Bai Ruolan stood frozen, her brush hovering mid-air. Her manic expression locked as his words echoed through her mind, systematically dismantling the wall she had been slamming her head against for three consecutive days.
"A wood-tempered solar heat..." she mumbled, her bloodshot eyes darting back and forth across her scribbled parchment.
"Of course... the solar frequency handles the metal, while the wood-tempering prevents the herbs from vaporizing. If the ore is receptive beforehand, the temperature never has to reach the detonation threshold..."
Suddenly, a bright spark of pure clarity flashed across her face.
"I see it! It's the sequence! The solar catalyst has to be introduced before the herbs, not concurrently!"
The sheer weight of her academic breakthrough lifted a massive burden off her chest, her posture slumping slightly in profound enlightenment.
But as the frantic, obsessive haze finally cleared from her brain, her logical senses snapped back into place.
