On Sea God Lake, the Sea God's Fate Matchmaking Assembly was entering its third round. At this moment, all eyes were on the young man about to take the stage.
Zhu Ziyang stepped forward, smiling lightly, moving as if strolling casually. He stepped onto the surface of the water, his pace neither hurried nor slow. With every step he took, a patch of ice formed beneath his feet. By the time he reached the center of the lake, the ice had connected into a solid sheet, supporting the lotus leaves beneath the Sea God Fairies' feet. This action made all the girls turn to look at him, their eyes sparkling with wonder. Whether they knew him or not, all were eagerly awaiting his self-introduction.
"Greetings, senior sisters and junior sisters," Zhu Ziyang said, his voice calm, his every movement oozing elegance. "My name is Zhu Ziyang."
As soon as his first words left his mouth, the inner court disciples immediately stirred. Many were new students who had only heard of him from his grand performance in the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament. Some had seen him from a distance, but few had ever met him in person. Now, seeing him for the first time felt like seeing a legend come to life.
"Is this... Zhu Ziyang?!" In the crowd of male disciples, Dai Huabin's eyes lit up with admiration and excitement.
"Junior Brother, don't tell me you're planning to challenge Zhu Ziyang?" Chu Qingtian, standing beside Dai Huabin, asked, noticing the look on his face.
"Hm! Is that a problem?" Dai Huabin shot Chu Qingtian a disdainful look, his voice dripping with condescension. He was looking down on Chu Qingtian, a twenty-seven-year-old Soul Emperor, feeling that there was no way someone like him had the right to address him as a junior brother.
"Heh!" Chu Qingtian immediately caught the disdain in Dai Huabin's tone and sneered in return. "I advise you not to overestimate yourself. Junior Brother Zhu reached the Soul Emperor rank when he was only fifteen. At your current level, he might not even accept your challenge. It'd be better to avoid embarrassing yourself."
After saying this, Chu Qingtian turned away, thinking to himself, No wonder everyone says people from the Dai family are hard to deal with. Dai Huabin and his brother Dai Yueheng really are cut from the same cloth!
Dai Huabin heard Chu Qingtian's words, but the battle spirit in his eyes only intensified. In his mind, Zhu Ziyang would definitely accept his challenge. After all, both were powerful—strong people always respected each other, right?
On the lake, Zhu Ziyang noticed the commotion around him but paid it no mind. He continued, "I'm twenty years old, and I'm a level 92 Strength-type Title Douluo. My title is 'Jing Tian'."
"—"
Silence.
The once noisy atmosphere of the Matchmaking Assembly instantly fell into eerie silence. Almost everyone on site stared at Zhu Ziyang in a daze. The only people who knew about his strength were Jiang Nannan, Ma Xiaotao, Qian Lingyi, and Fifth Huan'er. As for everyone else, only Tang Ya and the others from Tang Sect, along with Tianyuan Pavilion's preparatory members like Han Ruoruo, were aware of this shocking revelation.
The breeze swept across Sea God Lake as everyone struggled to digest this explosive news. A Title Douluo at twenty! The impact of this news was truly overwhelming. At least Dai Huabin, who had so confidently challenged Zhu Ziyang, now looked defeated. Meanwhile, Jiang Nannan, Ma Xiaotao, and Qian Lingyi were looking around, feeling an overwhelming pride. Fifth Huan'er, however, gave Zhu Ziyang an odd, knowing look.
Dai Yueheng and Zhang Weiwei, who were hosting the event, exchanged wry smiles. Weiwei spoke, breaking the silence. "Ziyang, you really know how to shock everyone."
"Haha, Senior Sister Weiwei, let's leave it at that. I'm done now," Zhu Ziyang said with a laugh, turning and walking back to his lotus leaf.
The assembly continued, but the majority of the Sea God Fairies couldn't take their eyes off Zhu Ziyang. This caused the fifth contestant, who was about to go on, to feel utterly helpless. Before stepping out, he glanced at Zhu Ziyang and chuckled bitterly. "Ziyang, you've really caused me trouble!"
