Chapter 204: Half a Month Later

"Of course, everyone goes back to their own homes and finds their own moms!"

"What about Golden Sparkle?"

"Correct."

Lin Yu nodded slightly, then smiled and said: "Don’t worry—with you and Qi Munnanxiong here, these Heroic Spirits won’t cause any trouble; just let them stay in the mortal world!"

Bai Zeming was taken aback and hurriedly said: "What merit do I have to stand alongside the Divine Qi?"

Lin Yu patted his shoulder reassuringly: "Don’t undervalue yourself—you’re the man who wields the Great Summoning Art. Even if you can’t handle it, just call for backup!"

Bai Zeming: "..."

This logic was too sound for him to refute.

Lin Yu smiled and turned to look at Cú Chulainn nearby: "What about you? What are your plans?"

Cú Chulainn froze, then shrugged, slinging his spear over his shoulder with a carefree grin: "My Master has already been consumed by the Holy Grail. Without a Master’s magical energy to sustain me, what else can I do but wait for death?"

Lin Yu asked with a smile: "Interested in switching Masters?"

At these words, both Cú Chulainn and Bai Zeming froze, exchanging stunned glances.

Cú Chulainn frowned, scrutinizing Bai Zeming: "You mean... this kid?"

Bai Zeming glared at him, then turned to Lin Yu and whispered: "Big Brother, you forgot—he killed me twice, more than any other Heroic Spirit. I dare not keep him near me!"

Lin Yu gave him a wry look: "Then who do you want to switch to?"

Bai Zeming blinked: "Must I switch? Uncle Yun is actually quite good..."

Lin Yu shook his head: "I’ve already discussed it with Emperor Zhao Lie. Once the Holy Grail War ends, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao must return to the Heroic Spirit Throne and reunite with the Shu Han Heroic Spirits. How could I renege now and keep them in the mortal world?"

Oh right—I almost forgot about that!

Bai Zeming slapped his forehead and reluctantly agreed.

Compared to him, Cú Chulainn had no complaints; he actually admired Cú Chulainn’s warrior spirit.

Moreover, Archer and Saber had both remained in the mortal world, and Cú Chulainn wanted to use Bai Zeming’s connection to finally have a proper duel with those two Heroic Spirits...

Thus, Lin Yu dissolved Bai Zeming’s contract with Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, and sent them back to the Heroic Spirit Throne.

As for the information and power within this Heroic Spirit body, Lin Yu extracted it, planning to sell it to Li Shimin next door.

Once Bai Zeming and Cú Chulainn signed their contract, Lin Yu intended to return to his inner universe.

"Won’t you stay a little longer?"

Bai Zeming said with a hint of regret: "You just arrived and you’re leaving already? Won’t that waste the hundred points?"

Lin Yu gave him a look of mild exasperation and shook his head: "No choice—I’m pressed for time."

"As for the points issue, according to group rules, any resources produced within a member’s world automatically grant the local member a certain percentage share."

Saying this, he waved his hand, summoning a stone from the ground and handing it to Bai Zeming.

"List it for sale—price it at two thousand points. That’s your share of the Heroic Spirit power and all the evil of this world!"

...You can do that?

Bai Zeming stared at Lin Yu in shock, clearly tempted.

But after a moment’s thought, he still shook his head and refused to take the stone.

"When my younger brother was in trouble, you came to save me—that’s already more than enough. If I now demand a share from you, that would be my fault!"

"Don’t misunderstand."

Lin Yu shook his head seriously: "This isn’t a demand—it’s the rule."

Rule?

Seeing the seriousness on Lin Yu’s face, Bai Zeming paused.

After a moment’s reflection, he sighed: "Alright... I was being childish..."

Not long after, Bai Zeming exchanged the stone for two thousand points from Lin Yu.

Only then did Lin Yu nod in satisfaction, take the stone, toss it carelessly at his feet, and vanish in a flash, leaving Bai Zeming’s world behind.

"He really is in a hurry!"

Bai Zeming stared blankly at the spot where Lin Yu had disappeared.

On the other side, Lin Yu, returned to his inner universe, resumed studying his Fourth Catastrophe game pod.

The group members had also finally finished chasing the Holy Grail War updates and turned their focus back to their own worlds.

Su Haoming, enjoying his lack of official duties, spent his days shuttling between the Tang Gui and Frieren worlds, lingering at Lin Yu’s Dao Hall to train—his cultivation had surged dramatically, nearing the threshold of Qi Refinement Level Eight.

After his wedding, Fan Xian secretly took Lin Waner to visit Chen Pingping at the Surveillance Bureau.

After a private discussion, Fan Xian decided to accept the mission to serve as envoy to the Northern Qi, as in the original story.

Chen Pingping would remain in the capital, orchestrating public opinion and preparing everything; once Fan Xian returned with great achievements from Northern Qi, he would immediately launch a coup to overthrow Emperor Qing.

These were all plans Fan Xian had shared in the group.

The actual outcome would depend on how he executed them upon his return.

Yun Ye, another founding member, had no ambitions of kingship or domination; he simply wished to enjoy his carefree life while guiding the Tang Dynasty to its peak.

