Chapter 1548: Joust For A Spouse Begins
At the moment, Qiangu Zhanting was seated over on the main platform. There were veins protruding out of his forehead, revealing his absolutely chaotic mood. His expression appeared slightly ferocious, and his hands were tightly clenching the armrests of his seat.
Qiangu Dongfeng sat on the main seat. He acted as if he did not notice his grandson’s display of emotions at his side. After a day’s time and all his plans had been put in place, he was no longer feeling so agitated. From his point of view, the incident was not necessarily a bad thing for Qiangu Zhangting. The boy had not suffered enough hardship in his life, and such setbacks frequently acted as motivation for a soul master’s advancement. Moreover, the result was not too bad and he still had a way to manage it anyhow.
Thus, he did not spend too much time consoling Qiangu Zhangting. Qiangu Zhangting would need to untie the knot around his heart by himself and use the experience to spur himself forward. He would have to personally figure this out. He was already a man over thirty years of age. If he was incapable of getting through this, how could he gain the approval of the high-ranking officers of the Spirit Pagoda and become his successor for the next generation?
Gu Yuena was seated at the other side of Qiangu Dongfeng, wearing a rarely seen golden dress. Her head of long, purple hair was blowing in the wind. Even though she had little makeup on, she was exquisite enough to take one’s breath away. Occasionally, the high-ranking officers seated on the main platform would steal a glance at her charming face.
Qiangu Dongfeng looked at Gu Yuena by his side and asked in a deep voice, “Are you feeling confident?”
“Yes, I am.” Gu Yuena nodded without hesitation.
“Alright, I shall wait and see.” Qiangu Dongfeng nodded ever so slightly.
Gu Yuena nodded once again but said nothing more.
Qiangu Zhangting had finally shifted his gaze to Gu Yuena. He was about to say something, but he stopped himself and frowned even deeper. There was a formless aura that was seeping out from his body. In his heart, he was howling hysterically nonstop, ‘I want to become powerful, more powerful and even more powerful!’
The feeling of failure was utter torture for him, especially when it happened during such a widely seen event. He did not wish to experience another defeat ever again for the rest of his life. As a result, he would have to make himself more powerful!
“Alright, I’m going to explain the rules of the final round of the Joust For A Spouse Festival once again.”
Outside, Ai Fai had already begun to explain the details of the last stage of the contest.
“Upon entering the final round, any contestant has a chance to be chosen by Miss Gu Yuena. In a while, Miss Gu Yuena will be visiting the stage personally. During the selection process, every powerhouse that has entered the final round will be given a chance to present himself, offer a gift, display his abilities or speak some moving words to win over Miss Gu Yuena’s heart. In turn, Miss Gu Yuena is also allowed to ask questions or request a match. When every contestant is done presenting themselves, she will finally make her decision and choose a man that she likes.”
The entire process was not considered complicated. In fact, it could even be described as overly simple, at least when compared to the earlier rounds. However, the result was still highly anticipated by the audience members. As a result, the onlookers made no more guesses, but merely waited for the final result. Since there was nothing preceding, they should go straight to the main event.
“So, we shall invite our Joust For A Spouse Festival’s top ten outsanding talents to enter the arena next. Let us welcome them with a warm applause. Audience members and friends, scream aloud the name of that person in your hearts that will win over the goddess!”
At once, a cry as mighty as seismic waves was heard from the viewing platform. Even though other names were also called, the sound of people shouting Yu Longyue’s name dominated everything else. It was as if there was only one voice in the whole arena.
“Yu Longyue, Yu Longyue, Yu Longyue!”
As he listened to the intense cheer, Qiangu Zhangting’s body shivered on the main platform. He wished that they were shouting his name so badly!
As he had imagined, he was going to win over the maiden in this highly anticipated event. Yet, everything had changed. Nothing had gone according to his plan. Everything was so loathsome, and it was all that boy’s fault. It was he that destroyed his wonderful and happy times. Even though the outcome would not change in the end, the humiliation and regret that he felt would never leave him.
‘B*st*rd! You b*st*rd!’
He had never hated someone as badly as he did now. This was because the people that he loathed in the past were basically dead already.
‘Yu Longyue, I will cut your corpse into pieces for sure. I will also resort to every possible means to kill you.”
