Realm Walker

Kangyang District. A high end apartment near the Public Security Bureau.

On a large bed covered with star sign dolls, Guan Ya shot bolt upright, the last traces of sleep blown away in an instant.

”Yuanshi! Yuanshi!” she shouted several times, but received no response. Clawing at her hair in frustration, her mind raced. How could he be so unlucky? How could that kid be so impossibly unlucky?

An ordinary Spirit Realm Walker might never encounter an S-rank dungeon in their entire life. Some encountered one just once, and that single encounter defined them forever. Yet here was Yuanshi, having barely survived a bugged trial mission, only to turn around and stumble straight into an S-rank multiplayer dungeon.

Why on earth had he chosen ”Yuanshi Tianzun” as his name? Did he really think an ordinary person could bear the weight of a title like that?

Guan Ya ended the call in a frenzy and dialed Li Dongze’s number.

—You never call me after hours. Let me guess what happened—

The Squad Leader was about to showcase his signature blend of humor and elegance, but she cut him off unceremoniously.

”Yuanshi has entered a dungeon. Jinshui Amusement Park.”

Li Dongze’s voice spiked several octaves, every shred of elegance gone in his tone.

—What?!

Through the phone, Guan Ya heard the clatter and bang of objects toppling, presumably the squad leader leaping out of bed and crashing into his desk, sending everything flying.

—Oh my God. Oh my God...

He repeated the words over and over, his mind a storm of chaos.

It was exactly the nightmare they had feared. When one of the Transcendent-tier multiplayer instances had become an S-rank dungeon, both the Centurion and Li Dongze had given Zhang Yuanqing the old version of the dungeon guide as a precaution, a safety net, hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

No one had actually expected the kid to land in an S-rank dungeon.

In that moment, the squad leader felt the terror and dread of the incident involving Sheling Tunnel wash over him all over again. He drew a deep breath, forcing down the worry and agitation surging up within him, suppressing the overwhelming urge to curse in a manner most unbecoming of his refined image, and kept his voice composed.

—I understand. I’m just as worried as you are, but no one can help him now. All we can do is pray. Pray that he isn’t someone fated to die young, and wait for dawn.

Transcendent-tier dungeons never lasted too long, since Walkers at that level still needed to eat, drink, and sleep. If everything went well, the dungeon could be cleared within twenty-four hours. If not, it would mean that everyone inside had perished. This was precisely why the forum posts had dared to declare those official Walkers dead.

”Understood,” Guan Ya replied.

She let out a sigh and hung up, then threw herself back onto the soft bed, arms and legs splayed wide, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her purple silk nightgown clung to her slender frame, tracing gentle curves, the hem barely reaching her thighs, baring her long pale legs, which were smooth and shapely.

”This is so annoying,” she murmured softly.

***

Li Dongze hung up and sat in silence for several seconds before unlocking his phone and dialing the centurion’s number. When the young centurion had handed over the dungeon guide, he had mentioned in passing that if Yuanshi Tianzun ever entered the Spirit Realm, he wanted to be notified.

Fu Qingyang had been swamped lately dealing with the Black Wuchang issue, yet still found time to keep tabs on Yuanshi. That alone spoke volumes about how much he valued the kid.

***

The villa.

On the open air balcony, Ling Jun lounged in a single-seat armchair with effortless ease, dressed in his usual carefree style, a laptop balanced on his knees. He pulled his gaze from the screen and looked across at Fu Qingyang with a sigh.

”I heard from Elder Sun that the Awakened boss is the Three Paths Mountain Goddess from the mountain god temple in Sheling Tunnel. She’s been slaughtering her way through the Nocturnal Specter Spirit Realms, causing power to leak from the higher entities and seep into some of the lower ranked dungeons, triggering the mutations in difficulty.”

The Flowery Young Master paused, then said, ”The fact that she can traverse between Spirit Realm dungeons means her level is far higher than any of us imagined.”

Fu Qingyang cradled a wine glass, took a sip of the crimson liquid, and replied evenly, ”How does the Taiyi Sect plan to respond? I forwarded the intelligence about the mountain god temple to Uncle Sun the moment I had it. You should have been prepared for this by now.”

