The Sea Gate Contract

The three continued toward the registration counters.

Before reaching them, another young man approached.

This time, he sold nothing.

Nor did he purchase data.

He merely smiled.

"If the three of you lack people, I can arrange a team."

"Golden Core."

"Foundation Establishment."

"Guides."

"Formation specialists."

"Even someone to die in your place."

Hao Nhien looked at him.

"Someone to die in our place?"

The young man kept smiling.

"Costs more."

Lanh Hoa gave him a cold look.

The man immediately stepped half a pace back and hurriedly offered Hao Nhien a small jade slip.

"You may simply take a look."

"All the information is inside."

"No pressure."

Then he left.

Hao Nhien watched him go and shook his head faintly.

"This place truly trades everything."

Earth One said,

"The most valuable thing is not necessarily an object."

"Then what is?"

"The human heart."

Hao Nhien looked at him.

Earth One continued walking with his staff.

"Once inside the Void Realm, do not only guard against what is constructed there."

"False things attack you because they were created to do so."

"But real people…"

He paused slightly.

"…will calculate whether helping you, abandoning you, or betraying you brings the greatest benefit."

Hao Nhien silently remembered the warning.

At that moment, a gray-robed female cultivator stepped out from behind the registration counter.

She bowed toward Earth One.

Then looked at the three of them.

"A team of three?"

Earth One looked toward Hao Nhien.

Hao Nhien answered,

"Yes."

"Which data-collection contract?"

Lang Tuyet answered immediately.

"White Contract."

The woman nodded.

"White Contract has three levels."

"Basic."

"Anonymous."

"And Limited Recording."

"Limited Recording."

Lang Tuyet answered.

"More expensive."

"How much?"

"Three merit per person."

"What is recorded?"

"Only route, result, environmental changes, and information directly affecting the mission."

"No cultivation-method operation."

"No soul-force imprint."

"No personal reactions beyond what is necessary."

Lang Tuyet nodded.

"We'll take that."

The woman looked at Hao Nhien and Lanh Hoa.

"You both agree?"

Hao Nhien nodded.

Lanh Hoa answered,

"I follow the Clan Chief."

The woman asked no further question.

She turned toward Earth One.

"Three people."

"Nine merit."

"Senior will guarantee the debt?"

"Mm."

"Then it can be recorded as debt."

Hao Nhien looked at Earth One.

No permission was given for this copy from ; the author's chapter there is the place to support the writer.

"I thought you said spirit stones were not enough."

Earth One glanced at him.

"Did I say it would be free?"

Hao Nhien: "…"

Lang Tuyet laughed.

The woman took out three jade plaques.

But did not immediately hand them over.

"Would you like to choose a known route or a Sea Gate Contract?"

Hao Nhien frowned slightly.

"Sea Gate Contract?"

The woman took a gray-blue contract from beneath the counter.

"The White Contract determines what Earth Spirit is permitted to record."

"The Sea Gate Contract determines how you enter the Void Realm."

"The two do not conflict."

Lang Tuyet picked it up.

"How is it different from selecting an ordinary route?"

"No fixed route."

"No chosen region."

"No chosen difficulty."

"The Void Realm decides the starting point."

Hao Nhien looked toward her.

Lang Tuyet continued asking,

"Higher merit?"

"Not necessarily."

"Then what is the benefit?"

"You may encounter an area with no existing data."

"Or you may fall onto an old route."

"Some journeys return with extremely valuable information."

"Others return with nothing."

Lang Tuyet frowned slightly.

"Unstable."

"Not suitable for someone who wants predictable merit."

"Correct."

"Then why preserve this type of contract?"

Before the woman could answer, Earth One spoke.

"Because there are things that cannot be found by walking only known roads."

Lang Tuyet turned toward him.

Hao Nhien asked,

"You want us to choose this?"

Earth One smiled.

"I do not choose for you."

"Then why bring it up?"

Earth One looked over the three of them.

"Because your group is not like those who merely want a few merit points."

Lang Tuyet narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Senior is pricing us again?"

"Habit."

Earth One answered naturally.

Lang Tuyet did not argue.

She turned the Sea Gate Contract over.

The contents were brief.

Only three main clauses.

No fixed route.

No guaranteed starting point.

No guarantee that old data remains valid.

At the bottom was a smaller line.

Participants bear responsibility for every choice made within the Void Realm.

Lang Tuyet finished reading.

Then passed it to Hao Nhien.

He examined it carefully.

Then asked the gray-robed cultivator,

"If we choose the Sea Gate Contract, the limitations of the White Contract remain?"

"Yes."

"No cultivation techniques are recorded?"

"No."

"No soul-force imprint?"

"No."

Hao Nhien nodded.

Then passed the contract to Lanh Hoa.

The man barely glanced at it before handing it back.

"I follow the Clan Chief."

Hao Nhien looked at him.

"You don't need to think?"

"Already did."

Hao Nhien: "…"

Lang Tuyet laughed softly.

Hao Nhien turned toward her.

"What do you think?"

"Higher risk."

"But potentially higher opportunity."

Lang Tuyet replied.

"If all we wanted were several merit points, an old route would be more sensible."

"But we need things other people may never find."

Hao Nhien thought for a moment.

Then nodded.

"Then we choose the Sea Gate Contract."

The gray-robed woman took the contract and began completing the registration.

The three jade plaques lit up one after another.

A symbol resembling a sea wave appeared across each surface.

Earth One looked toward them.

"Sea Marks."

Hao Nhien picked one up.

"What are they for?"

