Advancement Performance
This time, the Performance arrived even faster than Chen Ling expected.
He looked down and saw that he was currently standing on the third step of this Twisted Divine Path. Compared to the first step starting from the bottom of the abyss, he had already ascended very high, a bit closer to that flickering star in the sky... It was just that compared to the height he still needed to climb, it was still too insignificant.
Behind Chen Ling, a line of the completed Performance was crossed out, thoroughly becoming a past segment of The Script:
[Under the witness of at least 2000 people, complete a soul-stirring murder Performance]
Chen Ling clearly remembered that from the time he stepped onto the Third Tier to when he saw that Performance requirement, it took a full half-year... And from completing this Performance up until now, it had only been less than two months.
Now, he was already standing on the threshold to step onto the Fourth Order. As long as he completed the final Performance, he could Advance.
If proceeding at normal speed, it would take Chen Ling at least another half-year, same as the first half, to finish walking the second half of the Third Tier. But after he massacred the Scarlet Heaven Cultists and devoured a small portion of the Red Star Aura, his Spiritual Power grew explosively, shortening this process to two months.
Moreover, this didn't mean that the Red Star Aura could only help him cross this small half segment... Normally, after digesting these Red Star Auras, Chen Ling could not only step onto the Fourth Order, but also take a big step on the steps of the Fourth Order. It was just that due to the existence of the Performance condition, he was stuck here. If he didn't complete the Performance, no matter how high his total amount of Spiritual Power was, he wouldn't be able to Advance. This was the flaw of the Twisted Divine Path.
Chen Ling took a deep breath and let his gaze fall beneath his feet. A brand-new line of Performance conditions unfolded before his eyes:
[With the participation of the 'Audience', complete a hearty and interactive Performance]
Chen Ling froze in place.
He read this sentence over and over again several times, his expression becoming strange.
Chen Ling could understand every single word here, but combined, they made him somewhat confused... especially the four words "Audience participation", which made him completely baffled.
Which "Audience"? How to participate??
And also "hearty and interactive Performance". Let's leave "hearty" aside for now, as it's another adjective that's extremely difficult to grasp; the "interactive Performance" behind it... is it interacting with the "Audience"?
If the "interactive Audience" here referred to passersby watching the show during his Performance, or the audience applauding Off Stage, that would be easy to handle. Just inviting them on stage, having some dialogue or role-playing, could be considered interaction... But Chen Ling didn't think this Performance would be that simple.
What he feared most was that the "Audience" here referred to...
Chen Ling didn't dare to think further. He could feel that at this moment, on both sides of this Twisted Divine Path, there were pairs of scarlet pupils, smiling like crescent moons, mockingly sizing him up.
Chen Ling sighed deeply. He could feel that his attempt to Advance to the Fourth Order probably wouldn't be that easy...
The Twisted Divine Path gradually dissipated, and the surrounding scene returned. Chen Ling only felt his vision blur, and he was back in "Guernica".
Trapped inside, Chen Ling had no other way. He could only aimlessly walk forward while thinking about the conditions for the Advancement Performance...
After an unknown amount of time, in the vast nothingness, the outline of a massive giant object was sketched out directly in front of Chen Ling.
It was a pale large face outlined by simple lines. The shapes of all the facial features were abstract and childish, carrying an inexplicable sense of eeriness... It floated in the air, its mouth opening and closing as if shouting something, drifting slowly towards Chen Ling like a weightless balloon.
Chen Ling: "???"
Seeing such an abstract and uncoordinated large face, Chen Ling's heart tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the Bone-Stripping Knife in his sleeve tightly. He knew it, the cage the Second Hall prepared for him wouldn't be that simple...
Contrasted against this large face, Chen Ling's body size was as insignificant as an ant. Moreover, as it approached, an indescribable emotion surged from the bottom of Chen Ling's heart.
Fear, grief, hatred, pleading... It was like some invisible demon was chasing to kill him from behind. At this moment, Chen Ling could even clearly hear a small portion of the pleading sounds. That was the most primitive desire for survival originating from life.
At the same time, Chen Ling's facial features also unconsciously twisted, revealing fear and grief. Although not as exaggerated as that large face, the emotions shown almost completely overlapped with it.
Chen Ling had never encountered this kind of situation before. He could only endure the out-of-control emotions in his heart while gripping his knife and vigilantly watching the large face drifting past overhead, ready to strike at any time... Fortunately, this large face didn't seem to have any intention of attacking him. It just quietly swept across the sky above Chen Ling and gradually went far away.
At the same time, Chen Ling's emotions were also slowly recovering to a calm state, but his eyes still stared fixedly at this face.
"What the hell is that..." Chen Ling's brows furrowed tightly. "Just getting close can affect a person's emotions? Is it a creature kept in captivity in this cage?"
Chen Ling didn't understand the meaning of this creature's existence. Just as he was about to move his gaze away, a detail suddenly flashed across his pupils.
He saw that on the edge of that wandering large face, there was an "arrow" the size of a pinky fingernail, as if someone had drawn it on with a pen. Moreover, as the large face moved, the direction this "arrow" pointed to was actually turning slowly. At first glance, it looked no different from a Compass!
If Chen Ling's eyes didn't possess extremely strong perceptive abilities towards these details, he probably wouldn't have discovered its existence at all. And at this moment, below this "arrow", there was also a familiar pattern...
That was the black [Clubs] from the Playing Cards.
...
Red Dust Main City.
A young girl wearing a black long skirt walked slowly through the ruins.
Corpses and rubble filled the road. The breeze wrapped with dust brushed past the young girl's gorgeous skirt. Liu Qingyan listened to the sounds of Calamity battles coming from afar, as quiet as a marginalized person derailed from the world.
In Liu Qingyan's mind, the gaze Chen Ling cast back occasionally still surfaced. Although she wasn't clear about his intentions, Liu Qingyan still chose to trust Chen Ling... She didn't leave this dangerous area, but after a brief hesitation, walked straight towards the direction of the Jinghong Theater.
Choosing to go to the Jinghong Theater was mainly because Liu Qingyan also didn't know where to go or what to do now. The Jinghong Theater was a place related to Chen Ling, perhaps there might be some clues there?
While thinking, Liu Qingyan stepped into the block intersecting with the "Ghost Mockery Abyss". However, now all the Ash Realm Intersection Points were sealed by the Second Hall, so no new Calamities appeared. The block where the Jinghong Theater was currently located was the most well-preserved place within a radius of dozens of kilometers.
Liu Qingyan walked all the way along the street. Right at this moment, as if sensing something, she suddenly stopped her steps.
In the flying dust, several figures approached her from different directions. Among these people, some were extremely tall, some had ruthless appearances, and some had a long wolf tail haircut. They didn't look like good people at first glance...
"Hello." The tallest person among them gently rubbed his fingertips in the void, and a Jack of Clubs appeared out of thin air,
"Excuse me, are you Liu Qingyan?"