Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

The night was already deep.

Nangong Sirui had a habit of going to bed early, and it would be unwise to wake him up now.

Shen Ye simply opened the door and arrived directly in the Nightmare World.

The warzone secret passage.

Today was indeed too exhausting.

Time for a massage!

Shen Ye walked straight out of the passage, and took the familiar path to the warzone hospital.

But a few minutes later, he walked out disappointed.

—It was the middle of the night.

The old dean had already finished his shift and left.

What to do?

All his Attribute Points were almost completely consumed, his muscles were sore and achy, and he was panting after just a few steps.

Was he going to have to use his free attribute points again?

"Saint Peiqi."

Suddenly, in the shadow of the hospital's entrance, a soft call could be heard.

Shen Ye immediately asked,

"Which comrade is it?"

From the shadows, a hand extended and quickly made an "I love you" sign.

—It was someone from the Shadow Brotherhood!

"Please follow me."

The other said in a hushed voice, then immediately ran towards a secluded path.

Shen Ye had no choice but to follow.

The two of them, one after the other, walked some distance until they reached a dense forest.

Under the moonlight, Shen Ye could see the other person's appearance clearly.

"It's you!"

Shen Ye said.

—This was a man who looked quite ordinary.

He was the same Brotherhood officer that Shen Ye had first met when he reached the frontlines and had even obtained the Elementary "Frostwind" Nightmare Crystal from him.

"Saint Peiqi, I have an urgent piece of intelligence for you,"

the man said.

"What is it?" Shen Ye asked.

"The spy that His Royal Highness the Prince sent to Eternal Night City has been exposed. The three major powers of Eternal Night City are furious, vehemently denouncing humans as a fickle and untrustworthy race."

"They've decided to no longer attend the King's birthday celebration in our capital nor sign any agreements."

"As a result, the King has imprisoned the Prince,"

the man recited in one breath.

"A spy? Exposed?" Shen Ye exclaimed in surprise.

That can't be right.

He seemed to be doing quite well in Eternal Night City.

"That's correct," the man continued, "Our person has been captured and confessed to the control key and Spell of the Teleportation Array, and is still being held in the prison of Eternal Night City."

Caught?

The control key and Spell for the Teleportation Array?

No, that's not right!

The key to the Teleportation Array was in a potted plant in Prince Norton's room!

The Spell was—

"The Spell has been exposed? What is it?" Shen Ye asked.

"'Prince Norton's trust determines everything'—this Spell has been spread far and wide by the Undead, so the King is in a rage, blaming His Highness Prince Norton for the disgrace and the damage to relations between the two countries," the man said.

Shen Ye gently rubbed his forehead.

The Spell was correct.

But this Spell and the key to the Teleportation Array were given to him by Prince Norton!

He felt they were unreliable, so he never used them.

Originally, he had arrived in Eternal Night City by riding the ghost train, made the acquaintance of Madame Daisy through the Veterans' Guild, and then debuted officially as a Diva.

—He had never used the key or the Spell!

So—

Who was it?

Who had taken his place, done this deed, and then been caught by the Undead?

"Who is the spy?" asked Shen Ye.

"It's a human, a noble, but we haven't verified the exact identity yet. The undead have only informed His Majesty the King," the man said.

"Thanks for the information, I've got it," said Shen Ye, his voice serious.

"Saint Peiqi, it was you who saved the Prince from the brink of death. That's why we of the Shadow Brotherhood trust nobody but you—"

"If you need the Brotherhood's strength, just contact us anytime. I'm in the same tent as before."

"Thank you for your trust. I'll contact you if needed," Shen Ye said.

"You'll find a way to help His Royal Highness the Prince, won't you?" The man looked into his eyes and asked.

"Yes," Shen Ye nodded without hesitation.

The man finally showed a hint of a smile, made an "I love you" hand gesture to him again, and said,

"You truly are Saint Peiqi, personally appointed by His Highness... Very well, I await your message and am ready to serve you at any time."

After he finished speaking, he left.

Shen Ye was left standing alone in the dense forest.

—Something is strange here.

Could it be that Prince Norton entrusted the matter to someone else afterward?

