Arriving Because of Your Summon

Qin Luming remembered the last time he saw Zhou Nan. His Majesty the Emperor was wearing black armor with a cape. Except for the lack of a helmet and a less imposing build, he looked more like a heavily armored warrior.

Today, Zhou Nan was dressed differently, in what appeared to be a very high-ranking standard military uniform. Qin Luming had seen similar uniforms on the statues along the steel bridge as he walked.

Zhou Nan was the Emperor, so being able to wear the same level of military uniform as her suggested that those statues were of Emperors from Zhou Kingdom's history or figures of great historical influence.

The young woman wore a stern, standard-style military uniform, her long hair cascading down her back. A golden wheat-ear sash hung on one side of her left shoulder. The hammer-shaped medal, possibly symbolizing her imperial status, was inlaid with dazzling gems and hung on her slightly heaving chest. She was no longer holding the seemingly heavy great hammer, but had instead swapped it for a broad-bladed greatsword, which she held in one hand, plunged into a crack in the stone ground.

It seemed she hadn't arrived in the real world empty-handed. She likely had some sort of portable space. Her daily necessities and the equipment needed to set up magic formations were probably stored inside.

Qin Luming was very interested in this kind of portable space, but now was not the time to focus on such things.

"My name is Qin Luming. It's true, as Ma Shilong said, I also write novels. But Your Majesty, please understand, Ma Shilong is a veteran writer with over ten years of experience. When he started writing, I couldn't even recognize all the characters... Even now, I only have two to three hundred thousand characters of writing experience, and my works have only gained a little recognition with great effort, leading to some attention." Qin Luming knew that the more critical the moment, the calmer he needed to be.

He focused his energy, preventing his annoyance with Ma Shilong from affecting his train of thought, and continued to logically explain the situation.

"Ma Shilong's work, 'My Wife is the Empress of the Zhou Kingdom,' is a work from over ten years ago. Even then, his writing was recognized by many readers. After so many years of honing his skills, his writing has become more refined and impactful. I've been pondering a question: are the impact, creativity, writing skill, world-building imagination, and expressive ability we often talk about in writing the key to summoning characters from a novel world into reality?" Qin Luming glanced at Ma Shilong with a blank expression. "If any novel author could casually turn their stories into reality, wouldn't this world have descended into chaos long ago?"

"I truly wish I had the ability to help Your Majesty, but the person who tied the knot must untie it. Your Majesty, please whip this lazy pig strictly. He is the most suitable person to write your biography."

After speaking, Qin Luming looked at Zhou Nan again with sincerity, "Your Majesty, please consider it carefully again."

Zhou Nan's fingers tapped lightly on the hilt of the greatsword. Her slender fingers made it seem difficult for her to draw the greatsword and fight.

"Your Majesty, let him try and find out. He's already here anyway," Ma Shilong said urgently.

"Your Majesty, such an attempt is meaningless... You should also know that he is the most suitable candidate. His presumptuous and lazy attitude is exploiting Your Majesty's kindness. We have a saying, 'hanging the head under the beam, pricking the thigh with an awl.' With such a spirit of effort, how could he not be able to write? Furthermore, in the history of the Western Han Dynasty, there was an official who offended the Emperor, was imprisoned, and castrated. In prison, he wrote the magnificent epic 'Records of the Grand Historian.' You can try to demand the same severity from Ma Shilong and see if he can write it?" Qin Luming had no ulterior motives; he was simply offering advice to Zhou Nan and did not want Ma Shilong to be castrated... He was already a pig; wasn't castrating a boar a normal operation for raising pigs?

Ma Shilong was greatly alarmed and quickly knelt before Zhou Nan, saying, "Your Majesty, don't listen to his nonsense. I really can't write it. A novel from over ten years ago, I no longer have that mood or feeling. When I try to continue writing, the text feels very awkward. Your Majesty, you've seen it too; not much of the writing can create harmonious resonance and influence with the Zhou Kingdom's world."

