Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Elsewhere.

The examination site.

By the stream.

A graceful figure descended from the sky and alighted on the large rock where Shen Ye had once been.

"It's here."

The girl looked towards the depths of the stream and gestured with her hand.

The water parted.

The Wooden Man floated up from the bottom.

"Hehe, it's actually a decoy. Brother Shen Ye is being slippery."

The girl chuckled, waved her hand, and the Wooden Man fell back down.

The next second.

The girl's smile vanished.

Across the stream, on another large rock, stood another girl.

Zhao Yibing.

She tilted her head, examining the girl with a curious look and said,

"During the battle at the hotel, the one hiding to the side was you, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the girl said with a smile.

Zhao Yibing gestured with a beckoning motion.

Under the water, a boy surfaced, crawling at her feet.

"Oh my gods, I could have ambushed this—"

Zhao Yibing stepped on the boy's head, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

"Conspiracy!"

Zhao Yibing suddenly spat out two words, her expression enigmatic, "I smell the scent of conspiracy. It envelops you, always ready to take something away."

"That's none of your business," the girl retorted.

"Yes, indeed," Zhao Yibing said with a delightful smile, "I really enjoy watching humans slay and conquer each other, and I never interfere—I just reap the harvest afterwards."

"I know who you are, but I can't be bothered with you, and you best stay out of my affairs," the girl said.

Zhao Yibing's smile widened as she glanced towards the void next to the girl.

"One, two, three... tsk tsk, a total of fifteen students. You killed so many for his sake?" Zhao Yibing inquired.

"Mind your own business. Just remember one thing, never provoke Shen Ye, understand?" the girl said, her eyes narrowing in warning.

Zhao Yibing silently smiled.

As a deity, to be offended like this and yet she still remained calm!

At this moment.

A series of howling sounds came from the sky.

The girl frowned and retreated, her figure suddenly vanishing from sight.

Only Zhao Yibing was left standing alone on the stream, her expression full of contemplation.

"Interesting..."

She murmured softly.

Her foot eased up.

The boy cautiously said, "Great Being, if it was her last time, are we just letting her go?"

"You don't understand."

Zhao Yibing mused and spoke slowly,

"In my world, every day I observe and evaluate all sorts of conspiracies—there are always conspiracies happening to climb to higher positions, and I enjoy watching my subordinates engage in them. It's a beneficial pastime."

The boy opened his mouth, then closed it again, seemingly neither understanding nor daring to ask further.

Zhao Yibing seemed quite interested, continuing the conversation as if discussing the weather,

"I can feel it... someone is using Shen Ye as bait, trying to lure her into their trap."

"What do we do then?" the boy asked.

"Let's take a tour, quietly watch how things unfold—humans tell us a lot through their killings, and these are often extremely confidential intelligence that will help me conquer this world."

Zhao Yibing walked a few steps with her hands behind her back, then suddenly looked towards the dense forest.

The boy rushed out.

Seconds later, an ear-piercing roar sounded.

The noise stopped abruptly.

The dense forest became quiet again.

The boy dragged a pure white fox back to the streamside.

Zhao Yibing opened her mouth and inhaled.

A wisp of shadow rose from the fox's corpse and was directly sucked into her mouth.

"Mmm... a rare beast spirit, it has lived for many years. Good, very good."

Zhao Yibing extended her pink tongue and licked the corner of her mouth, then raised her hand—

Black-radiating, intricate Runes surfaced on her hand.

"Still not enough... I need more souls..."

"Arriving in your world has really drained too much of my Strength."

She flickered and also disappeared from above the stream.

At the same time.

In a cave on the Floating Island.

An old man with white hair and beard opened his eyes.

"Someone killed fifteen students tracking Shen Ye in one go, scaring everyone off from pursuing him..."

"Who could it be?"

"Could the Shen Family have not given up on him?"

The old man pondered for a few moments, slowly stood up, and walked out of the cave, step by step.

He stood on the grass outside and dialed a number.

"Hello, Young Master."

"There's been a complication. There seems to be an expert protecting Shen Ye."

"...Yes, it's become quite troublesome."

"If the Young Master truly desires Shen Ye's head, I'm afraid I must personally take action."

After a few moments of silence.

On the phone, the Scion of the Noble Family seemed to be saying something.

The old man listened quietly.

However, the sound of talking here had already alerted the monsters lurking in the forest.

A huge Earth Fury Bear, five meters long and weighing several tons, lumbered over.

The old man paid no heed, a smile on his face as he said warmly,

"Then I will take action myself."

"Don't worry, if any of the Shen Family dare to obstruct me, I'll kill them all."

"Even if it's someone from the Luo family, as long as they see me, they wouldn't dare utter a single word of refusal."

"Young Master, wait for my news."

"I'll bring Shen Ye's head back as a birthday gift for you."

The call ended.

The old man carefully put his cell phone back in his pocket.

