Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

The surroundings gradually became clear.

The white walls were covered with dirty black ash; the houses were shabby and broken, some places even lacked roofing tiles.

It had rained not long ago, and stepping onto the ground in the courtyard immediately covered one's feet in mud.

In the dilapidated courtyard, a large wooden sign leaned against the wall, with two characters written on it:

"Conscription."

A corpulent man sat behind the desk, dressed in official robes, his forehead soaked with sweat.

"Come on, move it!"

He yelled impatiently and casually threw a wooden token to the frail man opposite him, gesturing for him to leave with a wave of his hand.

That token bore two characters:

"Labor."

The frail man took the token, cried a few times, and, helpless, turned to leave.

The corpulent man straightened his official hat and barked with a fierce glare:

"Step up one by one for me to see, be quick about it, and don't waste this official's time!"

Everyone exchanged uncertain glances.

However, before anyone could step forward, the plump official's tone changed, and he said with a cheery smile:

"That young lady there, how come you've been sent here too?"

"Come now, let this official take a good look at you, maybe I'll take pity and spare you from this duty."

The crowd followed his gaze.

——It was Xiao Mengyu.

There was no helping it; as a young girl in the prime of her youth, with a beauty that was second to none, she stood out in the crowd like an exiled celestial fallen to the mortal realm, exceptionally conspicuous.

With a light smile curling at the corner of her mouth, Xiao Mengyu truly stepped forward and stood in front of the high desk.

"Name?"

"Xiao Mengyu."

"Do you possess other skills?"

"I do."

"Come, follow me to the room, and let this official test your skills thoroughly."

Clang!

A sword flashed, and the man's official robe, along with his clothes, was instantly slashed in half, exposing his chest.

The sword, aimed at his heart.

The man was about to shout but was interrupted by Xiao Mengyu:

"Don't yell—if you do, I'll just push the sword a little, and it will be just right to penetrate your heart, and you'll die."

Beads of sweat dripped one by one from the man's face, terror written all over his face as he nodded repeatedly.

"Do you think I should serve as labor?"

Xiao Mengyu asked.

The man hastily shook his head.

"Still want to test my skills?" Xiao Mengyu's voice grew even softer.

The man didn't dare to move his body but shook his head even more vigorously.

He picked up another bundle of tokens from the table, drew one, and tossed it to Xiao Mengyu.

All eyes focused, only to see two characters written on the token:

"Soldier."

There were only two types of wooden tokens on the desk, one marked "Labor" and the other "Soldier."

——In any case, Xiao Mengyu had escaped the fate of labor.

She picked up the "Soldier" token from the desk and said cheerily, "If I see you trouble any woman, I will kill you, no matter what official you are. Understand?"

The man nodded again.

Only then did Xiao Mengyu pocket the token and turn to walk out of the courtyard.

It was not until then that the man let out a shout, scrambling into the house out back.

The fellow students began to talk amongst themselves.

Nangong Sirui looked at Shen Ye and asked, "Are you going to pass the test like this too?"

"I don't know," Shen Ye said.

"Hmph, if it were me, I'd just kill the fellow outright. To become a river pirate by assumed identity would also be quite enjoyable," Nangong Sirui said.

——Teacher Dong had instructed them to get rid of the laborer status, and surely, killing an official would no longer make one a laborer.

"Show me by killing him," Shen Ye pointed ahead.

Nangong Sirui looked and saw another official coming out of the house and sitting down at the table.

"Alright, let's continue, next person come up."

The official said with a grim expression.

Zhang Xiaoyi stepped forward.

"Labor, off you go," the official directly tossed out a token.

"Look closely, sir, I shouldn't be assigned labor," Zhang Xiaoyi said with a smile as he placed something on the table.

The crowd looked on, only to see it was a silver ingot.

Heaven knows where he had found that piece of silver!

The official's face broke into a smile, nodding repeatedly, "You're a promising one, here, take this instead, and go!"

He retracted the "Labor" token and instead gently placed the "Soldier" token on the table.

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhang Xiaoyi took the token and turned to leave.

"Hey, why are you bribing?" Guo Yunye grabbed him, indignant.

Zhang Xiaoyi whispered something in his ear before walking out of the courtyard.

Guo Yunye stood stunned for a moment, no longer angry, his face even carried a hint of a smile.

When asked by someone, he said in a quiet voice:

"The official had those exact silver ingots on him. A Yi took his silver and then used it to bribe him."

Meanwhile, the official called out:

"Next!"

This time it was Shen Ye's turn.

Shen Ye walked up, standing behind the desk, and directly asked:

"Can one simply buy their way into being a soldier?"

"Nonsense!" the official glared at him, "That lad just now clearly looked shifty; how can you compare with him?"

A token was thrown over.

The soldier token.

"Seeing as you carry a sword on your waist and conduct yourself with dignity, surely you're adept at fighting on the battlefield—off you go!" said the official.

Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.

Shen Ye was also somewhat bewildered.

But having already passed the test—

He picked up the soldier token, bowed to the official, and turned to walk toward the exit of the courtyard.

"I get it," Nangong Sirui whispered, "you have a sword at your waist, people from this era can't normally afford such a sword, and earlier, Xiao Mengyu made a move; thus, the official feared you might have a different identity, which could put him at disadvantage if a fuss was made."

