Starting with SSS-rank talent, I contracted the Forbidden Ferocity.

"Then let's go down."

"Let's see what you're really like."

"I owe one of your lives."

The door mark stands at the entrance of the stairwell, its voice very soft.

Shen Ye did not answer.

He stepped directly into the black gate.

Lu Chenzhou followed.

Zhou Xuan was the last to enter, and he placed three array talismans on the door frame.

The array symbol had barely lit up when it was swallowed up by the darkness inside the door.

Zhou Xuan's face darkened.

"Outer formations are not recognized here."

The black door closed behind them.

All that's left is an old staircase leading downwards.

The paint on the walls is yellowed.

The handrail is rusty.

The hallway lights flickered on and off.

The same sentence is written on each step.

You should have come back.

Gui Xu leaned on Shen Ye's shoulder and whispered:

"It's not a building."

"It's a seam."

Shen Ye nodded.

He sensed it too.

This is not Building 13.

It is the deepest part of the fissure in the old Jiangcheng.

It is also the point where two worlds overlap.

The system notification light appears.

[Enter the second lock inside the Old City Rift.]

[Current rule: Asking for fate.]

The second lock is formed by the superposition of two boundary coordinates.

[Old Fate Outside the Gate: Host's original world coordinates.]

[New appointment within the sect: Shen Ye's coordinates in this world.]

[Warning: If you choose the old path outside the gate, the host will leave this world, and the transformation of Old Jiang City into a shadow gate will be greatly accelerated.]

[Warning: If you choose the new destiny within the gate, the gate mark within your body will backfire, and your old destiny outside the gate will be taken over by the first gate.]

[Hint: The second lock is awaiting a response from the host.]

After hearing Shen Ye's account, Zhou Xuan's expression turned completely ugly.

"This isn't a choice for you."

"This is tearing you in two."

Lu Chenzhou gripped his knife, his gaze sweeping down the stairs.

"This is the option that the door prefers the most."

"One side is the past."

"One side is the present."

"No matter which side you choose, the other side will become its seam."

Deep inside the staircase, the concrete image of the door reappears.

He stood at the corner of the next floor.

Behind me was that rented room.

An old table.

Old window.

An old bed.

There's also a cell phone lit up on the table.

On the screen is a message that has not been sent.

The door mark, in a concrete form, whispered:

"Did you see that?"

Your original life has not ended.

"It was just blocked by the door."

"You will be the Night King here, slaughtering all races and sealing the Heavenly Abyss."

"But there are people waiting for you to come back outside the door."

Shen Ye walked down the first step.

The surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

He saw a familiar street.

Traffic flow.

rainy night.

The white light of the convenience store.

A young man walked across the intersection holding an umbrella.

That was him before he traveled through time.

ordinary.

exhausted.

There are no beasts to tame.

There is no system.

There was also no battlefield for all races.

The door mark concretely says:

"That was your true destiny."

As soon as he finished speaking, another image lit up on the other side of the stairs.

Awakening Square.

Young Shen Ye stood in the crowd.

The talent stone glowed with SSS rank.

Night Feather hatches.

The system is now running.

The first battle.

The first time I killed an enemy.

The first time I stepped onto the platform for bestowing the title of king.

The first time I stood atop the Demon-Suppressing Pass, I saw the blood-red sky of the battlefield of ten thousand races.

Both screens are lit up at the same time.

Like two roads.

The door mark was clearly visible to Shen Ye.

You can only take one.

Shen Ye did not stop.

Continue.

The knocking on the door in the hallway became more and more frequent.

thump.

thump.

thump.

Zhou Xuan glanced at his watch, his expression changing slightly.

"The Shadow Gate transformation is 46% complete."

"The outside world can't hold out for much longer."

Shen Ye asked:

How many people are still trapped in Building 13?

Zhou Xuandao:

Thirty-seven.

"They're all in the upstairs apartments."

"But the spaces here are stacked, so you can't find them by going upstairs normally."

Shen Ye looked up and gazed down the stairs.

"No need to go upstairs."

