[{"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-210":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},2269856,4431,"Chapter 210: Liyah","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-210",210,"\u003Cp>“The snake is finally gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake, long past its time, flickered repeatedly before vanishing reluctantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll come back!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake’s final shadow appeared in the sky over a corner of the city, shrinking steadily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even many citizens heard it, their faces filled with panic, unaware of what had happened. Li En didn’t know either—was this just a joke, or was it serious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this utterly unpredictable state was exactly what he wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does this guy actually hope people remember him now and then? Is he really that lonely?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah! Don’t bite, don’t bite! Don’t touch me, man!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaking off the snake shadow that had reappeared out of nowhere, Li En finally felt a tinge of parting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the bleeding bite mark seemed to reveal that Li En had vaguely guessed the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you need treatment?” A soft metallic synthesized voice sounded beside Li En.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never mind. Let the wound stay for a while.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking toward where the snake had vanished, Li En felt lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that Li En was truly attached to the thing. He was the first spirit soul he’d wanted to send back on day one—but he couldn’t understand the snake’s choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could have returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he didn’t seem indifferent to the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But he didn’t return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The snake didn’t hide his displeasure—his long slumber was caused by the Thousand-Faced Dragon’s endless reincarnations, which forbade the “past Thousand-Faced Dragon” from existing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What puzzled Li En was precisely this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter what the Thousand-Faced Dragon plans, can this reincarnation of mine—starting from zero and evolving—really generate value comparable to a snake?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, the answer was no.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En understood that the “possibility” brought by the Thousand-Faced Dragon’s reincarnations might be more important—but could that “possibility” really make these top-tier elders willingly fall into eternal slumber?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because he was Li Ensu, he found it even harder to understand. Li En never considered himself noble. He saw himself as an ordinary self-interested person: if contributing part of his income benefited the world, he’d pay—but if it affected his life, cost him his fortune, or his life, he’d refuse without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What drove the Thousand-Faced Dragon to endlessly enter reincarnation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it. Too distant to dwell on. At least, the reincarnated Dragon keeps creating new things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En glanced at the “maid” beside him, already binding bandages on him, and felt deeply odd—especially since behind him, another dazed “mechanical girlfriend” was staring at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I need to buy snake venom antivenom?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. He’s probably non-toxic, and if he wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t make it so complicated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching “Liyah” fumble awkwardly with her unfamiliar metal arm, tying a clumsy bow, her expression complex, Li En’s mood was equally complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was an offshoot of Ophelia, a product of the soul contract—but perhaps also the person who understood him best in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, in this world, they generally call it antivenom. They have something similar to snake venom serum, but no complete system for it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood. Logged.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liyah opened her eyes wide, attentively absorbing the knowledge Li En described.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had indeed received part of Li En’s “knowledge,” but was far from using it properly. On the contrary, she now seemed more like a newcomer to this world than Li En himself, radiating the confusion of someone just arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is her race a puppet, a metal golem, or living armor? Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her birth was the result of the snake’s meticulous design—and also a bug product of the Masked Dragon Knight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Snake venom? Serum? Don’t get it?” Ophelia tilted her head. Slightly more agile now, she couldn’t comprehend the words of her other, smarter self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Liyah still had to explain all sorts of nonsense to Ophelia, who stood there blank-faced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liyah was Ophelia’s second thought-line, and the Masked Dragon Knight’s “two-time” creation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The snake really is a master at exploiting bugs—this absurd maneuver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first maneuver used Ophelia’s existing bug profession—Masked Dragon Knight—to isolate Liyah as the second thought-line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense, the metal maid before him was the same kind of existence as Li En’s Black Dragon Armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ophelia used the Masked Dragon Knight’s class ability, using her “life-casket arm” as the core, to construct this new “living armor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this stage, she possessed a second thought-line, yet was even more rigid than original Ophelia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Li En and the “living armor” simultaneously signed a pet contract and sorcerer contract, making the living armor Li En’s master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Li En used the Masked Dragon Knight’s contract to “summon” her again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this process, the snake had to absorb Li En’s “needs” to adjust the power gained—effectively a second refinement—and infused massive “solar materials” into it. The final result was this “ultimate weapon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ding.” The