Chapter 1467: The World is About to Tilt

Chen Ling’s gaze changed from confusion to shock, and finally to an indescribable complexity.

His hand trembled slightly as he moved it away from the bookshelves.

"No wonder..."

"No wonder... that was why you said that back then."

Chen Ling closed his eyes, steadying himself beneath the bookshelf for a long while before opening them again... His gaze fell to the center of the four bookshelves, where a single disc stood lonely on the ground.

Chen Ling bent down and picked it up.

— *The Secret Life of Walter Mitty* (USA), Ben Stiller, 2013.

Chen Ling’s fingertips gently brushed the surface of the disc. As if realizing something, a thought stirred in his mind, and the disc unfolded in his hands!

A lush, verdant grassland spread out beneath his feet, and a breeze carrying the scent of flowers brushed against Chen Ling’s cheeks...

*Whoosh—*

A bird flapped its wings and streaked across the sky above Chen Ling. In the direction it flew, colorful flags were strung together like long ropes, dancing above rows of houses. In the distance, the rolling mountain ranges looked like a dream—magnificent and grand...

Everything was so familiar, instantly pulling Chen Ling’s thoughts back to the past, to that time when he had been most at peace and carefree.

Chen Ling’s gaze swept over the buildings one by one, finally landing directly in front of him.

It was the most exquisitely decorated building of them all.

At its entrance,

a handwritten sign stood silently.

The handwriting on the sign was somewhat ugly, with a hint of craftiness in the strokes. In a daze, he could almost see a figure, wearing a mischievous smile, writing this line of small text stroke by stroke:

— The Home of Old Six.

White clouds, like carefree flocks of sheep, drifted under the azure sky.

On the boundless grassland, hot, rolling tears silently dissolved into the soil...

……

Liu Qingyan waited outside for a long time.

It wasn't until the daylight faded and dusk descended, and that seemingly temperatureless black-and-white sun gradually sank into the Gray Realm, that a ripple finally spread through the void behind Ugly Peak...

A figure draped in theatrical robes stepped out slowly.

Liu Qingyan hurried forward, about to say something, when she suddenly froze... Chen Ling’s eyes, just like the Clown’s, were red and swollen.

Liu Qingyan didn't know what Chen Ling had been doing inside the Ancient Theater Treasury for so long, and she didn't ask. She only knew that since Chen Ling had walked out, it meant he had finished digesting his emotions... or had buried them deep within his heart.

"Yi-ya..."

Just then, a faint sound came from the side.

Chen Ling turned his head to look and saw the Clown, his eyes also swollen, sitting up groggily from a rock. As if sensing the presence of an uninvited guest in Liu Qingyan, his Eighth-Order aura erupted with a boom!

But the next second, he saw Chen Ling beside Liu Qingyan, and the murderous look in his eyes instantly turned into surprise!

He leaped off the rock and flew straight into Chen Ling’s arms!

Chen Ling’s physical strength had long since surpassed what it once was; he caught the flying Clown with ease. Two pairs of bloodshot eyes met at this moment, as if both could see the emotions deep within the other's heart...

Chen Ling and the Clown smiled slightly in unison.

No words were needed,

no complaints were needed,

with just a single glance, these two martial brothers understood what the other was thinking.

Everything... was understood without a word.

"Fifth Senior Brother, long time no see." Chen Ling’s palm gently stroked the Clown’s head, his voice softer than ever before.

"Yi-ya!"

The Clown seemed to remember something; he wiped his snot and tears away, smeared them casually on Chen Ling’s theatrical robe, then jumped to the ground and pulled Chen Ling’s hand, leading him in a certain direction.

Chen Ling was led by the Clown to the open space in front of the house, where a pile of messy pebbles was laid out.

"Yi-ya, yi-ya!" the Clown said, pointing at the pebbles.

"You want me to play pebbles with you?"

"Yi-ya!"

Chen Ling did not refuse. He sat down opposite the Clown. The Clown thought for a moment, seemingly not wanting to bully Chen Ling, and took the initiative to hand all the pebbles to him, letting him decide how many to take and how to play.

Chen Ling looked at the handful of pebbles in his palm, was silent for a moment, then picked out five and placed them on the ground one by one.

At the same time,

Chen Ling silently recited five names in his heart.

Qi Muyun,

Chu Changqing,

Su Zhiwei,

Lou Yu,

and... Wu Tongyuan.

"Let's go with these five," Chen Ling said slowly. "Whoever collects these five pebbles first wins."

"Yi-ya—!"

The Clown waved his fist.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The black-and-white sun gradually sank into the earth.

Liu Qingyan didn't understand the game between the two, so she just waited silently on the side, her black dress fluttering in the wind.

*Vroom—*

A series of rumbles came from afar, and Liu Qingyan turned her head in confusion.

She saw that at the edge of the Gray Realm’s horizon, a massive black shadow was approaching, carrying a sky-filling sandstorm...

"...Calamity?" Liu Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly.

Yes, Calamity.

The Centipede, Toad, Scorpion, Viper, and Gecko—the five great poison heads were charging at the forefront, their powerful Eighth-Order auras churning through the heavens and earth. Behind them, an endless tide of poisonous insects surged forward, wave after wave!

They were running, they were hissing; they had come to find their King.

Yet Chen Ling seemed completely unaware, continuing his game of pebbles with the Clown... you win, I lose; I lose, you win—a back-and-forth battle.

The Calamities of the Ghost Mockery Abyss surrounded the outside of the Ancient Theater Treasury. They seemed to realize their King was busy, so after the Centipede let out a hiss, all the poisonous insects quieted down. In the dim night, they looked like a silent black sea.

Chen Ling checked the sky, slowly stood up from the ground, and patted the dust off his robe.

"Yi-ya?" the Clown tilted his head.

"Yeah, let's play again next time..." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "I have important things to do."

Seeing this, the Clown didn't try to keep him; he just patted his own chest hard and gave a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. If I run into trouble I can't solve, I'll definitely come to you for help." Chen Ling understood his meaning and smiled slightly.

The Clown grinned as well.

Chen Ling turned and walked into the darkness.

Behind him was the Ancient Theater Treasury under the protection of Ugly Peak;

in front of him was the Ghost Mockery Abyss in its frenzied revelry...

Chen Ling’s fingertips gently pulled the [JOKER] card, symbolizing the Red King of the Twilight Society, from his pocket, and the red earring swayed in the wind.

He was the master of the Ancient Theater Treasury, the sovereign of the Ghost Mockery Abyss, and the Red King of the Twilight Society... While the human realms were still busy in chaos, they did not notice that three behemoth organizations were, at this moment, converging toward the same figure...

And the power that figure carried at this moment was enough to shake all human realms.

"Lord Red King, where are we going now?"

Liu Qingyan asked softly.

The theatrical robe snapped in the cold wind. Chen Ling’s gaze looked toward the distant human realms, like a hunter in the dark...

He spoke, enunciating every word:

"Reverse the era;"

"Restart the world."

……

……

Volume Four, "Song of the Mockery," Complete.

Next Volume, "Requiem of the World's End."