Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3650: A Dear Old Friend And Mentor

"That was not simple control," Elyon said. "There was coordination and proper understanding."

Daoist Chu stroked his beard slowly, clearly intrigued.

"There are races with such abilities," he said after a moment. "Those with a deep connection to nature. Certain elves, for example, can form contracts with nature spirits. Through those contracts, they can communicate and even command them to a certain extent."

Meng Bai blinked.

"Elementals are... nature spirits?"

"In essence," Daoist Chu replied. "They are manifestations of natural forces. Fire, earth, wind, water and more. Each one represents a fragment of the world’s fundamental energies and the elements."

Meng Bai looked back at the battlefield.

"But that man... he is not an elf."

Everyone could see that clearly.

The man standing on the rocky island was unmistakably human.

Or at least... He appeared to be.

Their thoughts shifted to the technique he had used.

"Flame Slayer Dwarven Style," Cattaleya said quietly, recalling his words.

"A dwarven technique," Elyon added.

"But he is too large to be a dwarf," Meng Bai pointed out.

Dwarves were known for their shorter stature and sturdy build. The man they were looking at stood tall, his proportions clearly human. Nothing about him suggested dwarven heritage at first glance.

And yet... The technique he used.

The way he fought.

The way he commanded the Earth Elemental.

It all pointed toward something deeper.

Confusion settled over the group.

No one had an answer.

No one...

Except Lin Mu.

He had gone completely still.

His eyes were wide.

His mouth slightly open.

He stared at the man as if he had seen something impossible.

Meng Bai noticed immediately.

"Master?" he called out, concern evident in his voice. "What is wrong?"

Lin Mu did not respond.

He continued staring.

At the man.

At his movements.

At his presence.

It was as if time had slowed for him.

Then...

They were noticed.

The first to react was the Earth Elemental.

"GUOOOHHHH!"

It let out a deep, rumbling cry, its massive form shifting as it turned toward Lin Mu and the others. Its heavy steps caused the surrounding rock to tremble as it began moving in their direction.

Meng Bai stiffened.

"Is it attacking?" he asked quickly.

Cattaleya stepped forward slightly, ready to respond.

But before anything could happen the man moved.

"Rocky, stop!" the man’s voice rang out.

The effect was immediate.

The Earth Elemental halted.

Its massive body froze mid-motion, the tension in its form dissipating as it obeyed the command without hesitation.

The man then moved.

He stepped off the rocky island and flew toward them, his figure cutting through the heated air with ease. He slowed as he approached, eventually coming to a stop a short distance away.

Now, for the first time, he saw them clearly.

And what he saw... Confused him.

Three human men.

One tall and muscular woman.

A wolfkin man.

And a large feline beast.

It was an unusual group. Not something one would expect to find deep within the mantle of a shattered world.

His eyes moved across them one by one as he continued to observe and assess them.

Then a few seconds later, he paused. His gaze now lingered on Lin Mu before shifting to Little Shrubby.

A faint frown appeared on his face.

Something... Felt familiar to him. He could not place it immediately. But the sensation was there.

Shrubby sniffed the air as his ears twitched.

"Master..." he said slowly, his voice filled with disbelief. "That man..."

Lin Mu finally spoke.

"Yes," he muttered.

Without another word, he stepped off Shrubby’s back and descended toward the ground. The others exchanged glances. They did not understand what was happening. But they trusted him.

And they could tell this was important.

Lin Mu walked forward and the man did the same. The distance between them closed, step by step until they stood just a few meters apart.

Neither spoke at first.

For an entire minute, they simply observed each other, studied each other, as if searching for confirmation, as if trying to reconcile memory with reality.

The man spoke first.

"That energy..." he said, his voice low.

Lin Mu’s lips moved slightly.

"That face..." he murmured.

Their eyes locked.

And in that moment...

Something clicked.

At the same time, they spoke.

"Lin Mu?" the man said.

"Jing Luo?" Lin Mu asked.

Silence followed.

A different kind of silence.

One filled with realization.

And confusion.

Daoist Chu stepped forward slightly.

"You know him?" he asked.

Meng Bai looked between the two, clearly bewildered.

"Master?"

Lin Mu nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said. "This is... someone I have been looking for."

The man frowned.

Then shook his head.

"You are mistaken," he said.

Lin Mu’s brows furrowed.

"Mistaken?" he repeated. "You are not Jing Luo?"

The man let out a short laugh.

"You got the surname right," he said. "But the name is wrong."

Lin Mu froze.

For a brief moment, his mind went blank.

Then...

It clicked.

A memory surfaced.

A familiar figure.

A voice.

A presence he had not seen in a long time.

His eyes widened further.

"No way..." he whispered.

Then he finally exclaimed out loud.

"Old Man Jing Wei!?"

"Haha! You finally got that right!" Jing Wei laughed before he moved and took hold of Lin Mu in a tight hug.

Lin Mu reciprocated the hug and both held each other while laughing. Daoist Chu and the others were a bit confused before they all smiled. They could tell that Lin Mu was really close with this person.

Shrubby quickly shrunk down to his cat form and approached the duo.

"Mew!" He cried out.

"Oh? So it really is him!" Jing Wei let go of Lin Mu and let Shrubby jump into his arms.

He stroked his head which Little Shrubby enjoyed.

"That seals it." Meng Bai stated. "No way Shrubby would let a stranger touch him like that easily." He knew this was really someone Lin Mu knew and so did Shrubby.

Now all of them only had one question, just where did Lin Mu know this person from?