Chapter 78

As for Huo Yuhao, before he left Shrek Academy to go on an exchange study, he was completely clueless about matters between men and women and had no thoughts on the subject; at that time he was still immersed in the grief over his teacher's death.

But as his age increased, he came into contact with more and more girls. Especially his contact with Juzi during that time gave him a faint inkling of love. The light goddess conjured by the Radiant Rainbow Robe was simply too beautiful; love at first sight took deep root in his heart. Yet the light goddess herself was nothing but an illusory vision! If it weren't for that breathtaking glimpse the day he just returned, Huo Yuhao might not have had any fantasies about this Sea God's Fate event at all. But now it's different—the name Wang Qiu'er, and the twin sister Wang Dong once mentioned, are now fermenting in his heart. For tonight's Sea God's Fate event, he also harbors a vague expectation.

Bei Bei said: "The Sea God's Fate is one of the most important activities of Shrek Academy's inner court. The reputation of Shrek Academy as the number one academy on the continent is not just for show. Inner court disciples are all outstanding elite Soul Masters, strong in power and naturally high in vision; therefore, it's not easy to find a suitable partner outside. That's why we have this Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering. Its purpose is to give inner court disciples who devote all their energy to cultivation a chance to get to know each other."

"Get to the point." Xu Sanshi said, unable to wait.

Bei Bei smiled and said: "Don't rush, I need to explain clearly. Caitou and the little junior disciple have participated before. Although this is a matchmaking event, we are the number one Soul Master academy on the continent, so it won't be as simple as just matchmaking. This Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering is also a platform to test the inner court disciples' strength. Wanting to win the approval of one's dream lover is not that simple; one must go through several rounds of competition. Only then can one get a chance to confess. If one can't even pass this competition round, then there's no hope of confessing. Of course, there will also be a lot of luck involved. If one is extremely lucky, one might even enter the final segment and, in a situation of mutual affection, walk away with the beloved maiden."

Since it's an assessment, it's naturally two-way. It's not just the men who are assessed; the women are too. However, our Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering has always had fewer female participants, so the difficulty of the assessment falls mainly on the male side.

The whole event consists of five segments. This Sea God's Fate event has a total of fifty-six single inner court disciples participating, including you three, as well as Dai Huabin, Xie Hanyue, Wu Feng, and Ning Tian—these four new inner court disciples who are in the same year as Huo Yuhao and have just entered the inner court not long ago.

I and the eldest senior sister are the hosts of this event. The first segment is the entrance. Sea God Lake, Sea God's Fate— as the name suggests, this event is held on Sea God Lake. The lake surface is decorated only with lights, with no stage. At that time, the place where you will stand will be only one thing: the water lily.

"Water lily?" Caitou's face immediately turned ugly. The water lily is an aquatic plant; its leaves are very large, with a maximum diameter of over one meter, the edges of the leaf curl upward, and it can bear much weight on the water surface, but the...

"Water lily?" Caitou's face immediately turned ugly. The water lily is an aquatic plant; its leaves are very large, with a maximum diameter of over one meter, the edges of the leaf curl upward, and it can bear much weight on the water surface, but it can only support the weight of a six- or seven-year-old child sitting on it without tipping over. For an adult, the weight is still too heavy for the water lily.

Caitou's build, under these rules, is undoubtedly at a great disadvantage; his weight exceeds 240 jin, his muscles are bulging all over, yet he is a food-system Soul Master. Although his soul power has reached the level of Soul Emperor, his ability to control his weight is truly not his forte.

Huo Yuhao asked: "Eldest senior brother, for this Sea God's Fate event, can we participants from the Soul Tool Department use soul tools?"

Bei Bei nodded and said: "That's for sure. So Caitou, you don't need to worry too much. Even if you make it on the spot, crafting a soul tool that can help you hover above the water shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Caitou's face then eased, and he nodded.

Bei Bei said solemnly: "Caitou, there's one thing you must pay attention to: no matter what form your soul tool takes, you must ensure its flexibility. This is very important."