In front of him, the giant earth bear had already stood up, lifting a huge paw high into the air.

The old man still paid it no mind, muttering to himself:

"Sneakily killing someone for the young master, the family head shouldn't scold me too much."

The giant paw suddenly smashed down, bringing with it a strong gale.

Boom!!!

The paw struck the old man's shoulder.

The ground sank beneath it.

The old man didn't move an inch, not even a wound was left.

"Good boy."

He said the words with a kindly face.

The giant earth bear looked at him, paused for a moment, and then quietly sat down on the ground, unmoving.

Only then did the old man proceed, walking slowly toward the direction of the stream while grumbling to himself:

"What a headache, slowly searching for the tracks of that boy."

"But this is precisely what demonstrates our family values—"

"Those lurking in the shadows, no matter which clan you belong to, if you've discovered my trail, you better run fast."

"Whoever dares to help Shen Ye..."

"Might as well all die by my hand."

Before long.

He disappeared from this mountainous region.

Outside the cave entrance.

Thud.

A dull explosive sound rang out.

The giant earth bear's body was torn apart by an invisible force, gruesomely collapsing to the ground in two pieces.

Nightmare World.

A secret passage.

Suddenly, a line of text appeared on the life-sustaining device:

"Physical restoration complete."

"This life form is still affected by various spells and techniques that are beyond the capacity of this device."

"Please arrange further consultation."

Prince Norton's eyelids twitched.

Shen Ye put away the device and at the end of the secret passage, he released a "door" and then wrapped the prince in a blanket, helping him to lie slanted against the wall.

"I... I'm not dead?"

Prince Norton opened his eyes and asked in a daze.

Deep scars still covered his body, running from his shoulder through his entire chest to his hip bone.

Even after having his body repaired, such a horrific scar remained, indicating how severe his injuries had been.

"You're not dead, our gamble paid off—however, there are still some curses and spells on you that haven't been fully cleared," Shen Ye said.

Prince Norton touched the scars on his body, silently feeling for a few moments before suddenly flipping his hand over and hanging a pendant around his neck.

A faint golden light enveloped him, lasting for several seconds before slowly fading away.

"Now it's all good, Peiqi, you saved me," Prince Norton said gratefully.

Shen Ye made a silencing gesture, lowering his voice, "Your Highness, we're hiding in a secret passage in the Undead Position, where no one else can find us—how are you feeling now?"

Prince Norton looked around.

The abandoned secret passage.

It was full of collapses.

The exit ahead was completely blocked off.

Though dangerous, it was still better than facing those undead assassins.

No one would care about this kind of place.

—Who would have thought that one would not be in Human Territory, but hiding in a deserted secret passage in the Undead Position?

Appreciation appeared on Norton's face.

The boy who survived great adversities, it wasn't just luck that kept him alive on the battlefield—

He was clever!

"Still a bit weak," Norton said.

"Your Highness, this place isn't very safe, it could collapse again at any moment, we should find a safer place," Shen Ye said.

Norton nodded, then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Shen Ye was startled but saw the other man wave his hand and say, "It's nothing, that was just blood clots in my body; I feel much better having spit them out."

Prince Norton took out a blue glowing hexahedron and said:

"Saint Peiqi, please choose a place; we will teleport there immediately."

"Ah? Me? Why?" Shen Ye exclaimed in surprise.

"There's a traitor among those close to me—I suspect my whereabouts might be leaked, but since you saved me, you certainly can't be the traitor!" said Prince Norton.

Shen Ye stared at it intently.

He saw each face of the hexahedron displaying a scene:

Dense Forest Stream, Ocean-afloat Ship, Abandoned Farmstead, Underground Dark Palace, Mountain Summit, Snowy Valley Depths—six scenes in total.

Each location had a hidden safehouse.

These were the prince's refuges and resting places.

Which to choose?

The most important thing was, he wasn't a traitor.

Any would do!

Shen Ye was about to select the Snow Valley when suddenly, an idea struck him, and his gaze fell on Dense Forest Stream.

It looked so similar...

The scene was almost the same as the Floating Island where he had taken his exam.

There's a saying: fortune favors the prepared.

Perhaps this could be considered an advantage?

"I choose this one, Your Royal Highness," Shen Ye pointed at Dense Forest Stream.

Norton squinted, slowly saying:

"Actually, all these safehouses are not too far from the battlefield; they are hidden places constructed in haste by my subordinates, and I've hardly visited them. Do you have any basis for your choice? You don't have to elaborate, just the key points."

"I blindly chose," Shen Ye blurted out.

Norton stared at him.

"I picked at random," Shen Ye shrugged, omitting the swear word.

"Well, that saves us the trouble of overthinking it—let's go there then," Norton sighed.

He recited a spell, touching one of the hexagon's faces with his fingertip.

In an instant.

The void rippled in waves.

Both of them vanished from their original spot.