Qiangu Dongfeng was expressionless as if everything that was happening was unrelated to him. He watched as the contestants entered the competition arena in a single file and walked toward the competition stage.
Ten people marched forward in the sequence of their group numbers. The audience members cheered even more intensely as soon as they saw the third person in line.
Tang Wulin smiled as he raised his hand and waved at the crowd on the viewing platform. He had a glorious expression on his face.
Lan Fozi walked right behind him. She could not refrain herself from speaking softly, “Why do you have to be so cocky as if you’re going to win for sure?”
Tang Wulin turned his head around and took a glance at her. “What’s the purpose of saying something strange like that? Could it be that you will win?”
“I…” Lan Fozi badly wanted to say ‘I am going to win. What are you going to do about that?’, but she did not truly feel that confident because she could not find any part of herself that was more powerful than Tang Wulin. ‘Who would I choose if I were in the Silver Dragon Princess’ place?’
‘Pfft, pfft, pfft. What am I thinking? That scoundrel is so disgusting, why would I choose him, huh?! This boy, pfft!”
Naturally, Tang Wulin was unaware of her mental gymnastics, but he could tell many things just by looking at her unpleasant expression. His gaze turned deeper. The days trials could possibly be a huge test for him. On the other hand, the crucial part of this test was on her.
He could already feel her presence. She was on one side of the competition stage behind the platform. She was so close to him, standing in that exact spot, but she seemed so far away.
‘Gu Yue, how are you going to choose today?’ In reality, no one had less confidence than Tang Wulin had for himself. This was because only Tang Wulin understood that Gu Yuena was not taking part in the Joust For A Spouse Festival for such a simple reason!
The ten contestants lined up in a row with a distance of three to four meters between each of them.
They were all young and talented men. The oldest amongst them appeared to be just over thirty years old. A man of thirty could still be considered a youth in the ranks of elite soul masters.
Tang Wulin was naturally the favorite candidate. The sound of people cheering for him grew louder. Other than people shouting for Yu Longyue, some had already started calling out for Gu Yuena as well.
Ai Fei’s slightly excited voice was heard saying, “And now, we shall welcome the star of our show and the decision maker in today’s Joust For A Spouse Festival, the Silver Dragon Princess, Miss Gu Yuena!”
The sky suddenly turned dark, and a pillar of silver light descended from the sky, landing on a spot slightly farther away. The audience members watched as a silhouette arose slowly under the illumination of the light shield.
Her golden dress floated gently while her purple hair blew in the wind. She opened up her arms like to a fairy maiden, and it felt as if a century had passed in the briefest of moments. She floated down and landed on the platform.
At that moment, she was so exquisite, beautiful and magnificent that she took one’s breath away. The raucous crowd in the coliseum had abruptly quieted down in that moment.
In everyone’s eyes, Gu Yuena seemed to have grown several times larger, to the point that they could clearly see her unrivalled beauty and perfect figure.
In fact, even Tang Wulin could not help feeling an indescribable excitement when he saw her.
Gold. She chose a gold-colored dress.
Then, he saw Gu Yuena’s eyes, bright and exuberantly violet. They showed no emotion, but Tang Wulin could clearly sense that there was something implied in her beautiful gaze.
At that moment, everything around him seemed to have disappeared. It felt as if there was only the two of them in all of existence.
A faint smile emerged on his face. Tang Wulin inhaled a deep breath to calm his slightly aroused state of mind.
Lan Fozi’s gaze landed on Gu Yuena’s body too. She gushed sincerely from the bottom of her heart, “She is beautiful! She is truly exquisite!”
Then, she turned her head to the side subconsciously and looked in Tang Wulin’s direction. She watched as he stared straight at the platform. For some unknown reason, there was a feeling in her heart that was difficult to be described with words.
Displaying her etiquette, Gu Yuena nodded gently in greeting to the ten contestants below the stage.
“I believe that everyone has grown very anxious waiting for this day. So now, the ten chosen candidates will each be given a chance to present themselves. In the name of fairness, we shall determine the order by drawing lots.”
Tang Wulin smiled calmly. The moment was finally about to arrive.
Gu Yuena stood over there, the platform seeming to glow in her presence.
“The first candidate who will be presenting himself is…” Ai Fei left them in suspense before saying, “the contestant from group number four, His Excellency Lan Fozi.”