A Gatekeeper & The Celestial Sovereign

A door made of obsidian stone.

It was so tall that it seemed endless.

As Mao Lu glanced upwards, he could see the ongoing obsidian doors blurring into the tall white flame walls above, and being shrouded in misty clouds.

"Come in" A sonorous voice boomed.

Instantly the heavy and tall obsidian doors opened, and Mao Lu's chair pushed him inside.

With just a blink, the scenery around Mao Lu changed and he was sitting on a boat in the middle of a wide river. The water was clear, and he could see fishes swimming about, white stones resting, and blooming silver flowers sparkling on the riverbed.

Around the river was a large amazon like forest, on either side Mao Lu could see vines and trees wider than cars and taller than mountains. He observed the twittering ape-like creatures, that glowed every colour of the rainbow, as they sat at the edge of the river grooming themselves.

Multicoloured birds flew above, singing to a beautiful melody. A melody that came from the blowing of a flute. A flute that rested in a Man's hands.

This man sat on a round boulder that lay in the middle of the river. He wore black robes, that had black time essences swimming across the fabric. In the middle of this tropical scenery he was like a crow of death.

He held the black flute expertly in his hands and he blew on it gently, the tune that came out was beautiful. It encouraged all kinds of feelings in Mao Lu's heart.

The boat came to a halt next to the boulder and the black clothed Man who blew on his flute.

The moment its halted Mao Lu stood up and cupped his hands together, slightly bowing towards the man he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Gatekeeper Obsidian. I am Mao Lu, Gatekeeper of realm 145, although I am sure you know this already since you summoned for me."

As Mao Lu said this, the beautiful tune coming from the flute entered an exciting crescendo. Only on the very last minor chord, did Obsidian look over at Mao Lu.

He had a tranquil expression on his face as he opened his eyes and revealed his deep-set black irises.

As Mao Lu stared into them, he felt as if he was really falling into a thick abyss.

"It is also a pleasure to meet you Gatekeeper Lu. As you know I am Gatekeeper Obsidian, but as a fellow Gatekeeper you don't need to use titles around me, Obsidian is enough."

Mao Lu nodded, "Then I shall correct myself and call you Obsidian and of course you can call me Mao Lu." Mao Lu smiled brightly. He liked people that didn't care for titles too much. To Mao Lu this showed that Obsidian had a good character.

Mao Lu had been inwardly worried that this Gatekeeper would be some overbearing and arrogant prick.

The way Chàng Bo described other Gatekeepers to Mao Lu, had made him fear that all other Gatekeepers were very rude and filled with their own self-importance. Mao Lu didn't want to be a part of some organisation that was filled with characters like this.

From what Mao Lu had seen so far of the 400 realms, he had become humbled by their sheer magnitude, and had been awed by all of it. All of this was created by one being, and perhaps beyond the 400 Reams there was even more out there that still needed to be explored. All of it made Mao Lu feel very humble. How could someone not be humbled by all of this? A Gatekeeper who was arrogant and filled with their own self-importance would be a fool in Mao Lu's eyes.

If all Gatekeepers were like this Mao Lu would feel ashamed to be associated with them.

Meeting Obsidian had restored Mao Lu's faith in the Gatekeepers. They weren't all arrogant and egotistic. Perhaps there were some rotten apples in the group but that didn't mean all of them were.

_________

Obsidian was inwardly surprised at how quickly Mao Lu dropped the title. Usually new Gatekeepers were much more nervous and insecure when first meeting other Gatekeepers. And Obsidian wasn't any regular Gatekeeper, he was ranked 2nd and he was over ten billion years old. He was the longest reigning Gatekeeper; he was the second ever Gatekeeper of Realm 2 the Domain of Deities.

He was expecting Mao Lu to be somewhat of a nervous wreck in front of him, but there was not a trace of worry or anxiety across his face. In fact, he appeared relaxed and at ease, and he didn't seem arrogant.

"A Gatekeeper of Time is someone that isn't swayed by change or circumstance but in fact embraces it, adjusts to it, and in time conquers it. I believe this boy is worthy of being accepted by Time, he seems to be a flexible person." Obsidian thought to himself.

The more he looked at the warm smile on Mao Lu's face the more he found the boy pleasant to the eye.

