Hao Shuai looked at Li Xiaoyao and said, "Xiaoyao, you're not getting any younger. Why not give it a try?"
"Martial Uncle, stop joking. I don't even know that Lin girl," Li Xiaoyao said, waving his hands repeatedly.
"How can you say you don't know her? Didn't you two fight yesterday?" Hao Shuai said with a meaningful smile. "I think you'd make a perfect match!"
"Martial Uncle, don't joke around!" Li Xiaoyao shuddered and hurriedly said, "I don't want to be a match for that tigress!"
"As they say, fighting is affection, scolding is love, and when love runs deep, it comes with a kick!" Hao Shuai laughed. "You two fought and traded insults the first time you met. Doesn't that mean you're destined to be husband and wife?"
"I'll do it!"
Just as Hao Shuai was egging Li Xiaoyao on to challenge her, a gentle male voice rang out from the crowd. A young man radiating scholarly elegance pushed his way through the onlookers and headed toward the platform.
"Oh! Isn't that the Scholar-Official Lord? I can't believe he's here to compete for a bride, too!"
"So the Scholar-Official Lord knows martial arts! A man of both letters and arms—amazing!"
"With the Scholar-Official Lord's skills, he's sure to defeat Miss Lin!"
Someone in the crowd recognized the man, and a chorus of praise immediately rose around them.
"That man's the top scholar? A man of both letters and arms?" Hao Shuai studied the young man, dressed in a moon-white scholar's robe and exuding a refined, gentle air, and felt puzzled.
From what Hao Shuai could tell, the man showed no trace of true essence or magical power.
Could he be so powerful that he could hide his strength from Hao Shuai's perception?
While Hao Shuai wondered whether the man