"Once the second lock is secured, their shadow gate will close naturally."

The figurative image of the door mark suddenly smiled.

Are you sure?

The next moment, thirty-seven shadows appeared on the corridor wall.

Behind every shadow, there is an ordinary person.

elder.

Child.

Office workers.

student.

Their eyes were closed, as if they were in a dream.

The door in the shadows is slowly opening.

The door mark concretely says:

"For every floor you go down, their doors open an inch."

"The closer you get to the second lock, the easier it is for the first door to be located using your door mark."

"So, Shen Ye."

"You are trying to save them after all."

"Are we still harming them?"

Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth.

Don't listen to it.

"This is stress-induced."

Shen Ye looked at the thirty-seven shadows on the wall.

He didn't speak.

He raised his hand.

Night feathers took flight.

The Black Sun Netherfire transformed into thirty-seven wisps of fire, each landing on the edge of one of the shadow gates.

Zhu Jiu's Nine Nether Shadow Lines followed closely behind, covering the crack in the door.

The calamity of heavenly punishment and the calamity of the eye illuminate the patterns on the door.

Guixu opened its mouth and bit off its shallowest front teeth one by one.

Long Yuan stood at the top of the stairs, his arms bracing against the ever-approaching darkness.

The opening speed of the thirty-seven shadow gates was forcibly slowed down.

Shen Ye continued walking down.

Should I save her or not?

"It's not up to you to decide."

The smile on the figurative face of the door mark faded slightly.

The second layer.

The words on the wall have changed.

You owe the person outside the door a life.

The third layer.

You owe this world a life.

Fourth floor.

You don't belong to either side.

The fifth floor.

Therefore, you should return to your home.

Zhou Xuan's breathing became heavier and heavier.

The old Night King Blade in Lu Chenzhou's hand had already lit up with blood-red patterns.

This staircase isn't just for asking Shen Ye.

It's also weighing on their lives.

In the shadows behind Lu Chenzhou, the echoes of the Blood River began to surge.

Beneath Zhou Xuan's feet, a series of collapsing array plates appeared.

Shen Ye stopped in his tracks.

He looked at Zhou Xuan and Lu Chenzhou.

"Can you still walk?"

Lu Chenzhou chuckled.

"You haven't refunded, so why should I?"

Zhou Xuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Stop talking nonsense."

"I can also tell directions."

He raised his hand and forcibly drew a battle line in the air.

The battle line lasted only a moment.

But a moment is enough.

Zhou Xuan pointed to the end of the stairs.

"The bottom three floors."

"The second lock is at the very bottom."

"But there are two doors there."

"One leads to the outside."

"A world that connects to the entire universe."

"It makes you choose."

Shen Ye nodded.

"Then hurry up."

They continued downwards.

The sixth floor.

The seventh floor.

The eighth floor.

The knocking sounds no longer came from all around.

Instead, it emanated from Shen Ye's chest.

thump.

thump.

thump.

The first lock mark inside his body was completely activated by the second lock.

The system notification is flashing.

[The resonance of the portal marks within the host's body intensifies.]

[The Divine Contract of Myriad Beasts is being suppressed.]

[Warning: If the questioning cannot be completed, the door mark will become the gap in the third lock of the first door.]

The door mark is a figurative representation standing at the bottom layer.

Sure enough, there were two doors behind him.

On the left is the door to the rental apartment.

The sound of rain, typical of a city, came from behind the door.

To the right is the entrance to Awakening Plaza.

A low hum, like that of a nightingale hatching, came from behind the door.

The door mark makes a half-step aside.

Choose.

"Return to my old life."

"Or accept a new destiny."

"As long as you choose, the second lock will be stable."

Zhou Xuan's expression changed.

Don't believe it.

"What it wants to be stable is the right path, not a second lock."

Lu Chenzhou also said:

"It's turning the lock into a door."

The concrete image of the door mark did not refute this.

He just looked at Shen Ye.

"But you always need a place to go."

"A person cannot be without a place of origin."

"We can't be without a place to go."

