Gatekeeper of Myriad Worlds Chapter 180

“……Damn it.” The man uttered a single word.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Ye was puzzled.

“What did you give them for them to give you such a big plaque?” the man asked.

“In the last stage, I saw how poor they were, so I sponsored a small sum of money,” Shen Ye replied truthfully.

“It was bone coins, wasn’t it? How many did you give them?”

“Two thousand.”

The man’s expression was displeased, and he snorted lightly:

“The scroll teleports to an underground imperial tomb. Among the thirty-five small tombs already discovered, it is the richest, most luxurious, and most powerful ancient emperor’s tomb.”

“I sent you there to avoid disputes, as they usually don’t bother living people.”

“—They actually asked you for money???”

Shen Ye hesitated, saying, “They acted like they desperately needed money. I just felt sorry for them.”

A flicker of emotion passed through the man’s eyes, then quickly disappeared.

“That you could pass all the previous stages was within my expectation;”

“—But as a strong individual, in the final labyrinth, you thought of compassion. That truly surprised me.”

“Give me the plaque.”

“Yes, teacher.”

The man took the plaque and smashed it to pieces.

Clang.

A crisp sound.

A bronze waist牌 fell out of the plaque.

A faint light immediately gathered into text:

“Underground Imperial Tomb Waist Token.”

“Token of proof.”

“Travel within the designated underground world without being troubled.”

“—My territory, I rule.”

The man grabbed the waist token, his tightly furrowed brows relaxing.

“You’re quite sensible—then I won’t kill them—you take this. With this waist token, it will be more convenient for you to attend my classes in the future.”

He tossed the waist token to Shen Ye.

“Senior, have I completed this task, or failed?” Shen Ye asked.

“In the last stage, you shouldn’t have sympathized with them, but defeated them one by one and forced them to reveal the exit,” the man said.

Shen Ye sighed.

The man’s tone changed: “However, if you had done that, I would have only found it ordinary. Instead, what you did now truly earns my approval.”

“…So I passed?”

“Yes, this waist token is your pass.”

The man thought for a moment, then decided to speak frankly:

“Sigh, I’ll be honest with you. I battled in that imperial tomb for a whole day and night, and only managed to get one waist token. Others got absolutely none—you, however—you must be the first to buy a waist token with money.”

“Everyone was unwilling to pay?” Shen Ye asked in surprise.

“The currency of the undead, every single coin has an owner. Who would dare to steal a coin and give it to them?” the man said.

He glanced at Shen Ye, then added, “Only your Hun Tian Sect has so many treasures. Any undead items you randomly take can be recognized by them.”

“So I was seen as a gullible fool?” Shen Ye said.

“They might have just wanted to test you, but as your mentor, I must teach you a lesson,” the man interjected.

“I’m all ears.” Shen Ye stood straight, adopting a respectful attitude.

“Most of the people who harm you do so intentionally. When they step out, they have already weighed the pros and cons.”

“As long as you back down once, you will suffer endlessly.”

“—Of course, this time you were doing charity, and they didn’t really drive a hard bargain, so it doesn’t count.”

“The道理 is to tell you in advance, to give you a heads-up.”

“You need to pay attention from now on.”

“Yes, teacher, what should I do then?” Shen Ye asked eagerly.

“Fight first,” the man said.

—Alright, this pure man has style.

“Can fighting solve problems?” Shen Ye asked.

“Solve problems? No, fighting is for letting off steam—it helps us solve problems in a physically and mentally pleasant state,” the man said.

“Makes sense.” Shen Ye gave a thumbs-up.

“Shall I get your money back for you?” the man asked.

Shen Ye quickly waved his hand, saying, “If it’s really not possible, then forget it. It’s just a small amount of money, really no big deal. Since they so kindly gave me a waist token—”

He closed his mouth.

Across from him, the man was already kneeling on one knee, his hand clenched into a fist, and he spoke:

“Very good. Since you don’t care, we’ll let them off—but the production cost of this waist token is just a broken piece of bronze. We will get back the price difference.”

Boom!!!

