Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Zichuan, why do you seem a bit unhappy?" Liu Bei asked with a smile. He had stood in front of Chen Xi earlier, and at the moment of Chen Xi's fortune manifestation, he indeed felt a surge of power, which was instantly neutralized afterward.

Thus, Liu Bei could clearly see the fortune manifestation of his senior ministers, except for Li Youu, who was said to be a secretary but was actually used by Liu Bei for various things. The fortunes of others seemed almost on the same level, but Zhuge Liang was distinctly different from the rest.

In fact, Liu Bei also saw Qu Qi's fortune manifestation, but he wasn't as surprised by Qu Qi as he was by Zhuge Liang because Qu Qi's claim of producing over five dou per mu, if true, deserved temple worship, and having that fortune was justified.

As for Zhuge Liang, he greatly exceeded Liu Bei's expectations. Although Liu Bei admitted that Zhuge Liang had the talents of a prime minister and trained him towards that direction, Liu Bei always thought of Zhuge Liang as a more stable version of Fa Zheng.

Fa Zheng's personality was capricious, sometimes flamboyant, but Liu Bei highly recognized Fa Zheng's capabilities, especially during the battles of Yuzhou and Xuzhou, which left Liu Bei in awe. Therefore, Liu Bei had a high regard for Zhuge Liang but compared him to Fa Zheng, granting him a 1.01 Fa Zheng rating.

The meaning being Liu Bei considered Zhuge Liang more useful than Fa Zheng but not significantly so, yet Zhuge Liang was indeed stable.

With the awakening of Chen Xi's fortune, everyone was exposed, except for Li Youu, who in Liu Bei's view was constantly hiding his skills, while the rest could be instantly assessed by Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang was a rare talent, Zhao Yun could be a pillar of the nation—this was what Liu Bei confirmed during the fortune manifestation, and of course, Chen Xi's big sleepy white fox, Liu Bei could only chuckle at, thinking how typical of Chen Xi.

"Alright, during this festive season, I am very happy," Chen Xi said with a serious face, showing no sign of happiness whatsoever.

"The numerous streaks of flowing light that just flew out, they must be the predetermined fortunes of each," Liu Ye looked up to the sky and said, "Surely it is the Human Cauldron, Wen Ru, what do you think?"

"The Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons each have their mysteries, so the Human Cauldron possessing such abilities isn't surprising," Li Youu said helplessly. Digging a pit and ending up burying himself, everyone must have thought he was hiding his skills, while his fortune manifestation showed an ancient sage that looked like himself!

[Ziyang's nonsense seems reasonable now that I think about it; Wen Ru might really be Zichuan's senior brother. Looks like I should focus more on Wen Ru's side for political affairs, no wonder Wen Ru has as much free time as Zichuan.]

Liu Bei quietly decided to make more use of Li Youu's talents, not using such a great asset would be a waste of resources.

However, when thinking about wasting resources, Liu Bei couldn't help but recall Chen Xi, that large, white, lazily resting Nine-Tailed White Fox, Chen Zichuan, have you been boycotting work all this time?

Even though the size and image of a fortune manifestation do not entirely reflect one's capabilities, those with innate talents but not the opportunity to expand will have a small fortune manifestation, while those sitting on their laurels with heavenly blessings will surely have a substantial fortune manifestation.

But for everyone present who relied entirely on their abilities to achieve their fate and fortune, the manifested fortunes almost equated to their potential and capabilities.

Hence, looking directly at the fortune manifestation can reveal personal strength, with Chen Xi and Li Youu excluded, Jia Xu and Guo Jia are truly top-notch, yet both of these bastards managed to sneak away.

Since Liu Bei stood in the forefront, he saw everything clearly when Chen Xi's fortune manifested, initially thinking that apart from Chen Xi and Li Youu cheating, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Fa Zheng, Xu Shu, Lub Su might be evenly matched.

But that fleeting moment made Liu Bei realize Jia Xu and Guo Jia were also coasting along while the other four couldn't withstand Chen Xi's pressure, with Jia Xu and Guo Jia slipping away instead of losing grip.

At that moment, Liu Bei only felt heartbroken, finally understanding what Chen Xi meant by saying friends are simply birds of the same feather—these four bastards were all slacking off!

The difference being Chen Xi is professionally slacking, putting in thirty percent effort, Li Youu pretending to be very diligent but spending half his energy loafing, while Jia Xu and Guo Jia with thirty percent.

[These four fellows, I'll increase your workload later!] Liu Bei bitterly resolved, anyone seeing such a display of their ministers would likely be fuming inside.

Li Youu wanted to explain that though he was hiding his skills, not to the exaggerated extent they thought, but how could he explain? Saying the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons are fake, regardless of anyone believing, aren't you aware it's a huge political asset?

[Done for, life's not going to be this easy anymore.] Jia Xu smiled wryly; he and Guo Jia couldn't be expelled, both are at their peak. Though not as exaggerated as Li Youu's instant manifestation, they weren't like Liu Ye and others getting flung by Chen Xi's fortunes.

The reason for acting similarly to Liu Ye and others was that Jia Xu and Guo Jia chose not to reveal their exceptional talent, speaking to the awful quality of Cao's Five Plotters.

However, after being thrown out, Jia Xu and Guo Jia realized Liu Bei wasn't cast away and understood their pleasant lives were over, looking at Li Youu, their pain momentarily diminished; happiness sure thrives on others' suffering.

Liu Bei didn't stare long at Jia Xu and Guo Jia, yet that meaningful glance conveyed countless issues.

"So it ejected over a hundred streaks?" Chen Xi turned towards Mi Zhu and Qu Qi, ignoring Mi Zhu for now, according to history, Qu Qi shouldn't possess a fortune comparable to the sages since he should be dead by now.

"Seems these hundred or so Human Cauldron fortunes approximate the number of current Central Plains prominent figures," Chen Xi pondered slightly and said.

"It likely is so, but now it seems our advantage is considerable; everyone present is at least recognized by the Ancient Divine Artifact as a noteworthy figure," Liu Bei said with a smile, giving everyone present a flattering remark.

"Actually, aside from personal fortune manifestations, I am more curious why these fortunes flew away; isn't that just causing us trouble?" Chen Xi said irritably; even Nine-Tailed White Fox was rather unlikable, even if an Auspicious Beast.

"Zichuan, better not say such things blindly," Liu Bei quickly restrained him. Sometimes, Chen Xi speaks without filtering, but thinking about such a pile of fortune, something lethal to ordinary folks may not mean much to him.

"From chaos to order, how can a new system be erected without dismantling the old, no break, no formation," Xu Shu walked over laughing and said. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)