What unfolded next was a series of humiliations with everyone clearly seeing that Bai Zihan was just toying with them.

It wasn't a battle anymore.

The Emperor was fuming with anger.

He had hoped for either making the geniuses of the Empire confident if they won, or determined to work harder if they lost.

But this?

This was completely crushing their spirit and making them feel hopeless.

This was not the result he expected.

If this continued, it would completely shatter the confidence of their geniuses.

The gap was undeniable.

It wasn't that Bai Zihan was merely stronger. It was that he treated them as if they were ants crawling on the ground.

Sun Yaoqing closed her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened in shock.

Bai Zihan was obviously someone who stood at the Peak of the Soul Formation Realm—or perhaps even higher.

With him not even needing to show much strength, it was difficult to discern.

But from the way he completely toyed with Soul Formation geniuses, it was certain.

Her father was right. Whether win or lose, this was supposed to be a lesson. But this wasn't a lesson in motivation. This was despair.

The murmurs around the hall grew louder.

"Impossible… is this truly someone under twenty?"

"Is this the true strength of the Desolate Heaven Empire? Even their teenagers are more powerful than our full-fledged adults who went to the battlefield."

"I knew there was a big difference between us and the Desolate Heaven Empire, but this… this is on a whole other level."

They all thought they understood the Desolate Heaven Empire's power, but Bai Zihan had just given them a new realization.

The Emperor frowned harder as doubt and fear began sprouting within everyone.

The geniuses once eager to showcase their strength now cowered in fear.

No one was willing to step forward and experience the humiliation their fellow geniuses had suffered.

"It seems like we are done here."

Bai Zihan spoke.

He had obviously guessed the Emperor's intention by having him fight their geniuses.

He didn't think much about whether the Emperor succeeded or not.

But of course, one needs to have ability if they think they can use him as a lesson for others.

Obviously, the Falling Star Empire's geniuses did not have that ability.

The Emperor clenched his hand in anger.

Not only were things going in a different direction than he anticipated, his Empire's geniuses were embarrassing him by not even coming forward.

You can lose, but you shouldn't lose your courage.

This was a huge embarrassment to him and his Empire.

"Yaoqing'er!"

The Emperor called out.

"Yes, Father Emperor!"

Sun Yaoqing responded immediately.

"It seems our geniuses are lacking. You, go and try to entertain Young Master Bai!"

The Emperor ordered.

Sun Yaoqing inhaled slowly, calming the storm in her chest.

The Emperor's command left no room for hesitation. She bowed gracefully, her long sleeves trailing across the polished jade floor.

"As you command, Father Emperor!"

When she raised her head, her expression was serene, but her heart beat faster than it ever had before.

This wasn't just about her—it was about the pride of the entire Falling Star Empire.

Her steps rang clear as she walked toward the center of the training ground. The murmurs of the court fell silent, and every pair of eyes followed her.

The darling of the Empire. Their unrivaled genius. The one they had nurtured with all their hope.

If anyone could salvage their dignity, it would be her.

"Princess Yaoqing…"

"She's in the Spirit Severing Realm. With her, there's no way Bai Zihan can toy with her as he did with the others."

"Finally. Now we'll see where this Bai Clan monster truly stands."

Even the defeated geniuses straightened in their seats, relief and hope sparking in their eyes. If Sun Yaoqing won, their shame could be washed away.

Sun Yaoqing stopped a few paces from Bai Zihan. Her gaze met his—those crimson eyes that seemed to pierce through flesh, bone, and soul.

She had never seen a pair of eyes more fearsome. Eyes that looked down on everything and everyone.

As if all others existed only to amuse him.

"Princess Sun Yaoqing of the Falling Star Empire," she said clearly, her voice echoing across the ground. "I ask Young Master Bai for guidance."

A ripple passed through the crowd. Even the ministers, who had long since grown cynical, looked forward to this match after all the embarrassment.

Sun Yaoqing was, after all, in a league of her own. They believed she would still be a top genius even if placed in the Desolate Heaven Empire.

Bai Zihan, meanwhile, tilted his head slightly, crimson eyes gleaming. His lips curved into a faint smile.

(She seems a bit strong.)

Though he knew that as someone in the Spirit Severing Realm she should definitely be stronger than others, for Bai Zihan—who had already defeated a Void Refinement Realm cultivator—it didn't seem like much of a difference.

Still, despite being in the Spirit Severing Realm, Bai Zihan had a feeling she was quite strong.

"Very well, Princess," Bai Zihan said, his voice calm but sharp as a blade.

"I hope you don't disappoint me like the others."

This was clearly mocking her defeated peers, but it was also the truth.

Sun Yaoqing tightened her fingers, drawing her qi inward.

Her cultivation surged—an ocean of qi crashing outward as her Spirit Severing aura blanketed the ground.

Fire bloomed behind her like a living inferno, licking the air in violent tongues.

Her qi surged, flames rippling around her as her aura spread across the arena. Then, with a flick of her wrist, a streak of crimson light shot out from her storage ring.

