HCB Chapter 208 Neighboring Realms: The Ninth Domain
Chapter 208 Neighboring Realms: The Ninth Domain
(An hour after the nameless power subdued almost all the quasi-elves in the tenth realm with virtue~)
At the edge of this conquered flat land, beyond the sea, the journey continues, towards that legendary punctuality, that "Road to Heaven" that leads to the next realm.
Four travelers, attempting to leave this place, slowly walked towards the entrance of the "Road to Heaven," where they gazed at what appeared to be a massive city gate.
"This is the [Path to Heaven] leading ahead, something I've never even heard of before..."
Staring at the imposing white door, Rainbow Eyes was filled with shock, even a little excitement. She seemed to see herself returning to the wonderful life in the real world and having a sweet encounter.
"Wow! It looks really hard! I wonder if I can even try to cut it now!"
At this point, Masami Hijikata drew his katana without hesitation, his eyes filled with curiosity about the unknown.
"Wu Ming, aren't you going to stop her?"
"Miss Rainbow Eyes, shouldn't I be asking you that? Why don't you stop me from advancing like this? And you good-for-nothing Rinne, as the former ruler, you should know how to use this thing, right?"
Wuming talked and looked around, and the last one to come was Liyinmeng, who was already panting.
Rionmu, her hands supporting her knees, finally caught her breath. She was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly came to her senses:
"Huff... Wait for me, let me catch my breath. To be honest, I'm really bad at sports. This door to the Tenth Domain is so remote, and I still have to run this far. Huff... Ah! Hijikata-nee! This thing will break, you can't just chop it up like that!"
"Damn it! These strange and mysterious items made of unknown materials can break too! Why didn't you say so earlier! Hijikata, stop right now!"
Reminded by the belatedly arriving Rion, Wuming was so frightened that he rushed towards Zhengmei at the fastest speed in his life. Before the knife could touch the [Path to Heaven], it was grabbed by a hand from behind.
Hijikata Masami looked at the knife that had been taken away with a look of annoyance.
"Ouch! Boss, what are you doing? Ouch! That hurts! What are you doing?!"
"Don't attack just because it's a problem! If the [Path to Heaven] is destroyed, what's the point of defeating the [Puppet Master]!"
"Is that so? So that's what the boss was thinking."
"That's always been my opinion."
"I see! I always thought the boss just wanted to fight!"
"No! My goal has always been to find that person!"
"What's going on?!"
Ayaka exclaimed in surprise, because in her eyes, the noisy Hijikata Masami was actually—
Just before the knife was grasped, the tip of the knife, as if through a machine gun, pierced through the door.
"Miss Rion, what's this?"
"Which one?"
"Just now, there was a brief moment when the tip of Zhengmei's [Fallen God] pierced through the door."
"Oh, this? What did you think it was? Actually, the door to the [Path to Heaven] has always been just for show. In most cases, without a ruler managing it, it just passes through naturally. Isn't that normal knowledge?"
(Note: Wuming did not become the ruler; he merely spread the rumor that he was the ruler to rapidly increase his fame and ensure that "that person" would hear it during this process.)
Wuming was also taken aback by Liyinmeng's words.
"So, that's why I touched something solid last time. I see."
Wuming asked. Liyinmeng nodded:
"Of course, there's a ruler governing that place!"
Upon hearing this, Hijikata Masami became interested:
"Then I'll give it a try first!"
As she spoke, she strode towards the door. The moment her body touched the door, it was as if she had passed through a thin veil and smoothly entered the room.
Wow! It really works!
Masami Hijikata's voice came from inside the door. Upon seeing this, Ayame, though maintaining a quiet demeanor, couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes.
Liyinmeng looked at Wuming and said:
"Sigh, speaking of which... Wuming, where are Miss Sherry and Miss Tonami? Didn't they come to the Ninth Realm together?"
"You mean them? This wasn't part of the promise I made to them in the first place. I wanted Rihan to follow me and have a reason to live, so I asked her to help me manage this area and keep it running smoothly, and to make some changes to the system. As for Sherry, well, consider her a buy-one-get-one-free deal..."
"Wow! It happened! What a ruthless comment!"
“No, I’m just telling the truth. I don’t understand her ideals, but I can tell that she doesn’t want to leave here, so I have no reason to invite her.”
"I see."
"Good that you understand. Now hurry up and leave, you good-for-nothing! The Ninth Realm still needs you as a guide."
"Ah! I knew why you were so eager to send me back! You really did have an ulterior motive!"
"Didn't you react? Your reaction time is really slow."
"You're the slow one!"
"What do you have to say? Let's go now."
"I suddenly don't want to leave."
