Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Void stirred.

Four beastmen appeared in each corner of the room.

"What exactly do you want?" Shen Ye couldn't help but ask.

The four beastmen formed spell seals simultaneously, and the one in the lead replied:

"The Great Chieftain is desperate for talent; a diva with your gifts should serve the Orc Tribe!"

"Wait a second—" Shen Ye exclaimed.

Bright lights emerged all around, converging into a line of rune curse marks that "swooshed" and struck Shen Ye.

"It's the chieftain's divine artifact! It's too late now!" the large skeleton said rapidly.

Before the words finished,

Whoosh—

Shen Ye was pulled by a tremendous force, breaking through the wall and soaring high into the sky.

He flew at a very fast speed in one direction.

"We've got him, quick! Hurry out of the city!"

"Go!"

Several beastmen shouted loudly.

On the other side.

It was still the Nightmare World.

At the border between the grasslands and the desert.

A majestic city appeared.

A shadow appeared in the sky.

Shen Ye!

The force dragged him at lightning speed, crossing the vast land, and in an instant, pulled him here.

"Aaaahhhh—"

He fell, slowing down, and appeared atop the wall of this grand city, standing at the center of a wide viewing platform.

"Welcome," someone said.

Shen Ye, his hair a mess from the high wind and his body covered with ice shards, first surveyed the surrounding scene.

Outside the city.

Various stone-throwing machines, siege towers, and battering rams were laid out directly on the ground.

Dense rows of war chariots were neatly lined up.

Further away in the mines, orc laborers pushed heavy mine carts one after another, shouting in rhythm.

The sound of hammering on iron was continuous.

Flames surged into the high sky.

In the city's training field, orc soldiers were practicing combat formations and stabs, roaring out in bursts.

The military discipline was strict.

"How's my army?"

A voice asked.

Shen Ye turned around and saw on the throne behind the viewing platform a beastman clad in armor from head to toe.

Technique masters, generals, and cavalry commanders of the Orc Tribe surrounded him on both sides.

"This is the Beastman Great Chieftain; be cautious, among the Four Tribes, he is known for his brutality," the large skeleton warned.

"Quite powerful, chieftain," Shen Ye said.

"My army is strict in discipline, strong in combat, and equipped with fine-quality gear, enough to stand against divine spirits from the Ancient Era!" the chieftain said proudly.

"What does it feel like to receive my invitation?" he asked again.

"—The speed was really fast, just a few seconds to fly over here, it's a bit cold," Shen Ye said honestly.

The fully armored chieftain wore a black iron face mask, his emotions unreadable, his tone especially calm:

"I have seen that performance in the Dharma Realm."

"Baxter, you truly have talent, you should be serving our great Orc Tribe, not wasting your days in the hands of the undead."

His tone held some mockery:

"You undead don't even have a monarch, a mere loose sand, what grounds do you have to still stand on this land and call it a kingdom?"

"Those skeleton frames should honestly become slaves for me—"

"Their fate is 007."

007.

From midnight to midnight, seven days a week, work without rest.

Shen Ye fell silent, then suddenly laughed.

This beastman chieftain actually implemented 996, and his ideal was 007—

Was he a capitalist from Blue Star in his last life?

"Great Chieftain, I mean no offense, but why did you think to start changing the beastmen with 996?" Shen Ye asked.

"It's a squabble between humans and the undead; they accuse each other of implementing 996, so out of curiosity, I conducted a detailed investigation," the Great Beastman Chieftain continued, "After a thorough understanding, I found 996 to be a brilliant idea."

"Anyway, the lower-ranking soldiers of our Orc Tribe don't matter much, it doesn't matter how many of them die. Using them for 996 can change the combat ability of our entire race!"

"I wonder who came up with this brilliant idea—"

"Honestly, I really want to thank him!"

Shen Ye wiped the cold sweat on his forehead.

Perspiration drenched his back.

—So it was after I released information about 996 that the other races got busy accusing each other, but the Orc Tribe took it as a true lesson and learned it?

Can I be blamed for this?

It's not my fault, right?

"Baxter, look," the Great Chieftain said.

Shen Ye looked in the direction he was pointing and saw several undead tied up on the training field, being chopped into mincemeat by fully armed beastmen.

The beastman soldiers...

Their weapons and battle armor sparkled brilliantly.

Regardless of their strength, just the equipment alone was not to be underestimated.

—Created by the way of 996.

"Do you see? My soldiers are fearless, and their battle gear is top-notch. Once they enter the battlefield, no race on the continent is my match."

"So you should feel fortunate—"

"You have already stood on the winner's side in advance."

"—Go then, Baxter, report to the entertainer troupe, and then immediately start working for me."

"Work hard, I won't treat you unfairly!"

The chieftain ended the conversation.

Two soldiers came up, intending to take Shen Ye down.

Shen Ye obediently followed them down from the high platform, down the staircase, all the way to a large underground prison.

A set of ready clothes was presented in front of Shen Ye.

"I have to wear this?"

Shen Ye asked, arms crossed.

He had been prepared for a fight, but this clothing was a bit...

Hard to lay hands upon.

