Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

"After all, you are the inheritor of the Under the Moon Series,"

A jolt went through Shen Ye's heart.

Not only did the Human Figure know about the Frosty Moon Shocking Sky, but it also knew about the Under the Moon Series, and even which Sect the Under the Moon Series needed to go to!

"Hey, big brother," he hurriedly asked, "what is the Under the Moon Series all about, and why does even other worlds have the Under the Moon Series?"

The Human Figure suddenly shut its mouth.

Clang——

A sword mark appeared from head to tail, splitting it in two halves, which fell to the ground.

It stopped moving completely.

Shen Ye was stunned for a moment, then he sighed.

What a pity.

Some things were left unasked before it died.

Mu Tou slowly rolled over, coming to rest beside his foot, and began to emit a faint glow.

The next second.

The Water Dragon in mid-air, as if sensing something, swooped down, bit the piece of wood, and once again flew into the air.

It began to circle around the entire arena incessantly.

The Unicorn Skeleton Python also landed in front of Shen Ye, coiling into a circle, surrounding him.

"Damn it, I wasn't of much help," it said somewhat sullenly.

"You did well. Without you, I would've had no chance against the Human Figure's summoned Water Dragon," Shen Ye comforted.

The Unicorn Skeleton Python cheered up and asked, "What about the Water Dragon?"

"I don't know—look, that wood seems to be drawing power from the void," Shen Ye said.

Both the man and the python looked up.

Endless streams of water emerged from the void, all flowing into the wood.

Suddenly, the wood sprouted lush green leaves.

It became more vibrant!

The Water Dragon, with the wood in its mouth, swam through the air, and its body gradually grew lifelike fur, scales, flesh, sharp claws, and eyes.

Mist clung to its surroundings.

It was turning into a real Flying Dragon!

"Hey, it's not going to fight us, right?" the Single-Horned Skeletal Snake said apprehensively.

Shen Ye was also uncertain, and he pondered, "It shouldn't, the Human Figure had just finished analyzing the different colleges for me, it doesn't seem like we're supposed to fight again."

The void flickered.

A black stele suddenly appeared above the arena.

Zhao Yibing stood atop the black stele, her expression oddly fixed on Shen Ye, then turning to the undulating Water Dragon above the arena.

The Skinner lay prostrate at her feet.

No sooner had the Water Dragon looked at her than it let out a long dragon's roar from its mouth.

"…Truly an annoying creature,"

Zhao Yibing frowned and said.

Shen Ye quickly spoke, "Hey, I won the bet."

"Indeed—you should know that you've been tricked by someone, right?" Zhao Yibing said.

Shen Ye fell silent.

Obviously, he couldn't deny it.

Zhao Yibing continued to watch the Flying Dragon, and the dragon kept its eyes firmly locked on her, too.

At a certain moment.

Zhao Yibing seemed to have made a decision.

"Alright," she said with great reluctance, "you've won this round, I won't bother you today."

"As a reward, I'll tell you something, Shen Ye."

She finally stopped looking at the dragon, her gaze now on Shen Ye:

"I have only recently come to your world and discovered this secret, now I'm sharing it with you."

"—Your world is finished."

"Shen Ye, come to my side. At the time of world's destruction, I will protect your spirit and spare you from difficulty."

Shen Ye said, "I don't know whether what you are saying is true or not, but I know one thing—I won the bet."

Zhao Yibing sighed, shook her head and said, "It seems you don't understand, everything I've said is true."

"Then farewell, Shen Ye."

"—I will come to gamble with you again."

"I won't gamble with you again," Shen Ye immediately said.

Zhao Yibing looked at him.

Shen Ye shrugged and said, "Unless you force me to."

"Divine beings never force mortals—it's the mortals themselves who force each other," Zhao Yibing said.

"You won't force me? Good, then I really won't gamble with you again," Shen Ye said.

Zhao Yibing smiled, her coral lips parting slightly, and uttered two words:

"Secret List."

