Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

"...Damn." The man spat out a word.

"What's wrong?" Shen Ye didn't understand.

"What did you give them that they were willing to part with such a large plaque?" the man asked.

"For the final challenge, I saw that they were destitute, so I funded them a small sum of money," Shen Ye admitted truthfully.

"It was Bone Coin, wasn't it? How much did you give them?"

"Two thousand."

The man's expression turned unpleasant, and with a light snort, he said:

"That scroll's transfer location is an Underground Imperial Mausoleum, among the thirty-five discovered small tombs, it is the richest, most luxurious, and strongest tomb of an ancient emperor."

"I sent you there to avoid disputes, after all, they generally don't bother the living."

"—They actually asked you for money???"

Shen Ye hesitated before replying, "They seemed very short of money, I just felt sorry for them."

A flicker of emotion passed through the man's eyes, quickly disappearing.

"You being able to pass all the previous challenges was within my expectations,"

"—but as a powerful individual, in the final maze, you thought of compassion, that really surprised me."

"Give me the plaque."

"Yes, Teacher."

The man took the plaque and smashed it with one strike.

Clang.

A crisp sound.

A bronze waist badge fell from the broken plaque.

The faint light suddenly coalesced into words:

"Underground Imperial Mausoleum waist badge."

"Token."

"When walking within the designated underground realm, you will not be troubled by any hardships."

"—My territory, my rules."

The man grabbed the waist badge, and the tightness in his brow relaxed.

"As long as they know the times—then I won't kill them—you take it. With this waist badge, attending my classes will be much more convenient in the future."
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He tossed the waist badge to Shen Ye.

"Elder, does this mean I've completed the task, or have I failed?" Shen Ye asked.

"You shouldn't have sympathized in the final challenge; instead, you should've defeated them one by one and forced the location of the exit out of them," the man explained.

Shen Ye sighed.

The man changed the topic: "However, if you had done that, I would've found it ordinary. In contrast, the way you handled it now truly made me recognize your value."

"...So I passed?"

"Yes, this waist badge is your proof of passing."

The man thought for a moment, then spoke straightforwardly:

"Ah, let me tell you the truth, I fought in that imperial tomb for a whole day and night to get a single waist badge, and others got nothing at all—you, on the other hand, must be the first one to buy a waist badge with money."

"Nobody else wanted to spend the money?" Shen Ye asked in surprise.

"The currency of the Undead, each coin has its owner, who would dare to steal one and give it to them?" the man said.

He glanced at Shen Ye and continued, "Only your Chaotic Heaven Gate has so many treasures that casually using something of the Undead could be accepted by them."

"So I was taken for a fool?" Shen Ye said.

"They might have just wanted to test you, but as your mentor, I must teach you a lesson," the man picked up the thread of conversation.

"I'm all ears." Shen Ye stood up straight, adjusting his attitude.

"Most of those who hurt you do so deliberately. When they confront you, they have already weighed the pros and cons."

"As long as you give in once, there will be unending trouble."

"—Of course, this time you were being charitable and they didn't really overcharge, so it doesn't count."

"I'm telling you this in advance, to give you a heads up."

"You should be cautious in the future."

"Yes, Teacher, what should I do?" Shen Ye willingly asked.

"First, you fight," the man said.

—That's acceptable, this real man's got style.

"Can fighting solve the problem?" Shen Ye asked.

"Solve the problem? No, fighting is for blowing off steam—beneficial for solving problems in a joyful state of mind and body," the man said.

"Makes sense." Shen Ye gave a thumbs up.

"Shall I help you get the money back?" the man asked.

Shen Ye quickly waved his hand, "If it's not possible, just let it go, it's only a small amount of money, it's really fine, since they were so kind to give me the waist badge—"

He clammed up.

In front of him, the man had already kneeled on one knee, clenched his fist, and began to speak:

"Good, since you don't care, we'll let them go— but the production cost of this waist badge is just a broken piece of bronze, so we'll get the difference back."

Boom!!!

The fist slammed hard onto the ground, even Shen Ye felt the earth dip down.

Dust spread out in a ring, heading in all directions.

