Chapter 348: Who Supports? Who Opposes?

"Origin?" Ye Fan looked at Su Lin with some surprise.

"You've been acting like a lazy fish every day—I thought you'd given up entirely."

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan nodded in agreement: "I originally thought you'd lost your drive. Impressive."

Inside the pure white space created by the Cave Heaven Law, everyone sat around a weathered stone table and high-backed chairs sponsored by the Tarot Society; the jade dew tea on the table wasn't a spiritual tea, but carried a rich, fragrant aroma.

Han Li bowed and said: "I never expected that after your circumstances, you still haven't lost your original heart to pursue the Dao. I was mistaken before."

Zhongli remained silent, gazing at Su Lin's reflection through the emerald-green tea, the man still smiling.

"Origin—is that the Dao of this world? Can it be understood this way?" Li Huowang asked doubtfully.

"Isn't it normal for a cultivator like Brother Su to pursue the Dao?"

"It's not normal for Su Lin," Yi Leina suspected. "Did some weird person transplant into you?"

Every day when he went to Water Mirror Peak, Su Lin had been sunbathing and eating; even the Dimensional Banishment and Dimensional Magic System were given to him by the other, who taught him how to learn and study them, then had him return with new discoveries to teach back.

"Hey," Su Lin felt his fist tightening, his smile unwavering as he looked at everyone: "What kind of image did I have in your eyes before?"

"Luck and talent weren't lacking—just a lack of drive."

"A rich guy."

"A good person."

"Someone who doesn't care as long as the world doesn't end."

"Sometimes I really wanted to knock you out cold. Wave equipment—sorry, pretend you didn't hear that, haha."

"Not human." Lu Mingfei turned his head, glancing fearfully at the mushroom cloud rising behind him; intense light and heat, accompanied by a gale, swept toward him.

"Tch." Su Lin retracted his finger, mimicking a gun: "Sorry, my finger slipped."

"You want to kill me?!" Lu Mingfei slammed the table and stood up, roaring: "That's a forbidden spell! It's a joke—do you have to be so petty?!"

"You can't kill me anyway—you're a player," Su Lin smiled, scanning everyone before fixing his gaze on Weigong Shilang, who was deep in thought.

Lu Mingfei suddenly understood, rubbed his head, and sat down slowly: "Right—I forgot. This is Type-Moon Online."

"You had a hand in this too, Miss Kelaien?" Ye Fan smiled faintly, instantly grasping the full chain of events:

"You two planned this whole thing from the start?"

The Ye Zhetian Guild's annual profits were swindled away by these two old liars—apparently, they'd been plotting this from the beginning.

"I only came to this world to prepare for advancement, and used the Fourth Catastrophe Simulator as a backup," Ke Lai'en said, scooping a bite of tiramisu into his mouth with a silver spoon; the animal cream and cocoa powder blended and spread:

"I never expected his appetite to be this big—I thought he'd just try to seize the Heroic Spirits' Seat."

"If it were anyone else, I'd advise them not to overeat," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said:

"But if it's you, leave this world a way to survive."

It sounded as if he intended to swallow the Origin itself.

Su Lin could only sigh—apparently, the others in the group held deep misunderstandings about him. What exactly did they think of him?

"Still, I didn't expect your purpose in coming here was to obtain the power of the Origin," Zhongli nodded slightly and said:

"But considering the actual circumstances, this world makes it relatively easier to attain the ultimate 'Dao' and 'Li' compared to other worlds."

"Of course, this ease is only relative."

The paths and methods to reach the Origin have long been recorded and passed down; as 'readers,' they already knew many useful details, and some in this world were born already linked to the Origin.

"I'm human—I have the seven emotions and six desires," Su Lin smiled openly to everyone:

"I'm neither noble nor vile. I admit my greed. When the Fourth Catastrophe Simulator became usable, I began to develop the desire to obtain the power of the Origin."

If a protagonist is defined as someone possessing rare traits, then Su Lin, as an ordinary person, possessed the average trait shared by all.

Strip away everything society imposed—memories, goals, values, meaning, attitudes—until only a blank sheet remained.

He was this kind of person: he faced the blank sheet honestly, prepared in advance what he wished to fill it with, letting desire become color upon it.

He looked at Weigong Shilang, who was deep in thought, and said:

"Weigong Shilang, my promise is this: if you agree, whatever I gain at the origin of all things, you will share equally."

