SWNOVELXO Chapter 40: The Ninth Gate
2nd Gate: Xiu Men – Gate of Healing: Accelerates blood flow and cell activity, rapidly regenerating stamina and patching up minor wounds mid-combat.
Effect: +1000% stamina regeneration, +30% minor wound instant recovery, the Raw strength of a Rank-5 for 300 seconds
Technique unlock: Second Wind.
Unlocking Price: 2,000 credits
Drawback: Risk of Internal Overheating over prolonged use.
*
3rd Gate: Sheng Men – Gate of Life: Pushes the muscles to their absolute peak. Muscle fibers expand and turn blood red as raw power explodes throughout the body.
Effect: The Power of rank-6 for 180 seconds
Technique Unlock: Reverse Lotus
Unlocking Price: 4,000 credits
Drawback: Extreme soreness after the effect ends.
4th Gate: Shang Men – Gate of Pain: Removes your pain response entirely. For a brief window, you move and fight like a berserker without hesitation or restraint. Caution: You lose control over your body's movements and move by instinct.
Effect: The Power of a rank-7 for 100 seconds.
Technique Unlock: Painless Barrage
Price: 8,000 credits
Drawback: Hidden damage stacks while the gate is open.
*
5th Gate: Du Men – Gate of Limit: Removes the brain's natural limiters, allowing a burst of full-force combat.
Effect: The Power of a rank-8 for 60 seconds.
Technique Unlock: Morning Peacock
Price: 32,000 credits
Drawback: Torn ligaments, overheating, and temporary paralysis after the effects are over.
*
6th Gate: Jing Men – Gate of View: Enhances perception to the edge of precognition.
Effect: The power of a rank-9 for 30 seconds. The high-speed thinking will give you a short glimpse of the immediate future
Technique Unlock: Phantom Dance
Price: 96,000 credits
Drawback: Bleeding from the eyes, inner chakra circuits overheat, risk of permanent paralysis after the effects are over.
*
7th Gate: Jing Men – Gate of Wonder: Unleashes divine speed and reaction, akin to a spirit beast.
Effects: The power of a Grandmaster for 20 seconds, the user could literally see 60 minutes into the future with the highest probability
Technique Unlock: Daytime Tiger
Price: 800,000 credits
Drawback: Organs rupture, 90% chance of permanent paralysis, 50% chance of brain death, and 30% chance of death after the effects are over.
*
8th Gate: Si Men – Gate of Death: Shatters all mortal limits for a time.
Effect: The power of a Half-Deity for 10 seconds, the power to see multiple future events up to a year.
Technique Unlock: One
Price: 13,000,000 credits
Drawback: Instant death
However, it didn't end there. There was another gate down below the 8th gate.
9th Gate: Zhou Men – Gate of Transcendence: Grants the power to rewrite the reality itself
Effects: The power of a deity, capable of rewriting the reality of anyone below Half-Deity rank (Limited to one person and cannot rewrite one's own reality).
Technique Unlock: Rewrite
Price: 200,000,000 credits
Drawback: The destruction of the soul.
Qin Wei stared. He didn't blink. He didn't even breathe as if he forgot about it, reading the details of the final gate, a technique that can destroy anything… but at the cost of everything.
He slowly leaned back into the pillow, eyes still locked on the screen.
There would be no turning back now.
The next day;
The horizon burned gold as dawn broke.
Roulan stepped into the room as usual. However, when she reached the bedroom, she paused.
Jiang Ni was curled around Qin Wei, her leg draped over his thigh, her breathing soft and undisturbed. Qin Wei lay beside her, eyes closed, and his head embraced by her bosom. Both of them were in an intimate position, cuddling each other. Their faces looked quite peaceful.
Roulan raised her hand in a bit of irritation at first, but then slowly let it fall with a sigh, remembering the importance of the day. She couldn't let the young master be distracted by her scoldings.
Hence, she walked over and gently nudged his shoulder. "Wake up, Young Master. It's time."
Qin Wei flinched and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at her voice. "Roulan?"
His eyes darted to the side, and Jiang Ni still clung to him like a vine. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I swear nothing happened as you think. I can explain…"
Roulan crossed her arms. "No need. We'll talk about this later."
She turned toward the window, where golden rays were just starting to pour in. "You have a duel to win."