Shen Ye looked at her, puzzled.

The Skinner continued, "All traces have been erased, except for the two parties involved."

"What are you talking about?" Shen Ye didn't understand.

"I received a mission to kill you, and then I killed your friend, I killed Xiao Mengyu's brother, and tens of thousands of people in that district—I killed them all—this is allowed by the people on the list," The Skinner said.

"There's someone on the list who tempted Zhao Yibing, so Zhao Yibing also died," Zhao Yibing touched her smooth neck.

—Any sign of the cut had long since vanished.

But the real girl was no longer there.

Standing here was the Master of the Weeping Demon Prison.

"We are the butchers' knives, but I guess you're more interested in those holding the knives," The Skinner said.

"I have that list in my hands," Zhao Yibing rested her chin on her hand and looked at Shen Ye.

A change came over Shen Ye's whole demeanor.

"Heh."

He began to laugh and said:

"Divine beings never force mortals—it's the mortals themselves who force each other."

These were Zhao Yibing's words.

Yet at this moment, he repeated them again.

Zhao Yibing listened quietly, then softly said:

"Do you want to get that list? Gamble with me once more, and you'll have a chance to get it."

"Of course, the choice is yours—you can completely forget about those people being killed before, there's no need to take the risk and just live out your life peacefully."

"So, will you gamble or not?"

"How do you want to gamble?" asked Shen Ye.

"Then, our next gamble will be this—" Zhao Yibing said.

She put her foot on The Skinner's head, gesturing with her eyes to Shen Ye:

"As a divine being, my bets are often fairer than those of you humans, so in the not too distant future, my servant will come to find you."

"—You two will have a duel."

"If you win, the list will be handed over to you."

"But if you happen to lose to my servant, your soul will belong to me."

"Dare you play the game?"

Shen Ye's gaze fell on The Skinner.

The Skinner also watched him, as if regarding a fresh ingredient.

"Let's play then, but remember, your wager is that list," Shen Ye said.

Zhao Yibing smiled sweetly.

"Deal!"

As the words fell,

lines of faintly glowing small characters immediately appeared before Shen Ye's eyes:

"This gamble is a technique transformed from the opponent's fundamental divine power. You were originally unable to resist it or decline, you could only proceed according to the content of the gamble."

"But you have already won a round, and the chip in your hand is 'spare your life'. Therefore, the Master of the Weeping Demon Prison must obtain your consent before establishing another gamble."

"The content of the new gamble is as follows:"

"In seven days, you will duel with The Skinner."

"If you win, The Skinner will hand over to you the list of people who hired him to kill you."

"If you lose, your soul will belong to the Master of the Weeping Demon Prison."

"This gamble has been recognized by you and the Master of the Weeping Demon Prison."

"The gamble is established!"

"——From the most inconsequential chip to selling your own soul, this is her style of doing things."

The void flickered.

Shen Ye found that seven crimson vertical lines had appeared on his palm.

One line for each day.

In seven days.

A one-on-one duel to decide the winner.

"I look forward to that day, goodbye."

Zhao Yibing, completely satisfied, disappeared from Shen Ye's sight along with the stele.

The Water Dragon immediately descended.

It exuded an authoritative aura that Shen Ye had never felt before, and a dense mass of runes kept appearing in the void around it, flickering into existence and vanishing, radiating dazzling light.

"She doesn't dare make a move on you here."

The Water Dragon spoke in human tongue, "You have passed the test, the blessing of the Dharma Realm has descended upon you, and since she lost the gamble, if she still tries to force anything, she will definitely suffer the blow of the entire world."

"The blow of the entire world... what does that mean?" asked Shen Ye.

"You will understand later. For now, finish the entire ritual," said the Water Dragon.

Shen Ye sighed in his heart.

Actually, the Water Dragon couldn't protect him.

After all, it was clearly activated due to special circumstances and could only be effective here.