Obsidian had been happy before that a new Gatekeeper with the power of time had appeared, he always felt a deep attachment to those that walked along the same path as him. However, he had never expected this boy to have such a glowing aura.

The time essences swam about him joyfully, even the ones in Obsidian's space, raced over to Mao Lu and intertwined with the Time essences swimming about the boy's body. Mao Lu attracted them as easily as breathing. Hadn't it been less than a month since this boy was instated as the Gatekeeper of Realm 145. Yet he was already near to completing his Awakening and entering the Merging Stage.

Not only that but his control and relation with the essences around him, already had such a deep affinity.

As Obsidian observed this natural talent with increasing shock, he felt a growing urge to hide Mao Lu from Argenti.

"If she meets him and notices his amazing temperament and potential, she'll definitely want to take him under her wing as a disciple. I can't let that happen. I must make this boy my own disciple, Argenti already has many students under her wing but I have never accepted any. I have been waiting all these years for a Gatekeeper that not only wields the power of Time, but also has impressive potential and an equally impressive character.

This boy may be the student that I prophesied. The student that could very well make history and change the fate of the 400 realms as we know it."

Obsidian was never one to smile, but his tranquil face lifted into a warm expression, and his eyes glittered as he looked at Mao Lu, like he was staring at a rare treasure.

"He must become my disciple."

_________

As Mao Lu looked at the bright smile across Obsidian's face, he felt slightly uncomfortable. "He's looking at me the same way a starved man looks at food."

At the same time as the thought flashed through Mao Lu's head, Gates noticed something interesting occurring back in Realm 145. It wondered whether it should tell Mao Lu, or wait until he noticed himself.

_________

MAO LU'S HOME- CHAOYANG

Tanaka's exclamation of "I knew it!!!! You must be the Guy Mao Lu's with!!!!" rang out.

Fei Bing Bing gasped, her mind racing, "Could it be true! Could this be the guy Mao Lu has a crush on." She looked at the sweat across Chàng Bo's naked torso. "OH MY, OH MY, OH MY, OH MY. Don't tell me he and Mao Lu really have been up to no good and doing who knows what for an entire week just like Tanaka said!"

Fei Bing Bing's mind raced with all kinds of scenes; her cheeks got increasingly redder as her imagination escalated.

Zhao Detong's brain had been slightly blank, wondering who this foreigner was, when Tanaka had exclaimed 'I knew it'.

"Ahhh so he's Mao Lu's boyfriend, are we disturbing something then, should I tell everyone to leave. We can always have the housewarming party another time." Detong contemplated.

Frank Wang was thinking, "Damn, how does someone get muscles like that. I've been going to the gym every day for a year and I still haven't got biceps and abdominal muscles like that. What is his routine? Does he have a personal trainer he can recommend me?"

Bei Lao tightened his grip around Tanaka's arm as he thought, "I don't like the way Tanaka is staring at that guy."

Fang Kai found this all too funny, "Omg so much drama!" He internally cheered.

Qi Zhou was still wondering, "How is Chàng Bo connected to Gatekeeper Lu?"

Whilst Tanaka was inwardly dancing. "Mao Lu scored!!!!! Where did he find this Hunk of a man, did he fall out of the sky because he looks like an angel. I'm sure Mao Lu has had plenty of fun this last week. Hehe."

Chàng Bo stared at them all blankly. The words Tanaka had said, sounded like nonsense to his ears.

He had yet to learn any languages from this planet named Earth. So, he couldn't understand what the little mortal had shouted.

Chàng Bo switched to the Universal Realm Tongue (URT), and said "This is Gatekeeper Mao Lu's residence. I do not know what your purpose is for visiting, and I see that you bear gifts" His eyes glanced over the bags and containers of food in their hands, "But that doesn't mean you can meet the Gatekeeper. I suggest you leave your gifts here and turn away. I will mention your visit to him."

Tanaka, Bei Lao, Zhao Detong, Fei Bing Bing, Fang Kai, and Frank Wang froze. "What language was that!!!" They all internally screamed.

"That wasn't English or French, I only know those two languages!!!!" Fei Bing Bing mentally panicked, her thoughts along the same lines as the rest of them.

Chàng Bo wasn't surprised when he saw the confused looks on the mortals faces. Mortals who lived in mortal realms didn't tend to know URT, however he hadn't spoken it for them, he'd spoken it for the mage practitioner among them. He was sure she would understand his words.

