Stupid

Bright City

Today was the last day for the Joust of the spouse competition. Qiangu Dongfeng was panicking deep inside. Fan Lin still had not been seen.

"Did the people that we sent to the Extreme North not inform him?"

Qiangu Dongfeng asked his secretary through telepathy.

"No Sir. We lost the signalled from them two days ago. We don't know what is wrong with them."

His secretary replied tensely.

"Monitor the place where he hid in the Boundless sea. He must have gone there. I have a really bad feeling about this. Also inform the military to prepare for him. He is going to come. He definitely it."

Qiangu Dongfeng suddenly got a simple thought. Fan Lin was going to come. Just that. He didn't know how but he knew and as a Demigods, his chose to trust it.

On the other side on the stadium.

10 candidates were spread out in a line next to one another with three to four meters between each of them.

They were all handsome young talents, and even the oldest one among them was only in his thirties, which was very young among high-grade Soul Masters.

Of course, Tang Wulin was still the hot favorite, and aside from the chances for Yu Longyue, there were also people who had begun chanting Gu Yuena's name.

A hint of vigor and excitement suddenly crept into Ai Fei's voice as he announced, "Now then, please welcome the star of the show, Silver Dragon Princess Gu Yuena!"

The sky suddenly dimmed, and a pillar of silver light descended from above, illuminating a figure that was rising up into the air in the distance.

She wore a fluttering golden dress, and her silver hair was swaying with the wind. She was like a celestial maiden as she spread her arms open, and after what seemed like an eternity, but also only a split second, she drifted toward the courting platform.

In that instant, she was so beautiful that those who beheld her almost forgot how to breathe, and the raucous spectators were instantly stunned into silence.

In their eyes, Gu Yuena's figure seemed to have been magnified, allowing them to clearly witness her gorgeous features and perfect figure.

Even Tang Wulin was struck by an indescribable sense of excitement at the sight of her.

She had chosen a golden dress for this occasion.

He then looked into Gu Yuena's bright, purple eyes, and they didn't betray any emotion, but Tang Wulin could clearly sense that there was something contained within them.

In that instant, it was as if everything had disappeared, and the two of them were the only things left in this world.

A faint smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face as he took a deep breath to steady his emotions, while Lan Fuozi couldn't help but praise, "She really is so, so beautiful!"

She then reflexively cast her gaze toward Tang Wulin, and an indescribable feeling immediately welled up in her heart at the sight of him staring intently at the courting platform.

Gu Yuena gave the 10 candidates a slight nod of acknowledgement, and Ai Fei announced, "I'm sure everyone has been eagerly awaiting this day. Now, the 10 candidates will have a chance to put on their own displays, and in order to ensure fairness, we'll be drawing lots to decide the sequence."

A faint smile appeared on Tang Wulin's face. This moment was finally about to arrive.

"The first one to be drawn is..." Ai Fei paused slightly before announcing, "Lan Fuozi from the fourth group!"

Fuozi was still processing the strange emotion that had welled up in her heart, and thus, she was startled by the sudden announcement of her name. She reflexively pointed at herself, and asked, "Me?"

Ai Fei couldn't help but be amused by her rather comical display.

"Welcome, Lan Fuozi."

Only then did Lan Fuozi realize what was happening, and she blushed as she took a step forward before looking up at Gu Yuena on the courting platform. "M, Ms. Gu Yuena, I fell in love with you ever since I first saw you on television. You're so beautiful, and I can sense that your beauty is pure and holy. I was struck by a natural urge to approach you, so I came here. I actually ran away from home to come here, but I don't regret my decision. If you choose me, I'll be good to you for the rest of my life. This is a present for you."

She flipped a hand over as she spoke, and a small box appeared at the center of her palm. She carefully removed the lid of the box, revealing an eight-colored bead inside.

The bead itself was actually transparent, but there were lights of nine colors swirling within it, consisting of blue, red, green, yellow, azure, black, purple, gold, and white, presenting a very peculiar sight to behold.

Even with Gu Yuena's vast wealth of knowledge and experience, she couldn't help but be stunned by the sight of this bead.

