Sea God Lake sparkled under the glow of countless lanterns.
At the shore, Dai Yueheng looked at the restless male disciples, a faint smile on his lips. "Everyone, get ready. Three… two… one! Begin!"
With his shout, boom, boom, boom! Forty-two beams of light shot up from beneath the lake. They spread out neatly into three rows, fourteen beams each, spaced one meter apart, with five meters between rows. When the beams faded, lotus leaves appeared in their place, floating serenely on the lake.
The leaves were about a hundred meters from the female disciples, and nearly two hundred from the men.
At the signal, the male disciples erupted into motion. Those who could fly soared out, those who could sprint charged forward, and soul skills of every kind lit the surface of the water with dazzling bursts of power.
Unlike the others who fought fiercely for position, Zhu Ziyang stayed calm. He was the last man still standing on shore, while the leading disciple—a flying-type Soul Sage—was about to land on the leftmost lotus leaf of the first row.
Ziyang's eyes flashed gold, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the shore, reappearing on the fifth lotus leaf from the left in the first row. It wasn't the best position, nor the worst. He was satisfied.
His sudden arrival sent ripples of pressure through the other men, who immediately redoubled their efforts. The flying Soul Sage at the front aimed straight for the leftmost lotus. Just as he was about to land, however, his body shimmered with black light—and vanished.
In his place stood Xu Sanshi, grinning mischievously.
"Really, aren't you afraid that brother's going to pound you for that stunt?" Zhu Ziyang asked, giving him a deadpan look.
"Haha! Not afraid—my martial soul's built to take a beating!" Sanshi boasted shamelessly.
"Xu Sanshi, you rascal!" The displaced Soul Sage—around thirty, a senior disciple from the same class as Zhang Lexuan, Han Ruoruo, and Zhang Weiwei—was utterly dejected. Who would have thought he'd get scammed at a matchmaking event? Not only had he lost the prime spot, but now he'd be lucky to even claim a second-row leaf.
Yet rules were rules: once someone landed on a lotus leaf, it counted as fixed. There was no replacing them. He could only curse his own speed for being too quick, which let Sanshi catch him off guard.
"Sorry, Senior Brother Li," Sanshi said with a guilty smile that fooled no one. "But you chose too good a spot! Don't worry though—everyone knows I already have a family. I'll only be drinking from one cup, so the rest of the river is yours."
Li could only shake his head. "Fine, I'll let it go this time. But you owe me a drink, remember!"
"Haha! Many thanks, Senior Brother! Next time, we drink until we drop!" Sanshi laughed heartily.
While the two bantered, the rest of the men scrambled to secure their own spots. Soon, all forty-two male disciples had settled onto their lotus leaves.
Zhu Ziyang quietly observed, taking stock of the academy's current talent. Of the forty-one other men, four were Soul Sages, all senior disciples of over a decade. The rest were at least Soul Kings. That meant every participant here—aged between seventeen and thirty—was a Soul King, Soul Emperor, or Soul Sage.
Ten, twenty, thirty, even forty years from now, how many of these men would ascend to Titled Douluo? This was the academy's true foundation. At least half of these disciples would remain at Shrek, their accumulated strength securing the academy's unshakable supremacy.
His heart swelled with pride. This academy now truly belonged to him.
Naturally, he paid special attention to a few key disciples. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's talent spoke for itself—both had reached rank 65 Soul Emperor before their mid-twenties. Among the newer students, there was Dai Yueheng's younger brother, Dai Huabin—seventeen years old and already a rank 59 Soul King, surpassing his elder brother at the same age. There was also Xie Huanyue, a seventeen-year-old rank 53 Soul King.
Of course, Ziyang's gaze lingered on Yuhao and Caitou as well. Their time at Sun Moon Academy clearly hadn't slowed their cultivation. Yuhao had reached the Soul King realm at last, living up to the name of Mu En's disciple, while Caitou, like Bei Bei and Sanshi, had reached the Soul Emperor rank.
"Alright, let's begin the first stage—'Kindred Spirits,'" Zhang Weiwei announced, smiling. For once, the frosty senior sister showed a softer side. Her smile was dazzling, and her voice unexpectedly gentle, leaving many men on the verge of swooning.
Several disciples behind Ziyang sighed with regret and envy. Weiwei, of course, ignored them entirely.
"We'll start from the leftmost lotus of the first row," she continued. "Each of you may show off your skills as you please. But don't go too far. If one of the ladies can't resist striking back, I'll pretend I didn't see."
Xu Sanshi, first in line, was already itching to go. Dai Yueheng caught Weiwei's eye, and the two exchanged a knowing glance before Yueheng called out, "Junior Brother Xu, are you ready?"
Sanshi gave a confident hand signal.
"Good. Then make it count—your time starts now!"
Sanshi leapt high, tossing his Xuanwu Shield beneath him. Though massive and heavy, he controlled it with such precision that it drifted down onto the lake like a leaf. He landed squarely atop it, slapped his palms against its surface, and sent it skimming forward across the water like a boat, leaving twin wakes behind as it sped toward the line of female disciples.
It was an impressive display of martial soul mastery, earning murmurs of approval from the onlookers.
"Little Weiwei, where are you?!" Sanshi bellowed dramatically. His shield surged ahead, carrying him to within ten meters of the women before halting smoothly.
The shameless shout drew a reaction. One of the veiled "Sea God Fairies" twitched, clearly suppressing laughter.
Sanshi's grin widened. "Weiwei, I've found you!"
He guided his shield straight to the fifth fairy in line and reached boldly to lift her hat. To everyone's shock, she offered no resistance. He pulled it away, triumphant—only for his smile to freeze instantly.
Beneath the hat wasn't Zhang Weiwei at all, but Tang Ya, her pretty face lit with mischievous delight.
"Ta-Tang Ya?! Why are you here?!" Sanshi blurted, his face pale.
"Hahaha!" Tang Ya burst out laughing, pleased with her prank. "Well? Surprised?"
"I… you…!" Sanshi stammered like a fool, unable to form a proper sentence as Tang Ya doubled over in mirth.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop laughing," she said at last, wiping her eyes. "But seriously—Weiwei's not far. Go on and find her!"
"Find her?! My back's already cold with dread! Bei Bei's going to kill me!" Sanshi groaned, glancing nervously toward his senior brother.
Indeed, Bei Bei's face was black with fury as he glared at him. If not for the rules of the assembly, he would have leapt onto the lake right then and drowned Sanshi himself.
Still, with Tang Ya's help, Sanshi eventually made his way to the real Zhang Weiwei, standing at the seventh position.
"Next, Ye Liu," Zhang Weiwei announced calmly.
Ye Liu, one of the four Soul Sages, unfurled his Storm Swan martial soul and glided effortlessly across the lake. But when he tried to show off by blasting gusts of wind toward the women, he earned himself a vicious slap from one hot-tempered senior sister—Wu Ming. Sent crashing into the lake, he was instantly eliminated.
Zhu Ziyang rubbed his temples. Honestly, I should have expected Sanshi's shamelessness. But Tang Ya's prank… this is going to be a headache.
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