Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Shen Ye gasped a few times, mustered his strength to stand up, and said with disdain,

"Today I've fought several battles, and yours is the smallest, so I saved it for last."

The Skinner let out a burst of derisive laughter.

With his extensive combat experience, he could easily tell—

This young man was at the end of his rope.

"Shen Ye, while I'm still full of spirit, you are overly tired; tsk tsk, that's not good, it will affect the taste..."

The Skinner looked him up and down with a face full of malice, even licking his lips, revealing a mouth full of black, rotten teeth.

"What are you looking at? Looking for death?" Shen Ye frowned in displeasure.

Indeed.

Although the summoned creatures had vanished, The Skinner had hardly expended any effort.

His own attributes were nearly depleted.

And he still had more than half left!

How should the fight continue?

"What are you looking at!"

"What are you looking at!!!"

The Undead roared angrily along with him.

The continuous shouting irritated The Skinner, and he couldn't help but shout harshly,

"Shut up, all of you! What if I am looking at him? I'm going to eat him up too!"

In an instant,

Shen Ye was momentarily taken aback.

It seemed something unexpected had occurred.

He looked towards the void.

Sure enough, a faint light appeared, coalescing into words:

"Special condition activated, Northeastern Divine Fist is enhanced, upgraded to Green (Excellent);"

"Special condition triggered again, this Fist Technique is upgraded to Blue (Outstanding);"

What?

There's such a thing?

Shen Ye's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

He hadn't planned on using this Fist Technique...

But it just so happened he didn't have enough attributes to use powerful moves anymore.

And look at this notification, it came anyway—

Don't miss it as you pass by.

Why not—

Shen Ye pulled out an arrow, notched it to the bowstring, and pointed it at The Skinner with a challenging tone,

"Try looking again?"

All of the Undead followed with a chorus of jeers, shouting in unison:

"Try looking again!"

"Dare to try?"

"Dare to look?"

The Skinner was even more annoyed.

These were supposed to be his prepared corpses, and he even thoughtfully brought soundproof earplugs—

Yet they were all cheering for him!

Damn it!

"Try? I'll try!" shouted The Skinner.

His Technique was ready!

Boom—

Six corpses burst forth beside The Skinner, charging at Shen Ye together.

The battle began once again!

Shen Ye stood in place, gasping for air, while expectantly looking towards the void.

—Would that thing happen, given the opponent's cooperation?

It seemed like the answer was about to reveal itself—

Rows of faint small characters appeared in the void:

"Special condition triggered again, Fist Technique upgraded to Purple (One in Ten Thousand);"

"Special condition triggered again, Fist Technique upgraded to Gold (Legend)!"

—This Fist Technique is good, it can really mutate when needed!

Shen Ye stopped shooting.

Right then, he stowed his bow and arrow, touched a ring, and summoned a set of Undead Battle Armor, quickly donning it over his body.

The Skinner had already charged to within about five meters of him and suddenly spread his arms wide.

Bind·Heavenly Net Earthly Trap!

In the void, countless steel wires suddenly appeared.

Above and below, from all directions, the dense sharp steel wires trapped Shen Ye in place.

——It turned out that while he had been talking to Shen Ye, he had already set up an ambush!

Shen Ye had been delaying time, and wasn't he doing the same?

At this moment.

He was still at his peak condition, while his opponent was extremely weary——

Even if it meant enduring the onslaught of lightning, he must kill him in one go!

Swish swish swish!

The steel wires whistled as they sealed off all escape routes, leaving only one path open.

On that path——

The Skinner, with six corpses, charged towards Shen Ye!

The time had come to part life from death!!!

Shen Ye donned his Undead Battle Armor, took up a fighting stance in place, and held his breath as he awaited the enemy.

Upon seeing his stance, The Skinner couldn't help but burst into loud laughter:

"Hahaha, of all the people I've killed, I've never seen anyone dare to meet me barehanded. You are the first!"

With a wave of his hand, all the steel wires suddenly converged towards the center.

This was going to tear Shen Ye into ten thousand pieces!

"And the last!"

Shen Ye roared furiously as he threw a punch straight ahead.

Northeastern Divine Fist!

The golden legend of the fist——

The sound of metal clashing "ding ding dang dang ding ding" was incessant.

Although Shen Ye could no longer perform the Thunder Shock Palm, none of the steel wires could slice through the Undead Battle Armor he wore.

——This was Prince Norton's treasured collection!

Shen Ye, fearless, unleashed his punch.

All sound vanished.

Everything around suddenly came to an extreme slow motion.

Before this punch, those corpses along with The Skinner seemed to be suppressed by some force, all turning into static puppets.

The punch landed!

The six corpses, like weightless balloons, grazed by the edge of the fist, were sent flying. While midair, their bodies burst open, muscles ripped layer by layer, and bones shattered completely.

The Skinner's face dramatically changed.

This punch from the opponent was utterly irresistible.

What to do?

In a split second——

The Skinner exerted all his strength and bellowed:

"A myriad of sharp edges, protect me!"

The sound of the tide-like steel wires frantically grew louder.

The Tian Luo Net, originally meant to trap Shen Ye, in a flash, gathered together and turned into a suit of armor inscribed with countless runes, fitting onto The Skinner.

——This was the defense armor he seldom used!

The Skinner, wearing the armor, took up a defensive stance in place——

The punch from the opponent was too fierce.

He must block this punch and then counterattack with all his might!

He held his breath in anticipation.

Then the punch arrived.

