Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Just a few seconds.

Shen Ye once again landed within Thunder Fortress.

This time the fortress had changed.

Everywhere lay broken walls and ruins; outside in the fields, various stone-throwing machines, siege towers, and battering rams were all burned to ash.

Fires raged fiercely within the city, spreading endlessly.

In the sky.

Dozens of flying lizards circled back and forth around the old man.

The orc warriors riding the flying lizards unleashed their full strength in attack, attempting to kill the old man.

On the ground, the chieftain with a battle flag stuck in his back, sliced open his own chest with a long knife, dipping the knife tip in his blood to trace a circular rune array on the ground.

"What is this for?"

Shen Ye, hiding behind a collapsed house, asked in confusion.

"The orc tribe's legacy really hasn't been broken," the great skeleton said with a sigh, "It is summoning the divine body of the orc ancestral god; next, it'll likely summon the ancestral god as a technique spirit and use full strength to defeat that broken divine body."

"Controlling... divine spirits..." Shen Ye murmured softly.

"Divine spirits have always been weapons of the world," the great skeleton said gravely, "They start as technique spirits and eventually grow into divine spirits, capable of unleashing unimaginable power in battle."

"I only know that the fourth level of the Law Realm can summon technique spirits, but what level of the Law Realm is required to summon divine spirits?" Shen Ye asked.

"The sixth layer of the Magic Realm," the great skeleton replied.

Boom—

The ground split open.

A body as imposing as a mountain rose from the earth, emitting waves of white mist all around.

This body stood about fifty to sixty meters tall, seen from afar, it was the body of an extremely muscular orc.

But this body had lost an arm and only half of its head remained.

The chieftain stood before the giant body, allowing it to open its mouth and swallow him.

The next instant.

The immense divine body raised a hand and released a shield of light, blocking the rain of fire.

It erupted with a strong force field, freezing everything within Thunder Fortress, rendering all life unable to move.

Shen Ye found himself immobile as well.

—This felt like being thoroughly subjugated by some kind of suppressive force; both body and soul were pinned in place without even a chance to resist.

Dots of light emerged, coalescing into text:

"You are enveloped in the natural force field of a divine spirit, currently, you are in a rigid state, unable to act."

The orc divine body slowly turned its head to look at Shen Ye.

Shen Ye's heart skipped a beat.

Discovered!

Despite being hundreds of meters away and even as the opponent was resisting the downpour of fire from above, it still had the excess strength to survey its surroundings and spot him.

What incredible power!

A meteorite suddenly fell from the sky, breaking through the shield of light.

The old man was no longer a humanoid being.

It transformed into a faceless giant serpent in midair, spewing out eight tentacles from its mouth, swinging them down below.

With each swing, a meteorite plummeted towards the earth.

"996... die!"

The serpent uttered indistinctly.

The orc divine body reformed the light shield to fend off the meteorites.

—It finally stopped observing Shen Ye and instead looked up to the sky, assuming a defensive stance.

The next instant.

"Don't move, pretend— I carry the bloodline of Miket Tikaxiwa, I won't be suppressed by the divine spirit field!"

The great skeleton transmitted the message quietly.

Suddenly, Shen Ye found he could move again.

Overjoyed, he whispered:

"I've realized something."

"What?"

"Battles of this level... seem like they're not for us to join in," Shen Ye said with a grave expression.

In the arena.

A deafening noise erupted from within the orc divine body:

"Undead Songstress, watch as I kill your impostor!"

The orc divine body grabbed a mottled battle axe as tall as itself from the void, its physique vibrated, and it charged into the sky with a thunderous blast.

"It seems we have no choice but to join in this battle," the great skeleton said.

"Why?" Shen Ye asked.

"The broken divine body has no conscious awareness and will soon be defeated."

"The orc divine body will surely draw all the strength from that broken body immediately, becoming even stronger—"

"There won't be an opponent for it across the entire continent."

"We only have this one chance, while they are still in combat, to launch a sneak attack on it!"

Shen Ye took a deep breath.

This was a divine battle!

—Was he really going to make such a daring move?

"I'm but a First Layer of the Magic Realm, but the opponent is of the Sixth Layer, with the weapon of a divine body; how can I fight?" he asked.

"Do you remember the skin of the Demon of Nightmare?" the great skeleton asked.

"I remember, after you received the legacy, you collected it again—wait! Does it have another use?"

"...My mother... left a technique on it."

"A technique?"

"Yes, the technique is ready without the need to expend power—it's meant to help me survive in Hell—there's only one chance, let's use it now," the great skeleton's voice trembled slightly.

"Are you willing? You know, we could run now," Shen Ye said.

He looked down at the ground.

With a single thought—

The ground would crack open a door, he would fall through, and return to the Main World.

So why waste such a precious strength?

"Shen Ye."

"What?"

"We can't run."

"Huh?"

"We absolutely cannot let the orcs succeed."

The great skeleton spoke with a determined tone, "Our world can never have 996, because that is not truly the direction life should pursue—that is my resolve as an undead."

