The Nine Treasure Pavilion is located in the southern part of Shrek City, while the Tang Sect residence is in the eastern part of Shrek City, close to Shrek Academy.
Given the size of Shrek City, the distance between the two locations is quite considerable.
Xu Zihuang walked unhurriedly along the bustling and spacious streets of Shrek City. After walking for about half an hour, he finally arrived at the location of the Tang Sect residence.
Before he even reached the entrance, laughter could already be heard coming from the front courtyard.
The moment Xu Zihuang stepped through the main gate, the laughter abruptly stopped.
At the redwood table in the front courtyard sat three people. The one in the main seat was a tall and elegant young man with a faint smile on his face, deep eyes, and long blue hair casually draped over his shoulders.
Of the other two young men sitting on either side of the table, the one on the left was at least 1.9 meters tall, broad-shouldered and sturdy, with an imposing and handsome appearance. His robust figure gave off the feeling of being as steady as a mountain.
The young man on the right was even more muscular. His skin was dark, and his completely bald head was particularly eye-catching.
These three young men were precisely Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou. Judging by their appearance, they had clearly been waiting for Xu Zihuang.
Upon seeing Xu Zihuang, all three stood up at the same time.
Xu Zihuang smiled and stepped forward to greet them.
"Senior Brother Beibei, Senior Brother Xu, Senior Brother He."
"Tianhuang, we've been waiting for so long, and you finally showed up, you brat."
Xu Sanshi heavily patted Xu Zihuang on the shoulder, revealing a mischievous grin.
"It's been almost half a year since we last saw you. It's normal for a young couple to spend some intimate time together. But you still need to exercise some restraint, you know."
"You should worry about yourself first. Are you sure you can pass Nannan's test?" Beibei shook his head helplessly, asking meaningfully.
"What are you going to do if Nannan rejects you again at tonight's Sea God's Fate event?"
As the saying goes, the observer sees more clearly than the one involved. As a bystander, he often saw things more clearly than Xu Sanshi. Although it wasn't appropriate to say it directly, the possibility of Jiang Nannan accepting Xu Sanshi was indeed very slim.
However, over the years, Jiang Nannan had seen all of Xu Sanshi's efforts. If the atmosphere could be properly built up and allow Jiang Nannan to let go of her prejudices against Xu Sanshi, there might still be a slim chance.
Hearing Beibei's words, Xu Sanshi's expression stiffened. He said unhappily:
"Beibei, you really can't wish me well for once? Tianhuang and you are both guaranteed to succeed, so you stand here and gloat, right? If Nannan and I don't work out, I'll definitely stage a bride kidnapping for you and Xiaoya."
"At least Sanshi still has a target." He Caitou blushed and scratched his head shyly.
"Senior Brother Beibei, do I look okay like this? Maybe I shouldn't participate after all."
Seeing He Caitou like this, Xu Sanshi returned to his previous demeanor and chuckled.
"Caitou, I think you should be more confident like me. Although you're not even half as handsome as I am, as long as you feel confident in yourself and have a thick face, there's still a chance of success. Who knows, maybe the senior sisters in the inner court like your type?"
"Oh." He Caitou, nodded honestly.
Beibei couldn't be bothered to deal with Xu Sanshi anymore. He led Xu Zihuang to the table, poured him a cup of hot tea, and sat down.
Xu Sanshi and He Caitou also took their seats. Xu Zihuang ended up sitting directly opposite Xu Sanshi.
Looking at Yu Tianhuang, whose appearance and temperament completely overshadowed both himself and Beibei, Xu Sanshi suddenly said seriously to He Caitou:
"Caitou, maybe you really shouldn't participate. With Tianhuang here, we're all destined to be just background characters. At least I'm still somewhat handsome, and my target is only Nannan. But you…"
Before Xu Sanshi could finish, Beibei interrupted him.
"Enough, shut up."
