The physicians compared Yan’s channel readings with the morning baseline. No internal damage had appeared. Qinghe wrote down the result before the attendants touched the stones.
The arena clerk asked whether Yan might repeat Thousand Thorn Pulse to confirm the measurements. Qiu considered the request, then looked to the witnesses. Dr. Shen agreed. The two court physicians did as well.
Yan chose to repeat the sequence at half force. “I want the same method, but a more controlled pattern.”
The arena master asked whether that would still be a fair test. Yan said the first pass showed the full force; this one would show whether he could direct the same art with care. Qinghe agreed as long as the record made the difference clear.
The lower row had been loud during the first strike. Now the students went quiet. One had asked whether the tiles might have been wired under the floor. Wei invited him to watch the attendants sweep the ring and check the joints. The student leaned over the rail but stayed outside the ward.
He saw no wire. “Then the pulse moved them?”
“That’s what the test is for,” Wei said. “Watch the floor marks.”
The tile arrangement remained in place. The smallest markers behind the ward were still fixed. Wei checked the distance to the outer boundary, and the technicians confirmed that the ward had no cracks.
