Tang Yinmeng started explaining the rules. "After the introduction to each other during the first segment, the following segment is for the females to express their liking for a certain male. Thus, our second segment is known as Love at First Sight. The rules are simple. Each female will be given a switchboard to control the soul lighting beneath the male students. They will flip a switch for the male student they fancy. The male student whose light is on will remain until the following segment. Otherwise, for the male student whose light is not on, we're very sorry, but you'll have to leave the event alone."
The men were now completely at the mercy of the women on the opposite side. It was perhaps the most mentally aggravating round for the men. No one wanted to see that not one woman wanted him. That would be a real blow to their confidence.
Karni did not care that much. He only cared about what Siduo would do. He trusted that she would turn on the light.
Lan Muzi added a warning. "Fellow Sea God's fair maidens, please consider carefully before making a decision. I'll be giving you a minute. Do consider mindfully! In addition, I would like to emphasize that if anyone chooses not to light up for any of the fifty male students here, this signifies that that woman chooses to forsake this date festival and withdraw from Sea God's Lake."
Yue Zhengyu was the first of the men to be judged in such a way, since Male Number One was forced into the lake. The lights from all the participants turned off, and only Yue Zhengyu's remained.
"Will the ladies please light up for Male Number Two."
Soon, the lights lit up on the women's side. Seventeen of them. The Shrek Seven Monsters all lit it up for him, including Wu Siduo, who wished to support Yue Zhengyu's relationship with Xu Xiaoyan. However, it seemed that the support was unneeded, as many women were quite charmed with him today. Xu Xiaoyan even seemed slightly mad.
Wu Siduo had actually somewhat befriended the Shrek Seven Devils during the past three years. They visited their teaching place every now and then. She was closest with Yuanen Yehui and Xie Xie, as they often came to test out equipment for Karni's research, but she had become acquainted with the rest as well.
The eliminations continued. One short guy was eliminated by the girls, which showcased that they cared more about looks than cultivation, as the guy was decently strong among the whole batch. Karni even felt a bit bad for him.
Xie Xie's turn passed with Xie Xie being slightly less illuminated than Yue Zhengyu, but he still gained a lot of lights. Of Siduo's past teammates during Karni's absence, Yang Nianxia and Luo Guixing remained. Luo Guixing especially smiled widely when he saw Liu Liu turn on her light for him.
Xu Lizhi's turn came a while later. When the women got the chance to illuminate him, the lights stayed turned off. Until Ye Xinglan lit it up. Karni noticed Xu Lizhi becoming slightly unstable at that moment.
And after her, Xu Xiaoyan, Yuanen Yehui, Gu Yue, and Wu Siduo lit up their lights for him as well. They were all supporting him.
The eliminations and illuminations continued until it finally came to Karni.
"Will you please illuminate your lights for number Forty-Nine." Tang Yinmeng announced.
The lights, abruptly, lit up all at once.
Karni stared widely. He… he did not expect this. His appearance could be considered handsome, sure. But his height was average, maybe even below-average. In terms of looks, he could not compare to Yue Zhengyu or Tang Wulin either. And it was already shown multiple times by now, that strength was less important at times, so that wasn't it either.
He stared at Wu Siduo, who stared in shock as well. She didn't like this. She looked around… All the women were looking at her with slight grins and encouragement in their eyes.
There was one thing that won over looks on a festival of love. And that was love itself. Karni showcased the purest type of love there was. He put it into his very intent. His Spiritual Power had become terrifyingly powerful during the past three years, and even more so since his Purple Demon Eyes evolved. It was in the upper echelons of Spirit Abyss level. The purity of his love that he channelled, all of the competitors could feel it. All of them wanted to see this love blossom. Even Na'er and Gu Yue could not help but support this wholeheartedly.
"This… I don't think this has happened before?" Lan Muzi was in shock.
"All of you have decided to lit up your light for Val Karni. I have to say, if I were in your place, I would do so as well." Tang Yinmeng could not help but profess.
