Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3479: Comparisons Between Affinities

Far below Lin Mu, the seabed shifted.

It was a rather subtle change.

Stone compressed, strata adjusted, and a subtle ridge formed beneath the water without disturbing the surface above. The movement felt effortless, smooth, like flexing a limb he had been born with.

Earth answered him without hesitation.

Lin Mu opened his eyes briefly.

"This still feels the most natural," he murmured.

That made sense. Earth had been his first affinity, one he had been born with rather than earned. More than that, he possessed an Earth Dao Embryo, a crystallized manifestation of his understanding. The Dao Embryo did not just enhance power, it refined efficiency. Every command he issued to earth traveled along a path already carved by comprehension.

Water came next.

Lin Mu lifted his other hand.

The sea responded instantly, rising to meet him in a smooth arc before hovering obediently in place. The sensation was different from earth, but no less intimate. Water felt alive, responsive, flexible. Where earth was solid assurance, water was adaptive cooperation.

He tested finer control.

Tiny streams split off, weaving into complex patterns that mirrored the circulation of Qi within his own body. Pressure adjusted instinctively. Flow optimized itself without conscious effort.

On the surface, it felt equal to earth.

But as Lin Mu observed more closely, the difference became clear.

Efficiency.

With earth, he needed to think in terms of structure. With water, he simply needed intent.

The Water Core had not just granted power. It had reshaped how he interacted with the Dao itself.

"In raw response, they are nearly identical," Lin Mu concluded quietly. "But earth still edges ahead."

He knew why.

The Earth Dao Embryo.

That single factor elevated earth just beyond water for now. But Lin Mu could already see the gap narrowing. Water lacked an embryo, yet it was already matching earth through the sheer refinement granted by the Omnicore Ascendancy.

Then came metal.

Lin Mu reached out, sensing the faint resonance of metal within the ocean itself. Traces of minerals, dissolved particles, ancient wreckage buried beneath the waves.

He called.

Metal responded, but slower.

The connection was there, solid and reliable, yet not as seamless. Shaping metal required more deliberate effort, more precise Qi flow. It felt like working with a powerful tool rather than an extension of himself.

He drew up fragments of ore from the seabed, compressing them into a blade of raw iron. The result was sharp and potent, but the process required focus.

"This is weaker," Lin Mu admitted.

Not just weak but... distant.

He dispelled the construct and considered the reasons. Metal was an affinity he had gained, not one he was born with. The True Gold Body Forging Arts had forced metal into his flesh, bones, and marrow, creating resonance through extreme refinement rather than innate alignment.

It was powerful, but artificial in origin.

He also lacked a Metal Dao Embryo.

"That alone explains most of it," Lin Mu said softly.

Then there was fire.

He barely needed to test it.

Fire answered him reluctantly, like a subordinate rather than a companion. His control was precise and strong, but the efficiency was the lowest of all. Fire was something he wielded, not something that originated within him.

Ranking them was easy.

Earth first.

Water nearly equal, perhaps soon surpassing it.

Metal clearly below those two.

Fire trailing behind.

Lin Mu exhaled slowly.

"So this is the difference," he said. "Natural affinity versus acquired..."

And beyond that... was the Omnicore Ascendancy.

Water had not simply caught up to earth. It had done so without a Dao Embryo, purely through core completion and Dao integration. That realization made Lin Mu’s thoughts drift forward.

"What happens," he wondered aloud, "when I complete the Earth Core?"

The answer unsettled him.

Earth was already his strongest affinity. Completing its core would likely elevate it to a level that even other innate earth cultivators could not imagine. And if that happened, water would not lag far behind.

Metal too would rise, though perhaps not as dramatically.

Fire would remain behind unless he found a way to fundamentally change his relationship with it before forming the core.

His thoughts drifted to tribulations.

Immortal Tribulations had proven to be exceptional catalysts for his core growth. The Water Tribulation in particular had been abnormal, rich in energy and Dao insight. It had propelled his Water Core forward far more than ordinary cultivation ever could.

But that path was no longer available for earth.

He had passed his Earth Tribulation long ago. It was his very first after all, the one that had made him into a true immortal.

The Metal core had gained something from its tribulation, but it had been a standard one. The energy had been sufficient, but not on the same level as the Variant Water Tribulation.

He had also gone through Wood and Fire tribulations which were his second and third, respectively. That left only two Immortal Tribulations ahead.

Wind and Lightning.

Both cores lagged behind significantly.

"If I let them come naturally," Lin Mu muttered, "it would be a waste."

He knew how tribulations worked. The heavens did not tailor them to one’s needs. They descended based on cultivation stage, not through one’s choice. Summoning one prematurely or allowing one to arrive without preparation meant squandering an opportunity.

But then another voice surfaced.

A familiar, amused chuckle echoed within his mind.

"So you finally noticed," Lin Mo said lazily.

Lin Mu opened his eyes.

"The Heaven Silencing Seal," Lin Mo continued. "You still have it. And it has long since recharged."

Lin Mu’s gaze sharpened.

He had not forgotten the seal. It lay dormant within his Dantian, silent and heavy, its presence always faintly oppressive. A tool capable of silencing the heavens themselves, even if only temporarily.

He understood immediately what Lin Mo was suggesting.

Seal the tribulation.

Delay it.

Let it grow.

The Heaven Silencing Seal did not negate a tribulation. It postponed it. And the heavens were not forgiving. Every moment suppressed added to the eventual backlash.

When the seal was lifted, the tribulation would return stronger... Much stronger.