On both sides of the house, colorful lanterns hung high.
In Azure Sea City, all sorts of colorful lanterns adorned the streets and alleys. The streets bustled with pedestrians and vehicles, presenting a scene of prosperity.
The lively atmosphere on the streets clearly reflected the grandeur of today's festival.
Listening to the idle chatter of the townspeople, it seemed that Princess Emily was in Azure Sea City to choose her destined Prince.
Timothy casually scanned the city and, sure enough, the crowd was peppered with monks who had embarked on the path of cultivation.
And most of them were young, with considerable strength.
"I heard Princess Emily prefers someone close to her age, so that really narrows down the competition."
"Great news! If that's the case, maybe even someone with mid-level Aura Initiation like me stands a chance."
"Dream on, you probably haven't even seen Princess Emily in person."
"Rumor has it, Princess Emily's beauty could outshine any celestial being in paintings."
"Anyone who knows this isn't just from our Phoenix Kingdom. Even princes from other dynasties and top talents from various Sects are going all out."
"If you ask me, even those in the late stages of Aura Initiation might not last till the end in the arena."
"With your half-baked skills, you might as well give up now to avoid a major embarrassment."
"That's true... after all, marrying Princess Emily and becoming the Prince Consort of Phoenix Kingdom would be like striking gold."
"It's nice to dream, but let's be real, it's not likely."
The discussions of a few passing monks reached Timothy's ears, giving him a good sense of the current vibe in Azure Sea City.
Princess Emily?
The arena might pique Timothy's interest, but he wasn't really thinking about the princess.
After all... finding someone more beautiful and with a cool exterior but warm heart than Sylvia was next to impossible.
Arriving in front of Azure Sea City's largest tavern, amidst the sea of people, Timothy spotted Sylvia standing by the roadside.
Her white veil covered her face, but couldn't hide her graceful and delicate figure.
Her dress, adorned with pink phoenix patterns and pleats, partially concealed her creamy legs, and her slender waist seemed barely a handful. Her icy skin appeared even more striking against her white clothes.
A breeze blew, making her white dress flutter gently, like a white lotus dancing in the wind.
Even just standing there, she seemed like a celestial being from a painting, quietly observing the worldly scene.
Passersby were stunned,it wasn't that they hadn't seen beauties before, but they had never seen beauty to this extent.
Even with her face partially veiled, her eyes alone, clear as spring water, were enough to captivate hearts.
Many people stopped in their tracks, their minds going blank, forgetting everything else.
"Hey, why aren't you moving? What's going on?"
Suddenly, time on the entire street seemed to freeze because of her.
Several carriages collided in succession, and before the drivers could finish cursing, they too were struck dumb.
Amidst the booming crashes, more carriages piled up.
Feeling a bit awkward, Timothy rushed forward and grabbed Sylvia's hand.
Her hand was cool and soft as snow.
Realizing her hand was being held, Sylvia immediately showed a hint of panic, trying to pull away from Timothy.
"Look around you..."
Timothy, somewhat helplessly, gestured for her to take a look.
As a supreme goddess, Sylvia was used to being in a high position, decisive in her actions.
Normally, the timid wouldn't dare give her a second glance, and the bold were long since dead.
Thus, she was naturally unaware of the extent of her beauty's impact.
Thinking a mere white veil could conceal her identity was utterly unrealistic.
Luckily, Timothy reacted quickly. Otherwise, letting her continue to stand there might have eventually led to chaos throughout Azure Sea City.
Looking around, Sylvia finally snapped back to reality and noticed the chaos around her, following Timothy quickly into the tavern.
After all, she was well aware that if word got out about her date, it could cause quite a stir.
"Sorry, I was careless..." Sylvia gently withdrew her hand.
Perhaps because she knew she was at fault this time, she found that her usual decisiveness faltered in front of Timothy.
"It's okay, let's go upstairs and have dinner," Timothy said with a smile, tinged with indulgence.
Who would have thought that the lofty Goddess Sylvia could have such a moment?
In that instant, Sylvia didn't seem like the aloof goddess she was known to be, but rather like the girl next door feeling a bit guilty about a mistake.
The tavern owner, quick on the uptake despite being momentarily dazzled by Sylvia's stunning appearance, noticed Timothy's slightly menacing look and quickly diverted his gaze, arranging a private room for the two.
As for the food.
Timothy headed to the kitchen, waved his hand, and had all the chefs step aside.
"Our chefs here are all top-notch, are you sure you can do better?" the tavern owner felt somewhat insulted.
"Of course."
Timothy had upgraded his culinary skills to the highest level in the system marketplace using skill points.
His cooking was now on par with these worldly chefs, but what mattered most was the thought behind it.
Dishes ordered in a tavern and those made personally are entirely different.
To melt a girl's heart, you start with her stomach.
Although in his past life he couldn't even boil noodles, who could complain with such a handy system now?
Soon, delicacies from land and sea were prepared under Timothy's skilled hands.
The rich aroma filled the tavern, and even the highly esteemed chefs were stunned.
They had never expected a random guest to easily surpass all their culinary skills.
What was even more outrageous was that Timothy was not only handsome and carried a unique, charismatic aura, but he was also a master chef. A perfect heartbreaker, wasn't he?
No wonder such a beautiful girl was here on a date with him in this tavern.
Dish after dish, a veritable feast, was brought to the table by Timothy himself, filling the air with delicious scents that even Sylvia found irresistible.
She had long lost interest in ordinary food.
But the dishes on this table seemed to completely awaken her appetite, even making her stomach rumble quietly.
"Did you make all this?" Sylvia felt a warm glow in her heart.
"Yes, and that's not all. I have something else for you."
Timothy slowly pulled out the Rainbow Lotus from behind him.
Instantly, dazzling multicolored light cascaded over Sylvia's beautiful face.
It was that flower!
Looking at the blossom shimmering with rainbow light, Sylvia was stunned.
She had never imagined that she would encounter the Rainbow Lotus in such a way.