Yuan Shikai was traveling through space, glancing around from time to time as though searching for something.
Finally, his eyes lit up. He had found his destination.
He descended onto a planet, where a magnificent castle stood: the Millennium Castle.
Why had Yuan Shikai deliberately detoured here?
It was because after Qi Huang fused with the Gatekeeper, she had obtained these memories.
The Dragon-Trapping Formation had worked unexpectedly well, almost suppressing the Gatekeeper's soul strength to Qi Huang's level.
Once the Gatekeeper's soul level had been suppressed, Qi Huang began the soul fusion.
Even with the Dragon-Trapping Formation's help, the process was extremely arduous.
In a contest between two souls, the slightest mistake meant being suppressed in reverse by the other side.
The fusion process was agonizing. Watching Qi Huang's face twist in pain, Yuan Shikai felt the same pain in his heart.
When their souls completely fused, they directly broke free of the Dragon-Trapping Formation.
One could imagine just how powerful Qi Huang at her peak had been in this world. Fortunately, the outcome was good.
Once the fusion was complete, Qi Huang looked at him tenderly, and Yuan Shikai knew it had succeeded.
Qi Huang's personality occupied the body, and everything followed her will. The Gatekeeper's will could no longer interfere with her.
But every gain came with a loss. Though the Gatekeeper's will could not interfere with her, the world's will could.
At that moment, she inherited the Gatekeeper's duty and had to make protecting this planet her responsibility.
It was an imprint engraved deep within her soul. Until the day she died, that duty would not change.
The good news, however, was that this responsibility could be handled flexibly.
She did not need to stand dutifully at the boundary of the gate like the original Gatekeeper.