After Ye Liu came two more Soul Sage-level disciples, but both returned empty-handed. Then, it was Zhu Ziyang's turn.
"Ziyang, long time no see," Dai Yueheng greeted with a smile.
"It has been a while. Senior Brother Dai, Senior Sister Zhang, congratulations to you both." Zhu Ziyang smiled in response.
"Mhm. We'll catch up later. It's your turn—go get 'em." Dai Yueheng chuckled.
Zhu Ziyang nodded and stepped forward casually, as if strolling in a courtyard. Each step caused a thin sheet of ice to form underfoot. His calm and unhurried approach left many junior disciples dumbfounded. The older disciples recognized Zhu Ziyang and were aware of his strength, but the newer ones were left wide-eyed and full of questions.
"I knew it—Ziyang's just here to steal the spotlight," Xu Sanshi shouted from a few lotus pads away toward Beibei.
"Shut it." Beibei was still fuming about Xu Sanshi lifting Tang Ya's veil. Even though he knew it wasn't intentional, he still felt like he'd swallowed a fly.
Zhu Ziyang stopped when he was about five meters from the female disciples—any closer and he risked being attacked. He already had his targets in mind. During the earlier rounds, he had carefully observed the similarly dressed female disciples and had already identified most of the ones he was looking for.
He walked toward the Sea God Fairy in the third position. As he passed number five—Tang Ya—he noticed her giving him a secret signal with her eyes, which confirmed his guess. Relaxed, he stopped before number three and softly called, "Nannan."
He reached for her hat. The Sea God Fairy made no move to stop him. Zhu Ziyang peeled the veil back to reveal Jiang Nannan's slightly shy and stunningly beautiful face.
"You've passed the first test," she whispered softly—but it reached Zhu Ziyang's ears with perfect clarity.
Without pausing, Zhu Ziyang moved forward amid the cheers of the onlookers. He came to the ninth position and, with swift hands, lifted the veil and called out with a grin, "Sister Xiaotao!"
Ma Xiaotao had been planning to make things a bit difficult for Zhu Ziyang. But his unorthodox move—lifting the veil before even confirming her identity—caught her off guard. Still, she smiled brightly at him, radiant as the morning sun.
But not even her smile could stop Zhu Ziyang. He moved on to number twelve and gently said, "Yiyi!"
Sure enough, the girl behind the veil was Qian Lingyi, who greeted him with a sweet smile.
Finally, Zhu Ziyang reached the twentieth Sea God Fairy. He extended a hand to lift her veil—but she wasn't having it. Golden flames gathered in her palm as she struck toward him. Zhu Ziyang remained calm, catching her hand with a stream of extreme cold air. With his other hand, he swiftly pulled away her veil—revealing a pretty face brimming with feigned anger.
It was Diwu Huan'er.
Honestly, Zhu Ziyang hadn't expected Diwu Huan'er to participate in this event. But since she had, he couldn't just let someone else take her. After all, they did have… some history. No way was he letting another man take her away.
Seeing Zhu Ziyang so bold—revealing four Sea God Fairies in one go—many junior and senior disciples cried out in protest.
"Ziyang, leave something for the rest of us!"
"Senior Brother, stop showing off already!"
Fortunately, he had no more girls to unveil. Zhu Ziyang laughed and said, "Alright, I'll leave the rest to all of you."
With that, he vanished in a flash and reappeared on his own lotus leaf, shocking everyone again. Dai Yueheng and Zhang Weiwei exchanged glances, clearly intrigued.
"Ziyang, you sly dog," Xu Sanshi came over and grinned. "Four in one go. You sure you can handle that?"
"No choice. Can't help it if I've got both talent and looks," Zhu Ziyang replied, clearly catching Xu Sanshi's infectious attitude.
"You smug bastard," Xu Sanshi grumbled, returning to his lotus pad, suddenly lost for words.
After Zhu Ziyang, two more took their turns. Then came Beibei. Since Tang Ya's veil had already been lifted by Xu Sanshi, Beibei simply gave up—after all, the first round wasn't mandatory.
After Beibei came a disciple named Chu Qingtian. Twenty-seven years old, rank 67 Soul Emperor, martial soul: Lightning Leopard—an agility-type. More importantly, he had guts.
Egged on by his peers, he actually tried to lift Wu Ming's veil.
Now, how to describe Wu Ming… She was the academy's well-known red rose—beautiful, but thorny. Her temper rivaled even Ma Xiaotao's. Though she had participated in previous Sea God Fate events, she had never found a match. Of her generation's female disciples, only she and Han Ruoruo remained single.
After Chu Qingtian was done, it was finally Huo Yuhao's turn. Zhu Ziyang watched his movements with interest.
Like Zhu Ziyang, Huo Yuhao also had an Ultimate Ice martial soul. Following Zhu Ziyang's lead, he too stepped across the lake using his ice power, calmly freezing the surface with each step.
Before long, he stood before the Sea God Fairies. Fourteen of them still had their veils. Huo Yuhao was completely lost. No matter who he chose, it would be awkward. If it was a friend, maybe they'd laugh it off. If it was a stranger—well, social death.
Seeing his hesitation, Wu Ming giggled and said, "Hey, little brother. Aren't you a bit young to be at a matchmaking event? Go lift Sister Ruoruo's veil—she loves cute little boys like you!"
"You wanna die, Ming'er?" Han Ruoruo snapped. Even with her face hidden, it was obvious she was blushing. Her retort drew laughter from the other girls.
"Alright, alright, stop teasing our Yuhao," Tang Ya stepped in to help. "If you keep bullying him, he's going to bolt. Yuhao, don't be shy—just pick one!"
"Okay… got it." Huo Yuhao nodded. Her words eased his nerves. He was about to use Spiritual Detection to scout for Xiao Xiao—he wasn't sure how to face her, but at least it would be less awkward than picking a stranger.
But the moment his spiritual power extended outward, it was instantly crushed by an even stronger force and shoved back into his mind. A voice echoed in his ear, "Yuhao, no cheating!"
Huo Yuhao shuddered. He looked at Zhu Ziyang, who was smiling and shaking his head at him.
"Sigh…" With no other choice, Yuhao chose to go with his gut. Among the fourteen remaining Sea God Fairies, he picked number four. Nestled between Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan, he had a hunch he might know her. Time to take a gamble.
As he approached number four, Zhu Ziyang's expression shifted—was that a slight tremble? It was probably Xiao Xiao.
Yuhao stepped in front of her and reached out carefully. Seeing no resistance, he relaxed and gently lifted the veil.
A sweet, lovely face appeared—though they hadn't seen each other in years, Yuhao recognized her instantly.
Xiao Xiao.
Her face lit up with joy and emotion. Yuhao smiled as well, albeit a little awkwardly. He remembered what Zhu Ziyang had told him. It was only natural for a young man to feel affection. To say he didn't feel anything for this old comrade of his would be a lie.
"Xiao Xiao… Long time no see." He chuckled.
"Yeah… it's been a while." Xiao Xiao whispered back.
(End of Chapter)
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