Chapter 1011: "Role"

Chaotic memories washed over Chen Ling's mind.

These were his sealed memories, and also his earliest memories... In a trance, he heard dull sounds coming from in front of him, as if someone had been hit hard and fell to the ground.

Chen Ling couldn't see the scene in front of him clearly, or perhaps this memory was blurry to begin with;

he seemed to be on a chaotic stage, with dense crowds of "audience" members like him climbing up here frantically, only to be beaten down and kicked off by him.

The theater stage at this time didn't seem to be activated, and there were no rule restrictions. A massive number of "audience" members crowded around the stage, fighting each other, trampling each other, as if they were having a complete infighting for something.

But under Chen Ling's strenuous fighting, an area had been cleared around him. He was special among the many "audience" members, and every move he made carried a trace of powerful killing intent...

Perhaps it had something to do with a fragment of the Path of the War God foundation stuffed into his chest.

When he kicked the last audience member off the stage, the pitch-black Chen Ling seemed exhausted. He stood on the stage in a disheveled state, opened his arms, and his playful scarlet eyes were full of excitement!

Just then, a figure wearing a drama robe appeared in front of him out of thin air.

Because Chen Ling's memory at this time was too blurry, he couldn't see the person's appearance clearly, but as his voice sounded, Chen Ling's heart shook slightly.

"The Fourth Generation was right... the only weakness of the [Mockery] disaster is infighting." The figure coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, and the ferocious wounds on his body were shocking, but at this moment, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes,

"This time... it might really work."

Master???

The figure reached into his arms and took out a thin book. Perhaps because he was too seriously injured, the cover of the book was also stained with blood, but only one line of large black characters was clearly visible:

——[Chen Ling's Character Biography].

Before Chen Ling could react, the man stuffed the book directly into Chen Ling's head!

The next moment, the power of the Path of the Drama God erupted, and under the power of a certain skill, the book actually decomposed into a certain void concept, gushing into Chen Ling's mind frantically!

Chen Ling's memory seemed to be impacted, his entire consciousness began to blur, and he fell backward slowly...

At the same time, the man's voice echoed in his ears again:

"The 'Role' I've prepared for hundreds of years... is now handed to you..."

"From now on, you are no longer 'Mockery,' nor are you the 'audience' off-stage... You are 'Chen Ling'."

……

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Torrential rain poured into the night, making the soil of the mass grave muddy.

Chen Ling's memory surfaced again. He opened his eyes slowly, only to find that he was floating in the air... or rather, held in someone's hand.

He had turned into something like a ball of light, and four spirit tablets turned into paper shackles were wrapped around him, like some kind of seal, imprisoning him within.

Chen Ling had seen these four spirit tablets. At that time, his master used these four things to lock up the "Mockery Disaster" that replaced him, temporarily sealing all its power...

On the surface of the four spirit tablets, the same four names were written:

——[Actor Nameless].

Was he sealed by his master?

Just as this thought arose in Chen Ling's mind, a familiar voice sounded again:

"Have you thought it through?"

"After taking on his 'Role,' everything about the two of you until now will be swapped: identity, background, interpersonal relationships... You will completely become him, allowing him to complete a resurrection in another sense... And accordingly, you yourself will cease to exist."

"Do you..."

"Really want to become 'Chen Ling'?"

Chen Ling's heart shook, as if thinking of something, and his consciousness looked in front of him!

Chen Ling was all too familiar with this dialogue... Last time, in the Aurora Domain, Chen Ling had used Soul-Shattering Evidence Gathering on himself and seen this memory... No, strictly speaking, he had only "heard" it last time. (Chapter 214)

Perhaps this memory was buried too deep within the confusion; even with Soul-Shattering Evidence Gathering, he had only heard a snippet of sound back then... But this time, Chen Ling not only heard it, he could even see the scene before him.

Rain poured down upon the mass grave.

A dirt pit had already been dug out, and Chen Yan, wearing a mud-stained opera robe, stood in the curtain of rain with his head bowed.

Beside him, another pit had also been dug, but inside the black bag, a corpse had lost all signs of life, exposed to the rain, cold and pale.

"A-Yan..." Chen Ling’s heart jolted.

The last time he heard this dialogue, Chen Ling had subconsciously assumed that he was the "Chen Yan" who responded. But now, Chen Ling realized that in this scene, he was neither the dead Chen Ling of the Third District nor the Chen Yan saved by his Master...

He was the "Mockery" Calamity sealed by his Master, an existence independent of both Chen Ling and Chen Yan.

Chen Yan looked at his deceased brother, his expression pained and numb, as if he had lost everything.

After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to make up his mind and nodded slightly:

"...Mm."

"Since your mind is made up, I will not try to persuade you further... However, the range of this domain is limited to the Seven Districts. Outside the Seven Districts, what has already happened cannot be altered. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Master slowly raised his hand, gently pressing another scroll from his left hand onto the sealed Chen Ling.

In that instant, Chen Ling saw the name of the scroll clearly:

[Character Biography: Chen Ling of the Third District]

When this "character" was also integrated, a domain expanded from Master's side. Master flicked his finger, injecting the sealed Chen Ling into Chen Yan's body...

Immediately after, Master raised his hand and lightly applied a piece of skin, which seemed to have no thickness, onto Chen Yan's face. The moment the skin adhered, his body grew visibly taller, as if he had completely transformed into another person.

After finishing all this, Master took off his own bright red opera robe and draped it gently over him.

"If one day you begin to feel lost, come find me..."

"We will be waiting for you at the Ancient Opera Treasury."

"Okay."

The figure turned to leave, but as if remembering something, he suddenly stopped... He slowly turned his head back, his voice sounding low and cold:

"However, if it is 'Mockery' who comes in the end... I will kill you with my own hands."

……

Boom—

Pale lightning flashed across the ink-black clouds.

Torrents of rain fell wildly, the thunderous storm, like the wrath of gods, drenching the muddy earth. In the reflections of the rippling puddles, a vermilion figure appeared shattered and fragmented.

"Stop making noise... stop it!"

"All of you, shut up!"

"I'm about to remember... I'm about to... remember..."

"I have a name... a name that belongs to me!"

The youth's wet black hair hung over his brow, his unfocused eyes filled with confusion. As he struggled to move forward, he clutched his head with both hands, as if desperately trying to recall something.

His roar echoed through the deserted street, but it didn't travel far before being swallowed by the endless curtain of rain.

In the dim light, his body tripped over a protruding stone, and he fell heavily to the ground!

A streak of scarlet blood rolled down from the youth's temple, melting into the flowing rainwater. He lay there blankly, and vaguely, something seemed to surge from the depths of his mind.

He remembered...

He had a name of his own... He had a past of his own... He did not belong to this era; he shouldn't exist here... He was a transmigrator.

His name is...

"Chen Ling..."