"Wha? Dear!" Lan Muzi complained.
"I am sorry, but you cannot deny that his love for the fair maiden Wu Siduo is as pure as it can get. It is how I feel about you too." Tang Yinmeng said with softness.
Lan Muzi could not say much against that. "You're right, you're right. Let us move on then." He hugged her tightly, then continued the Love at First Sight. This very festival was the epitome of cheesy love.
It was Long Yue's turn. "Will everyone please illuminate your lights for Contestant Number Fifty."
Similar to the scene with Xu Lizhi, it was silent. However, the silence was different. It was stoic. Even if he wasn't as forceful as he would have been in the original timeline in the first section, Shrek Academy still saw him as the enemy—an outsider. They were all familiar with the clips from Star Luo Empire and how the current Shrek Seven Devils gained their fame. Among those clips, the most popular were Tang Wulin and Gu Yue winning, and Val Karni stomping on the Crown Prince.
Like Karni said. Manliness was not all that mattered. Many concepts fit in there, not all of them could be said in the same sentence and make sense. It was simply better to appreciate what one appreciated, without putting it in boxes.
Tang Yinmeng was about to give a warning—a warning which was said in the original timeline—but she could not, for a light lit up before the words could be spoken.
"A fair maiden has chosen Male Number Fifty." Lan Muzi announced with a smile.
Long Yue looked at the single lit up light. Dai Yun'er. Hearts of humans were complex. Hers was just as much, as her face was… neutral. There was something she felt for Long Yue, and Long Yue could not have felt prouder for it.
It was time for the final participant.
"So, will our last male student reveal himself before the Sea God fair maidens decide to illuminate their lights for you?" Lan Muzi turned.
He wondered for a moment and decided to reveal himself. Wulin took off his mask. He looked around with a smile.
"It's been a long time."
"Captain!"
"It's you!?"
"Big brother!"
"Welcome back." Karni finally said between all the rousing voices.
Long Yue turned to look at Karni. He was the one who screamed 'it's you!?'. "You knew?" He could hear the lack of surprise in Karni's voice.
Xie Xie turned toward Karni from the front as well. "Wait. Karni, you knew!?"
Even Wulin chimed in. "Yeah. How do you always do that?"
The chatter was interrupted by Tang Yinmeng. Karni could feel her voice overpower the rest. Hm. Interesting. Was that comprehension of Sound Karni was feeling? "I'm very sorry, junior. You don't appear familiar. If it's alright with you, can you please tell us your name?"
"Hello, seniors. Of course. My name is Tang Wulin." Wulin introduced himself.
While Karni was simply enjoying the reveal, Long Yue by his side was not having so much fun. If anything, he was slightly distressed. Karni compared the reveal to the original. Since Hope broke through, he knew how the original went down to the last-minute detail now. He could even rewatch moments if he wanted to.
In this case, Long Yue… was more distressed than originally. Karni sensed a glimpse of guilt in his eyes.
"Brother Long, it's been ages since I saw you last. I didn't expect that our meeting to be in such a situation. Welcome to Shrek Academy." Wulin greeted Long Yue as if nothing was wrong.
Long Yue nodded and made a greeting with his hands. "Thank you." It was all he said, but it was more than he should have. Originally, he would have been quiet. Karni's influence had changed Long Yue, but he wasn't sure whether it was for the better or worse, or just a change in general.
"And you, Karni. I see you knew this would happen." Wulin looked over at Karni.
"You knew?" Xie Xie shouted from the middle of the male side.
"Yes. I knew. I didn't want to ruin your surprise though." Karni admitted.
"Thanks." Wulin smiled, but before the groups could continue talking, Tang Yinmeng interrupted them.
"You're Tang Wulin?" She asked. "That Tang Wulin?" She remembered Tang Wulin, because, for one, he had the same family name as her, but also, recordings of his fight against Long Yue and the Monster Academy were a hot topic back when they first returned.
