What a strange person.

This was the fundamental nature of the thoughts that Fairy Meirong ruminated on at this moment. It ranged from confusion to astonishment to indignant fury. In fact, she had no idea what to think of this young genius that she had discovered by chance. His actions were strange; his mental health was in question. But, her intuition told her that it would be good to establish a connection with this genius.

Her intuition had never failed before whenever it insisted upon something so she decided to go along with it.

In the beginning, she believed that everything was working as planned. Her excellent intuition had brought her another impeccable solution to her problem! With a talented genius in hand, she would be able to sweep the city competition and firmly establish her as the next successor of the Dragon Tea Pavilion. All the signs were pointing in the right direction. A hidden genius with a transcendent attitude, powerful cultivation, and astounding comprehension. Then… everything started to fall apart.

Fairy Meirong stared daggers at the youth that was in front of her. The young genius that had named himself as "Van" continued to stare into space with a flattering expression. She knew it wasn't targeted towards her, but that just made her even more disgusted. She had believed she picked up a gold mine. Well, she did. It was just… slightly damaged… mentally.

Her first bad impression had started the lack of initiative from the young genius. He seemed to just go along with her and flatter her just like everyone else.

Then, the young genius had suddenly displayed an expression of astonishment, stopping in his tracks. He seemed to be completely lost in his own world for a few moments before apologizing and accepting her invitation to be a guest. She had thought that there was something truly astounding happening near them so she discreetly looked all around her but found nothing out of the ordinary. Thinking that it was a momentary lapse in judgment or a moment of comprehension, she didn't let it dwell in her mind for too long.

At this point, she had started to take Van's mental integrity into question. She didn't believe that he was compromised mentally, but she couldn't leave it out of the picture. Momentary comprehension wouldn't make any sense considering that he had just entered the Dao State moments before. Even such, she continued to walk on; this time, she was keeping a close watch on Van's actions and expressions.

It wasn't long before she was disappointed once more. Stopping in his tracks, the youth had coughed loudly into his sleeve with a flattering and imploring expression on his face as he stared at the wall. Seeing this, she stopped in her tracks and furiously glared at Van. At this point, she had almost lost it. She was ready to throw all her work away. It wasn't much anyway, but this genius was driving her crazy. At this point, she would lose all face if she was to host him for the competition. He might win the battle for her, but she would lose all her reputation in the process. She had endured so much and made her way to the top of her generation. Her reputation was stainless and everyone praised her for her wisdom and beauty.

Was it all going to fall apart today? Where did I go wrong? Why has my intuition failed me?

These thoughts of despair were on her mind as she painfully recalled what she had just experienced. Barely holding onto her composure, she made it out of the restaurant. At this point, she had made a decision. It wasn't the same as what she initially decided, but she wasn't going to let all this hard work go to waste.

She was going to put this youth through hell for what he had her experience. Her fury continued to build up as she dwelt on the matter; she could already see the satisfaction as this so-called idiotic genius was put in his place. Laughing inwardly, she walked forward with controlled steps. Her fury billowed out from herself unconsciously; it had reached the limits of her tolerance and she didn't mind releasing the aura.

Weaving through the streets of Jade Bamboo City to walk off some steam, she slowly made her way back to the Clan's compound.