She was standing right beside him, and her lotus leaf was right next to his. There was no one else in the immediate vicinity aside from the two of them.

"You, you're not just passing by, are you?" After blurting out that question, even Xu Lizhi was struck by the urge to slap himself.

Ye Xinglan raised a hand and pinched his cheek before twisting it. "Do you want to die?"

Xu Lizhi's mouth was hanging open as he urged, "Pinch a little harder; I think I'm feeling some pain. If it hurts, then I'm not dreaming, right? I've been dreaming every day for the past few days that you'd choose me during the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention."

"Are you an idiot?"

"Ow, that really hurts! Haha, it hurts so much, haha!" Xu Lizhi suddenly burst into excited laughter before abruptly jumping up into the air.

"Splash!"

What did it mean for extreme elation to breed sorrow? One only had to turn to Xu Lizhi for the definition of that phrase. After jumping up into the air, he forgot to control his own body, and following a heavy landing, the lotus leaf below him shattered. After that...

Water from the lake splashed all over Ye Xinglan, and he was completely rooted to the spot. What the hell was going on?

Xu Lizhi's body floated to the surface amid a loud splash, and he immediately spluttered, "No! I didn't mean to do that! I'm not withdrawing from the convention! It was an accident! Sister Xinglan, it was an accident, I..."

Xu Lizhi was distressed to the point of tears. After being soaked in the cold water of the lake, he'd already returned to his senses, but according to the rules of the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention, anyone who fell into the water would be barred from participating in the rest of the event.

Ye Xinglan glared at his horrified expression, and scolded, "Stop embarrassing me, you stupid fatty! Let's get out of here!" She leaned down and grabbed onto Xu Lizhi's arm, then hurled him through the air, following which she flew through the air as a streak of starlight that quickly caught up to him. In the next instant, the two of them had already crossed the river and landed on the other side.

Everyone looked on in a completely flabbergasted manner, from the moment Ye Xinglan chose Xu Lizhi without any hesitation to the instant that the two of them fled across the lake.

Such a scenario had almost never taken place during the past editions of the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. Just how much self-pity did Xu Lizhi have to be wallowing in to have almost turned ecstasy into tragedy? However, it was undoubtedly the case that his raw and heartfelt confession had been a success.

He had finally gotten the woman of his dreams, and she'd willingly come to his side.

At this moment, Xie Xie's eyes were filled with envy, and even a hint of jealousy. Both he had Yue Zhengyu had always been aware that Xu Lizhi had a crush on Ye Xinglan, but neither of them had thought that she would actually agree.

In that instant, he finally also understood why Yue Zhengyu had failed when he was perfectly set up for success, while Xu Lizhi like succeeded against all odds.

True and genuine emotions were the key here. It was the key to unlocking all barriers and obstacles.

Xu Lizhi had succeeded; would he be so lucky as well?

He reflexively cast his gaze toward the red-haired figure on the other side of the lake.

Even Lizhi succeeded, so why can't I? 

Lan Muzi couldn't help but burst into laughter. "The process was quite a tumultuous one, but I have to say that the outcome was beautiful to behold. Let's all congratulate Junior Disciple Brother Xu Lizhi and Junior Disciple Sister Ye Xinglan, and offer them our sincerest blessings."

Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi had essentially withdrawn from the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. As such they weren't going to participate in the final segment, so no one could even issue any challenges to them. As such, they had undoubtedly succeeded.

Tang Wulin was genuinely happy for Xu Lizhi. The two of them shared an extremely close bond, and he could tell that Xu Lizhi had feelings for Ye Xinglan. As such, he was extremely glad that Ye Xinglan had been willing to accept Xu Lizhi.

Yue Zhengyu had failed, while Xu Lizhi had succeeded; what was going to become of himself? Was he going to succeed?

He certainly wasn't the only male participant who was feeling quite anxious, and Xu Lizhi's success had undoubtedly fanned the flames of hope in all of their hearts.

"The next one to be drawn is Xu Mi'er."

Xu Mi'er wasn't exactly a stunning beauty, but she had a special type of disposition or in other words, a unique presence, the type that immediately made most men shy away from her.

