Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

At the end of the currents.

Shen Ye's raft stopped here.

He looked back.

Zhao Yibing really hadn't followed.

In front of the raft was a sheer cliff face.

There was no path left.

The water flowed away through an underground passage beneath the cliff.

The card trembled slightly, revealing new words:

"Dive, stir up your Power of the Stars, and push through the door."

What was the Power of the Stars?

It didn't matter.

In any case, this challenge was about diving.

Shen Ye jumped into the water.

It was pitch black.

The current was fast and icy cold.

Shen Ye swam ahead with all his might, quickly catching sight of a stone door deep within the waters.

The door was shut tight, and it was unknown how thick it was.

Shen Ye hesitated.

The door was still a distance away and lay below the depths of the water abyss.

If he swam over there, the breath he was holding might not be enough to get back.

After all, he was currently going with the flow.

Later, he would need to swim against the current to return.

If he ran out of breath...

Just as he was about to go back and plan anew, the card suddenly flew out, floating in front of him, revealing a line of small text:

"From now on, retreating means elimination."

No choice then.

Shen Ye had no choice but to swim forward with all his strength.

He reached the door and gave it a push.

The door didn't budge.

You must be joking!

Was it necessary to push this door open to get through?

Shen Ye allocated all his Attribute Points to Strength and pushed against the door with all his might.

The stone door still didn't move an inch!

At that moment, he finally understood the tactics of those people.

He also understood why Zhao Yibing did not act but instead proposed a bet.

—Without the Power of the Stars, this door simply could not be pushed open!

What now?

If he retreated, he'd lose the wager.

Moving forward was impossible.

Staying here, he would soon run out of breath.

Was he truly ready to open the door and leave?

Opening the door would mean leaving the examination, not exactly "winning" nor "losing."

But he could never come back.

Unless—

Time slowly passed until one day, he truly had the strength to open the door.

Shen Ye wavered.

Should he leave?

What about his parents? What about everything in this world?

Everyone would think he was dead.

To hell with it.

Those people had even interfered with this kind of examination.

And they did so willingly.

Was there anything they wouldn't dare to do?

The voice of the Skeleton King suddenly spoke:

"Do you still remember, you once fed me a piece of a Giant's flesh."

Shen Ye nodded slightly.

Of course he remembered, but why bring it up now?

"Let me try, as I happen to know what the Power of the Stars is," the Skeleton King said.

A fluctuation emerged from the ring.

A Skeletal Giant suddenly appeared in front of Shen Ye.

The water churned.

Shen Ye kicked back and forth to maintain his balance, looking up as he did so.

The Skeletal Giant's bones were a deathly gray, and its spine was covered with sharp spines, emitting a strong aura of death in the water.

If an ordinary person were to catch even a glimpse of this sight, they would either go mad on the spot or suffer lifelong psychological trauma.

The Skeletal Giant bent down, its hands pressed against the stone door, pushing forward with great effort.

Its strength was so immense.

But Shen Ye could see that cracks were gradually spreading across its arm bones.

For the Skeletal Giant, the door was too heavy!

Shen Ye was shocked, then a sudden tide of anger welled up within him inexplicably.

Was this the test those people had prepared for him?

Why didn't they just die?

Suddenly.

A cloud of dust kicked up underwater.

—The stone door was pushed open!

The direction of the current abruptly changed, tightly gripping Shen Ye, rushing him through the door.

"Go! I'll take you, it's safer that way."

The Skeleton King transformed from the Skeletal Giant back into the Skeleton King—it quickly caught Shen Ye, gliding its four claws, swimming with the current inside.

Shen Ye clung to its shell, patted its head forcefully, and pointed in a direction.

There was a light up to the slanting side!

The Skeleton King got the hint and sped up toward the light.

They were surfacing.

Splash!

The shell broke the surface of the water and Shen Ye immediately started gasping for air.

"Damn, what is the Power of the Stars?"

While looking around, he asked.

"The Power of the Stars is the power of the stars," explained the shell with a serious tone.

Makes perfect sense!

Shen Ye was too powerless to retort, given the complexity of the situation at hand; he'd have to argue with it later.

Only to see that this place was a circular arena.

As Shen Ye broke the surface of the water, flames suddenly ignited at each of the four corners of the arena.

In the center of the arena stood a human figure, completely forged from metal.

He appeared to be an adult male, clad in battle armor, wielding a spear, his countenance naturally commanding.

The human figure stood motionless.

—Until Shen Ye also took his place upon the arena.

The human figure slightly turned its head, producing a "click-click-click" noise.

"It has been many years since anyone has come to take the sect's entrance examination,"

it remarked as it looked at Shen Ye, feeling rather nostalgic.

"Is the exam difficult?" Shen Ye asked.

"People of your era are too weak, deeming my assessment too dangerous; therefore, they discarded me," the human figure said.

"And what about your era?"

"…They also found it too dangerous."

"So have you killed any of the examinees?" Shen Ye asked cautiously.