"Every time I try to continue writing, my body stiffens, my thoughts are blocked, and even breathing feels incredibly heavy. Every word I type feels detestable, dry, and tasteless, like chewing on dry straw. How can I possibly write?" Ma Shilong was almost in tears. Qin Luming was truly silver-tongued; this was something Ma Shilong had never expected, so he could only resort to playing the victim.

What kind of harmonious resonance and influence could writing have with another world? Qin Luming was slightly inspired by this statement, but it was clearly not the time to inquire further.

"Fine, then the two of you will write together. Whoever doesn't write well, I'll castrate. You will go to prison and write now... If others can write 'Records of the Grand Historian,' can't you?" Zhou Nan frowned slightly and waved her hand: "Imperial Decree: Heavenly Prison Summon!"

As soon as she spoke, a slowly opening gate appeared before Qin Luming and Ma Shilong. Beyond the gate stood prison guards three meters tall, holding long spears. Behind the guards were layers of portcullises, with numerous cells suspended in the air by heavy chains. Staircases descended into the depths of the earth, where faint ghost fires flickered. From the deepest reaches came the sound of rippling water, and bursts of wailing, as if swept up by the wind, torn apart, and then drilling into ears, pressing against eardrums with a resentment that yearned for everyone to suffer in hell together.

"Qin Luming! I'll fuck your mother!" Ma Shilong's body trembled all over as he saw the gate to the hellish prison. This was also his own setting; this prison hid bone-corroding soul-devouring monsters, inspired by the Dementors from 'Harry Potter.'

Qin Luming was also startled. Just as he had speculated, the saying "the Emperor's heart is unfathomable" was true. Zhou Nan was like a satiated tiger; little sheep might wander around her, and she might not eat them, but whether the little sheep lived or died was not up to the little sheep.

Qin Luming still felt he was too naive. Although Zhou Nan was young and had not personally governed the country, she already held the imperial power. Her mindset, accustomed to life and death decisions, wouldn't care about who was most suitable, choosing one and letting the other go? That was impossible; she wanted them all!

At this moment, Ma Shilong suddenly leaped up. His fat body actually soared several meters high, transforming into a Big Black Pig in mid-air. Its limbs stretched out, its large ears perked up, expanding like eagle wings in the wind. Its short pig tail swished like a rotating propeller. With a flick of Ma Shilong's large ears, propelled by the rotating tail, his body actually flew far away with a "whoosh."

"Heh heh..." Zhou Nan let out a cold laugh. A whip appeared in her hand at some point, and she casually flicked it. The whip also grew in the wind, instantly reaching Ma Shilong. The end of the whip wrapped around Ma Shilong's pig hoof. Zhou Nan flicked her wrist, and the whip lashed Ma Shilong back, directly throwing him into the Heavenly Prison.

Hearing Ma Shilong's scream, Qin Luming turned and ran towards the bridge. He knew that his current location was likely some kind of "domain," and within such a domain, Zhou Nan held all the advantages. He was likely no match for her, but he couldn't just sit and wait for death.

Zhou Nan let out another cold laugh, and the whip in her hand was drawn again.

Qin Luming felt something and turned back, raising his left hand to catch the whip Zhou Nan threw.

A powerful force surged towards him. Qin Luming felt as if he were about to be pulled into the sky by this force. He quickly ran a few steps along with the momentum, simultaneously exerting force with his left hand and yanking the whip hard.

"I knew that not all creatures in this world could be as stupid and weak as Ma Shilong." Zhou Nan looked at Qin Luming with a slight smile, her delicate face showing no anger, only a slight upturn of her lips as she watched him resist.

With a strong pull, Qin Luming then released his grip, and the long whip was flung back, slithering like a snake in mid-air and shooting towards Qin Luming again.

Qin Luming rolled to dodge. Another whip, appearing from nowhere, struck Qin Luming's right leg.

