My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

The next morning, when Xia Ya went downstairs, he heard the two old people arguing fiercely.

"Your plan is simply not feasible."

"Why not?" Einstein said. "This conditional judgment is essentially very simple. The original version is that 'stable' is released after the impact is 'sensed,' so we can simply change it to 'sensing the generation of sparks after the impact, igniting the mixture.'"

How was Mars formed?

"We put the 'transformation' rune into the conditional loop," Einstein said. "After the impact, we used the transformation rune to create Mars."

"Transformation requires magical input; where does your magic come from?"

"from--"

Einstein paused, stunned.

"To attach a transformation rune to magic, you need to use stability." Tesla picked up a piece of chalk and drew a line on the blackboard. "However, if the conditional statement inputs a transformation rune, it will inevitably conflict with stability."

Einstein frowned, took the pipe out of his mouth, and tapped it lightly on the table twice.

This was his thought process. Xia had learned to remain absolutely silent when those two clattering sounds rang out.

About two minutes later.

He continued.

"Or, after the impact is triggered, the stabilization is released, and a conversion rune is input? Then, a conditional trigger can be applied."

"What's the difference between that and the original plan?" Tesla said.

He looked at Einstein and slowly uttered a single word: "timing."

"You can't guarantee the best timing. More likely than that, the compressed hydrogen-oxygen sphere will disintegrate after the stabilization is released, or it may briefly burst into flames."

What's the point of compressing it? Isn't it just for the impact force after it explodes?

"What's your idea?"

Tesla stood in front of the blackboard, lost in thought.

He picked up the chalk and wrote a sentence on the blackboard.

Stability = Form maintenance + Magic retention.

"Magic retention?" Einstein frowned slightly.

"This spell is responsible for stabilizing the form, and even solidifying the runes. As the most important nail, it can retain magic power on the spell just like the perception rune."

It is a rune that will not have a significant impact on the magic itself regardless of how much magic power is input; at most, it will prolong the duration of the magic—which can be immediately dispelled as long as the conditions are met.

But what if, upon impact, the "conditional judgment" spell transmits to Anticipation not a dispel command, but rather a command to "inject one's own magic power into a rune"?

Einstein fell silent. He turned around and began pacing around the living room.

Then stop.

"Theoretically, it's possible," he said. "If all the magic power in the Stabilization Spell is transferred to the Conversion Spell, the Stabilization Spell's structure will dissolve due to the weakening of the magic power. This is equivalent to achieving two effects simultaneously with a single command."

"But it needs to be verified," Tesla added.

He went back to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and began adding his own modifications to Einstein's sketch.

Einstein would stand by with a coffee cup, occasionally saying things like, "That loop is redundant" or "Lower the sensing threshold." Tesla would stop and think about it, then either make the changes or reply, "Shut up, I'll do this myself."

Xia Ya nestled on the sofa, watching the two old people mesh, collide, and mesh again like two precision instruments.

Around noon, Tesla finally put down the chalk.

The blackboard displays a complete three-stage surgical framework:

Phase 1: Sensing the impact.

Phase Two: Release the command "Transfer magic into the conversion rune" to "Stability".

Phase 3: Transform the remaining magic into sparks, igniting the hydrogen-oxygen mixture.

"Want to give it a try?" Tesla said, his voice hoarse, but his eyes shining.

Einstein nodded.

They walked out of the living room together and came to the pool.

Tesla took out his modified water electrolysis device and placed it in the pool.

Then, the process of producing compressed hydrogen-oxygen spheres was followed.

Tesla produced hydrogen and oxygen, while Char was responsible for compressing them.

Tesla then took over by providing the stability maintenance mode, and finally Einstein added the most crucial step—providing conditional judgment.

Then, Char placed the compressed hydrogen-oxygen capsule in his storage space.

Tesla pointed to a tree not far away.

"Throw it there."

Char took out the compressed hydrogen-oxygen sphere from his storage space.

Under the control of his mental power, the sphere floated in his hand.

Then, he took two steps back and exerted force by turning to the side.

The moment the sphere left his hand, he used a bit of "gas manipulation" to assist in acceleration. The shimmering sphere traced a low, flat arc as it flew toward the old oak tree thirty meters away.

"Snap—"

A crisp, light sound, like a glass bead shattering on a stone slab.

Then--

"boom!"

A blue-white fireball exploded on the surface of the tree trunk, the terrifying heat distorting the surrounding air.

The heat wave arrived before the sound.

His hair was blown up and down, and the air was filled with a dry smell, like cotton cloth that had been ironed.

The smoke and dust cleared.

There was a fist-deep scorch mark on the tree trunk, and the bark was peeling off in a radial pattern, revealing the whitish wood underneath.

Scattered wood chips and scorched yellow grass leaves lay on the ground, with the furthest flying four or five meters away.

"It's equivalent to the power of a hand grenade," Tesla commented. "A kill radius of three or four meters, just enough to kill one person. It's good enough for mass production."

"Is this considered a third-tier spell?" Xia asked.

"No," Einstein said, walking over as well. "It doesn't count in terms of destructive power. Because your magic power is limited, the amount of hydrogen and oxygen you can compress is also limited. You can only say it's somewhere between second and third order."

"But you'll definitely have enough for the exam," Tesla said. "Especially since you still have several dozen days to prepare. Char's storage space can actually allow one person to complete the entire production process to some extent, so there's no need to worry about one of the three of us not having enough magic."

"Unfortunately, I'm the only one with the 'Perception' rune right now, so my progress will be much slower."

"No," Tesla said, "there are two now."

Einstein raised an eyebrow; he knew what Tesla meant.

"When?"

"Last night," Tesla said, picking up his coffee cup, his tone as casual as if he were remarking on the weather, "I engraved two."

Einstein glanced at him, then looked up at Char.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Char Aznable gave a helpless look, as if he had no other choice. "My name is Char Aznable, not Char Aznable Einstein or Char Aznable Tesla."

Einstein didn't respond, but continued, "I'm going to be busy for the next while."