Ling Jun shook his head and said, ”There’s nothing we can do about dungeons that have already mutated. We can only hope the Nocturnal Specters clear those dungeons as quickly as possible and produce guides. The Taiyi Sect still has plenty of talented people, and there are quite a few experts among the unaffiliated Nocturnal Specters as well.”

He continued, ”As for the Three Paths Mountain Goddess herself, it comes down to whether my father and the Elders can encounter her inside a Spirit Realm and cut the problem off at the source. Or perhaps they’ll encounter a scenario on her level, using one Spirit Realm to counterbalance another.”

A boss traversing between different Spirit Realms was a rare phenomenon, though not entirely without precedent. The authorities had observed the same thing many years ago, and it was one of the known factors behind dungeon mutations. Due to its rarity, officials speculated that crossing between Spirit Realms demanded a steep price, though that theory had never been confirmed.

”Anyway, I’m just a Beast King. Nocturnal Specter business has nothing to do with me.” Ling Jun shrugged.

At that moment, a Bunny girl with a slender waist, long legs, and curves in all the right places walked over and respectfully presented Fu Qingyang with a phone.

”Young Master, a call for you,” she purred, her voice soft and sweet.

The Flowery Young Master sighed with theatrical envy. ”The Rich Young Master sits among flowers, with beauties on every arm. How enviable.”

Fu Qingyang ignored him. He saw Li Dongze’s name on the screen, and something stirred in his chest.

”Speak,” he answered.

”Centurion, Yuanshi has entered Jinshui Amusement Park.”

For a single instant, a flicker of shock crossed the Centurion’s face before it vanished completely, but his tone remained unchanged. ”Understood. Give me an update first thing in the morning.”

He hung up and furrowed his brow. ”The Nocturnal Specter under my command just entered Jinshui Amusement Park.”

Ling Jun blinked, then offered his sympathies with a grin. ”My condolences.”

The Centurion shot him an icy look. ”What makes you so certain he can’t make it out alive?”

The Flowery Young Master laughed. ”Care to make a bet?”

Fu Qingyang said nothing, and Ling Jun didn’t press the matter.

After a moment of thought, his tone grew serious and analytical. ”He cleared Sheling Tunnel, so he has experience conquering an S-rank dungeon. Based on the Spirit Realm’s matching algorithm, a Walker like that has a higher probability of being assigned to high-difficulty dungeons. Normally, failing a few multiplayer dungeons would lower his rating, but unfortunately, Jinshui Amusement Park is a death-type dungeon. There’s no way out for him.”

***

The blurry scene before his eyes sharpened into focus, and Zhang Yuanqing found himself standing in the middle of an amusement park plaza. The first thing that caught his eye was the towering Ferris wheel, a colossal circular structure turning slowly against the sky, adorned with brilliant ribbons of light.

Below it lay an open-air bumper car arena, flanked on either side by a giant pendulum ride and a pirate ship. Across the park from the Ferris wheel, a steel roller coaster track rose and plunged like the spine of a dragon, its empty cars shrieking along the rails as though phantom riders sat aboard.

His gaze swept across the park. Gentle music wafted from a carousel as it spun. A drop tower loomed in the distance. Scattered pavilion-like structures dotted the grounds in no particular order.

He stood in the center of the plaza beneath a deep, fathomless night sky.

The amusement park blazed with dazzling light, colors interweaving in a dreamlike spectacle. Every ride was running. Music drifted from every direction. There was not a single soul in sight, yet it felt as though the park were packed with people.

It was both lonely and lively, dreamlike and terrifying.

”It’s so beautiful,” Zhang Yuanqing heard someone murmur beside him.

He turned toward the voice and saw a young girl with long straight black hair cascading over her shoulders. She had a delicate oval face, and her large bright eyes reflected the dazzling lights of the amusement park, sparkling like the most precious gems in the world. Her figure had not yet fully matured, but she possessed the slender grace of a willow branch in early spring.