Everyone seemed to understand.

Only Shen Ye kept his head down, silently proceeding forward.

A faint light emerged, gathering into small characters:

"Today's 'Tyrant's meal' has been used up."

"——Without having to pay any price, you have already become an official soldier."

Alright then.

...Actually, that works too.

Outside the courtyard.

Xiao Mengyu and Zhang Xiaoyi were waiting.

"Eh? According to Teacher Dong's requirements, you've gotten rid of your hard labor status. You should be able to finish class now, right?" Shen Ye asked.

Upon hearing this, both of them pointed to the ground.

Shen Ye looked down and saw a line of words written on the ground:

"Getting rid of hard labor is only the minimum requirement, barely meeting the classroom requirement of 60 points. You need to continue to find a way to obtain a higher status."

...Alright, let's wait a bit longer then.

"When did you steal that official's silver?" Shen Ye asked curiously.

"While you were lining up there, I slipped out of the courtyard and walked around it. I just happened to see someone bribing that official at the back door. While he went inside to drink tea, I deftly snatched one ingot," Zhang Xiaoyi said.

"Coming in and gathering intelligence, not bad!" Shen Ye gave him a thumbs up.

A while later.

Students passed one after another.

Only a very few students didn't succeed, among them was Guo Yunye.

Zhang Xiaoyi became anxious, rushed forward, grabbed Guo Yunye by the clothes, and said:

"Hey, what are you doing? If all else fails, just beat him up."

Guo Yunye was somewhat ashamed and said with his head down:

"I didn't perform well."

Shen Ye also found it strange, then he saw Zhou Heng coming out of the courtyard—

He seemed to have been behind Guo Yunye in line.

"Zhou Heng, let me ask you, why didn't Yunye pass?" Shen Ye spoke up.

Zhou Heng shook his head and said, "He heard that working as hard labor meant unlimited food, eat as much as you want, so he hesitated and didn't perform well."

Everyone looked towards Guo Yunye.

"No, that's not it. I really didn't perform well," Guo Yunye hastily waved his hands.

Nangong Sirui, fanning himself with a fan, said leisurely:

"Hard labor gets no meat to eat, but soldiers do."

Guo Yunye let out an "Ah" and looked up, full of regret on his face.
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——So you just wanted to eat!

Everyone thought quietly to themselves.

Soon, the hard laborers were left behind, and the others were asked to walk up the mountain.

Everyone proceeded to move out.

After about a quarter of an hour's walk.

"Hey, are you guys the new recruits of this batch?"

Someone shouted loudly.

Looking towards the voice—

On the hillside, a few soldiers surrounded a man dressed as an officer, looking over this way.

Everyone glanced at each other.

"Hey! Who kicked me!"

Zhang Xiaoyi cried out and staggered out of the line.

Those people immediately looked towards Zhang Xiaoyi.

Having no choice, Zhang Xiaoyi stepped forward and said:

"Yes, we are the new recruits of this batch."

The officer glanced at him and nodded, "You look tough and resilient, be a sapper—here, take these tools and go up the mountain to report for digging duty."

Zhang Xiaoyi's face was bitter.

If he had known this—

Why the hell would he stand out or become any sort of squad leader?

"Hurry up, or you'll face military discipline!"

The soldiers by the officer's side shouted.

Zhang Xiaoyi had no choice but to go.

"Come one by one, I will assign you tasks according to your abilities," the officer said again.

Nangong Sirui stepped forward from the crowd, the first to stand out.

He tossed a jade pendant to the other party.

The officer saw it and nodded, "A disciple of the Nangong Family? If I had you go mining, I might as well not show up for work tomorrow—just go wait over there in the pavilion."

Everyone took a sharp breath.

This was thousands of years ago!

That is to say, the Nangong Family was already a prestigious family of this era thousands of years ago!

Nangong Sirui said nothing, saluted the officer, and walked leisurely to the opposite pavilion, continuing to fan himself while he started drinking a cup of tea.

"Next!"

The officer shouted.

The students all turned their gaze towards Shen Ye and Xiao Mengyu.

These were the top three of the exam!

Xiao Mengyu was the first to step forward and saluted, "Your Excellency, this humble girl is skilled in swordsmanship."

"Oh?" The officer got interested, "Try crossing swords with one of my personal guards."

A soldier stepped forward holding a spear.

Xiao Mengyu greeted him with her sword in hand.

"Begin!"

The spear thrust forward.

Xiao Mengyu parried with her sword, stepped forward, and lightly thrust her sword, placing it against the opponent's neck.

Effortlessly.

"I yield," Xiao Mengyu sheathed her sword.

The officer clapped in admiration, "Simplify the complex? Your swordsmanship has reached fluency, take this waist badge and wait over there in the pavilion!"

"Yes!" Xiao Mengyu took the waist badge, dragging her feet as she went.

She stole glances at Shen Ye.

Shen Ye had no choice but to step forward and saluted, "Your Excellency—"

Before he could finish a word, the officer interrupted:

"Hmm, seeing your handsome appearance, extraordinary bearing, astonishing talent, and elegant demeanor, you just go on ahead," the officer waved dismissively.

Pin-drop silence.

The students exchanged glances, all stunned for a moment.

This—

Does that even work???