Bright City
The same day. The same time.
As these names emerged, the employees of Spirit Pagoda quickly presented their information to Qiangu Dongfeng.
They were the current Shrek's Seven Monsters, and aside from their leader, all of them had arrived.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Qiangu Dongfeng, and his breathing began to accelerate. In that instant, he finally understood what had happened.
However, even though he had realized what was going on, he had no idea what to do. Was he supposed to stop the event?
In that case, the Spirit Pagoda would become a universal laughing stock, and this event would be a complete and utter failure and Fan Lin won't die.
How was it possible that all of Shrek's Six Monsters had been assigned to different groups? And how had they all managed to progress? There were support system Soul Masters among them! Only a fool would believe that this was a coincidence!
Who was the one that had drawn the lots? It was the Vice-Battle God Hall Master, whom he had invited in person!
How had everything turned out like this?
It was finally time for the eighth name to be announced, and this was a burly man who declared, "I am Sima Jinchi of the Tang Sect, the personal bodyguard of the Tang Sect Master, and I withdraw from this event."
Ai Fei's first reaction was relief as there was finally someone who wasn't from Shrek Academy, but in the next instant, his pupils abruptly contracted.
The Tang Sect? The Tang Sect had been declared as a treasonous organization!
How could it be the Tang Sect?
Furthermore, the name of Sima Jinchi was far too familiar. That's right, he had used his true name to participate in this event, and he had brought with him a recommendation letter from the Southern Legion.
There was no one in his group who was able to pose even the slightest obstacle to him, and he had progressed in dominant fashion. It was only due to his age and his rough appearance that he wasn't mentioned in the same breath as Yu Longyue.
When had Wild Gale Saber Demon Sima Jinchi become the Tang Sect Master's personal bodyguard?
As soon as the terms "Tang Sect" and "Tang Sect Master" were uttered, the entire federation was completely stunned.
The vice-president abruptly rose to his feet on the rostrum, and yelled, "Stop the broadcast right away! Chairman Qiangu Dongfeng, you owe me an explanation; what the hell is going on here?"
Qiangu Dongfeng had also stood up from his chair.
This was undoubtedly a conspiracy.
The joust for a spouse event had progressed extremely smoothly up to this point; who could've predicted that the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy would lash out on the final day?
"Don't stop the broadcast!" Qiangu Dongfeng yelled.
The vice-president turned to him with an enraged expression. "Why? So we can embarrass ourselves even more?"
Qiangu Dongfeng replied with a grim expression, "It's too late; stopping the broadcast now would be a concession." After that, his lips tremored slightly as he communicated something to the vice-president.
The vice-president's brows were tightly furrowed as he reluctantly nodded in response. "Are you sure?"
Qiangu Dongfeng replied, "I'm positive. This is the only way we can salvage our reputation. On top of that, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy are the ones stirring up trouble here, so we're within our rights to heavily criticize them."
The vice-president immediately understood what Qiangu Dongfeng was saying, and he said, "Apologies for my lack of composure just now; I'll begin the preparations right away."
Qiangu Dongfeng directed his attention back to the venue as the vice-president departed.
All he could do now was weather the storm. If he were to bring the joust for a spouse event to a premature end, then the Spirit Pagoda's reputation would be swept to the ground. In fact, the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were most likely hoping that he would make the rash decision to end the event.
As such, there was nothing that he could do aside from sit and watch and he can't even say that this is all a trap to lure someone. The moment he did, the crowd would be in an uproar.
Ai Fei's hands were already trembling, and only after being instructed by Gu Yuena to continue again did he pick up the ninth name.
The spectators had erupted into a frenzy, but not all of them were supporting the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy. Seven people had withdrawn in succession; they were clearly ruining the event! To the spectators, it was more important that the beautiful Silver Dragon Princess find her happiness, so there were already spectators hurling abuse at the top of their lungs.
"The ninth candidate is A'Ruheng."
"Hehe, I'm from the Body Sect," A'Ruheng chuckled as he strode forward.
Ai Fei heaved a massive sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"I'm also the senior disciple brother of the Tang Sect Master, and I withdraw from the event." A'Ruheng stepped back to join the others with a smile on his face.
That's right, aside from Lan Fuozi, the final candidates were entirely comprised of Shrek's Seven Monsters, Sima Jinchi, and A'Ruheng.
The end result appeared to be quite straightforward, but the planning had been extremely complex and meticulous.
The plan had been hatched from the very beginning during registration, and countless strings had been pulled to create this surprise.
Not only did Qiangu Dongfeng want to see Qiangu Zhangting and Tang Wulin in the same group, this was also what Tang Wulin wanted as he had never planned to give Qiangu Zhangting an opportunity to progress to the final 10.
Among the final 10, nine were from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, and the remaining one was a woman. Everything had been planned prior to the commencement of the event, and this was the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy's revenge.
Regardless of the public reception, the Spirit Pagoda had been thoroughly embarrassed. Furthermore, this still wasn't the end.
