In the next instant, he was struck by a strong sense of weightlessness, and his body began to plummet out of the sky in free fall. He was naturally quite startled by this and hurriedly gathered his soul power to control his own body.

His soul power had returned, as had all of his other powers, and he was in peak condition, as if he had never even used Millennium White Clouds. He looked down to discover that he was currently at an altitude of several kilometers, and the protective barrier over the Great Star Dou Forest lay down below.

He concealed himself within a cloud first, then took a moment to collect himself before dialing a number on his soul communicator.

...... 

"Joust for a spouse?" Gu Yuena was looking at Qiangu Dongfeng in a slightly dumbstruck manner, and a series of emotions welled up in her heart as she instantly recalled back to the Sea God Fate Match-making Convention.

She still clearly recalled how Tang Wulin had confessed to her, and she knew that she had to turn him down, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it. It was in that instant that her heart had truly been swayed.

"Yes, joust for a spouse. This is going to be an extremely important event for our Spirit Pagoda. As you know, our Spirit Pagoda is currently facing a lot of controversy as a result of the Tang Sect's attacks against us, so in order to distract the general public and help restore our Spirit Pagoda's reputation, we've decided to hold this joust for a spouse event. The objective of the event is not just to find you a husband, but also earn widespread acknowledgment from the general public for our Spirit Pagoda.

"Many of the young talents in our Spirit Pagoda are referring to you as the number one beauty in the history of the Spirit Pagoda in private, and this is a very popular opinion. As such, this joust for a spouse will also motivate the young men of our Spirit Pagoda to work harder, so it'll be killing many birds with one stone. At the same time, exposure to the general public will be beneficial for your future rise up the social ladder. Remember the Trial of Five Gods? It was through that event that the Tang Sect Master, Tang Wulin, accrued so much popularity and support, thereby placing us in a very passive position.

"Our Spirit Pagoda also needs a new generation of leaders, and you and Zhangting are the ideal candidates. Through this joust for a spouse, your beauty will definitely garner you a lot of attention and support, which will nullify some of the pressure our Spirit Pagoda has been facing. I know that you may be reluctant to take part in something like this, but I hope that you'll consider it. With your looks, powers, and lofty status as a spirit envoy, you'll definitely receive widespread attention."

Gu Yuena's brows furrowed slightly as she said, "But Chairman, I don't want to expose myself to the general public."

Qiangu Dongfeng said, "I know this is something that's quite difficult for you to embrace. How about this? I'll promise you two things in return. Firstly, you've always wanted to visit the library on the top floor of our Spirit Pagoda, right? I'll give you the right to access that library anytime you want. Secondly, I assure you that we won't force you to make a decision during this joust for a spouse. If you're not satisfied with the final victor, then we'll think of a way to turn him down; what do you think?"

Gu Yuena took a deep breath, and replied, "But I've been constantly researching soul spirit evolution lately, so I won't have enough time."

Qiangu Dongfeng chuckled, "That's not an issue; all you need to do is help out during the initial promotion process, and the others will do the rest; you can just show up for the final of the event."

Gu Yuena thought about this for a moment before replying, "Alright, but I have a condition: the final victor must defeat me for the right to become my boyfriend."

Qiangu Dongfeng's smile instantly became even more pronounced upon hearing this. "No problem! That would make the event even more exciting. It's decided, then!"

...... 

"Now for some breaking news: the Spirit Pagoda announced at 11am today that it would be holding a large-scale Soul Master event. This will be an unprecedented joust for a spouse for the Spirit Pagoda's newly assigned spirit envoy, Gu Yuena, and all young Soul Masters below 35 years of age can sign up, while the minimum cultivation rank requirement is 60. Regardless of whether you're a battle armor master or mecha pilot, everyone can sign up, and the specific details will be released by the Spirit Pagoda at a later time.

"Gu Yuena is the youngest spirit envoy of the Spirit Pagoda at below 24 years of age, and she has been touted as the most exceptional prodigy the Spirit Pagoda has seen in over 1,000 years. During her younger days, Gu Yuena studied in the inner court of Shrek Academy and decided to join the Spirit Pagoda following her graduation. Very little is known about this secretive prodigy, and we have no photographs of her on hand, so we are awaiting further releases of information from the Spirit Pagoda. The only thing we've heard from the Spirit Pagoda is that Gu Yuena is at least at the Soul Douluo level, which is extremely remarkable considering her young age."

...... 

"Did you hear about the joust for a spouse event that the Spirit Pagoda is going to hold? Have they gone insane? Since when did the Spirit Pagoda start doing things like this?"

"I know, right? And it's for one of the highest-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda. Apparently, she's less than 24 years old, but she's already extremely powerful; her name is Gu Yuena or something."

"I don't recall ever hearing that name before. How did she become a spirit envoy at such a young age? Surely this is a joke! Is the Spirit Pagoda intentionally doing this to fool the general public?"

"I don't think the Spirit Pagoda is that stupid, but I reckon this Gu Yuena must be very ugly, and no one wants her, so they were forced to resort to something like this, haha!"

"Let's wait and see. The Spirit Pagoda will release pictures of her alongside the rules of the event. Who knows? Maybe she's a beauty!"

...... 

News of the joust for a spouse event spread to every corner of the continent in virtually just a single day.

Everyone knew that the highest-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda were the chairman, the two vice-chairmen, and the four spirit envoys; this was the core of the Spirit Pagoda. At the very least, that was the case on the surface.

No one knew exactly how many powerful beings were in the Spirit Pagoda, but it definitely wasn't an easy task to rise up to the rank of spirit envoy.

On top of that, almost all of the past Spirit Pagoda chairmen had been a spirit envoy at some point; the fact that Gu Yuena had reached this rank at such a young age indicated that there was a very good chance that she could become a major candidate for the role of future chairwoman.

The news quickly gained traction, and just as the Spirit Pagoda had expected, the event was drawing a lot of attention away from the negative press aimed at the Spirit Pagoda.

This was only to be expected. After all, the general public's interest was quite easy to sway. Regardless of whether one liked the Spirit Pagoda or not, they had to admit that the Spirit Pagoda was currently the number one organization on the entire continent.

As such, the fact that it was holding an unprecedented joust for a spouse event was bound to attract widespread interest.

This piece of news garnered a range of reactions, with some expressing support and some opposing the event, but most people were simply confused.

The event quickly received official approval, and the Spirit Pagoda began to release the relevant information. It was clear that the Spirit Pagoda had put a lot of thought into this, and they released the information little by little to generate more interest.

As a result of this strategy, they would also be able to further nullify the controversy aimed against the Spirit Pagoda.

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