While speaking, he comforted He Caitou:
"Don't listen to Sanshi's nonsense. Appearance is important, but among soul masters, when choosing a partner, looks are never the first criterion. Soul masters value strength more. Caitou, you're only nineteen, and you've already broken through to Soul Emperor, and you're a food-system soul master. Among the inner court disciples, those better than you can be counted on one hand. Just go all out and show yourself tonight. This Sea God's Fate event is actually also an assessment from the academy for us inner court disciples."
Xu Zihuang took a light sip of the tea in the porcelain cup and calmly smiled in agreement.
"Senior Brother Beibei is right. Senior Brother He, as long as you're bold and careful, there will always be an opportunity."
However, in his opinion, the current He Caitou and Xiao Xiao had no contact at all. It seemed they were destined to have no fate.
"Tianhuang, you're the least qualified to say that sentence." Xu Sanshi said sourly, curling his lip.
"You talk as if you've ever actively pursued a girl. Aren't they all the ones who come to you? I even suspect that because you're always hanging out with us, Nannan has overlooked how handsome and dashing I am."
"Enough. Instead of thinking about these useless things, you'd better think about how you're going to pass Nannan's test tonight." Beibei raised his head to look at the sky.
"It's getting late. Let's head over first. We can have dinner at the inner court cafeteria on the way."
Xu Zihuang and the others had no objections. Earlier, Beibei and the other two had already waited for quite a bit of time waiting for Xu Zihuang.
The four of them stood up at the same time and walked toward the gate. Before leaving, Beibei shouted toward the back of the courtyard:
"Yuhao, while we're gone, watch the door."
"Mm."
Hearing this low, muffled response, Beibei frowned slightly but ultimately said nothing more.
Not long after, the figures of the four disappeared at the end of the street.
In the back courtyard of the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao, who was making soul tools, tightly gripped the carving knife in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze was exceptionally terrifying.
Although Beibei and Tang Ya had comforted him yesterday after he failed the assessment, in his view, that was just hypocritical posturing. If they truly cared about his feelings, would Beibei and Tang Ya be so eager to participate in some Sea God's Fate event? Would they openly joke about these things in the front courtyard right in front of him?
The only reason they kept him around was that he was still useful to the Tang Sect. He had already seen this clearly. He felt no sense of belonging to this so-called Tang Sect.
The only reason he hadn't left was that he felt there were still benefits to be gained in the Tang Sect. At least there were enough rare metals for making soul tools. And when he needed to obtain soul rings, Tang Ya and Beibei would also help him hunt soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest.
On the other side, Xu Zihuang and the others quickly returned to Sea God Island. Along the way, Beibei explained many specific details about the Sea God's Fate event to everyone.
Although he wasn't the host, he had grown up on Sea God Island since childhood and was extremely familiar with the Sea God's Fate event.
The hosts of this year's Sea God's Fate event were Inner Court Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo, whose cultivation was second only to Zhang Lexuan.
Both of them were at the Soul Douluo level and were the most senior inner court disciples in terms of tenure at Shrek Academy's inner court. Moreover, these two senior sisters were kind and had excellent popularity among the inner court students. That was also one of the reasons they were chosen as hosts.
As soon as Xu Zihuang and the others arrived on the island, they headed straight for the central cafeteria on Sea God Island. By the time they reached it, the sky had just turned dark.
Today's cafeteria was countless times livelier than usual. All the male inner court disciples had gathered, wearing the unified red uniforms of the inner court. Xu Zihuang, Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou were no exception. They had already changed into them before heading to Sea God Island.
It's worth mentioning that Xu Zihuang's outfit and hair had been personally arranged by Ning Tian.
Compared to the outer court uniforms of Shrek Academy, the red uniforms of the inner court disciples were far more luxurious. They resembled high-quality soul master robes, embroidered with exquisite patterns.
However, such a bright color wasn't something everyone could pull off. For example, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou, with their bulging muscles, looked somewhat out of place in these red soul master robes.