Shen Ye suddenly froze on the spot.

"What's wrong?" the great skeleton asked.

"Fei Lun... if there's a chance in the future, I will definitely help you ascend the throne of Eternal Night City," Shen Ye sighed.

"We're going up?" the great skeleton asked.

"Up!"

Shen Ye put away the Golden Scepter and instead took out a set of Undead Battle Armor to wear.

Taking advantage of this moment, the great skeleton quickly spoke:

"Divine Spirits launch attacks based on the strength of the Professionals."

"When I activate the Dao technique on the Demon Skin, I need you to induce its descent."

"Why can't you induce it yourself?" Shen Ye asked.

"Because I have taken the path of the Divine Spirit, and now I am actually—" the skeleton paused for a moment, then added the last two words:

"A Technique Spirit."

As the words landed, Shen Ye had a sudden revelation and looked up sharply.

In the sky.

The tendrils of the faceless giant serpent moved like afterimages.

Meteorites shot towards the earth like machine gun fire, each one powerful enough to blast open the ground and trigger violent earthquakes.

The Orc Divine Body, however, blocked them with a Light Shield.

Not only that, but its hair and whiskers were bristling as a vast shadow of stars manifested behind it.

"No matter where you come from, you impostor, your time to die has come."

The Chieftain's voice, filled with rage, emanated from within the Divine Body.

It held a shield in one hand, and with the other hand, made of condensed mana, it suddenly reached into the shadow of stars and pulled hard—

A spear entirely constructed from stars was drawn out.
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"Go, the Divine Artifact that once pierced through countless starry heavens, the Legendary Spear, the Guardian of the Earth, slaughter that enemy for me."

"Ahhh—"

In the midst of the Chieftain's roar, the Orc Divine Body hurled the spear with all its might.

The sky instantly split apart.

Where the Star Spear passed, everything turned into nothingness.

In a corner of the battlefield.

Shen Ye, who had been watching the battle, felt a jolt in his heart.

The two sides were about to decide the winner!

He could wait no longer; it was the perfect moment to make a move.

He took a deep breath and shouted:

"Come!"

"Here it comes!" the great skeleton said.

A piece of Demon Skin quietly appeared in front of Shen Ye, followed by the great skeleton's whisper:

"Mother of Dark Skeletons, King of Ghouls, the defeated Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa."

"Oh my great mother."

"For this world, for the Undead Race, for the ideals in your heart—"

"—please release your true mighty power as a Divine Spirit with this human by my side as the anchor!"

A faint layer of gray mist emanated from the Demon Skin, like dust, fading into the void and disappearing.

The next second.

The entire world suddenly came to a standstill.

In the sky.

The piercing spear hung motionless in mid-air.

The faceless giant serpent had summoned a blazing fireball, its surface etched with various runes, gathering its final strength, ready to clash with the spear head-on.

The Orc Divine Body stood on the ground, maintaining the posture of a full-force throw.

Time seemed to have stopped in the entire world.

Amidst this silent stillness.

A delicate and graceful small skeleton emerged from mid-air, emitting an indifferent and serene female voice:

"I have been waiting in Hell for a long time, yet I did not expect the activation of this technique to be just for a sneak attack."

She was dressed in a black gown, with a black hat on her head which was surrounded with a ring of pale gray flame.

The lady held a book with extreme elegance.

Around the void of the book, human faces kept materializing.

The great skeleton flew out from the ring, knelt on the ground respectfully, and said solemnly:

"There are no longer any Divine Spirits in the world, only the orcs still possess Divine Bodies, and they wish to rule the entire land, enslaving all living beings with 996."

"What is 996?"

"Starting work at 9 in the morning, finishing at 9 in the evening, with a one-hour break at noon and evening (or less), totaling over 10 hours of work, and working six days a week."

"So did you call on me for the sake of this world? Fei Lun."

"Yes."

"What about when you go to Hell?"

"Shen Ye will go with me."

"Him? Let me see—The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities, The Little Match Boy, the one who eats the Tyrant's meal—just by these 'names'?"

"He possesses the rare talent of World Link."

"Oh… it seems your journey to Hell has a sliver of hope."

The Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa gently landed, standing on Shen Ye's shoulder with an extremely elegant posture, "Young man from the First Layer of the Magic Realm," she lightly touched the brim of the hat burning with gray flame, "it's too soon for you to wield a Divine Spirit's power, but this time all expenses are on me."

"—So, what is your profession in our Nightmare World?"

Shen Ye hesitated for a moment.

Do I need a Nightmare World profession?

Then—

"Respected Underworld Lord, I am a Songstress," Shen Ye declared.

"A Songstress… that's quite surprising…"

The Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa flipped through the Black Book for quite a while before stopping.

"There are countless ways for Divine Spirits and Professionals to cooperate, and you are an extremely special Songstress; I decide to bestow this technique upon you,"

She instructed, "Use your artistic talent to show it."

"—Remember, press down on the book's cover to launch the attack."

She closed the book gently, tossed it lightly, and let it hover in front of Shen Ye.