"Many," the human figure stated indifferently.

It stood in place, limbering up its body, with the joints throughout making clicking sounds.

—Indeed, it had not been maintained for quite some time.

"Senior, may I inquire how to pass this challenge of yours?" Shen Ye asked.

"It's simple, defeat me and you pass the test; however, I fear you lack the strength," the human figure said.

"Senior, if I take you for a major maintenance, lubricating all your joints, polishing, plating and coating, and getting you an annual pass—in exchange, could you let me off the hook?" Shen Ye asked.

The human figure, expressionless, responded, "Unnecessary, my mission is to select the suitable candidates."

"When I count to one, the battle will begin."

"Five,"

"Four,"

"…"

Before Shen Ye could respond, the voice of the great skeleton was already sounding:

"It is very strong, do not take it lightly."

Boom.

The great skeleton had once again emerged from the ring.

This time, however, its entire skeletal frame made a "jiji kaka" noise, swiftly transforming from a Skeleton King into a Single-Horned Skeletal Snake.

Shen Ye was taken aback.

This fellow is quite slick at transforming!

Lucky to have raised it!

After the Single-Horned Skeletal Snake had finished transforming, it coiled protectively around Shen Ye, raising its head high and staring down the human figure opposite it.

"One!"

The human figure's countdown ended.

In an instant, a wild wind kicked up on the arena.

The human figure, spear in hand, materialized behind Shen Ye.

The great skeleton didn't even have time to react!

Nor did Shen Ye.

The only bit of luck was that he had activated "Flowing Moon" as the opponent's countdown ended.

The lance tip, gleaming with a cold light, pierced through the Single-Horned Skeletal Snake, aiming straight for Shen Ye's chest—

In the blink of an eye, a watery shadow spread from Shen Ye's body, splitting into five or six clones of himself.

This caused the human figure's attack to slow for an instant.

An instant.

Shen Ye desperately dodged a few inches away.

The human figure's lance missed its target, clearly about to switch from thrust to sweep.

Hands flashing with electricity, Shen Ye forcefully slapped towards the spear—

Bang!

In the earth-shattering clash, the ceramic human figure staggered back several steps.

Shen Ye, on the other hand, was sent flying far across to another side of the arena.

"Thunder Shock Palm?" the metal human figure said as it examined the faint Thunder Light in his hands, calmly commenting, "You are using it quite naively; it's probably not even at the First Layer of the Dharma Realm."

"I just learned it," Shen Ye admitted.

"If your Basic Attributes were a bit higher, and your technique one layer more advanced, perhaps you could have repelled me; but as it is, you are no match for me," the human figure said.

"Yes, I'm completely no match for you; how about we shake hands and make peace?" Shen Ye suggested, spreading his hands.

"Many years since I've seen that move…" The human figure displayed a reminiscent look, lamenting, "The renown of Frosty Moon Shocking Sky stood tall for thousands of years without falling, and to think that after several eras, someone still uses it."

"You know of it?" Shen Ye asked.

The human figure casually pointed into the void.

Patterns of clouds, waves, soil, and a bright moon—four glowing symbols appeared mid-air.

"Jia Lan, Gui Xu, Xi Rang, Chaos Heaven, the four great Sects have long vanished into the river of history, today I am fortunate to meet a true descendant…" the human figure's tone grew earnest: "I will test you to my fullest, and I hope you do not die."

Test me to your fullest?

That's hardly necessary!

"Senior, you are too serious; it really doesn't have to be like this," Shen Ye said as he waved his hands, but suddenly a gust of wind struck head-on—

Not good!

He twisted his body, retreating rapidly backward.

However, the Single-Horned Skeletal Snake moved forward rather than backward, lunging to bite fiercely at the opponent's head.

Crash!

The spear sent it flying with a direct hit.

The human figure, impassive, said, "A summon? I have one, too!"

With one hand on the spear, the other hand formed a Spell Seal—

The void opened up.

A Water Dragon, roughly as long and large as the Single-Horned Skeletal Snake, flew out.

This Water Dragon seemed to possess intelligence; its five claws tread upon icy Dragon Balls, spiraling through the air with an earth-shattering roar.

The Single-Horned Skeletal Snake, not to be outdone, rushed to meet it.

The dragon and snake entwined and quickly wrestled in the sky, incessantly biting at each other.

The human figure glanced at the sky, speaking with a tone of disdain: "This abomination is too weak; why would you choose such a Netherworld creature as your War Pet?"

"It's my friend, just here to lend a hand, please don't kill it," Shen Ye said hastily.

"Be that as it may," the human figure relaxed the Technique in its hand.

In the sky, the attacks of the Water Dragon considerably slowed down.

Seeing an opportunity, Shen Ye quickly said, "To report to you, sir, I'm just here accompanying a friend for the examination, simply to add to the crowd, please don't kill me."

The human figure silently regarded him, and after a long pause, raised the spear:

"Where did you learn this shameless tenacity?"