Impossible.

He's so cautious, how could he possibly give the same task to two different groups?

It's better to ask him directly!

Shen Ye took out the Magic Paper and began to contact Prince Norton:

"Are you there?"

After waiting a few moments.

A line of text appeared on the Magic Paper:

"Who are you?"

Shen Ye was about to write back when he suddenly stopped.

Prince Norton had been imprisoned.

Was his Magic Paper confiscated, or was it still in his possession?

If it had been confiscated, wouldn't talking to him here expose himself as well?

...That would not be acceptable.

Shen Ye wrote hastily, quickly crafting his words:

"Yesterday you called me 'sweetie,' and today you're asking 'who are you,' Prince, that's so mean of you."

—If someone else saw this line of text, they would likely be startled and take a moment to respond.

But if the Prince saw this—

The words on the Magic Paper quickly sprang up.

They seemed to be "sprayed" out with strong emotion, bouncing on the paper a few times before settling down, revealing:

"You silly kid, can't you speak properly?"

It was the Prince!

But further confirmation was needed!

Shen Ye cheerfully wrote:

"You ghost, you were the one who asked me to the Mangrove Forest for a good time, how come I heard that later you found someone else? In what way am I inferior?"

—The task was given to me, so why give it to someone else?

Quickly.

A line of text jumped out from the paper:

"Enough, Saint Peiqi, I only sent you and your undead insider to handle this, the spy wasn't sent by me!"

Tsk.

Where did all this anger come from?

Isn't it better to continue using our coded language for work?

Shen Ye had no choice but to write:

"So who exactly is the spy?"

The other side responded, "I don't know, at first I thought you had been captured, so I went and negotiated with the undead, only to find out it wasn't you!"

This is really strange.

Not someone sent by His Royal Highness the Prince, yet in possession of the Prince's Magic Array Key and Spell.

"Do many people know the Magic Array Key? Who do you think it might be?"

Shen Ye wrote.

After a long while.

The other side finally responded:

"This is an underground transportation channel built with great effort by the Empire, known only to the Empire's high-ranking officials, about seven or eight people in total."

Seven or eight people?

```

Enough to hold a round of "Who's the Murderer" board game!

I can't be bothered to identify each one individually.

After all, I'm now the Chief Diva of the Dark Night Ros Dance Troupe.

"I'll go check on that imprisoned guy directly, wait for my news," Shen Ye wrote.

"Be careful!" Prince Norton said.

Shen Ye put away the Magic Paper, opened a door, and stepped back into Breath Soil High School.

"Hey, why'd you come back here?" the giant skeleton exclaimed.

"What else?" Shen Ye said.

"I thought you'd go do something in Eternal Night City."

"Nonsense, I'm almost dead tired every day, go to Eternal Night City in this state?"

Shen Ye looked up into the void.

A line of small text quietly emerged:

"For opening the door this time, you've gained an Evaluation Entry:"

"Horsehair worm."

"Deep gray entry (broken)."

"Description: You can turn into a tiny flying insect—the kind that gets swatted by everyone."

"Judgment: You successfully identified the person on the other side of the Magic Paper, but your writing is over the top!"

Shen Ye waved his hand expressionlessly.

Another line of small text surfaced:

"You have devoured this entry, earning 0.1 free attribute points."

"Current free attribute points: 15.1."

Damn.

Deep gray entry only worth 0.1 attribute points?

That's too much!

Shen Ye felt annoyed but was helpless.

Forget it.

I'm dead tired, need to find a place to rest quickly.

It was now past two o'clock in the night.

Going back to the dormitory would inevitably wake up Nangong Xiaosan.

With me this tired, sleeping on the gym's floor isn't ideal either.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes!

I must get a good rest.

"Fei Lun, you go to sleep first, I'll find a place to sleep too—I have my first class at eight in the morning."

Shen Ye said while yawning.

"Alright then, I'll go to sleep. Call me if you need anything," the giant skeleton also yawned.

The ring fell silent.

Shen Ye left the training gym.

The brilliantly lit training gym gradually sank into the ground, vanishing from sight.

Only the slender iron pole was still standing beside the deserted martial arts arena.

It held a sign, on which flickered a line of large characters:

"Run towards the sunrise, young man!"

A pretty nice blessing.

Shen Ye waved goodbye to the iron pole, which also bent slightly, bowing to him.

A slight vibration in the pocket.

It was a card.

Shen Ye pulled out the card to see that a big "+1" had appeared on it.

Below were a few lines of small text:

"Your Professional Skills have advanced to the First Layer of the Dharma Realm, your strength has been enhanced."

"Your ranking points +1, current points are 2."

"Please continue to acquire points, until 10 points, you can exchange for a star and gain the power of Tarot Empowerment."

"Obtaining a star will allow you to participate in the Hidden Dragon List rankings."

By then, the night was deep.

The campus was empty and quiet, a picture of serenity.

Shen Ye walked straight out of the school gates.

He followed the spiral staircase all the way back to the museum in the real world.

He climbed out of a toilet window in the museum.

