Roy's gaze swept across the field several times before he nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's how it is. You twins really are somewhat useful."
The twin siblings from Jie Long—the elder brother Li Shenhua ranked ninth in Jie Long's sequence, also known as Genei Shinki, excelled at conjuring illusions from nothingness. Making hallucinations appear lifelike was his greatest specialty. The lingering smoke screen earlier was undoubtedly his handiwork.
The younger sister Li Shenyun ranked just below her brother at tenth in Jie Long's sequence, alias genei Musan, specialized in making reality vanish through illusions. Concealing attacks or even rendering herself invisible were her signature tricks.
Simply put, confusing opponents' senses with illusions was their greatest forte.
Fan Xinglou had deliberately arranged for Roy to fight this twin pair under restricted conditions precisely because she understood this point.
What better opponents could there be for Roy to comprehend the realm of "Perception"?
"Somewhat useful?"
One of the five Li Shenhuas opposite him raised his eyebrows and smirked upon hearing this.
"Even when we siblings have prepared thoroughly to this extent, you still dare make such condescending remarks. Truly worthy of being the much-anticipated champion candidate crowned during your first tournament—so irritating! I really want to tear that mouth of yours apart!"
"Then come over here?"
Roy responded with an indifferent smile, stepping forward with one foot to widen his stance. His left arm lifted in front, ready to meet the enemy, while his right arm positioned at his side, poised to strike at any moment.
Li Shenhua's smile froze momentarily—why did this guy's starting stance resemble Jie Long's style so much?
Roy extended his left hand in a beckoning gesture, his face breaking into a hunter's grin.
Li Shenhua's expression twisted briefly.
"Let's see if you can keep acting so arrogant later!"
As the words fell, all five Li Shenhuas flicked their sleeves simultaneously. Countless talismans flew out like a blizzard, descending from all directions—above, below, left, right, and front—completely surrounding Roy.
Roy's expression hardened slightly as his eyes darted electrically across the surrounding talismans.
His ears perked up—not a single gust of wind was stirred by the talismans approaching from every direction. Steadying his mind, he boldly chose to remain motionless on the spot.
With a thunderous boom, the talismans encircling him exploded simultaneously. Flames flared, and smoke billowed forth, yet not the slightest breeze was generated—every single attack had been an illusion without exception.
Suddenly, Roy's ears twitched. In that instant, he spun around abruptly, his hand forming a blade as he slashed toward the empty space behind him.
For a split second, he felt the sensation of striking something—likely a talisman.
"Huh?"
A girl's surprised voice came from not far behind, as if unable to comprehend how her ambush had been blocked.
Roy immediately dashed forward, throwing a punch toward the source of the voice.
However, before his fist could reach the spot, he felt it make contact with something first. Instantly pivoting on his feet, he dodged to the side.
Crack!
Sure enough, a bolt of lightning forked out the next moment, branching through the air like twigs and enveloping a small area ahead.
"These two siblings make quite the formidable team when working together!"
Roy thought to himself.
The voice just now must have come from Li Shenyun, who was in stealth. He deliberately made noise to lure Roy into attacking the lightning talisman placed in front of him—completely invisible due to the illusion cast upon it. This combo of baiting the enemy into a trap was extremely sharp; against another opponent, it might have worked.
Unfortunately, Roy's tactile senses were equally keen. The moment he felt something was off, he dodged away, denying her the chance to land a hit.
But that didn't mean there weren't problems.
Roy was restricted in his attack methods—no weapons allowed. He couldn't probe with a weapon and had to rely on physical contact to sense their attacks. This meant he had to stay hyper-focused, constantly pushing his perception to its limits. Otherwise, a single misstep could mean getting hit.
"Over here!"
Suddenly, one of the five Li Shenhuas rushed at him from behind, three talismans pinched between her fingers, laughing recklessly as she charged.
Roy's nerves tensed for a split second before relaxing again.
The moment this Li Shenhua reached him, her figure passed right through him like a mirage. Roy remained completely unfazed, as if he had seen through the illusion from the start.
"What?!"
This Li Shenhua was stunned, staring at him in disbelief.
"You can actually see through my illusions?"
"Not that hard. Have you eaten yet?"
Roy nodded, feigning concern as he asked.
"You can hit harder—I can take it!"
At the same time, he pricked up his ears.
Li Shenhua sneered, ignoring his taunting words. With a flicker of movement behind her, all five Li Shenhuas rushed at him simultaneously.
"Hmph, if one doesn't work, I doubt you can tell the difference with five!"
No good.
The voice seemed to come from all directions at once, making it impossible to pinpoint its source. Even the sound itself was likely altered by illusions.
The five Li Shenhuas closed in from every angle, talismans flying from their sleeves like they were free.
The siblings' illusions constantly shifted between existence and nothingness. In this situation, closing his eyes and sharpening his hearing and touch would have been the best way to counter them. After all, his recent sparring sessions with Wu Xiaofei had given him some ability to track movements by sound.
But Roy didn't do that. Instead, he widened his eyes stubbornly, as if determined to see through the illusions' flaws.
Li Shenhua and Li Shenyun only sneered in response. If illusions learned from the "Banyuu Tenra" could be broken so easily, their methods would have long been exposed and spread across the forums of the six academies. The fact that few could counter them was why they remained untouchable.
"How long can you hold out alone like this?"
"Ah, watching a championship contender fall into my hands—it sends a paralyzing thrill straight to my heart!"
Roy tuned out their trash talk, focusing his mind.
In his thoughts, Fan Xinglou's teachings surfaced.
"The so-called 'Perception' is not about abandoning other senses to amplify a single aspect. At best, that would only mean having sharp eyesight or excellent sound localization. The realm of awareness requires expanding all five senses, extending them from one's body into the surrounding space—using the eyes to observe all colours and shapes, the ears to listen to every whisper of the wind, the nose to detect subtle changes in scent, the skin to feel..."
When people close their eyes, their hearing becomes sharper—this in itself is a form of sensory expansion.
Roy felt a moment of enlightenment.
So that's how it is.
In other words, one must expand their hearing while keeping their eyes open, and extend this expansion to all five senses.
This was indeed something ordinary people couldn't achieve.
But if it were me—
Roy took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
He calmed his mind, focusing intently, letting his ears stretch their hearing as if unaware of his eyes, extending his vision and touch outward as well.
"Where did all that arrogance from earlier go?"
Li Shenhua's voice rang out again, like a thunderclap exploding beside Roy's ears.
In an instant, it was as if his brain had broken through some kind of barrier. Roy's five senses surged outward in sudden excitement, perceiving every minute change in his surroundings—colors, air currents—all seen in his "mind's eye."
A full 360 degrees, with no blind spots!
***
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