At the Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering, whether male or female participants, each will be provided only a single water lily leaf as a flotation device. Anything else must be devised by oneself. No matter which segment one falls into the water, one will be considered eliminated and cannot continue participating in the event.

Caitou asked: "Eldest senior brother, can we attack each other?"

Bei Bei said: "Some segments allow it; you'll understand as I continue."

Among the fifty-six inner court disciples participating in this Sea God's Fate event, there are seventeen female disciples and thirty-nine male disciples. The first segment is called Mutual Sympathy. The name sounds nice, but the difficulty is not small. The seventeen female disciples will line up in a row one hundred meters away from you. Each will wear a bamboo hat with a veil hanging down, making their faces unseen. Simply put, for you male disciples, this contest requires concerted effort. You thirty-nine can take turns attacking, using your own means to launch attacks at the female disciples—you can target one or multiple. The goal is to lift the bamboo hats off their heads. Since you can't even see their faces, how do you choose a girlfriend? Right?

This first round itself is also a time for each of you to display your strength. Undoubtedly, whoever can lift the most bamboo hats will naturally show the greatest strength. The female disciples in this segment cannot help each other, nor can they attack the male disciples; they can only defend passively, trying as hard as possible not to let their bamboo hats fall. If a female disciple falls into the water during this round's attacks, she will also be eliminated. However, generally speaking, in this first round the male disciples will exercise restraint when attacking, after all, if the girls all fall into the water, what are we still looking for?

Xu Sanshi sighed from the side: "More wolves than meat! Who would be willing to drive the girls into the water? That would provoke public outrage."

Huo Yuhao noticed something implicit in Bei Bei's stated rules: "Eldest senior brother, that means when we male disciples attack, we must cross a hundred meters of water surface? And after attacking, we must cross that distance back, right?"

Bei Bei nodded and said: "Exactly. Therefore, with different martial souls, the advantages and disadvantages in this segment are very clear. You thirty-nine will draw lots to determine the order of your attacks. In this first round, you can choose to forfeit. After all, not all martial souls are capable of this kind of empty attack, and they also need to return. But the male disciples who choose to forfeit will be scheduled to appear later in the second round. The inner court disciples who lift more bamboo hats in the first round will be able to go on stage earlier in the second round. And the earlier one goes on stage, the more girls there are to choose from, and the greater the leeway in selection."

Now let's move on to the second round...

At that moment, Bei Bei began to explain the rules and various precautions of the Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering in detail to the three of them. As the host, he was extremely clear about the entire proceedings, and this explanation took an afternoon.

Seeing the sun slant westward, Bei Bei stood up and said: "You three go have a meal; I'll go find the eldest senior sister to review the procedure again. Remember, don't be late. You all know the location. You guys need to cheer on! Especially Caitou and the little junior disciple."

Xu Sanshi was greatly dissatisfied and said: "Why don't you cheer for me?"

Bei Bei said: "Is cheering useful? Do you think this is your first time participating in the Sea God's Fate? Don't get your hopes up. It's fine; anyway, you're shameless, so keep clinging on stubbornly—maybe one day Nan Nan will be annoyed by your pestering and will reluctantly accept you, holding her nose."

Xu Sanshi jumped up in anger: "What do you mean by not getting your hopes up? This time I am determined to win."

Bei Bei didn't even glance at him, waving his hand at Caitou and Huo Yuhao: "Let's go." "What kind of attitude is this!" Xu Sanshi was furious, but he didn't give chase. After Bei Bei's figure disappeared, he muttered to himself, "For Xiao Ya's sake, I won't quarrel with you, brother. Humph, when Xiao Ya comes back, I'll settle new and old scores with you together. Come on, let's go eat. I'll turn my grief into appetite."

Caitou chuckled: "Be careful not to eat too much and gain weight, or you won't be able to stand steady on the water lily at night."

Xu Sanshi retorted unhappily: "I'm heavy? You should worry about yourself first. Don't forget, I have experience, and moreover, my martial soul is water-attributed. Hehe."

