Chapter 742

Under the spotlight, the face attached to the shadow was badly disfigured.

Although both were Chen Ling's face, at such close proximity, they exuded two completely different auras. The disfigured face was filled with ferocity and rage, resembling a crude imitation discarded in a trash can.

Chen Ling looked at him calmly and slowly spoke:

"Because I am me."

His fist rose high under the spotlight...

Then he brought it down with full force!

*Bang—!!*

Another dull thud.

The disfigured face completely vanished, replaced by a pitch-black shadow devoid of any features. Its head hit the floor with a heavy thud, and it instantly fainted.

Black blood stained Chen Ling's fist. He slowly stood up, his apricot-colored eyes calmly looking down at the unconscious shadow.

On this stage, only he remained standing.

Chen Ling lifted the shadow, took off the large red opera robe he was wearing, and then threw it forcefully off the stage.

As the shadow fell beneath the stage, the "audience's" shadowy arms surged out from the darkness, grabbing the unconscious shadow and dragging it into the audience, where it disappeared.

Just as they had dragged Chen Ling away earlier.

In the center of the stage, Chen Ling meticulously put on the large red opera robe. He adjusted his collar and hair, then stood under the spotlight, his gaze slowly sweeping over the writhing, dark audience, as if completely transformed.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. With one hand behind his back and the other elegantly placed below his chest, he bowed slightly towards the audience below the stage:

"The show... begins."

At the edge of the Forbidden Sea.

The large red paper umbrella stopped spinning on the sandy beach. Its rampaging aura, like flames, burned fiercely in the gray world.

A shadow struggled wildly back and forth in the sea of fire, eventually falling silent. It lay motionless in the ruins, like a corpse.

Curtains drew open from the void. A young man in an opera robe, carrying an unconscious youth, gently landed on the sandy beach. The youth let out a painful groan, then began to violently vomit.

The Master tutted in disdain, tossed the youth aside, and walked directly towards the black shadow in the sea of fire.

The Master seemed unsurprised by "Chen Ling's" unconsciousness. He knelt before the black shadow, and one hand slowly reached towards Chen Ling's chest...

*Thump—thump—thump!*

On the theater stage, Chen Ling repeatedly slammed against the curtain, but it only produced the dull sound of hitting steel.

Chen Ling's expression was somewhat helpless.

With the help of Chen Ling from District Three, he had successfully descended back onto the stage and reclaimed his role. However, this only brought him back to the very beginning.

Previously, whenever Chen Ling released the "audience" and tried to return to his body, he would be blocked by the curtain. When the expectation value was above 17, the curtain was like mud, and Chen Ling could pass through it with effort.

When the expectation value was at 15, the curtain gradually hardened into a wall. Although extremely difficult to pass through, it was not impossible. This expectation value was the limit Chen Ling could currently control himself.

However, when the expectation value was at 13, he could not cross the curtain on his own. The last time, at Beidou Manor, he only escaped with the help of the Last Act.

But this time, when he released the "audience," the expectation value was at a minimum of 5. This curtain had become like steel, and no matter how hard Chen Ling tried, he couldn't leave the slightest mark on it.

Just as Chen Ling was pondering how to pass through the curtain, a hand suddenly emerged silently from behind it, as if crossing space and dimensions.

The moment he saw this hand, Chen Ling froze.

It was a young boy's hand, with long, slender fingers and fair skin. It slowly opened in front of Chen Ling, revealing a line of small characters written on its palm:

"—Hold your Master tight."

Chen Ling's pupils slightly contracted.

"...Master?" Chen Ling's eyes were filled with astonishment!

It was important to know that this was the theater, the deepest part of his mind, and where the Mocking Disaster was sealed. Since Chen Ling first awoke here, no one else had been able to reach this place, not even a single hand.

Seeing this scene, a flicker of light appeared in Chen Ling's eyes, and countless thoughts surged through his mind.

But he didn't hesitate for long before reaching out and tightly gripping the young boy's hand!

The next moment, an indescribable force released from the other end of the hand. The terrifying aura of the Opera God seemed to pierce through all space and dimensions, forcibly pulling Chen Ling's body into the rigid curtain!

Dense cracks began to spread across the curtain's surface. At the same time, Chen Ling was gradually returning to his true body.

At the edge of the Forbidden Sea,

The surging, world-ending aura was gradually dissipating, while another demigod-level Opera God aura erupted from the deep pit!

The earth trembled from the Master's aura. Countless afterimages of "stories" flickered wildly in the void. As the Master pushed his aura to its peak, space and time here became unstable.

While vomiting, Jian Changsheng saw the sand beneath him transform: one moment it was glass beads, then sand, then countless glass jewels, then Infinity Stones containing terrifying energy...

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, unable to help but exclaim, "Holy cow!"

"Damn it, my brain's scrambled!"

A young boy in an opera robe slowly rose from the deep pit. His hand seemed to be pulling something, slowly tearing open from the shadowy body...

*Roar—!!!*

At the same time,

At the far end of the churning frozen sea, a mountain-like colossal shadow slowly emerged.

The entire Forbidden Sea had been enraged by the Mocking Disaster. The Taboo Disaster, which had lain submerged for untold ages without revealing itself, had reappeared in the world.

Under the wrath of this king of the Forbidden Sea, countless calamities began to leap out from beneath the ocean surface, like a surging black tide, sweeping overwhelmingly towards the sandy beach.

"Red, red, red... Senior Red King!!" Jian Changsheng finally snapped back to reality, his face pale from the impact of the world-ending aura.

*Crack—*

With a soft sound, a gap appeared in the shadowy body.

A hand was forcibly pulled out of the body by the Master, then an arm, then a shoulder... The Master, who was using all his strength to pull Chen Ling out, suddenly frowned and sharply looked behind him!

His brows were tightly furrowed, clearly infuriated by the Taboo Disaster interrupting him at such a crucial moment. Space and dimensions around him intertwined wildly.

The next moment, a piece of skin peeled off the Master's cheek. His entire body transformed from a young boy's figure directly back to an adult's height. Then, facing the raging, tumultuous Forbidden Sea, he slowly opened his mouth wide...

A colossal roar, like thunderous fury, erupted from his tongue!

"—Begone!!!!"