```

He crossed the night streets.

And arrived at the dimly lit alley across the way.

At this time, quite a few restaurants were still open, and the music from some bars and KTVs echoed under the night sky.

—This was Jade Capital's bustling district.

He had scoped out the surroundings when he had come here to eat with Xu Xingke before.

In his memory, there were several hotels here.

Shen Ye hadn't walked far before he saw a hotel with its doors open.

Perfect.

Shen Ye walked in happily, checked in, paid, grabbed the room card, and went upstairs.

He found the room, opened the door, and went in.

But there was someone in the room.

Nangong Sirui!

"What are you doing here!" Shen Ye exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmph," Nangong Sirui said with a tone that suggested he knew everything, "So this is the secret to your constant improvement in strength!"

"What are you talking about?" Shen Ye asked.

—Did he see me opening the door to the Different World?

No, that's not right!

The training venue was enclosed.

After all, some Professionals didn't want to be seen when they practiced their Secret Techniques.

So he had specifically chosen the privacy protection mode.

How could he possibly know about the "door"?

"Stop pretending," Nangong Sirui, with his arms crossed, sighed, "While everyone else is sleeping, you are honing your skills in the Martial Arts Arena. Such perseverance is truly worth learning from."

So he had just discovered he was training!

Shen Ye heaved a sigh of relief but was also a bit speechless and replied:

"Weren't you supposed to sleep on time? Why are you spying on me secretly?"

Nangong Sirui said:

"I was just curious for a moment. I wanted to see how a descendant of the Chaotic Heaven Gate would cultivate. And your habit of staying up late to practice, it indeed fits your profession very well."

"But I must remind you, not sleeping at night can easily lead to sudden death."

He suddenly made a move.

Shen Ye immediately threw a punch to defend.

The two exchanged blows, crackling through dozens of rounds.

Although this sparring didn't involve any skills, the fight was unexpectedly exhilarating and both were somewhat invigorated.

Even though the space was too small, it also limited the use of powerful Dharma Aspects and spiritual power, so they fought almost a hundred exchanges—

Nangong Sirui suddenly leapt back and waved his hand:

"No more, you've indeed broken through. Your moves are much stronger than before!"

"You can tell even that? I was just using ordinary punches and kicks." Shen Ye asked in surprise.

"The devil is in the details, that's a skill of the Nangong family—It seems your night-time practice has been quite fruitful," Nangong Sirui proudly said.

"Alright, now that you've seen it all, aren't you going back to sleep? There's class at eight in the morning," Shen Ye said impatiently.

"Hmph, I'm leaving now," Nangong Sirui said.

Suddenly.

A rush of footsteps sounded from outside.

Shen Ye looked towards Nangong Sirui.

—Is it trouble for you?

Nangong Sirui looked towards Shen Ye.

—Or is it your trouble?

Before they could react, the door "beeped" as it was swiped open.

"Who's there!"

"Identify yourselves!"

Both of them shouted simultaneously, assuming a defensive stance.

A few men stood at the doorway, their expressions odd as they sized up both individuals.

They were wearing uniforms.

They were the police.

They looked at Shen Ye, then at Nangong Sirui.

"We received a complaint."

"…You're making too much noise."