Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

At the same time.

Shen Ye sat on a rock, making a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Are you free? Come over, I found a stone that might be useful for the curse."

A little girl's voice came through the phone:

"You aren't telling me you just picked up a random rock from the water and you think it can cure our young lady, are you?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Just give it a try, I hope it's useful," Shen Ye said earnestly.

"...I'm not convenient right now. Let's talk after your exam," she said.

The call was hurriedly hung up.

Shen Ye shrugged and had no choice but to pocket the Holy Compassion Gem.

After all, it was too flashy.

At that moment, the card in his pocket vibrated slightly.

"The three-day wild survival has ended."

"736 participants have been eliminated."

"Assessing your physical condition and awarding prizes accordingly."

"Your body is in peak condition."

"Congratulations, you have received stronger enhancements, your 'Meat Shield' has been upgraded to 'Flesh and White Bones'."

"'Flesh and White Bones'."

"Effect 1: You require at least 5 attacks to be killed;"

"Effect 2: After your life force is severed, it will forcibly leave you a breath's life, forcibly make your heart beat, forcibly activate your body's potential, and forcibly allow your wounds to heal to some extent (limited to once)."

This enhancement is impressive!

It's already been upgraded twice!

The corners of Shen Ye's mouth curved slightly as he silently waited for the new test.

Sure enough, a line of small print soon appeared:

"Please find the clues and reach the location of the next round of tests (to be completed within one hour)."

Search time.

But where should I start looking?

The card suddenly flashed.

Xiao Mengyu appeared on the card.

A lonely boat in the cold river.

She was holding an unsheathed long sword, with an air of murderous intent all around her.

Shen Ye sensed something ominous and then remembered he had left without saying goodbye, faintly realizing what might be in store for him, and his face immediately displayed an expression of surprise.

"Eh?" he pointed at the card.

"What's up?" Xiao Mengyu glared at him.

"You look exceptionally beautiful today, did you wash your hair?" Shen Ye said loudly.

"Hmmph, brownnoser. Who cares about you," Xiao Mengyu said coldly, her tone lacking warmth.

"It's true, you look especially fresh and lovely today, how come I never noticed before," Shen Ye muttered under his breath.

"Are you sick?" Xiao Mengyu's cheeks flamed with a faint blush as she casually sheathed her sword.

Saved.

I've survived!

And just to mention—

This card is quite something, able to capture even the emotions of the other party so vividly.

Xiao Mengyu quickly continued:

"I'm looking for you because too many examinees died this time, and everyone has noticed something abnormal."

"There are no longer attacks between examinees."

"Everyone just wants to stay alive."

"So—"

"Do you want to join us?"

She stared at Shen Ye, her hand subconsciously resting on the hilt of her sword.

Seeing this gesture, Shen Ye instantly felt a chill down his spine, suddenly remembering her swordsmanship.

A single sword stroke taking multiple lives!

Hiss—

People should have some aspirations.

Such as living a happy and healthy life, that's a good thing.

Diving into danger recklessly isn't wise.

"Please make sure to include me," Shen Ye said with determination.

Twenty minutes later.

A doggy was running ahead.

Three people followed closely behind.

"Hey, what breed of doggy do we have today?" Shen Ye asked while running.

Although the question was a bit convoluted, the other two understood instantly.

"A hunting dog—great at finding clues, no less than a police dog!" Xiao Mengyu said.

"That's really amazing. Now I want to get a dog myself," Shen Ye remarked.

"Actually, it's a wolf," Zhang Xiaoyi reminded.

"Isn't that even cooler?" Shen Ye said.

"Yeah, it is," Zhang Xiaoyi agreed, also enraptured.

They both stared at the doggy/wolf.

"You guys are enough, you know, it's a classmate!" Xiao Mengyu glared at them.

"If we end up at the same school, I'd get its food from the canteen, just asking it to have my back in times like these," Shen Ye said.

"Quick, Doggy bro has gone that way, let's catch up!" Zhang Xiaoyi quickened his pace.

After seven or eight minutes of tense searching—

The doggy stopped at the base of a hill, wagging its tail and sniffing around on the ground.

"What's it doing?" Shen Ye asked.

"Seems like it's looking for something," Xiao Mengyu replied.

Suddenly.

The doggy dug fervently at a spot in the dirt.

"It's found something!" Zhang Xiaoyi exclaimed excitedly.

Xiao Mengyu stepped forward and sliced with her sword.

The ground quickly split apart, revealing a narrow staircase that extended into the darkness below.

The group looked downwards.

The great sword flew up and landed behind them, its point directed opposite to where they were standing.

It seemed ready to cover their retreat.

A piece of wood bounced towards the staircase, rolled down it, and disappeared.

—The message was clear.

The statue positioned itself on top of Zhang Xiaoyi's head.

It decided to protect this team from the center.

"Let's go down and have a look."

"Yeah."

The four of them headed down the stairs.

It didn't take long for the surroundings to become quiet.

The noises above ground seemed far away.

The card vibrated again.

"Time's up."

"93 participants have been eliminated."

"You are about to enter the final assessment stage, please continue to work hard."

The end is near!

The group braced themselves and continued to move downward.

Shen Ye pulled out his cell phone to light the way.

About ten minutes later, the path ahead was blocked.

Doggy stopped in front of a stone wall, wagging its tail and looking at the trio.

There were strange patterns carved on the wall, obstructing the way forward.

Xiao Mengyu struck the wall with her sword.

The patterns on the wall seemed to come to life, suddenly bursting into five-colored lights, blocking the attack.

"It seems that brute force is not allowed—there's some sort of strange technique here that can block my sword,"

Xiao Mengyu said.

"This challenge is probably designed to be targeted," Shen Ye remarked.

