Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

A night without words.

The next day.

Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Shen Ye, carrying large and small packages, stood at the entrance of Breath Soil High School.

Zhang Xiaoyi and Guo Yunye came to pick him up.

"Wow, Brother Ye, why did you bring so much stuff?"

The two helped carry items.

"These are specialties from my home. My parents insisted I bring some, and here, these are for you," Shen Ye said.

He handed over two big bags of spicy braised beef to each of them.

"Made at home, the flavor should be pretty good."

"Wow, thanks a lot!"

"Thank you, Brother Ye!"

The three entered the school, talking and laughing.

The dorm arrangement was very humane.

Since there were many vacant rooms, everyone could freely choose one.

However, it was not permitted for one person to have a room to themselves.

This was said to be because someone had once practiced their skill to the point of falling into martial madness and, without anyone nearby, couldn't be saved.

So the strict rule was:

At least two people per room.

Shen Ye followed the two as they walked along the dormitory corridor deep into the building.

You could faintly hear a dorm playing the news:

"Early this morning, a man fell into the Qingzhou River."

"According to the investigation that followed, a young man in love had jumped from the bridge."

"But many people at the scene witnessed the emergence of a hero."

"Let's now interview an eyewitness."

A voice with a local accent started speaking:

"I saw a young man surfing on a turtle in the river; he rushed over when he saw what was happening and saved the man."

"What do you think of what this young man did?" the host asked.

The local accent replied, "Now everyone on the internet is discussing this matter, praising this young man."

"What exactly did you see? Was he really standing on a turtle?" asked the host.

"It was too dark to see clearly, but judging from the silhouette, that turtle was huge."

The local accent chuckled:

"So everyone has given him a friendly nickname—"

"King (Beep!) Hero."

That "beep" was clearly a bleep.

In the corridor.

Shen Ye clenched his fist.

Don't get angry, don't get angry, I won't get angry; who else would be satisfied if I died from anger?

He glanced at the Sect Leader's Precious Tactic in his hand.

There was now an additional line of annotation under "Suitable for Surfing":

"Congratulations! You have grasped the 'Cold Wind Assault.' When you use 'Frost Bite,' it will spray out frosty cold breath, with a certain probability of inflicting 'Frostbite' on the enemy."

Considering this gain, I'll endure!

They continued along the corridor.

Guo Yunye and Zhang Xiaoyi happened to share a room at the end of the corridor, room number 318.

Shen Ye also received the key to his room.

Right next to theirs.

Room number 316.

After sitting for a while in room 318, Shen Ye took his keys to open the door of room 316.

As soon as he opened the door.

Several girls in breezy clothes were coming and going.

"Sorry, I must have walked into the wrong room," Shen Ye hastily apologized and closed the door.

He looked at the room key in his hand again.

There was a row of numbers on the key: "316".

And the number "316" was also marked on the door.

—Correct!

Strange.

Could it be co-ed housing?

But it's not supposed to be this kind of mix.

Is it so difficult for us boys to protect ourselves?

Shen Ye turned his head and made his way back to room 318.

"Hey, is our dormitory co-ed?" he asked.

Zhang Xiaoyi and Guo Yunye, who were gnawing on beef, looked up at him in surprise:

"How could that be!"

"The girls' dormitory is on the other side of the campus; you can't even see it!"

Strange indeed.

Could it be that I saw things?

Zhang Xiaoyi stood up, wiping the red oil from the corner of his mouth, and said earnestly:

"Brother Ye, if you want to pursue a girl, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future—there's really no such thing as co-ed dorms."

"Alright, I got it," Shen Ye said.

He turned around.

And went back to the door of room 316.

Open the door!

Inside were still several vibrant young girls.

"Sorry!"

The door closed once more.

—That's not right!

I seem to have seen these girls somewhere before!

Shen Ye opened the door again.

He stepped in, walked past the girls, and went into the room.

Nangong Sirui was lying in a comfortable recliner, eye closed in repose.

A few maids were massaging his hands, feet, and neck.

Phew…

Shen Ye let out a long breath of relief.

This little guy gave me a scare!

"Xiao San, put away your Technique," Shen Ye said, hands on his hips.

"Mind your language, those are not my Technique, they are Artifact Spirits from a Divine Artifact of our Nangong family," replied Nangong Sirui, eyes still closed and enjoying himself.

"Alright, please put away the Artifact Spirits. I'm not used to living with so many girls—I'm a boy who's never been in love before," Shen Ye said.

"What are you afraid of? Don't you have any dreams for love, any aspirations for life?" Nangong Sirui said teasingly.

"Honestly, no," Shen Ye replied with an earnest look.

Nangong Sirui pointed at him with a fan, about to teach him a lesson:

"You see, if a person doesn't have dreams—"

Shen Ye interrupted, "Then he's free of worries and fears."

Nangong Sirui's following words were stuck in his throat.

Hiss—

This kid might be right, but something seemed off.

"Are you going to put them away or not? If not, I'll go to the teacher and switch dorms," Shen Ye said, turning to leave.

"No need, I'll put them away," Nangong Sirui quickly acquiesced.

All the girls disappeared in an instant.

In the room.

It was bright and clean.

Equipped with air conditioning, a water heater, a bathroom, and all the essentials.

There were also desks, wardrobes, and beds, each in their proper place.

Two basins per person.

The beds were already made.

Even the bedding and pillows were uniformly distributed.

Shen Ye looked around and nodded with satisfaction.

—This finally looks like a dormitory.

"Shen Ye,"

Nangong Sirui started.

"What?"

"I've looked everywhere and still haven't found the person who broke my record."

"What's that got to do with me?" Shen Ye was testing the water tap.

