Chapter 151: The Sea God Connection
After Du Qianjue's taunting aura had its effect, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng tactfully hid themselves. Having witnessed Du Qianjue's powerful soul techniques at the Soul Fighting Tournament more than once, they were well aware of the gap between themselves and him. They had avoided confronting him during the tournament, let alone competing directly for his affections. Du Qianjue might have held back in a match, but if it came to competing for a girl...
Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were certain that Du Qianjue would be ruthless. Thus, they could only silently mourn for those seniors who planned to challenge Du Qianjue. Unspoken between them, they were actually looking forward to seeing Du Qianjue overpower the many Inner Court seniors in a spectacular showdown.
"Please be gentle, seniors," Du Qianjue chuckled, his face radiating benevolence.
"Don't worry, we will," replied the oblivious seniors, rubbing their hands together with a mischievous glint in their eyes.
Putting aside strength and focusing on looks, Du Qianjue's handsome face, which could rival any of the readers', was already putting immense pressure on these seniors. Perhaps Du Qianjue could indeed charm away a good number of junior and senior female students with that face alone.
Wasn't this what the bride-stealing phase was for?
As experienced seniors, they felt it was their duty to teach this newcomer a profound lesson!
Watching the unfriendly expressions of the Inner Court seniors, Du Qianjue grinned and turned his gaze towards the lake. There, neatly arranged rows of lotus leaves floated on the water, which would soon serve as standing spots for the male participants.
'Excellent, the stage is set, just cooperate with me later...' he thought. Having set up this part of his plan, Du Qianjue no longer provoked the passionate seniors and quietly observed the shimmering lake.
As night fell, the already dim Sea God Lake darkened completely, signaling the imminent start of the Sea God's Connection Matchmaking Festival.
Just then, a large boat, following the flow of the lake, drifted into the center of Sea God Lake, carrying Shrek Academy's top brass: Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, Xian Lin'er, Qian Duoduo...
Suddenly, eighteen beams of pale golden light descended from the sky, illuminating the center of the lake. There, eighteen young women in matching long dresses elegantly stood in the center of the beams. White hats with semi-transparent veils hid their faces, and their white dresses obscured their figures, making them indistinguishable.
The eighteen girls, standing in a row within the golden light, seemed ethereal, almost like real Sea Goddesses, while giant lotus leaves beneath them supported their graceful figures.
After all eighteen Sea Goddesses appeared, two even brighter beams of light shone on the lake surface, revealing two figures. On the left stood Gong Yangmo in a rainbow robe, looking unusually regal today instead of flamboyant, and on the right was Han Ruoruo, dressed in a pristine white dress adorned with ice-blue flowers, looking as dignified as a noble flower on a high cliff.
Du Qianjue's eyes first sought out Han Ruoruo, Zhang Lexuan's close friend, curious about what the spouse of the infamous Wang Yan looked like. After a careful look, he shifted his gaze away. In terms of appearance, Han Ruoruo was not as striking as Zhang Lexuan; her face and figure were somewhat slender and delicate, but she was quite pleasing to the eye, which is why he lingered.
"Welcome to the Sea God Lake for the Sea God Connection, an age-old tradition of Shrek, where bonds are formed in a moment. Thank you all for joining us on this beautiful night," Gong Yangmo's distinct Xiaolan Liang voice echoed across the lake.
"As hosts of this grand event, Ruoruo and I wish all the Inner Court students participating in tonight's matchmaking festival find the love they seek. Also, welcome to the Sea God Pavilion's elders and teachers present today. On behalf of the students, I express our sincere gratitude to our teachers for their patience and support, without which we wouldn't have achieved our successes," Gong Yangmo said, placing his hand on his chest and bowing slightly towards the ferry.
Yan Shaozhe, leading the teachers, smiled and nodded in response. This position would typically belong to Mu En or Xuan Zi, but Mu En was unable to attend, and Xuan Zi had been sent by Mu En to the bottom of the Golden Tree to serve time, leaving Yan Shaozhe to fill in.
Du Qianjue pondered briefly, feeling like he had heard Gong Yangmo's speech somewhere before. After racking his brain, he realized it was the standard host speech from the original story—hardly altered at all and directly reused.
After Gong Yangmo finished his introduction, the male students nearby began to howl and clap vigorously.
"Now, please prepare, gentlemen. Forty-two beams of light will soon appear on the lake, and the lotus leaves within these beams will mark your positions," Gong Yangmo continued without delay. "The sooner you secure a spot, the earlier you'll participate in the first round, so strive to claim a front position!"
"However, remember, once you've chosen a spot, you cannot change it, nor can you fall into the water, or you will be disqualified from the festival."
"Get ready... three, two, one..." Han Ruoruo began the countdown, her soft, melodious voice spreading across the venue.
The many Inner Court students tensed up, eyes fixed on the vacant beams of light in the distance.
"Begin!" Han Ruoruo shouted.
Buzz... Ding! Ding! Ding...
Soul rings lit up under the night sky as all Inner Court students unleashed their full power, racing towards the beams.
Du Qianjue twitched his lips, finding the scene reminiscent of students rushing to the cafeteria after school in his previous life.
But he was quick to act. While others still used 'primitive methods' to fly there, Du Qianjue smirked, stepped through space, and arrived directly on the third lotus leaf.
A soul master who controlled spatial powers didn't play by the rules!
The other Inner Court students only saw a blur before noticing a large black figure had appeared on a forward lotus leaf.
"Damn!"
End of Chapter