Chapter 1091: Chen Ling, and the Red King

The God-Sacrificing Dance had ended.

The omnipotence of the "god" was like a foam-like dream. After being pierced, the cold reality and pain enveloped Chen Ling again... The good news was that he hadn't left with nothing.

He had saved the lives of those he cherished.

Bodies lay scattered across the barren ruins. Their breathing had gradually stabilized, but they hadn't woken up immediately, remaining in a coma...

Ning Ruyu, Luan Mei, Wen Renyou, Mo Jiao... the senior brothers and sisters of the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Path were all fine, and that was enough for Chen Ling.

Unprecedented exhaustion surged into Chen Ling's mind. He turned his body staggeringly, about to leave...

A sleepwalking voice sounded from behind:

"Quick, kill it... kill the Mocking Calamity... it's too terrifying, it killed too many people..."

"While it's still weak... kill it quickly... otherwise there won't be another chance..."

"If the Mocking Calamity doesn't die... humanity will perish sooner or later..."

Chen Ling's footsteps paused slightly.

He looked back and saw the scholar in a coma, his face extremely pale, muttering to himself as if having a nightmare.

The whimpering cold wind brushed across the ruins of the domain, blowing the theatrical robes, making them flutter. That bright vermilion stood alone on the earth, apricot-red eyes silently watching everything. It was unclear whether it was broken or bitter emotions that spread with the swaying of the earrings...

Chen Ling's sacrifice had no audience. The world would only know the terror of the Mocking Calamity destroying the world, but who would remember the actor Chen Ling who saved everything?

"Little Junior Brother... it's time to eat..."

Ning Ruyu's murmurs sounded indistinctly in the wind, "Why did you only bring a basin... If the Fifth saw you, he'd make fun of you again..."

Chen Ling was stunned.

A breeze brushed Chen Ling's hair, and a faint smile appeared on the corners of his mouth... He shook his head self-deprecatingly, feeling much lighter, and turned to walk into the distance.

What did it matter how the world saw him?

What Chen Ling truly cared about were only the people around him...

Chen Ling walked with stumbling steps, passing through the bodies lying in a coma, and walked straight in a certain direction.

The God-Sacrificing Dance had ended, and Chen Ling could theoretically rest, but he didn't collapse just like that... Before that, there were still some things he had to figure out...

"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."

Chen Ling coughed violently as he walked, his figure swaying unnaturally, as if he were about to fall to the ground at any moment.

Sun Bumian and the others nearby saw this and immediately wanted to come over to support him, but before they could run far, Chen Ling slowly stopped in front of a void.

Chen Ling took a deep breath, his gaze seemingly piercing through the void, looking at a certain figure... He bowed slightly:

"Disciple Chen Ling... pays respects to Master."

Sun Bumian and the others were stunned on the spot.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... After a long silence, a curtain in the void was slowly pulled open.

A figure stepped out from it, spotless red theatrical robes fluttering in the wind. The face of a young man with bright eyes and white teeth appeared before Chen Ling, his expression somewhat complex.

"How did you discover me?" the Red King couldn't help but ask.

Chen Ling lowered his head without answering.

Just now, when he activated the God-Sacrificing Dance and entered the state of a "god," everything was laid bare before his eyes. He could see the bridge collapsing in another space, and naturally, he could see the figure that had always been hiding in the dark, watching the fire from across the shore.

"Since Master has always been here... why didn't you make a move for so long just now?"

Chen Ling's counter-question made the Red King narrow his eyes slightly.

"Even if the Mocking Calamity is strong, Master, you might not be able to beat it... but saving Senior Brother shouldn't have been difficult, right?"

Chen Ling spoke again, his voice hoarse and bitter. He didn't dare to look up into the Red King's eyes because he was afraid... afraid of seeing the calmness and indifference he least wanted to see in his Master's eyes.

The Red King was full of secrets. Even Chen Ling, his disciple, didn't know how strong he was. Even if the Mocking Calamity was the natural enemy of the Opera Path, as long as the Red King wanted to, saving Ning Ruyu from its hands would definitely not be difficult... He even had ways to suppress the Mocking Calamity and save everyone here.

But he did nothing. From the beginning of the war, he had hidden in the void, observing everything like an outsider...

Or rather, like a cold, behind-the-scenes chess player.

The Red King sighed deeply. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Chen Ling calmly:

"Number Six, what do you want to say?"

"Was all of this also part of your plan?"

Chen Ling couldn't help it anymore. He raised his head abruptly, his eyes fixed on the Red King's eyes, "The Silver King stole my self, causing the Mocking Calamity to lose control... then you killed him, letting my consciousness return to my body, starting the fight with the Mocking Calamity...

You let Senior Brother and the other senior brothers and sisters be slaughtered by the Mocking Calamity just to use their deaths to stimulate me, making me resist the Mocking Calamity at all costs, and finally regain control of this body from it...

You used everyone's lives to set up a game... a game that could make the Mocking Calamity, the natural enemy of the Opera Path, more 'obedient,' a game that made the Mocking Calamity sink deeper into your control..."

As Chen Ling's voice fell, the air fell into a dead silence.

This was not an inquiry, but an interrogation...

It was the interrogation of the Master by the little junior brother of the Ancient Treasury of the Opera Path, the interrogation of the Red King by Heart 6 of the Dusk Society.

Whether it was Sun Bumian, Zhao Yi, or Han Meng... regardless of whether they were Dusk Society members, all three held their breath at this moment, waiting for the Red King's answer.

Looking at Chen Ling's sharp and painful gaze, the Red King was silent for a long time, and the easygoing nature in his eyes gradually faded...

Replacing it was a calmness like a winter lake.

"That's right." The Red King said lightly, "I let the Silver King go on purpose, and I let Ning Ruyu die on purpose... If you had been any later, the Second, Third, and Fourth would have died too. Only if they died could you burn your bridges and truly begin to control the Mocking Calamity."

The Red King paused for a moment and pointed to the place where Chen Ling had just performed the God-Sacrificing Dance:

"Facts have proven that I was right... didn't you do very well just now?"

Chen Ling's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Chen Ling had been looking into the Red King's eyes, not missing any detail. He knew very well that the Red King was telling the truth...

He raised his right hand tremblingly, covering his chest tightly. There, a curse was aching faintly, as if someone had smashed Chen Ling's heart, causing his empty chest cavity to twist in extreme pain.

"Is controlling the Mocking Calamity... that important?" Chen Ling gritted his teeth and asked hoarsely.

"Important."

The Red King's answer was without hesitation,

"Controlling the Mocking Calamity is more important than anything else."