Suddenly, the wall began to change.

The force of the attacks was absorbed into the wall, gathering along the patterns into a mass and then—

"Be careful!" Shen Ye shouted.

An even more ferocious Sword Qi burst forth from the wall, aimed straight at everyone, yet suddenly it swerved mid-way and struck Mu Tou.

Mu Tou trembled, and a line of text appeared on its surface:

"1/5, at 5 times, I die, and you'll never get past."

Xiao Mengyu, eager to try, immediately put down her sword.

There were only five chances.

She had already wasted one.

—But how could they get through the wall?

"Look quickly."

Shen Ye said.

The patterns on the wall recombined into a human shape, quickly demonstrating a set of Fist Technique.

After completing a cycle, the figure started again.

It went on and on, ceaseless and unending.

"I specialize in swordsmanship and have always struggled with my comprehension of Fist Technique. Maybe you two should give it a try?" Xiao Mengyu said with a frown.

Shen Ye, Zhang Xiaoyi, and Doggy watched the figure perform the Fist Technique.

Watching someone perform a Fist Technique wasn't that difficult.

However, the figure was made of countless patterns, which became dizzying after a while.

Should one's vision blur, discomfort and nausea would ensue, making it impossible to continue perceiving.

A few minutes later.

Doggy shook its head, whimpering a few times, then sat down in a different direction.

It gave up first.

Zhang Xiaoyi watched for a while, then also shook his head.

Shen Ye used to get carsick easily, and he was tempted to shake his head, but Zhang Xiaoyi had already done so, so he was left with no choice but to persist.

—Actually, I only knew one set of "What are you looking at" Fist Technique.

However, in this situation, it was up to him.

He added all 10 of his free attribute points to Comprehension.

This was an unprecedented number.

With every punch the figure on the wall threw, every move it made, Shen Ye ingrained it firmly in his mind, then broke it down, carefully perceiving each detail, mastering it thoroughly, integrating the understanding, and then reassembling it into a Fist Technique that he had thoroughly familiarized himself with.

He began to mimic the movements of the shadow.

Whatever the shadow did, he replicated, and after repeating the Fist Technique thrice, the shadow disappeared.

The wall turned into a blank canvas.

"How did it go?" Xiao Mengyu asked.

"I'll give it a try."

Shen Ye positioned himself in front of the wall and performed the entire set of the Fist Technique.

The wall remained still.

"Strange, I'm sure I've learned it," Shen Ye said perplexedly.

"It's just a wall, not a device capable of capturing your movements—you need to use that Fist Technique to hit it," Xiao Mengyu stated flatly.

"That's right," Shen Ye suddenly realized.

He performed the Fist Technique against the wall.

Boom, boom, boom—

The wall slowly rose.

Mu Tou rolled in first, followed by Shen Ye, then Xiao Mengyu, Zhao Xiaoyi, and Doggy, with the big sword trailing at the end.

The group continued along the steps for a while.

Ahead, a huge Stone Ball appeared, blocking their path.

The big sword flew past them and struck the Stone Ball with force, ringing out with a "clang."

Text conjured by magic emerged on the Stone Ball:

"No slashing allowed!"

"I'm not allowed to act again?" Xiao Mengyu felt a little miffed.

"So how do we pass this one, Brother Jian?" Shen Ye inquired.

The big sword traced a number on the Stone Ball:

"20."

What did that mean?

"I understand now. Let me take care of this," Xiao Mengyu said.

"What does it mean?" Shen Ye asked.

"You'll see when I try," Xiao Mengyu replied.

She sheathed her sword, rolled up her sleeves, and approached the Stone Ball, taking a deep breath.

"Go!"

With a shout, she channeled all her Strength into her hands and struck the Stone Ball with a palm.

Boom, boom, boom—

The Stone Ball began to move slowly, rolling forward.

But the path was flat, so after it rolled away from the spot where it was stuck, it stopped again, not far ahead.

"This challenge tests Strength; you need 20 points of Strength to move it,"

Xiao Mengyu explained.

Everyone fell silent, looking at her in unison.

"If one doesn't have 20 points of Strength, wouldn't that mean immediate elimination?" Shen Ye clicked his tongue.

Even with his Strength and free attribute points combined, he didn't have 20.

Xiao Mengyu's Strength was actually at 20! That was terrifying.

Wait!

She was currently the Team Leader, so with the card's enhancement, her attributes were doubled.

That's why she said she would do it—her Strength must be around 10.

"Your Strength is 10?" Shen Ye asked.

"Correct, and with the 'Team Leader' effect provided by the card, it adds up to 20—I'm actually not good at pushing Stone Balls," Xiao Mengyu admitted.

Shen Ye silently nodded.

Zhang Xiaoyi sighed, "I'm sorry, but my Strength isn't enough."

"It's okay if you don't have enough Strength. If you possess a high-level Palm Technique or Fist Technique that can instantaneously unleash greater destructive power, you can pass as well," Xiao Mengyu clarified.

10 points of Strength...

High-level Cultivation Technique...

This challenge seemed simple, but the requirements were indeed rigorous!

Wait a minute.

Shen Ye casually executed a Palm Technique stance.

Thunder Light flashed across his hands.

"The power of your palm strike is very strong. There shouldn't be a problem passing the challenge," Xiao Mengyu observed.

Shen Ye nodded slightly.

Thunder Shock Palm was part of the Frosty Moon Shocking Sky Technique, a Purple (One in Ten Thousand) level Technique.

With this palm strike, perhaps he could also reach 20!

He stepped forward a few paces and forcefully pressed both palms onto the Stone Ball.

Boom—

As the sound of thunder roared, the Stone Ball continued to roll forward.