"Of course, if you disagree, it's fine—no burden needed, since the consequences of this are unknown."

"The journey itself carries unknown risks, even though the Type-Moon narrative framework is among the most detailed in all stories."

Even the initial 1.0 version of the Fourth Catastrophe, yet the player identity is undeniable—infinite resurrection, control over the backend, personal interface—after forcibly implanting into this world, they became, in effect, part of the world's fundamental rules.

But what lies within the Origin's vortex? Why did those who went before never return? Beyond the interference of the Inhibitor, are there other unknown risks? All of this remains uncertain.

Weigong Shilang lifted his head and looked at Su Lin:

"Magicians in this world constantly seek the Origin. I'm not a qualified magician, nor do I desire the Origin. Ultimately, what others want to achieve has nothing to do with me."

"But if someone reaching the Origin brings catastrophic disaster to ordinary people in this world, then even at the cost of my life, I will stop them."

"But if it's you, Su Lin—I trust you."

Yes, on this point, he was no different from the Chaldea or the Inhibitor.

In the end, it's merely differing positions and modes of thought that lead to action—to do what one believes is "right."

But there's no need to overthink—when ideologies clash, action is the best proof.

"Um, that is assuming you won't eat the Origin—you won't, right?" Weigong Shilang hesitated and said:

"If possible, I hope you won't clash with the Inhibitor."

"You know, if he eats the Origin, I'll never speak again," Ke Lai'en chuckled beside him. "Multiverse… fine, I won't say that word."

"I only intend to look at the knowledge inside. Don't worry—I won't take anything like world-origin essence," Su Lin retracted the Tianqing Yu Xu Sword and said:

"As for the Inhibitor, I'll try to talk to them—but figuring out how to find them is a problem."

"Anyway, I have ways to sneak in. Since you don't oppose—"

"I oppose!" Ye Fan said. "We can't let you face such a risk alone."

"." Su Lin was stunned by the thickness of this man's skin.

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan grinned and said, "Sounds pretty tempting."

"Are you interested too?" Su Lin said with deep implication. "The Dao needs no shortcuts; remember, walking firmly on the ground is the true path."

"When I came here, I was after the source from the start!" the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon bellowed:

"Who cares what it is? I'm not some fool like Chen Nan who thinks strength comes only from within. Anything that lets me soar is the Dao—Wuhu!"

"By the way, where were you before?" Miss Kelaien asked. "I didn't see you when you fought Aristotle."

The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon awkwardly scratched his face—he couldn't admit he'd been frozen before even using the talisman, unable to even revive.

"Since you've come to this world, staying a while longer won't hurt," Zhong Li said to Weigong Shilang.

"I'll be troubling you for a while, Weigong."

He had now reached the point where he needed to accumulate foundation. His previous rapid advancement had long since burned through all his reserves. Though there was no rush, he could use this world's body's unique properties to try touching different paths.

"Welcome," Weigong Shilang smiled. For the Weigong family, this was truly unprecedentedly lively.

Fortunately, his house was quite large.

"Although this game experience only deserves one star, I need to develop three-stage transformation," Xing said.

"The three-stage transformation must at least surpass Long Zun Mk2000 in the main storyline."

Then I'll just straighten Huanlong's neck on the side.

Penglai Mountain Huiye: "Just leave me a room."

Anyway, I brought my PSP, Xbox, laptop, USB drive, and Switch—wherever I am is the same. Here, there's even food.

"If I cultivate here, can my body grow stronger?" Li Huowang understood modern things fairly well—he'd heard classmates talk about Sword Art Online, "Can our player bodies cultivate too?"

"I've enabled reverse synchronization and sensory synchronization for your backend," Su Lin said.

"It looks like you're cultivating here, but actually, your 'real-world' body is cultivating—the strength gained synchronizes to the player template."

"Of course, before turning on this option—"

"Aaaah!" Song Shuhang screamed and exited the game.

Su Lin shook his head and said, "Look around for obstacles—better find something to tie yourself to."

Chaldea. Summoning Room

"Welcome back, Emiya Mama," Tenzan Lixiang hadn't finished speaking when a large hand grabbed his head: "Ow! Ow! Ow!!!"

"You're something else, Master," Servant Weigong Shilang gripped Tenzan Lixiang's head and said, "I'm probably the first Servant whose spiritual base was erased by conflicting divine herbs!"

