The Demonic World I designed-Chapter 706 - 697: Don’t have that ability.....

Why say that?

Many were perplexed at Vermilion Bird Gate, listening to the storyteller make bold assertions. Chen Baifeng looked on with great interest, turning to Chen Qing, "Your Highness, what do you think?"

Chen Qing set down his teacup, "The storyteller was speaking the truth to begin with; Lady Ziyue’s identity is indeed the most likely to arouse hatred..."

The storyteller below continued, "Those who come to compete for the Heavenly Master are all proud scions of great families, naturally arrogant and confident, and only a minority would want to test their strength out of insecurity. Most are here to showcase their techniques, and many talents from Yundu have felt discontent with those so-called great family children from other regions for years."

"Under these circumstances, the great reputation of Lord Zhang Zhiyun makes people hesitant to choose the Northern Tiger Gate, though there certainly are a few who dare to try. For most, choosing Lord Zhang Xiaoyun would seem too much of a step down, and right now, Lady Zi Yue, rumored to be the best magician at court, is seen as a very suitable touchstone."

"Well-known, but with no actual battle achievements, and an outsider at that—who else, if not her, would they choose?"

The crowd nodded in agreement, finding the reasoning quite sound...

"This storyteller... is quite shrewd." Chen Baifeng chuckled as he set down his teacup. You know, that was quite bluntly put, but it’s also true; Lady Zi Yue has a big reputation but no actual war achievements. With the arrival of the Transcendent, many youngsters have just acquired new powers, at the peak of their pride and vigor. What they most lack right now is an appropriate stepping stone to make a name for themselves.

Zhang Zhiyun is well-known enough, but his achievements are also substantial. Forty years ago, he could annihilate one of the strongest armies of the time with a single Five Thunder Spell. Now, with the Transcendent here, if the Heavenly Master Mansion can control the Four Holy Guard, such divine soldiers, how weak could the appointed heir be?

To use him to make a name would be too risky; only someone with outstanding talent like Chen Ye would dare to test the waters.

Lady Zi Yue, however, is different. Despite her great fame, she has no notable battle achievements to show. Jiangnan, despite its miraculous image in recent years, is still looked down on by truly talented children, who believe it’s just the result of early access to ancient heritages and good luck.

Now, especially the youths from the Southern Sea, having received their own heritages, no longer regard Jiangnan highly. Lady Zi Yue, in their eyes, is the perfect stepping stone.

As the storyteller was speaking fervently, the crystal display announced the name list for the four great palace gates.

First up was the Azure Dragon Gate, the chief among the Four Saints.

Although many didn’t understand why someone like Zhang Xiaoyun could guard the chief of the Four Saints, everyone was still curious about who chose that gate.

"Oh, it’s the Li Family’s third son, Li Yunchao, I should have known..."

"Wang Family’s second son, Wang Qianyun..."

"And that one... from the Shao Family..."

A series of names recognized by the sharp-eyed turned out to be famous scions of Yundu, exactly as the storyteller had said. Those who chose the Azure Dragon Gate, for the most part, did so on a whim, hoping for a stroke of luck.

Chen Baifeng glanced at the list, his eyebrows knitting slightly, for he saw many familiar names. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

He had actually analyzed with them a few days ago; this gate of Zhang Xiaoyun’s would not be simple. Choosing this one not only involved risk but would also offer no renown—it was really the worst deal. Yet it seemed many, while outwardly respecting him, didn’t take it seriously in secret.

He was not particularly upset by this; everyone has their own opinion and there’s no need to insist others agree with him, as long as they’re prepared to accept the consequences of their choices.

But the key point was, he also saw his eldest son, Chen Long, listed there...

The names listed here included their respective family names, visible at a glance, turning Chen Baifeng’s originally smiling face dark.

He hadn’t planned to bring the boy along initially; he didn’t expect him to have come secretly—and not only came secretly, he also chose the East Gate. It was utterly disgraceful and no wonder so many noble scions chose the East Gate—it was his influence leading them.

No doubt many thought he preached one thing and did another, right?

The displeased look on Chen Baifeng’s face was immediately caught by Chen Qing, who chuckled, "When did the eldest son come? I missed him last time."

"Nothing but a foolish, unteachable child. King of Qin, you must find this amusing," Chen Baifeng sighed helplessly.

The eldest son was born to his lawful wife, a direct daughter of the Zhong family, which was also a Sorcerer Noble Family. She had come to the Chen Family bringing with her techniques, only to give birth to sons, one more significantly lacking in talent than the last. If not for that, he, who was never greedy for beauty, why would he have taken concubines to get legitimate children?

