A Gatekeeper & The Celestial Sovereign - Chapter 33

CHAOYANG- MAO LU’S HOME

In the courtyard Chàng Bo trained under the cool afternoon sky, his punches splitting the air and causing loud booms to shake the earth. His fists moved slowly yet the impact was immense.

This was Chàng Bo’s skill Supernova, he was honing his control of the technique by limiting the output of his power.

Supernova was a skill that could shake the heavens and send a blast strong enough to explode a star. At the moment he’d mastered the skill to 60% proficiency. With a single thrust from his fist he could blow up a planet and cause shockwaves to ripple through space.

Supernova is a very powerful attack technique; however, it requires a lot of essence to use. Just performing Supernova once drained Chàng Bo of the majority of his life and star essences, putting him into a weakened state.

Such a skill was like having a gun with only one bullet, if he used it in battle there was a 50% chance of success but also a 50% chance of defeat.

That wasn’t good enough. He needed to be able to use the skill more than once whilst suffering minimum backlash.

“I need to improve!”

Despite Chàng Bo’s tier 1 skills and Dao Stage cultivation, he was still easily plotted against.

Strength is a necessary foundation, but a strong man can easily end up working under a knowledgeable man who is in control.

Strength wasn’t the only thing Chàng Bo needed, he also needed greater control over his abilities, and greater control over his senses. So, what if he could blow up a planet with his fist, if he was easily defeated by some poison then such strength proved meaningless.

He needed to train, he needed to be reckless, he needed to take risks, he needed to hone himself so hard that he’d be screaming the same way Mao Lu did. That was how he needed to improve.

Even the Sovereign System, despite being such a powerful tool, would end up useless in his hands if he didn’t learn how to control it. Similarly, his body was a powerful tool that he’d been making stronger every day. If he didn’t know how to control it and every skill he had, then it would also become useless.

That’s why Chàng Bo was repetitively punching out using only 0.0001% of the Supernova skill, so that he could improve his control of the skill.

As his fists went “BAM BAM BAM” he couldn’t help but think about his situation.

“Mao Lu mentioned that he was unable to remove the poison inside, and even now it’s still lying dormant in my system.

Whoever plotted against me must have been planning this for many years. They must have poisoned me before I obtained the Immortal stage, else I would have detected such a thing.

If that’s the case, then I was possibly poisoned more than 60 years ago. But for what aim? If they wanted to kill me, they could have done it any time, especially when I was much weaker and younger. Yet they chose now.

Did they do this because they wanted me out of the Realm? But for what reason, although I am the son of the Supreme Lord of Stars, I myself have no political power. And my Father is always attentive to his role no matter what happens, even me being falsely accused and poisoned, wouldn’t make him do anything stupid.

So then was it for the Gatekeepers key? Did they want to put me into a position where I would use it? But that wouldn’t make sense, the only reason I used the Gatekeepers key was because I didn’t have any other escape tools on me, how would they have known that I had used up all my other escape talismans and treasures? Also, if they knew I had the Gatekeepers key they would have known I had the system, and if they knew about the Sovereign System they would have come after me a long time ago for such a treasure. So then what is the real reason????”

The more Chàng Bo tried to understand the aims of whoever framed him the more bewildered he became.

The only thing that came from thinking about it was more questions.

And now Mao Lu had left to go to the Gatekeepers Association.

Chàng Bo had gotten a feel for Mao Lu’s character and he could tell Mao Lu was an honest, friendly, trustworthy type. So, since Mao Lu had said “I’ll clearly tell them your side of the story”, Chàng Bo trusted that he would.

But Chàng Bo had met other Gatekeepers and he knew that they wouldn’t care much for his lowly practitioner circumstances. They’d be angered that he kept the key from them and even dared to use it, regardless of the reason.

Chàng Bo felt that there was a large secret surrounding the Gatekeepers key.

All the public knew was that a Gatekeepers key could take you to any Realm without permission and would become useless after one use.

The Gatekeepers announced long ago that they’d lost eight of these keys and that it was of the utmost importance that anyone who found them must report them to their Gatekeeper. If they didn’t, they shall suffer the consequences.

It was these “Consequences” that Chàng Bo was afraid of.

Why would the Gatekeepers create such a key? A Gatekeeper can go to any Realm they want, they don’t need permission. The ones that need permission are the normal practitioners. So, this key could only benefit normal practitioners, right? So then why did they make Gatekeeper keys if they didn’t want them to be used, and how did they lose them? There had to be some greater secret towards all of this that the Gatekeepers were hiding.

