CHAPTER 425: CHAPTER 425: ZI RAN: GU QINGCHENG, WE DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU! (PLEASE FOLLOW)

Ziran rushed out of the inn, her pure pretty face showing anxiety, as she dove into the bustling street crowd, glancing around, but she didn’t see Xiao Ye anywhere.

"Shit, Xiao Ye must be pissed."

Luckily, the Contractual Power allowed her to sense a Contractor’s current location. After sensing for a moment, Ziran hurried off in a certain direction ahead.

At that moment, in front of a shadow play stand.

Xiao Ye was crouching by the roadside, cracking sunflower seeds, watching the shadow play from behind the crowd with great interest.

The stand owner was manipulating a battle armor-clad Female War God, battling a fierce and massive tiger—the shadow of a woman and a tiger fighting appeared on the screen.

The tiger looked majestic, fierce, and huge, but the battle-armored Female War God, swift as lightning, slapped it to death in one blow.

"Nice, awesome, that was amazing."

"Right, the Empress’s skills are godlike, stunning and extraordinary, took down the Beast King in a single move."

"Perfectly captured the essence of that battle."

The spectators shouted excitedly at the scene.

Xiao Ye’s mouth twitched, *Such a brief, simple fight. The shadow play first hyped up the tiger’s strength, then the battle-armored Female War God killed it in just one move.*

*What’s so amazing about that?*

*Honestly, he couldn’t see what was so exciting about it.*

But the crowd of excited onlookers in front of the stand all had feverish eyes, obviously having the time of their lives and genuinely loving it.

Xiao Ye sighed and said, "The Empress might have some issues with people skills, but at winning hearts, she’s a total pro."

"She’s really hard to get along with, way too domineering."

He only dared to mutter this quietly. If any of those die-hard fans overheard him, he’d probably get beaten up hard.

Suddenly a fragrant breeze swept over; a charming female figure crouched down next to him, grabbed a handful of the sunflower seeds in his hand, and started watching the shadow play’s two-minute looping short drama on the screen.

"Xiao Ye, so this is where you are!"

It was Ziran.

A man and a woman squatting at the roadside.

Xiao Ye was surprised, "You got out so fast? Not going to catch up with the Hang City Empress?"

Ziran grumbled, "Like hell I’d catch up. She knows you’re my husband but still treats you like that—couldn’t even show basic manners. If she won’t show me respect, I won’t show her any, either!"

The two watched another round of the shadow play.

When the show finished, the densely packed crowd of spectators cheered at the top of their lungs again.

Xiao Ye sent his thoughts to Ziran, *Your bestie sure holds a high place in these people’s hearts.*

Ziran glanced at the crowd and said, "I’d bet every one of these guys is a Gu Qingcheng superfan."

"Hmph, if she won’t apologize to you, I never want to see her again."

Xiao Ye blinked in disbelief, "But she’s your best friend, you’re just going to decide like that?"

Ziran snorted prettily, "So what if she is? Right now, she doesn’t even compare to a single leg hair of yours in my heart."

Xiao Ye laughed and said, "The Hang City Empress is way up on her high horse. I bet she’ll never apologize to me."

Ziran scoffed, "She’s been City Lord for too long—totally forgot how to be polite."

"If she still considers me her best friend, then apology or not, she’s giving me an apology either way!"

*Xiao Ye felt a bit touched. Was he really worth that much to Ziran?*

After the two squatted there by the road for a bit, they got up to take care of business.

They asked around and heard that the Hang City Base City Secret Realm was open to residents.

Following directions, Xiao Ye and Ziran found themselves before a towering grand hall.

[Hang City Secret Realm]

Inside the hall, every window had a long line of people waiting.

The large display above listed all the Secret Realms.

Secret Realm No. 1, Five Elements Attribute Demon Beast Secret Realm.

Secret Realm No. 2, Wind, Thunder, and Lightning Attribute Demon Beast Secret Realm.

Secret Realm No. 3, Light and Dark Attribute Demon Beast Secret Realm.

