Page 928

Wen Qiao blinked in surprise and answered honestly, "I hadn't thought about that."

Di Wan was her biological maternal grandmother, and the current Bai Feng Island Lord was Di Wan's father, effectively her great-grandfather... Wen Qiao suddenly realized that she was actually connected to Bai Feng Island by blood.

She couldn't help but recall Min Mubei's earlier words—that Bai Feng Island selected its saintesses based on bloodline power...

"Little sister Qiao, what are you thinking about?" Liu Zizi nudged her. "It's almost my turn to perform!"

Wen Qiao snapped back to attention, her expression turning serious. "Oh, go ahead! You've got this!"

With her own performance coming up, Liu Zizi didn’t have time to ponder what Wen Qiao had been thinking and hurriedly prepared to take the stage.

As Liu Zizi began her performance, Wen Qiao couldn’t help but glance at Di Yanbo, recalling how Di Yanbo had used musical rhythms to command sea beasts earlier. She felt a strange twinge.

Liu Zizi returned to Wen Qiao, sighing dejectedly. "I really can’t compare to Bai Feng Island’s saintess."

Wen Qiao patted her shoulder. "Actually, you did really well. Controlling thirty sea beasts is already the second-highest count among all the participants here."

The first, of course, was Di Yanbo.

Just as Liu Zizi was about to say she didn’t need the consolation, cheers rose from Wushuang Island's contingent—cheers so synchronized that, upon listening closely, one could hear chants like, "Lady Zizi is amazing!" "Lady Zizi is the best in the Inner Sea!" "Lady Zizi is the most beautiful!" and so on.

The surrounding female cultivators shot puzzled looks, unable to resist looking at Liu Zizi.

Liu Zizi’s face flushed red. It was obvious—such perfectly coordinated cheering could only be orchestrated by her grandfather, the Zhanhai Pavilion Master, who had ordered SeaSlayer Tower’s disciples to cheer for her, as if this could overshadow the applause Di Yanbo had received earlier.

"I... I’ll tell my grandfather not to do this again," Liu Zizi stammered, her face burning.

Wen Qiao hadn’t expected the imposing and dignified Zhanhai Pavilion Master to pull such a childish stunt. Amused, she pinched Liu Zizi’s flushed round cheeks and said, "The Zhanhai Pavilion Master means well."

"My grandfather sometimes acts in ways that are downright embarrassing," Liu Zizi grumbled, though she wasn’t truly angry. After all, she understood it was just her grandfather’s way of showing affection.

From then on, very few female cultivators received such enthusiastic cheers.

Aside from Di Yanbo and Liu Zizi, the reactions from Wushuang Island were pretty tame. The cheers for Liu Zizi, clearly orchestrated by the Zhanhai Pavilion Master, sounded awkward and forced—everyone saw through the act.

Thus, Di Yanbo remained the one to beat.

Moreover, in the previous two segments, Di Yanbo had performed exceptionally well. Considering the overall performance across all three segments, she might very well become this year’s Sea Goddess.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the rankings on the Sea God Monument. Currently, Wen Qiao and Liu Zizi were far ahead, having scored the highest in the second segment—a feat that seemed nearly impossible to surpass. Di Yanbo followed closely behind, while the fourth placer was so far behind that she was completely outshone.

Someone couldn’t help but remark, "If Min Sulin had participated, I wonder how the rankings would have turned out."

"Even if she had, I doubt it would’ve made much difference. Min Sulin wouldn’t have been able to get sea beasts to willingly hand over Aqua Pearls to her."

"Exactly. Min Sulin would’ve still trailed behind Wen Qiao and Liu Zizi—just not as badly as the current fourth placer."

"Speaking of which, Wen Qiao, who’s ranked first, truly deserves the title of Sea Goddess—whether in beauty, strength, or background."

"That’s right. The Min family has already acknowledged her as the granddaughter of the Min family head. Her status is extremely prestigious."

"Is that why Min Sulin didn’t participate in this year’s Sea Goddess competition?"

"I heard that Min Sulin isn’t actually the Min family head’s daughter."

"Right, she was adopted. The wife of the former Bai Feng Island Lord left her in the Min family head's care as she lay dying—which is why he took her in."

"No wonder the Min clan rarely mentions Min Sulin in their public announcements. By the way, have you noticed something? It seems Min Sulin seldom visits the Min clan's Cloud-Treading and Rain-Mist Islands. Now it's clear—she wasn't born a Min, so how could she go?"

"Indeed..."

A group of people whispered among themselves, and Ning Yuzhou and the others sitting among the crowd happened to hear every word clearly.

Their faces betrayed nothing, but they understood the Min clan's stance somewhat.

It wasn't that the Min clan couldn't tolerate Min Sulin, but the past was too painful for them. They'd kept quiet before to avoid reopening old wounds. Now that Wen Qiao had appeared and laid it all out publicly, there was no point hiding it anymore.

In truth, the Min clan had never outright lied about it—they just hadn't volunteered the information.

Suddenly, Wen Tuti cheered excitedly, "It's Sister's turn to perform!"

Everyone leaned forward eagerly, their eyes fixed intently on the screen, wanting to see what Wen Qiao would do.

The cultivators before the water mirror remained as listless as before. After watching over fifty Female Cultivators perform—with only Di Yanbo making an impression—the rest had been rather unimpressive, making the whole thing drag on.

Thus, even though Wen Qiao was a topic of discussion, she barely got their attention.

That was, until the sea suddenly surged with towering waves, shaking the entire Wushuang Island. In an instant, everyone shot upright.

"What's happening? Is it a sea beast riot?"

Chapter 384

The sea churned with monstrous waves, the island trembled, and an overwhelming aura erupted from the depths, signaling countless sea beasts gathering and surging up from the abyss.

In that moment, the sheer scale of the disturbance—as if the sea beasts were launching a full-scale assault on the island—had every cultivator snapping to attention.

Whether it was the cultivators before the water mirror or the Huanhua Immortals and competing Female Cultivators on the sea, their faces paled. Instinctively, they summoned their weapons, bodies tensed, ready to fight at any moment.

The ocean heaved and churned, accompanied by the thunderous crash of waves.