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Do I..... know this little chubby kid in front of me?

Zi Yue looked at the other party with doubt. The little chubby kid seemed to be perhaps not even of age; she had tried her best to avoid the influence of the Heavenly Master Mansion all these years, staying away from the position of Yundu—how could she know this little guy?

Could it be that she actually had been to Yundu in these years and then forgotten about it?

That shouldn’t be right... Even if that were the case, now that she was in Yundu, shouldn’t her memory have recovered?

Seeing Zi Yue’s puzzled expression, the little chubby kid gave a bitter smile, "It seems, Lady Ziyue indeed does not remember me. It is understandable, though; for someone like me to be remembered would be the real surprise."

"Great Heavenly Master, you are too modest," Chen Baifeng chuckled as he took over the conversation. "At such a young age, you were chosen by the Heavenly Master Mansion to be one of the four successors, which truly is extraordinary."

"I am not that..." The little chubby kid bashfully lowered his head, looking quite shy.

Chen Qing and the others laughed without speaking, but deep in their eyes was vigilance; this little chubby kid was not simple, definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Chen Qing had studied the four designated candidates of the Heavenly Master Mansion.

The first, Zhang Zhiyun, was said to be the rightful eldest grandson of this term’s Heavenly Master Mansion.

It was rumored that forty years ago, during a certain military coup where an overambitious warlord surrounded Yundu with his army, it was Zhang Zhiyun who personally annihilated them with the Thunder Technique.

That warlord was powerful, supported by dozens of bloodline families, with four hundred thousand mercenaries.

Among the warlords of that time, he was second only to none.

However, from that engagement, not a single person returned alive, and the warlord’s power was instantly dismantled by his subordinates’ families.

It was precisely because of the sudden extinction of that great warlord that the family of the King of Qin and the Siao Family could rise to power, becoming the new warlords, and later establishing the Great Jin Dynasty.

This Zhang Zhiyun, with status and military achievements, was rightfully appointed by the Heavenly Master Mansion.

The second candidate was named Murong Ziyi, who was said to naturally possess the Thunder Technique, the most talented inheritor of the Thunder Technique in Yundu for a thousand years.

Even the Zhang Family’s bloodline could not compare.

At the age of five, he mastered the Zhang Family’s Five Thunder Spell, defeating a legitimate grandson of the Zhang family at the time.

His terrifying talent had many speculating that he was the reincarnation of the previous Sorcerer Emperor.

Now he had a group of very loyal supporters in Yundu, his popularity was no less than the deeply-rooted Zhang Zhiyun.

As for the third candidate, Zi Yue, although somewhat abrupt, was somewhat understandable. For the twenty years since the Great Jin’s foundation, Zi Yue had always been recognized as the strongest magician at the court. Even Liu Yu, the highly esteemed Duke of Song, did not deny this.

Given her status, it might be surprising to be chosen, but it was not unacceptable, as her reputation and strength spoke for themselves.

But this one in front of me...

Doesn’t seem to be on the same level as the three mentioned above.

Chen Qing frowned. As the Master of the Divine Path, he was most sensitive to the energies of heaven and earth.

In theory, no one should be able to hide their power from him, not even Transcendent beings.

Take Shen Le, for instance; although he did not know by what means she descended to the mortal world, with the energy inside her body being highly unstable, appearing light and floating, occasionally, he could feel the terrifying power that she inadvertently revealed.

However, this little chubby kid in front of him was completely different; he showed no sign of power whatsoever.

He was curious, when the competition began, what would this little chubby kid use to cope?

But there was one thing that did intrigue Chen Qing a bit, the little chubby kid indeed seemed unafraid of them.

Logically, a kid with no power at all, sitting among a group of them, was like an ant sitting among a bunch of ferocious beasts, being able to eat so heartily and contentedly was quite a feat.

"I’m just here to make up the numbers," the little chubby kid chuckled, "Guarding the gate will probably be tough; many in my family oppose my grandfather’s decision, but my grandfather has heavy authority, no one can oppose him."

"Guarding the gate?" Chen Baifeng perked up, "Is it the guarding mentioned in the historical records of the Heavenly Master competition?"

"Yes....." Zhang Xiaoyun nodded while eating a large lion’s head meatball, his mouth shiny with grease.

"What guarding the gate?" Chen Qing asked curiously.

"The Heavenly Master competition begins with the Four Symbols Gate as the first challenge," Zi Yue stated directly.

"The Four Symbols Gate has each gate guarded by four individuals appointed by the previous Heavenly Master, with various mechanisms and magician Arrays that can assist the guardians.

