Chapter 263: Mutual Admiration
Mysterious Nether Swap.
This spirit skill was incredibly unique, allowing the caster to instantly swap positions with their target.
When Xu Minghui used this skill, he had been standing on the last lotus leaf, while Mo Qi, caught off guard, became the victim of the swap. Now, the final lotus leaf became Mo Qi's landing spot.
Mo Qi's expression was a masterpiece of disbelief, but there was nothing he could do.
Earlier, he had been very close to the first lotus leaf but hadn't yet stood on it.
According to the rules of the Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival, once a contestant stood firmly on a lotus leaf, they could no longer change their position. If Mo Qi had stepped onto the first leaf before, Xu Minghui's Mysterious Nether Swap would have been invalid.
But now, Mo Qi had indeed stepped onto a lotus leaf—just not the one he wanted. It was the last one.
As per the rules, he couldn't move anymore.
Mo Qi turned back, pitifully gazing at Qin Yuezhu, who was still standing on the lakeshore. "Brother Zhu—"
"Don't even think about it."
"I—"
"I've done everything I could for you!"
"But—"
"You agreed to this deal yourself!"
"Still—"
"And besides, Yan Xi would never like a man who goes back on his word!"
Critical hit!
Mo Qi clutched his chest in exaggerated pain, his face full of anguish.
What a disaster!
Meanwhile, the other agility-type spirit masters, along with various other competitors, each had their own share of struggles. After some time, everyone chose their respective lotus leaves.
While some looked dissatisfied—clearly unhappy with their positions—none of the participants had fallen into the water during this round.
Seeing that everyone except Qin Yuezhu had chosen their positions, Yue Lengxin turned her gaze toward him. "Junior Qin, are you planning to step onto a lotus leaf?"
Qin Yuezhu shook his head with a smile. "I already have someone I like, so I'm withdrawing from the festival."
With that, he began walking away from the lakeshore, leaving calmly.
Yue Lengxin nodded and, after a moment, unleashed her spirit power, her voice amplifying across the audience.
"Alright, we will now begin the first round: Mutual Admiration!"
"I'm sure everyone can see that there are 22 female participants on the field today. These 22 ladies are the entirety of our female contestants. However, at the moment, each one is wearing a bamboo hat, concealing their faces. You can't even see what they look like—so how are you supposed to choose a girlfriend?
"In this round, the goal is for the male participants to remove the ladies' bamboo hats!"
"During this phase, the 46 male participants may act one by one, using their abilities to attack the female participants. You can target one or multiple ladies, with the objective of uncovering their bamboo hats."
"However, the female participants cannot help each other, nor can they attack the male participants. They can only defend themselves and try to keep their bamboo hats in place. Additionally, if a female participant falls into the water during this phase, she will be eliminated. That said…" Yue Lengxin's eyes glimmered with amusement.
"I doubt any of you gentlemen would let the ladies fall into the water, right? After all, if all the ladies are eliminated, who are you going to pursue?"
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
"We will proceed starting with the participants closest to the front. Each male participant may showcase their abilities, but don't go overboard! Otherwise, if one of the ladies loses her temper and retaliates… well, I might just pretend I didn't see anything." Yue Lengxin's tone turned playful, a sly smile on her face. "Now then, we'll begin with Xu Minghui!"
"Junior Xu, are you ready?"
Xu Minghui scratched his head, made an OK gesture, and adopted a more serious expression.
With a flash of dark, mystical light, a half-human-sized shield materialized in Xu Minghui's hand. The shield's surface bore a fierce engraving of a Xuanwu turtle, exuding an extraordinary aura.
Martial Spirit: Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield!
Behind him, six spirit rings appeared in sequence.
Xu Minghui was a six-ring Spirit Emperor. In fact, if he weren't exactly 21 years old this year, he would undoubtedly have been a part of the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Fighting Tournament.
He hurled the shield far ahead, then leapt into the air. The lotus leaf beneath him sank heavily into the lake under the force, only resurfacing slowly after a while.
Using the rebound momentum, Xu Minghui landed squarely on his floating shield, which served as a temporary platform on the water, allowing him to maintain his balance.
Even though they were competitors, many male students couldn't help but applaud his impressive maneuver.
The greatest challenge of the Mutual Admiration round was for the male participants to traverse hundreds of meters in mid-air, attack the female participants, and return safely—all without falling into the water.
For Xu Minghui, his moves showed that he didn't need to expend excessive spirit power to accomplish this.
With spirit power coursing through his shield, Xu Minghui accelerated toward the female participants. With a cheeky grin, he said, "Senior sisters, junior sisters, forgive my offense."
With that, he activated his shield, channeling his spirit power into the water. Moments later, a jet of water shot up from beneath the surface, aiming for the bamboo hat of one of the female participants.
The targeted girl wasn't idle. She let out a low shout, summoning a longsword into her hand and successfully deflecting the water jet.
However, upon seeing her martial spirit, Xu Minghui relaxed slightly.
Recognizing her martial spirit, a sword, he identified her as a participant whose strength was relatively average. Removing her bamboo hat wouldn't be too difficult.
Spirit power rippled beneath Xu Minghui's feet as he unleashed a flurry of water jets from various tricky angles, all aimed at the girl's bamboo hat.
At first, she managed to fend off the attacks, but as the barrage intensified, she became overwhelmed. Finally, a water jet struck the edge of her hat from behind, flipping it off and revealing her delicate face.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she glared fiercely at Xu Minghui but said nothing.
Having successfully removed the bamboo hat of the first female participant, Xu Minghui gracefully stepped back. "Thank you for going easy on me, Junior Sister Ji Fu."
Smiling, he called his shield back and returned to his lotus leaf, his movements elegant.
After all, with outer court disciples and visitors watching, Xu Minghui had to showcase his gentlemanly demeanor.
Perfect execution!
Xu Minghui's impressive start motivated the other male participants. One by one, they unleashed their unique martial spirits and abilities to try and remove the bamboo hats of the female participants. The variety of tactics and strategies dazzled the spectators, including Qi Han and the others watching from the observation area.
"This Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival is absolutely worth attending," Qi Han remarked.
Ever since he discovered that Yue Lengxin wasn't participating in the event but hosting it instead, Qi Han had fully relaxed. Now watching with a sense of amusement, he found the experience surprisingly rewarding.
"Finally found you guys—huh? Boss Qi, you're here too?"
A familiar voice interrupted. Qi Han and the four women turned to see Qin Yuezhu, who had left the lakeshore earlier, walking toward them with a smile.
"Uh—mmph—!"
Before Qin Yuezhu could finish, his smile froze. A young girl suddenly leaped into his arms, pressing her soft lips against his.
"Cough, cough."
Qi Han and the other three women felt an immediate sense of vicarious embarrassment as the affectionate display unfolded.
Too much PDA…
When their lips finally parted, Qin Yuezhu glanced awkwardly at Ping Xinyan, whose ears were flushed red and whose cheeks still bore faint traces of tears. Forcing a smile, he said, "Uh… how about I take Xinyan and leave first?"
"Goodbye!" (x4)
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