"Serves you right—disgusting intentions deserve punishment."
Zhang Lexuan snorted coldly. With a flick of her hand, she deflected the barrage of attacks meant for Ye Liu—then shoved him straight into Sea God Lake.
"Since your heart is impure, consider this elimination your punishment."
Ye Liu, knowing he was in the wrong—and seeing the five furious female students glaring at him like predators—meekly nodded and slunk away in disgrace.
The next few male contestants, however, seemed traumatized by Wu Ming and the others' brutal display. One after another, they stepped forward with stiff, awkward movements—utterly lacking confidence. Five or six went up in a row… and not a single one managed to lift even one veil.
Their performance was so pitiful that even Zhang Lexuan couldn't bear to watch.
And with all these Outer Court juniors, Elders, and distinguished guests watching?
This was embarrassment on an international scale!
Biting back the urge to yell "You're all so shameful!", Zhang Lexuan forced herself to offer encouragement. Thankfully, the next few boys performed decently—not amazing, but good enough to lift two or three veils.
Among them, Chu Qingtian stood out—earning Zhang Lexuan's genuine praise.
Many Inner Court male students, seeing Chu Qingtian dare to lift the veil of the oldest, most menopausal "volcano" in the Inner Court, instantly hailed him as the new star of the night—even overshadowing Chen Junting!
Xu Sanshi was especially enthusiastic, whistling loudly:
"Woo—hoo! Brother Chu, you're a legend!"
Just then, Chu Qingtian recalled his Thunder Falcon soul spirit and landed back on his lily pad, waving with an expression of relieved pride—as if he'd just survived a brush with death.
"Senior Chu is a good man," Chen Junting murmured approvingly.
He and Wu Ming had always gotten along well—they'd been neighbors when he first arrived on Sea God Island.
Now that she'd found a worthy match, he was genuinely happy for her.
As the round continued, male students pulled out all the stops to impress the girls.
Huo Yuhao, in particular, used his soul skills to weave a breathtaking illusory paradise—easily lifting several veils with grace.
But like Chen Junting, his heart belonged to only one. Locking eyes with Wang Dong'er, their shared gaze was thick with the cloying sweetness of young love.
The boys after Huo Yuhao managed to lift three veils total—but their efforts paled in comparison to one man's explosive entrance.
He Caitou—future leader of the Inner Court's Soul Guidance Division, personal disciple of Fan Yu, and one of the pre-selected next generation of Shrek Seven Monsters…
…had treated the matchmaking stage like a battlefield.
He'd aimed a fixed-ammo soul guidance cannon directly at the seventeen veiled girls!
While the girls stared in utter confusion, he hurled over a hundred soul-guided grenades into the water—forcing them all to leap into the air. The resulting shockwave blasted off three veils before the girls could react.
And then—he fired a live round, nearly hitting Fan Yu and the other watching instructors with friendly fire!
"Hah! So… this is what you taught him?"
Chen Junting clapped Xu Sanshi on the shoulder, chuckling—and even kindly helped snap his jaw shut before it dropped into the lake.
"N-no! Not me! Absolutely not me!" Xu Sanshi frantically waved his hands, denying everything.
He never imagined honest-seeming He Caitou would pull such a reckless stunt! Hadn't he seen what happened to Senior Ye Liu? Didn't he fear being misunderstood by the senior girls?
But no matter what—he was partly to blame.
After all, everyone had seen him coaching He Caitou on the shore. Though no one knew the details, the suspicion alone was damning.
If Senior Xiaotao and the others found out…
Just thinking about it made Xu Sanshi shudder. He glanced at the empty lily pad to his right, then grabbed Chen Junting's arm.
"Brother Junting—you've got to vouch for me! I swear on my life—I never gave him this terrible idea!"
Chen Junting couldn't help but ask, curious:
"Then what did you suggest?"
Xu Sanshi didn't hide it: "Just… set off some pre-prepared fireworks when he meets the girl he likes."
Not a bad idea, Chen Junting thought, nodding inwardly.
Though compared to his own meticulously crafted confession, fireworks were just child's play.
For the first time, he felt genuinely proud—and confident.
By the end of Round One, the original 39 male students had been whittled down:
Ye Liu eliminated, two others fallen into the lake—leaving 36.
On the girls' side, only four still wore their veils—their identities were obvious to all:
Han Ruoruo, Ma Xiaotao, Di Yao, and Wu Feng.
The "Mutual Recognition" round had stirred such emotion that even Outer Court spectators were caught up in the romantic fever.
Amid roaring cheers, most male students now fixed fiery gazes on their chosen girls—but the top three unveiled beauties were met with… silence.
Everyone knew they were already taken.
For them, this "matchmaking" was clearly just a confession stage.
Before Round Two began, the boys had to re-rank based on how many veils they'd lifted.
Unsurprisingly, He Caitou—three veils—claimed first place.
But with great power came great backlash.
The moment he stepped up—a wave of lights across the lake instantly went dark.
His earlier cannon maneuver had cost him dearly in popularity. And frankly, his towering, dark-skinned build—while impressive to guys like Gong Yang Mo—just didn't align with most girls' tastes.
"Is Caitou really this doomed? Could he get zero lights?!" Xu Sanshi whispered, afraid to upset him.
"Brother He…" Huo Yuhao worried, fearing his senior couldn't handle such harsh rejection.
"Probably not total darkness," Chen Junting pointed ahead. "At least Xiaotian and the others kept their lights on—mostly out of pity, though."
"My Nannan's just too kind-hearted," Xu Sanshi sighed, spotting Jiang Nannan's lone light among the four remaining. The others—Ma Xiaotao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng—were clearly just shining sympathy lamps, not genuine interest.
"Oh, heavens…" He Caitou groaned under his breath, torn between laughter and despair.
This whole thing had become a formality for him.
After He Caitou's "love at first sight" ended, it was Chen Junting's turn.
When Bei Bei announced, "Chen Junting—Love at First Sight—begin!"—
the entire lake stayed brilliantly lit. Not a single lamp flickered out.
Even though everyone knew he and Ning Tian were a couple, that didn't stop the girls from admiring him.
Appreciating beauty was human nature—and Chen Junting was powerful, gifted, and strikingly handsome. Who'd be cruel enough to extinguish their light?
"Not bad at all, Junting!" Bei Bei joked, teasing the girls. "Everyone knows you and Junior Xiaotian are together—yet not one girl turned off her lamp! Looks like they're all ready to steal your man from her!"
The girls erupted in laughter—and a few troublemakers even shouted, "That's right!"
Don't pretend you don't know who I mean—
Wu Feng!
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)