"I did it for your own good… Ow! Ughhh…" Tenzan Lixiang surrendered. "Sorry, I'm sorry…"

Servant Weigong Shilang released his grip, stepped down from the summoning platform, and beside him, Mashu smiled awkwardly.

"At least try the Amanogawa flower one last time!" Tenzan Lixiang clutched Servant Weigong Shilang's sleeve, eyes glistening with tears. "For human history, please evolve into the Sword God!"

"You should at least find a human Weigong Shilang instead of a corpse," Servant Weigong Shilang sighed.

"Besides, doesn't this whole thing seem suspicious?"

If Weigong Shilang truly had some incredible past life, he would have remembered it the moment the first river of the River Styx flooded him.

"I think the same," Lord El-Melloi II leaned against the door, smoking a cigarette. "So we decided to set aside time to revisit you from that worldline, and those Supreme Beings."

Tenzan Lixiang straightened his clothes and smiled.

"That worldline hasn't been erased, nor does it have the restriction of past-history rejection. Now, it seems any Servant can go together."

"Grandpa Taigong wants to visit Yuanshi Tianzun who descended into this world; Joan of Arc received some revelation and wants to meet that outer-universe God; the Norse Servants are also reacting strongly."

"Plus those who just want to join the fun—"

"So we need you, Emiya Mama, our local guide, to come along."

In fact, she also wanted to learn more about information from their worldline.

"If possible, could I stay at Chaldea?" Servant Weigong Shilang said helplessly. If he hadn't confirmed it repeatedly, he'd truly suspect this wasn't Weigong Shilang at all, but something else entirely.

"Of course," Tenzan Lixiang nodded and made a gesture inviting him in.

Servant Weigong Shilang was surprised, but didn't think much of it, walking along the metallic corridor toward the restaurant he knew well.

Accounting for time, it was now time to get busy.

The automatic door opened; after walking about ten meters, he reached his usual open kitchen, picked up an apron, and put it on.

"Chef, what are we making today?" Servant Weigong Shilang asked casually to Hong Yanmo.

The tiny girl chef first stared blankly, then timidly looked at him and said:

"Lord Sword God… you… came to Chaldea too?"

"What nonsense are you talking?" Servant Weigong Shilang said. "I'm not that guy. I see beef and red wine—let's make braised beef brisket."

As he spoke, Artoria Pendragon 【Alter】 and her group arrived.

"It's the Scabbard!" Mystery Female Character X said.

"The Scabbard…" Artoria looked at Servant Weigong Shilang, as if recalling something.

Swish—

Servant Weigong Shilang barely dodged Artoria Pendragon 【Alter】's black holy sword. "Are you crazy?!"

"I'm just checking if it fits," Artoria Pendragon 【Alter】 said. "Don't move."

Another sword thrust came—he leapt backward, creating several feet of distance. Fortunately, the open kitchen had enough space.

At that moment, through the reflection on the nearby sterilization cabinet, he saw a figure: white hair, youthful face, wearing a long red Holy Relic robe.

His hair was loose, his skin hadn't turned brown from magical circuit erosion, and that stupid face—just one look made you want to cut it off.

Clatter—

The kitchen knife fell to the floor.

"Oh? Isn't this the Sword Emperor? Sorry, I meant the Sword God of the Peak, Mr. Caster Cu Chulainn," Caster Cu Chulainn, accompanied by a group of Cu Chulainns, walked over and raised an eyebrow.

"It's an honor to meet you here. Ah, I never thought you knew me before my death—so I pierced your heart once, huh?"

"Hahahaha."

Servant Emiya paid no attention to the Blue Lancer's words—he was long accustomed to the fact that Chaldea kept many Commanders—but he was gripped by some kind of delusion. "Master, what is going on?"

Tenzan Lixiang stood behind Caster Gilgamesh, who had just produced a box, and spoke weakly:

"While you were unconscious, we wondered if it might be an age-related issue."

"So we had you drink a bit of Youth Restoring Elixir."

Lancelot led the Round Table Knights toward the kitchen, drawing their longswords; Lancelot addressed Servant Emiya:

"I object! No—sheath, hmm... Lord Emiya, let us engage in a duel of swordsmanship!"

"Even if it is you, we will never allow our King to become someone else's harem—indeed, a harem should be opened by our King himself!"

Meaningless.

"What the hell is wrong with your brains?" Servant Emiya slapped his own face, bloodshot eyes peering through his fingers at Tenzan Lixiang:

"Go to Fuyuki right now and turn me back!"

(End of Chapter)