Chapter 3532: The Delegations Arrive

Cattaleya adjusted her strength carefully, enough to push him but not crush him outright. Her strikes were brutal, direct, forcing Meng Bai to react, adapt, and think under pressure.

Bruises were common.

Complaints were ignored.

And yet, Meng Bai improved visibly.

His spear grew steadier. His footwork more refined. His Water Dao manifestations more fluid, less forced.

Even Lin Mu could see the change.

"He’s getting better," Cattaleya said one afternoon, wiping dust from her brow. "Still weak. But less embarrassing."

Meng Bai groaned from the ground. "I hate you."

She grinned. "Good."

Lin Mu himself spent much of his time cultivating.

But his cultivation was no longer the frantic, explosive progress of earlier periods. Now it was deliberate. Thoughtful.

The southern continent’s humidity fascinated him.

The air was thick with moisture, clinging to skin, clothing, and breath. At first it had been mildly uncomfortable, but now Lin Mu found himself using it.

He began controlling the moisture in the air unconsciously at first, drawing it toward himself, dispersing it, shaping it into fine currents.

He practiced condensing mist, thinning it, thickening it, manipulating how it interacted with his movements.

In combat practice, he experimented.

A step forward, and the air around his opponent would grow heavy, damp, slowing reactions.

A sword swing, and moisture would condense along the blade, increasing weight and cutting force before dispersing into vapor.

It was subtle.

But effective.

"The water here listens easily," Lin Mu murmured one evening as he stood in the courtyard, palm open, mist swirling around his fingers.

Daoist Chu watched from the side. "That is natural affinity at work."

Lin Mu nodded.

He could feel it. The way water responded to him now felt instinctive, almost familiar.

And with that came temptation.

The call of Dao Embryos.

He felt them, faint but persistent. Different manifestations of the Water Dao, each promising power, each leading down a different path.

A River Dao Embryo. Endless flow, adaptability, erosion over time.

A Mist Dao Embryo. Concealment, subtlety, control.

An Ocean Dao Embryo. Vastness, pressure, overwhelming force.

Each felt compatible. Each felt right.

And that was the problem.

Choosing one meant excluding the others.

Lin Mu exhaled slowly and let the mist disperse.

"Not yet," he said quietly.

He had only recently gained his water affinity. Rushing into an embryo now would be a mistake.

He wanted the best fit. One that complemented his other paths. One that did not limit him.

He had plenty of time after all.

As the days passed, Three Union City continued to swell with anticipation.

The alliance wedding drew closer.

And beneath the celebration, Lin Mu could feel it.

A subtle tension.

Security tightening.

Something was coming.

He just did not yet know what shape it would take.

Another week slipped by, and Three Union City transformed yet again.

If the city had been lively before, now it was overflowing.

The true cause became obvious the moment the skies above the city darkened, not with clouds, but with movement.

The delegations of the two great sects had arrived!

The Golden Urn Sect and the Boundless River Sect did not enter quietly. They arrived as if announcing to the entire Southern Continent that they had come, and that their presence mattered.

Lin Mu and his companions had been wandering near one of the broad ceremonial avenues when the first tremor ran through the air. Spiritual pressure spread outward like a tide, not oppressive, but deliberate, controlled, and unmistakably powerful.

People stopped mid-step.

Vendors paused their shouting.

Cultivators lifted their heads in unison.

Then the procession began.

From the western sky came the Golden Urn Sect.

Dozens upon dozens of disciples flew in precise formation, each holding a golden urn that shimmered with engraved runes. The urns were not small trinkets but heavy-looking immortal tools, radiating restrained power.

As they advanced, the clouds above the city began to move.

Clouds were drawn downward, twisted, compressed, and pulled into the urns as if scooped by invisible hands. The sky itself seemed to be harvested.

Then, with a unified gesture, the disciples released their control.

BOOM.

Clouds erupted from the urns in controlled detonations, bursting into brilliant displays of light. Thunder cracked, lightning danced, and showers of luminous mist fell like fireworks across the avenue, dispersing harmlessly before touching the ground.

The crowd erupted!

Cheers echoed through the streets as golden light reflected off buildings and banners.

"They really like showing off," Meng Bai muttered, though even he could not hide the awe in his eyes.

Lin Mu observed carefully. The Golden Urn Skill was refined, elegant in its brutality. The ability to contain, compress, and release was not just for spectacle. In battle, those urns would be terrifying.

Then came the Boundless River Sect.

Their arrival was entirely different.

Where the Golden Urn Sect dominated the sky, the Boundless River Sect transformed it.

Streams of water flowed in from every direction, drawn from the air itself, from distant rivers, from the channels in the city and from hidden reservoirs deep beneath that Lin Mu could sense. The water gathered into vast ribbons that coiled through the sky like living serpents.

Upon those ribbons danced the disciples.

Every one of them was female.

They wore flowing robes of layered blue and white, their movements graceful yet precise. As they danced, the water responded, forming instruments mid-air.

Flutes shaped from frozen water.

Drums formed from compressed spheres of water, struck by controlled ripples.

Strings woven from thin streams that vibrated with Dao-infused sound.

Music filled the air, not loud, but deep and resonant, carrying emotion rather than force.

Even Lin Mu felt it.

A calm, steady pull, like standing by a great river and listening to its endless flow.

Daoist Chu was utterly captivated.

He leaned forward slightly, eyes bright, following the dancers as if afraid to miss even a single step.

"Remarkable," he murmured. "Their control is exquisite. Every movement is part of the formation."

Cattaleya glanced at him sideways. "You’re staring."

Daoist Chu coughed. "I am observing."

She smirked. "Sure you are."

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