Inside the Landlord's cabin at Cloud Summit in Black Cage Fortress.
Scholar, Coachman, and Xing Tao had already left. Only Guo Caier remained, kneeling on the floor.
In the dimly lit living room, the Landlord sat on a battered chair and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Little girl, how talented do you think you are?"
Guo Caier lowered her head. Unable to fathom what this important figure meant, she could only feign modesty. "In the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, the Mystical Ability I received shouldn't be weaker than Prince Huai's. But in the Real World, I'm mediocre, ordinary."
The Landlord rubbed his eyes with his grease-caked hand. "Then why do you think I gave you the Entry Token for Qingliang Prefecture and let you compete for such an important Star Gate inheritance?"
Guo Caier froze briefly, then slowly shook her head. "Mr. He approached Xing Tao and me. He said we'd performed well before and still had no Class Inheritance, so he rewarded us with tokens to enter Qingliang Prefecture and compete."
"Heh. To the people who live here, that performance you call good isn't worth a damn." The Landlord shook his head, pointed at Guo Caier, and said softly, "Two weeks before you entered the Star Gate, another woman knelt exactly where you're kneeling now. She completed an important mission brilliantly and brought back a very important piece of news."
Guo Caier's heart trembled at his words.
"I was very satisfied with her performance, and very happy, so I asked her what reward she wanted." The Landlord selected a key from a bunch, then rose and walked toward Guo Caier. "Very nervously, she told me... she wanted a chance for her daughter and Xing Tao."
Guo Caier raised her head, dumbstruck.
"I asked her why. I could understand