Chen Ling was sober, at least for now. Before his body felt like it would burst, he had been in a daze, his instincts overriding most of his reason, much like when he had devoured the roasted chicken buffet in the warehouse.
Chen Ling wasn't sure where this craving came from, but the Red Star aura was certainly a potent tonic for him. After experiencing the overwhelming sensation that nearly burst him, his physical constitution was even more robust than before. A feeling of immense power surged through every muscle in his body, like volcanoes poised to erupt.
Not only that, the spiritual energy in his mind was more abundant than ever before, even feeling as if it might overflow.
After Chen Ling's recovery, he had consumed most of the Red Star aura diffused in the air, and his reason had returned. From his perspective, the only cardinal still alive and emitting Red Star aura was like an exquisite dessert left after a hearty meal, ready for him to savor.
Anyway, this cardinal was going to die, so satisfying his minor craving before then shouldn't be too much to ask. Of course, Chen Ling wasn't interested in hearts or anything similar; he was merely craving the last trace of Red Star aura remaining within the cardinal's body.
"But... what exactly is going on?" Chen Ling muttered to himself.
This wasn't the first time Chen Ling had encountered the Red Star. Back in the Era Archive, he had seen Red Star fragments millions of times larger than this, yet he hadn't felt the slightest temptation from them. Nor had he experienced the current sense of fullness and repletion after the Red Star aura entered his body.
Chen Ling speculated that this might be because it was merely the Era Archive, and the Red Star fragments were just illusory projections. Otherwise, logically, if he had truly swallowed a piece of a Red Star fragment, he should have long since been promoted to a Nine Monarch-level expert.
However, if Jiangtian Cultists, possessing only a few wisps of Red Star aura, could have such an effect, Chen Ling couldn't help but wonder: what would happen if he obtained the Jiangtian Cult's complete Red Star fragment?
Chen Ling's gaze returned to his surroundings. He could no longer see the other Jiangtian cardinal and sighed with a touch of regret.
"You... you are..."
In a pool of blood, Wang Jincheng stared blankly at Chen Ling, as if his entire worldview had collapsed.
Only then did Chen Ling notice that there was a group of spectators nearby. Wang Jincheng was closest to him, covered in wounds and looking utterly disheveled. However, the shock to his mind seemed even more severe than his physical injuries.
Chen Ling touched his cheek, thinking, 'I can't hide it anymore this time...' With these few blocks already destroyed to such an extent, and a war between the two great realms likely imminent, there was indeed no need to continue his disguise.
Thinking of this, Chen Ling glanced at the audience's expectation value of 37, and a "wicked" thought suddenly came to his mind.
He smiled and walked over to Wang Jincheng.
"What, are you surprised, my dear Director Wang?"
"You're... Heart Six? No, you're Lin Yan? Who exactly are you???" Director Wang rasped.
With a half-smile, Chen Ling raised his hand and tore at his chin with his fingertips. The face of "Chen Ling" lightly dissipated into the air, revealing "Lin Yan"'s face before Wang Jincheng. That wasn't all; he tore again, and it transformed into "Li Ruohong"'s face!
"Guess who I am?"Audience expectation value: 2
Three faces changed in succession before Wang Jincheng. This trick utterly stunned him; his brain seemed to stop functioning.
"This is impossible... You and Boss Lin appeared at the same time... You were clearly the least likely person to be Heart Six! How did you do it??!" Upon seeing Li Ruohong's face, Wang Jincheng realized the crux of the matter, but he couldn't for the life of him understand what had happened with Chen Ling and Lin Yan appearing together before him at that time.
"Just a few small tricks, it's not important."
Chen Ling patted Wang Jincheng's shoulder and smiled. "I told you, you couldn't catch me... Now, I'm back. Thank you for your care during this time, Director Wang. You're a good person."
"You're a good person."
These five words buzzed in Wang Jincheng's ears like thunder, and his face instantly turned ashen.
"What, didn't your Boss Lin say I would always be a distinguished guest of Jinhong Tower?""This Boss Lin is truly talented...""The owner of Jinhong Tower is truly a gentleman...""You don't need to blame yourself too much; this isn't your fault... Boss Lin is a good person; I'm not surprised he made this choice."
In that instant, Wang Jincheng's experiences of the past few days flashed through his mind like a movie. He stared blankly at Chen Ling, who stood smiling silently before him, while his own confident words echoed in his ears. He felt as if his entire being was tearing apart.
Seeing Wang Jincheng's ashen face, the smile at the corner of Chen Ling's mouth grew even brighter. He patted the latter's shoulder.
"You did well, my child."Audience expectation value: 3
Having gained five audience expectation points from Wang Jincheng, Chen Ling was satisfied. He took a step, about to leave, when Wang Jincheng's voice rang out from behind him again:
"Why did you help us?" Wang Jincheng frowned deeply. "You're a member of the Twilight Society; shouldn't we be adversaries?"
Chen Ling stopped.
He turned back to look at Wang Jincheng and slowly held up two fingers:
"First, I didn't help you; all of this was merely an accident... Second, the Twilight Society and humanity have never been adversaries."
Wang Jincheng stood frozen.
Chen Ling said nothing more to him. He walked past Wang Jincheng and headed straight into the distance.
But just a few steps later, several figures approached from all directions and stopped him in his tracks.
Several members of the Floating Life Painting, who had arrived shortly after, surrounded Chen Ling. Their expressions varied: some were terrified, some wary, and those who had witnessed Chen Ling's entire solution to the crisis had incredibly complex expressions.
Behind them, Yang Muquan, dressed in a black-and-white spotted top, walked towards them with a serious expression.
Seeing this, Chen Ling couldn't help but chuckle and added to his previous statement:
"However... your major realms seem to have always been in opposition to us."
"Aurora Realm Destroyer, highest-level wanted criminal in the Human Realm, Twilight Society's Heart Six... Chen Ling." Yang Muquan put his walkie-talkie away, as if he had just confirmed Chen Ling's identity with his superiors, and slowly began to speak. "Although you have temporarily resolved the Jiangtian Cult crisis, according to Article 139 of the Human Covenant, we must take action against you..."
In the distance.
Jian Changsheng saw Chen Ling surrounded. He frowned and was about to move towards them.
But the next moment, a hand stopped him.
Jian Changsheng looked back to see that it was Diamond Ten who had stopped him. He immediately asked:
"What's going on? They're ganging up on him; shouldn't we help?"
"Wait... don't rush," Diamond Ten said, his eyes fixed on Chen Ling. "Let's first see what Heart Six does..."
[2 minutes ago] Chapter 738: Everyone Is a Nascent Soul
[3 minutes ago] Chapter 668: Please Grant Me the Position!
[7 minutes ago] Chapter 1426: Right-Handed Saint Virtue
[9 minutes ago] Chapter 825: Taian City Rains Again
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