Even today, people liked to talk about the recordings of their battle. It was part of the reason the Shrek Seven Devils rose to fame inside the academy and why people accepted them. Nothing spoke of Shrek's power quite like beating opponents of higher cultivation.
Only now did people take notice that the three people at the end of the male group were three people that were all worth talking about. Val Karni and his mysterious step away from Shrek Seven Devils. Long Yue, a mighty person, an enemy, from a foreign continent. And Tang Wulin, the one who revealed himself. The Captain of the Shrek Seven Devils.
"Alright. Will everyone please decide if you're willing to light up for our junior Tang Wulin?" Lan Muzi decided it was enough of excitement and that the festival had to continue. He nudged Tang Yinmeng out of stupor as well.
Tang Yinmeng chuckled as she returned to her senses. "The guy is awfully handsome! If I were younger by ten years, perhaps I might even be lighting up for him during the date festival then."
"I'm jealous!" Lan Muzi whispered to her. This was different than supporting Karni in his love after all. Wulin did not show anything like that, he was simply too good looking instead.
Tang Yinmeng whispered something to Lan Muzi and Karni couldn't help but exclaim. "Oh boy."
"What?" Long Yue and Wulin couldn't help but ask at the same time.
"There's a disturbance in the force." Karni said in an intentionally pretentious wise voice.
They didn't get it; Star Wars didn't exist here. But they soon heard the disturbance.
"Oh my god! This, this is simply amazing!" Lan Muzi exclaimed and took over the whole scene, forgetting about the festival he just got back on track.
He was excited because his girlfriend was pregnant. And he could not help but tell everyone about it.
"I get that he's happy… but… timing man. Timing." Karni said so only Long Yue and Wulin could hear it.
"Be honest." Wulin said. "If you found out Wu Siduo was pregnant. Could you hold back."
Karni glanced at Wulin, then at Siduo. "I'll have to get back to you on that." He genuinely wasn't sure. Could he hold back? Likely not.
It was Tang Yinmeng who took control of the festival back into their hands. "Alright, our Sea God's fair maidens, please make your choice to illuminate your lights for Male Number Fifty-One."
Yet more changes happened to the original timeline. It proceeded as normal at first. Female Number Eighteen, Na'er, was the first to light up her light. Many women lit up their lights as well.
The first change happened, when Siduo, unlike in the original, did not light up her light. Lighting up the lights for Wulin and for Karni felt very different to the female side.
For Karni, they were in agreement: they were lighting it up in support of Wu Siduo and the purity of love that they all experienced firsthand. For Wulin, there was nothing like that. They lit up their lights because they found him handsome!
"Wow, seventeen lights. I imagine the confrontation during the following segment will certainly be exciting." Lan Muzi couldn't help but whistle. Except then, another light turned on. A light which never turned on in the original timeline.
Female Number Seventeen lit up her light. Karni looked at her in surprise. Gu Yue.
He sent her a quick message. "It's time to see who'll win this bet."
She couldn't help but turn from Wulin, to Karni, and gave a slight nod. Karni felt even more confidence in the bet now. She just accepted her feeling more than originally, sooner than she should have. It gave Karni hope.
For the first time, Karni felt genuine confidence in the idea that he could change their future. It was a small change, but to Karni, it felt immense, because this was the Silver Dagon Queen, an immensely stubborn creature.
He could not help but feel the utter happiness from Wulin when number Seventeen lit up her light. That smile on Wulin, smile of genuine happiness fully convinced Karni yet again. He decided to vow to himself in this moment. He would help them.
Lan Muzi spoke. "Our final contestant, Tang Wulin, has gotten Eighteen Lights. Very well then. Everyone has chosen. The males whose lights were not illuminated, I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. We're about to begin the third segment."
"After the initial Match Made in Heaven and Love at First Sight, we are about to begin the next segment of the Sea God's Lake Date Festival. After this segment, every prospect's dream will become crystal clear. Our fellow juniors will understand their cherished loves even more. Hence, the following segment that we're about to begin is known as Love at Second Sight."