Qin Luming fell to the ground. In that instant, countless whips were already lashing down like a rainstorm. Before Qin Luming was even hit, he felt as if he were about to be torn to shreds. He broke out in a cold sweat. After rolling and taking several hits, he pushed off the ground with his left hand, launching himself like a mortar shell to avoid the subsequent barrage of whips.

In mid-air, Qin Luming felt a chill down his back. The whips had struck the spot where he had fallen. The thick whip marks left on the ground were shocking. If they had hit him, even if he miraculously survived, he would likely have suffered psychological trauma, and seeing a whip in the future might cause him to tremble uncontrollably and lose control of his bodily functions.

Zhou Nan remained in her original position, but the whips in the air continued to pursue Qin Luming like a swarm of snakes.

Qin Luming landed on the steel bridge and looked back at the whips. At this moment, a statue on the bridge suddenly swung the long saber it held and slashed down at Qin Luming.

"My God!" Qin Luming's eyes nearly popped out of his head. These statues were tens of meters tall, and the long saber held by this statue was truly forty meters long!

Let me run thirty-nine meters first! Qin Luming wailed, pushing off the ground with his left hand again, launching himself forward like a cannonball.

As the saber descended, Qin Luming heard a deafening roar. The sound waves vibrated, as if he could see rings of spatial distortion. The blade struck the steel bridge, leaving a deep gash on the bridge surface. Qin Luming, in mid-air, could see the cut penetrating the double-layered bridge deck, revealing a turbulent river below.

Huh? Shouldn't this be a shallow riverbed? Qin Luming had been here yesterday and saw fish swimming among the water plants.

Now, there was no sign of lush water plants. Instead, the surging waves crashed against the shore like snow, and the river churned with fierce currents. In the water, grotesque, savage, and bloodthirsty monsters, with their fleshy, tooth-filled mouths open, roared at Qin Luming.

Qin Luming, who had been considering jumping off the bridge, now had to give up and continued to sprint forward along the bridge. To his surprise, the bridge seemed much longer than when he had walked across it. He should have reached the dam by now, but he had been running for a long time and still hadn't reached the end.

What made Qin Luming even more terrified was that the statues seemed to have come alive, speaking words that, whether seemingly peaceful, directly intimidating, or imperiously commanding, struck Qin Luming's heart like drums, making him want to kneel and confess his guilt before the statues. Qin Luming was now certain that these statues were the emperors of Zhou Kingdom throughout the ages. They had passed away, but their residual power remained, using the imposing aura of national monarchs to help Zhou Nan oppress Qin Luming.

"Imperialist feudal forces dare to suppress me, the successor of socialism?" Qin Luming raised his right hand, turned his wrist, and a spherical barrier composed of layers of tortoise shell light shields enveloped him. The mental pressure from the statues' aura finally disappeared.

However, the whips, like a swarm of snakes, continued to slither and chase, densely gathered together, attempting to restrain Qin Luming. Qin Luming continued to sprint on the endless steel bridge.

This was very strange, but Qin Luming knew he couldn't stop. He dodged the statues' attacks while searching for Zhou Nan.

"Where are you going?"

Hearing this voice, Qin Luming's heart tightened. He looked back and smelled the girl's warm fragrance. Zhou Nan's beautiful face, cold eyes, and moist lips were right before him.

Without hesitation, he raised his left hand and threw a punch directly at Zhou Nan's face, which was within arm's reach. He had never considered being gentle with a woman; he just needed an opportunity to try. He also knew the power disparity was huge, but there was no way he would give up resisting.

Unfortunately, the punch missed. Zhou Nan seemed unwilling to directly confront his fist. She looked at Qin Luming's left hand with a strange expression, then flickered backward several meters.

"You have the aura of a false god on you," Zhou Nan said, looking at Qin Luming.

Qin Luming didn't care about the false god's aura and continued to sprint forward. As Zhou Nan approached, the whips seemed to stop chasing, and Qin Luming had already stepped onto the dam.

Qin Luming jumped directly from the dam. As he fell dozens of meters, he grabbed the dam with his left hand, his fingers digging into the dam's surface, creating marks and slowing his descent. Qin Luming repeated this a few times, then continued running after jumping off the dam.

