The fourth segment was still ongoing. After Ning Tian, number four, two more girls appeared, bringing it to the turn of girl number seven.
Girl number seven was Wu Ming. Most of the boys became nervous, especially Chu Qingtian. Zhu Ziyang clearly felt this guy's body trembling slightly, as if in fear, yet also as if excited, and a little like he was nervous. How could this guy be so contradictory?
Zhu Ziyang's gaze passed over the two people in the middle and landed on Chu Qingtian's face, number one. He found that this guy's expression was even more complex than his physical reaction. Immediately, he understood that this guy actually had feelings for Wu Ming, but due to Wu Ming's personality and his own strength, he didn't dare to express them clearly.
The strength imbalance, with the woman being stronger than the man, indeed made it easy for a guy like Chu Qingtian to retreat.
Wu Ming floated out, a pair of golden wings spreading behind her. This was her Spirit, the Golden Crow. Zhu Ziyang was quite familiar with Wu Ming; after all, they were practically comrades in life and death. Moreover, Wu Ming was also one of the core disciples executing the Empress plan, a true direct descendant of the Academy, the eldest daughter of the Wu family. Her ancestor was the Shrek Academy Dean who led the Douluo Continent to victory against the Sun Moon Empire, the possessor of the Ultimate Fire Spirit, Golden Crow Douluo Wu Zhongtian.
However, compared to Golden Crow Douluo Wu Zhongtian's Three-legged Golden Crow Spirit, Wu Ming and her family only possessed the Golden Crow Spirit. Although their affinity for fire elements was very high, there was still a considerable gap compared to the Three-legged Golden Crow Spirit. Nevertheless, with the bloodline of the Golden Crow Douluo, it was not impossible for the Wu family to produce another Ultimate Fire possessor in the future. The strongest member of the Wu family currently was a Level 95 Super Douluo, one of the Tian Yuan Pavilion members, known as Old Wu, and a peer of Old Song.
Since the Wu family was mentioned, it was impossible not to mention the other two direct Shrek Academy families similar to the Wu family: the Xian family and the Zhuang family. The Xian family was the family of War God Douluo Xian Lin'er, and their ancestor was the possessor of the Ultimate Wind Spirit. The Zhuang family was the family of Old Zhuang, Zhuang Qingzhai, and Old Zhuang was a direct descendant of the possessor of the Ultimate Wood Spirit in Shrek Academy's history.
The Wu, Zhuang, and Xian families almost had members enter the Tian Yuan Pavilion in every generation, their interests highly intertwined with Shrek Academy, and they were the most loyal supporters of the Tian Yuan Pavilion.
While Zhu Ziyang was pondering, Wu Ming had already flown to the center. Her face held a hint of determination, and her tone carried a threat as she said, "My name is Wu Ming, and I am thirty-two years old this year. Everyone calls me the Golden Crow Holy Maiden. I know some people say I'm what's 'leftover,' but there's nothing I can do. I'm getting old, so I'll just find someone to make do with for now! Reject me, and you're dead!"
With that, Wu Ming flew in front of the boys, her gaze sweeping around. Almost all the boys lowered their heads in unison, not daring to meet her eyes. But Wu Ming didn't care; she had already chosen her target. With a movement, she appeared before a boy and pointed at the lotus leaf beneath his feet with her wings.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and give me that lotus leaf!" Wu Ming pouted.
"Oh, oh!" The boy chosen by Wu Ming was Chu Qingtian. At this moment, he was completely stunned. After hearing Wu Ming's pout, he subconsciously agreed, then took a few steps back, completely unaware that the lotus leaf beneath his feet had a boundary.
Seeing Chu Qingtian about to fall into the water, Zhu Ziyang's face showed a slight smile. With a thought, a layer of frost immediately formed under Chu Qingtian's feet, just barely catching him and preventing him from falling into the water and being eliminated. However, he still stumbled and fell to the ground.
This fall made everyone laugh, and it also brought Chu Qingtian back to his senses.
"It seems Ming'er's charm is great. Junior Brother Chu was so excited he fell down!" Han Ruoruo chuckled, teasing him.
Wu Ming heard Han Ruoruo's teasing and, uncharacteristically, didn't retort. Instead, she looked at Chu Qingtian and said, "Idiot, are you alright?"
"N-nothing!" Chu Qingtian immediately stood up, a smile that was neither silly nor bitter on his face, and said, "Junior Brother Zhu, thank you!"
"No need to thank me, it's a pleasure to help others!" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
At this moment, even if others were foolish, they all understood that Chu Qingtian's actions in the first round were not incited by others; this was clearly premeditated!
"Senior Brother Chu, you hide things quite deeply!" Dai Yueheng also chuckled, teasing him.
"Hehe!" Chu Qingtian scratched his head and chuckled strangely, not speaking.
