Chapter 360: Whose Pot Is This? I

Blue Star, Blue Star

Inside the Jade Pure Palace.

Meng Qi occasionally stole glances at Kleine, the one "of the same origin," his eyes holding a trace of wariness and reverence.

Silence.

Still silence.

Why? Why did this happen?

Originally, everyone from the chat group had gathered here—it should have been a joyful occasion. After all, this was the first and third time we'd all come together; we should have been happily eating midnight snacks, joking around, singing songs, exchanging cultivation insights, and sharing our recent gains.

If all else failed, we could've split into smaller groups afterward—gaming in the valley, secluded cultivation, study exchanges, unrestricted combat, and more.

But now the situation is

"I told you that thing—whether it's the Inhibitor or not—why did it call me the Fallen God? Why did it ask if I wanted to act against this universe?"

Suddenly, Su Lin stood up, drew the Sky-Clear Jade Void Sword, shrank it to the size of a sewing needle, and condensed a long thread from Divine Light energy.

"Stop, Su Lin! Calm down!" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan grabbed Su Lin's left hand.

Lu Mingfei hugged Su Lin's right arm, also pleading:

"I really want to sew his mouth shut too, but he's just a player right now! This won't work!!!"

Su Lin sat back down, interlaced his fingers under his chin, and smiled warmly at Kleine:

"No wonder you're the Fool Lord—your title as the Destiny Marker is truly deserved, hahaha."

Li Huowang looked around dazedly, wondering whether he should speak up.

Zhongli covered his mouth, trying to recall what else Kleine had said before.

Of course, some people were enjoying the chaos.

"Cry! Shout! Despair!"

"How do you make movie special effects? Like Akardo's second transformation—I don't know how."

Like entities born from internet memes and NEETs who need entertainment over their endless lives.

"I think you've misunderstood the logic and essence of this matter," Kleine said calmly, expression unchanged:

"If my words came true, then all of us here are genuine multiverse devourers—that's what would prove authenticity."

"But this situation stems from a misunderstanding."

"So it has nothing to do with anything I said—it's pure coincidence."

The Faceless One lives up to his name.

"Please stop saying that word," Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan said, while Han Li shook his head helplessly.

"Sorry," Weigong Shilang spoke up voluntarily: "It's my fault—I didn't notice that Chaldea borrowed the movie."

Weigong Shilang felt deeply guilty; he never imagined this misunderstanding would arise.

"There must be other factors involved," Zhongli shook his head and said:

"Just one movie shouldn't make them so certain—or even trigger the Inhibitor's suspicion… frankly, based on Su Lin's description, that's probably not the Inhibitor at all, but something higher."

"Most likely it's the lines you've been muttering," Yi Leina looked weary, slumping back in her chair as she yawned:

"Things like 'reincarnation,' 'Sword's Peak,' 'Heavenly Court'… and so on…"

"Since these aren't native to this world, they only made the claims more believable."

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this; Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan guiltily looked away.

Weigong Shilang remembered that when he first returned to Fuyuki, it was Illya who first brought this up in front of everyone—and he hadn't stopped her then, thinking it would make her happy, and assuming no one would believe such a ridiculous excuse.

No way…

Is this also one of the factors leading to the current situation? Cold sweat broke out on Weigong Shilang's forehead. Thinking back, when he was in high spirits, he'd joked with Illya about this movie's reincarnation nonsense too.

Weigong Shilang shot to his feet: "I'm deeply sorry!"

"It's not entirely your fault—I remember someone else mentioning 'Ancient Pact' and 'Wound of Annihilation' before," Lu Mingfei slumped his head and said:

"And your twelve-wing Seraphim? Totally badass."

"I admit, I bear some responsibility," Kleine crossed his arms and tapped his index finger twice:

"But doesn't this all seem strange?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Meng Qi, since this matter was reported by Tai Gongwang and him.

Meng Qi recalled his earlier conversation with Tai Gongwang and frowned:

"According to the movie's plot, the love between Weigong Shilang and Illyasviel awakens past-life memories and power—so Zhi Du Nei Chao took the Rejuvenation Pill and the Flower of the Other Shore and confessed to the Heroic Spirit Weigong Shilang."

Su Lin's eyelid twitched at this.

"Huh?" Weigong Shilang blinked, his face flushing: "How could a movie's plot possibly work in reality?"

