Chapter 1703: World-Ending and Judgment

Swish—!!

That extremely compressed red thread, following the light dance of the bone-cleaving knife, swept silently through the surroundings like the light, fluttering sleeves of an opera performer...

The thread dragged a tail as it moved, and a full moon shimmering with crimson afterimages instantly covered most of the Lingxu Domain. Looking from afar, it actually echoed silently with the black sun hanging in the sky!

Chen Ling took another light step.

Within the coverage of the full moon, hundreds of thousands of residents, unaware of what had happened, looked down at their bodies in confusion...

A fine thread-like cut appeared at their waists, and immediately after, a pure pitch-blackness shrouded their vision, and they lost consciousness instantly.

No pain, no perception, as if some kind of toxin had invaded their minds through the thread that cut their bodies, erasing their lives.

The figures of the residents who were standing in place in confusion slowly separated at the waist. The smooth cut surfaces were like flawless works of art, and their upper bodies slowly moved forward from the wounds where they had been slashed... Finally, with a thud, they rolled to the ground.

Because the residents were of different heights, some were cut at the waist, some had their chests sliced off, and some children had their heads severed...

At this moment, the Lingxu Domain seemed to be experiencing a dull, heavy rain. Corpse after corpse was slashed into two, and crimson blood gushed from the severed ends, drenching the earth and the surrounding buildings in blood.

After a brief pause, even the buildings neatly developed a slash mark from the center, and amidst a roar, they suddenly collapsed into ruins!!

Boom—!!!!

The earth-shaking roar resounded through the sky. Amidst the surging dust, only the smooth and neat foundations of the buildings stood silently. Looking around, apart from that strange figure draped in red and black, there was no one left standing!

Hundreds of thousands of ghostly shadows surged continuously from the bloody ruins, converging into a vast river, rushing toward that large red paper umbrella!

With one strike, Chen Ling had slashed and destroyed most of the domain!

Just as Chen Ling continued to walk toward Lingxu Mountain, a black-clad figure crashed down from the sky like a meteor!

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed, and he stopped instinctively.

Thud—!!!

A terrifying impact spread like ripples to the surroundings. In this unstoppable World-Ending aura, a [Judgment] aura soared into the sky, like a giant sword standing in the surging red sea, forcibly tearing a corner out of the World-Ending aura!

On the bloody earth covered in spiderwebs, a figure wearing a law enforcer's trench coat slowly stood up...

Han Meng's eyes stared at the black-red figure standing in the void. Finding that the other party really didn't look much like a human, his expression became even more grave. He gripped the gun handle tightly and slowly raised the muzzle, aiming at Chen Ling:

"Are you Chen Ling..."

"Or..."

"The out-of-control Calamity of Ridicule?"

Hearing this question, the corners of Chen Ling's mouth curled into a faint smile.

It seemed that his appearance had caused a misunderstanding for Han Meng... He might have thought that he had lost control of his body again, letting another personality of the Calamity of Ridicule take over, which was why he was slaughtering the residents here.

"Long time no see... Officer Han Meng." Chen Ling spoke unhurriedly, "I am Chen Ling, the genuine article."

Hearing this familiar voice and tone, a chill flashed in Han Meng's eyes:

"No, you cannot be Chen Ling."

"Why?"

"Chen Ling would not truly exterminate a domain indiscriminately... You are role-playing him."

Han Meng's tone was very calm. Even when facing a calamity exuding a true World-Ending aura, his hand holding the gun remained as steady as a rock... He had long been mentally prepared. He was no longer the weak person he once was; even if Chen Ling had truly lost his self-consciousness, perhaps he might have a chance to force Chen Ling to return.

He had come with this mindset.

Han Meng's muzzle was aimed at the black-red figure, and just then, a light laugh sounded from the void.

Han Meng only felt his vision blur, and when he focused his gaze again, that terrifying black-red figure had already crossed a distance of a hundred meters and appeared before him like a ghost!

The overwhelming black and red fluttered silently, and Chen Ling's cracked palm grabbed the muzzle of Han Meng's gun tightly...

Then, he pushed it bit by bit against his own forehead.

Han Meng was stunned.

He looked at the figure before him who had voluntarily placed himself in front of the muzzle, and at those calm ruby eyes. At this moment, a conjecture he couldn't believe surged into his heart...

"Officer Han Meng, aren't you capable of judgment?" Chen Ling's voice sounded again,

"Come on... judge me."

At such a close distance, Chen Ling's World-Ending aura made Han Meng's [Judgment] leader aura teeter on the brink of collapse. Han Meng's heart was in turmoil for a moment, but he immediately forced himself to stabilize.

He stared fixedly at the black-red monster before him and chose to activate his ability without hesitation.

"Judgment of Mortal Sins... Court is in session."

A magnificent and solemn courtroom was outlined from the void. Han Meng's figure slowly rose in the judge's seat. At the same time, chains of rules wrapped frantically around Chen Ling, locking him in place.

In the dark, some kind of adjudicating power spread through the void...

"On the stand..."

"The Crimson Sovereign of the Abyss of Ghostly Ridicule, the Faceless King who mocks fate..."

Han Meng paused for a moment,

When he opened his mouth again, words that made his pupils contract were slowly uttered:

"Aurora City Law Enforcer, Twilight Society Heart of 6... Chen Ling."

He is Chen Ling?!

He is actually really Chen Ling?!

The moment this sentence was read out, Han Meng's heart and mind were shaken like never before. He didn't understand: if the person before him was truly Chen Ling and not another personality of the Calamity of Ridicule... then why would he exterminate the innocent ordinary people in the domain?

Confusion and incomprehension surged into Han Meng's heart. At this moment, the justice in Han Meng's heart wavered. He would rather the person before him be another personality of the Calamity of Ridicule... But how could he be Chen Ling?

The power of the Judgment of Mortal Sins did not dissipate. Mysterious patterns searched Chen Ling's body through the chains, as if reading his past.

Chen Ling did not resist but completely let go, allowing this power of judgment to review his past. As scenes and memories were transmitted back to Han Meng's mind, the latter stood frozen like a statue.

He saw Kong Baosheng on his sickbed begging Chen Ling to let him go;

He saw Dr. Jia's painful questioning in the dark room;

He saw the torrential rain that destroyed the Cangyun Domain;

He saw the Lord of Cangyun die before him, covered in wounds...

The amount of information contained in this judgment was truly too vast, and under the influence of Chen Ling's deliberate opening of his heart and mind, Han Meng almost reproduced everything he had experienced during this time from Chen Ling's perspective.

Until the effect of the Judgment of Mortal Sins completely ended, Han Meng still stood in place, not having recovered for a long time.

The black law enforcer's trench coat fluttered silently.

He looked at Chen Ling, who had turned into a black-red monster, and an unprecedented complexity was revealed in his eyes...

He remained silent for a long time, then his lips parted slightly:

"Chen Ling..."

"Not guilty."