On the ferry, Old Lin said to an old man, "Old Wu, you must be happy now, right? Get ready to hold your great-grandchild."
"Alas! This girl has finally found a home. That boy Chu, though a bit unrestrained, is still a good match." The old man was the current patriarch of the Wu family, Golden Crow Douluo Old Wu, and also Wu Ming's great-grandfather.
After Wu Ming finished, it was the turn of girl number eight. Girl number eight was Ma Xiaotao.
Zhu Ziyang's gaze turned to Ma Xiaotao, and Ma Xiaotao's gaze just happened to meet his. Their eyes met, and they understood each other's thoughts.
"Next girl, please." Zhang Weiwei called out.
As her voice fell, Ma Xiaotao's figure immediately moved. A path made of flames appeared under her feet, suspended above the lake. Ma Xiaotao took a step, and with each step, this path of flames extended. This maneuver instantly stunned everyone. Zhu Ziyang was also very amazed, not expecting Ma Xiaotao's control over fire elements to have reached such a level.
"My name is Ma Xiaotao, and I am twenty-four years old this year. The elders all say, 'When the girl is four years older, blessings and longevity arrive.' I wonder if you are willing to accept these blessings and longevity?" Ma Xiaotao walked and spoke, her beautiful face appearing exceptionally alluring under the firelight. A brilliant smile quietly emerged, and her heartfelt words drifted into his ears.
The path of flames extended directly in front of Zhu Ziyang. Everyone understood Ma Xiaotao's choice. Zhu Ziyang smiled, and with a thought, a pure white ice lotus, like a work of art, appeared beneath the path of flames. Ma Xiaotao stepped down from the path of flames and landed precisely on that ice lotus.
Everyone was once again amazed. Ma Xiaotao's path of flames was already enough to test a Spirit Master's control over elemental power, but Zhu Ziyang's ice lotus was even more impressive. Was this the super genius who reached Titled Douluo at twenty years old? Unmatchable, simply unmatchable!
"With the greatest pleasure!" Looking at Ma Xiaotao landing on the lotus he had condensed, Zhu Ziyang finally smiled and slowly responded.
The two smiled at each other. Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi in the girls' line couldn't help but grit their teeth, both pondering how to steal Ma Xiaotao's thunder later; they couldn't let her monopolize the spotlight!
The elders on the ferry were also amazed by Ma Xiaotao's display, and they all began to praise her.
"Shao Zhe, Little Tao has really made a name for herself!" An elder patted Yan Shaozhe's shoulder and said.
"Haha, this is all thanks to her own efforts. I, as her teacher, am truly a bit unqualified!" Yan Shaozhe's face held a mix of bitter and gratified smiles as he spoke.
"This girl's fire control technique is even better than mine, an old man's. Alas, I can't deny getting old anymore!" Old Wu said with a smile.
The girl after Ma Xiaotao was Han Ruoruo, the oldest disciple in the Inner Courtyard currently, and also one of the highest-cultivated girls. At thirty-three, she was already an eighty-eighth-level Spirit Douluo. Excluding cheat-like contestants like Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao, Han Ruoruo's talent was definitely among the top three in the Inner Courtyard.
Such an excellent girl was still single, which couldn't help but make people sigh.
Sometimes, being too excellent was a disadvantage, especially among peers. In Han Ruoruo's generation, the most outstanding individuals were Zhang Lexuan, Zhang Weiwei, Han Ruoruo, Cheng Hui, and Shen Xu. Three of them were girls, which led to few boys of the same age being able to catch their eye, making it difficult for them to find suitable partners. Even if there were, the boys would be full of reservations, as these girls were simply too outstanding.
Zhang Lexuan's situation was special. If Zhang Weiwei hadn't met Dai Yueheng through a fortunate coincidence, she would probably still be single now.
In short, Han Ruoruo participated in the Sea God's Fate Blind Date Event this time just to try her luck. If she still didn't meet a suitable person this time, she was prepared to dedicate the rest of her life to the Academy.
However, fate was always unpredictable and elusive. Just when Zhu Ziyang was about to feel sorry for Han Ruoruo, someone completely unexpected appeared.
Wang Yan, a man in his early forties, a six-ring Spirit Emperor, an Outer Courtyard teacher, and also a registered disciple of Cai Meier, made his appearance. The elders were noncommittal about this teacher who openly broke the rules to propose to a student, while the disciples had various expressions: some disdainful, some surprised, some indifferent, and of course, some moved.
Facing Wang Yan's public confession, Han Ruoruo remained silent for a moment, then agreed. For her, since she couldn't find a soulmate, having a like-minded confidant to spend the rest of her life with was also a good choice.
The elders held reservations about this strange couple, who had a small age gap but a huge cultivation gap. Finally, Xuan Zi stepped forward and stated that they could turn a blind eye to this matter, but Wang Yan had to provide a guarantee that satisfied them.