[{"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-64":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},2269710,4431,"Chapter 64: The Heroic Soul Arrives in a New Era","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>Li En turned his head and indeed saw the presence from his memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It sat on the edge of his bed, with a pile of books already stacked beside it, clearly well-read.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a metallic humanoid assembled from colorful parts—more accurately, a doll figurine under thirty centimeters tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it was a one-to-one scale reproduction of a dog-man proportion—well, just the proportion; this handsome mechanical dog-man design was clearly retouched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… feels a bit like Iron Godzilla.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more he looked, the more Li En noticed that the enhanced steel dog-man doll had too many Godzilla-like cute design elements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.Uh, why do I think Godzilla is cute? But its tail, those scales, those beastly eyes, the way it leaps to smash King Kong—so sexy, so cute, so lively.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En closed his eyes. He felt his mind had been polluted; his once-beautiful memories now suffered severe aesthetic distortion!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did he find Godzilla sexy?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, not just this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the mansion, he’d also thought Snake’s tail and scales were too cute—he’d wanted to touch them, especially that sexy tail tip!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En snapped to his senses and bolted away; in a way, he was saving his own human sense of aesthetics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if you’re admiring beauty, at least look above the waist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gaga, even the bad Dragon Knight has some taste… You noticed, right? This is Iron Kusula!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great design, isn’t it? Kuku is a design genius! Kuku once sold plenty back then! Too bad no one bought them.” The metal Kusula fell into inexplicable despair as it spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright, now he knew where this mental pollution came from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En felt numb. When he’d been the “Righteous Superman,” he’d even looked down on it—but now, looking back, it was far better than being a lizard freak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I really don’t want to become a curry man anymore! At least hold onto my vow, preserve humanity’s bottom line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the smug Kuku, he took a deep breath and calmly assessed his current state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A slight aesthetic deviation isn’t necessarily bad—it means the Heroic Soul Catalog is functioning normally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Heroic Soul Kuku had indeed merged into his body, subtly altering his worldview.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what is this thing before him? How did it emerge?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En’s memory was clear—he remembered crafting this doll himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday’s “Kuku.Li En” had carelessly hammered together various metal parts and components from the mansion while fooling around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During breaks teasing the maids, he’d also assembled this metal doll and transformed it into a familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Summoning a familiar is a signature spell of spellcasters—it allows summoning and binding a small creature with a degree of mental connection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the cave battle, the serpent that delivered critical intelligence was Sallyman’s familiar—in areas too dangerous or inaccessible for spellcasters, familiars serve as excellent proxies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why did Kuku’s personality—the soul meant to fuse with his own—appear on this “familiar,” overriding its natural self?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And why, even seeing the Heroic Soul outside, did he still feel its influence within him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it have split itself into two parts, escaping one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that makes no sense—it’s just a memory, software data. Even if it escaped, how could it run without this hardware?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dumb, dumb, big guy doesn’t even check the panel!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reminded by the subject himself, Li En quickly pulled out the Heroic Soul Catalog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s such an absurd soul ability?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, things that defy logic are often caused by even more illogical soul abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Soul Ability: Kuku’s Brain Splitting Surgery (Gold): In one sentence—advanced multiple personality disorder, but deliberately induced and controllable. It can simultaneously split into three thought streams to process matters in parallel.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Ha, holding a circle in one hand and a square in the other? What’s that? Kuku can brew medicine, cast spells, and sleep all at once! In my prime, I could chat with twenty ‘friends’ simultaneously!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【.They all said I was insane. Uh, they were right! —Still, it’s the dog-man Kuku.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn, it’s really insane!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This isn’t ordinary dissociative identity disorder—no amount of brute force can fix this level of fragmentation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li En seriously considered: this computer-like parallel thought streams would be incredibly useful for spellcasters needing calculation, focus, and micro-control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just imagining its battlefield performance made him shudder—spellcasters have too many things requiring divided attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it couldn’t cast multiple spells simultaneously (which is extremely difficult), in learning and accumulation, it could function as a threefold efficiency cheat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this piece of information, Li En could now use his limited magical knowledge to understand what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real Kuku was merely a memory-based virtual heroic soul, merging with his own spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it had split off an independent thought stream, linking directly via the familiar’s soul contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, while the real Kuku remained inside Li En, a remote “Virtual Kuku” was created as its external representative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for how it achieved this—how it made the familiar contract, meant for magical beasts, work on a metal humanoid, how it performed remote control—better not ask Li En.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, understanding this far was already the result of “Kuku’s Heroic Soul” doing the reasoning and calculation for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En clearly felt his thoughts moving faster and sharper—though always inexplicably off-track!