Chapter 212.1: Mutual Feelings
“What kind of attitude is this?” Xu Sanshi was angry, but he didn’t pursue the matter. It was only when Bei Bei disappeared that he muttered to himself, “On account of Tang Ya, I won’t hold it against you.”
“Hmph, when she returns, I will deal with you. Let’s eat. I’m going turn my anger into appetite.”
He Caitou chortled, “Be careful of gaining weight. You’ll be unable to stand properly on the water lily.”
Xu Sanshi snapped, “Gain weight? Worry about yourself first. Don’t forget that I have experience! In addition, my martial soul is a water-type! Hehe!”
He Caitou stood up and walked beside Xu Sanshi, grabbing hold of his shoulders. He said softly, “Brother, you’re more experienced than me even though you’ve lost every fight that you’ve been in! Teach me a few tricks, please!”
Xu Sanshi turned gloomy. “What do you mean, I lose every fight? I, I have reasons for that! If not for what happened, hmph, I would have won Nannan’s heart over...”
Huo Yuhao turned over and chortled, “Third senior, what happened then? We’re very curious as to how you offended fourth senior!”
“I won’t tell you!” Xu Sanshi was very determined not to say. “Nannan told me not to ever see her again if I dare to divulge what happened. Don’t get me in trouble!”
“Let’s go and eat.”
The three of them ate their meal together in the canteen. To He Caitou and Huo Yuhao, this Sea God's Fate was very new and interesting. However, they weren’t really nervous. After all, they were experienced. After their experiences in the Elite Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, their ability to deal with psychological pressure had grown tremendously. In addition, they also had the training from the Ultimate Soldier Plan. Although they weren’t completely immune, they wouldn’t become anxious easily.
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The sky slowly turned dark. Perhaps it was because of the Sea God's Fate, but Sea God’s Island revealed an enchanting aura.
On the island, Shrek Academy’s inner courtyard students wore their red uniforms as they started to gather in the place where the Sea God's Fate was going to commence.
As the Soul Tool Department had only developed recently, the inner courtyard students were mainly from the Martial Soul Department. They demonstrated their abilities and quickly gathered by the lakeside.
They were all male students; there weren’t any women there at all. As the pitch-black mist above the lake spread, it was difficult to see anything clearly.
At this point, a huge boat came toward the island from the distance. The boat was all lit up, and the inner courtyard students could see that it was the largest ferry on Sea God’s Lake. Right now, it was filled with people.
Huo Yuhao had great eyesight, and could see who was the ferry carried clearly. He saw six or seven elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion. Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei’er, Xian Lin’er, Qian Duoduo, Fan Yu, and other few people who he wasn’t familiar with, but seemed like teachers he had once known, were also there.
Those who had previously participated in the Sea God's Fate knew what was going on. Those who were experiencing this for the first time were filled with expectation.
Their daily lives, learning, and cultivation in the academy were very dry and boring. Holding such an activity meant that the young men were being given an opportunity to show off, and potentially earn themselves a date.
The ferry stopped in the middle of the lake. At this point, a ray of light shot out from the lake, which then separated into seventeen individual rays.
“Wow…” The male students were all in awe.
The seventeen rays of light were dim gold, and on top each of them was a young lady in a white dress. All seventeen white dresses were the same. They also wore the same bamboo hats on their heads, and their faces were covered by identical white veils.
They looked like fairies under the illumination of the golden light. Their appearance was dazzling.
They were all quietly lined up in a row, facing the shore. The male students were all very eager by now.
At this point, two stronger rays of light also appeared, and two figures surfaced.
On the left was Bei Bei, who was wearing a long white robe. On the right was the Shrek Academy inner courtyard’s eldest senior sister, Zhang Lexuan, who was decked out in a light yellow dress.
After not seeing her for two years, Huo Yuhao discovered that she hadn’t changed at all. Time hadn’t seemed to leave a mark on her body, she was still as sweet and beautiful as before, with a light smile on her face.
