“But what if the child takes the sweet?” Liu Xue asked.
“That proves the child is extraordinarily cunning. He must not be spared,” Chen Ping replied.
“And if the child takes both?” Liu Xue pressed.
“That proves the child is greedy. He must not be spared,” Chen Ping answered.
“What if the child chooses neither?” Liu Xue kept asking.
“That proves the child is naturally rebellious. He must not be spared,” Chen Ping said.
Liu Xue: “…”
The child (somehow still there): “You’re unbelievable. You’re arrogant. You can’t afford to lose, so you just quit playing…”
The old examiner stared at Chen Ping, utterly lost for words. “You have decent talent. From now on, train more and stop reading all that rubbish…”
With that, the old man’s figure vanished in an instant.
The moment he disappeared, the void in front of Chen Ping twisted violently. A majestic mountain appeared before them, its peaks crowned with rows of grand palaces.
“Why does this mountain look so familiar?” Chen Ping frowned at the sudden sight.
“Tianmen Mountain! Isn’t this Tianmen Mountain?” Liu Xue exclaimed.
Only then did Chen Ping realise the peak before them was indeed Tianmen Mountain.
“Have we left the ruins?” Chen Ping wondered why they had suddenly returned here.
“I don’t think so. Those palaces up there… that must be the vanished Tianmen sect itself.”
“Let’s go and see…” Liu Xue said excitedly.
The two headed towards the palaces on Tianmen Mountain.
Yet the moment they tried to set foot on the mountain, an immense restrictive force blocked their path. The power was vast and boundless, as though the entire mountain was shielded by a gigantic barrier.
“It seems we still have one final trial to pass,” Chen Ping said. He began studying their surroundings carefully, searching for a way to break the formation.
At that moment, an aged yet majestic voice rang directly in their ears: “Young ones, you have finally arrived.”
Startled, Chen Ping and Liu Xue looked around, but no one was there.
“No need to search. I am here.”
The voice sounded again. A white-robed elder slowly materialised before them.
His hair and beard were snow-white, his face kind, yet his eyes carried authority and the weight of countless years. A powerful, pure aura radiated from him, inspiring instinctive reverence.
“Senior, you are…?” Chen Ping asked respectfully.
The elder gave a faint smile. “I am the last sect leader of Tianmen. You may call me the Tianmen Elder.”
“The Tianmen sect leader?”
Both Chen Ping and Liu Xue froze. They had never expected to meet the legendary leader of Tianmen.
Seeing their astonishment, the Tianmen Elder spoke slowly. “Indeed, I am the leader of Tianmen. Ever since Tianmen vanished, I have remained here, guarding the sect’s remains and awaiting those fated to come.”
“You have been waiting for us?” Liu Xue asked in puzzlement.
The elder nodded. “Yes. In you, I see hope, the possibility of Tianmen rising once more. However, before I pass the Tianmen inheritance to you, I must first tell you a story, the truth about why Tianmen disappeared.”
Chen Ping and Liu Xue listened quietly, hearts filled with curiosity and anticipation.
The Tianmen Elder let out a deep sigh, pain and regret flickering in his eyes. “It happened more than a thousand years ago. Tianmen stood at its peak then, holding immense influence across all Nine Heavens. As sect leader, I was hailed as the strongest cultivator in the Nine Heavens.”
“But at that time, I met a child, a child who changed Tianmen’s fate forever.”