With the Sea God's Fate event approaching, many male inner court disciples showed no strong emotional fluctuations on their faces, but in reality, they felt extremely excited and nervous inside. Most of them only symbolically ate a little something before heading early to the venue of the Sea God's Fate event.
Those who could truly remain calm were ultimately in the minority.
Xu Zihuang picked some food he liked from the cafeteria window and carried it on a tray. Just then, he ran into two familiar faces head-on.
Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue.
Dai Huabin looked at Xu Zihuang with a complicated expression.
"Are you participating in tonight's Sea God's Fate event?"
"Mm." Xu Zihuang nodded calmly, gave a slight nod to Xie Huanyue beside him, and walked past the two of them.
Dai Huabin turned around, his gaze lingering on Xu Zihuang for a long time.
Beside him, Xie Huanyue, who had been smiling, let the smile fade from his chubby face and let out a wistful sigh.
"Forget it. In the future, the gap between Yu Tianhuang and us will only grow larger. We have to admit that there are differences even among geniuses. There's no need to add unnecessary trouble to ourselves."
Seeing that Dai Huabin remained silent, Xie Huanyue said no more and walked away. Unlike Dai Huabin, he still had to participate in the upcoming Sea God's Fate event.
But looking down at his nearly spherical figure, he couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
Fat people really have no human rights.
Just as Xie Huanyue walked out of the cafeteria, Dai Huabin followed after him.
"You're not planning to temporarily join the Sea God's Fate event just to cause trouble for Yu Tianhuang, are you?"
"I just want to know what his true strength is right now." Dai Huabin shook his head silently, then looked up toward the misty expanse of Sea God Lake. The tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed, and the stubbornness he once had when he first entered Shrek Academy and suffered a crushing defeat at Yu Tianhuang's hands was gone from his expression.
Even someone as proud as Dai Huabin would no longer think he was qualified to be Yu Tianhuang's opponent. But that didn't stop him from wanting to understand Yu Tianhuang's true strength. And the Sea God's Fate event, filled with senior inner court disciples, was the best platform for that.
…
Xu Zihuang carried his tray and sat down at the table where Beibei and the others were.
Beibei looked in the direction Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue had left and sighed.
"Your class really produced a lot of talent, Tianhuang. Once this year's inner court assessment ends, I'm afraid more than ten students from your class will enter the inner court. With their abilities, they all have the qualifications to represent the academy in next year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."
Xu Zihuang instantly understood the deeper meaning behind Beibei's words and said in a low voice:
"I heard that four months from now, at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament held in Mingdu, the rules will change to allow sect disciples to participate. Senior Brother Beibei, are you planning to represent the Tang Sect together with Senior Sister Xiaoya?"
Beibei was stunned for a moment, then frankly replied:
"I already mentioned this to Elder Xuan before. The elder agreed. The Tang Sect is in a phase of development. If we can make a name for ourselves in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, it will bring tremendous benefits to our future growth. However, Tianhuang, as long as you're here, I believe the academy's glory can continue to be passed down."
"Don't worry, Senior Brother Beibei. With me here, the academy's undefeated legend will never be broken." Xu Zihuang gave a calm smile. That composure and confidence moved even Beibei.
Xu Sanshi, sitting across from them, looked suspiciously at Xu Zihuang and Beibei, who were whispering to each other.
"Beibei, what are you and Tianhuang sneakily talking about?"
"Just some things about the Sea God's Fate event." Beibei smiled and replied.
According to his original plan, he had intended to trick Xu Sanshi into joining the Tang Sect as well.
Besides Xu Sanshi, He Caitou was restraining his appetite for the sake of this Sea God's Fate event. Because one of the segments required him to stand lightly on the lotus leaves, the more he ate, the heavier he would be, making it harder to control.
Seeing He Caitou like this, Xu Sanshi teased him again.
"I say, Caitou, it seems you really care about this Sea God's Fate event, huh? Have you taken a liking to some senior sister or junior sister? Why don't you tell me and let me give you some advice?"
