killing our clan leader’s son. This harmed our clan members.”

“Such a grave offense! Back then, instead of severe punishment, we merely banished you from our home, which was already a lenient plea to the clan leader. Yet you’ve shown no remorse and returned to Xiling, even entering the forging competition with stolen work. You’ve disgraced the Tang family’s reputation!” Tang Biao knelt down, actually apologizing to the grandmasters and the chief, claiming he had failed to supervise properly, allowing such a morally corrupt young troublemaker to emerge.

He also stated that the young troublemaker had disrupted the forging competition, and as his uncle, he would personally ensure severe punishment to satisfy the grandmasters, the Director, and the people of Xiling.

Watching Tang Biao perform like this on stage left Qin Ruqing and her companions utterly dumbfounded.

“He’s really figured out this ‘distorting the truth and turning the tables’ routine!” Qin Ruqing mused, stroking her chin.

She wasn’t worried about Tang Zifeng at all; today’s outcome was already set, and she found his uncle’s act quite amusing.

Qi Rong exhaled heavily through his nostrils. “I’m amazed. Was Tang Big Brother really silenced like this back at the Tang house?”

“Seeing him perform like this makes Tang Big Brother’s predicament back then understandable,” Lu Wei commented casually, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Qin Ruqing crossed her arms. “Unfortunately, the four grandmasters on stage aren’t as gullible as the fools in the Tang family back then.”

Sure enough, when Tang Biao began crying out, Master Minghua not only refused to believe his words but also slammed the table heavily, rebuking, “Silence! What kind of racket is this on the high platform! The truth will be discerned by me and the four grandmasters. Both of you will have a chance to speak. For now, shut your mouths!”

Tang Biao stopped his performance abruptly, as if slapped in the face.

He saw Director narrow his eyes and gaze coldly at him.

Directlr raised his hand casually and said, “You should kneel before your ancestors. Why kneel to us? Get up!” Then he looked at Tang Zifeng. “Continue.”

Tang Biao’s face turned pale and gray.

Like a marionette, he slowly lifted his body and stood silently beside Tang Zifeng.

On another high platform, Clan Leader Tang Chen sank into his chair, staring in Tang Zifeng’s direction with a mix of shock and uncertainty.

Clearly, the current situation and the grandmasters’ attitudes had made him understand something.

Tang Zifeng bowed again before saying, “Tang Biao’s accusations against me are actually his own deeds. Shortly after stealing my design blueprint, he rushed to create a rough spiritual weapon and began experimenting. As a result, it exploded and killed the clan leader’s son.”

Tang Biao’s lips moved slightly, indicating he wanted to argue, but Tang Zifeng turned his gaze and calmly asked a question, “Tang Biao, four years have passed. Have you figured out the reasons for the initial experiment’s failure? Do you know why it suddenly exploded? Do you understand why, despite following the steps described in the blueprint, you were never able to produce the desired results?”

Tang Biao’s body trembled, finally beginning to feel panic.

These questions asked by Tang Zifeng were exactly what had troubled him for years.

Tang Zifeng smiled gently. “Because, from the beginning, that blueprint was wrong. It was my design at sixteen…”

Tang Zifeng continued calmly, “The things I conceived at the time were immature, many ideas were not fully developed, and you stole them before any corrections or experiments could be made.”

“You replicated with the wrong blueprint, so naturally, you could never forge a genuine product.”

Walking to the forefront, Tang Zifeng nodded respectfully to the grandmasters before picking up the spiritual weapon forged by Tang Biao.

He examined it closely for a while before drawing a conclusion.

“You participated in numerous forging competitions with a stolen blueprint, knowing full well what was wrong, yet you dared not correct the core issues, only making minor adjustments and additions.”

He did not look at Tang Biao but instead explained carefully to the grandmasters.

“The design flaws in Zifeng’s blueprint were evident from the start. To enhance the power of the spiritual weapon, he simultaneously added Thunderburst Powder and Starfire Seeds as igniters.”

The grandmasters, being grandmasters, immediately understood the problem with the blueprint upon hearing Tang Zifeng mention these two igniters.

Tang Zifeng turned his head and looked at Tang Biao. “Perhaps Uncle, you could enlighten Zifeng on why Thunderburst Powder and Starfire Seeds cannot be used together.”

Sweat began to bead on Tang Biao’s forehead.

He really didn’t want to answer this question because he felt like he was being led around by the nose by the young troublemaker.

But the grandmasters’ gazes had already turned to him, so Tang Biao had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, “Because, the characteristics of these two igniters are extremely unstable. When combined, friction can easily ignite them prematurely.”

After speaking, he nervously watched the grandmasters for their reaction and was relieved when they showed no surprise.

He actually had no idea that these two igniters couldn’t be used together.

Initially, it was discussed with the forging masters he had abducted, suspecting an issue with the igniters.

So he replaced one of them, and by sheer luck, the spiritual weapon stabilized, and there were no more premature explosions.

Tang Zifeng asked calmly, “So, you already knew that these two igniters couldn’t coexist, and that’s why you replaced Thunderburst Powder with another wood attribute igniter?”

Suddenly, Tang Biao felt a sense of relief.

He knew his previous answer was correct, so he lifted his chin and said, “Yes, so what? I’m sure your imitation still uses this Thunderburst Powder. Dispose of it quickly to avoid sudden explosions that might harm the innocent.”

To his surprise, Tang Zifeng burst into laughter. “Without Thunderburst Powder, how could it achieve the desired power? Your initial answer was wrong from the start. It’s not that these two igniters cannot coexist, but they cannot be added simultaneously, and one of them requires pre-treatment.”

It was only now that Master Minghua looked at Tang Biao and said mildly, “If you don’t use Thunderburst Powder, an igniter with such powerful impact, how can your spiritual weapon break through the defenses of a Golden Core stage cultivator? By opting for a substitute wood attribute igniter, I’m beginning to doubt the effects described by your spiritual weapon.”

Tang Biao’s face showed a mix of blue and white, finally understanding that he had fallen into Tang Zifeng’s trap of words.

The crux of his earlier statement was not about these two igniters but rather the issue of sequence.

The igniters were actually correct!

Sure enough, Tang Zifeng continued, “So, the first mistake in my blueprint was not marking that Thunderburst Powder needed pre-treatment and should not be mixed with Starfire Seeds. When you later chose to remove Thunderburst Powder, although you accidentally resolved this issue, you created a larger

“The problem with your spiritual tool,” Tang Zifeng began, “is that its power is always lacking, never achieving the desired effect.”

With a wry smile, he continued, “What’s even more ridiculous is that I named this spiritual tool Thunderstorm Sphere because I added Thunder Powder inside. Yet you, foolishly, didn’t even bother to change the name, and you removed the Thunder Powder. You still call it Thunderstorm Sphere.”