And one thing was very clear to Shen Ye.

What would a psychologically dark human do if he found that he couldn't take away a toy that interested him—

How would he treat that toy?

Not to mention that the other party is a Demon God!

Zhao Yibing's resident Demon God possessed such an Evaluation Entry; if Shen Ye stepped out of the "gamble" category, then it would not need to follow the rules of the "gamble."

Even its servant, The Skinner, was probably not easy to deal with, let alone its true self?

With its power, if it wanted to target Shen Ye by any means necessary...

Then Shen Ye's best option was to first buy time, thereby looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

...

Elsewhere.

Xiao Mengyu stood in the hall, observing the joyous expressions of the surrounding candidates, her expression somewhat bewildered.

That's not right.

He...

With his strength, could he really not pass this exam?

As Xiao Mengyu pondered, she suddenly reached out and grabbed a candidate, asking, "Have you seen Shen Ye?"

"No," replied that candidate.

Xiao Mengyu let him go, then asked several more candidates, all with the same response.

Suddenly, she spotted Guo Yunye and Zhang Xiaoyi amidst the crowd.

"Have you seen Shen Ye?"

They shook their heads together, their faces showing surprise.

"Can it be? Shen Ye is very strong; how could he not have come out?" Zhang Xiaoyi couldn't help but ask.

A voice suddenly intervened:

"Don't bother looking for him."

Xiao Mengyu turned her head to see that it was a Clan Young Master from the banquet before.

Not just him.

Several Clan Young Masters slowly approached Xiao Mengyu, their faces showing enigmatic expressions.

"Have you seen him?" asked Xiao Mengyu.

"He has already been eliminated," said one Clan Young Master with a laugh, "All that pretty talk, and he can't even get through the threshold of the Three Great Colleges - tsk tsk, really quite laughable."

Xiao Mengyu was at a loss for words.

Zhang Xiaoyi's face was filled with anger, but he too was speechless.

"What right do you have to mock him?" Guo Yunye, however, spoke up directly.

One Clan Young Master waved his hand, pointing at himself, "I won, get it? The person going to the Three Great Colleges is me, he's been eliminated—that's my right to mock him."

Atop the high platform.

The leading judge from Azure Academy stood up and announced loudly,

"Now I declare, the results of the joint examination by the three colleges are out. The students whose names are called, please come to me to prepare for entry into Azure Academy."

"Wait a minute!" Xiao Mengyu suddenly shouted.

Everyone looked at her.

"Shen Ye still hasn't come out, there must be a problem," she asserted seriously.

The Clan Young Masters burst into loud laughter.

Others also murmured among themselves.

The judge from Azure Academy was watching her with a meaningful expression, saying slowly,

"Xiao Mengyu, you've always been excellent, and Azure Academy welcomes you to join us, but—"

"I hope your brain can match your strength."

"This is a suggestion, as well as a warning."

Someone laughed out loud, "To think that this test, facing the whole world, was designed just for that big talker? She's gone mad!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the top ranker is a madwoman!"

The crowd's murmuring grew louder.

Suddenly,

another voice spoke up:

"I've seen Shen Ye."

Hope sprang in Xiao Mengyu's eyes, and she immediately turned towards the voice.

To her surprise, the speaker was Nangong Sirui!

Nangong Sirui stepped forward and saluted towards the judges on the high platform, "Honorable judges, I have a report to make."

"Speak," the judge from Azure Academy said softly, looking at him.

"During the final phase of the examination, I saw Shen Ye..."

Nangong Sirui went on to relate what he had witnessed.

"Therefore, with my Dharma Eye I can clearly see that the being that infiltrated among the candidates is definitely some sort of catastrophe."

"Its target is Shen Ye!"

Catastrophe.

As soon as this word emerged, the entire venue suddenly echoed with a grand voice:

"Activating the emergency response sequence."

"Please, everyone, stay where you are and do not move."

——It was Kunlun!