Caitou stood up, walked over to Xu Sanshi, put an arm around his shoulders, and said in a low voice: "Brother, although you've fought repeatedly and lost repeatedly, lost repeatedly and fought repeatedly, in this regard your experience is clearly greater than mine and the little junior disciple's! Teach us a few moves."

Xu Sanshi's face instantly darkened with several black lines: "What do you mean by lost repeatedly and fought repeatedly, fought repeatedly and lost repeatedly? I—I have historical reasons for that; if it weren't for back then… ah, back then… humph, I had already won Nan Nan's heart."

Huo Yuhao poked his head over and chuckled: "Third senior brother, what was the situation back then? We've always been curious—just how did you offend the fourth senior sister?"

"I can't say!" Xu Sanshi said firmly. "Nan Nan said that if I spill the beans, I'll never see her face again. Don't get me into trouble."

The three brothers ate a hearty meal in the cafeteria, chatting and laughing. For Caitou and Huo Yuhao, the Sea God's Fate matchmaking event was full of novelty, but if we really had to say they were nervous, it wasn't too much. After all, they've seen big scenes before. Their experience in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament had already greatly boosted their psychological endurance, not to mention the training from the later Extreme Individual Soldier Plan. Although they haven't reached the state of being unperturbed even if Mount Tai collapses, ordinary things don't easily make them overly nervous.

The sky gradually darkened, and it was unclear whether this was due to the impending Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering, but on Sea God Island, encircled by Sea God Lake, a faint hint of a romantic atmosphere began to emanate.

On the island, groups of two or three inner court disciples of Shrek Academy in red uniforms began to gather at the place where the Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering would be held.

Because Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department has only developed in recent years, the inner court disciples are still predominantly martial soul disciples. Each displayed their abilities, and they soon gathered by the lakeside.

All those who had gathered were male disciples; not a single female disciple was in sight. The lake was pitch black, and amidst the water mist, it was hard to make out anything.

Just then, a large boat came from afar, its lights blazing. The inner court disciples naturally recognized it as the largest ferry on Sea God Lake. At this moment, the boat was already full of people.

Huo Yuhao's eyesight was the best; gazing into the distance, he actually saw at least six or seven elders of the Sea God Pavilion on that boat. The dean of the Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe; the vice-dean, Cai Mei'er; the dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin'er; the vice-dean, Qian Duoduo; and Fan Yu were all present, along with some teachers he wasn't very familiar with but seemed vaguely acquainted.

And at that moment, Chen Qiye walked out from somewhere.

Upon seeing Chen Qiye, Bei Bei, upon first meeting, even though Huo Yuhao had said so, they were all shocked.

The inner court disciples who had previously participated in this Sea God's Fate matchmaking gathering all knew how it worked, while some of the younger disciples participating for the first time were full of anticipation.

The life, study, and cultivation at the academy are undoubtedly dull; having such an event is, for the young male and female disciples, a rare opportunity to showcase themselves and also obtain a lover.

The large boat did not paddle toward this side, but instead stopped in the center of the lake. Just then, a series of light beams suddenly shot out from the lake water; amid the rippling light, what first appeared were, surprisingly, seventeen beams of light.

"Wow..." some of the male disciples on the shore already exclaimed in admiration.

The seventeen beams of light were all pale gold; on the lake surface where each beam pierced through, a girl in a white long dress stood silently. The seventeen girls' long dresses were identical, and they all wore the same bamboo hat, with three Chinese feet of white veil hanging down, completely concealing their faces.

Against the backdrop of that pale gold light, they seemed like fairies of the lake; that otherworldly beauty was crafted to be extremely dazzling.

The seventeen girls lined up in a row, exactly facing the shore. They just stood there silently, and some of the male disciples on the shore were already impatient.

Just then, two stronger white beams of light lit up, and two figures appeared alongside them.

On the left was Bei Bei in a white robe; on the right was Zhang Le Xuan, the senior sister of Shrek Academy's inner court, dressed entirely in a pale yellow long skirt.

After more than two years apart, Huo Yuhao found that this senior sister had barely changed; it seemed as if time could leave no mark on her. She remained as gentle and beautiful as ever, a faint smile on her lovely face.

(End of chapter)