Qi Zhou felt a growing migraine. She'd thought that meeting Gatekeeper Lu with his mortal friends would have her own stroke of luck. He was a newly instated Gatekeeper that was adjusting to his new role. If she could get into his good books and make herself a servant of his in his early days, then she basically assured herself a golden future and a high status. And with that high status she'd finally be able to achieve her goal.

Yet it seemed Gatekeeper Lu had already gotten himself a high-level servant, Chàng Bo. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"I wonder how Gatekeeper Lu was able to get Chàng Bo on his side. Chàng Bo is a heaven defying absolute genius, I would never have thought he would be the type to become a servant to anyone, even a Gatekeeper. I wonder what their connection is."

As she thought this, she replied in URT, "We are not normal guests of the Gatekeeper. These mortals are his personal close friends and acquaintances from before he was appointed. It is best that you do not turn them away."

Chàng Bo raised a perfect eyebrow.

Before being appointed, a Gatekeeper could be anyone, a Father, a Queen, a King, a Mother, a famed Practitioner and so on. When they became Gatekeepers, their close relations were usually also seen as royalty within their Realm. Mao Lu having close mortal friends from before his instatement wasn't anything unusual. Chàng Bo was simply surprised because he'd had no forewarning that these close friends were coming to visit.

He didn't for a second think Qi Zhou was lying to him, because them being personal relations of the Gatekeeper made sense. How else were they able to get so close to the residence, and why would mortals be visiting? Also, Chàng Bo was revolving his mental skill, Heaven's grace, within his head, and he could see the honesty emanating off of Qi Zhou's words.

"Ahhh I see. I wasn't told you were coming." Chàng Bo said casually as he released a little bit of his aura and directed it towards Qi Zhou. He didn't like the tone she used when she spoke to him. Did she not realise he was a Dao stage practitioner? She wasn't even close to the Nascent stage. She was basically Mortal trash in Chàng Bo's eyes.

Qi Zhou felt an overpowering aura sliding down her like icy water. It wasn't enough to make her crumple or lose her composure, but it was enough for a warning.

Immediately Qi Zhou looked to the floor and tried not to make eye contact with him, as she said in a respectful dialect. "My Lord forgive me for my rudeness before, and forgive me for none of the forewarning. The mortals who are close to Gatekeeper Lu wished to throw him a party...they did try to inform the Gatekeeper, but he must have been too busy to realise."

"Oh, you're calling me 'My Lord' now? Huh, I see you're the type only to be polite when you feel a knife at your throat. Pathetic."

Chàng Bo glanced at the group of mortals. "Well Mao Lu stepped out for a bit to go to a meeting. I'm not sure when he'll be back but whatever...you can all just come in."

_________

Frank Wang and the rest of the group were surprised and impressed at Qi Zhou.

"What language is that?" Zhao Detong whispered to Frank.

"I have no idea, but I'm not surprised Qi Zhou can speak it. She used to live in USA, and she went to an international school, so she's fluent in English and she told me she knows many other languages too."

"Ahhh that's so cool. I can only speak Japanese and Chinese. I want to learn more languages." Bei Lao muttered.

"That's way better than me. I'm not like the rest of you guys; all I know is Chinese" Fang Kai sighed a little.

Their eyes drifted back and forth between the two and they slightly noticed the change in formality that Qi Zhou spoke with.

When their short conversation ended Qi, Zhou looked back at them. "I told him who we are, and he says Mao Lu isn't here, apparently Mao Lu stepped out to go to a meeting just before we got here. He doesn't know when Mao Lu will be back, but he says we can come in."

"He went to a meeting! Just now, and we missed him! Urgggh that's so annoying. I hope he's back soon!!!" Fei Bing Bing whined.

"What do you mean you want him back soon? Don't you realise we've now got a grand opportunity to interrogate Mao Lu's new bae, and with Qi Zhou as our translator we're gonna get some spicy news hehehehehhehe" Tanaka cackled hysterically.

"Tanaka!!!" Bei Lao yelled.

They were all rather loud as they entered the residence. The only one that remained silent was Zhao Detong, "He went to a meeting? Without his car? He could have gotten a lift or a taxi but hmmm….. I don't know something feels weird here."