"No," Meng Qi fell silent for a moment, then spoke: "The Heroic Spirit Weigong Shilang has awakened—and he now possesses memories of past-life cultivation, along with a cultivation technique called the Ten Directions Sword Art."

Everyone present—including half-asleep Yi Leina—held their breath, all simultaneously blinking in disbelief.

"First, we learned these jokes before arriving in this world; then we witnessed what seemed like awakened memories of a past life; then we heard about Weigong Shilang overpowering the Grand Position and all Heroic Spirits throughout history; and now we've picked up scattered, bizarre details…"

Meng Qi paused, then said:

"We were already surrounded by countless outsiders who descended here, then we saw this movie. Honestly—if it were me, I'd believe it too."

Unconsciously, it's almost become a loop.

"Unbelievable," Zhongli murmured after a long pause:

"After taking the Flower of the Other Shore, he acquired a cultivation technique. Besides the possibility of past lives, there may also be external interference—such as memories gained during combat and…"

He glanced at Kleine, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Su Lin nodded, sighed, and said:

"Though I can't rule out the possibility that Weigong Shilang truly has a past life, I personally lean toward some unknown external factor causing this."

"Now the deed is done; it seems we've stumbled into a colossal misunderstanding."

Weigong Shilang said gravely: "Sorry... this matter."

"No!" Su Lin interrupted Weigong Shilang, speaking with righteous conviction:

"This has nothing to do with you. As Kleine said, it's the result of irresistible forces stacking together through sheer coincidence."

"If there must be blame, then it's this world's fault. Pull yourself together! Just find a way to clear up this misunderstanding!"

Snap—

A hand landed on Su Lin's shoulder, making him flinch. He turned—and it was Kleine.

After ascending to the Fool, he who possessed the Source Fortress had surpassed his stealth ability by more than one rank.

"You did it, didn't you?" Kleine released his facial control and grinned sincerely:

"That technique."

"Compared to the vague possibility in your past life, you didn't do it, right?"

Lu Mingfei shot to his feet instantly, shadows deepening across his facial features:

"How dare you slander my reputation?!"

He didn't want to play Jojo references with this guy right now.

Su Lin blinked and said: "Honestly, when Red A first got doused with spirit medicine, I didn't lift a finger."

Kleine paused, then said: "True—I never thought you'd miss a chance for fun back then."

So it wasn't Su Lin's doing?

"Heaven offers, and if you don't take it, you'll suffer the consequence," Su Lin said. "So this time, I couldn't hold back."

Weigong Shilang slapped his own forehead, as if struck by a blow:

"So it was you?!!"

Kleine wore an expression that said: I knew you wouldn't disappoint me.

If Su Lin had never meddled in this matter from start to finish, that would be the real oddity.

"You deserve one-third of the credit."

"Too much—I'm lucky to claim one-fifth."

"The technique you gave away is worth at least one-third."

"Your mouth alone deserves half the credit."

"I didn't show them the movie."

"Then how was I supposed to know they'd watch it? Do you really think I'm an omniscient god?"

"Of course you are, my friend—the fallen god."

Finally, after the latest round of blame-shifting ended, silence settled once more.

Star said to Weigong Shilang: "So you're going to switch worlds first? Just level up to max, then return for one second to land the critical hit."

Weigong Shilang thought for a few seconds, then shook his head.

Meng Qi analyzed:

"If we all leave, even a few seconds' gap will cause this timeline to vanish."

"Su Lin, could what you encountered back then have been the Source?"

"Maybe," Su Lin replied uncertainly. "But it certainly wasn't the Inhibitor. They lack that kind of power."

Though he'd used a cheap, defenseless item, the final thing he encountered in that void was unlikely to have been an Inhibitor.

But if it was the Source—

Then it was rather intriguing.

"Since the current situation is clear," Zhong Li looked at Su Lin and asked curiously: "What do you plan to do?"

In a sense, the situation was still temporarily under control. Moreover, Su Lin's original goal had been to reach the Source. Before offering his own opinion, Zhong Li was more curious about Su Lin's intentions.

After all, this man—

Cannot be judged by conventional logic.

"It's simple," Su Lin smiled, glancing at his system points and remaining items. "Since a misunderstanding arose, we just need to clear it up."

