Chapter 839: "I'm Chen Ling"

The script's chain reaction was the final element. When Chen Ling altered Sun Bumian's words, it inevitably triggered a series of ripple effects, including the survival of Li Shengmen, Pu Xiachan, and the Young Master. However, these chain reactions required Chen Ling's physical body to sustain the modifications.

For instance, Chen Ling had to proactively insert 'almost' and 'nearly' into the two subsequent lines of the script. Without these additions, they would either still die due to a delayed reaction, or the narrative logic would become nonsensical, preventing the plot modification. In essence, this wasn't a power to travel back in time, alter history, and have the timeline automatically adjust. For Chen Ling to change the future by modifying the initial line of text, he had to simultaneously modify all subsequent chain reactions and bear their associated costs.

The out-of-control Chen Ling didn't modify the line about Tu Tian's beheading because his body had reached its limit. Moreover, Tu Tian was killed by Kong Wang's solo Soul-Shocking attack, not by the Finger of Breaking Delusions. Modifying his death would have required altering one or even multiple additional script lines.

"'Cut'... it's not bad."

Chen Ling hadn't retrieved the name of this domain from his memories and couldn't be bothered to name it. Since it was activated by the word 'cut,' commonly used by directors, temporarily calling it 'Cut' was sufficient.

Chen Ling staggered to his feet and began to walk.

"'I'm merely absorbing some soul nourishment. Rest assured, I'm a spirit; I can't inflict any physical harm upon you,' the original host stated calmly. 'You should worry about him more than me... He is the true monster.'"

Kong Wang turned his head to look.

In the dusty, ethereal space, a figure in a blood-soaked, crimson opera robe slowly approached.

"'The Way of the Opera God, that crimson opera robe, and that face...' Li Shengmen and the others, who had been blasted away, also staggered to their feet. As they saw Chen Ling approaching in the distance, their pupils constricted slightly. 'He's the rumored Heart 6?!'"

After his resurrection, Chen Ling had reverted to his original appearance. The realm's prodigies present had all heard about Heart 6 Chen Ling's exploits in previous realms, and they were utterly shocked.

"'Heart 6?! Has the Twilight Society infiltrated as well?!' Pu Xiachan instinctively covered her mouth."

"'Wait... why does this scene feel so familiar?' the assassin mumbled. 'I have this nagging feeling I've forgotten something...'"

"'I feel the same way,' the Young Master muttered. 'I think I had a dream where I was cut in half and died.'"

"'You too...'"

"'Something's not right. It's as if we really did die once; I have the same memory in my mind.'"

"'What in the world is happening???'"

As confusion spread among them, Kong Wang watched the approaching Chen Ling, his brows tightly furrowed, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"'What are you waiting for?' Chen Ling's voice boomed like thunder. 'I didn't save you just so you could stand by and watch... Attack!!'"

These words reverberated in the ears of the Young Master and the others. They immediately recalled the recent brush with death, as if understanding something profound. After exchanging glances, they simultaneously charged towards Kong Wang.

The Young Master, Li Shengmen, Pu Xiachan, and the assassin;

The four simultaneously unfurled their domains. Three launched a frontal assault, while one concealed his presence. They all clearly understood that this was the most critical moment and they had to fight for their lives.

Kong Wang's expression was incredibly grim. He raised his hand, preparing to activate the Way of the Power God, but discovered its rank was plummeting wildly.

With tranquil purple pupils gazing down, the original host grasped a handful of chains with his bare hands, drawing almost all soul power into his body. The originally solid 'Fu Di' was almost completely drained.

Kong Wang couldn't deal with the original host. With the immediate crisis upon him, he was forced to contend with the Way of the Power God, puppets, and various objects flying his way, while simultaneously using Ghost Dao's teleportation to evade the assassin's attacks.

Kong Wang, who had recently been capable of fighting seven opponents at once, was now miserably bogged down.

Meanwhile, the still-open Ghost Gate continued to frantically drain his stamina. His movements became increasingly slow; he could no longer perfectly defend against the four's assault and soon began to sustain injuries.

"'Damn it...'"

Kong Wang knew he was at the end of his rope. He could only continuously dodge and flee, relying on his speed to forcibly create distance from the group.

The next moment, a lion dance foot adorned with 'Good Fortune and Wishes Fulfilled' descended like a mountain from the sky, crushing the fleeing Kong Wang into the earth with a thunderous impact.

Sun Bumian, wreathed in flames, stood atop the lion dance, his ringed eyes indifferently surveying the ruins below:

"'How pathetic... Did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?'"

Kong Wang was pinned in the deep pit, his hands struggling to push up the lion dance foot. Trickles of blood flowed from the dense wounds covering his body, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Just as he was about to speak, a blood-colored longsword swiftly pierced through the void.

Whoosh—!

Kong Wang, pinned beneath the lion dance's foot, had no escape. He was directly impaled by the sword, then dragged out by its terrifying force and impaled onto a broken wall.

Jian Changsheng, bearing a divine ring of killing intent, instantly appeared behind the sword's hilt.

He violently pulled out the longsword. His sharp eyes seemed to trace a silver thread of killing intent in the air, and the next moment, he slashed the sword towards Kong Wang's neck.

Boom!!!

The broken wall, along with the floating architectural debris behind it, was sliced into fragments by a single sword strike.

A shocking half-severing sword mark pierced through Kong Wang's body. His figure appeared hundreds of meters away, and before he could make a move, fences began to materialize from the void!

Black marble ground spread from a distance, and magnificent, solemn colossal pillars rose from all directions. Kong Wang felt a binding force descend from the sky, completely sealing his movements.

Simultaneously, a sign appeared out of thin air on a wooden table in front of him.

Defendant's Stand.

Kong Wang looked back and saw an actor in a crimson opera robe, holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, slowly walking towards him.

"'You...'"

An unprecedented feeling of weakness welled up in Kong Wang's heart. Above him, the original host's soul had released all chains and was slowly floating behind him. Under the nourishment of other souls, his form had become completely solid, a stark contrast to his previous weak state where he could dissipate at any moment.

Kong Wang looked at the grey-robed original host behind him, then at the red-clad Chen Ling walking towards him, his expression incredibly complex.

"'You... no, what kind of monsters are you two?'"

Inside the makeshift courtroom.

The opera-robed Chen Ling raised his gun, expressionlessly aiming at Kong Wang's glabella. The grey-robed original host pulled hard to break free from the chains, a faint smile playing on his lips...

After a brief pause, both spoke simultaneously:

"—'I am Chen Ling.'"