The Sea God Lake, in the midst of the Sea God Fate Matchmaking Festival, had now entered its third segment. At this moment, all eyes were fixed on the male student about to take the stage.
Zhu Ziyang wore a gentle smile and strolled forward across the water as if taking a walk through a peaceful garden. With every step he took, a patch of ice formed underfoot, and by the time he reached the center of the lake, the ice had already connected into a seamless sheet beneath the lotus leaves of the Sea God Fairies. This movement drew the attention of all the female students—those who knew him and those who didn't—all eagerly awaiting his self-introduction.
"Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters, hello. My name is Zhu Ziyang." His tone was calm and warm, his presence elegant and graceful, and his voice like a spring breeze.
As soon as he finished this opening line, murmurs broke out among the inner courtyard disciples—mostly from newer students. The time they joined Shrek Academy happened to coincide with Zhu Ziyang's dazzling performance during the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament. Many had heard his name back in the outer courtyard but had never seen him in person.
Now, seeing him for the first time was like witnessing a living legend—it felt almost surreal.
"He's Zhu Ziyang?!" Among the male disciples behind him, Dai Huabin's eyes lit up with a blaze of both fighting spirit and admiration.
"Junior Brother, don't tell me you want to challenge Zhu Ziyang?" said Chu Qingtian, standing beside him, visibly shocked at Dai Huabin's expression.
"Why not?" Dai Huabin shot him a glance, full of disdain. The contempt wasn't for Zhu Ziyang, but for Chu Qingtian himself—a twenty-seven-year-old who had only just reached Soul Emperor. What right did he have to call him "Junior Brother"?
"Heh…" Chu Qingtian chuckled coldly, catching the derision in Dai Huabin's voice. "I'd advise you not to overestimate yourself. Zhu Ziyang reached the Soul Emperor level when he was only fifteen. At your current strength, he might not even accept your challenge. Why embarrass yourself?"
After that, Chu Qingtian ignored him. Inwardly, he thought: no wonder people say members of the Dai Clan are hard to deal with. This Dai Huabin really is just like his brother, Dai Yueheng!
But instead of being discouraged, Dai Huabin's battle intent only grew stronger. In his mind, Zhu Ziyang would definitely accept a challenge from another strong opponent—they were both powerful, and the strong always respected each other! He was strangely confident.
On the lake, Zhu Ziyang naturally noticed the stir around him, but he paid it no mind. He calmly continued, "I'm twenty years old. Rank 92 Assault-Type Title Douluo. My title is: Tranquil Heaven."
—Silence.
The previously lively matchmaking event instantly fell into an eerie hush. Nearly everyone stared blankly at Zhu Ziyang. Besides Jiang Nannan, Ma Xiaotao, Qian Lingyi, and Diwu Huan'er—his closest companions—perhaps only Tang Ya and the Tang Sect members, along with Tianyuan Pavilion's preselected members like Han Ruoruo, knew about his status as a Title Douluo.
The Sea God Lake breeze blew gently as everyone present struggled to digest this bombshell of an announcement.
A twenty-year-old Title Douluo—this revelation was beyond astonishing. At the very least, it immediately deflated the earlier bravado of Dai Huabin. As for Jiang Nannan, Ma Xiaotao, and Qian Lingyi, their beautiful faces radiated undisguised pride, while Diwu Huan'er looked at Zhu Ziyang with a mysterious gleam in her eyes.
On the stage, Dai Yueheng and Zhang Weiwei exchanged helpless smiles. Zhang Weiwei was the first to break the silence and said, "Ziyang, you really shook the world with a single sentence."
"Haha, Senior Sister Zhang, that's enough from me. I'm done." Zhu Ziyang smiled and turned back to his lotus leaf platform.
The event continued, though most of the Sea God Fairies' gazes were still locked on him. The next participant, one of the senior brothers, looked helplessly at Zhu Ziyang and said, "Ziyang, you really made things hard for me!"
"Hahaha, Senior Brother, do your best!" Zhu Ziyang replied with an apologetic grin.
On the ferryboat, the elders were all laughing happily. Elder Xuan said, "Not bad, not bad. No one lost their composure."