Tang Yinmeng continued on from Lan Muzi and started explaining the rules. "This time, the females will have to pay more focus because you can't simply make a choice like earlier. You must be responsible for your choice. Every male will be given one minute for self-introduction. After the self-introduction, the male shall come over to my side and present to me the number of the fair maiden you fancy. On the other hand, the females shall begin the choosing process. Your choice this time will be your final choice. Every female is given only one chance to choose, so you can't change your mind later. We shall begin the fourth segment after the choice is made."
Lan Muzi nodded at his girlfriend's explanation. "Our fellow males, please take note that when you are introducing yourselves, you're also allowed to display your powerful skills, the level of your cultivation base, et cetera. You can mention anything about yourself so long as you feel that it's good enough to attract the female you fancy. This time, we're going to determine the sequence by drawing lots so that it's fair for all the participants."
This was the event that would determine the eventual couples. The men quickly became somewhat anxious about it all. Even Karni did, because this was a section he actually planned for, and he wanted to do it perfectly.
With nerves running high, Lan Muzi started the next section. "Yinmeng, you will draw the numbers from this box. Let's see who will be the first male to introduce himself and profess his love. Males, please take note that your time is limited, prioritize the things you need to do. Take my advice from someone with the experience in this. Sometimes, heartfelt confessions are better than displaying your skills. Be bold and don't miss the opportunity."
As he said this, he couldn't help but consider his current words with Val Karni's previous callout of him. He found himself agreeing with Karni. Love and honesty were the two things which were most important in love.
Tang Yinmeng drew the lot. "The first person to come forward to introduce himself is Number Thirty-Two. Male Number Thirty-Two, please."
Karni and Wulin both turned to look. It was Xu Lizhi. He was the first to go up.
Xu Lizhi was a nervous man in this moment, but he was honest and sincere once he got to it. He began to speak and poured his heart out.
Karni closed his eyes, listening to it. To the pure feelings of Xu Lizhi. The love he felt for Ye Xinglan, even if he didn't name her.
"If there's one person, I'm willing to go on a diet for, then, it's her."
Karni couldn't help but crack a small smile at that. Those words carried an immense amount of weight. A person like Xu Lizhi who was obese due to his Martial Soul, such a statement carried a weight equal to Karni's portrayal of his love before. The audience could not help but feel touched.
It was to the point that his heartfelt speech was allowed to go on for more than a minute.
He finished his speech with: "I… love… you…" And proceeded to jump into the water.
Except Wulin stopped him. A vine of Bluesliver grass stretched out and held out Xu Lizhi's weight with ease. "How do you know that you won't succeed then? You're not allowed to leave before you receive the result."
"Captain!" Xu Lizhi cried out and was put on the lotus leaf gently.
While everyone showed their support for Xu Lizhi, including Karni, Long Yeyue on the ship had a different reaction. She sent a message to Wu Siduo. "Tell him to come to me after the festival. You're getting a junior disciple brother."
Wu Siduo couldn't help but be surprised on the other side, but she could not help but agree. Xu Lizhi's words were full of love. He deserved it.
Long Yue was the third to be drawn out, after the second man finished a small introduction of his skills.
He stepped forward. "Perhaps I shouldn't talk about this, but I meant no malice when I came here. In fact, I'm most glad to be present for the date festival this time. It's truly interesting as it also allows me to express my heartfelt feelings. Frankly speaking, I've never been in love. I've been cultivating painstakingly all along since I was young. Moreover, my cultivation practice is accompanied by severe hardship which is quite different from most people. The pain I have to go through restricts my movements at times that I've to walk one step at a time. There are moments when I lose control of my emotions as well. That's how I ended up with the nickname Madman Long. Nevertheless, even a madman can be sentimental. Yes, I've someone I've come to love too."
Karni nodded. This speech was, just like Xu Lizhi's, exactly as he remembered it. Almost word for word.
"Even though I'm aware that she's in love with someone else, I've always loved her all along. However, I'm uncertain of my love for her as to whether it's romantic love or brotherly love."