Within sorcerer families, talent is paramount—that has been the truth for generations, but the Zhong family never reconciled to it, and their talentless sons often became laughingstocks. It looks like this time is no different; what’s worse, they even started a trend.

Not only lacking in ability but also foolish...

Chen Baifeng sighed. In his family, Madame Zhong had always held a high position; even though the current family head wasn’t her son, her status remained undiminished. Furthermore, he had prepared many resources for his eldest son. If the son lacked the talent to use them, he could just hurry up and produce an heir instead of rashly competing in areas beyond his expertise.

That would have been fine, but what did he do instead? He had some pride, sure, but then he came here and chose to take shortcuts; isn’t that a joke?

If the Heavenly Master Mansion dares to have Zhang Xiaoyun guard the Azure Dragon Gate, would it be that simple?

But now it’s too late to stop him; we can only take it one step at a time.

"By the way, I’ve heard that His Highness the King of Qin also sent students from Jiangnan?" Chen Baifeng changed the subject, "I’ve seen Chen Ying’s talent before, among all the children of the great families, she is one of the top. After being trained by His Highness, how far has she come now?"

"That... I’m not too clear on that," Chen Qing chuckled. "I didn’t want her to compete initially, but she insisted on trying, so I let her. Usually, these competitions are just for newcomers to learn a thing or two. But she was eager to participate, and I had no choice but to agree, since she was so insistent. Now, hasn’t the list come out?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Baifeng looked over, and the crystal already displayed the list for the White Tiger Gate.

The first name that prominently appeared was that of his proud disciple, Chen Ye, followed by children from either the famous large families of Capital City or the grand families of Yundu, all with illustrious reputations. It seemed just as he expected, those who were absolutely confident in themselves chose this gate.

Those with high ambition and pride wouldn’t stoop to taking shortcuts.

On the last row, however, there was a special name, from Jiangnan Academy: Chen Ying!

This woman is still so proud...

Chen Baifeng reminisced somewhat distractedly; back then, many families wanted to take in Chen Ying. After all, the child had extraordinary talent and no great familial backing. Once she was brought into a family, she would become a great asset to its heir.

However, many disdained her background, only willing to offer her the status of a concubine. But this woman was staunch and would rather give up practicing techniques than to compromise with the great families.

Now that she was with Chen Qing, she was still a concubine, but Chen Qing had shown great sincerity.

The Azure Dragon Heritage, one of the Four Saints heritage, now as the famous head of Jiangnan Academy, surely must have ruffled feathers among the disciples.

Now she had charged in headfirst, likely stirring up significant hostility.

But she still chose to charge ahead.

"This young girl is still as stubborn," Chen Baifeng said with a laugh. "If she had gone through the Vermilion Bird Gate, at least Lady Zi Yue would have taken some care of her, right?"

This was also a probe because he noticed that among the three big gates—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise—Jiangnan only had Chen Ying. Yet he had heard that Jiangnan had hastily gathered many students; if they weren’t distributed among the other three gates, could they all have been crammed into the Vermilion Bird Gate?

Chen Qing wouldn’t be so blatant as to rig the competition, would he?

Does he have no shame left?

"Who can say otherwise?" Chen Qing had a look of helplessness. "You tell me, this girl insists on proving herself, ignoring the well-paved path and striving for vain honors. Going through the Vermilion Bird Gate with Zi Yue’s care, wouldn’t that be safer?"

"Lady Zi Yue... agreed to it?" Chen Baifeng’s face twitched.

"Why wouldn’t she?" Chen Qing widened his eyes. "With such an opportunity, not to cheat is to be a fool, right?"

Chen Baifeng: "..."

Sure enough, the next second, when the list for the Vermilion Bird Gate was revealed, a multitude of names from Jiangnan appeared, instantly provoking a wave of jeers.

Even Shen Qi, sitting to one side, couldn’t help but cover his face. His master really didn’t care about face at all; at least he could have distributed a few to the other gates as a gesture...

"His Highness is really..." Chen Baifeng was speechless, but the black-clothed sorcerer coldly said, "His Highness the King of Qin, acting this way, isn’t afraid that Lady Zi Yue and those students will be targeted by others?"

"With Zi Yue there, who would dare target them?" Chen Qing said with pride.

The black-clothed sorcerer laughed bitterly, "Doesn’t His Highness the King of Qin read the rules? If others directly confront Lady Zi Yue and defeat her, they can replace her!"

"Replace Zi Yue?" Chen Qing laughed. "In this world... I’m afraid there aren’t many who can do that..."

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