Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

On the single-plank bridge.

Zhao Yibing moved with grace and composure, her voice like pearls falling onto a dish:

"Your examination area is surrounded by a huge mana barrier, which constantly monitors the condition of every examinee."

"It took me some effort to set up a technique that could shield us from the mana barrier."

Whoosh——

A fierce wind burst forth from her, raising billows of dust.

A strong ominous atmosphere filled the surroundings.

The strange creatures lingering in the water did not dare to stay, all fleeing in a panic.

Shen Ye's complexion changed as well.

At this moment.

Above Zhao Yibing's head appeared a line of Evaluation Entry:

"Master of Weeping Demon Prison, Stealer of the World, Cursed Spirit King, who commands all spirits to fall into depravity."

"This Evaluation Entry must not be spoken aloud, lest mortals who hear embed it into their memories, succumb to its lure, and ultimately veer off their destined path."

"Experiencing a bodily rejection reaction."

"This entity residing within the body of this mortal, needs more blood and souls in this world to unlock greater powers."

Shen Ye was about to break out in a cold sweat.

That powerful?

There was no room for a fight at all.

Zhao Yibing's feet slightly left the ground as she floated in mid-air.

"Now we can calmly put an end to this, what do you think?"

She spoke leisurely.

At her side, The Skinner "swooshed" out a dagger and shouted:

"Aren't you going to accept your death?"

Shen Ye "swooshed" out a cellphone, and followed suit, shouting:

"Tell me, what exactly are you?"

The two opposite him looked over together.

Shen Ye declared loudly:

"Look at your own cellphones—there's a signal."

The Skinner had a strange expression, he pulled out his own phone and took a look; indeed, there was a signal.

Zhao Yibing chuckled, shaking her head:

"So naive—the little technological gadget, I could destroy it with a flick of my hand."

"But you don't know, our cellphones are backed up in real-time," Shen Ye said.

"Real-time backup?" Zhao Yibing said.

"As it's recording, it uploads to the 'cloud'. Even if you destroy the cellphone, the content is still stored in the 'cloud'," Shen Ye said.

"Cloud?" Zhao Yibing still did not understand.

Shen Ye did not know how to explain and looked towards The Skinner.

The Skinner took over, "Put simply, cloud storage is an online data storage model where data is stored on multiple virtual servers usually hosted by third parties, rather than on dedicated servers."

"This avoids the issue of data loss when cellphones are damaged because people can recover data from the cloud at any time," Shen Ye said.

"So as long as we make a move, others can retrieve and see what happens here from the cloud," The Skinner said.

"You explained it perfectly, that's exactly it!" Shen Ye said.

He nodded slightly toward The Skinner.

The Skinner seemed to want to nod back, but Zhao Yibing gave him a cold glance.

"Why are you looking at him—our hearts involuntarily understand each other, cherishing each other," Shen Ye said.

The video began to record.

Zhao Yibing snorted with laughter, her killing intent subsiding once more, and she said lazily:

"I was just teasing you; I really planned to make a move to directly kill you."

"But I particularly admire the evil within you humans."

"Guess—"

"Can your video get out?"

Shen Ye was also somewhat nervous.

The other party had such great power, yet ignored the body's rejection reaction and immediately came after him.

Could it be...

It was really because of that cursed statue?

But now that she had found him, she was not making a move.

What's wrong with her!

Shen Ye clicked on the video, then on send.

The video didn't move.

Although the cellphone had a signal, it was not working.

He tried calling.

Useless too.

...How did she know?

Across from him.

Zhao Yibing had a meaningful look, tilting her head, quietly watching her prey.

—To kill him?

No.

To see a human being harmed by their kin's malevolence and ultimately fall into depravity was her favorite spectacle.

The fallen were her subjects, never escaping the palm of her hand.

And in this world, she needed some subjects.

She needed more subordinates, to establish a church, to develop faith, to collect believers.

The Skinner was one of them.

His daughter died at the hands of the powerful, she helped him take revenge, and she obtained his soul.

What about this youth?

The curse of the King of Ten Thousand Fallen Evil Spirits had generated a new ability within him.

To strip away the curse, though it would cause all strength to return to the origin, meant the loss of that ability.

That ability...

It must be of the World Link Type.

Extremely rare.

If the youth worked for her, wouldn't it be as if she had acquired that new ability?

When his soul belonged to her—

To kill him, torture him, exploit him, all would be as easy as turning the palm of her hand.

"I must be frank, I was planning to further activate this Dharma Realm," Zhao Yibing said, dignified, exuding a commanding presence.

She floated in mid-air, looking down at Shen Ye:

"But as soon as I made a move, I noticed something."

"—Shen Ye, your humans have already activated the Dharma Realm, specifically setting up such a challenge for you."

"So you can't blame me."

Shen Ye sneered, "Do you think I'd believe that?"

The Skinner shouted, "If the august one truly wanted to deal with you, you would already be dead."

Shen Ye was about to retort when a scene suddenly crossed his mind.

That moment in the banquet hall.

The bigwigs silently watching him.

Everything seemed to be under their control.

And now there wasn't even a cell phone signal.

