Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "So he learned Xiaowuxiang Gong before he ever came down the mountain?"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Huashan shouldn't have any connection with the Xiaoyao Sect, right?"
Child of Nature: "Since you know that, why not ask the chat group?"
Child of Nature: "I'm honestly just curious why Dongfang would know that Linghu Chong's mimicking ability comes from an inner cultivation art."
Child of Nature: "What are you waiting for?"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "I—"
Roxie Vale was at a loss for words. She couldn't very well say she'd forgotten.
"Chat group, tell me— is the Linghu Chong in Dongfang Bai's world a transmigrator?"
"Give me a definitive answer!"
Roxie snapped, eyes full of expectation and daydreams.
If he really was a transmigrator, that would be perfect!
In a wuxia world like Smiling Proud Wanderer, she could still make a go of it with her level of strength.
She'd developed her Angel Fruit quite well, too. Beating a martial arts expert shouldn't be a problem, right?
After all, Smiling Proud Wanderer isn't one of those high-martial worlds like Storm Riders or Qin's Moon.
"Ding. Detected an inquiry from the group owner. Scanning the Smiling Proud Wanderer world where group member Dongfang Bubai resides."
"Ding. Scan complete. There is no transmigrator in this world."
The chat group's voice sounded in Roxie's ear, but the answer left her face full of question marks.
???
What the heck?
No transmigrator?
Linghu Chong is hacking this hard and he's not a transmigrator?
It can't really be what she half-guessed—a re-set fanfic version of Smiling Proud Wanderer, right?
"Ding. Linghu Chong is a simulator from an unknown simulated world, not a transmigrator."
A simulator?
Roxie was dumbfounded. What even was a "simulator"?
"Ding. Inquiry from the group owner detected. Beginning explanation."
"A simulator has the ability to traverse between worlds and replace figures within them. So long as the simulator alters their own original trajectory and thereby exerts influence on that world, the rewards they receive will be decided according to the extent of that influence."
Sensing Roxie Vale's bewilderment, the chat group explained.
"So it's just a transmigrator under another name? It's just that this guy's replacement is more thorough—maybe from early childhood."
"No wonder he has Xiaowuxiang Gong; he definitely simulated the world of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils in the past."
"I just don't know who he replaced there."
Roxie nodded as she spoke.
"Ding. The other party is a simulator."
The chat group seemed ready to say more, but Roxie cut it off at once.
"Yeah, yeah—simulator, simulator."
"Anyway, do we have a mission? If there's a mission, hurry up and give it to me."
"…"
"Ding. The simulator does not inherently possess any [rule-level items]; the simulator's core device is not present in this world."
"Given that the Smiling Proud Wanderer world is a low-martial world with restricted cultivation, there is no mission."
Hearing that, Roxie rolled her eyes, her expression written all over with boredom.
She returned to the chat.
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "I asked. They said he's a 'simulator.' Probably some new flavor of system stream. It must not have caught on back when I transmigrated, since I never read it."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "But it sounds more or less like a transmigrator. The difference is that each time he crosses, he starts pretty early—maybe as an infant."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "That also explains Xiaowuxiang Gong and why he's so young yet able to challenge the world with his sword—he's probably simulated quite a lot of people in quite a lot of worlds already."
Uchiha Dance King: "A simulator?"
Uchiha Dance King: "Replacing someone in another world and living under that person's identity."
Uchiha Dance King: "That is interesting."
Richest Man: "Interesting? I find it horrifying. If he replaced me, under that kind of power I'd have no ability to resist."
Richest Man: "It may even be that someone in my world has already been simulated—and I simply don't know it."
To replace you—to live your life wearing your name. Just the thought filled him with revulsion.
That was replacing a person at the root.
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Horrifying? What's horrifying about it? Isn't that what transmigrators do, too?"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "If you're going to be horrified, you should've been horrified ages ago."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Don't tell me you think transmigrators are all like Murong, carrying their golden-finger core across with them?"
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Both Brandon White and I started from birth."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "To be honest, I wasn't sure before whether I'd replaced someone—enjoyed her life—and I often felt guilty about it. But after joining the chat group and learning I was a character created by someone, I actually felt relieved."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "Chances are the author never thought that deeply about it."
Utterly Ordinary Group Owner: "As for whether our world is 'real'—the chat group exists, doesn't it? Even the fake turns real. Maybe I'll even make it back to my world someday."
No one had ever tried to hide from the others that they were characters from anime or works of fiction; everyone knew they had been created.
But that didn't mean they were afraid or terrified, or that they'd fall into existential confusion.
Because whatever they had been before, now they were living a new life no one could have imagined. Every word they spoke, every deed they did, diverged from the original storyline.
Their world had been a work of fiction—but now their world had become real, one among endless worlds.
One day, they would be able to reach the world that created them and meet the ones who had brought them into being.
Oldest God-Slayer: "I just want to know one thing—do we have a mission?!"
Oldest God-Slayer: "Transmigrator or simulator, whatever. So long as there's a mission, that's enough!"
He didn't care about the other party's identity. For him, so long as someone could trigger a mission and prompt the chat group to grant rewards, that person was a worthy enemy.
Only someone like that could awaken his desire!
These past days, he'd fought a bout with Luo Hao.
Losing was inevitable—not only was Luo Hao stronger than he, but in the chat group's battle arena there was no such thing as mind-over-matter powers; what both sides brought out was only their innate strength. In earlier fights he hadn't defeated Luo Hao either.
But this time, the fight was an absolute steamroll.
Before, Luo Hao could beat him, yes—but the gap was right there, plain to see.
Now, he no longer knew what kind of height Luo Hao stood upon.
With nothing but martial arts—without using even a shred of authority—he was killed with ridiculous ease!
The force released by a casual palm was in no way inferior to any authority.
This kind of power… Isn't this exactly the kind of power he yearned for?!
Between the strong and the weak, this is how vast the gap should be!
(End of this chapter)