"Stop him!"
Seeing that it was indeed Huo Yuhao who had rushed before them,
the two Spirit Saint–level seniors exchanged a glance and immediately chose to join forces.
"Yuhao, excuse us!"
As their words fell—
the second Spirit Ring beneath the senior on the left suddenly lit up.
From beneath the lake surface, more than a dozen dark-green vines shot upward in an instant, coiling like venomous snakes, locking onto Huo Yuhao's limbs.
At the same time—
the senior on the right brought his palms together. His third Spirit Ring gleamed.
A thick, solid earthen shield condensed with a thunderous crash, blocking Huo Yuhao's path forward.
Faced with this pincer attack from above and below,
Huo Yuhao did not even slow his steps.
He allowed the vines to coil around his wrists.
Then—
with a light shake of his arms—
Crack!
The iron-tough vines snapped apart instantly, falling in pieces into the lake.
As for the earthen shield, he did not even spare it a glance. His figure shot forward like an arrow, crashing straight into it.
Boom!
The rock shield shattered like torn cloth, bursting apart as his figure broke through.
The two seniors' pupils shrank, shock written plainly across their faces.
Before—
when they had watched from afar, the feeling had not been so real.
Only now, in direct confrontation,
did they truly experience the oppressive presence of this twelve-year-old youth.
"Everyone, don't let Yuhao seize the lotus so easily!"
They shouted urgently, and in an instant, responses rose like a tide.
Boom!
Boom!
In the blink of an eye,
multicolored Spirit Abilities poured down upon Huo Yuhao's back like a torrential storm.
Ice and fire intertwined, wind and thunder followed, and even invisible chains formed of spiritual power tore through the air toward him.
Yet Huo Yuhao still made no move to defend.
He allowed the dazzling storm of Spirit Abilities to swallow him whole.
Light exploded.
Lake water steamed.
But his figure merely swayed slightly amid the raging surge before standing firm once more, steady as a rock.
When the Spirit Power's brilliance dissipated,
the crowd saw that he was not the slightest bit disheveled.
Only the hem of his robe had been lightly scorched.
Merely a little singed and smudged.
"Bravo!"
The students on shore, who had been holding their breath for him, erupted into thunderous cheers.
On the pleasure boat, the academy teachers exchanged smiles and nodded slowly.
The male students who had initially worried that the playful contest might go too far now felt completely at ease.
"Don't hold back! Don't let Yuhao win too easily!"
Boom boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom boom!
An even more ferocious wave of Spirit Abilities gathered once again, surging toward Huo Yuhao like a sky-covering tide.
Beneath his feet, the lake water suddenly froze into a crystalline ice platform.
Standing upon it, Huo Yuhao slowly turned around.
Facing the roaring storm of attacks, a clear and bright smile curved at the corner of his lips.
At his feet,
six dazzling Spirit Rings beyond ordinary comprehension emerged one by one.
Among them, one that gleamed like carved emerald shone brilliantly.
The lake water was dyed into a flowing jade-green,
as though an entire block of emerald had melted beneath the moonlight.
Huo Yuhao raised his hand.
His index finger lightly pointed toward the overwhelming tide of Spirit Abilities.
From his fingertip outward,
threads of jade-green radiance rippled like spreading waves.
Wherever the light passed, flames extinguished, thunder dissipated, frost melted, wind blades fell silent…
The vast torrent of Spirit Abilities vanished soundlessly within the clear emerald glow, like snow meeting the warmth of spring sun.
This was the second Spirit Ability bestowed upon him by Bi Ji—"Emerald Tide."
Once unleashed, it soothed all violence, cleansed savage intent, and served as an absolute defensive guardian divine technique.
"How is this possible?!"
"Our Spirit Abilities can't even get close to him?!"
Shock filled the faces of the boys.
Gasps and exclamations rose one after another from the shore as well.
"Everyone, thank you for going easy on me." Huo Yuhao smiled and cupped his hands in salute.
If not to give everyone a greater sense of participation, he would not have needed to reveal this much of his strength at all.
A crystalline, sapphire-blue road of ice suddenly extended from beneath his feet, like a rainbow bridge stretching across the lake, reaching straight to the first water lily.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward upon the ice.
Though he appeared unhurried, beneath the moonlight his figure trailed faint afterimages.
That calm, unruffled bearing
left the boys behind him clenching their fists in frustration—yet utterly helpless.
"No matter, I'll make a move!"
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to touch the water lily—
a figure surged through the waves with the aid of a soul-tool booster. It was Xu Sanshi.
Five Spirit Rings lit up beneath his feet, a sly grin spreading across his face.
"Fourth Spirit Ability—Mystic Underworld Replacement!"
This was his trump-card switching technique.
Within a certain range, he could forcibly exchange positions with a target—an ability difficult to resist by ordinary means.
Under countless astonished gazes,
the figures of Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi blurred at the same time.
The transposition—
was about to take effect.
But at that very instant—
at Huo Yuhao's brow,
a brilliant vertical eye snapped open.
Overwhelming spiritual power burst outward, instantly stabilizing the space around him as solid as stone.
The lake surface churned violently.
Xu Sanshi's face turned pale, feeling as though he had crashed into an invisible heavenly wall.
Under the backlash of his own Spirit Ability, his blood essence roiled.
Fortunately—
that terrifying spiritual force vanished in an instant.
And Huo Yuhao was already standing steadily atop the first water lily.
Seeing this, the boys knew the tide had turned beyond recovery.
With a soft sigh, they turned to compete for the second and third water lilies instead.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the battle for the lotuses finally came to an end.
Nearly a hundred boys stood firmly upon their respective water lilies.
Huo Yuhao held first place without dispute. Xu Sanshi seized second with Mystic Underworld Replacement, followed by the two Spirit Saint seniors. And He Caitou, relying on his soul tools, astonishingly secured fifth.
On the shore,
cheers roared without cease.
Though the Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival was a matchmaking event, the lightning-fast clash among the Inner Court's prodigies had still set hearts racing.
Especially Huo Yuhao's display of standing against a hundred alone and effortlessly controlling the entire field—it allowed everyone to witness the true weight of the title "the continent's number one genius."
"Huo Yuhao is too strong!"
"With that kind of dominance, who could possibly stop him?"
"What's the rush? The Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival is about mutual affection—the girls haven't even made their move yet!"
On the pleasure boat,
Yan Shaozhe lightly brushed his sleeve and said with a smile:
"Yuhao, you shall be the first to attempt lifting the girls' veils."
"So long as you do not fall into the lake or leave your water lily, any method is permitted."
He paused slightly, amusement flickering across his face.
"Even without using Spirit Power—perhaps by sheer force of your personal charm alone—some young lady might remove her veil of her own accord."
The moment those words fell,
laughter rippled across Sea God Lake.
Huo Yuhao could only smile helplessly as he looked at the twenty-one slender figures with veils covering their faces.
Within his heart…
a ripple stirred.
In his previous life,
it was here at the Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival that he and Wang Dong… or rather, Tang Wutong, had confirmed their feelings for one another.
He never denied
the depth of affection he had once poured into Tang Wutong.
Even now, when he occasionally awoke from deep cultivation late at night, those fervent and painful memories would still surge back into his mind.
"I will not repeat the same mistakes." Huo Yuhao murmured softly to himself within his heart.
Letting go of that obsessive entanglement,
he had seen broader landscapes and touched a more genuine path of cultivation.
With that thought settled,
the always-clear eyes of the youth grew calm and resolute.
Spirit Power flowed lightly beneath his feet.
The water lily parted the shimmering ripples
as it slowly drifted toward that white figure, hazy as moonlight.