Facing Rinne, who suddenly sat down on the ground and began to stubbornly "humph," Wuming revealed a sly smile.
"Hijikata, do you want to kill someone now?"
"What! Of course I miss the boss!"
"Look at this former idol sitting on the ground, sulking. Isn't he a good fit?"
"Well..."
Hijikata Masami hesitated for a moment.
"No! Wait, wait! We can talk this out. I may not be able to beat you, and I don't have as many people as you right now... but I'm cuter than you! You can't treat me like this! You should respect me and cherish me!"
"Hmph, I refuse."
"Well... this guy's lukewarm tone is really infuriating."
"You'll get used to it. After all, even if a quasi-elves lose their memories from their previous life, their habits and personality will be retained. It's alright. It should be very difficult for Mr. Wuming to change."
Faced with such a noisy question, I, who had been studying the obsidian door, spoke up for Rion.
"Well, that's true... Although I'm cute, sometimes I have to be understanding of people who are naturally emotionless."
"Huh? I'll settle the score with you later... Oh, speaking of which, Miss Colored Eyes, haven't you figured it out yet?"
"Sorry, I don't even know how to use this thing that I've never heard of before. By the way, how do I open this door?"
Upon hearing this, Rion Meng reacted for a moment, and suddenly she became conflicted.
"It might be temporarily inaccessible... I can't open it no matter what I do."
"……ha?"
Wuming suddenly gave a cold, wry smile. To Liyinmeng, that smile was like seeing something like an rage bar stacking up.
In other words, a light punch from this man who could demolish buildings with his bare hands resulted in a large bump on the head of the originally cute girl.
"Ah... wait a minute, no problem, no problem! Even if it can't be opened, there are other ways to get through."
"Is it possible to move forward without opening the door...?"
Having grasped the key point, Caiyan immediately pressed for further questions.
"Yes, that's right. Just adjust the spirits to the same frequency."
Wu Ming's arrogant smile had vanished without a trace, replaced by the clear, innocent eyes of a college freshman, looking only at his seniors with a blank expression.
This is what Rion Yume was thinking.
"This... It is said that this door was created by the Dominator in the early stages of the neighboring realm. The spiritual energy in the early stages seemed to be very unstable and was often eroded by the spiritual energy overflowing from other realms."
Rion's Dream Metaphor:
"It's like an earplug to protect against really bad singing."
Are you talking about yourself?
"No! I sing really well!"
"Then why don't you sing one?"
"Wu Ming, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten that I can't sing?!"
"That seems to be true. I guess I was just being silly and being cheeky."
In short, there are ten realms in the neighboring world, connected by the [Path to Heaven], but it is said that the overflowing spiritual energy will inexplicably become active... and sometimes form tremendous destructive energy.
"However, judging from the extent of the damage, this place was vandalized beforehand, probably by those who left earlier."
"So, after you compared it to so many other things, it's not broken at all?"
"No, it's broken, or rather, the current situation is that even if the security mechanism is compromised, it's useless."
"........."
During their argument...
"Speaking of which, shouldn't it be okay to just touch it? Colorful eyes."
That sounds like it.
"While you and little Rine are still playing, why don't we give it a try first?"
"Uh... I'm really looking forward to it, but it feels a bit risky to implement it before others have done it."
"Hehe, you'll know once you try it!"
As he spoke, Hijikata Masami reached his hand into the obsidian door.
"Identification in progress. [Special Attack Spirit Armor - Seventh and Eighth Black Silk Might] successfully identified, first spirit attribute."
With a mechanical sound, the obsidian door slowly opened, and a soft light shone through.
Hijikata Masami turned around excitedly and waved to Wuming and the others:
Wow! It really works! Come on in!
Unable to contain her anticipation, Ayame followed closely behind Masami Hijikata through the door.
Wuming looked at Liyinmeng and urged:
"Stop dawdling, hurry up."
Rion Meng pouted, stood up, dusted herself off, and muttered:
"Okay, okay." Then she reluctantly walked towards the door.
The moment Wuming stepped into the Ninth Domain, an aura completely different from that of the Tenth Domain rushed towards him.
A vast and imposing gate stood before them, like a mysterious portal to an unknown world. More than could be concealed behind them lay the idol sanctuary formed by beautiful melodies—the Ninth Realm!
"Wow! I'm finally back! I can't wait to get back to my big bed and lie in bed for 456 days straight!"
Just as Rion was immersed in the joy of returning home, Wuming looked at the place where he had first landed and was filled with mixed feelings, after estimating the time.
'Looks like they didn't intentionally make it this late. They just timed it perfectly to coincide with the guard's shift change. If they control the blind spots, they can all get in without anyone noticing.' That's what he's really thinking now.