A hint of sorrow appeared in Lan Fuozi's eyes as she said, "This was left to me by my father, and my mother says that I can only give this to someone I truly love. This is the most precious thing I have, and my love for you is true. If you choose me, then it's yours, and I implore you to cherish it."

Gu Yuena's captivating voice rang out in response. "I can't take that. Even if I choose you, I can't take something so precious from you. I can feel your sincerity and your love, and for that, I thank you."

What exactly was that eight-colored bead? The vast majority of people present had no clue.

Tang Wulin was standing right beside Lan Fuozi, and with his enormous spiritual power, he could sense that a boundless ocean seemed to have suddenly appeared before his eyes as Lan Fuozi brought out that bead.

The eight-colored light was filled with pure power of laws, and this was definitely a priceless treasure.

Even the tribulation lightning that Tang Wulin attracted during heavenly refinement only had seven colors, yet this bead contained eight, so it transcended even tribulation lightning.

Never did he think that Lan Fuozi would bring out something this incredible for a joust for a spouse event; wasn't she being way too sincere?!

A stir immediately ran through the spectators upon seeing this. They didn't know what that bead was, but judging from Gu Yuena's reaction, it was definitely an extremely precious item.

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression changed slightly for the very first time. As a Limit Douluo, he was naturally also able to sense the rich power of laws contained within the bead. For a demigod like him, this was an extremely important item.

The eight colors entailed eight types of laws, and there had been a saying since ancient times that mastering nine types of laws would grant one godhood! This meant that this bead was one step away from becoming a god. If he could obtain it, there was even a chance that he would be able to become a quasigod, so how could he not be tempted by this?

Ai Fei said, "It looks like Lan Fuozi has offered an extraordinary present; even Gu Yuena can sense its value and Lan Fuozi's sincerity. Do you have any questions for or wish to challenge Lan Fuozi?"

Gu Yuena shook her head in response. "I don't have any questions."

Ai Fei continued, "Then please take a short rest, Lan Fuozi, and we'll continue with the displays. Our next candidate is Yuan Hui from the eighth group."

Yuan Hui was a contestant who had also drawn a lot of attention.

He was only a Soul Douluo, but with his iron fists, he was able to fell one powerful opponent after another. His appearance was very ordinary, but beneath that guise was an extraordinary character.

Upon being prompted, he strode forward and looked up at Gu Yuena on the courting platform.

For some reason, Yuan Hui's expression seemed a little off to Ai Fei, and he urged, "You may begin now, Yuan Hui."

"My name is Yuanen Yehui; I come from Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event," Yuan Hui said with a faint smile before taking a couple of steps backward.

Her words immediately stirred the entire stadium up into a frenzy!

Shrek Academy had stood on the continent for over 20,000 years, and no one had forgotten it, even though it had been destroyed. On top of that, it was currently being rebuilt.

Not many people were aware of the conflict between Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda as it wasn't as obvious as the bad blood between the Tang Sect and Spirit Pagoda. Now, there was a self-proclaimed Shrek Academy student who had made it into the final 10, but had withdrawn from the event. What was this supposed to mean? Was he simply trying to make a statement to announce the return of Shrek Academy?

Ai Fei was rather flabbergasted, and he almost blurted out the question "why would you withdraw?"!

Aliases weren't prohibited during this joust for a spouse event, so he hadn't broken any rules, so why had he withdrawn?

Gu Yuena's expression remained unchanged. She was naturally already aware that this was Yuanen Yehui.

Ai Fei took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. This live broadcast was being watched across the entire continent, so the show had to go on.

"Looks like Yuan Hui is lacking in confidence and has decided to withdraw, leaving us with only nine candidates left. Let's continue."

He attempted to gloss over this awkward situation with a concise statement, but all of the media's cameras were currently focused on him and Yuanen Yehui.

Yuanen Yehui's expression remained calm, and she was looking directly at Gu Yuena without any inhibition.

"Next up is Zheng Yu from the first group. Zheng Yu is also a Soul Douluo that swept through the competition and defeated the Titled Douluo in his group."

Zheng Yu was a tall and broad young man, and he looked up at Gu Yuena with a smile before also taking a couple of steps backward. "I am Yue Zhengyu from Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event!"

That's right, the top competitor from the first group was none other than Yue Zhengyu!