The golden legendary punch, striking right at The Skinner's chest!

Thud.

The Skinner shook all over, the force of the punch carrying him, his body lifted and he flew backwards five meters.

Merely five meters.

——What's going on?

The punch was supposed to be very strong.

The Skinner immediately looked down to inspect his battle armor.

The battle armor was unscathed.

He too was unscathed.

...Is that it?

Is this all?

Surprised, The Skinner looked at Shen Ye and shook his head:

"If the extent of your full-strength punch is just this, then any one of my thirty-six Artes of Assault and Kill could easily kill you."

He moved his hands and once again stretched out strands of steel wires.

Shen Ye listened and did not get angry, simply raising his hand and elegantly giving a bow toward him.

"Strength, courage, wisdom, and endurance—two men giving their all in a fight to the death, then determining the victor."

"That is indeed a real battle."

"But you and your master are both dishonorable—"

"Your master has backed out many times, continuously bullying and gaslighting me; and you, as an ogre, have cheated in various ways during the duel."

"One of you wants my soul, the other wants to eat me."

At this point, Shen Ye's brows relaxed.

Throughout this delay, he had already sensed that ominous presence.

It was here!

Shen Ye continued with a sincere tone:

"—This battle doesn't care about fairness, nor does it have any meaning."

"So, when I'm exhausted, I hope you can take the initiative to find your own end—"

"That is, your demise."

The Skinner was stunned.

What did all that mean!?

Was he about to concede?

—Or had this guy gone insane?

Suddenly.

The Skinner found himself separated from his opponent by a framework made of three fine steel wires.

—Is this an imitation of my technique?

No…

They looked more like an open gate.

So what had happened just now?

His last punch had not triggered any other effect, but had forcefully sent himself retreating several meters back.

—Retreating into this square frame.

Yes.

This was a gate.

The ability of the opponent!

"Bye-bye, hope you have fun playing."

Shen Ye waved his hand.

As his voice fell, the gate vanished.

Shen Ye also disappeared.

The Skinner stood in the vast expanse of the Netherworld.

The surroundings were a desolate plain.

Endless to the eye.

So that was it!

The opponent had exiled him here!

Feeling a premonition, The Skinner suddenly looked back.

Not far behind him—

A man in Crimson Battle Armor and a black cape had just descended from the sky, tilting his head and looking at him.

The man's back was covered with Skull Heads, even his shoulders and armpits were studded with Skull Heads.

A monster!

The Skinner immediately went on alert, ready to make a move at any moment.

But the man seemed too lazy to make a move.

He simply looked up at the sky.

The Skinner couldn't help but look up as well.

An overwhelming number of heads blanketed the sky, "collapsing" down and directly engulfing The Skinner.

—He didn't even get a chance to react.

The world turned into a darkness filled with intense pain.

It hurt so much.

Beyond imagination!

They… were eating him…

That was The Skinner's last thought.

He let out a piercing scream—

As if putting a rest sign on his own life.

The symphony ended at its climax.

When everything was over.

In the endless darkness.

A surprised voice suddenly rang out:

"This guy is full of sin, so delicious, where did he come from?"

"—Could it be that Vampire?"

Elsewhere.

Shen Ye stood on top of a mountain peak, sweat all over his body, gasping for air.

"Applause."

"Applause!"

"Applause!!!"

The Deceased shouted in unison.

They were all dead.

—Killed by The Skinner, and buried here.

They couldn't clap, so they could only shout the word "applause."

Shen Ye waved to the corpses:

"Thank you all for cheering for me, making me feel at home."

"If there's a chance, we'll meet again in hell."

"Please rest in peace."

The Whispers of the Dark ended.

The Deceased slowly closed their eyes.

Their spirits left them.

—But this time, their spirits received deep consolation.

Shen Ye waited for a while at the original spot.

Strange.

Such an intense battle should have activated "The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities" by now.

But why—

His pocket vibrated slightly.

Upon taking it out for a look, it turned out to be his own Card.

Lines of prompts appeared on the card:

"Defeat the minion of the Evil God."

Chapter Find:

"Your ranking Points +1, current Points are 1."

"Please continue to earn Points, until 10 Points, you can exchange for a star and receive the Tarot Empowerment."

"Earning a star entitles you to participate in the Hidden Dragon List ranking."

"Also—"

"Due to the outstanding performance in this battle, the mark on your hand is activated."

"You have been instantly approved."

"Congratulations."

"You have become a Probationary Member of the Tower of Tarot."

"Access is being escalated, loading your card's abilities, please wait."

Shen Ye looked at his hand in surprise.

A flash of white light—

It was the mark left by his mentor Xu Xingke!

So this meant…

The mentor must be nearby!

Otherwise, how could he have been "instantly approved"?

No wonder the mentor had urged him to win this wager.

No wonder he hadn't activated "The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities!"

—Because he was overseeing the situation from the sidelines!

Tsk.

I fought so hard, yet the mentor didn't come out to finish off The Skinner directly.

The mentor is really too sneaky!

…No choice.

Let's see what this "Probationary Member" is good for first.

Shen Ye watched the card as two lines of small text quickly appeared:

"As a Probationary Member of the Tower of Tarot, you are entitled to post one announcement each month."

"All Professionals with a card will be informed of the announcement."

Shen Ye fell silent for a moment.

Isn't this similar to a "server-wide announcement," or something like a "megaphone" function?

Impressive.

In the future, when I'm out of money, I can just find an endorsement, and make a fortune in minutes!