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

"The Night King"

"Do you dare let it in?"

The voice of the fourth seat came from below the Guiming Platform.

It's very light.

It's also very toxic.

The small door stood in the center of the trial platform.

The gate wasn't large, just big enough for Guixu to enter.

On the door frame, golden ancient patterns and black brocade patterns are intertwined.

Half of it resembles the old path of the First Courtyard.

Half of it looks like a lost soul's talisman.

Shen Ye did not answer immediately.

The system prompts an error.

[The naming platform rule has been detected.]

Rule 1: Only the person whose name is registered may enter.

Rule Two: The master's contract cannot be performed by proxy.

[Rule 3: If a Beastmaster forces the Beastmaster to advance or retreat, it will be considered a usurpation of the Beastmaster's path.]

[Rule Four: If a Beastmaster severs the bond, the beast will be considered abandoned and lost.]

[Note: This rule has been altered by the fourth seat.]

After reading it, Shen Ye's eyes turned cold.

The fourth seatmate laughed and said:

Why aren't you saying anything?

"If you let it in, it might not come back."

"If you don't let it in, its path to its rightful place will belong to me."

"If you decide for it, you are a slave to the beast."

"If you insist on letting it go on its own, it will be an abandoned beast."

"Night King, is this a good question to answer?"

Gui Xu stood beside Shen Ye, staring at the small door.

It rarely stays quiet for this long.

Night Feather landed on Shen Ye's shoulder, and the Black Sun Netherfire lowered.

Zhu Jiupan was in the shadows, and Jiuyou's pupils coldly stared at Guimingtai.

Long Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, his joints cracking.

Jie Chen kept his eyes closed, while the Heavenly Punishment Eye on his forehead was half-open and half-closed.

Shen Ye lowered his head and looked at Guixu.

"Your path."

"You choose."

Guixu looked up at him.

Shen Ye said:

"I won't go in your place."

"I won't let go."

"I'll guard the goal."

Gui Xu's eyes lit up.

"it is good."

The Night King's Classic unfolds suspended in mid-air.

The new black gold certificate slowly solidified.

[The name can be chosen freely.]

The agreement allows for the protection of roads, but not for taking over their use.

[The beast entered the platform on its own initiative, not by force of the master.]

[Guarding the goal is not the same as controlling the road.]

boom!

The black patterns on the Guiming Platform were shaken open.

The fourth seat chuckled softly.

"She's quite eloquent."

"Then let it try."

Gui Xu stepped onto the Guiming Platform.

The small door slowly opened.

There was no light inside the door.

Only a narrow, broken golden path hangs suspended in the darkness.

Guixu never looked back.

It went inside.

The small door closed.

The next instant, Guixu's name lit up behind Shen Ye.

It wasn't broken.

But it became very far away.

It's like being separated by an entire stolen courtyard.

Shen Ye raised his hand and pressed down on Night King Mingdian.

"I'm watching."

Inside the door.

Guixu lies on the narrow golden road.

The first black road sign appeared ahead.

[The Beast of No Return.]

Beneath the road sign was a warehouse door.

Inside the doorway were piles of stolen road materials.

The fourth voice came from behind the door:

"If you accept this name, I'll give you a granary."

"All the doors that have been lost are yours to keep."

Guixu glanced at it.

"don't want."

A corner of the black road sign was broken.

But the fragments did not disappear; instead, they transformed into a small slip of paper and were stuck to Guixu's forehead.

[Refusing a name means abandoning that name.]

Outside, Shen Ye's eyes turned cold.

Turn the page of the Night King's Classics.

Rejecting falsehood does not mean abandoning truth.

The black and gold lettering fell down.

The small token shattered on the spot.

The smile on the fourth seat faded slightly.

Inside the gate, the second road sign rises.

[The guardian beast returns to the courtyard.]

Behind the door, there was the lingering shadow of half of the Garden of Ten Thousand Beasts.

The Beast King's Trial Platform hangs upside down.

The shared fire vein has broken.

The path leading to the courtyard of all beasts is incomplete.

The fourth voice rang out again:

"If you recognize this name, you can return to Chu Ting."

"From now on, I will guard that half of the courtyard."

Guixu stared at that half of the courtyard.

A moment of silence.

"It's not home."

The road sign is cracked.

Another small slip of paper flew in.

Refusing to go to court means no return.

Shen Ye raised his hand.

[The place I returned to was not the old one.]

The small tag crumbled.

The third road sign rose.

[The gatekeepers abandoned their children.]

This time, there was no courtyard behind the door.

There was only one broken eggshell.

The edge of the eggshell is covered with black patterns.

The fourth seat's voice became even softer.

"Admit it."

"You were meant to be discarded."

"Nobody wants you."

Guixu stopped in his tracks.

Outside, Shen Ye's eyes darkened slightly.

Night Feather tightened its wings.

Zhu Jiu's figure emerged halfway out.

Long Yuan said in a low voice:

"This thing deserves to be hit."

Jie Chen opened his eyes.

"There is an old calamity."

Guixu stood in front of that road sign.

long time.

Then it went up and bit the road sign.

Click.

The four characters "【界门弃幼】" were bitten in half by it.

Guixu vaguely said:

"That's not what it's called."

The fourth voice finally turned a little cold.

"Weren't you abandoned?"

Guixu swallowed the broken cards.

"Yes."

"But it's not called that."

It raised its head.