"Well, they're all elite geniuses. If they couldn't handle something like this, that'd be embarrassing," Elder Lin agreed.
The few men who followed Zhu Ziyang were simply out of luck. No matter how impressive or creative their self-introductions were, they couldn't draw much attention. Among the twenty-one female participants, many were still stunned by Zhu Ziyang's reveal.
Soon, more than half the boys had gone, and it was finally time for the thirteenth contestant—Huo Yuhao.
Xiao Huo copied Zhu Ziyang's method of walking across the lake with ice forming beneath each step. With a slightly nervous look, he said, "Hello everyone, my name is Huo Yuhao. I'm seventeen years old. A dual-type Control and Assault Soul King, and a Rank 6 Soul Engineer…"
"Wait a minute, Sister Weiwei, I don't quite understand—can I ask him something?" Before he could finish, a girl interrupted—none other than Wu Ming, hand raised and full of curiosity.
"Go ahead," Zhang Weiwei sighed. "But just once."
"Got it!" Wu Ming nodded, then turned to Huo Yuhao. "Little brother, why do you have so many titles? Are you just trying to impress girls? Control and Assault dual-type? How's that even work? Do you have two martial souls or something? And you're also a Rank 6 Soul Engineer? And only seventeen? A one-man army? Come on, be honest!"
"I…" Huo Yuhao's face flushed, but he quickly steadied himself and replied, "Senior Sister, I really do have two martial souls. My main martial soul is Control-type, and my second martial soul is Assault-type. I also study Soul Engineering and just returned from an exchange with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy."
Wu Ming's eyes lit up. "Oh! Twin Martial Souls! Now it makes sense. Got it, little brother—you may continue."
"Uh…" Having been interrupted, Huo Yuhao wasn't sure what else to say. With a helpless look, he turned to Dai Yueheng and Zhang Weiwei and said, "Senior Sister Zhang, I'm finished."
"Alright then," she replied, though she still shot a reproachful glance at Wu Ming, who scratched her head awkwardly.
After Huo Yuhao, a few others took their turns until it was Beibei's time. With a clear goal in mind, Beibei's introduction was simple and direct, just like Zhu Ziyang's. He gave only his basic details: "Hello everyone, I'm Beibei, twenty years old. Rank 67 Assault-Type Soul Emperor. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
As the male participants approached their final turns, the last one to go was Xu Sanshi. Like Beibei, he also kept things low-key: "Greetings, Senior and Junior Sisters. I'm Xu Sanshi, twenty years old. Rank 67 Defense-Type Soul Emperor. Martial Soul: Black Tortoise Shield."
With that, the third round came to a close. The fourth round began.
"Excellent," Dai Yueheng said with a smile. "Now we'll begin the fourth stage. After Affinity at First Sight, Love at First Light, and Falling Twice for One Person, we now come to the moment where fate is sealed. This round is called: A Fate Meant to Be."
Zhang Weiwei continued, "This is the girls' turn. Each Sea God Fairy will step forward, introduce herself, and then choose the male participant she favors by going to stand beside him."
"Boys, please spread out a bit. It's possible that someone may attract more than one girl, after all."
"At the end of this round, if any male is not chosen by even one girl, I'm sorry—but your journey in the Sea God Fate Matchmaking Festival ends here."
"Those who remain will proceed to the final round."
After the hosts explained the rules, tension surged among the inner courtyard disciples. The boys were afraid of not being chosen—imagine the social death and embarrassment. The girls, meanwhile, were worried about choosing someone that others had also picked… and then not being chosen back. That would be even worse.
All in all, a collective nervousness rippled across the crowd like a tide, even affecting someone as composed as Zhu Ziyang.
"Heh…" Zhang Weiwei chuckled. "Well, let's not waste time. Let's begin!"
"Oh, and a note to the three girls still wearing veils—during your self-introduction, you may choose to remove your veils and reveal yourselves. If you don't reveal yourselves or offer any hints during this round, then unless a boy specifically chooses you in the final stage, you won't be allowed to remove your veil at all until the event ends."
"Now then, Girl Number One, please begin your self-introduction and make your choice."
(End of Chapter)
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