Shen Ye looked at the two doors.

long time.

Then he suddenly asked:

"Who said there are only two doors?"

The concrete image of the door mark paused in surprise.

Shen Ye raised his hand.

The phantom of the Throne of Beasts appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

The cracks are still there.

But it's more stable than before.

All five beasts returned to their positions simultaneously.

Night Feather landed on the left armrest.

The shadow of the candlestick coiled around the entire staircase.

Longyuan stood in front of the throne.

Jie Chen lay on top of the throne.

Guixu squatted between the two doors, tilting his head to look at them.

Shen Ye cut open his palm.

Black Gold King's blood fell to the ground.

"The old life outside the gate is mine."

"The new destiny of this world is also mine."

"I remember the past."

"I also accept the present."

"But I don't owe anyone anything."

The stairwell suddenly shook.

The image of the door mark changed its expression for the first time.

"You want both?"

Shen Ye said:

"It's not about wanting it."

"It's to take it back."

He took a step forward.

They did not go through the left door.

They didn't go towards the right door either.

Instead, he walked between the two doors.

Sword light coalesced.

"Return to the Ruins".

Guixu opened its mouth and bit the gray-white seam between the two doors.

"Found it."

"It tied two lives together."

Shen Ye raised his sword.

"Then disconnect."

The door mark, in a concrete form, roared:

"If you cut it off, you'll have nowhere to go!"

Shen Ye looked at him.

"My final destination."

"I'll get out of this myself."

The sword light fell.

Slay the Nameless Beasts!

This sword strike will not cut through the gate.

The one who was severed was the name "owed a life" that the gate had written for Shen Ye.

Click!

The gray-white seam between the two doors was severed by a single sword strike.

The door to the rental room on the left has not disappeared.

The gate to the Awakening Plaza on the right has not disappeared either.

They simply quieted down.

No more dragging each other along.

No longer seen as a chain at both ends by the first gate.

A system notification suddenly rang out.

The rules for seeking destiny have been broken.

[The host has confirmed the dual coordinates.]

[Old Destiny Outside the Gate: Archives of Memories.]

[New destiny for this realm: Coordinates stable.]

[The first door mark within the host's body has been successfully pressed.]

The second lock's core has been revealed.

The door mark is a figurative image of staggering backward.

Its face, which resembled Shen Ye's, began to crack inch by inch.

There was no flesh or blood in the crack.

Only fine door lines.

It stared at Shen Ye, its voice becoming hollow.

"You think you've won just like that?"

"You've taken back two lives."

"The first door will want you even more."

Shen Ye sheathed his sword.

"Make them line up."

The door mark is a tangible representation of complete silence.

Zhou Xuan was taken aback.

To say something like that at a time like this is truly typical of Shen Ye.

next moment.

The bottom floor stairwell has cracked.

A black and white lock mark slowly rose from the ground.

The lock is half like an old key.

Half of it resembles a beast-taming contract pattern.

Gui Xu looked at the lock and whispered:

"The second lock."

Shen Ye was about to reach out.

The entire Building No. 13 suddenly shook violently.

The thirty-seven shadow doors on the wall opened halfway at the same time.

Behind the door, pale hands reached out.

It's not about capturing those who are trapped.

Instead, they simultaneously reached for the second lock.

Zhou Xuan's expression changed drastically.

"It's trying to steal the lock!"

A faint smile finally appeared on the face of the door crack.

"That's a good answer."

"But Men never just ask questions."

"They'll even fight over the door."

At the end of the corridor, two doors that had been quiet were simultaneously forced open by an external force.

Old friends outside the door.

The Awakening Light of This World.

The two images were forcibly torn apart.

A larger, pale hand reached out from between the two doors.

Seize the second lock.

Shen Ye's eyes turned cold.

"Dust of Calamity".

The Heavenly Tribulation Eye of Calamity and Heavenly Punishment fully opened.

Grayish-white lightning illuminated the old staircase.

Shen Ye stepped forward, sword in hand.

"Trying to steal it?"

"Leave your hand behind."