[{"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-257":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},2269903,4431,"Chapter 257","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-257",257,"\u003Cp>Li En frowned; Hela was still a problem, and it seemed he could no longer avoid it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s actually a distant relative of the Princess, sent here specifically to assist, but her identity is a secret. You know as well as I do—those rumors about the so-called Second Princess—should she reveal her true status, it would bring countless unnecessary misunderstandings and gossip. For the sake of national stability, please help keep this secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, as a loyal knight, it is my duty and honor—but how should we treat this ‘Princess’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did Claire believe it? Probably not—and she’d certainly investigate later, likely even approaching Dainya.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her tone was clear: as long as you remain part of the “Royal Loyalist” faction, whatever you say, we’ll believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best way to draw closer is to share a “common secret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After establishing their stance, their conversation became much more relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En himself didn’t care much about Rex standing behind him; for the Kingdom’s loyal knights, even if he declared he intended to marry the Princess, they’d support him without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the tall woman clad in lion hide, bearing the blood of the northern lizardfolk, Li En suddenly thought she might be a good candidate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To prevent the “Princess and Hero” story from repeating, the easiest solution is to produce a female Hero—and right now, the royal family has no prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At least not yet.” Li En felt a strange pang of guilt, yet found himself liking Claire even more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He intended to strive for the Hero title, gain power and reputation in the process, but had no intention of being permanently bound by it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had promised Dainya he’d fight for her future to land safely—but he had no plan to get trapped himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another thing he couldn’t tell Dainya: if he truly became the Hero and the rumors were confirmed, she might never find a husband.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No rush. We’ll take it one step at a time. All the female candidates this time seem quite strong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he truly secured the title, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to pass it to a safe, female Hero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lana and Hela’s potential are no less than this woman’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En himself could never obtain the Rex Hero title from the Hall of Spirits; the Kingdom’s Hero title is another matter entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One step at a time. At my current strength, I’m probably at the bottom among Rex’s inheritance candidates. Hmm, with Lana around, I’m second-to-last?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Potential is potential—it requires time, resources, a nurturing environment, and fortune that isn’t strangled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, Li En’s main task is to ensure this competition remains relatively healthy: gaining sufficient attention and popularity while providing these talents with an environment suitable for growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his current strength, this goal is as absurd as fishing for a whale with a rod—those “talents” could crush him effortlessly with raw power—but if viewed as a two-year long-term mission, it’s another story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, try to win over these Hero candidates—at least build some goodwill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two knights from the same faction naturally got along easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since Li En had the Holy Knight aura, and Claire, as a candidate, was already planning to curry favor with the judges—even if she knew classical Holy Knights rarely showed favoritism, could a Judge truly remain unaffected by liking or dislike?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With mutual needs and both being Order-aligned knights, they naturally got along well—especially since, in a certain sense, they were truly of the same kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As previously mentioned, Claire wasn’t just a lizardfolk—she was also a powerhouse on the “False Dragon” path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her title was Red-Haired Demon—clearly, she was a lizardfolk with Red Dragon bloodline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood ties were hard to resist; Claire grew increasingly warm toward Li En, even vaguely feeling that if she had a “younger brother,” he’d be just like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She became even more enthusiastic, even teaching the “newcomer” some insider customs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every family runs their shops through merchant guilds—that’s an insider secret. Most guilds are backed by some ghost noble. Your Sudar family isn’t good at this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, Li En might have explained that he had little connection to the Sudar family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, he could only smile wryly and agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they chatted, they also watched the “live feed” of the underground ruin, commenting on the newcomers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The big fish haven’t entered yet—they’re unlikely to surpass the knights’ progress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on what Li En had seen so far, the situation was delicate: the real experts hadn’t shown up yet—and the Kingdom’s Hero candidate was the most watched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it wasn’t just because of him—his teammates were exceptionally strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A High-Rank Priest and a Grand Mage as a team? That’s not something ordinary adventurers could afford.\u003C\u002Fp>",786,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6757196a00e91a71fe050b09c692aefdc0ff0b8a7c7230a31349fc14d23a0eed","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-258","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-256",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]