Chapter 404: I Am Who!!

At Wenren You's home.

"True Self Mirror?" Jester pondered. "If I'm not mistaken, that mirror is used by high-ranking Stage Gods..."

"That's right," Ning Ruyu added. "For Stage Gods above the sixth rank, they typically perform hundreds or thousands of different roles. Due to repeated deep 'role-playing,' they can sometimes get lost within a character. That mirror was kept in the Appearance Area specifically to prevent such inner confusion caused by deep 'role-playing.' No matter how many times one undergoes deep 'role-playing,' looking into that mirror would reveal their 'true self,' allowing them to return from a state of being lost. However, since there are only a few of us in the Ancient Repository, and no one ever gets lost, plus the mirror is quite large and takes up space, it was sealed away in the warehouse."

With Ning Ruyu's reminder, everyone remembered that such an item indeed existed.

"Junior Disciple is only a third-rank; he shouldn't have undergone deep 'role-playing' yet, right? Why would he need the True Self Mirror?" Jester asked, looking puzzled at their Master.

The beautiful youth's eyes gazed into the distant void, his casual demeanor gradually receding as he became serious. He spoke slowly:

"That's why I said you underestimated him."

"His current state is far more complex than simple deep 'role-playing'..."

"A-Yan!!!"

"Brother!!!"

Chen Yan's voice rang out almost simultaneously.

Chen Ling stared blankly at the youth standing before him. The youth's crimson opera robe was dazzlingly bright in the halo of light. His familiar face was slightly raised, and his eyes, as clear as black obsidian, were filled with bewilderment and shock.

Chen Ling froze, his eyes wide in disbelief, remaining stunned for a long moment.

"Am I dreaming?!" Both voices sounded again simultaneously.

At this point, Chen Ling realized something was wrong. He and Chen Yan simultaneously looked up, seeing four large characters faintly shimmering in the darkness above them, between the two.

—Breaking Delusion, Returning to Truth.

Was the mirror doing this?

The two phrases Chen Ling had just seen—"A hundred faces, a thousand guises, myriad people; one life, one world, one true self"—instantly came to his mind. Now, it seemed this mirror must be related to 'returning to truth'...

But Chen Ling was still unsure if the Chen Yan before him was real or just an illusion created by the mirror.

"A-Yan, is that you, A-Yan?""Brother, is that you, Brother?"

"Damn it... What in the world is going on??"

Chen Ling frowned, tentatively extending his hand, wanting to touch Chen Yan, who was within reach.

Chen Yan also watched Chen Ling, slowly extending his hand, as if about to touch him...

Just then, Chen Ling's body swayed slightly, and a cluster of light and shadow suddenly drifted out of him, forming a third figure holding a kerosene lamp, standing on the other side.

Three lamp flames flickered silently in the darkness.

Both Chen Ling and Chen Yan were stunned. They simultaneously turned their heads and saw yet another 'Chen Ling' standing there, forming a triangle with them, also looking at the two with bewilderment.

However, the difference between him and Chen Ling was that he wasn't wearing a crimson opera robe; instead, he wore simple clothing from the Third District, and his demeanor was significantly different from Chen Ling's.

Chen Ling and the 'Chen Ling' stared at each other, their pupils slightly contracting.

"Who are you?!""Who are you?!"

"I am Chen Ling!!""I am Chen Ling!!"

"If you are Chen Ling, then who am I?""If you are Chen Ling, then who am I?"

Their dialogue, spoken in unison, was like two identical beings in a mirror, yet they felt like strangers to each other.

How could this be... It was one thing for Chen Yan to appear, but why was there another me?!

Chen Ling's mind was overloaded; he couldn't comprehend any of it.

Buzz—!!

As the three figures appeared simultaneously, the entire True Self Mirror vibrated violently, as if bearing immense pressure, and fine cracks began to spread across its surface!

An intense pain spread through Chen Ling's mind. His features contorted in agony, and his thoughts became chaotic.

At that moment, Chen Yan and 'Chen Ling' also trembled slightly, looking at each other with bewilderment.

"Brother?""A-Yan?""Who are you?!""I am Chen Ling!!""No, I am Chen Ling! I am A-Yan's brother!""You're Brother? Then who is he?""A-Yan, I'm Brother! I'm Chen Ling!!""No, you're not Chen Ling! I am Chen Ling!""I am Chen Ling! I really am Chen Ling!!""If you are Chen Ling, then who am I?!""You are me!!""No... I'm not you! How could I be you...""I am you! You are me! A-Yan is our brother! We are all Chen Ling!""Who exactly are you???""Who am I?!!!"

The chaotic voices nearly tore Chen Ling's mind apart. He painfully curled up on the ground, feeling as if his entire being was splitting into three. With bloodshot eyes, he muttered to himself in front of the True Self Mirror.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

The True Self Mirror, as if struck by an invisible impact, vibrated at an increasing frequency. Cracks rapidly spread across its surface, emitting faint cracking sounds, clearly overwhelmed.

"Oh no, my mirror!!" Simultaneously, back at Wenren You's home, the Master abruptly stood up.

He took a single step, his figure parting the curtains, and instantly vanished from the spot.

"Who am I?!!!"

Bang—!!!!

With another furious roar from Chen Ling, the True Self Mirror before him shattered with a crash. Countless tiny mirror fragments scattered like shrapnel, instantly blasting into every corner of the warehouse.

The 'Chen Ling' closest to him was instantly riddled like a sieve by the blast. His flesh torn open, crimson blood flowed onto the ground.

With a roll of his bloodshot eyes, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Half a second later, a youth draped in an opera robe stepped out from the void and slowly helped the fallen Chen Ling to his feet.

Behind him, Ning Ruyu and others followed, their faces shocked at the sight of Chen Ling, covered in blood, on the ground.

"Junior Disciple?!"

"Master, what happened to Junior Disciple?"

The Master glanced over, then calmly replied, "Don't worry, he's fine. These superficial wounds will heal for him in a few minutes."

The other disciples all breathed a sigh of relief.

The beautiful youth's gaze shifted from Chen Ling to the shattered mirror fragments scattered across the floor, a look of anguish appearing in his eyes.

"To actually break the True Self Mirror, that kid... But even so, it only managed to barely awaken a part, didn't it..."

Meanwhile, a short figure emerged from the dressing room, scratching his head and walking over with a puzzled expression, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.

Jester, bewildered, walked to the doorway and froze at the sight of Chen Ling lying in a pool of blood!

His narrow, beady eyes looked at the injured Chen Ling, then at the shattered mirror nearby, then at his own hands...

His eyes immediately welled up, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Eek!!!!!!!!!"