The other competitors aim to breach the gates.

Those who cannot enter the Four Symbols Gate are eliminated. "

Chen Qing was stunned, "So the four competitors are the first-round examiners?"

"It’s sort of like that," Zi Yue explained.

"Is that... fair?" Chen Qing said with some astonishment.

According to the scale, all the major families could recommend their descendants, and weren’t there likely to be over a thousand participants?

All extremely outstanding offspring, and even some old fellows might take to the field.

At such a time, the one guarding the gate would have to face so many people. How strong must they be?

"There are supplementary tools," Zi Yue said indifferently. "Heavenly Master Mansion stores the most equipment and arrays from the Sorcerer Dynasty. In the days leading up to the competition, you may enter and choose freely, setting up the traps for your gate, and you’re only responsible for testing. There’s no need to confront these people personally; you could even choose to lie down and let everyone pass. "

"Umm... Is that okay?" Chen Qing felt the rules were somewhat problematic.

"If you choose to lie down, it doesn’t necessarily mean the contenders will want to do the same," Zi Yue said with a cold smile.

"When they enter the Four Symbols Gate, if a magician is not willing to simply pass through, he can follow the traps searching for you. If he can defeat you during the preliminaries of the Four Symbols, then he will take your place as a candidate and be directly listed among the top eight. Thus, the test of the Four Symbols Gate is not just a challenge for the magicians, but also a test for the candidates. If you can’t hold the fort, it will be quite a spectacle. "

Chen Qing: "...."

It really seemed like a matter only those confident in their skill could play.

Chen Qing curiously looked at the pudgy boy. According to these rules... the gate that the little fatty was guarding would probably be bustling, right?

"Hey... I’m worried too," said Zhang Xiaoyun with a face full of distress, his chubby cheeks wrinkling into a bun, resembling a dumpling: "I might just lie flat and concede when the time comes.

But that would be too shameful for my grandfather.

Yet, if I force myself to stand firm and someone takes me down, what then? "

Chen Qing: "....."

Chen Qing couldn’t quite figure it out. If the Zhang Family allowed this youngster to guard the gate, it definitely wasn’t that simple. Those who focused only on appearances were probably in for a big loss.

Chen Qing then turned to look at Zi Yue: "Does that mean you also need to pick traps and arrays?"

"That’s about the size of it," Zi Yue said, resting her chin on her hand, a hint of wistfulness flashing through her eyes. In her memories, there was a scene from a competition for the Heavenly Master selection. What was she doing back then?

Oh right, she served as a magician’s technique weapon, guarding the White Tiger Gate...

Yes, who was it at that time?

"Won’t this be quite disadvantageous for you?

" Chen Qing frowned and said, "Those arrays and tools from the Zhang Family—you’ve never had contact with them, right? Compared to the people from the Zhang Family and Murong Ziyi, they’ve had a lot of time to familiarize themselves with those magical devices and traps.

Can you handle it with just a few days to prepare? "

"Of course, I can!"

Zi Yue had not yet spoken, but Zhang Xiaoyun was the first to excitedly say, "Lady Ziyue is a master among artificers. Back when she guarded the White Tiger Gate, not a single candidate could pass her test. The sorry state they were in... Tsk tsk tsk, it’s still a tragic part of the Heavenly Master selection history. .."

The crowd: "....."

This time, even Chen Baifeng was taken aback and looked towards Zi Yue. Lady Ziyue had such a history?

No wonder King of Qin held her in such high regard back then.

Chen Qing also stared blankly at her. He had never heard of Zi Yue’s illustrious past.

Zi Yue seemed not too eager to recall her past, her brows furrowing as she said, "It’s just an old story from years ago. It wasn’t me who guarded the White Tiger Gate at that time; I was just a tool..."

"But you were the one who took action," the chubby boy chirped: "It’s said that at that time, you shocked both the contemporary Heavenly Master and the Emperor so much that they held a big meeting to decide whether to destroy Lady Ziyue."

"You seem to know a lot," Zi Yue said coldly, looking at him.

"Hehehe..." Zhang Xiaoyun chuckled, scratching his head sheepishly, avoiding Zi Yue’s gaze: "I sneaked a peek at some of the ancient histories in the family, hehe."

Chen Qing watched with interest. Something was off about this little guy. Family histories were typically only accessible to the heir, right?

With Zhang Zhiyun being so conspicuous, could it be... the heir was actually this little fatty in front of him?

Quite interesting...