The lake rippled softly, spreading delicate patterns across its surface.
Huo Yuhao rode upon his water lily, drifting toward the twenty-one women in white.
In his past life, the Snow Empress was still with him. Relying on the adorable spirit form of the Snow Maiden , he had plucked the veils of five girls.
"Yuhao, want Brother to help?" Skydream Ice Silkworm spoke within his spiritual sea.
The Bear Lord snorted. "To fight this hard over mating rights—is it really necessary?"
"Yuhao, you still need practice. With a single wave of my paw, all the female bears in the world would obediently lie down in my den!"
"Same here."
The Titan Snow Demon King rumbled in agreement.
Bi Ji shuffled a jade-green block of condensed spiritual power, the sound clattering crisply. "Bear Lord, play your tile already! Stop dealing the winning tile to Elder Yi!"
When Skydream Ice Silkworm first took out "mahjong," she had felt a bit disappointed.
But after playing a few rounds…
As expected of something bestowed by the Creation God—
it truly was wonderfully ingenious.
"Sigh."
Listening to those awe-inspiring beings within his spiritual sea now merrily playing tiles, Huo Yuhao could only sigh inwardly.
He lifted his gaze toward the women in white and spoke clearly:
"Elder sisters, please forgive the offense."
Before the water lily had drifted all the way over, he stopped midway.
"Hmph. Yuhao, we know you're capable."
One of the veiled women suddenly spoke, her tone carrying a hint of challenge.
"But I insist on testing you—to see just what ability you possess that could win the heart of my proud sister."
Another woman followed:
"I feel the same."
"My sister has always been as calm as still water, untouched by worldly thoughts."
"Yet today, she changed into white robes for your sake. I told her not to remove her veil too quickly. If she blames me for it, so be it."
As those two voices rang out,
waves of astonished cries erupted from the shore.
"That's Senior Sister Wu Ming! Her Golden Crow Martial Soul burns with unmatched intensity—she and Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao are known as the Academy's Twin Suns!"
"And the one who spoke after is Senior Sister Han Ruoruo? She's the only close confidante of Senior Sister Zhang!"
Hearing the straightforward protectiveness in their words, Huo Yuhao felt his cheeks grow warm.
By now, their meaning could not have been clearer.
And at this moment—
among the twenty-one graceful figures in white—
the two women at the center quietly clenched their sleeves, while the veil of the third woman from the left trembled ever so slightly.
Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection already enveloped the entire scene.
That faint, nearly imperceptible fluctuation
naturally could not escape his perception.
He seemed merely to tap lightly with his foot.
In an instant,
ripples spread around the water lily,
while beneath the lake's surface, undercurrents surged violently.
This was the manifestation of his meticulous control over his ultimate body.
Seemingly subtle—
yet containing immense power.
Borrowing that recoil force, his figure vanished from atop the water lily.
Fast!
So fast the naked eye could scarcely discern it!
So fast that only a faint streak of blue afterimage cut through the moonlight!
Gasps rose from the shore. The elders aboard the pleasure boat grew solemn.
"You want to lift my sister's veil? It won't be that easy!"
Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo cried out in unison, striking together.
One burst into blazing golden flames, scorching waves soaring skyward as white steam billowed from the lake.
The other flicked her wrist, sending a golden rope flashing through the air, intercepting Huo Yuhao's path with precision.
However—
in the very next instant—
a spiritual pressure like a waterfall descending from the Ninth Heaven crashed down.
The golden flames and the shimmering rope lasted but a single breath before dimming and dispersing.
"You—"
The shock in the two women's eyes had not yet faded.
They only felt a blur of light before them—
that sapphire figure had already slipped between them like a passing breeze.
At the same time,
the veiled hats at their temples fell soundlessly, revealing two beautiful faces—flushed with indignation and astonishment.
In the empty air—
invisible, intangible spiritual power spread like a spiderweb, precisely wrapping around one veiled hat after another.
Cries of surprise rose one after another.
White gauze hats fell into the water in succession, and beneath the shimmering ripples and bright moonlight, lovely faces—some shy, some annoyed—were revealed one by one.
In the blink of an eye,
only three women on Sea God Lake still wore their veils.
This was intentional on Huo Yuhao's part.
Since it was called "Mutual Appreciation," how could only one side be tested?
After a brief silence—
two of the women almost simultaneously raised their hands and removed their veils themselves.
Ma Xiaotao, who usually dressed in fiery red, wore a radiant white gown tonight.
Her cheeks were flushed like sunset clouds, yet her gaze was bright and blazing, fixed on Huo Yuhao without the slightest retreat.
"Junior Brother Yuhao, I don't need you to lift it—because I am willing to remove it for you."
Beside her,
Zhang Lexuan stood in white robes, cool and serene as moonlight. A pale violet sash at her waist outlined her slender figure.
Her dark hair flowed like a waterfall in the breeze, like a fairy descended from the moon—ethereal yet breathtakingly beautiful.
A faint smile lingered at her lips.
She appeared composed as always.
Only the slender fingers hidden within her sleeves quietly tightened, and beneath her feet, the water lily rippled with circles almost too subtle to notice.
"Junior Brother Yuhao…"
Her voice was gentle, flowing like moonlight.
"It has only been a few days, yet your cultivation has grown even more refined."
She had rehearsed countless graceful words in her heart.
But when she truly met those clear eyes,
all her thoughts vanished like smoke, leaving behind only a trembling emptiness.
That unfamiliar fluster left Zhang Lexuan uneasy; her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her robe tighter.
...
"Hmph!"
On Sea God Lake,
only one final graceful figure still wore a veiled.
Beneath the white gauze, Wang Dong bit her lip lightly, her slightly raised chin carrying a stubborn pride.
She had secretly decided—
as long as Huo Yuhao showed even a hint of concern, she would allow him to lift her veil.
She wanted to see the shock on his face when he beheld her appearance.
To her,
that was already a rare concession.
But to remove the veil herself like Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan…
she could not do it.
Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao did not look at her.
Feeling those blazing and moon-bright gazes upon him, a faint blush rose to the young man's cheeks.
The calm state of mind he had achieved after his rebirth—
now cracked like thawing spring ice, stirring with long-forgotten unease.
He only wanted to see—
whether in this life, someone would willingly unveil herself for him.
Rather than as in his previous life…
when the sincerity he had earned through wounds and brushes with death had been treated as nothing more than a test that was only natural.
"What was I so stubbornly clinging to in my past life?"
Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a sense of clarity bloom within his chest. With a light smile, he said:
"Senior Sisters, tonight… you are very beautiful."
The moment those words fell, laughter and cheers burst from the shore.
Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan's cheeks flushed deeper, their beauty all the more radiant beneath the lamplight and shimmering waves.
Huo Yuhao gave them a slight nod, then moved to steer his water lily away.
The "Mutual Appreciation" stage should have concluded here.
However—
"Huo Yuhao! Stop right there!"
A clear and urgent cry suddenly rang out.
Huo Yuhao turned back.
The final veil had been removed by its owner's own hand.
The gauze slipped down.
Long, ocean-blue hair cascaded freely.
It was a beautiful face bearing eight or nine parts resemblance to Tang Wutong from the depths of his memory.
Huo Yuhao had thought his heart would surge, that the past would return in an overwhelming tide.
But… it did not.
His emotions were like a lake smoothed by moonlight—so still he could hear the faint whisper of wind through his hair.
Huo Yuhao looked at her.
His gaze was calm, as though he were looking at someone he had never met before. His tone carried just the right touch of distance and puzzlement:
"You are…?"
He paused slightly.
Then added:
"Do we know each other?"