When word spread that Princess Bi had decided to select her husband, the crowd erupted in commotion.
The eight young prodigies could barely contain their excitement. Each one secretly wondered whether the princess had taken a fancy to him—was she going to pick her future husband ahead of schedule?
There was no denying it: every martial cultivator harbored boundless confidence in himself. All eight men present believed they would be the princess's sole choice.
Huang'er was no exception.
Of course, Huang'er's confidence stemmed not from vanity, but from the suspicion that Lin Bi'er's decision had nothing to do with charm and everything to do with three words—Mu Gaoqi.
The royal family members were in high spirits as well. Of the eight candidates, seven were prodigies from the Ten Great Divine Nations.
The eighth was a lone cultivator.
But with odds of seven to one, that single outlier could practically be ignored. They simply couldn't believe Princess Bi would have such poor judgment as to choose a wandering cultivator over the rest.
That possibility was virtually nonexistent.
People seek the heights; water flows to the lows.
Princess Bi was no fool—why wouldn't she want a dao companion from the Ten Great Divine Nations? Why wouldn't she aim for the loftiest branch and make her own name even more illustrious?
The arena was packed shoulder to shoulder. Most of the onlookers felt a volatile mix of curiosity, envy, and jealousy.
They were dying to know which candidate the stunningly beautiful princess would choose, while simultaneously envying those seven geniuses from the Ten Great Divine Nations who got to stand on the elevated platform and await the princess's verdict.
What extraordinary luck.
"Your Highness, shall I introduce the backgrounds of these distinguished young men for you?"
"Ha ha, why don't we let each of them introduce themselves instead?"
The royal family members smiled as they addressed Lin Bi'er.
"That won't be necessary," Lin Bi'er replied, her tone cool and detached. "I already know who they are."
"Ha ha, it seems Princess Bi has already made up her mind. Very well—then please, Princess, make your choice." The middle-aged prince spoke with a genial smile.
Lin Bi'er walked forward with measured steps, her gaze lowered throughout. Then, abruptly, her pure, luminous eyes cut across the platform and locked onto Huang'er.
"He's the one." Lin Bi'er's icy gaze settled on Huang'er. "Among all of them, he is the one who suits me best."
Her clear, cold voice placed deliberate emphasis on those final words.
"What?!" The prince's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Your Highness, surely you've made a mistake? Please, look again carefully."
"No need to look again. I choose him—Mu Gaoqi." Lin Bi'er went so far as to call him by name.
The prince's face turned the color of pig's liver. His brain short-circuited on the spot. This sudden turn of events left him completely unable to carry on.
This Princess Bi was openly sabotaging them. Everything had been going so smoothly, and now this—didn't it render the royal family's entire strategy worthless?
With seven prodigies from the Ten Great Divine Nations to choose from, why on earth had she picked a wandering martial cultivator?
"Princess Bi, please don't be hasty. This lone cultivator here—" Another royal family member couldn't help but speak up.
Huang'er's expression darkened at once. "Does this martial bride selection tournament have any rule barring lone cultivators from participating?"
The royal family member sneered. "Might I suggest you take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you're on the same level as the seven prodigies beside you? A person should have the decency to know his own worth."
Huang'er smiled faintly and turned to the seven candidates. "This gentleman from the Blue Mist Island Domain royal family says you lack self-awareness. What do you make of that?"
The seven men stared dumbfounded. How could this person be so brazenly shameless—clearly the insult was aimed at him, yet he'd somehow dragged them into it.
"Friend, be reasonable. If you step down now, the Blue Mist Island Domain guarantees we'll let bygones be bygones." The prince was growing visibly irritated.
Lin Bi'er's brows furrowed slightly. "You asked me to hold a martial bride selection tournament. I've made my choice, and yet you refuse to accept it. If that's how it is, then you leave me no other option."
Every royal family member seethed with inarticulate frustration.
The situation had reached a point where they felt powerless—strength with nowhere to direct it.
They could sense something deeply wrong with this whole affair, yet they couldn't very well do anything about it.
What could they do? Kill the lone cultivator? Then the Blue Mist Island Domain would become the laughingstock of the world. You hold a martial bride selection tournament, only to slap your own face and renege? Was the implication that unless the groom was a genius from the Ten Great Divine Nations, the princess simply wouldn't marry?
If that was the case, why bother with a tournament at all? They might as well have gone straight to one of the Ten Great Divine Nations to propose a match.
And on top of that, Princess Bi was actively defying them. If this were a private matter, they could have issued threats—or even taken measures.
But on this elevated platform, under the watchful eyes of thousands, such extreme action was simply out of the question.
In the end, it was the prince who recovered quickest. He smiled and addressed the crowd. "Everyone, Princess Bi is merely having a bit of fun with you all. Perhaps she already has someone in mind as her ideal match, but is simply too bashful to announce it publicly. In that case—let us call a temporary halt to the bride selection tournament. The eight selected candidates should keep in contact. When the princess—"
"Wait." Huang'er's tone was none too pleasant. "What do you mean the princess is joking? Speak plainly. She just explicitly declared that she chose me. Is this how the Blue Mist Island Domain conducts its bride selection? Are you openly reneging on the arrangement? Do you look down on lone cultivators, or what?"
At that very moment, two figures shot up onto the platform from the crowd below—it was Elder He and Elder Quan.
The two Yan family elders wore rather awkward expressions as they looked at Huang'er. "Alright, Huang'er, stop making trouble and ruining the Blue Mist Island Domain's happy occasion."
The Blue Mist Island Domain royals exchanged bewildered glances, eyeing these two elders from the Yan family.
"My apologies—this young man of ours is being thoughtless and causing a scene. The Yan family is truly sorry, and we ask that you all be understanding." Elder He was all courtesy.
"The Yan family?" The middle-aged prince's eyes lit up. "This young man—he's a prodigy of the Yan family?"