Secret Realm No. 4, Phantom Spirit Attribute Demon Beast Secret Realm.

Ziran’s keen eyes scanned down the list until she found Secret Realm No. 20, marked as a Special Attribute Secret Realm, with a special note: ten thousand merit points required to enter.

"Merit points? The ones you get by killing Demon Beasts?"

"This is a problem. Are we really going to have to go hunt more Demon Beasts for points?"

She looked troubled, feeling it was a hassle.

Xiao Ye smiled and said, "I’ve got a way!"

He walked to the entrance of the hall, where two lines of Order troops were stationed. Xiao Ye spotted the obvious squad leader, handed him a Venerable Realm Crystal Core, and said,

"Sir, we’re from out of town and want to have a go at the Hang City Secret Realm. Could you help us out? We’d like to get into Realm No. 20."

The Order Captain’s eyes lit up as he pocketed the Venerable Realm Crystal Core, saying, "Realm No. 20 is off-limits. You can enter any of the first ten realms—they don’t need merit points. All you want is to cut the line, right?"

He rubbed his fingers together suggestively. "As long as you’re generous, I’ll take care of that!"

Xiao Ye produced a Great Venerable High-Grade Crystal Core and handed it over, saying, "We only want to enter Realm No. 20, Sir. Would really appreciate your help."

The Order Captain looked troubled, but his hands nimbly accepted the Core, and he said,

"Follow me."

Xiao Ye and Ziran followed him to the back of the Secret Realm Hall, where they saw a burly, muscular man who looked full of energy.

The Order Captain whispered a few words to the muscular man, then left.

The muscular man smiled slightly. "I’m the Steward of the Secret Realm Hall. You may call me Steward Tang."

Xiao Ye presented another Great Venerable High-Grade Crystal Core on the desk, saying, "Steward Tang, we’d like to enter Secret Realm No. 20."

The muscular man’s face darkened as he said bluntly, "Not enough!"

Xiao Ye’s mouth twitched. He added a one-time use Venerable Realm defensive item onto the desk.

The muscular man’s expression changed and he immediately broke out in a huge smile, saying,

"So you want Secret Realm No. 20, huh? Secret Realms are supposed to be open to everyone anyway."

Ziran looked at his shameless face, at a loss for words. She asked, "Steward Tang, does Secret Realm No. 20 have Creation Attribute Demon Beasts in it?"

The muscular man rubbed his fingers together and said with a grin, "Spilling secrets about Special Secret Realms... that’s tough for me, you know."

Xiao Ye simply pulled out a Venerable Realm Low-Grade Crystal Core, put it on the table, and said, "These are just gifts for Steward Tang. Could you enlighten us?"

Steward Tang’s face split into a wide grin; with a wave, he stashed the Core and item away, now super enthusiastic,

"Honored guests, Secret Realms No. 20 to No. 30 are all Special Secret Realms."

"The Creation-type Demon Beasts you’re looking for are in the Special Secret Realm No. 25."

"Please, allow me to show you the way!"

He eagerly led the way.

Just as they arrived at the door, his face suddenly changed, and in a flash, he returned the Cores and item to Xiao Ye, face blank, saying, "Sorry—Special Secret Realms require merit points. You have to get merit points first."

"???" Xiao Ye’s whole face was a question mark, *He was so friendly just a second ago—what the hell happened?*

But then, a tall woman in white, with clear, bright eyes, strode in, and Xiao Ye understood.

"Accepting bribes, breaking Base City rules, undermining fairness for Secret Realm citizens. Take off your steward’s robe yourself and resign," she said, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, thank you for your mercy, Empress." The muscular Steward Tang left looking terrified.

It was Gu Qingcheng. After the muscular man left, her face softened a bit, and she looked at Ziran and Xiao Ye, smiling as she said,

"If you want anything, just let me know, no need to go through all this trouble. If you want to enter any Secret Realm, I..."

"What are you doing here? We don’t want to see you!" Ziran turned away, snorting coldly.

The smile froze on Gu Qingcheng’s gorgeous face, like she’d been strangled, her words caught in her throat.