"Hahaha, Senior Brother, good luck!" Zhu Ziyang smiled apologetically and cheered him on.
On the ferry, the elders were all smiles. Elder Xuanzizi spoke up, "Not bad, not bad. Looks like no one's lost their composure."
"Of course. They're all elites. If they can't handle this little shock, that would be embarrassing," Elder Lin agreed.
After Zhu Ziyang, the next few male contestants had bad luck. No matter how creative their self-introductions were, they couldn't grab as much attention as Zhu Ziyang had. The twenty-one women were still processing the shock of learning that Zhu Ziyang was already a Title Douluo at the age of twenty.
Soon, the numbers dwindled down. It was time for the thirteenth contestant, Huo Yuhao, to take the stage.
Yuhao copied Zhu Ziyang's approach, using his Ice Martial Soul's advantage to stroll across the lake, his face filled with slight anxiety. "Hello, everyone, I'm Huo Yuhao. I'm seventeen years old, a Control and Attack dual-system Soul King, and a level six soul engineer…"
"Wait, wait, Weiwei, I have a question. Can I ask him something?" His words were cut off by a voice. To his surprise, the person interrupting him was none other than Wu Ming. She raised her hand, her face full of confusion.
"Sure," Zhang Weiwei nodded reluctantly. "But only once."
"Understood!" Wu Ming immediately agreed and turned to Yuhao. "Little brother, why do you have so many titles? Are you trying to attract girls by giving yourself all those titles? Control, Attack dual-system? How does that even work? Do you have two martial souls? And you're a level six soul engineer at seventeen? A full-fledged warrior? Little brother, be honest!"
"I…" Yuhao's face turned bright red, but he quickly composed himself and answered, "Senior Sister, I do have two martial souls. My main martial soul is Control-type, and my second one is Attack-type. I also practice soul engineering, and I just returned from a study exchange at Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."
Wu Ming's eyes lit up. "Twin martial souls! Now I understand. Continue, little brother!"
"Uh…" Yuhao was cut off by Wu Ming again and didn't know what to say, but he helplessly looked at Dai Yueheng and Zhang Weiwei. "Senior Sister Weiwei, I'm done."
"Alright," Zhang Weiwei nodded. She also shot Wu Ming a reproachful glance, while Wu Ming rubbed her head awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.
After Yuhao, a few more contestants introduced themselves, and soon it was Bei Bei's turn. Having a clear goal, Bei Bei kept his introduction simple, with no flashy performances. Just like Zhu Ziyang, he briefly introduced his basic information, such as his name, age, and soul power level.
"Greetings, sisters. I'm Bei Bei, twenty years old, a level 67 Attack-type Soul Emperor. My martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
The male contestants' round was almost over. The final self-introduction was from Xu Sanshi, who, with the same reason as Bei Bei, kept his introduction unusually simple. "Greetings, sisters. I'm Xu Sanshi, twenty years old, a level 67 Defense-type Soul Emperor. My martial soul is the Xuanwu Shield."
With that, the third round concluded, and the fourth round began.
"Very good," Dai Yueheng smiled. "Next, we begin the fourth round. After meeting and greeting, falling in love at first sight, and falling in love at second sight, it's time for the 'Fated Love.'"
Zhang Weiwei took over, continuing, "Now it's the Sea God Fairies' turn. Each of you will take the stage, introduce yourselves, and choose the boy you like. Please, boys, step aside for now. Don't be surprised if someone's charm attracts more than one girl."
After this round, the men who weren't chosen by any girls would be eliminated. Those who remained would proceed to the final round.
With that, the tension among the boys and girls intensified. The air was thick with nervous energy. Even Zhu Ziyang, who had been calm, found himself feeling slightly anxious.
"Heh," Zhang Weiwei chuckled lightly. "Let's get started!"
"Oh, and one more thing—please note, ladies still wearing their veils, you can choose to remove them while introducing yourselves. If you don't reveal your identity or give any clues, then unless a boy chooses you, you won't be able to remove your veil until the event ends."
"Now, please, the first lady, step forward and introduce yourself!"
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