Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Norton suddenly drew a short sword and thrust it at Shen Ye.

Shen Ye swung his blade to block it.

Norton continued to strike with his sword, which Shen Ye kept blocking.

"Working so hard?" Shen Ye said with a smile.

"I'm not using my Dharma Aspect, so it's easy for you to deal with." Norton responded.

A faint golden glow emanated from his body, all pouring into the short sword.

A powerful fluctuation of strength spread from the tip of the sword.

The next instant.

Before attracting the attention of others, Norton suddenly "clang" sheathed his sword.

"How about that?" he asked.

"No good, still far off," Shen Ye said truthfully.

Indeed, his own strength wasn't all that great. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

But having seen a lot, his vision was truly high.

"Hmph, your strength is also average, what makes you say I am far off." Norton was displeased.

Strength...

Shen Ye glanced at the void.

The frequency of the tiny glowing characters popping up wasn't as high as before, but every few minutes, prompts like "Strength +0.5," "Comprehension +0.7" still appeared.

The power of Tian Luo had not been completely absorbed!

"Your target isn't me, but the one who killed your father—has your bloodline awakened?" Shen Ye said.

"I've used the Blood Ignition Technique, my bloodline is awakening, it still needs some time," Prince Norton said.

Shen Ye understood.

—He was too eager to avenge his father.

To kill the Nine Aspects, it was far too difficult.

But to liberate the Earth Mother, he needed to put in effort.

"How much longer before you can fully awaken?" Shen Ye asked.

"Unclear—if things go well, very soon; if the talent is not enough, there's no hope for a lifetime," Prince Norton said.

"What exactly is the principle behind this bloodline awakening of yours?" Shen Ye asked.

"Removing impurities from the bloodline, infinitely activating the power of blood mana, with the strength of mana glyphs, let the divine blood awaken, and ignite divinity," Prince Norton explained.

Shen Ye nodded his head.

He didn't understand.

However, Norton must awaken.

Only by gathering the power of the three gods could they open the prison that held the Earth Mother.

"I have a question," Shen Ye said.

"Speak."

"Where did you get that Death Camouflage Cloak from?"

"Isn't it good?"

"It's good, in fact, it's too good, that's why I'm very curious about its origins."

—Nobody could tell when he posed as a vampire!

It was truly a divine artifact!

Norton chuckled and said, "That's a treasure passed down in our family; in the distant past, our family actually came from the Divine World."

"Why are you in the Nightmare World?" Shen Ye asked.

"According to family records, while fleeing, we discovered a world that suddenly appeared within this void, complete with an intact ecosystem, allowing us to survive, so our entire family stayed in this world," he explained.

"The cloak is one of our family's ancestral treasures, said to be undetectable even by the mighty of the Nine Layers of the Law Realm."

"In case things go wrong, I'm prepared to flee to the world of the Undead and live as a vampire," Prince Norton said.

Shen Ye suddenly realized.

No wonder this kid had so many Bone Coins, and so much Undead Armor.

He had long prepared a way out!

"You were actually willing to let me use it," Shen Ye remarked appreciatively.

"It's because you once saved my life, and I thought I could take a gamble; after all, I still prefer the lifestyle of the human world," he said.

As Norton spoke, he stood up and picked up several invitations from a table nearby.

"During this visit to the Undead Empire, several major undead forces have sent me invitations, hoping that I would attend their banquets."

"The earls of Pale Shadow, the skeletons of Soul-casting Holy Bone, those of the Dark Rose Dark Night Undead, and of course, His Highness the Regent."

"They seem to each form a faction."

"Peiqi, which faction do you think I should get closer to?"

Shen Ye walked to the window, looking out at the bustling Undead Main Street.

The voice of Underworld Lord Miket Tikaxiwa arose quietly:

"The Earth Mother has asked me to tell you, Karula is in the Marchioness's castle, and the Marchioness belongs to the Dark Night Undead faction."

"It would be best to find a way to meet the Marchioness and see whether she is an underling of the Nine Aspects, or possibly the Nine Aspects themselves!"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Ye turned to Norton and said,

"You need to gain the goodwill of the Regent, or you'll be in mortal danger in an instant."

"Really? Can't be true," Norton said, somewhat disbelieving, "I'm a prince of the Human Race. If he kills me, wouldn't he be afraid of starting a world war?"

"He is the strongest and doesn't care about anything in this world—Your Highness the Prince, this time you must listen to me," Shen Ye said gravely.

"...That dangerous?" Norton hesitated.

In fact, he was capable of discerning truth from falsehood and already knew the other party was telling the truth.

"Yes, you must never be careless, even if you are just feigning compliance, you must interact with him pleasantly—it's for the sake of preserving your life," Shen Ye said.

"But what if he doesn't accept me?" Norton asked.

"The moment you arrive, say that you and the vampire Long Wu Baxter are friends, that your relationship is one of life-and-death, and Baxter recommended you to call on him, asking the Regent if there's anything you can do, as the Human Race will fully support him," Shen Ye instructed.

Norton seemed thoughtful.

He had disguised himself as Baxter with a cloak?

Even the Regent of the Undead Empire had to give Baxter some face?

It seemed Peiqi had been busy behind the scenes.

"...What if he asks me how I know Baxter?" Norton inquired.

"Net friends—no, it started as pen pals," Shen Ye took out a piece of Magic Paper, "after meeting in person, we gradually became good brothers."

Norton pulled out an invitation and looked at the time on it.

"It's almost time, since you put it that way, I won't hesitate any longer, I'll go see the Regent first!"

"There's one more thing I need your help with."

"What is it?"

"Deliver a gift to the Marchioness, one that's of appropriate status."

...

Half an hour later.

A mirror sculpted from gold appeared atop Marchioness Charlotte's table.

The butler checked the gift as usual.

—Of course, there was nothing wrong with the gift.

But the matter of the prince's gift was not reported.

Because the Marchioness never cared about such things.

The mirror was moved directly into her collection room and, together with the other treasures, was covered with a thick dust cloth.

The door closed.

All was quiet.

After a while.

"Can you sense Karula?" Shen Ye asked.

"Approximately in the southwest direction of the castle."

"Good, I'll go right away."

"But there's something I have to remind you of."

"What's that?"

"This place is full of the dead—the Undead whose spirits have gone to Hell, leaving only their remains here."

Shen Ye leaped out from the mirror, lifted the dust cover, and carefully looked around.

"Ah... I can feel it..."

He gently opened the door.

Immediately, the melodious sound of a flute reached him.

If you listened carefully to this flute music, one's spirit would gradually relax, becoming calm in body and mind.

Shen Ye narrowed his eyes.

A wave of sleepiness came over him but soon dissipated entirely.

Afterward.

He became more alert.

"It's Karula—she can sense the presence of everyone listening to the flute, she already knows you're here, which is why the calming effect of the music has spared you."

The voice of the Earth Mother sounded.

"I'll find her now!"