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Compatibility: 35%, Satisfaction: -25%】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compatibility was surprisingly high; satisfaction had slightly risen after yesterday’s chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Li En, having opened the panel, was genuinely envious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Temporary Class Levels: Rank 1 Alchemist Master, Rank 1 Sage, Rank 1 Dragon Tongue Mage (these temporary classes will vanish in 14 days, 16 hours)】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En didn’t know exactly what these classes meant, but clearly they were high-tier spellcaster professions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even retaining only fragments of their abilities made them terrifyingly powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The list of temporary low-level spells was absurdly long—yet all were uncastable, since Li En lacked the ability to cast them himself; he needed practice and mastery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this mage leaked even a little, Li En could instantly soar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, seeing him had made Li En angry—he couldn’t face Sallyman anytime soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Kuku had appeared, he’d planned to settle scores with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, Li En only wanted to ask:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Um, Lord Kuku, how do I raise your satisfaction?!” It seemed his sense of decency had also fled with Su Er’s heroic soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty minutes later, Li En sat dazed in a restaurant in Nanmen District, the table piled high with meat dishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This much food—even a giant couldn’t finish it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eat! Eat fast!! Kuku is hungry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mechanical Kusula dog-man kicked him hard under the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En grimaced but forced himself to take a bite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… delicious.” Li En praised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So delicious!” Kuku underneath echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the meal was cheap, Li En felt genuine inner satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this hunger and craving were also Kuku’s influence—he craved delicious meat and new dishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the ground, Kusula happily patted its metal belly, its steel jaws chewing air, its expression as if it were truly eating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This indirectly confirmed: the real Kuku Heroic Soul remained inside Li En; the outside one was merely a remote machine or humanoid interface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Current Satisfaction: -23%】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uh… it actually went up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En rejoiced and ate even harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time he leaned against the wall to leave, satisfaction had risen to -19%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looks like this guy’s satisfaction is easy to raise?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kuku wants nothing. Kuku wants nothing at all. Kuku’s life is perfect, perfect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Kuku repeatedly insist he had no regrets, Li En felt something odd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his memory, people who lacked something always insisted they had nothing missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d seen Kuku’s origin—even just the beginning—and the future looked grim… Fine, you say so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Li En realized he’d been too optimistic—how could an ancient heroic soul be so easily satisfied?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s that?!” He pointed excitedly at a steam locomotive slowly moving along the tracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, such a thing didn’t exist in Kuku’s era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En had once mocked it too—this era’s technological tree was strangely skewed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steam engines did exist, but were prohibitively expensive luxuries, utterly impractical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Supposedly, the core that boiled water was “magic”—full name: Magic-Powered Steam Car. At the time, Li En had no idea how to react.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, high costs made widespread adoption impossible; they were used only on fixed freight routes, while most people still relied on beast-drawn and horse-drawn carts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want one! Give me one!” Kuku blurted out something utterly impossible to fulfill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.Uh.” Kuku didn’t wait for Li En’s reply—the man’s expression was too obviously troubled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, can’t afford it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, it’s not for sale at all—the gnomes and dwarven craftsmen treat them like treasures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah. Technology is priceless. Kuku understands.” The mechanical Kusula nodded, as if recognizing a kindred spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li En exhaled in relief—this heroic soul who could move beside him seemed relatively approachable, reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Snap!” But he was too quick to rejoice—the mechanical Kusula instantly bolted off, moving at lightning speed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kusula dashed onto the rails, flipped under the train’s undercarriage, and in two swift motions slipped inside the magic-powered steam locomotive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clank!” A series of strange noises erupted from within the once-stable locomotive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it had even moved two steps, the wheels flew off, the undercarriage dropped, and the steam boiler clattered chaotically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thankfully, the core didn't fall,\" Li En acted quickly, trying to stop this ancient hero from causing more chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom!\" The furnace didn't fall—it exploded into the sky!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Interesting, very interesting!\" Kuku appeared before Li En, holding a device, looking thoroughly satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this... the magic engine of that motorcycle?\" The device seemed extremely heavy; Kuku struggled to hold it now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he simply tossed it to Li En.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take it back, dismantle it, dismantle it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Li En could explain, police from Nanmen District arrived, blowing their whistles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They swiftly surrounded the scene, but Kusla had already vanished without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the officers' eyes turned to the fragments of the magic engine in Li En's hand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I swear, it has nothing to do with me—do you believe me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, Li En returned to the police station again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt as familiar as going home!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour later, Saliman received another notification and came to retrieve him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh, can I explain?\" Looking at the snake woman he thought he wouldn't see for a long time, her face puffed with anger, Li En sighed helplessly and looked up at the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1733,"2026-06-19T21:45:41.002Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6c6130cc6773dcc9bfec5d4c0cc19d3e36d8f3deb0b71e975cd587ca984bfeaa","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-65","the-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-chapter-63",362,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-of-a-thousand-faces-cover.jpg"]