According to him, Tang had already begun its Industrial Revolution under his guidance.

Though still in the stage of steam engine application, he had greatly improved artisans’ living conditions.

Yun Ye had also established the Tang Science and Technology Award under his own name to reward craftsmen who achieved breakthroughs...

He Jingfeng and Lin Lie, the two modern-world members, needed no elaboration—the former continued expanding the Bai Yu Group, while the latter was either saving the world or on his way to do so.

Compared to these members, Li Shimin was undoubtedly the busiest.

Besides sneaking time each day to train at the Dao Hall, he handled mountains of state affairs, strengthened Shu Han’s power, trained new-style armies, and prepared for the northern campaign to begin next spring.

As for Anz, the newcomer who joined alongside Bai Zeming, he had been frightened by Demiurge’s future actions and was now busy indoctrinating his NPCs.

Unfortunately, these NPCs were inherently evil by design; mere indoctrination could not easily reverse their moral outlook.

Anz was deeply troubled and could only impose strict rules for now, hoping to invite Lin Yu over someday to ask if the big boss had better solutions.

Thus, time moved forward amid quiet routine.

Roughly twenty days—or more precisely, twenty days in the group’s time—Lin Yu finally solved the problem of cross-world soul deployment for his game pod!

Inner Universe, Hall of Rare Treasures.

Lin Yu gazed approvingly at the game pod engraved with intricate eye patterns, then waved his hand and ordered Ling Hua to halt all other work, redirecting all production capacity toward manufacturing game pods.

After giving the order, he traveled to the Frieren world and found his vassal Vol, instructing him to establish, under the title of Mayor of Xinfeng City, a company selling virtual game pods within the inner city.

Once Ling Hua produced enough units, he could begin convincing his vassals!

Having completed these tasks, Lin Yu left the mayor’s mansion contentedly, strolled through the now-familiar Xinfeng City, and finally entered the Moonlight Window shop in the inner city, eating their new delicacy while opening the group chat.

At that moment, the members were enthusiastically discussing Yun Ye’s gossip.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, curiously asking: "What’s going on?"

【Fan Xian: Hehe, Old Yun is in love!】

【Lin Yu: Oh?!】

【Lin Yu: Li Anlan or Xin Yue?】

Li Anlan was Li Er’s daughter, whose appearance closely resembled Yun Ye’s wife from his past life—though her personality was twisted, perfectly fitting the typical Tang princess’s mental state.

In the original story, Yun Ye first pursued Li Anlan unsuccessfully, then, under secret arrangements by his family and the Academy elders, fell in love with Xin Yue, granddaughter of the Master of Yushan, and eventually married her.

【Su Haoming: Definitely Xin Yue!】

【Su Haoming: This girl truly matches Old Yun’s ideal of a future wife.】

【Su Haoming: But judging by Old Yun’s intentions, he probably won’t let Li Anlan go either.】

【Su Haoming: At this rate, Old Yun will become the first group member to open a harem!】

【Su Haoming: @Fan Xian, what do you say?】

【Fan Xian: Why tag me? I’m utterly devoted to Wan’er—I wouldn’t dare compare myself to Old Yun the lecher!】

【He Jingfeng: Pfft, don’t act innocent!】

【He Jingfeng: If I hadn’t read Qing Yu Nian, I might actually believe you!】

【Lin Lie: +1】

【Fan Xian: You have the nerve to +1?】

【Fan Xian: If I remember right, Shuangshuang mentioned you were close to a beautiful female architect surnamed Lei in Shanghai—was that true?】

【Lin Lie: Don’t slander me—I had nothing but professional dealings with Miss Lei.】

【Lin Lie: After that incident, I never contacted her again. But you? You’ve got romantic entanglements everywhere—and in the original story, you even had a child with the Northern Qi emperor!】

【Fan Xian: That’s Fan Xian from the novel, not me!】

【Fan Xian: In my world, I never chased after women!】

In just a few messages, the topic had veered from Yun Ye’s gossip into mutual accusations among members.

Lin Yu watched, amused, then posted in the group: "@Yun Ye, how’s it going? When are you planning to set the engagement and marry, like Fan Xian, to harvest some Jiucai ?"

【Fan Xian: Big Brother, you can eat anything, but don’t say that!】

【Fan Xian: I’ve already had Wan’er record everyone’s wedding gifts—I’ll have to pay them all back someday!】

【Su Haoming: He’s panicking, look how panicked he is!】

【Fan Xian: [Rolling eyes.jpg]】

【Yun Ye: Old Fan, just humor Old Su a bit—he can’t marry a ghost. Taking back the gifts? That’s exactly what Big Brother called it— Jiucai !】

【Su Haoming: ?】

【Su Haoming: ???】

Su Haoming kept spamming question marks.

The state of apparent breakdown made Xiang Yunye in Tang Zhuan’s world chuckle.

He ignored Su Haoming’s question marks and @Lin Yu replied: “It’s still too early. I’ve only spent half a month with Xin Yue; I expect we won’t reach the point of marriage until Old Fan returns from the south…”

(End of Chapter)