The chatter that had sprung up in the spectator stands had become a full-blown riot at this point! one anomaly was an exception, but what about two?

On top of that, they had both chosen to withdraw; wasn't this a ploy to embarrass the Spirit Pagoda? At the same time, they were announcing to everyone that Shrek Academy was back, and that its students were still as exceptional as ever.

This joust for a spouse event had gathered all of the most powerful young Soul Masters on the continent, yet they had still managed to progress to the final stage.

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression finally changed slightly upon seeing this, and a cold look appeared in his eyes. So this was how Shrek Academy had chosen to retaliate?

All of the competitors' identities had been investigated and verified in advance, but no issues had been discovered surrounding them. What did this entail? It entailed that they had planned everything. Shrek Academy had already been destroyed, so who exactly was it that was helping them?

On top of that, what was going on with these lots that were being drawn? Why were the two Shrek Academy students drawn in succession?

Ai Fei's smile immediately stiffened slightly. He knew that something was very, very wrong, but what could he do?

On this occasion, he didn't even try to gloss over the subject and hurriedly drew the next name. "Alright, up next is Li Zhi from the second group; please give him a warm welcome."

Li Zhi was quite portly and always wore a smile on his face. During this joust for a spouse event, he had been given the nickname of "Palms of Destruction". Despite his rotund figure, he was extremely fast and agile, and his palms were imbued with immense power of destruction that there seemed to be no counter to. All martial souls that he had faced had been crushed by his Palms of Destruction without any exception.

Among all of the groups, the second group was the weakest without even a single Titled Douluo among its ranks. As such, he hadn't encountered any powerful opponents, and enjoyed an easy trip to the final 10. There were two other competitors in the group who seemed to be capable of matching him, but they chose to withdraw from the event after defeating all of the other competitors, so Li Zhi was also known as the luckiest competitor of all.

"I am Xu Lizhi of Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event," Li Zhi said with a smile before taking two steps backward.

Despite his stuffed bun martial soul, he had trained arduously to master the power of destruction and the Mysterious Heaven Method. His hard work had compensated for his shortcomings, and in order to be with Ye Xinglan, he had worked just as hard, if not harder than everyone else in Shrek's Seven Monsters.

This was the third one!

The spectators were beginning to become very worked up. At this point, even an idiot could tell that Shrek Academy was intentionally raining on this parade! Three of them had progressed to the final 10, yet all three of them had withdrawn; what was the meaning of this?

Qiangu Dongfeng's expression had completely darkened, and the enraged Qiangu Zhangting suddenly rose to his feet, only to be forced back onto his chair by Qiangu Dongfeng.

"What are you doing? Do you think this situation isn't already embarrassing enough?"

This was a live broadcast being watched by the entire federation, so they could only repress their fury and continue watching.

Ai Fei was stunned into silence, and had become rather fearful of continuing. Never did he think that something like this would happen. As a member of the Spirit Pagoda, he was naturally aware of the bad blood between the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy, and in this situation, he had no idea what to do.

Right at this moment, Gu Yuena cast her gaze toward him, and calmly instructed, "Continue."

Her voice was like a gong that had been struck in Ai Fei's mind, and he instantly returned to his senses. Gu Yuena's encouragement instilled him with the conviction to continue. In any case, he wasn't responsible for this, and the event had to continue. Otherwise, it would become a massive joke. The Spirit Pagoda had poured in so much resources to make this happen; it couldn't just be abandoned now! He could only pray that no more people from Shrek Academy would emerge.

"I am Ye Xinglan of Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event." Ye Xinglan's male alias, Ye Lan, had earned the nickname "Sword God" for himself, and had also been a hot favorite.

"I am Xu Xiaoyan of Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event." Xu Xiaoyan's male alias, Xu Yan, was renowned as the "King of Control", and had tormented all of his opponents until they ran out of soul power before being forced to concede.

"I am Xie Xie of Shrek Academy, and I withdraw from this event." Xie Xie had adopted the alias of Xie En, and had been given the nickname "Space Time Traveller". No one was able to match his speed, and his opponents were often defeated before they could even track down his location.

Ai Fei was already completely numb at this point. The tally stood at six!

Aside from Lan Fuozi, all six of the candidates after her were from Shrek Academy.