Ai Fei was trembling as he turned toward the only remaining candidate, who was standing beside Lan Fuozi.
It was Yu Longyue.
All of a sudden, he was struck by a sense of realization.
Tang Wulin was looking calmly up at Gu Yuena. In fact, his gaze had never left her this entire time.
He had paid no heed to his friends withdrawing one after another or the reaction of the spectators, as if none of that had anything to do with him, and he had kept his gaze focused solely on her, as if to tell her that he could accomplish far more than she could imagine.
He was no longer the powerless student and ordinary member of the Tang Sect; he was now the Tang Sect Master and the Sea God's Pavilion Master, a man truly capable of changing many things.
Gu Yuena's gaze was also fixed on him, but she wore a complex expression as opposed to the scorching look in his eyes.
She had already discovered all of this, and she knew Tang Wulin's intentions, but she couldn't stop them in advance as doing so would hurt him and his friends. However, she couldn't just concede like this. She had her own mission!
It was undoubtedly already planned that the final candidate to take the stage would be Yu Longyue. The most important person should always appear last, and this entire final stage of the joust for a spouse event was firmly under the control of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy; this was what Qiangu Dongfeng found to be the most disturbing.
It seemed that everything had been set in motion well in advance, yet he was completely oblivious. For the first time, he realized that the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy were more powerful than he had imagined, and this was definitely not a good feeling.
"Last but not least, we have the candidate from the third group, Yu Longyue." Ai Fei's introductions had already become very minimalistic and concise. He had planned to give the Divine Dragon Prince a rousing introduction, but he couldn't bring himself to do so now as he knew that something big was about to happen, something that would shock the entire continent.
If this Yu Longyue were also from the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy, then this joust for a spouse event would've been a complete joke!
The spectators suddenly fell silent upon hearing this introduction. Despite what the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy had done, they still hoped to see the Silver Dragon Princess and Divine Dragon Prince come together in the end.
Under the scrutiny of all of the spectators, Tang Wulin took a step forward instead of withdrawing from the event.
"I'm here, Gu Yuena. From the very first day I met you, my heart was reserved only for you, so I can't leaveu Yuena's vision was already beginning to blur. His words were so straightforward and devoid of romanticism, but she could clearly sense his sincerity.
She knew that she couldn't cry, but she still couldn't hold back her own tears.
Right at this moment, Tang Wulin turned toward the spectators and wiped his right hand over his own face to reveal his true appearance, which was far more handsome than even Yu Longyue.
"My name isn't Yu Longyue, and I'm not from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I am the Tang Sect Master and Sea God's Pavilion Master, Tang Wulin. Gu Yue is my girlfriend, and I'm taking her home today. On top of that, I want to tell everyone that the Tang Sect is not a treasonous organization. Without the Tang Sect, all Soul Masters would've been enslaved by the Spirit Hall 20,000 years ago. Without the Tang Sect, the Douluo Continent would've already been conquered by the Sun Moon Continent.
"The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy have maintained the balance of the entire continent, and I'm not asking for all of you to understand the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, but I'm here to tell you all that the Tang Sect will never disappear. Regardless of what the federation does, the Tang Sect will continue to work toward maintaining peace on the continent, as will Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy is still the number one academy on the continent, and it will continue to nurture bright young talents for millennia to come.
"Both the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy are averse to war, but we definitely do not fear war. During the Trial of Five Gods, I defended the glory of the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, and displayed the power of our Douluo Continent. I did indeed stop the federal fleet, but that's because I didn't want to see widespread senseless slaughter. A war will only benefit the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult who are lurking in the shadows. Ask yourselves this: if you have family in the military, would you want them to face threats to their lives? As an invader, can we really justify our actions? The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy will always be advocates of peace."
His words were firm and unyielding, and he turned to meet the gaze of the enraged Qiangu Dongfeng on the rostrum.
He raised his head high, and in that instant, it was as if he had inherited Yu Longyue's pride. He cast his gaze back to Gu Yuena and waved his right hand through the air, upon which the suit of divine-grade battle armor landed beside her.
He then knelt down on one knee, and asked, "Gu Yue, will you marry me?"
At this moment, all of the spectators felt as if their brains had short-circuited. Yu Longyue was Tang Wulin, the man who had defeated an entire empire in the Trial of Five Gods?
It was no wonder that he was this powerful. On top of that, he and the Silver Dragon Princess seemed to have an extensive history with one another. It was clear that all of this had been arranged by the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.
The Tang Sect and Shrek Academy had done so much to prevent a war; who exactly was doing the right thing here?
Many of the spectators were yelling for Gu Yuena to accept his feelings as he was confessing to her, but now, the spectators had all fallen silent, and they were struggling to make sense of this situation.
Gu Yuena suddenly turned away and wiped the tears from her face.
"You shouldn't have come here; why didn't you listen to me?" Her voice was trembling slightly as she spoke.
Tang Wulin replied without any hesitation, "I had to come!"
Gu Yuena took a deep breath, and a determined look suddenly appeared in her purple eyes. "I'll marry you if you can beat me."