Chapter 620: Chen Nian's True Face (Two-in-One)

Delicious?

Chen Qiuran froze, only to see Yan Jing already setting down the bread in his hand and reaching for the next piece.

It seemed that single word was his entire "analysis" of the bread.

"This one is a bit too sweet."

"This one is too sour. Makes my teeth ache."

"This one..."

Yan Jing critiqued the breads one by one.

Beside him, Chen Xing and Chen Nian's eyes flickered.

In the distance, the old man sighed.

He knew he had most likely lost.

This wasn't the first game he had participated in.

During the previous rounds, he had vaguely sensed that the "games" in this place were different from those anywhere else.

He just couldn't figure out why. It felt as if his thoughts had slowed down ever since he entered this city.

He couldn't put his finger on exactly what felt wrong.

But now, watching Yan Jing's approach...

A flash of insight finally pierced through his mind.

He felt like he had finally touched upon the true nature of the games.

"Very well. Thank you for your critique."

One-Eye nodded, then turned to Chen Nian and Chen Xing, the last ones remaining.

"You two... who will go next?"

Chen Nian and Chen Xing exchanged a glance.

Finally, Chen Xing spoke coldly. "I have a question."

"Please ask."

One-Eye said.

"If I speak first, and the next person repeats exactly what I've already said, will they lose points?"

Chen Xing asked.

The question made One-Eye pause and think carefully.

This game did indeed have a scoring standard.

But the rules didn't explicitly mention what Chen Xing brought up, which required some consideration.

After carefully studying the scoring criteria, he nodded.

"There is a high probability they will."

"Good."

Chen Xing nodded, her expression cold.

"Then I'll go first."

She picked up a piece of bread and took a bite.

"Judging by the color, this bread features a caramel crust from moderate baking, with slight deep-amber spots around the edges. The inside is a soft cream-yellow..."

Chen Xing rattled off a long, detailed analysis, right down to identifying the source of the flour for each piece of bread to ensure nothing was left out. It took her a full half hour just to evaluate all ten pieces.

By the time she finished, her cheeks were slightly flushed as she let out a long exhale.

She had exhausted nearly every possible angle of analysis. While her ten pieces of bread weren't exactly identical to Chen Nian's ten, they covered almost every conceivable flavor profile. No matter how Chen Nian approached his critique, he was bound to lose points for repeating hers.

Chen Nian, of course, realized this.

His expression remained calm. Without a word, he picked up a piece of bread and placed it in his mouth.

"This piece leans a little sweet. Based on my analysis, the sweetness has increased by roughly 7.44%. The sugar content likely wasn't controlled precisely enough during the fermentation process..."

Chen Nian spoke softly, his description incredibly meticulous.

But...

Chen Xing had already anticipated her younger brother's answering style, so she had deliberately included data analysis in her own evaluation. Hearing Chen Nian's critique match her expectations word for word, Chen Xing smiled.

As far as she was concerned, she had already won this round.

The only variable left was Mao Si beside Chen Nian.

But...

She didn't think it was a dead end.

If that cat really wanted to attack, it wouldn't have needed to wait for the game to end at all.

It could have just slapped her to death right from the start.

As long as it killed everyone else, it would be the undisputed winner of the game.

Almost all the games in this city followed this unspoken rule.

You could always flip the table.

If you couldn't win, you just flipped the table.

Since the cat hadn't flipped the table, it meant it had reservations.

She didn't know exactly what those reservations were.

But it meant she still had a chance.

"...that is the only flaw this piece of bread has, as far as I'm concerned."

Chen Nian finished his evaluation.

One-Eye stared intently at the record sheet in front of him and nodded.

"Thank you for your sincere evaluation."

"Alright... I will now announce the results of the game."

"This round was scored on a point system. I have graded each of you according to the rules of the game. I guarantee that every decision I made strictly followed those rules."

One-Eye spoke, though it felt like he wasn't talking to the crowd.

As he spoke, his single, oversized eye kept darting upward, as if glancing at some invisible entity.

"Now then... here are your scores."

He flipped over the record sheet in his hand.

From right to left, each participant had been assigned a unique label.

Colorful Rooster Old Man 74/100

Mr. Chen -99/100

Mr. Cat with Excellent Drinking Manners 90/100

Cold-Faced Slicked-Back Hair Man 57/100

Ponytail Woman Slapped into the Corner 1/100

Everyone stared at the scores presented before them, their expressions varying.

Chen Xing stared in utter disbelief at her single-digit score, her pupils shrinking.

For a moment, she thought she had misread it. That pathetic number simply couldn't have anything to do with her.

But the "1" sat there in plain sight, as if mocking her.

