[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces":3,"chapter-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-13":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon of a Thousand Faces",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2269659,4431,"Chapter 13: Legacy","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-13",13,"\u003Cp>This might be the last time this foolish man ever saw his own reflection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am Li Ensu, and I am Su’er Da’ong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fragmented whispers echoed in the confined space, memories shattered and reassembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aged Oath Knight, Su’er Da’ong, gazed at his reflection in the mirror—bewildered and bitter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why, at this very moment, did he suddenly recall his past life? Why, now, did he remember his human past?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Because your time has come.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within, Su’er felt malice—was fate itself cursing him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, my time has come.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, it no longer mattered. There was no difference anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, the path had reached its end. No other choices remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So what difference does it make—whether I am the transmigrator Li Ensu or the rebellious knight Su’er?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at his reflection and smiled bitterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he understood why he’d always had strange thoughts, why he’d always been filled with discontent and rage, why he’d always felt the world shouldn’t be this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it, you’re late.” If he’d awakened his past memories and knowledge sooner, perhaps there might still have been a choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Was there ever a choice?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it’s useless. Before the darkness of the entire world, what choice does a single individual have?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it’s meaningful—it has strengthened my path. The path of the traitor, it seems truly meaningless, because…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not regret walking this dead-end road.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how many times I’m reborn, no matter whether I possess knowledge from another world, I would still walk this path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He donned his armor, gripped the sword of judgment, and for once, the slick old knight’s face turned solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, too, it was an expedition. Again, a crusade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A century of warfare might finally be reaching its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord.” The young squire handed him gloves and cloak, his youthful face filled with unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take us with you.” Along the way, former Holy Knights begged Su’er to change his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if we’ve lost our Holy Power and can only serve as cannon fodder, let us follow you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do we… do we still have a future?” The ordinary people within the walls, desperate victims and supplicants, watched the man before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments ago, the unease in the mirror had vanished. Before the knights and the people stood a legend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was foolish justice, protector of the weak, destroyer of evil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Knight walked slowly up the tower of the wall, his gaze sweeping over all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, the people he protected. Before him, an endless army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I swear to fight for the weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man, who had never been defeated, never hesitated, never retreated, raised his right hand once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have done it. One hundred and twenty-seven years, countless battlefields—I have done it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze turned northward, where his former kingdom lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My faith taught me to fight for law, to fight for the preservation of order.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And I have done it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade in his hand shimmered with blazing light—faith’s radiance, oath’s power, protection’s strength—but not the light of faith!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But now, my faith demands I slaughter the weak… Ah, damn it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before countless eyes, the old knight spat directly onto the Holy Symbol of the Scales, onto the deity he had sworn to serve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The armies surrounding the city, the banners standing before the old knight—all bore the familiar Scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Friends, brothers, we once believed in her… but now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm words were the most blasphemous of all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our faith conflicts with basic morality and justice. What purpose does such a damned faith serve?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great villain uttered words of defiance against the gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before all eyes, the Holy Codex bound at his waist was torn apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pages of the torn Codex—once revered as embodiments of justice—became shredded paper scattered across the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He desecrated his own faith. He desecrated his own deity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom!” A sudden thunderclap—the god’s fury—what meaning did it hold?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The war drums had sounded. The war song had been sung.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a familiar battlefield scent—but this time, the target was…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our enemy is the god! The evil deity who created this tragedy—the Law God, Lord of the Scales, and the decaying theocratic state that birthed countless tragedies!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his left hand, his longsword. In his right, his battle standard. Both pointed unhesitatingly toward the northern sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are the ones who are just. Justice does not reside in decaying codices—it has always been within us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“March!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gates swung open. The last iron cavalry, led by the Oath Knights, charged forward—a desperate assault against infinite forces on behalf of the weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any chance of victory? Impossible. Most of their Holy Knights had lost divine favor and power; only a few Oath Knights still retained Holy Power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opposite them stood at least ten times their number—an entire nation with endless logistics, even a true god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was destined to be a war with no hope of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood flowed endlessly. The rebels, mostly stripped of Holy Power, relied only on their oaths to sustain strength—facing foes a thousandfold their number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a rebellion destined to fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I do not regret it. I only regret not awakening sooner.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strongest Oath Knight of this age finally fell upon the dunes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laughed bitterly—but never for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around him lay countless corpses; behind him, no one remained. Fully armed Grand Inquisitor Knights surrounded him, blocking every escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew there was no escape. At least half of them were men he knew—or even trained himself—powerful warriors, the strongest of the entire Order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For him, the trembling Order abandoned every other front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they looked at him now—with complex expressions—at their comrade, their mentor, their elder, their Master—the man who had never bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old knight, armless and legless, propped himself up on the ground. The broken sword buried in the earth still glowed with purest light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the purest Holy Light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his oath with the weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had proven he had not betrayed his inner justice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he betrayed his god and faith. Even though he bore countless arrows. Even though he was now the undisputed greatest villain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great Villain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why betray? The goddess has favored you enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She gave you power. She gave you peace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Law brings order. Order brings justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing his former comrades as they drew near, the old knight smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does law equal justice? Who said that? Which bitch-goddess?