An hour later, steam still clung to his skin as Qin Wei stepped out of the bath. A breeze from the open lattice window cooled his body, causing a light shiver. Jiang Ni was already waiting, her hands folded, a soft smile on her face, and in them, a robe of shimmering gold.
He didn't speak. He just let her approach.
The sensation of someone else dressing him was… strange. Foreign. His modern instincts rebelled against it. But at the same time, a peculiar sense of deja vu trickled through his muscles, like his body remembered this treatment from the original Qin Wei's life.
Jiang Ni was gentle. Her fingers moved with practiced care, sliding the inner layer over his shoulders and tying the sash at his waist.
She smoothed the outer robe with reverence, as if wrapping armor around a general.
"This robe…" she said, her voice light, but her eyes focused. "It's made of golden spirit-thread. I didn't expect the Li Clan would gift something like this… not even for the Young Master."
Qin Wei glanced at the fabric. Up close, it glimmered faintly like starlight trapped in silk.
His thoughts wandered back…
Half an hour ago
Roulan had handed him the robes personally, her tone unusually formal.
"These are yours now," she said. "The Patriarch ordered me to pass on to you, as a congratulatory gift for entering the path of the Talisman Master. You're not borrowing it, so you don't need to return it."
She didn't explain further. Qin Wei understood his father-in-law's intentions. And he had accepted it without protest.
This time, however, the system didn't offer any trade notification despite the fact that this can be considered a treasure.
The treasured armor of Li Yujin was something he had worn back in his younger days. It can block any attack below rank 9 and keep him safe. However, it only protects him from an external wound or injury, not the pain. And not the internal damage. It can stop blades and arrows, but not the damage caused by fists and palm strikes.
Still, Qin Wei couldn't help but be grateful to his father-in-law, although he planned to return it at a much later date when he divorced Li Xue and left the clan.
Present;
Jiang Ni tugged the final fold into place, stepping back to admire her work.
"Young Master looks like a noble from the legends," she whispered.
Qin Wei chuckled faintly, caressing her cheek. "You don't have to call me Young master when we are alone, Jiang'er. You can call me husband."
"But, I'm still not officially instated…" Jiang Ni blushed, staring down at her feet.
Qin Wei could only smile, grabbing her chin and raising it to his eye level. "That's why you don't have to call me that publicly. When we are private… You are Concubine Jiang."
Jiang Ni clutched her clothes, suddenly becoming sadder and staring down again. "Young Mas… Hus… Husband should be careful. Jiang'er cannot come with you due to Li Clan rules, but she will be waiting for your arrival. Young Mast… Husband should come back safely."
Qin Wei felt like butterflies running through his stomach, listening to those words. His smile only widened further as he raised her chin to stare into her eyes again. "Then, wait for me. I'll come back with victory, for sure."
*
A short while later, the carriage rolled toward the heart of the Li Clan estate.
Qin Wei and Roulan entered the estate, going straight to the Li Clan's inner sanctum, its towering marble gate opening into a wide path lined with crimson banners. A narrow stairway, carved from jade stone, led up the cliffside to the Skybound Dueling Terrace, a sacred platform perched at the peak of Cranecloud Hill.
This was where formal duels were held, sanctioned by the clan, and watched by elders.
Qin Wei and Roulan approached the last bend before the staircase.
That's when a voice called out behind him, stopping his tracks for a moment. "Qin Wei."
He paused mid-step and turned around only to see Xu Xianfeng striding toward him, dressed in dark robes embroidered with the insignia of the Xu family.
Behind him followed the eunuch attendant, a rank-9 sorcerer, his expression unreadable and his hands folded into opposite sleeves. Duke Xu Xiao was notably absent.
Qin Wei's eyes sharpened. He didn't greet him. Didn't even offer a nod. He simply stared.
Xu Xianfeng, however, didn't seem to care despite the fact that he was the one who called him.
Instead, he stopped a few paces away and looked directly at Roulan.
"I didn't get to look at you properly the other day," he said, voice smooth with arrogance. "Now that I see you… Such poise. A real beauty. And those hips…perfect for bearing strong heirs."
Roulan's posture went stiff. She didn't speak, but her gaze turned as cold as a frost blade. Even Qin Wei's face turned ugly, hearing that comment.