"Impossible!"

She slammed her hands on the table and shot up, but a second later, she warily glanced over at the leisurely Mao Si.

Seeing that Mao Si wasn't making a move, she glared fiercely at One-Eye.

"This judging is completely unfair!"

One-Eye shrugged.

"If it were unfair, I'd already have been slapped to death by now."

"As referees, we are forbidden from being unfair."

Chen Xing froze, finding it even harder to believe.

But while she stood there in a daze, One-Eye had already taken out the token and handed it to Chen Nian.

"Mr. Chen, here is your token."

Chen Nian took the token and held it out toward Mao Si.

"Mr. Cat, thank you for the reminder."

Yan Jing waved a paw.

"It's fine. I took the last one, so you hold onto this one."

"Let's go."

Yan Jing leapt onto Chen Nian's shoulder.

The two of them began walking out, completely ignoring Chen Qiuran and Chen Xing, who were still standing there.

"...Wait!"

Chen Qiuran finally stood up, looking at Yan Jing and Chen Nian.

"Mr. Cat, would you be willing to leave some time for me and my younger brother?"

"I know you are very strong, but... the Chen Family's Blood War hasn't ended yet."

Hoping to deter Yan Jing, Chen Qiuran even dropped the Chen Family's name.

Yan Jing blinked.

"I know the Blood War hasn't ended."

"But haven't you heard? The Cat Ship is Mr. Chen Nian's ally."

"I'm on Mr. Chen Nian's side."

"Oh~"

Yan Jing drew out the word in a long, meaningful hum, then smiled.

"You just reminded me of something."

Yan Jing rubbed his paws together, frightening Chen Qiuran so much his legs trembled involuntarily.

He still hadn't fully recovered from the terrifying pressure Yan Jing had released earlier.

He was still experiencing a stress response.

Yan Jing smiled.

"But... I'm following Mr. Chen Nian. So how this plays out is entirely up to him."

Chen Qiuran's heart sank.

Any idiot could guess what Chen Nian would choose.

He braced himself to retreat, but to his surprise, Chen Nian spoke up softly.

"Since Eldest Brother wants to settle things with me so badly, I accept."

Hearing this completely unexpected response, Chen Qiuran froze for a moment before bursting with joy.

"You said it yourself."

"Don't forget about me."

Chen Xing spoke up, infuriating Chen Qiuran so much he wanted to slap her across the face.

He could have handled a one-on-one fight by himself perfectly fine.

Now that it was a two-on-one, what if Yan Jing suddenly felt like joining in? They'd be dead before they could even regret it.

But to his surprise, Chen Nian thought about it for a moment, then smiled.

"That's fine. Eldest Sister can join in too."

"Good."

Chen Xing's eyes were thoroughly bloodshot. She no longer cared if a two-on-one fight was shameful, or if bullying the weak ruined her reputation.

All she wanted was to fight.

"You asked for this, Fifth Brother."

Chen Qiuran addressed Chen Nian, but his eyes were fixed on Yan Jing.

Chen Nian smiled.

"Of course I did."

"You two don't need to worry. Based on my understanding of Mr. Cat, he absolutely will not interfere."

"Good."

Chen Qiuran gritted his teeth.

In truth, he also felt that the terrifying aura Yan Jing had released earlier was completely abnormal. That was the pressure of a Deity.

If they were truly facing a Deity, he and Chen Xing were dead meat regardless.

But that was absolutely impossible.

This place couldn't withstand the power of a Deity.

The three of them took their stances. Before Yan Jing leapt down from Chen Nian's shoulder, he patted him on the back.

"Good luck, Mr. Chen."

"Good luck, Mr. Chen!"

One-Eye cheered with significantly more enthusiasm.

He clutched a Walkie-talkie in his hand; he had already reported the situation to his boss.

Knowing his boss's style, if things went south, the boss would definitely step in to clean up the mess.

Three Tenth Tier experts.

No, a battle between at least two Tenth Tiers—it wasn't as flashy as one might expect.

A gentle breeze stirred, and all three of them moved at the exact same time.

Starlight burst from Chen Xing's body, filling the air around her. Brilliant star charts materialized behind her back, stretching across the sky and piercing straight through the thick, gloomy fog. Meanwhile, raging flames ignited over Chen Qiuran's fists—the pure manifestation of his bloodline power. In the distance, One-Eye felt his own blood and qi surge violently. He let out a muffled groan, his face flushing red.

He only managed to suppress the urge to vomit blood when Yan Jing reached out and patted his shoulder.

Facing the two of them, Chen Nian simply raised his right hand and pulled off his mask.

The silver-white lower half of his face was finally exposed.