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if only his mouth could move, the old knight remained the most dangerous villain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who decreed that peasants must surrender ninety percent of their harvest—even in years of famine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who decreed that even the seven most heinous crimes cannot be judged among the clergy’s nobles?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who repeatedly crushed popular resistance, forcing them to surrender their meager wealth under the guise of healing disasters and atonement?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who ensured that the children of peasants remain peasants, and the children of nobles remain nobles… Who?! Dare you tell me?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His desperate roar froze the advancing Inquisitor Knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask your hearts—is this justice? What kind of justice is this?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, every Inquisitor Knight knew—every one of these things was written in the Codex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Law is the tool of rulers. When rulers are evil, law becomes the most evil of evils.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the old man laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see—you’ve studied law until you lost your humanity? Idiots, look at me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man tapped his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Justice has never resided in codices. It has always been within us. In the days ahead—ask your hearts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden roar, followed by blazing fire—igniting everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This golden flame had exceeded mortal strength from the start. The old man laughed joyfully within the divine fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his broken sword once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked upward—at the divine avatar finally forced to descend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was beautiful, holy, untouched by mortal dust, eyes closed as if unwilling to witness the world’s suffering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if you don’t see it, does it cease to exist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha. That evil… is worth fighting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The long-accumulated strike finally found its target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old knight suddenly leapt upward, his lone arm radiating the brightest, purest light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When all the light converged into a single point, that familiar roar echoed once more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Evil-Cutting Slash!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a roar repeated countless times—a strike against evil, just as it had been before, a strike forged from life and will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade became light, tearing through the air, tearing through the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the divine flames, the old knight laughed wildly as he turned to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he still smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he had said—he never regretted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when the smoke cleared, every knight present stared in shock at what lay before them: the once-perfect divine avatar now cracked with fissures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On its holy face, blood seeped from the wounds—a web of cracks that turned its beautiful features into a shattered mask, a grotesque doll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So… it’s red too.” The old knight’s whisper still echoed through the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The god, whom the old knight had deemed evil, could bleed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then… could she be destroyed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mortals may die, but their will, their thoughts, do not end with death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet that is something even the departed heroic souls cannot bear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His story, his life—ended here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dream began to shatter; a low voice recounted his own end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… is the tale of a fool, the end of a stubborn idiot. Hah—he was useless. He couldn’t even destroy a single divine avatar. In the end, he still failed to fulfill his vow to protect the weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man himself appeared before Li En—another Li Ensu—smiling as he spoke of his own demise and helplessness to the other Li Ensu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stubborn justice? At least, that label fits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The playback of memories did not end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knights and their legions had departed; the divine avatar, after its hysterical outburst, returned to the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On that wasteland, where the knight’s ashes mingled with divine blood, an ancient book floated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to be recording something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En knew this book too well—it hung at his waist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought everything would end here, but the book suddenly changed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On its open cover, countless spectral figures emerged; the entire book swelled violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deformed flesh? Beastly shapes writhing in futile escape? Faint echoes of historical heroic souls? In that moment, it seemed to be savoring a feast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, when all returned to stillness, it appeared as though nothing had changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The book vanished once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, do you understand why I despise Li Ensu?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En shook his head—the information was too much; he was still dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what he saw was the knight’s figure growing increasingly insubstantial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His time was nearly at an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En’s instinct told him this heroic soul was not the original—it was merely a recorded fragment, a lost memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real Li Ensu? Perhaps he had already moved to the next timeline—or the next life—or even within the mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will we meet again?” Li En asked, half-dazed, though his heart already knew the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps… but not in the way you understand.” The evasive reply carried the weight of farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there anything I can do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ll find out.” That same cruel smile remained, but after a moment’s thought, he shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’m to instruct you, and teach you nothing… that wouldn’t befit a senior.” The middle-aged holy knight’s form betrayed deep exhaustion; the awakened memory of the heroic soul was nearing its end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you feel boundless darkness? Do you feel your feet chained? Do you feel pressure from all sides?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I don’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Words, words—social pressure, surrounding darkness—you truly feel none of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En thought of the dwarf’s musket pressed against his forehead, of Will’s unblinking dead eyes, of this painful world—he fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All I can teach you is to remember this darkness, this oppression—to endure, and suppress your rage until the moment arrives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The extreme holy knight had spoken words far from extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When there is no retreat left… no escape.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Draw your sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade that had torn the sky, the strike that had wounded the god—still before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can I do it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can… after all…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shadowy middle-aged man waved his hand, like a traveler about to depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am Li Ensu. And so are you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Training Mode Stage One Complete. Please initiate Stage Two: Legacy of the Heroic Soul.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Soul Ability: Thousand-Faced Dragon Activated.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Listen—the endless reincarnating Dragon-Snake whispers through the ages.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Lies are its new scales, one after another, covering the infinite body of the Infinite Dragon.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【It may be the most vile immortal… or the most devout saint.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Mortal history is but sand slipping through its claws.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Heroic epics are the tragicomedies that lull it to sleep.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Do not awaken it—unless you wish to see the world burn.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Or unless you crave rebirth from the ashes and ruins.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2144,"2026-06-19T21:45:41.002Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","492ec8e60deef1c7e3243365ac927db258b484f52788199b5563d6ae5a243fa5","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-14","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-12",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]