"You swear your task is different from mine," Nangong Sirui glanced at him sideways.

"I swear," Shen Ye immediately said.

He sounded so casual and nonchalant as if he didn't care about it at all.

Nangong Sirui furrowed his brow.

"...This is really strange; who could it be?"

He murmured to himself and then suddenly struck out at Shen Ye with his palm.

"Hey!"

Shen Ye exclaimed and blocked with one hand.

"You've improved again," Nangong Sirui said.

"How so?"

"The feeling when we spar!"

Someone knocked on the door at this point.

"Brother Ye!"

The voice of Guo Yunye sounded.

"Come in!" Shen Ye said.

The door opened.

Guo Yunye peeked his head in and suddenly saw Shen Ye holding hands with a beautiful woman.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt!"

He jumped in shock and hurriedly closed the door.

Standing outside, he thought again—

Wait!

That damn person was Nangong Sirui!

Guo Yunye breathed a sigh of relief and was about to push the door open again.

But his hand stopped.

Wait a minute.

It was one thing for Shen Ye to be holding hands with a woman, but one shouldn't interrupt...

Especially when he was holding hands with a man.

As Guo Yunye hesitated, the door suddenly opened again.

Shen Ye stood at the doorway, looking completely composed:

"Just now, Xiao San and I exchanged a few moves, what did you want from me?"

So that was it!

Guo Yunye relaxed and said:

"We're about to take a stroll around the campus to get familiar with the environment."

By then, Zhang Xiaoyi had also tidied up and came over, greeting Shen Ye.

His gaze passed Shen Ye and shot a look into the room, then hastily said:

"We didn't realize your sister-in-law was here. We'll go by ourselves."

Suddenly Nangong Sirui's indignant voice rang out from the dorm:

"Who is your sister-in-law?"

He leapt off the recliner, already launching a move, but Shen Ye promptly blocked it.

"Stop—they didn't mean it!"

Clang! Bang! Clang!

In a moment, the two of them sparred through seven or eight moves.

"I won't be at ease until I beat them up!" Nangong Sirui said.

"Forget it; they're all classmates," Shen Ye persuaded again.

After a few more exchanges, Nangong Sirui finally calmed down and yelled toward the doorway:

"Do you see who I am?"

"Xiao San!" Zhang Xiaoyi and Guo Yunye said in unison.

"Call me Third Brother and then I'll forgive you!" Nangong Sirui shouted angrily.

"Third Brother!" Both, feeling guilty, echoed again.

"That's more like it—" Nangong Sirui grudgingly stopped.

"Weren't you going to tour the campus? Let's go together!"

Shen Ye quickly smoothed things over.

And so, the four of them set out together.

Leaving the dormitory building.

The group first strolled around the sports field, then went to see the fountain and got some food to feed the fish in the pond.

"I heard that Breath Soil campus is guarded by powerful Technique Spirits," said Zhang Xiaoyi.

"It's not Technique Spirits, but powerful Divine Spirits," corrected Nangong Sirui, "The Southern King we saw at the opening ceremony is actually a Divine Spirit."

"—So the Three Great High Schools are the three safest places in the world."

"How do you know so much?" asked Guo Yunye, curious.

"Hmph, read more books when you're free!"

Nangong Sirui pulled out a fan, turned his back, and gently fanned himself.

Guo Yunye and Zhang Xiaoyi exchanged glances.

—If they couldn't beat him, they'd have given this kid a beating.

"Hey, look over there."

Guo Yunye pointed at the public combat platform not far away.

They could see Xiao Mengyu standing on the stage with a boy, talking.

Quite a crowd of students had gathered below the stage to watch the spectacle.

"Seems like a duel—how interesting," said Nangong Sirui with interest.

"Let's check it out," Shen Ye said.

The group of four walked over.

They saw Xiao Mengyu on the stage, her expression displeased:

"Why bother persisting? I've already said I just want to study earnestly."

"It's not about bothering you, but since we both practice swordsmanship, it's perfect for daily sparring to promote mutual improvement," the boy on the other side said.

Xiao Mengyu's expression grew colder, and she softly placed her hand on the hilt of the Remnant Snow Sword:

"The difference in strength between us makes it impossible for you to assist me in my swordsmanship practice."

But the boy laughed, seemingly pleased with himself:

"I've studied your technique—our Attributes are roughly at the same level, around ten or so points."

"You have Ripple Swordsmanship, and I have my family's Elusive Swordsmanship."

"Why not become friends and spar daily?"

Xiao Mengyu's expression remained impassive as she softly pressed her hand on the hilt of her Remnant Snow Sword.

"This doesn't bode well,"

Shen Ye and Nangong Sirui said simultaneously.

At this moment,

they sensed the annoyance emanating from Xiao Mengyu.

—She was already very annoyed!

Yet the boy kept prattling on: "Our families should be friends. One of these days, I'll visit your place, pay respects to your grandfather, and perhaps even—"

"Shut up," Xiao Mengyu cut him off, "draw your sword."

"Great! We should indeed spar so that I can accompany you in practice every day!" The boy was overjoyed.

Shen Ye glanced at the boy.

The boy had no title or epithet...

Xiao Mengyu's title was "Sword Saint."

Both of them were swordsmen, but Xiao Mengyu was graced with the title of "Sword Saint"—

"Resonance with the Sword Artifact increased by 10 points."

"All Attributes increased by 5 points."

"Swordsmanship's lethality doubled."

Resonance enhances the power of a weapon.

All Attributes increased by 5, which widened the gap in their foundational Strength Levels.

The lethality of sword techniques doubled...

Shen Ye was already mourning for the boy in his heart.