"I'll go to the Vortex of the Source as the production team's representative and explain to Him. Don't worry—this timeline won't be harmed."

"The current development is nearly identical to what we anticipated on the second day after arriving in this world."

The current developments are nearly identical to what we had anticipated on the second day we arrived in this world.

"So the worst-case scenario is just temporarily exiling this planet to another dimension, with Senior Su Lin as the—"

Here, he saw Su Lin's expression and chuckled awkwardly.

It had been a half-joking idea the group had come up with then—but in reality, it likely wouldn't be needed.

"What about the others?" Su Lin looked around at everyone present, including Weigong Shilang: "Will you continue to get involved?"

Weigong Shilang smiled: "Isn't there no other choice now?"

He'd just been assigned one-third of the blame.

Star: "I'm the Fourth Catastrophe, anyway."

The rest shared a similar attitude—like Star said, when no life is at risk, and someone's leading the charge, why retreat?

Su Lin turned to Meng Qi and said: "Please inform Chaldea and Tai Gongwang's side for me."

"That..." Meng Qi smiled awkwardly. "It's a bit difficult."

"Why?" This time, it was Su Lin who was puzzled.

Meng Qi's smile faded. He opened the jade slip on his desk and said:

Meng Qi's smile faded as he opened the jade slip on the desk and said:

"The Grand Duke Tai Gongwang has already realized I am not the former Yuan Shi Tianzun."

Although he told Tai Gongwang: "I am Yuan Shi, the sole one of all worlds."

But the misunderstanding seems to have grown worse.

He might share some blame for this mess—never mind, I'll hold off for now.

On the beach of the island's cave heaven.

A bonfire had been lit; many Servants called it their final meal, though half of them meant it as a joke.

Aside from Captain Nemo, Tesla, Edison, and others rapidly repairing the Numeral Submarine, the rest were conversing with the returning Tai Gongwang and Nezha.

"Is that so?" Lord El-Melloi II and others looked grim.

The earlier attitude of the Servants of the Descendant Class, like BB, had already revealed much—their spiritual blindness and folly had long since shown that the television drama was no mere entertainment.

"That fool Qu Yanping!"

"Didn't you just lament for him yesterday?"

"Who knows if it's true?"

Chaldea certainly had more than just Lawful and Good Servants; there were many Evil ones too, though now everyone had reached a consensus.

"I'm sorry, but I may not be able to assist with this matter," said Tai Gongwang, his expression solemn. "I must return to the Immortal Realm."

He wished to visit the Doushui Palace and the Yu Yu Heaven Palace to confirm one thing—he had seen the Four Swords of Zhu Xian in the drama.

"Understood," said Lord El-Melloi II. "In fact, we probably can't do much either."

"Don't be too pessimistic," Merlin chuckled.

"In any case, the Numeral Submarine's repairs are nearly complete. Let's return to Chaldea."

"Huh? I was planning to eat some late-night snacks first," said Tenzan Lixiang, holding a skewer. "Hmm, too little salt. Well, since it's like this anyway, wait a bit longer."

Mathers sighed. "Senior."

What an optimistic mindset.

"It's fine, Mathers," said Tenzan Lixiang with a faint smile. "Didn't the Tianzun himself say? There's always a glimmer of hope in everything."

At that moment, a ten-meter-long, four-meter-wide table appeared out of thin air, laden with many clay pots.

"Coconut Chicken Stew—please enjoy."

Weigong Shilang's voice came from a speaker on the table:

"We still have some matters to attend to tonight. Please make yourselves at home. If you need lodging, there are many vacant rooms—don't be shy."

"So we're free to leave?" asked Da Vinci, lifting the lid off a pot of milky-yellow stew; instantly, the scent of coconut and chicken broth surged forth with the steam. "Let's pack some up and take it back to Chaldea."

"Come on, one pot each," said Tenzan Lixiang, picking up a clay pot, when he noticed several notes stuck beneath the speaker:

"Dada Liya, Blackie, Meiyou."

Even on this path, he still values family.

Chaldea

In his bedroom, Tenzan Lixiang placed the last bite—a ball made of mashed chicken and coconut—into his mouth.

"Delicious."

He wiped his lips, looked up at the ceiling, and thought:

"This must be a cosmic-scale crisis."

"Please, Ishhtar, Jane, X—help us."

(End of Chapter)