Bei Bei’s voice resonated. “Sea God’s Fate above Sea God’s Lake! One day to pick your love! Welcome all to the lakeside of Sea God’s Lake on this beautiful night! The annual Sea God's Fate will be starting soon! As the emcee of today’s prestigious event, I’ll like to wish all inner courtyard students good luck in finding your partner on behalf of myself and eldest senior sister. At the same time, I’d like to welcome the elders from the Sea God’s Pavilion and the teachers who are observing today’s event! On behalf of the students, I’d like to sincerely thank all of you. Without your patience in nurturing and helping us, we wouldn’t have achieved what we have today!” After he finished speaking, he placed his right hand on his chest and turned to the ferry before bowing in an expression of gratitude.
Elder Xuan smiled and nodded at Bei Bei, signaling to him that he could continue.
It was a simple opening speech, but it generated rapturous applause. The male students were also cheering loudly. Those who already had a partner in mind were even more eager.
“All you young men, please make your preparations. There will be thirty-nine beams of light appearing from the lake later. Those who are closest to our Sea God’s Fairies will be first to participate in the first segment, while the students at the back might not be able to obtain suitable rankings in the first segment. That’s why it’s important to be alert. No matter what method you use, you must find a spot on the water lilies illuminated by the beams of light. However, you must not land in the water. Those who do will be disqualified.”
His explanation was very clear. Most of the young men were already raring to go.
Huo Yuhao seemed to sense something. As he turned, he saw Dai Huabin throwing a look at him. Dai Huabin’s gaze was cold and fierce. Huo Yuhao smiled; he wasn’t bothered.
“Everyone be prepared. Three, two, one.” On the other side, Bei Bei was already counting down.
“Begin!”
Thirty-nine beams of light shot out from the lake. These thirty-nine beams of light formed three neat rows, each row five meters away from the next. They were spread out proportionately on the lake surface a hundred meters away from the female students, and around two hundred meters away from the shore.
As Bei Bei shouted, everyone on the shore started to act.
Those who had an obvious advantage were the soul masters with flying-type martial souls. Fortunately, only four out of the thirty-nine male students unleashed their martial souls. They flew into the air and rushed swiftly towards the center of the lake.
Their soul rings shone brightly, and were very clear above the lake under the night sky.
Huo Yuhao lifted his head to watch, and was in awe. They were indeed seniors from the inner courtyard. Out of the four, two of them were seven-ringed Soul Sages, and had two yellow, two purple and three black soul rings – the best combination of soul rings that could normally be achieved. The other two had six rings, and their six rings were also the optimal combination of colors. As the four of them charged forward, they turned into four streaks of light.
The rest of the students also showed off their moves. The shore started to shine brightly with soul rings. It was like a huge batch of fireworks had been released!
Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and Xu Sanshi were naturally unwilling to lag behind. Huo Yuhao and He Caitou acted at the same time. The two of them lifted off the ground, and their soul thrusters were activated. The strong thrusting force propelled them forward fast enough to surpass their seniors, even though they had lower cultivations.
The explosive speed of their soul thrusters was great, but they couldn’t last long. Otherwise, their soul power would be greatly depleted, and the soul thrusters wouldn’t be able to take it, either. It was possible to travel two hundred meters in the air, but not on the ground. On the one hand, the depletion was too great. On the other hand, there wasn’t sufficient space, and it was difficult to control their movements at that speed.
So Huo Yuhao and He Caitou used their flying-type soul tools as they activated their soul thrusters, lighting them up. Although their martial souls couldn’t fly, there wasn’t much difference from using their flying-type soul tools instead. They zipped straight towards the center of the lake.
However, they were using external forces to help them fly, and needed some time to pour in their soul power and control their soul tools. Although they were very quick, they didn’t end up in advantageous spots compared to the other inner courtyard students, who had unleashed all sorts of moves.
As Huo Yuhao and He Caitou were closing in on the thirty-nine streaks of light, someone had already landed on a water lily in the first row.
The water lilies were very obvious on the lake surface. The lilies looked fresh and invigorating under the illumination of the strong lights below them. They were azure-green, like jade floating on the water’s surface. They appeared very enchanting floating in the background of the surrounding white lights.