A magnificent artifact bow appeared in her hands—an Earth-Grade spiritual weapon, its surface engraved with runes that pulsed like molten lava, radiating heat and destructive power.

The crowd gasped.

"The Vermillion Sunfire Bow!"

"She's truly going all out from the start!"

Sun Yaoqing raised the bow high, qi threads coiling into a fiery arrow that hummed with destructive force.

Boom!

The arrow screamed across the training ground, splitting the air with blistering heat.

The wave of pressure alone made nearby elders tense and circulate their protective qi. This wasn't some testing strike—it was a killing blow.

And yet—

Bai Zihan didn't even move. His crimson eyes glowed faintly as he raised one hand, his fingers snapping together with a lazy motion.

Crack!

The blazing arrow shattered into harmless sparks the instant it reached him, scattering into a rain of embers that burned no one.

Gasps echoed throughout the hall.

"What… he blocked it with just two fingers?!"

"That arrow could incinerate a mountain range!"

Sun Yaoqing's heart clenched, but she didn't stop. With a flick of her bowstring, three arrows formed at once, each more ferocious than the last.

They shot forward in rapid succession—piercing, twisting, exploding mid-flight to catch him in overlapping destruction.

The ground quaked. Fire swallowed the arena. The sheer force cracked the barrier formations protecting the onlookers.

But when the smoke cleared—

Bai Zihan was still there. Hands still clasped lazily behind his back. His robe was unscorched, his expression untouched.

Only the faintest smile lingered on his lips.

"Is this all, Princess?"

He asked softly, his voice carrying over the crackle of fire like a cold wind.

A murmur rippled through the court—equal parts awe and dread.

Sun Yaoqing bit down on her lip. Her qi surged again, this time burning brighter, heavier.

Her vermillion hair shimmered with each flicker, her red eyes narrowing with sharp focus.

The Vermillion Sunfire Bow thrummed in her grip, its runes glowing hotter and hotter as she poured more qi into it.

Arrows burst forth like rainstorms of fire, curving, exploding, cascading across the arena in brilliant arcs of destruction.

Each strike shook the ground. Each detonation roared like thunder.

But Bai Zihan stood unmoved, his figure cutting an almost mocking silhouette through the inferno.

With casual flicks of his hand, waves of qi snuffed out her fire as if it were candlelight.

Sometimes he brushed his palm through the air and the arrows disintegrated before reaching him.

Other times, he casually sidestepped them like it was nothing.

The difference was suffocating.

Yet one truth was undeniable—his aura, his qi fluctuations, the sheer oppressive might he exuded.

"He… he's in the Spirit Severing Realm!"

"What?! He's not even twenty!"

"To reach Spirit Severing before forty is already legendary. Before twenty? That's unheard of!"

The defeated geniuses, moments ago drowning in humiliation, now clenched their fists with bitter comfort.

So that was it. Against a Spirit Severing cultivator, what could they have done?

Their shame, while not erased, was at least explainable.

Still, the fact gnawed at their hearts: Bai Zihan, not even half their age, had crushed them.

On the arena floor, Sun Yaoqing's breath quickened. Sweat beaded her forehead, not from fear but from the sheer expenditure of qi.

(This is the first time.)

Apart from those in the Void Refinement Realm, she had never faced such difficulty.

In her generation, she was considered absolute, with no one even close.

Now someone younger and stronger stood before her, easily dismissing all her attacks.

(Fine. If raw strength cannot touch him… then I'll use guile.)

The bowstring pulled taut, glowing white-hot. Five arrows of condensed flame materialized in the air, orbiting her like blazing stars.

Each arrow pulsed with killing intent, their aura shaking the barrier that kept the ministers safe.

The audience leaned forward.

"She's going all out!"

"Five arrows at once—her Vermillion Firestorm technique!"

She shot them.

Five streaks of crimson tore through the air, weaving unpredictable paths, exploding and reforming mid-flight to press Bai Zihan from every direction.

Their combined heat distorted the very space around him.

Bai Zihan's smile didn't fade.

He raised one hand, crimson qi swirling lazily around his fingertips. His palm pressed forward—

Boom!

All five arrows shattered in a spectacular explosion of fire and sparks. The arena quaked, the air blazed, the smoke rolled outward in waves.

But in that blinding chaos, a single arrow—thin, sharp, silent—slipped free from her bowstring.

Hidden in the shadow of the five. Cloaked in her qi. A whisper of flame honed to a needle.

It pierced through the haze and struck.

A sharp crack split the air as the arrow slammed directly into Bai Zihan's chest, flames erupting outward in a dazzling inferno.

Gasps filled the hall.

"She hit him!"

"She did it—Princess Yaoqing landed a direct strike!"

Even the Emperor rose slightly forward, his eyes burning with expectation.

Ministers surged to their feet. The defeated geniuses, their pride broken for so long, felt their spirits ignite again.

Finally!

Even if he wasn't dead, even if he wasn't crippled, Bai Zihan had been struck. A wound inflicted. Proof that the Falling Star Empire's light still burned strong.

The flames raged, covering Bai Zihan's form entirely, hiding him from sight.

For the first time, the possibility of his defeat seemed real.

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