"Anchors."

"Anchors?"

"Inside the Void Realm, direction is not always trustworthy."

"The Sea Mark helps determine whether you remain within the permitted activity zone."

"What happens if we leave it?"

Earth One looked at him.

"Don't."

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow.

"Dangerous?"

"Unknown."

Both Hao Nhien and Lang Tuyet looked at him.

Earth One remained calm.

"Earth Spirit only controls what can be controlled."

"Some people leave the Sea Mark region and are expelled."

"Some lose all sense of direction."

"Others return without remembering where they went."

Lang Tuyet asked,

"You cannot extract them normally?"

"Not always."

Earth One looked toward the black gate.

"So do not trust too much in what you think you know about this place."

Hao Nhien quietly remembered that as well.

The gray-robed woman reached under the counter again.

This time, she took out a round object slightly larger than a palm.

Its outer layer was made of black jade.

At the center, a thin ring of blue water slowly rotated.

"Would you like a Sea Market Disk?"

Lang Tuyet asked,

"What does it do?"

"Displays missions."

"Allows you to purchase information."

"And allows trade requests to be sent while inside the Void Realm."

"It can only connect with the Sea Market."

"It cannot freely transmit messages outside."

She placed the object on the counter.

Several lines of text immediately appeared.

Current Merit.

Open Missions.

Route Information.

Data Prices.

Trade Requests.

Lang Tuyet studied it for a while.

"Will our own data be transmitted back?"

"Only what the White Contract permits."

"However, merit and mission status may still appear on public listings."

Hao Nhien asked,

"Can that be hidden?"

"Yes."

"Thirty merit per day."

Hao Nhien fell silent.

Earth One laughed.

"Earn it first."

"Hide it later."

Lang Tuyet continued,

"Can other people directly send offers to purchase our data through the Sea Market Disk?"

"No."

"All requests must pass through the Sea Market unless you voluntarily open direct reception."

She nodded.

"Good."

Earth One said,

"Take one."

Hao Nhien looked toward him.

"You're paying?"

"You owe me."

The gray-robed woman added,

"Twelve merit."

Hao Nhien exhaled.

"I haven't even gone inside and I'm already this far in debt?"

Earth One glanced at him.

"Then you have even more reason to find a way back alive."

Lang Tuyet smiled faintly.

"It really is easy to fall into debt here."

"It is also easy to die before repaying it."

Earth One answered.

The gray-robed woman finished recording the transaction.

Then handed the Sea Market Disk to Hao Nhien.

The moment he held it, he sensed an extremely faint spiritual connection linking it to the Sea Mark in his hand.

There was no soul fluctuation.

Nor did it resemble an artifact capable of directly probing spiritual sense.

Lang Tuyet examined it for a while.

Only after confirming nothing unusual did she nod.

The gray-robed woman looked at the three of them.

"Registration complete."

"White Contract — Limited Recording."

"Sea Gate Contract."

"One Sea Market Disk."

"Total merit debt: twenty-four."

"Guaranteed by Senior Earth One."

Hao Nhien looked toward the old man.

"You aren't afraid we won't repay you?"

Earth One smiled faintly.

"This old man isn't worried yet."

"Why are you worried on my behalf?"

Hao Nhien said nothing more.

He held the Sea Mark and Sea Market Disk.

Then turned toward the black gate.

Since entering the hall, the strange sensation produced by that gate had never completely disappeared.

It was too quiet.

Even when cultivators entered or were expelled, Hao Nhien could barely sense any significant spiritual fluctuation.

He suddenly asked within his sea of consciousness,

"Little Spirit."

"What do you think?"

A while passed before the child's voice answered.

"Strange."

"Strange how?"

"Don't know."

Hao Nhien waited.

Little Spirit remained silent for another moment.

Then said,

"But…"

"It is opening."

Hao Nhien froze.

"It?"

No answer came.

At that moment, the surface of the black gate suddenly rippled.

The three Sea Marks in their hands lit up simultaneously.

The gray-robed woman looked toward the gate.

Then toward the three of them.

"You may enter."

Earth One leaned on his staff.

The corner of his mouth curved upward.

"Safe travels."

Hao Nhien did not step forward immediately.

He looked at the gate for another moment.

Then turned toward Lang Tuyet.

"Go?"

She nodded.

"Go."

Lanh Hoa stepped forward as well.

As always, he stood half a step behind Hao Nhien.

The three moved toward the gate together.

Their Sea Marks shone brighter.

The Sea Market Disk also trembled slightly.

A line of text appeared across its surface.

Unnamed Team.

Merit: -24.

Hao Nhien looked at the number.

"Negative?"

Lang Tuyet glanced at it.

"In debt before we even enter."

A hoarse laugh came from Earth One behind them.

"Now you have motivation to come back alive."

Hao Nhien shook his head.

He said nothing more.

When the three reached the gate, its black surface suddenly softened like water.

Hao Nhien was about to step through when Earth One's voice came from behind.

"Remember one thing."

Hao Nhien turned his head slightly.

Earth One stood on the stone steps with both hands resting atop his staff.

His aged gaze remained on Hao Nhien.

"Inside the Void Realm…"

"What you see may not be real."

He paused.

"But the choice you make…"

"That is always real."

Hao Nhien looked at him for a moment.

Then nodded faintly.

He stepped forward.

Lang Tuyet and Lanh Hoa followed closely behind.

Darkness swallowed all three of them.

And in the instant his vision disappeared—

Hao Nhien heard waves.

Not far away.

Right beside his ear.