The silence in Baron Theron's study was heavy, thick with unspoken questions. Kaelen stood before his father's desk, keeping his posture small and his gaze respectfully lowered, but his mind was a whirlwind of analysis. He had cracked the pillar just enough to create a ripple, not a wave. Now, he had to see how the two most important men in his life would react.
"A fluke," Marius said, breaking the silence. He was leaning against a bookshelf, arms crossed, his expression a carefully crafted mask of thoughtful dismissal. "A one-in-a-million chance. The boy must have struck a pre-existing flaw in the leather. His qi is simply too weak for any other explanation."
Baron Theron, however, was not looking at Marius. He was looking at his son. Kaelen could feel the weight of his father's gaze, a gaze that was no longer just disappointed, but intensely searching.
"I have personally inspected that pillar, Marius," the Baron said, his voice a low rumble. "There were no flaws." He leaned forward, his large hands resting on the desk. "Kaelen. Look at me."
Kaelen lifted his head, meeting his father's eyes. He made sure to look earnest, a little scared, and thoroughly confused.
"Tell me again, son. What did you feel when you struck the pillar that last time?"
This was the critical moment. Kaelen had rehearsed this in his mind a hundred times on the walk back from the training yard. He had to mix truth with falsehood. "I... I don't know, Father," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I was just trying really hard, like you told me to. On the last hit, it felt like... like all the warmth in my stomach got really small and tight, right in my fist. And then it was just loud. It hurt a little."
It was the perfect explanation of a cultivator accidentally achieving qi concentration without understanding it. It was believable. It was the lie of a talented child, not the analysis of a reborn adult.
The Baron leaned back, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, he was silent. Kaelen could feel Marius's sharp gaze on him, probing for any sign of deception. He kept his own expression open and innocent.
Finally, his father made a decision. He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a thin, leather-bound booklet. He slid it across the polished wood.
"This is the 'Stonefall Breathing Method'," the Baron said, his voice heavy with significance. "It is a Grade 2, Low-Tier cultivation technique. The foundational technique of our house. Your grandfather learned it. I learned it. It is simple, but it is solid. I was going to wait another year, but... I believe you have earned the chance to try."
Marius stiffened. "Theron, is that wise? It could strain his meridians if he's not ready."
"He cracked the pillar," the Baron stated simply, his word final. "He is ready to try."
Kaelen's heart pounded, not with excitement, but with triumph. It worked. This was the technique he had struggled with for five years in his past life. He knew its every flaw, its every limitation. But now, with the System, he could analyze it, perfect it, and use it as a cover for his true, far more advanced, cultivation.
He stepped forward and took the book with both hands, bowing his head deeply. "Thank you, Father. I will not fail you."
As he left the study, the booklet clutched in his hands, he could feel his uncle's suspicious gaze on his back. The first seed of doubt had been sown in Marius's mind, and the first seed of hope had been planted in his father's. The game was truly afoot.
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