He Caitou's face immediately turned bright red.
Beibei promptly came to He Caitou's rescue:
"Alright, let's finish eating and head over."
As time passed, the sky outside grew darker and darker. Yet Sea God Island, surrounded by Sea God Lake, faintly exuded a touch of romantic atmosphere. Groups of two or three inner court male disciples dressed in red uniforms walked together toward the lakeside. Xu Zihuang and the other three were among them.
There was no age limit for inner court disciples at Shrek Academy. As long as one wished to remain at the academy, one could stay indefinitely. Of course, if a disciple wanted to graduate, they could apply to the academy, provided they met certain conditions.
People like Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo, and Yao Haoxuan, being from major families, had completed their studies at the academy and returned to their families early.
Thus, the inner court disciples gathered by the lake varied greatly in age.
There were some people Xu Zihuang was quite familiar with, such as Ye Liu and Chu Qingtian, who had once entered the Star Dou Forest with him to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings. But there were also many unfamiliar faces.
Inner court disciples of Shrek Academy, especially the more senior ones, were often away performing supervisory missions or undergoing training. Meanwhile, Xu Zihuang had first been busy with the Extreme Single Soldier Plan, then spent two years at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy for exchange and study. As a result, he had never met many of these senior inner court disciples.
And those senior male inner court disciples couldn't help but size up Xu Zihuang a few times. After all, in their eyes, these juniors were so young yet possessed such outstanding appearance and temperament. It inevitably made them feel a sense of threat.
At that moment, a large ship sailed over from a distance. The ship was brightly lit. It was the largest ferry on Sea God Lake. At this moment, the ship was filled with people.
Leading them was Elder Xuan, along with the various elders of the Sea God Pavilion, the two deans of the Martial Soul Department, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier, and the three deans of the Soul Guidance Department, Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo, and Fan Yu.
After returning from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Fan Yu had been promoted to vice dean of the outer court Soul Guidance Department.
There were also some inner court teachers accompanying them.
The large ship did not sail toward Sea God Island but stopped in the middle of the lake.
At the same time, beams of light suddenly shot up from the lake water. A total of twenty pale golden beams. Each beam that rose from the lake surface held a young girl dressed in identical white long skirts. All twenty girls wore the same long skirts and the same bamboo hats, with three feet of white gauze hanging down, concealing their faces.
Pale golden light surrounded them, giving off a unique, delicate beauty. The twenty girls stood in a straight line, all facing the direction of the shore.
Immediately afterward, two even more dazzling white beams lit up, and two figures appeared along with them.
They were two peerlessly beautiful silhouettes. On the left was Han Ruoruo in a white dress, looking like an ice mountain snow lotus under the white light. On the right was Zhang Lexuan in a goose-yellow long skirt, as gentle and beautiful as a blooming tulip, with an extremely friendly smile on her pretty face.
Han Ruoruo smiled and said loudly:
"Sea God's Fate on Sea God Lake, ten thousand years of Shrek, a moment to determine love. Welcome everyone to the lakeside of Sea God Lake on this beautiful night. The annual Sea God's Fate matchmaking event is about to begin. As the hosts of this grand occasion, on behalf of myself and Senior Sister, I wish all the inner court students participating in today's Sea God's Fate matchmaking event can find the belonging of their hearts. At the same time, we also welcome all the elders of the Sea God Pavilion and teachers who have come to observe. Here, on behalf of all the students, we express our sincere gratitude to all the teachers. Without your patient cultivation and help, we would not have achieved what we have today."
After speaking, she and Zhang Lexuan placed their right hands on their chests and bowed slightly toward the direction of the ferry.
Elder Xuan, seated at the bow of the ferry, nodded with a smile, indicating that she could continue.
Han Ruoruo's opening speech received enthusiastic cheers from the male students on the shore. Only a few calmer students remained composed.
Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened, instantly locking onto the two figures standing in the most prominent central position among the twenty pale golden beams, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
Those two figures were none other than Ye Guyi and Ning Tian. The two girls had been arranged in the most eye-catching central positions, and they were even next to each other, Ye Guyi on the left, Ning Tian on the right.
Xu Zihuang looked toward Zhang Lexuan from afar. Zhang Lexuan seemed to sense it and met his gaze.
From the gentle, water-like yet somewhat helpless look in Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan's eyes, he instantly understood.
This was most likely Ye Guyi's request.
Han Ruoruo continued:
"Now, please prepare, all male students participating in today's Sea God's Fate matchmaking event. Shortly, thirty-eight beams of light will appear in the lake. These thirty-eight beams are divided into two rows. The front row, from left to right, the students closest to us, Sea God Fairies, will perform the first segment first, which gives a certain advantage. Those in the back positions may not be able to secure a suitable ranking in the first segment. So everyone pay attention. No matter what method you use, as long as you land on the lotus leaf where the beam of light is located, you have claimed the position. But remember — never fall into the water. Falling into the water means elimination and disqualification from this year's Sea God's Fate matchmaking event."
Han Ruoruo's explanation was very clear, and many of the male students on the shore were already eager to try.
"Everyone, get ready. Three… two… one."
On the other side, Zhang Lexuan understood and began the countdown.
"Begin!"
Thirty-eight beams of light suddenly shot up from beneath the lake surface, arranged neatly in two rows. Spaced about five meters apart, they were evenly distributed on the lake about a hundred meters away from the female students, and approximately two hundred meters from the shore.
Zhang Lexuan's gentle shout still carried softness, but everyone had already moved at the same time, fully prepared.
Crossing nearly two hundred meters in the air undoubtedly gave an advantage to soul masters with flying-type martial souls. Fortunately, there were only four male students with flying-type martial souls. Two were seven-ring Soul Saints, and two were six-ring Soul Emperors.
Among the two seven-ring Soul Saints, one was Ye Liu, whom Xu Zihuang had interacted with before; his martial soul was the Swan.
But the one in the lead was another senior inner court student. After releasing his martial soul, a pair of huge wings spread behind him, his body became majestic, and his entire body was wrapped in blue electric light, truly as fast as lightning.
His martial soul was the Thunder Roc, a considerably powerful existence.
But just as he was about to land in the center of the leftmost lotus leaf in the front row, an extremely oppressive aura suddenly caused him to feel overwhelming fear, a fear originating from his bloodline and martial soul.
Black-purple lightning flashed past behind him, landing precisely on the lotus leaf he had aimed for. The lightning dissipated into the air, revealing a black-haired, purple-eyed youth standing tall and straight.
The Soul Saint with the Thunder Roc martial soul suddenly contracted his pupils. But it was precisely this moment of distraction that led to his tragedy.
Dark light enveloped his body. In the next instant, Xu Sanshi had taken his place. Using the Xuanming Turtle Armor Shield to borrow force from the water, he landed on the second lotus leaf beside Xu Zihuang.
What Xu Sanshi used was naturally his fourth soul skill, Xuanming Displacement. Originally, he had wanted to take the first lotus leaf, but Yu Tianhuang's speed was simply too fast, so fast that he hadn't even reacted. So he had to settle for second best.
The Thunder Roc Soul Saint who swapped places with Xu Sanshi appeared in midair above Sea God Lake. The soul power and even martial soul in his body were briefly sealed and could not be mobilized. He fell straight into the lake.
Xu Sanshi turned back with an innocent look.
"No way, Senior, don't you know how to fly?"
"Xu Sanshi, you bastard!"
The Thunder Roc Soul Saint who climbed out of the lake looked extremely disheveled. Hearing Xu Sanshi's words, he nearly spat blood from anger.
But compared to that, what he cared about more now was the source of the influence, Xu Zihuang. As an outstanding student of Shrek Academy's inner court, he knew very well what this meant.
Only absolute suppression in terms of attribute and martial soul could cause him to have such a reaction.
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