Karni nodded and closed his eyes again, simply focused on the sound and the feelings of Long Yue. He had seen how this would go before, when Hope played all of the timeline ahead for him.
Yet just as he closed his eyes… the words changed.
"But I am willing to change and stop being unsure. I am willing to embrace, that I love you in a romantic sense. I have watched you grow up with me. Me and your brothers have spoiled you, but you grew up without us. You found friends which had changed you. Your values evolved, while I seemed to have stayed the same. The same old Madman Long. But I wish to grow as well. I wish to change. I wish to only be Long Yue and drop the Madman. I wish to protect you… but I know you do not care for that, and so, more than anything, I only wish to stand by your side."
He took a big breath. "I know I am not your first choice. And I wish to give you the chance to change your mind and become your first and only in everything."
Karni stared at Long Yue from the back. He noticed Yun'er on the other side, genuine shock in her eyes.
Other people may not have known, but Karni and Yun'er knew. To say he would no longer be the Madman was the man's promise to put Yun'er in front of his cultivation. The one thing which had been a constant in his life.
Long Yue seemed to have gone through a great many changes in the past three and a half years since he had a falling out with his teacher.
Long Yue returned to his position, a stern shape on his face, but his shoulders seemed more relaxed. Karni couldn't help but stare at the man. Changes, changes.
He was interrupted as the next person was announced. Yue Zhengyu. Right. There was an event that would not experience changes. Karni sighed ahead of time. Wulin looked to Karni slightly confused, but when he saw Karni's face, he got a bad feeling about it all.
Yue Zhengyu began his speech… but his speech was arrogant. It was filled with confidence about Xu Xiaoyan's love for him. And how he would take care of her and how she wouldn't need to do anything. There came that aspect that Karni despised. As if Xu Xiaoyan was a helpless girl that needed to be taken care of. As if it was natural that she loved him despite the two of them not yet being together truly.
Karni watched as Xu Xiaoyan's face changed from joy to neutral. She was hoping for a heartfelt speech, not to be looked down upon in that moment.
Karni knew why Yue Zhengyu was an arrogant guy. It was due to his Martial Soul and their willingness to sacrifice themselves easily. But Karni wanted to scream at the dude. Xu Xiaoyan didn't know those things! How did he expect her to just accept being under his protection in such an unequal way.
"I think there's no need for us to waste everyone's time anymore. Xiaoyan, I love you. Are we going to leave this place together?" Yue Zhengyu said, looking all bright and pretty. Yet it was the final nail on the coffin.
"No, this is wrong. This should not have happened." Xu Xiaoyan said.
Yue Zhengyu was confused. "Xiaoyan, what's wrong? Is everything alright?"
"It should not have been like this. Zhengyu, I'm sorry… I can't go with you. I can't… I don't like you like this… More to the point, I hate you! I'm sorry…"
And there it was. She stepped over the line as well and then ran off.
Yuanen Yehui shouted from the other side. "You dumbass!"
"Shut up! Mind your own business!" Yue Zhengyu said and flew off as well.
Karni sighed again. "Communication people. Communication." There was a clear dissonance in what Yue Zhengyu considered the perfect love and what Xu Xiaoyan felt. Especially so when Xu Xiaoyan hung out with people like Wu Siduo, Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan, and Yuanen Yehui. She may be the mellowest out of the girls, the one who was most content with a traditional relationship dynamic, but she was also a prideful Soul Master, and being with other girls like that made even her change her perspective on things. She had become a prideful Soul Master as well.
On the other hand, Yue Zhengyu stayed the same. He was most familiar with traditional dynamics, coming from a traditional family. It was fine if both partners were fine with traditional dynamics, but here, they clearly were not. If anything, a Shrek Seven Devils member would rarely be fine with that, since they were people who were destined to stand at the top of the world.
"Perhaps there was some misunderstanding between them, but I believe they'll be able to resolve it. Alright, we shall continue drawing lots. The following student is… student number Sixteen!"