It wasn’t just Chàng Bo that thought this way, there were many books out there with titles such as the “Conspiracies behind our Gatekeepers”, “What is a Gatekeepers key?”, “Why do they have such a power?”, “What are the Gatekeepers protecting us from?”

Since the beginning of the 400 realms the practitioners that lived within them were always curious and threatened by the existence of Gatekeepers. No matter how much a practitioner trained they would never be able to defy the absolute power of a Gatekeeper.

This powerful group were neither elected by the people, nor did they appear in the public domain. They kept themselves so private, yet they had so much power over everyone. This obviously made many people very uneasy over the countless billions of years.

Many had wanted to start uprisings or made petitions trying to make Gatekeepers and their secrets public, but obviously they didn’t succeed. A Gatekeepers power is absolute.

Truly undeniable for normal Practitioners. That was why Chàng Bo wanted to become the Celestial Sovereign and be supreme over everything, including the Gatekeepers. Because he wanted to have undeniable power and be second to none.

Of course, him becoming the Celestial Sovereign was still a long way to go. And at the moment if the Gatekeepers decided he should be executed because of his use of the key, then he would be at their mercy.

The idea made Chàng Bo nervous, but at the same time he doubted they would kill him. Firstly, It wasn’t like he’d done something extremely terrible. Secondly, it would be too cruel to kill him. And thirdly, he was famous among practitioners in the 400 realms as an Absolute Heaven defying talent. If he was murdered while young, and by Gatekeepers no less, then that could cause all kinds of waves in the cultivator and mage communities.

The Gatekeepers probably wouldn’t want to complicate matters, and hopefully they wouldn’t resort to executing him.

_________

Chàng Bo’s fists were bloody from the constant practice, his breath ragged, and odourless crystal-clear sweat slid down his muscled torso.

He only wore the pants of his garments, his main robes laying in his East Wing room, as he didn’t want to tear them through training. Since he only had the one outfit here in Realm 145 and he hadn’t yet acquired some more clothing.

As Chàng Bo’s fists dripped with his mercury blood that hissed and burned as it fell to the ground, he didn’t bat an eye as he continued to punch left and right.

“If I can’t handle even this much pain then I’m not worth becoming the Celestial Sovereign.”

_________

10 Minutes away from Mao Lu’s home in a six seat Land Rover were Tanaka Kato, Bei Lao, Zhao Detong, Fei Bing Bing, Frank Wang, Qi Zhou, and Fang Kai.

Fei Bing Bing’s phone rang out as she dialled Mao Lu for the fourth time.

“His phone isn’t off but he’s not picking up, and it’s not like Lu to ignore me when I call. And all those WeChat messages I sent him are unseen.” Fei Bing Bing sighed.

“Well he probably deleted the app for some reason then, and maybe he lost his phone.” Zhao Detong tried reasoning.

“Or maybe he’s getting busy.” Tanaka giggled mischievously.

“GETTING BUSY?!!!” They all shouted at Tanaka in unison.

“What do you mean by that huh?” Fei Bing Bing interrogated. Turning her head around in the passenger seat so she could look directly at Tanaka.

“Mao Lu’s totally seeing someone right now.” Tanaka giggled.

“Since when?!” Fei Bing Bing freaked.

“How the f*** am I supposed to know? All I know is that when Bei Lao and I took him to a fun mixer last week, he basically turned down every guy and even left early because he was lovesick. Apparently, his heart is beating like crazy for some Man.

If I was Mao Lu and I was crushing on someone that hard then I would have gotten into his pants by now. Just like how I did when I was crushing on Bei Lao-.”

“Tanaka!!” Bei Lao interrupted.

“What why are you yelling my name? It’s true, I did and that’s why we’re in this amazing relationship now.” Tanaka retorted, causing Fang Kai to burst into laughter.

“For all we know,” Tanaka continued. “Mao Lu could be having a week of blissful lovemaking and hasn’t bothered to check his messages because of all that great you know what.” Tanaka wiggled his eyebrows.

“Bullshit. Lu isn’t as dirty as you Tanaka. Even if he is crushing on a guy, he wouldn’t just hop into bed with him!” Fei Bing Bing harrumphed.

“Just because you’re his childhood friends doesn’t mean you know everything about him. Mao Lu really admires passionate relationships, he told me ages ago that if he ever met a guy that could make his heart throb as much or more than his first crush, then he’d pounce on them straight away!” Tanaka shouted.

“He said that when he was really drunk though.” Bei Lao added quietly.

“Whose side are you on?” Tanaka asked Bei Lao.

“Huh you see!” Fei Bing Bing yelled, “Mao Lu was drunk when he said that. The Mao Lu I’ve known for many years is disciplined enough not to be doing something so scandalous.”