"Do you think this will work?" someone asked.

"To be honest, it looks a bit shabby, but I don't really mind," Shen Ye commented seriously.

A golden mask.

A shoulder-length wig encrusted with diamonds.

Leather armor completely covered with gold.

A pair of high boots inlaid with colorful gemstones.

And a short staff made entirely of gold.

——Unrefusable.

Shen Ye let several orcs help him get dressed in the outfit.

"This was the former High Priest's clothing, now it's yours," an orc said.

"The Chieftain is wise," Shen Ye replied.

The curtain to another room was drawn.

An orc walked in, pulling a long iron staff out of the flames to show Shen Ye.

At the staff's front end was a red-hot special symbol.

The iron staff was aimed at Shen Ye's face.

"Don't move, you'll soon become the Chieftain's slave," the orc said on the side.

"The Chieftain is really confused," Shen Ye sighed.

He suddenly slapped the iron staff away and made a break for it.

"You can't escape," a few slaves by the side shrieked, "stop struggling and spare yourself some pain."

Shen Ye turned a deaf ear and strode past the prison gate.

——He disappeared!

Main World.

A door opened.

Shen Ye fell through.

The Great Skeleton sighed in relief and said, "That was close, a bit more and you would've been captured——that's the Chieftain's Invitation!"

While taking off the clothes, Shen Ye asked in surprise, "The Chieftain's Invitation?"

"That's the contemporary Beastman Great Chieftain's Divine Artifact. Just cast a curse with it, pass it on to an underling, and it can act as an invitation from the Chieftain himself," the Great Skeleton explained.

"No matter where you are, once you receive the invitation, you will be dragged to the Orc Tribe's Royal City——"

"Thunder Fortress!"

As they spoke, rows of Curse Script flashed in the air for a moment, then fell and stuck to Shen Ye's feet and neck.

——Like shackles.

A faint light gathered into words:

"Great Chieftain's Invitation."

"Purple (One in Ten Thousand)."

"Description: Once you've been hit by this, no matter where you are, you are in for a rapid aerial flight straight to Thunder Fortress!"

"Lasts three days."

"——You've been hit by this, might as well stay put in the Main World until the effects wear off."

Shen Ye moved around a bit and felt nothing unusual.

"So this can't cross worlds?" he asked.

"Of course not! Even Divine Spirits can't use their techniques across worlds!" the Great Skeleton retorted.

"How strange... I'm just a Diva, how could I be worth such effort to capture me, especially in the capital of the Undead Empire?" Shen Ye said curiously.

"Many things with the orcs rely on Shamans, and if they truly abandoned them, their entire society would inevitably fall into chaos," the Great Skeleton said gravely.

"So they use the Chieftain's Invitation to go around capturing people?" Shen Ye questioned hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm afraid they're scrambling to capture Divas everywhere, hoping to maintain the normal functioning of their society," the Great Skeleton replied.

Shen Ye sighed.

It was called an invitation, but it was more like forcible abduction.

He had told himself to prepare early so that he could complete a highly-rated entry tomorrow and thereby advance the gate again.

But now he had encountered an ambitious Beastman Chieftain.

If he were to be transported there again, wouldn't he be sent directly to Thunder Fortress, and have to fight those orcs?

Clearly, they were ready to wage war at any moment.

He couldn't beat them.

But he didn't want to be a slave either.

And this wasn't just about money. Continue the saga on m-v-l-e-mpyr

He didn't want anything to do with 996 or 807.

Tch.

This was a tough one!

Just then, the card vibrated incessantly, displaying many messages.

Shen Ye reluctantly took it out of his pocket.

On the card, a girl standing on a lone boat looked towards him.

Xiao Mengyu!

"Hello?" Shen Ye tapped to answer the call.

"Where did you run off to? I couldn't get in touch with you for ages," Xiao Mengyu asked impatiently as she looked at him.

"Something came up—what's the matter?" Shen Ye inquired.

"There's a big welcome party tonight, how are you preparing?" Xiao Mengyu queried.

"Preparing? Preparing what?" Shen Ye asked curiously.

"Clothes... You're not still planning to wear that middle school uniform, are you..." Xiao Mengyu said, at a loss for words.

A momentary haze crossed Shen Ye's mind.

Indeed.

He had spent too much time in the Nightmare World today, even putting on a song and dance performance.

It was already late.

——Tonight's welcome party, he was supposed to meet Song Qingyun!

Song Yinchen might be there too.

It was time to deal with this matter.

So——

Go in the middle school uniform?

That might not be a good idea.

After all, he was far from a pure middle school student.

Wear something more flashy?

He did buy a few vampire outfits in the Nightmare World.

But would it be proper to wear that?

...Wearing vampire attire for a cosplay at such an event, wouldn't it undermine the dignity of a Chaotic Heaven Gate disciple?

It seemed a bit inappropriate.

What about the High Priest's Golden Armor?

...Don't flaunt your wealth.

"I don't have any suitable clothing on hand, only that school uniform is wearable," Shen Ye told the truth.

"I've prepared a set for you, do you want to try it?" Xiao Mengyu asked.