Chapter 1088: Gnawing

"Want to erase me... it's not that easy." Chen Ling said hoarsely.

The moment his two pitch-black arms came into view, a flash of inspiration crossed Chen Ling's mind, as if he had realized something.

To truly defeat a Calamity, you must first become the Calamity...

I am already a Calamity.

No, that's not right...

Chen Ling knew he was the Mocking Calamity, one of its many consciousnesses... Strictly speaking, he was a Calamity himself, so there was no such thing as "becoming a Calamity." But when his pitch-black hands grabbed the other spectators, he realized something was wrong.

Even if Chen Ling was a Calamity in the biological sense, as Zhao Yi had just mentioned, he and the Mocking Calamity were not fighting in the real world, but entangling in "consciousness."

On the level of consciousness, Chen Ling had never considered himself a Calamity.

"Only a Calamity can defeat a Calamity... Then how do I become a Calamity?" Everything related to the Mocking Calamity flooded Chen Ling's mind as he tried to find a breakthrough point: its mockery, its spectatorship, its manipulation, its guidance, its deception...

Suddenly, an image surged into Chen Ling's mind.

"Not 'fighting,' but 'annexation'..."

Chen Ling's body was dragged by several spectators to the edge of the stage. Those spectators didn't seem to expect Chen Ling to still have the strength to resist, so they wrestled with Chen Ling's hands, trying to push him off directly.

Just then, Chen Ling's body twisted violently in mid-air. Using the edge of the stage for leverage, he flipped behind the group and took the opportunity to knock two spectators off the stage, sending them plummeting into the spectator seats.

The only spectator who wasn't knocked off the stage threw a punch at Chen Ling's face, but the latter nimbly dodged the strike, then used his body weight to pounce, knocking both himself and the spectator to the ground...

Chen Ling lay on top of the spectator, struggling to crawl up. In the dim light, his eyes flashed with unprecedented ferocity and madness!

"I am... the Calamity!!"

Chen Ling let out a low roar. He pressed his hands onto the spectator's head and shoulders and bit down on the other's neck!!

Sharp teeth sliced through the spectator's throat. Chen Ling pressed down on him, gnawing frantically at his body. The spectator struggled continuously, his scarlet pupils filled with terror!

At this moment, Chen Ling no longer showed any human characteristics; he looked more like a fierce Calamity. The spectator being pinned down and torn apart by him seemed to have become the "broiler" of the past, an unprecedentedly delicious feast.

Chen Ling was gnawing on the Mocking Calamity... just as the Mocking Calamity gnawed on other Calamities in the Ghost-Mocking Abyss.

This was the aggression and hegemony of a superior toward an inferior!

Compared to the "broiler" back then, the spectator's body was slightly tougher, perhaps because it hadn't been roasted over a fire. But even so, as Chen Ling gnawed frantically, a surge of power was being devoured into his body, flowing into every corner of his being.

The original exhaustion gradually receded, and the injuries on his body were slowly recovering. Chen Ling felt a change occurring within him; his power was surging like never before!

Rip—

The spotlight flickered.

A black shadow draped in intricate theatrical robes stood up from the pile of limbs of his companions. While gnawing ferociously on the strange entity in his mouth, he stared fixedly at the surrounding spectators, his eyes already stained with a hint of red...

"So this is 'annexation'..." Chen Ling licked his lips, his figure charging toward the surging wave of black shadows like a sharp sword!

"Feels... not bad at all."

After witnessing Chen Ling gnawing on a spectator, the other spectators were stunned for a moment. Seeing Chen Ling charge at them, they were momentarily flustered... but relying on their numerical advantage, they easily submerged Chen Ling once again.

But this time, Chen Ling had abandoned his old brawling style. He was like a fearless jackal, weaving through the crowd. Every time he passed a spectator, he would bite a chunk out of them like a madman. Even as the other spectators' fists rained down on him, he seemed not to feel it, his eyes glowing with a faint red light, filled with excitement and greed!

……

Wuji Domain.

Red and black flames suddenly erupted from the Mocking Calamity's body as if they were exploding. The "shadow" that had been fighting Jian Changsheng with one hand suddenly froze in place, as if it had turned into a burning human torch.

"What's going on??"

Jian Changsheng, who had just saved his own life, gasped heavily. Seeing this scene, surprise appeared in his eyes.

The demigod killing intent dissipated around him, and Jian Changsheng was also nearing his limit. But he didn't dare to relax completely; instead, he gritted his teeth and stood in mid-air, watching the chaotic Mocking Calamity vigilantly, ready to fight again at any moment.

"This..." Even Zhao Yi, who had just been teaching Chen Ling, was stunned.

He and the Skeletal Gray Wolf stared blankly at the Mocking Calamity shrouded in flames, asking uncertainly, "Does a normal 【Slaying the Calamity】... have this kind of reaction?"

"...Never heard of it." The Skeletal Gray Wolf was baffled, "What on earth did he do?"

"Was my explanation just now not clear enough?"

Zhao Yi scratched his head.

"But judging by the current situation... the result should be good."

As they spoke, the "shadow" holding the red umbrella was no longer clearly defined. The raging flames seemed to shroud it in fury. Even though the endless red paper began to consciously seal those flames, it seemed to be a bit too late.

As Chen Ling gnawed frantically on the spectators on stage, more and more flames erupted from his body. He couldn't even maintain his state in the air and fell stumbling toward the ground...

Han Meng and the others frowned upon seeing this and were about to step forward, while Little Jian, wrapped in demigod killing intent, also landed on the ground.

"Don't go over there!"

Jian Changsheng held his sword with one hand, shielding the others behind him, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the "shadow" not far away.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

Chen Ling on the stage seemed to be occupied by some emotion, having completely forgotten everything about the outside world. At this moment, in those red-tinged eyes, the black shadows seemed to have turned into lively "broilers," emitting an aroma that made him drool.

From the moment Chen Ling started gnawing on the spectators, the black shadows on the stage decreased at an alarming rate. They seemed afraid to approach Chen Ling, disappearing one after another without a trace...

"Don't run!! Don't run!!!"

The black shadow draped in theatrical robes lunged at the surrounding "broilers." When he tore off a spectator's arm, the latter disappeared directly from the stage... Chen Ling opened his massive shadow maw, gnawing frantically on the arm, swallowing it in two or three bites.

When he looked for his next target, Chen Ling turned his head abruptly, only to find that the entire stage... was empty.

Chen Ling stood on the stage, swaying, holding a few severed fingers in his hands. His scarlet eyes were dazed for a moment, then filled with ecstasy and mockery... He suddenly burst into laughter, his shoulders trembling.

"You're afraid!! You're all afraid!!"

"I said... the winner on this stage is me... it can only be me!!! Hahahaha..."