His fist slammed heavily onto the ground, so hard that Shen Ye even felt the ground sink.

Dust spread out in all directions like a circular ring.

The earth cracked with dense, bottomless fissures.

Screams came from deep within the ground.

A gray mist rose along the cracks in the earth, materializing in mid-air into the image of an old man wearing a crown.

Powerful energy fluctuations emanated from the old man, blowing away everything around him.

Shen Ye was almost swept away.

But the man stood in front of him, taking the full impact.

The old man wearing the crown roared:

“Who on earth disturbs my peace—”

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

“Damn it, it’s you! I didn’t provoke you!”

The man exhaled a smoke ring, and slowly said:

“That bronze token of yours was originally a cheap trinket, and you extorted two thousand bone coins from my student. Return one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine immediately, and this matter will be settled.”

“That’s wrong! Your student gave it willingly!” the old man roared.

“He doesn’t understand what kind of characters you are, or are you planning to be unreasonable?” the man sneered.

He stretched out his hand, as if to pull something from thin air.

“No! I’ll return it to you!”

The old man cried out in anger and shock.

A small pile of bone coins immediately appeared on the ground.

The man glanced at it and shook his head, “Not enough.”

“This is the 1999 bone coins you asked for, what else do you want!” the old man shrieked, frantic.

“I also took action, didn’t I? I just attacked your palace from thousands of meters away. Shouldn’t that strike cost money?” the man said, crossing his arms.

“It was *my* palace that was destroyed, and you’re still asking *me* for money?” the old man asked, trembling.

“If you hadn’t been an ass, would I have bothered?” the man said sternly.

“How much do you want?”

“Eight thousand bone coins.”

“How could that be! Kill me if you dare!”

“As you wish!”

The two rushed towards each other, instantly colliding into the earth.

“…” Shen Ye.

Boom!!!

The earth trembled incessantly.

A few minutes later.

The man jumped out, his hand clenched into a fist—

The old man followed behind, bruised and yelling:

“Stop! Violence cannot solve problems.”

“But it can solve you,” the man said, puffing on his cigarette.

“Damn it—here! Eight thousand! Don’t you ever disturb my peace again!”

The old man, bruised and swollen, gritted his teeth.

“Now it’s 16,000,” the man said, lighting another cigarette.

“Why!”

“I just punched you, it was exhausting!”

“…Are you speaking like a human? Do you still have any humanity?”

“I have no shame at all—don’t try to morally blackmail me, I have no morals!” the man said seriously.

As he spoke, he earnestly assumed a fighting stance, raising his fist.

“…” The old man’s mouth opened, unable to utter a single word.

This was a damn hooligan!

Shen Ye even felt a little sympathy for the old man now.

Shameless, and so good at fighting, anyone crossing him would suffer!

In a moment.

More bone coins appeared on the ground.

The money was finally enough.

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

“Living in the same world, come up and visit often when you have time.”

“…” The old man.

“Aren’t you quite wealthy? When did you start conning young people out of their money?”

“…” The old man.

“Alright, see, I’ve chatted with you for a while longer. Companionship isn’t expensive either, give me another 100.”

“Here.” The old man said expressionlessly.

A tiny bit more bone coins appeared on the ground.

The man looked at Shen Ye:

“Are you still short on money? They tricked you just now, why don’t you ask for a bit more?”

“No need,” Shen Ye waved his hands repeatedly, “They didn’t really harm me much, and they even gave me a waist token, so let’s just let it be.”

“Alright, did you hear that? My student is good, he’s not making you pay extra—goodbye.” The man finally released his hand.

“Goodbye.” The old man silently flew underground and disappeared.

The man looked back at Shen Ye.

“Good haul this time, want to go to a restaurant for lunch?” he flicked the ash from his cigarette, and said.

“…” Shen Ye.

The legal world really hadn’t done anything wrong.

At this moment, he deeply understood that matter.

—Why there was such a descriptive term as “serious man” in the world.

“Mentor, I am Shen Ye. I don’t know how to address you yet.”

“My surname is Xu, my given name is Xingke. You can call me Old Xu or Teacher from now on.”