The ground cracked open, revealing dense, bottomless fissures.

Screams resounded from deep within the earth.

A wisp of grey mist rose from the cracks in the ground, solidifying midair into the image of an elderly figure wearing a crown.

Powerful fluctuations of strength emitted from the old man, blowing away everything around.

Shen Ye was nearly swept away.

But the man in front of him stood his ground, shielding him from the impact.

The elderly man wearing a crown shouted angrily:

"Who disturbs my peace above ground——"

His voice suddenly rose, like a startled bird, like a dog that has lost its home:

"Damn it, it's you! I didn't provoke you!"

The man exhaled a ring of smoke and said leisurely:

"That bronze badge of yours was just street stall merchandise, yet you scammed two thousand Bone Coins from my student. Return nineteen hundred and ninety-nine of them right now, and we'll call it even."

"You're wrong, your student gave them willingly!" the old man shouted back furiously.

"He doesn't know what kind of scum you are. Or maybe you're thinking of being unreasonable?" The man sneered.

He reached out his hand as if to grab something from the void.

"Stop! I'll return it to you!"

The old man cried out in a mixture of alarm and anger.

Suddenly, a small pile of Bone Coins appeared on the ground.

The man glanced at it and shook his head: "Not enough."

"This is the damn 1999 Bone Coins you asked for, what more do you want!" the old man yelled in desperation.

"I made a move, too. I hit your palace from kilometers away just now, don't I get paid for that strike?" the man said, arms crossed.

"My palace was the one that got destroyed, and you're asking me for money?" the old man asked, trembling.

"Would I have made a move if you hadn't been asking for it?" the man said sternly.

"How much do you want?"

"Eight thousand Bone Coins."

"Impossible! If you dare, kill me!"

"Your wish is my command!"

The two charged at each other, crashing into the earth.

"..." Shen Ye.

Boom!!!

The earth trembled non-stop.

A few minutes later.

The man jumped up, readying his fist—

The old man followed, his face bruised and swollen, shouting: "Stop! Violence can't solve problems."

"But it can resolve you," said the man, with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"To hell with it—here! Eight thousand! Just don't come disturb my peace again!"

The old man had a swollen, bruised face, grating his teeth in frustration.

"Now it's 16000," the man said, lighting up another cigarette.

"Why!"

"I punched you just now, and it was tiring!"

"... Are you even human? Do you have any humanity left?"

"I don't need to save face—I don't want you to moralize at me, I have no morals!" the man said earnestly.

As he spoke, he seriously readied himself, raising his fist.

"..." The old man opened his mouth, but not a word came out.

This is really thuggish!

Even Shen Ye felt some sympathy for the old man now.

Shameless and so good at fighting, anyone dealing with this would suffer!

In an instant.

There were more Bone Coins on the ground.

The money was finally enough.

The man relaxed his fist, stepped forward, and patted the old man on the shoulder enthusiastically:

"We live in the same world, you should come visit more often."

"..." The old man.

"Aren't you folks quite wealthy? When did you start swindling money from the young?"

"..." The old man.

"All right then, see, I spent more time talking with you. Companionship isn't expensive, so another 100."

"Here." The old man said expressionlessly.

There was another little pile of Bone Coins on the ground.

The man looked towards Shen Ye:

"Do you still need money? They played you, so why not ask for a little more?"

"No need," Shen Ye waved his hands repeatedly, "they didn't really harm me, and they even gave me a waist badge, so let's forget it."

"All right, did you hear that? My student isn't bad, he's not making you fork out extra—goodbye." The man finally let go.

"Goodbye." The old man said nothing and flew into the ground below, disappearing from sight.

The man turned to look at Shen Ye.

"Not a bad haul this time, how about we hit a restaurant for lunch?" he said, flicking off the ash from his cigarette.

"..." Shen Ye.

The people of the Dharma Realm really hadn't done anything wrong.

At this moment, he truly understood that fact.

—That's why in this world there is an Evaluation Entry known as "a man who means business."

"Mentor, I am Shen Ye, and I still don't know how to address you."

"My surname is Xu, name Xingke, you can call me Old Xu or Teacher either way."