She was cold and volatile, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment. Perhaps this had something to do with the soul tools that she held so dear to her heart.

The lotus leaf beneath Xu Mi'er's feet slowly drifted forward.

"Mi'er, hurry up and show me who you're going to choose," Tang Yinmeng couldn't help but chuckle.

She and Xu Mi'er were very good friends. Xu Mi'er was slightly younger than her, but it certainly wasn't her first time participating in the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention. It was just that she was too aggressive and overbearing, thereby leading to her failure to find a suitable partner throughout all of the past editions of the event she'd attended. 

Xu Mi'er rolled her eyes at Tang Yinmeng before casting her gaze toward all of the male participants.

"Anyone who thinks they can beat me, come fight me!" This was her request.

The male camp remained completely silent!

Xu Mi'er pursed her lips with disdain. "You're all a bunch of cowards! I knew no one would be a match for me."

Peculiar expressions appeared on the faces of all of the inner court male disciples present upon hearing this.

It wasn't the case that there were no powerful beings among the male disciples of the inner court. For example, Lan Muzi was very powerful, and he was widely renowned as the most powerful disciple of the inner court. Aside from him, there was no lack of powerful male disciples. However, those male disciples naturally attracted a lot of attention from the opposite sex, so all of them already had partners, which meant they wouldn't be participating in this Sea God Fate Match-making Convention.

Even after participating in many editions of the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention, Xu Mi'er had failed to find a match for herself, but as time had passed, she was growing more powerful at a rapid rate! The more powerful she became, the more difficult it was to find a match for herself. Throw her overbearing personality into the mix, and it was no wonder that she couldn't find herself a man.

As such, the insult she'd just delivered was nothing more than a way for her to vent her frustrations. This was always the case for female disciples; if they couldn't find a suitable partner for themselves during their first two editions of the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention, then it would be very difficult for them to find a match unless they encountered special circumstances or were extremely lucky,

In the world of Soul Masters, there was no dogmatic convention stating that one had to marry someone from within their own social class, but there couldn't be too much of a disparity in power between bride and groom. In particular, when female Soul Masters searched for mates, they always hoped that the man would be more powerful than them. This was why Yuanen Yehui had always stipulated that Xie Xie only had the right to pursue her after he became more powerful than her; the same logic still applied.

As such, Xu Mi'er also knew that she wouldn't be able to find someone suitable for herself. None of the male participants caught her fancy anyway; they were either too young or not powerful enough in her eyes. She didn't want to succumb to societal pressures and be forced to pick a mediocre man for herself. Of course, this was only her opinion; there were no actual mediocre men in the inner court of Shrek Academy.

After giving the male participants a disdainful spray, her lotus leaf began to drift back toward its original spot.

"Hold on!" right at this moment, a deep voice sounded, "Who says all of us men are cowards? At the very least, I'm not a coward!"

Xu Mi'er turned around with a surprised look on her face. She didn't think that someone would actually have the courage to accept her challenge. After all, she'd issued the same challenge during all of the past editions of the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention that she'd attended, all to no avail.

A burly figure drifted toward the center of the Sea God's Lake atop his lotus leaf. Peculiar expressions appeared on everyone's face at the sight of him. This man was none other than Dragon King Long Yue of the Star Luo Empire, who had just copped a cannon blast from Xu Mi'er earlier.

Long Yue had an extremely strong and unyielding personality, so he definitely couldn't just allow a woman to call him a coward. He had always been of the opinion that he was the most masculine and manliest man there was.

Xu Mi'er raised an eyebrow upon seeing him. "Don't think that you have the power to match me just because you blocked an attack from my handheld cannon, outsider. During a battle, I don't hold back for anyone."

Long Yue raised his head in a proud manner. "And what if you lose?"

Xu Mi'er gave a disdainful harrumph. "If I lose, then I'll choose you."

Long Yue pursed his lips. "Even if you chose me, I might not return the favor."

An enraged look appeared on Xu Mi'er's face. "Why are you wasting so much time with words? Are you going to fight me or what? If you beat me, I'll choose you even if you don't choose me. If you lose, hmph!"

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