Chapter 3476: Innate Water Elemental Affinity!

The core transformed.

Runic patterns wrapped around it in elegant spirals, layered and interconnected. It looked less like a cultivation construct and more like a masterpiece carved by the Dao itself.

An art piece.

A living Dao symbol.

Lin Mu’s heart trembled.

He felt water as he felt his own limbs.

Not as an external element to be controlled through effort or technique, but as something intimate and familiar. Something that resonated with him naturally.

This was not learned affinity.

This was innate.

"Innate affinity to the Water Dao..." Daoist Chu said hoarsely, barely believing his own words.

Lin Mu stood up.

WOOOSH

GUSH

As he did, the water beneath his feet rose with him, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The small platform expanded, drawing in more water until it became a rising column.

The ocean responded instantly.

RUMBLE

A massive pillar of water surged upward, connecting sea and sky, carrying Lin Mu higher and higher. It rose nearly three kilometers tall, a titanic spectacle visible even from the distant city.

Cultivators far away stared in shock, pointing toward the horizon as they felt the lingering pressure of the breakthrough and saw the impossible sight.

"What is that?"

"A Water Dao phenomenon?"

"Did an Immortal Breakthrough?"

Back at the inn, the staff stood dumbfounded.

The destroyed courtyard no longer mattered. Not when something like this was unfolding before their eyes.

Lin Mu stood atop the water pillar, robes fluttering, sunlight glinting off his sweat-soaked skin. He raised a hand gently.

The ocean surged.

Not violently, not chaotically, but obediently. Water curved and flowed at his will, shaping itself into elegant arcs and spirals around him.

He laughed softly.

It felt right.

He felt at home.

Water was no longer something he borrowed power from.

It was something that recognized him.

And in that moment, Lin Mu knew his Water Core was truly complete.

Lin Mu felt a rush of exhilaration surge through him, bright and unrestrained.

It was not the fierce thrill of battle, nor the grim satisfaction of surviving pain. This was something purer. Lighter. The kind of joy that made the corners of his lips lift before he even realized he was smiling.

He raised a hand casually, and the thin sheen of sweat clinging to his skin responded at once. Moisture peeled away from him in shimmering threads, coiling around his arm like obedient ribbons before dispersing into the air as a faint mist. In a single breath, he felt clean, refreshed, and strangely invigorated, as though even fatigue had been washed from his bones.

"Ah," Lin Mu murmured contentedly. "That is convenient."

With another thought, the towering pillar of water beneath him began to soften and collapse.

It did not crash or splash violently. Instead, it unraveled with elegance, the vast column breaking into streams that flowed downward like cascading silk. The water returned to the ocean below as if nothing extraordinary had happened, leaving only rippling waves and a faint shimmer of lingering Dao traces in the air.

Lin Mu descended gently, feet touching solid ground once more.

Silence reigned.

The inn staff stood frozen, mouths slightly open, eyes wide. A few of them blinked repeatedly, as though hoping the scene before them would resolve into something more reasonable if they looked again.

It did not.

Only Lin Mu’s companions reacted with anything resembling normalcy.

After all, they had seen far too many unbelievable things already.

Meng Bai was the first to recover.

He approached Lin Mu quickly, eyes shining with excitement and disbelief. Even before he spoke, Lin Mu could feel it. A familiar resonance. Meng Bai’s natural affinity to water stirred instinctively, responding to Lin Mu like a smaller stream recognizing a greater river.

"Master," Meng Bai said, unable to hide the awe in his voice. "How did you do that?"

He paused, then added honestly, "The water... it feels different around you now. Stronger. Clearer. Even compared to me."

Lin Mu chuckled softly.

"I simply comprehended the Water Dao to a deeper level," he replied calmly. "It is nothing mysterious."

It was technically true.

It was also the safest explanation he could give.

No one here could even begin to imagine the existence of the Omnicore Ascendancy Technique, let alone the implications of completing an elemental core in such a manner. The excuse passed without resistance, as Lin Mu had expected.

Meng Bai nodded slowly, still processing. "I see. Then I suppose I have much more to learn."

"You always will," Lin Mu said kindly. "So will I. There’s always a lot to learn from the Grand Daos."

Daoist Chu approached next, hands clasped behind his back, eyes sharp and thoughtful as he studied Lin Mu from head to toe.

"Congratulations," he said sincerely. "An innate Water Dao affinity achieved through comprehension rather than birth. That is rare. Extremely rare."

Cattaleya grinned broadly, clapping Lin Mu on the shoulder with enough force to make the air pop. "About time," she said. "I was starting to think you’d never stop hoarding new tricks."

Lin Mu laughed, steady on his feet despite the blow. "I make no promises."

Elyon merely inclined his head, expression calm and unsurprised. He had long since accepted that Lin Mu’s limits were... flexible.

"Well," the wolfkin said dryly, "at least the ocean did not explode this time."

"That is progress," Lin Mu agreed.

Behind them, the inn staff finally found their voices.

The manager hurried forward, bowing deeply, his earlier horror already being replaced by something far more mercantile in nature. His eyes gleamed as he glanced at the ruined courtyard, then at the calm ocean beyond, then back at Lin Mu.

"Esteemed guest," he said respectfully, "your breakthrough was truly... historic. We would be honored if you would be willing to leave behind a memorial of this occasion."

Lin Mu raised a brow. "A memorial?"

"Yes!" the manager said eagerly. "Something symbolic. A mark. It would be incredible advertisement for our inn. Travelers come from all over seeking serenity and enlightenment. To have proof that someone like you cultivated here..."

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