For the first time, a bright light appeared in his eyes.

"My name is Guixu."

boom!

The words "Gui Xu" (meaning "Return to the Ruins") lit up in the darkness.

It wasn't given by Shen Ye.

It wasn't given by Chu Ting.

It wasn't a road sign that the fourth seat holder could steal.

It is the name it chose itself.

The Night King's name was shaken.

[The Five Oaths and Their Names] are lit up.

【Choose your own name】lights up.

The new certificate has been issued.

[Old wounds, not old names.]

Being abandoned is not the same as being abandoned in name.

[A self-identified name is not subject to alteration by road signs.]

In the darkness, the road sign that read "Abandoned Children at the Gate of the Realm" was completely shattered.

They want to raise the fourth road sign.

Guixu had already pounced.

"I'm not watching anymore."

It opened its mouth and took a bite.

Click!

It bit the road sign, which was not yet finished, to pieces.

The fourth seat remained silent for a moment.

Aren't you curious about the name they'll give you later?

Gui Xu said earnestly:

"Fake."

The fourth seat sneered:

How did you know?

Guixu Dao:

"You gave it to me."

Outside, Shen Ye's lips twitched slightly.

Longyuan chuckled softly.

"That's a good sentence."

Night Feather also let out a low groan.

It looks like he's laughing.

Deep within the Guiming Terrace, the darkness suddenly receded.

A golden ancient road appeared before Guixu.

That road isn't long.

There are only nine steps.

But every step is engraved with ancient animal patterns.

At the end of the road is a small golden pavement.

The first section is the Guiming Road.

Guixu walked to the road markings.

Just as it was about to extend its claws.

The fourth voice suddenly rang out from behind it:

"etc."

"One last question."

"Where do you want to go?"

The journey to the Ruins came to a halt.

In the darkness, countless warehouse receipts lit up simultaneously.

[Returning to the initial courtyard.]

[Return to the porch.]

[Nothing returns to its original place.]

[Belongs to Shen Ye.]

The last warehouse sign is the brightest.

It was pasted in front of Guixu, like a hand waiting to put pen to paper.

The fourth seatmate said softly:

"If you say it's Gui Shenye."

"I hereby deem you Shen Ye's private property."

"If you don't tell me..."

"I hereby sentence you to have no way out."

"select."

Gui Xu looked at the warehouse slip.

This time, it didn't bite immediately.

Outside, Shen Ye pressed down on Ming Dian's hand with a slight force.

The fourth seatman laughed.

"The Night King"

"Do you want to answer for it?"

Shen Ye looked up.

"It will tell you itself."

Inside the door.

Guixu looked up.

"Home".

"It's not about belonging."

The warehouse slip trembled violently.

Gui Xu's voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear:

"Shen Ye is not Cang."

"Not the master card."

"It's not a door."

"It's my contract."

It paused, then added:

"He's also someone I meet on the street."

Outside, Shen Ye's eyes flickered.

The Night King's Classics turned abruptly.

The new certificate for black gold has been issued.

[A place to return to is not a place of belonging.]

[This is not a private matter.]

[Contractual agreement is not possession.]

[The beast's words are its own proof; they may not be stolen or altered to represent sovereignty.]

boom!

The warehouse slip that read "Owned by Shen Ye" shattered on the spot.

Guixu took a step forward, pressing his claws onto the golden path imprint.

The entire Nine-Step Ancient Road lit up instantly.

Golden streaks blended into its forehead.

The small door suddenly opened with a bang.

Gui Xu walked out from inside the gate.

Its aura did not surge.

But it has become more stable.

It's like finally finding your own first step from a bunch of stolen roads.

A system notification sounded.

[The first question asked at the Guiming Platform after passing through Guixu.]

[Recycling: Section 1 of Guiming Road.]

[Return to Ruins and Name Achievement Increased.]

[Acquired rudimentary ability: Never lose your way.]

[Effect: In environments where paths have been stolen, altered, or blocked, this ability allows you to mark your current path, reducing the probability of getting lost or having your path stolen.]

[The resolution of the fourth seat's true name remnant has been improved.]

Current resolution: 31%.

[Coordinate fragments of the Path of Returning Beasts +2.]

The fragment of the unknown beast's name card appeared on its own.

crown.

door.

Hitomi.

claw.

Wedge ring.

Balance.

fire.

court.

road.

Then, the tenth stroke lit up.

Return.

[The tenth stroke of the unidentified beast's name fragment reveals: Return.]

Guixu raised its paw and touched the golden mark on its forehead.

Then he looked at Shen Ye.

"First paragraph."

Shen Ye nodded.

"Well done."

Guixu thought for a moment.

"You haven't praised me enough."

Qin Wuji is not here.

But Shen Ye suddenly felt that the sentence sounded familiar.

He said:

"The road is good."

Guixu was satisfied.

Laughter from the fourth seat rang out again.

"Here's the first paragraph."

"It was originally designed to lure you in."

The surrounding warehouse shelves slowly sank.

The Guiming Terrace cracked open.

Below, a dark, deep well is revealed.

The well walls are studded with countless broken eggshells.

On each eggshell, there is a crossed-out character for "return".

The firekeeper's voice came from the namebook:

"careful."

"That's the well where abandoned children were kept."

The fourth seatmate said softly:

"The second section of the road back to its original name lies at the bottom of the well."

"Want to take it?"

"Then let it see."

Why was it abandoned back then?