Don't let Yu Ding take on any more disciples.

Chapter 496 Father and Daughter Competing for the Emperor? Master and Disciple Competing for the Emperor?
Yu Ding and Tai Bai entered the Tongming Hall, but Zhang Youren was left outside, told to wait for a summons.

Zhang Youren looked around at the scenery with a mixture of shock and curiosity. In the distance, he saw thousands of auspicious rays and colorful lights, and on the suspended islands sat heavenly palaces and magnificent halls.

Flocks of cranes and flocks of colorful phoenixes flew across the sky.

Is this the celestial realm where the gods reside? Even the ground seems to be made of clouds, but no, it feels as solid as the ground when you step on it... Zhang Youren suppressed his shock and tried his best to remember everything he saw, preparing to go back and tell his wife and children.

After all, for a mere mortal like him, this is probably the only opportunity he'll ever have in his lifetime to come to the Heavenly Court.

He didn't think he could become the Heavenly Emperor.

You should know that the Heavenly Emperor has to be elected. He has neither connections nor background in heaven, so how could such a thing be his turn?

This is also why he finally agreed to come despite his instinctive resistance. He knew it was just about finding ordinary people to accompany him; he was just here to eat, drink, and have fun.

"Strange, these places look more and more familiar the more I look at them?"

The more Zhang Youren looked at it, the stranger his expression became. He quickly shook his head to shake those unrealistic thoughts out of his mind.

Suddenly, he saw that outside the Tongming Hall, besides himself and the heavenly soldiers, there was a man who looked to be in his thirties on the other side of the gate. He had a handsome appearance, a righteous face, and was dressed in a simple, patched cloth robe that was even more plain than his own.

It seems he's also a candidate for the Heavenly Emperor... Zhang Youren's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but feel a desire to befriend him. He put his hand to his mouth and tried to lower his voice as much as possible, saying, "Brother, were you also recruited by them to run for the Heavenly Emperor?"

These are all candidates for the Heavenly Emperor, meaning the Heavenly Emperor will choose from among them. It wouldn't hurt to get to know them.

The man looked at him with some surprise, then nodded and said, "I am from the Great Qian Kingdom, Ning Zhe. May I ask where you are from, and what your name is?"

Zhang Youren paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Unyielding? Very well, I have long admired your name in the Great Qian Kingdom. I am Zhang Youren from Zhangjiawan."

"Zhangjiawan...disrespect, disrespect!"

Ning Zhe also politely cupped his hands and smiled.

After exchanging greetings, the two began to frown and ponder, trying to recall where Zhangjiawan and the Great Qian Kingdom were located, that such a talented candidate for the Heavenly Emperor could have emerged from there.

After pondering for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Ning Zhe changed the subject, asking, "I wonder how Brother Zhang was chosen?"

Zhang Youren paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I was originally the chieftain of Zhangjiawan. A few days ago, a beggar came to the village. I took pity on him, gave him food, and took him in. But he told me he was a deity. He was impressed by my ability to govern the village and wanted to nominate me as a candidate for the Heavenly Emperor..."

"I see."

Ning Zhe chuckled deliberately and said, "That shows that Brother Zhang is indeed exceptional in governance."

"Forget it!" Zhang Youren waved his hand: "What governance ability do I have? To put it bluntly, it's all thanks to God's blessing. With favorable weather and abundant harvests, every family has a good harvest and every household is prosperous. Naturally, every household in the mountain village can live in peace and contentment. What about you, Brother Ning?"

As Zhang Youren recounted his story, Ning Zhe's eyes gleamed with a sharp light. He said, "My experience is quite similar to Brother Zhang's. I was originally the Prime Minister of the Great Qian Kingdom."

Prime Minister… Zhang Youren’s pupils contracted, his lips twitched, and his imposing manner instantly diminished by three points. He forced a dry laugh and said, “So you were once a high-ranking official like Prime Minister, brother. My apologies for my lack of respect.”

If you weren't a brother, you should have said so earlier. If you had, I wouldn't have revealed my insignificant identity as a bandit leader.

The first one is the prime minister. Who knows what other amazing figures will appear next? Why should a bandit leader like him compete with these people?