“Doing something so scandalous? What era are you living in, everyone sleeps around a bit. Geez. This is why Detong cheated on you so many times in the past, it’s because you weren’t putting out. It’s called testing the water honey.”

“Tanaka!!!” Bei Lao yelled.

Fei Bing Bing was speechless.

Zhao Detong began coughing uncontrollably. The atmosphere became very awkward.

“Tanaka you went too far.” Bei Lao slightly panicked.

Tanaka also realised he’d said something unnecessary, but he wasn’t the type to pull punches and he hated apologising. So, he just crossed his arms.

After a minute or two of silence Fang Kai shouted “Look it’s Mao Lu’s place! I’m right, right?”

They all looked up and they saw the driveway leading up to the vermillion entrance. And Mao Lu’s new car was right in front.

Zhao Detong parked, and they all got out, taking the bags and packages of food with them.

“Whoa this place is just as I remember it.” Zhao Detong sighed, “To think it’s been more than eight years since we came here.”

“I know right.” Bing Bing quietly agreed, she was still feeling bitter about earlier, but she didn’t want to be in mood, so she attempted to cheer herself up as she admired the entrance to Mao Lu’s home. Seeing the two stone lions next to the entrance, caused a wave of nostalgia to wash over her.

The trio of Zhao Detong, Fei Bing Bing and Zhang Lu now Mao Lu; had had a lot of fun at this residence. Fei Bing Bing remembered how they used to run and hide all over the place, and when they grew older, they’d eat hotpot together in the courtyard during winter, just chatting about life.

She was so happy that Mao Lu had gotten his home back, she almost felt like crying.

Zhao Detong walked up to the copper knockers on the entrance and knocked.

_________

Chàng Bo who was still training was surprised when he heard “KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK”

So far there hadn’t been any guests to this residence. He was sure Mao Lu was keeping his residence private and forbidding visitors who aimed to make connections from getting near.

Were these visiting practitioners trying to make connections?

Yet all Chàng Bo could sense was a group of mortals and one practitioner. And the practitioner was only a Mage at the 9th wall stage, weak, they weren’t even at the Nascent stage yet and nowhere near immortality. This group posed little threat, and had no power to impress a Gatekeeper like Mao Lu.

“Was it because he left for the meeting, does he not care if they approach the property?

Should I tell them he’s not in and make them leave?”

As Chàng Bo stopped training, the wounds on his fists hissed as his body hungrily sucked in essence and healed his injuries.

They disappeared like they’d never been there.

After a second of mulling it over, Chàng Bo curiously walked to the entrance and opened the vermilion doors.

_________

As Zhao Detong, Fei Bing Bing, Tanaka Kato, Bei Lao, Frank Wang, Qi Zhou, and Fang Kai were standing at the entrance. The last thing they expected was a topless, bare chested gorgeous Casanova to open the vermillion doors.

Skin as clear and soft looking as silk, eyes as blue as a clear sky yet they sparkled like they had stars in them, and long hair like an inky black waterfall.

He was sweating slightly, and his bare chest moved gently up and down as he breathed a little.

His facial features and body proportions were just gorgeously put together like a well-crafted art piece.

Fei Bing Bing and Tanaka couldn’t help but gulp, they both suddenly felt a little parched.

Qi Zhou’s eyes widened. How can this be? Isn’t that…. Chàng Bo?!

Popular Gossip and news easily travelled across the 400 realms and Chàng Bo was easily a well-known name.

To have reached the Immortal stage before the age of 40, made history. Chàng Bo was definitely a figure that many Practitioners in the younger generation admired. This included Qi Zhou. Although she was on the path of a Mage and Chàng Bo was a Cultivator who trained martial arts, Qi Zhou admired powerful people and greatly respected geniuses like Chàng Bo.

She only knew Chàng Bo’s face because she’d travelled to the Star Realm a few years ago. At that time, she’d glimpsed him flying through the air with some other young masters, belonging to major families, on their flying swords. Her companion had told her that that was Chàng Bo.

She easily remembered a face after seeing it once. There was no doubt that this was Chàng Bo, the son of the supreme Lord of stars.

He was of a far higher status than her, and in normal circumstances she’d bow her head reverently at him, but right now she was pretending to be a mortal and was here as Frank Wang’s girlfriend. They’d all get confused if she bowed to him. That meant she had to pretend she had no idea who he was.

“What is Chàng Bo doing here? How is he connected to the new Gatekeeper Mao Lu?”

While everyone stared at Chàng Bo in surprise, a wide grin spread across Tanaka’s face.. “I knew it!! You must be the guy Mao Lu’s with!!!” He shouted in excitement.