70: Chapter 70 The Gate of All Things

Wang Lin stood in the alley for a while, confirming that Lu Zhiyi had truly left, before relaxing his guard.

He then walked out of the alley.

He did not return to his original inn.

There was still a circular hole in the wall of that room, and directly opposite the hole was the room of Lu Zhiyi.

If she returned tonight, the two of them staring at each other through a hole—just thinking about that scene gave him a headache.

What was even more troublesome was if she could not sleep in the middle of the night and crawled through that hole with her sword; that would be a real problem.

One had to know that these Ancient Martial Artist possessed a technique called Bone-Shrinking.

Furthermore, stealth and assassination were also their strengths.

Wang Lin casually found a small inn to stay at.

The room was on the third floor, not large, with a bed, a table, and a north-facing window.

He did not want to get involved with people from the Holy Court.

That kind of organization was too troublesome.

There were too many rules and too much etiquette; one accidental slip and you might step on some commandment, and you would be lucky to escape with your skin intact.

The best method was to hide from her and wait for her to lose patience and leave on her own.

...

On the other side, Lu Zhiyi did not return to the inn either.

She passed through several streets, turned into an inconspicuous alley, and stopped in front of a gray iron door.

She knocked three times, paused for two seconds, and then knocked two more times.

The iron door opened a crack, and a hand reached out from inside, handing her a black cloak.

Lu Zhiyi took it, wrapped it around herself to cover her silver armor, and followed that hand inside the iron door.

Inside was a long corridor, with wall lamps every few steps.

At the end of the corridor was a heavy iron door with no markings, only a small keyhole.

Lu Zhiyi took a silver key from her waist, inserted it, and turned it twice.

The iron door opened silently, revealing a small secret chamber inside.

There was nothing in the secret chamber.

Only on the wall directly opposite hung a picture frame.

The frame was large, half a person's height, with a solid wood border carved with intricate patterns.

There was nothing inside the frame—no figures, no scenery.

Only a rippling whiteness.

It had a name: "gate of myriad phenomena."

The gate of myriad phenomena was one of the highest-level forbidden artifact of the Holy Court.

No one knew who created it, and no one knew how long it had existed.

The scriptures of the Holy Court only recorded one sentence:

"The gate of myriad phenomena connects the manifestations of ten thousand worlds. What is painted becomes real, and objects can be passed through."

This meant that the gate of myriad phenomena could connect to the scenes of ten thousand worlds.

Whatever you painted on it would become real.

Whatever you sent from this side, the other side could receive.

Its function was very simple.

As long as you drew a portrait of a person on the frame of the gate of myriad phenomena using a special silver pen, that person would receive a message.

It was not a sound, nor was it text, but a perception from the depths of the soul.

He could perceive that someone was calling him from the other side of the gate of myriad phenomena.

If that person agreed, his image would appear in the frame, and the two could converse across thousands of mountains and rivers.

The voice was as clear as if they were face-to-face, and the expressions were as vivid as if they were within reach.

Even more miraculously, the gate of myriad phenomena could transmit items.

As long as the size of the item did not exceed the dimensions of the frame, it could be sent from one side to the other.

The surface of the frame would ripple like water; the item would sink into the ripples and then emerge from the frame on the other end.

But there was one prerequisite: when drawing the portrait, one must draw hands on the figure.

If there were no hands, the item could not be received and could only be transmitted through another method: stuffing it into the mouth of the person in the painting.

That was how it happened the first time Lu Zhiyi used it.

The scene was too unsightly, too awkward, and too undignified.

She did not want to see it a second time.

The gate of myriad phenomena had another unknown characteristic: it could be replicated.

As long as the owner of the gate of myriad phenomena used a similarly sized frame and carved the exact same inscriptions on the border, that frame would become a replica of the gate of myriad phenomena.

The replica possessed the same abilities as the original but could only be used ten times.

After ten times, the markings would dissipate on their own, and the frame would revert to an ordinary wooden frame.

To replicate it again, one had to wait another ten years.

Lu Zhiyi rarely used it, because every use consumed one of her opportunities.

Lu Zhiyi stood still in front of the frame and took a deep breath.

She took a silver pen from her waist.

She raised her hand and began to draw on the blank frame.

First, she drew the outline: an old man's shoulders, a slightly hunched back.

Then, she drew the details: a dark gray robe, graying hair.

Finally, she drew the face: those startlingly bright eyes, gentle yet unfathomable.

Bishop of the Holy Court, Bishop Qin Cang.

Lu Zhiyi finished the last stroke and took a step back.

Bishop Qin Cang in the frame stood there, lifelike, like a frozen photograph.

Subsequently, the figure in the painting came to life.

The gate of myriad phenomena opened.

Lu Zhiyi knelt on one knee, lowered her head, and said in a soft voice: "Bishop."

Bishop Qin Cang in the frame looked at her: "Zhiyi. It is so late, what is the matter?"

Lu Zhiyi did not stand up, remaining on one knee: "Bishop, I encountered an Awakened in the camp."

"He is LV3, but his strength far exceeds LV3."

"He has many types of Superpower: Shadow Shapeshifting, Petrification, Ice Element, Clones..."

"And there is a type of ability I have never seen before. He..."

A hint of interest appeared on the face of Bishop Qin Cang: "What about him?"

"He said his Superpower is Replication."

"He can copy Superpowers from others and then store them; each Superpower can be used for one hour."

Bishop Qin Cang in the frame fell silent.

"Replication...?"

"This Superpower is a bit special. Used in certain places, it could have miraculous effects. What is his name?"

"Wang Lin," Lu Zhiyi said.

"He has not joined an official organization yet."

"But I have inquired; he is participating in the selection for the Twelve Zodiacs."

Bishop Qin Cang fell silent again.

Lu Zhiyi knew what he was thinking: the Twelve Zodiacs.

That was the strongest organization in the camp, bar none.

Chen Long, Tiger, Wei Yang...

Every name was a legend, every name represented an insurmountable mountain.

And the Twelve Zodiacs had twelve such mountains.

If Wang Lin joined the Twelve Zodiacs, the Holy Court could not touch him.

Not because they could not defeat him, but because it was not necessary.

It was not worth offending the Twelve Zodiacs for an LV3 Awakened.

But the next sentence of Bishop Qin Cang caught Lu Zhiyi off guard.

"Find a way to make him join our Holy Court."

"Our Holy Court is in need of such talent."

The brows of Lu Zhiyi furrowed slightly:

"Bishop, does our Holy Court not refuse to recruit Awakened and Calamities?"

"The doctrine of the Holy Court is written very clearly: 'We, with flesh and blood, perform the deeds of gods. We rely on no external objects, we borrow no Superpower.'"

"Awakened and Calamities are people who rely on external objects to become stronger, which goes against the philosophy of our Holy Court..."