Damn it.

It seemed that what Zhao Yibing said made some sense.

She was blasted away last time.

With her ability, at most she only needed to deal with being "blasted away" to confidently kill me.

There was absolutely no need for any roundabout schemes!

"Why didn't you make your move?" Shen Ye simply asked directly.

Zhao Yibing was about to speak when she suddenly closed her mouth again.

Boom—

The left wall suddenly broke open.

A beautiful person with long hair cascading over their shoulders elegantly arrived, landing in the midst of the two groups of people.

A girl?

Shen Ye looked toward the person.

No.

It was a man, just one who was exceedingly handsome and delicate!

Nangong Sirui!

He was dressed in a full set of black combat leather armor, with a Jade Flute at his waist and a silver spear on his back, with a dashing and valiant appearance.

"What's the situation here?" Nangong Sirui asked indifferently.

"Fighting, none of your business, beat it." Shen Ye said.

"Oh? You're fighting? It's fine, as long as you don't disrupt my examination, I couldn't care less about you." Nangong Sirui said casually.

Boom—

Another loud noise.

The right wall also broke open.

A delicate-looking young girl appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Sirui brother!"

As soon as she saw Nangong Sirui, her eyes lit up.

Then she looked again.

There were other people here.

—These people were odd, with two on the bridge showing deadly intent, and one under the bridge holding up a cell phone to record.

None of them looked like serious exam candidates.

At that moment, everyone sensed the playing cards on them vibrating.

Everyone took out their cards to look.

A new prompt had already appeared:

"On this path, you have encountered a log bridge."

"Only one person can cross this bridge at a time, and it can only be used again after 10 minutes."

Only one person can cross?

If we delay here for 10 minutes and the people behind us catch up, won't there be a struggle?

"Hmph, you're telling me to scram?"

Nangong Sirui asked.

"Yes, scram, this is the path I found." Shen Ye said.

Nangong Sirui tossed his long hair, his face cold as he said:

"Fine then—I disdain to walk the path you've found. I will find a new passage and reach the next stage."

After speaking, his physique shook and, like a great roc spreading its wings, he flew back through the broken wall and soon disappeared into the distance.

His speed was so fast, it seemed like he was desperately fleeing.

"Wait for me, Sirui brother!"

The girl hurriedly chased after him.

The sudden appearance and quick departure of the two did not provoke anyone to make a move.

Zhao Yibing simply watched Shen Ye, and said slowly:

"Shen Ye, I won't attack you now."

"Why?" Shen Ye couldn't help asking.

He was still holding his cell phone, recording everything that was happening.

Zhao Yibing began to speak:

"When humans commit evil, even the gods keep their distance."

"—But Shen Ye, I can save you from such evil."

She glanced at The Skinner.

The Skinner crawled on the ground, saying devoutly, "Oh great being, I swear, I actually bear no resentment towards Shen Ye."

"On the contrary, because of this incident with him, I've created a great piece of art, and found my next beautiful prey."

"—I am grateful to him."

"Oh? And how do you plan to show your gratitude?" Zhao Yibing asked.

"I have prepared a little gift for him," The Skinner said.

"What is it?" Zhao Yibing asked again.

"It's Yunshan Port," The Skinner said in a low voice: "—Three cargo ships, the hold of each filled with bombs. Just one explosion, and the entire port will be doomed."

"Yunshan Port will sink into the sea, and every mortal on the island will die."

"The examination will be immediately suspended."

"Brother Shen Ye, you won't be eliminated because, in the event of such a huge explosion, everything has to start over, including the examination."

"The examination will become more stringent, and no one will be able to secretly make things difficult for you."

He raised his head, his murky eyes slowly watching Shen Ye, his face showing genuine goodwill.

"Why are you doing this? Do you think I need such help?" Shen Ye said.

The Skinner smiled faintly:

"We actually have a lot in common."

"All those big shots deserve to die."

"—When my daughter was tormented by them, I knew it, and later, under the protection of the gods, I killed all of them."

"Brother Shen Ye, just give the word today, and I'll blow up that bomb right away."

"I'll take this grudge off your chest."

"No need," Shen Ye said.

"Why not?" The Skinner asked.

"It's always been you talking; maybe this examination isn't like you've described, and nobody has meddled with it, right?" Shen Ye said.

Zhao Yibing smiled, stepped to the side, and said slowly:

"How about I make a bet with you?"

"What's the bet?" Shen Ye asked.

Zhao Yibing said, "There's another assessment coming up, it's the strongest challenge within this Dharma Realm. I bet you absolutely can't pass it."

"And if I do pass it?" Shen Ye asked.

"Then it proves those people haven't made things difficult for you, that I was wrong, and we'll call off this incident; we'll have future meetings," Zhao Yibing said.

She stared at Shen Ye, her words pregnant with deeper meaning as she continued, "But if you don't pass it..."

"What then?" Shen Ye asked.

"Come with me; I will cultivate you properly and make you my right hand," Zhao Yibing said.

No sooner had her words fallen.

Shen Ye suddenly saw rows of faintly glowing text appear before his eyes:

"The bet with the Master of the Demon Prison has been established."