He knew that his arrival in Heaven was just a source of amusement for others. Was the Kunzhong Divine General and Taibai Jinxing sure they weren't playing a trick on him?

Ning Zhe, seeing Zhang Youren's shock, revealed a hint of satisfaction and said, "I have devoted myself to the Great Qian Kingdom and have finally achieved some success in governing the country. However, a few days ago, the king, under the influence of a sorcerer, embarked on a massive construction project to build a Taoist palace. I remonstrated with him to the death, but angered the king and was sentenced to death. I was saved by a deity at the execution ground..."

Zhang Youren smiled and said, "Brother Ning is an upright and honest official, and I admire him greatly."

"It's nothing more than a few insignificant achievements."

Ning Zhe smiled slightly, a glint in his eyes: "Without leaving my hometown, I didn't know how vast the country was; without leaving the Great Qian Dynasty, I didn't know how immense the primordial world was. This election for the position of Heavenly Emperor will surely gather the most outstanding people in the primordial world, so we must prepare early."

Zhang Youren shook his head and said, "I'm just a big fool who was dragged here to make up the numbers. I never thought about the Heavenly Emperor or anything like that, and I have no interest in it. If I can get some food and drink from the gods in the Heavenly Realm, then this trip will not have been in vain. It would be even better if I could bring some back to my wife and children."

Ning Zhe paused for a moment, then stared at Zhang Youren meaningfully and said, "Brother Zhang is really humorous. I don't believe you're not interested in the Heavenly Emperor's throne."

Zhang Youren laughed and said, "I can't help it if you don't believe me, but Brother Ning, if you become the Heavenly Emperor, cough cough cough, could you send me some heavenly delicacies to take home for my wife and children?"

Ning Zhe laughed heartily: "Alright, if I'm really lucky enough to have that kind of luck, I'll definitely let Brother Zhang's family eat until they're sick of it."

Zhang Youren was overjoyed and said, "Great, it's settled then!"

Leaving aside Zhang's expansion of his social circle,

At this moment, inside the Tongming Hall, Venus and the Kunzhong Divine General began to report to the White Emperor: "We previously received the White Emperor's decree to search for candidates for the Heavenly Emperor. Today, we have found the candidates, who are waiting outside the Tongming Hall. We have come to report to the Emperor."

The White Emperor nodded slightly: "You two immortals have had a long journey."

Venus and the Kunzhong Divine General hurriedly said they dared not, as they had been away for three years, but in the heavens it was only three days.

Then, Venus began to report to the White Emperor about the changes in the Four Seas Demon-Sealing Cave.

Actually, he didn't need to say anything more. At this moment, apart from Ao Shun, the Dragon King of the North Sea, Ao Guang, Ao Qin, and Ao Run had all come to the Tongming Hall to complain.

"What a monstrous, earth-shattering dragon demon king..." The White Emperor pondered in silence.

Ao Run angrily said, "Reporting to the White Emperor, this demon destroyed the Demon-Sealing Cave and released thousands of evil spirits. If it weren't for the help of Jade Cauldron Immortal and the Western Sect Immortal, the consequences would have been unimaginable. We should send troops to capture and behead this demon as a warning to others."

No wonder he was so angry this time; the losses to his Western Sea were too great. Especially after learning that the Dragon Palaces of the East and South Seas were intact, he was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

Therefore, even if the Overturning Sea Dragon were Ao Shun's illegitimate son, he would still have to put righteousness above family ties.

Ao Guang and Ao Qin exchanged a glance, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we second that proposal!"

The immortals in the hall had different expressions as they watched the performance of the three Dragon Kings, but none of them could help but feel schadenfreude.

A celestial being laughed and said, "Hey, Dragon King of the West Sea, we know your West Sea Dragon Palace is destroyed, but don't get so angry. Just build another one."

Another added, "That's right, that's right, it's not like our Heavenly Court hasn't experienced something like this before."

Ao Run roared, "You...you all shut up!"

Then he bowed deeply to the White Emperor: "Please, White Emperor, do justice for Little Dragon."

The White Emperor glanced at the three Ao brothers and asked, "Taibai, what do you think of this matter?"