He needed to reach the boundary of this region's barrier. He believed that a barrier created by a magic formation couldn't be boundless. As long as he reached the edge, he could try to use Zuozuo's power to break through the barrier with brute force, or use Caicai's ability to nullify the barrier and escape.

In front of the dam was still a valley. The riverbed was wide and the water was clear, a stark contrast to the abyss behind the dam that held ferocious beasts. Qin Luming felt that he was getting close to the edge of the barrier.

"You!"

"How dare you..."

"Disobey!"

"Your Majesty's... decree..."

Intermittent voices, like thunder rolling down from the clouds, boomed. Qin Luming looked up and saw that the two guard statues he had observed from afar, over a hundred meters away, had actually come to life.

Their figures were so tall and terrifying, as if giant elephants were about to stomp on trembling small beasts. The sword-wielding guard raised its long sword. The stone sword, which had appeared covered in layers of dust, shed its thick layer of dirt, revealing its radiant true form. The armor on the sword-wielding guard was the same. The accumulated soil and dust of ages fell away, transforming it. This stone statue, which Qin Luming had thought was carved from the mountainside, was actually alive!

Unlike the moving statues on the bridge, he exuded the blood energy of a primordial beast, the majestic power of a super-lifeform that exerted a hierarchical pressure on all ordinary lives.

The other staff mage guard was the same. After shedding layers of dust and soil, the exquisite and solemn mage robe on its body, inscribed with complex runes, began to gather the light of heaven and earth, emitting a mysterious and profound aura, making it feel as if it were the source of all mystical power in this world. The raised staff erupted with a blinding light, illuminating the entire space covered by the formation as if it were daytime, and also locked onto Qin Luming.

"You... dare... disobey... Your Majesty's... decree..."

These two giants, loyal to the Zhou Kingdom's emperor and obedient to his every command, carried infinite fury within their intermittent and repetitive voices. It seemed that disobeying Zhou Nan was a capital offense punishable by death.

At this moment, Qin Luming felt the terror of imperial feudal forces. This was not something his personal strength could resist.

At this moment, he could only fight desperately. Qin Luming looked at his left and right hands. Would he die unyieldingly, or be captured by Zhou Nan and live on in disgrace in prison?

"Imperial Edict: Sword Bearer enforces the law."

Zhou Nan's cold voice echoed from afar. Qin Luming immediately understood that these two statues were the Zhou Kingdom Emperor's Guardians. They had originally stood on either side of Zhou Nan's sleeping quarters. Because of their existence, no rebel forces had ever been able to breach the imperial palace in the history of the Zhou Kingdom... It was described in novels, but seeing it in reality made him understand how powerful these things were.

Zhou Nan had actually brought these things into the real world! Qin Luming looked at the sky-slashing greatsword, which was clearly very cumbersome yet had locked onto his body, making him almost unable to move, and felt a sliver of despair.

"God... save me."

Qin Luming clenched his fists, preparing for a desperate struggle. He had no experience in such combat and lacked any confidence, involuntarily offering a prayer.

"Are you summoning me?"

Qin Luming's eyes widened. Why was the voice of that girl from his dream echoing at this moment?

"Yes, I am summoning you," Qin Luming blurted out involuntarily.

"Alright, I'm here."

Qin Luming felt the ground beneath him tremble. He looked up, and the two Emperor's Guardians before him were also shaking violently, as if a great mountain were about to collapse. He gazed into the distance and saw that the mountains shrouded in darkness had transformed into majestic, snow-capped peaks. The mountain range stretched to the horizon, continuous and boundless.

Qin Luming had seen these snow-capped mountains before, in his dreams.

He knew that beyond these snow-capped mountains lay an abyss.

The abyss led to the endless void.

There was a figure in the void.

She was coming.

A searing light, as if traversing countless worlds, landed on the tip of the sword held high by the Sword Bearer, like a divine presence.