[{"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-352":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},2269998,4431,"Chapter 352: Fate","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-352",352,"\u003Cp>The issue he had always tried to avoid ultimately could not be avoided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after certain events occurred, Li En could no longer ignore Talia S Daer  and the Kingdom—the truth was, from that day onward, Li En unconsciously became much kinder to Talia S Daer .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That subtle sense of distance—the faint thought of “if things get really bad, I’ll just run away”—vanished after that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Kingdom needs an heir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On that night, the Queen did not conceal her goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some desire, some pragmatism, even a touch of self-destruction—but these things were never truly separable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps this was also why she changed her plans the next day and left early; she could not face Li En “after waking up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Give it time, and even the hardest things become bearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long aware of the royal secret technique, Li En had already guessed what would happen—starting the next day, he could no longer ignore Talia S Daer .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though it seemed Talia S Daer  herself had little desire to accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whatever. We’ll take it one step at a time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Prince\u002FPrincess” should be born three years later (after the Huicheng Incident)—this was probably Li En’s only good news; if Talia S Daer ’s sibling actually appeared in another Qiba  months, Li En was definitely not ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t about physical preparation, but a shift in mindset—he still hadn’t figured out how to be a father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest assured, even if that child becomes the heir, neither the Queen nor the Kingdom will recognize you,” Fiestrion said, his voice unusually tinged with emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen many absurd things in his life, but this one was truly unprecedented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this infidelity? But they were clearly a married couple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is this a marital treasure? Yet the other half of the child’s genes were pure-blooded Li Ensu, which still differed noticeably from the beast-transformed Lex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then is this an illegitimate child? But at the time, the soul was Lex’s—actually, Lex and Li En were the same soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the standards of high-level cultivators in this world, the soul is the foundation of all—yet can one truly say this child belongs to both Lex and Li En?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how you calculate it, this is bound to be a tangled mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha, this joke—I could laugh at it for a hundred years! Wait, I’ve got inspiration—I’ll write you a poem right now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, please, don’t! I beg you, don’t!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En begged outright—rare for him—if the Lord of Drama and Joy composed a song about this and spread it to his followers, every bard across the continent… Li En truly did not want this story carved into history and turned into countless versions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, just joking. Among Li Ensu’s bizarre deeds and dark pasts, this one doesn’t even rank. If I were to write songs for every single one, I’d die of exhaustion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Li En fell silent—could something this absurd really not even make the list?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that if one lived long enough, absurd things would inevitably happen, but this felt…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think this is chaotic? There was once a ‘Li Ensu’ who accumulated too many romantic debts, died in the Demon Tide, and after two Awakening Bodies, was caught by his old lover before he even reincarnated fully—about sixty-some old lovers, ugh, reduced to dust. But in this life, he left over three hundred descendants—quite impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En felt even more numb—he silently thanked that Lex wasn’t the Awakening version of Li Ensu, or things would be even worse; but if Lex truly was Li Ensu… he’d never have pulled off something like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it. Let’s just take it one step at a time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talia S Daer ’s outburst was only this level—actually, Li En breathed a sigh of relief; he truly feared she’d grab a knife and chop him to pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a real threat—if Talia S Daer  truly flew into a rage, Li En was dead for sure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what you really fear is her actually calling you ‘father.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See it, but don’t say it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Li En said half-jokingly was, in truth, his deepest unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the girl truly called him “father”—a young man in his early twenties (in his own perception, his physical age was nearly the same as Talia S Daer ’s)—he’d suddenly have a daughter barely younger than himself, seemingly without blood ties, yet biologically his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Numbed. Totally numbed.”\u003C\u002Fp>",739,"2026-06-19T21:45:42.084Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2132bb2af1a1d250b4131033d69fa9c0f2a3b3f4762a2daab121794d1cd4436d","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-353","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-351",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]