Intricate mechanical lines were etched into his skin, pulsing with crimson light like real blood vessels. The raw power radiating from them was terrifying.

But... compared to the menacing auras of the two charging at him, his momentum still felt a notch weaker.

A rushing river of starlight materialized from Chen Xing's hands and surged right up to Chen Nian's face. Chen Qiuran was even faster, closing the distance to within half a meter. The majestic bloodline power swirling around his hands ignited the very sky, bathing the heavens in a fiery glow.

But a split second before their attacks could land, the ground beneath Chen Nian's feet shot upward.

A massive mechanical pillar erupted from the earth, lifting Chen Nian high into the air.

The river of starlight and the giant, blood-red fist slammed into the mechanical pillar at the exact same time.

The earth quaked, and space itself warped under the impact.

An invisible screen of light materialized, releasing vibrant ribbons of color that finally stabilized the ground and kept it from shattering.

Rumble! Rumble!

The next second, a terrifying roar echoed from deep beneath the earth.

The top of the mechanical pillar suddenly split open, unfurling into a massive hand.

Chen Nian landed steadily upon a throne nestled within its metallic palm, the white bandages wrapped around his body fluttering wildly in the wind.

Down on the ground, Yan Jing narrowed his eyes at the sight.

This thing...

He felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

In the distance.

A man who looked like an ordinary civilian planted his feet and stared at the giant metallic hand. A rare flash of surprise flickered in his calm eyes. This hand looked exactly like the hand of a senior from his Heavenly Kingdom.

But...

It wasn't exactly the same.

From the craftsmanship to the methods, to the way the weird energy circulated... it was all slightly different.

Just what is this thing...?

His eyes darkened as he began walking toward Chen Nian.

With every step, he seemed to exert no effort at all, yet he cleared dozens of meters in a single stride.

"What is this thing?!"

Chen Qiuran and Chen Xing instinctively exchanged a glance. In the very next second, both of them reached up without hesitation and swiped a finger across the center of their brows.

A bloody mark appeared on each of their foreheads, and their auras skyrocketed.

In just a brief instant, it was as if they had become completely different people.

"Cosmic Stars!"

Chen Xing bellowed, and countless threads of starlight cascaded down from the heavens.

They pierced right through the clouds, transforming into streams of brilliant light that showered the earth, forcing everything on the ground to resonate with them.

Every physical object in existence had a corresponding cosmic star.

If the path of Starlight was cultivated to its absolute zenith, the user could manipulate all matter, forcing everything in existence to draw close and bend to their will. Naturally, Chen Xing was nowhere near that level yet.

But her power was still utterly terrifying. For a moment, the ground, the houses, the distant light, and the very fog itself all seemed to become her weapons.

"Formation!!!!"

At her explosive shout, everything in the vicinity broke down into starlight, condensing into rushing rivers of light that surged furiously toward Chen Nian. Beside her, Chen Qiuran was even more terrifying.

With the bloody seal glowing on his forehead, his entire body seemed to ignite in roaring flames. His monstrous blood qi materialized into a churning sea of blood all around him. Above this ocean was a blood-red sky, and beneath it lay a crimson, blood-soaked earth.

Earth, ocean, and sky—all of it merged perfectly into his aura.

Ancient marks drawn from the deepest depths of his bloodline materialized out of thin air.

Together, they formed the towering phantom of a giant.

"Is that the Blood Ancestor?!!"

Someone among the crowd gathered outside Old Sin City witnessed this spectacle and recognized the phantom's identity.

This was no ordinary giant, unlike the one summoned earlier by the man from the Life Heavenly Kingdom.

This was a bloodline progenitor—a being that had reigned as a king even during the lost Titan Era.

Now that this phantom had been summoned, it seemed destined to crush any remaining suspense in this battle.

However...

Chen Nian watched the apocalyptic display with total calm. Then, he simply reached up and tore away the newly wrapped bandages covering the top half of his face.

The strips of white cloth scattered into the wind.

Chen Nian finally revealed his true face.

Yan Jing had seen Chen Nian's true face before.

Like all the offspring of the Pure Blood Heavenly Kingdom, beneath that mask was a face beautiful enough to intoxicate all living beings.

But things were different now.

The mechanical textures, the metal components, the cold, artificial plating—every single detail bore witness to the horrific changes Chen Nian had undergone.

The next second, a second giant hand burst out from the earth!!!

Yan Jing stared at this second hand—something that he had never seen even in the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom.

He sighed.

"Old Chen, just how much did you do to yourself while you were in Old Sin City?"

"Old Chen... for the sake of someone who can never come back, just how far are you willing to go?"