"Oh right, mister Not Nervous." Karni chuckled ahead of time silently much to Long Yue's and Wulin's confusion. He had caused confusion between the two three times now, to the point that Wulin and Long Yue started to looking at each other, wondering what would happen.
Xie Xie barely remembered that it was his turn as he stepped forward.
After a bit of back and forth between Xie Xie and Lan Muzi, Xie Xie said: "My name is Not Nervous." Of course, the people started laughing.
The problem was, they didn't stop. This was a Shrek Seven Devils member who said things like that after all. No one expected it.
"Quiet please." A mighty whisper came across the whole field. A special fluctuation that affected even the two Soul Douluo anchors in the air. The whole area soon turned quiet. He even caused a scene on the boat of Elders and teachers.
"Right." Karni spoke, in a way only Wulin could hear him. "I almost forgot. Welcome to the Spirit Abyss Realm."
"Thank you. Though I still cannot compare to you. That love you exuded was terrifying and pure."
"Mm. Thanks. I can give you some pointers on how to make the Sound more affective as well if you want. Your voice was decent, but it could still be better."
Wulin chuckled silently. "I will not take you up on that offer. I'll keep to my specialties thank you."
"Hm. Your loss." They ended their small conversation, and while they had it, Xie Xie's minute was up. He managed to profess his love and even revealed that he was in love with Yuanen Yehui, which caused quite the stir, because she had quite the scary reputation.
Yet, it ended up well, and the event continued.
"Male Number Thirty-eight, please begin." Lan Muzi announced the next number. It was Luo Guixing.
Karni was interested in this. Things had changed there. Originally, Luo Guixing was going to address Wu Siduo.
Luo Guixing started. "I know that you know my abilities. Maybe even better than I do. So I will not show my powers. I will also confess." He looked straight ahead. Straight at Liu Liu.
"When we first faced each other. You utterly destroyed me. I couldn't believe it. Someone broke through my Space. Yet, it was worse than that. It turned out you counter all Space type Martial Souls and abilities. Quite unfortunate, since my Martial Soul is the Space Element. I have to admit… I started to hate you not long after that. I started to challenge you, and my hatred only grew… until someday I finally noticed something about you that I have been blind to."
"Never once… have you belittled me. You accepted my challenges, even though I went out of my way to find you when you avoided me. You told me not to challenge you again time and time again, but you always accepted it when I inevitably made my way back to you. And in all those times, I was becoming glad that I had someone who challenged me in an area I was most proud of. Without you, I would not have reached the heights I have now."
"Liu Liu." He called her by name. "I found that I fell for you." He looked at Lan Muzi and noticed that he was out of time. "And I hope that you at least give me a chance." He returned to his area. His heart was beating out of his chest.
Over the years, unlike Xu Xiaoyan and Yue Zhengyu who did everything together and had a falling out, he did not have that kind of close relationship with Liu Liu. Even the past week, the only way he knew how to hang out with her was to challenge her. He figured that this must have been a shock to Liu Liu.
Which was why, when he saw her look at him after he returned, and her face flushed utterly red. His brain stopped working for a good while.
The festival moved on without his brain recovering. It finally came to Wulin's turn.
Wulin stepped forward. He had been away for three years, but his heart was true and steady. He spoke of how he met her due to their bloodlines. How they built their connection, but that there was always some things he could never understand.
And in those thousand days he was away, he realised he shouldn't care. That he had grown to love her, and because of that, he would accept everything about her. "That's why, no matter what, with regard to this relationship of ours, I'll never give up! From today on, I'm yours and you must be responsible for me."
He announced, without anyone but the few people that knew him knowing who he was talking about.
Karni turned to look at Dai Yun'er in this moment. Her eyes were closed, and there were some tears. Then she opened them, and determination filled her eyes instead. Karni was not sure of what… until she looked at Long Yue.
He hoped for the best.
The confessions continued. Most of them were confessions, as many saw the effects that those could have, as compared to a show of power.
But finally, it came to Karni's turn. And he stepped up. His hands were slightly shaking.