From the Bai Clan’s private viewing area, Bai Zihan leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he studied Shui Lian’er.
Even now, after four matches, he couldn’t see through her.
Not even a hint of Qi fluctuation when her opponents collapsed, no outward sign of a technique being activated.
It was almost as though reality itself had simply bent around her will.
(Overpowered... far too overpowered. Is this really just a technique?)
His gaze narrowed, his thoughts drifting.
(The System Store... could it possibly have sothing like this hidden inside? If there is such a technique, then it might be worth buying it.)
Well, first he needed to know whether it was truly a Martial Art or sothing else entirely.
"How unexpected... I never expected to see such a physique here."
Bai Zihan’s eyes flickered.
"You know sothing about that?"
Bai Zihan asked the Immortal Emperor.
The Immortal Emperor’s tone carried a faint sigh, as though recalling sothing buried deep in history.
"That girl bears the Fragrant Mirage Physique. A constitution so rare that even in my era, few had ever seen it."
Bai Zihan’s pupils contracted.
"The Fragrant Mirage Physique?"
"Yes. Even the faintest trace of her natural scent seeps into one’s senses. It is not poison, nor charm, nor illusion in the ordinary sense... but a hypnotic essence woven into her very being. Simply standing near her, one begins to lose the boundary between reality and dream."
The Immortal Emperor’s voice deepened.
"She may grant blissful dreams—or plunge them into nightmares so terrifying their minds collapse instantly."
Bai Zihan listened carefully.
(No wonder no one has resisted her yet. It’s not about eyes, nor contact—it’s her very presence that unsettles the heart and shatters the mind.)
Li iying closing her eyes did nothing because it wasn’t the gaze that made them collapse—it was her scent.
(Could blocking the nose work? It seems quite easy if that’s all it took to counter her...)
The Immortal Emperor chuckled faintly, knowing what Bai Zihan was thinking.
"Blocking your nose might work if she weren’t a cultivator. But coupled with her Qi, even that wouldn’t help. Perhaps closing all the senses of the body might, as there were a couple of people who managed it—but only if the Fragrant Mirage Physique user is an amateur."
"Moreover, how can you even fight back with all your senses closed?"
Immortal Emperor Feilian said.
Indeed, closing one sense might not make much difference to cultivators at their level. But all senses? Even walking might beco a problem.
Bai Zihan’s brows furrowed slightly.
"Then... isn’t that invincible? How can one even counter such a thing? After all, it doesn’t even consu Qi—it happens simply because of her physique."
His voice carried a trace of excitent.
If true, then wouldn’t it be great if he could obtain such a physique?
It shouldn’t be too difficult... right?
The Immortal Emperor gave a quiet laugh.
"It is not as invincible as you think. Rember—this physique does not kill. It ensnares. It drags one into a hallucination, yes, but only that. For those with weak hearts, it is enough. But to those of iron will... her illusions are like cobwebs against a raging fla. They break instantly."
"So, you an to say..."
The Immortal Emperor’s tone turned solemn.
"Yes. Soone with a sufficiently tempered will can break out of her mirage."
The Immortal Emperor continued, her voice low.
"Do not misunderstand. The Fragrant Mirage Physique is indeed extraordinary—it grants her overwhelming advantage over her opponent. But it is not absolute. Against those with powerful willpower, her physique is nothing more than a decoration."
Bai Zihan allowed a faint smile to tug at the corner of his lips.
"So, for the weak-willed, it’s despair. For the strong... it’s nothing."
"Precisely!"
Still, it was a great physique.
One could say that in the right circumstances, it was the most powerful ability.
She might even be able to defeat the most powerful person.
After all, it is possible to keep one’s body in pristine state always—but can the sa be said about one’s mind?
The mind is most fragile, and even the strongest in the world have tis where their will is shaken, even to the point of despair.
What if one killed soone dear to such a person? Wouldn’t their rage and grief cloud their mind?
And in that mont, if her physique’s ability was used—wouldn’t it be all too easy to kill them?
"Well, whether it is truly that useful or not, I have to test it first."
***
"Thank you for the match."
Shui Lian’er’s voice was soft, airy, like the brush of spring wind over still waters.
She bowed lightly, hands folded in flawless etiquette, and then turned to leave the stage with unhurried steps.
The gesture, simple as it was, rippled through the arena like a stone cast into a silent lake.
Was she mocking her opponent—or rely being polite?
No one could say for sure. But one thing was certain: this wasn’t a match.
It was instantaneous.
So instantaneous, in fact, that Bai Xueqing’s earlier overwhelming victory seed like a drawn-out, hard-fought duel in comparison.
A second thunderous disappointnt settled over the crowd.
The empire had been waiting eagerly for three matches in this round—three great clashes that would surely decide who stood atop the young generation.
And now, two of them had ended in anticlimax.
Instead of the long, fiery duels they had envisioned, what the crowd witnessed was disparity.
Crushing, absolute disparity.
Yet even in their disappointnt, no one could look away.
Because now they knew.
Shui Lian’er was no ordinary genius.
She was a mountain far steeper than expected, a veil of mystery and dread wrapped in jade-like serenity.
Would anyone force her to even raise a hand?
Would even Bai Xueqing be able to withstand her unfathomable technique?
Or would every so-called prodigy of the empire collapse before her the sa way—without even realizing how they had lost?
Speculation blazed across the stands, mingling with frustration, awe, and a growing sense of fear.
Two battles had already redrawn the Dragon and Phoenix Competition in their minds.
And as Shui Lian’er’s pale silhouette disappeared gracefully into the waiting corridor, one question remained in every heart:
Was this truly a competition... or rely a stage prepared for monsters who stood far beyond their reach?
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