Venus smiled bitterly and said, "Reporting to the White Emperor, the Jiao Demon King has already gained power and is now mixed up with the Peng Demon King. I'm afraid it will be difficult to subdue him."

The White Emperor suddenly noticed Yu Ding, who seemed to be looking down at his nose and contemplating his own thoughts, in the crowd, and asked, "What do you think, Immortal Yu Ding?"

Yu Ding coughed lightly: "The Heavenly Court is currently weak and its generals are few. The gods of the Zhou Tian have not yet returned to their positions. In my opinion, it is not advisable to start another war for the time being."

The White Emperor was only brought in to save the day and didn't want to deal with these messy affairs. Now that the election for the new Heavenly Emperor is imminent, he naturally can't be bothered with them anymore and will leave these kinds of troubles to the next one.

“Immortal Yu Ding is right. Let’s put this matter aside for now and discuss it again after the new Heavenly Emperor and the gods have returned to their positions.”

The White Emperor pointed to a precious cauldron on the table and said, "I see that the immortals who were searching for candidates for the Heavenly Emperor have all returned. So, I will put the candidates you have found here. Jade Cauldron Immortal, please stay and witness the ceremony!"

Yu Ding bowed deeply and said, "May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings!"

At that moment, ten spirit mediums came out and each took out a plaque with their name on it and put it in, thus summoning all the candidates in.

then……

Zhang Youren was astonished to find that among the candidates who came in together, only he and Ning Zhe were present.

The White Emperor gestured to the spirit official, who immediately took out a plaque, glanced at it, and loudly proclaimed, "Zhangjiawan, Zhang Youren, one vote!"

Yu Ding smiled and nodded to Zhang Youren, indicating that he should not be nervous.

The official then took out another plaque and said, "Great Qian Kingdom, Ning Zhe, one vote!"

After the spirit official finished looking at the third plaque, he glanced at the jade cauldron with a strange look in his eyes.

Yu Ding's eyelids twitched at this sight, and then he heard the spirit official continue, "Phoenix Mountain, Long Ji, one vote!"

No... Longji?
Upon hearing this name, the expressions of all the immortals, including the two candidates Zhang Youren and Ning Zhe, immediately changed. Even the White Emperor looked at the Jade Cauldron with a strange expression.

Who is Longji?

Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West, what's going on? Is the Heavenly Court really a private property? The father leaves and the daughter inherits the family business?

No wonder the Heavenly Court had to come and join in the fun when they were choosing the Heavenly Emperor, Jade Cauldron Immortal. Who would believe that Jade Cauldron wasn't involved as the master?

Do you believe it?
I do not believe!
This girl actually participated in the election for Heavenly Emperor... Yu Ding was experiencing what it meant to be the center of attention, but he wished he could disappear into the ground.

Even he wouldn't believe that his master wasn't behind this. He should have known better than to tell that girl the story of the Empress!
Boo!
At that moment, with the cry of a divine bird, a figure walked out from outside the Tongming Hall. His black hair was flying, his white clothes were as white as snow, and his body was shrouded in a hazy fairy light.

"Longji... Your Highness?" The immortals' expressions were somewhat complicated.

They never imagined that the once useless prince would have transformed to this extent.

Venus looked at the newcomer and then at Zhang Youren, who was looking astonished, and could only shake his head and smile bitterly.

A father and daughter vying for the throne?

Now he didn't know how to handle the situation.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Li Jing was dumbfounded. This Brother Yuan Hong hadn't mentioned that his junior sister was also vying for the Heavenly Emperor title.

A master and disciple vie for the throne?

That's why they say man proposes, God disposes. Li Jing covered his face with his hand, not daring to even think about how things would unfold.

"Everyone, do you think I am capable of being the Heavenly Emperor?" Longji scanned the room.

She knew that greeting her master at this moment would embarrass Yu Ding, so she did not greet him.

As soon as she finished speaking, the civil and military immortals in the hall looked at each other in dismay, and the silence was so profound that a pin drop could be heard.

Of course, they can't say they can do something this important, right? But they also wouldn't dare say they can't.

As for the reason... those who know, know!