Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3677: Recycling Junk

The change was immediate.

A pressure spread outward from him, invisible yet overwhelming in its effect. It was not something that crushed or suppressed in the conventional sense. It was something deeper, something that touched the instinct of every elemental present.

Predator.

That was what they felt.

The reaction was instantaneous.

The elementals did not hesitate. They scattered in all directions, fleeing with a frantic urgency that spoke of pure instinct. Those that had been nestled within the junkyard abandoned their positions, slipping into cracks, burrowing into deeper layers, or retreating toward distant areas where the influence of Lin Mu’s technique felt weaker.

They knew, without understanding how, that remaining here meant being consumed.

The elders watched this with narrowed eyes.

They had seen elementals behave cautiously before, but this was something entirely different. This was not caution. This was fear. And it was directed toward Lin Mu.

The next moment, the junkyard itself began to react.

A faint tremor spread across the ground.

Then it intensified.

Pieces of metal shifted. Fragments of stone rolled slightly before lifting off the ground. Slag, dust, and broken materials began to rise, slowly at first, then with increasing speed.

A vortex formed.

Lin Mu remained at the center, unmoving, as everything around him was drawn inward. The debris circled him, spinning faster and faster, forming a massive rotating field that expanded outward in all directions.

He rose into the air and his body settled into a cross-legged posture, suspended within the swirling mass. His breathing slowed, his presence becoming calm even as the chaos around him intensified.

Then the transformation began.

The materials that entered the vortex did not remain intact for long. The moment they crossed a certain threshold, they began to deteriorate. Metal lost its structure, breaking down into fine particulate matter. Stone crumbled into dust. Slag dissolved into granular fragments.

It was not simple destruction, it was refinement as the impurities were stripped away. And what remained was essence, pure elemental energy. Streams of it began to emerge, separating from the disintegrating materials.

Dense currents of earth and metal energy formed first, flowing toward Lin Mu in thick, steady streams. Smaller traces of other elements appeared as well, subtle but present, remnants of the complex compositions that the dwarves had worked with over the years.

Faint strands of fire energy lingered within certain metals. Traces of wood essence could be found in fragments of old handles. Even hints of frost, lightning and wind appeared in rare materials that had once been imbued with specialized properties.

All of it was drawn inward and all of it was absorbed.

Within minutes, Lin Mu’s figure became obscured entirely. The vortex thickened, its density increasing as more and more material was drawn in. Dust filled the air, swirling in dense layers that blocked all vision.

From the outside, he was no longer visible.

Only the massive rotating field remained.

The elders observed in silence.

Their expressions were filled with curiosity and a hint of disbelief.

One of them spoke quietly.

"This... resembles the Grand Metal Assimilation Technique of the First Dwarves."

Another shook his head slightly.

"It is broader than that," he said. "He is absorbing earth as well. It is closer to the principles behind the World Quaking Atlas Bloodline."

They continued to compare.

Each of them recognized fragments of familiar techniques within what Lin Mu was doing. Elements of ancient methods, traces of long-lost practices, and hints of multiple cultivation paths seemed to be woven together.

Yet none of them could fully identify it.

"This is not a single technique," the Rune Dwarf Elder finally said. "It is something... combined."

They fell silent again, choosing to observe rather than speculate further.

Time passed.

The vortex continued.

The junkyard, once filled with mountains of discarded materials, began to shrink visibly. Layers of debris vanished one after another, consumed and reduced to nothing but residual dust that quickly dissipated.

Days turned into weeks.

The dwarves of Mantleheim became aware of what was happening. Some came to observe from a distance, standing at the edges of the cliff, watching as the vast junkyard slowly disappeared.

This was not a small accumulation of waste.

This was the result of tens of thousands of years of forging.

Materials had been gathered from shattered worlds, mined from deep within planetary fragments, and collected from asteroids drifting through the space. Countless failed attempts, discarded experiments, and leftover residues had all ended up here.

What had once been considered worthless was now being consumed entirely.

Mountain after mountain vanished.

The vortex never slowed.

At its peak, it stretched across the entire junkyard, drawing in everything within reach. The sound of grinding materials and swirling dust filled the air continuously, a low, constant hum that became part of the environment itself.

Finally, after a full month had passed, the process came to an end. The vortex weakened as the rotation slowed before it stopped. The dust settled a few minutes later and what remained was a barren landscape.

The junkyard was gone.

In its place lay bare, dark rock and scattered remnants of fine dust that no longer held any significant energy.

At the center of it all, Lin Mu still floated.

His eyes remained closed, his expression calm.

Within him, the changes were profound.

Before this, his elemental cores had already reached significant levels. The Earth core had been the most developed among the three he was focusing on, standing at seventy percent completion. The Fire core followed closely at sixty-nine percent, while the Metal core lagged slightly behind at sixty-seven percent.

His Wood core was ahead of all of them at seventy-three percent, having benefited from previous cultivation materials. Meanwhile, the Wind and Lightning cores remained in early stages, at ten percent and seven percent respectively.

Now, those numbers had shifted.

The immense influx of elemental energy had pushed his progress forward.

The Earth core surged first.

It climbed steadily, absorbing the dense, stable energy drawn from countless stones and ores. Its structure became more refined, its presence within Lin Mu’s internal world growing stronger and more defined.