metal backpack behind Liyah, resembling a solar clock, was one such outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her right hand bore several golden fingers; vast amounts of solar material became the raw substance for the second refinement, allowing her to complete her “second rebirth” according to the snake’s blueprint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense, she was a manufactured “Solar God Warrior,” and also an invincible solar blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is the name ‘Liyah’ acceptable?” Clearly different personalities and traits made Li En hesitate whether to give her a new name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Ya? Li Ya likes it (Chinese).” Her first spoken words left Li En stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was too much like an Earthling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was partly due to the pet contract’s “awakening ability,” which granted low-intelligence creatures like rats and bats some intelligence and knowledge—even the ability to understand human speech—but mostly because of the two-way soul contract, which caused her to unconsciously absorb vast amounts of “common sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theoretically, she wasn’t just part of Ophelia—she was more like a hybrid newborn: Ophelia tore off a piece, fused it with a piece of Li En’s—but Ophelia lacked common sense and knowledge, so her foundation was naturally “Li En’s common sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never expected my status as a transmigrant would be known by a metal lifeform—and that it would turn a native lifeform into an ‘Earthling.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this slightly clumsy, hardworking figure—he didn’t dislike her. Well, mainly because he hadn’t heard his homeland’s language in so long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve worked hard.” And her birth couldn’t have happened without another’s sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine, uh, it’s fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Sallyman lay on Li En’s lap, her body burning hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To give a steel lifeform a more active soul and greater spirit, the most direct way was to “immerse” it in psychic energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout the entire process, Sallyman was used as a living battery—she was probably completely drained now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll settle her first, then serve my master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Liyah, who was soothing Ophelia, communicated with Li En via telepathy. As expected, Sallyman’s psychic battery had activated her own psychic abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant she was nearly a complete psychic holder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But her original body is still Ophelia—more like a sub-entity. Uh, are we kind of a trinity now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En felt odd. He could sense his soul power continuously flowing into Liyah—she was indeed his pet (Li En’s pet contract had been confirmed as occupied).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he could also feel that the soul power poured into Liyah flowed through her into Ophelia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ophelia’s first thought-line showed no change, yet was gradually healing her soul-loss through the shared soul channel. Meanwhile, Liyah, the second thought-line, received vast knowledge and memory fragments from Li En, gaining a clearer sense of self—and becoming, in a sense, an “Earth mechanical being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ophelia must be protected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En felt increasingly odd. If Ophelia died, the second thought-line Liyah would naturally perish—and Li En, losing his pet and master, would suffer severe damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if Liyah died—destroy her body, replenish materials, summon again—the original core remained within Ophelia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a mess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En couldn’t untangle this relationship. He silently pressed his hand on Sallyman’s head, helping ease her psychic exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Child. Hehe. Child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still burning out, she stared wide-eyed at Liyah, as if giggling foolishly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Really.” Li En sighed. This girl was just too foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, she had refused to serve as a psychic battery—until the snake said, “This will be your child,” and she obediently overexerted herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, “Liyah” could be seen as Li En’s weapon, or Ophelia’s weapon, or a fragment split from both of them—even if you called her a child, how could she possibly be Sallyman’s child?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shook his head. Still, he thanked the girl for her sacrifice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The perfect Masked Dragon Knight?” Watching Liyah’s metal body walk toward the mansion, recalling her designed function, Li En smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After initial testing, he agreed with the snake’s judgment—Liyah was a masterpiece in every aspect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps, at this moment, she truly deserved the name “Masked Knight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With her, Li En finally had some confidence he could survive Xio’s threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Crash!” A sudden shattering sound came from the mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorry, sorry! I just wanted to brew my master a cup of coffee. Looks like I’ll need custom-made tableware and a new kitchen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait—kitchen? What did you do to my kitchen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The collapsing kitchen wall answered everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh, guess I’ll have to teach her more.” Li En didn’t want to be a teacher—he knew his limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Child.” Sallyman still giggled foolishly—psychic exhaustion seemed to temporarily impair her intellect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lana seems to have learned well from Sallyman. Uh, her mansion still has many maids. Please take care of them, Sallyman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raise a child? Okay.” The still-dim girl immediately agreed, smiling contentedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1582,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f325436ac7917f02a7c9c4003a05f9491da2363008f83a9b42f8e8fe7cf72abb","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-211","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-209",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]