In an era where permed hair had become the norm, natural long straight black hair like hers was a rare treasure indeed. Zhang Yuanqing marveled at the girl’s exceptional beauty, but he didn’t linger on that thought for long and turned his attention to the other Spirit Realm Walkers.

In total, seven Walkers had entered Jinshui Amusement Park.

They stood looking around at their surroundings, some gazing off at the rides in the distance, every face twisted with dread. Zhang Yuanqing understood the feeling perfectly.

He cleared his throat to draw everyone’s attention and called out in a confident voice, ”Everyone, welcome to Jinshui Amusement Park. In the mission ahead, we’ll be facing danger together. We may be strangers who met by chance, but from this moment on, we’re the closest of allies.

”Why don’t we start with introductions so we can get to know each other? I’ll go first. My name is Wang Tai. I’m a seasoned Spirit Realm Walker with four solo dungeons and seven multiplayer dungeons under my belt. I’ve cleared an A-rank dungeon before.”

He let out a short laugh. ”An S-rank dungeon, huh? I’m curious to see just how tough it really is.”

He spoke with an easy confidence, and his calm demeanor and self-assured tone seemed to radiate outward, slowly dissolving the panic in the hearts of the others in the group. At a time like this, a teammate who exuded conviction could provide an overwhelming sense of security.

Zhang Yuanqing was a natural at social dynamics. He knew exactly how to lighten the mood and build rapport. He had deliberately introduced only his name and omitted his class, knowing that class information was sensitive. Mentioning it during introductions would put the more guarded players on edge and make them reluctant to cooperate.

Seeing him set the tone, someone immediately followed his lead.

”Anyone who makes it into an S-rank Spirit Realm is no rookie. If we work together, we can definitely clear this. It’s no big deal. The name’s Fire Demon.”

The speaker was a red haired youth with a rail-thin build, and small small sharp eyes and slanting brows that gave him an impatient, rough-edged look.

That’s got to be a Fire Sage, everyone thought simultaneously.

A man in black pants and a black hoodie spoke next, his expression gloomy and his tone flat. ”River Lord.”

The long haired girl’s voice was soft and gentle, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, pure and sweet. ”I’m Xie Lingxi.”

A middle aged man with a wooden expression and few words raised his hand awkwardly and introduced himself with visible stiffness. ”Ashamed Father.”

What?

Spirit Realm IDs were bound to be bizarre, but that one was something else entirely. Zhang Yuanqing was bursting with things he wanted to say, and he could see the same stunned disbelief on everyone else’s faces.

”What kind of name is that?” a young punk in loafers and skinny jeans muttered under his breath, then lifted his chin and announced loudly, ”I’m the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Just call me Great Sage.”

All eyes turned to the last member of the group. She was a mature woman, somewhere between thirty and thirty-five, with a full bust, round hips, flame-red lipstick, and a touch of smoky eyeshadow—alluring and seductive to the core.

Fully ripened.

Fire Demon and the Great Sage kept stealing glances at her. River Lord maintained his gloomy expression. The honest-looking Ashamed Father leaned forward with earnest attention.

She smiled a radiant smile. ”My name is Xi Shi[1].”

Her eyes swept over Zhang Yuanqing with a lingering, flirtatious gaze, playful and disarming. ”Hey handsome, you’ll look after little old me, won’t you?”

You’re older than my little aunt and you’re calling yourself Xi Shi? You picked such an extravagant name. Aren’t you worried it’s too much to live up to? Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

He put on a bold and gallant front and declared, ”Don’t worry, we’re partners. That goes for everyone.”

At the same time, he had already formed a preliminary read on this woman’s style. She was the type who was very skilled at leveraging her gender to her advantage.

With introductions out of the way, the awkwardness between the group had eased somewhat. Zhang Yuanqing seized the moment to take charge.

”An S-rank dungeon is full of danger. Before things get hairy, why don’t we have a quick discussion?”

No one objected.

Xi Shi swept her gaze across the group once more, and when she spoke, her voice was silky and sweet. ”Is anyone here from an official organization? I heard that something unusual happened at Jinshui Amusement Park, and that the difficulty has changed. It would be wonderful if someone had the old version of the guide.”

1.