Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3451: The Awakening Of Cattaleya And Blueback

In hidden places, sealed rooms, and distant worlds, people watched the recordings of the tournament again and again.

They slowed them.

They analyzed them.

They argued.

"What technique was that?"

"That physique is unnatural."

"He is not normal."

"No one is."

Plans were being made.

Eyes were opening.

Storms were quietly gathering.

But Lin Mu did not see any of that.

For him, the night was quiet.

He sat in a private courtyard reserved for champions, holding the Immortal Sandalwood box in his hands.

The Martial King Ascension Pill pulsed softly inside.

"Can you really push me forward?" he murmured.

Xukong observed from within him, silent but attentive.

Lin Mu did not take the pill yet.

He wanted to wait. He wanted to be fully stable. He wanted to understand his body after the fight. He wanted to analyze just how Blueback’s Three Apertures Invoking Technique could help him learn.

After all, Lin Mu knew the pill would most likely be used up by this technique. It would not help his Tyrant Bull Marrow Secrets as much.

The next night, the ending banquet would be held.

The top hundred winners would gather.

So would kings, sect masters, elders, and envoys from many worlds.

It would be a feast of food, power, ambition, and hidden intentions.

The Great Martial Fist King Tournament was over.

But for Lin Mu, something far greater had just begun.

The next morning arrived quietly, almost gently, as if the world itself was tired after the madness of the finals.

Sunlight filtered through the high windows of the Healer Hall, illuminating rows of jade beds, glowing formation lines, and faint mist from medicinal arrays. The air smelled of herbs, spiritual liquids, and clean stone.

Cattaleya woke up with a yawn that echoed through half the hall.

She opened one eye, then the other, then frowned.

"Why does everything smell like medicine?" she muttered.

Then she sat up.

Her body felt fine. No pain. No stiffness. No lingering heaviness. Just a faint emptiness in her body where a ridiculous amount of immortal essence had once been.

She stretched.

Her joints cracked loudly.

Several junior healers nearly jumped out of their skins.

"Relax," she said lazily. "If I was going to die, it would have happened already."

She glanced down and realized there was a table beside her bed.

On it was a massive tray of food.

Her eyes lit up.

"Oh good. They learned."

She immediately began eating like she had been starved for a year.

Meat vanished.

Vegetables disappeared.

Bowls were emptied.

Pill bottles sat untouched at the corner.

A healer peeked in nervously. "Senior Cattaleya, you should still take the recovery pills."

She waved him off with a chicken leg. "Food is better."

At the same time, in another section of the city, a messenger arrived at Lin Mu’s courtyard.

"Daoist Lin Mu," the man said respectfully. "Your competitor Blueback has awakened and is recovering steadily."

Lin Mu nodded. "Thank you."

Not long after, another message arrived.

"Senior Cattaleya has also awakened."

Lin Mu smiled faintly. "That was fast."

He turned to Meng Bai and Daoist Chu. "Let us go."

Meng Bai was already halfway out the door. "I want to see if she is actually injured or just pretending again to get free food."

Daoist Chu chuckled. "With her, it is always the second."

They arrived at the Healer Hall and quickly found Cattaleya’s room.

The door was half open.

They walked in and saw her hunched over a table stacked high with dishes, chewing loudly.

Meng Bai blinked. "Is she a patient or a customer in a restaurant?"

Cattaleya looked up, mouth full. "Congratulations on your win," she said around a mouthful of meat. "Best fight I have had in a very long time."

Lin Mu nodded. "As long as you are content."

"Content?" She laughed. "I am thrilled. I lost, but that was fun. I would lose like that every day."

Meng Bai pointed at the food. "You look less like a patient and more like a restaurant patron."

"They gave me too little food and too many pills," she complained. "Who heals with pills when you can heal with meat?"

Daoist Chu smiled. "That is what patients get."

She flexed one arm, muscles rippling under her skin. "Does a patient look like this?"

Lin Mu glanced at her and nodded. "I suppose not."

He turned to the healers. "She is fine to leave?"

The head healer nodded. "She is fully stable. We just need to finish the paperwork."

Cattaleya waved. "I will finish eating and meet you."

Lin Mu nodded. "We will visit another patient."

They left her to her feast and walked down the hall.

Soon, they reached a quieter room.

Inside, Blueback lay on a jade bed, his body wrapped in soft healing light. Unlike Cattaleya, he actually looked like a patient.

But he was awake.

He was holding a jade slip, reading calmly.

When he saw Lin Mu enter, he slowly sat up.

"Daoist Lin Mu," he said with a respectful nod. "Congratulations. There was never any doubt in my mind."

Lin Mu returned the nod. "It was an honor to fight you."

Blueback smiled. "Losing to someone like you is not shameful. It is something I can be proud of."

Lin Mu stepped closer. "I came to talk."

Blueback chuckled softly. "About the tattoos, yes?"

He turned around on the bed and lay on his stomach, exposing his back. "This will be easier."

Lin Mu, Meng Bai, and Daoist Chu gathered around.

Blue lines, faint but complex, were etched across Blueback’s skin. They were not just on the surface. With immortal sense, Lin Mu could see them sink into flesh, bone, and even organs.

"This is the Lapis Link Body Array Totemic Art," Blueback said. "It was the last work of my friend."

Daoist Chu leaned closer. "These are not ordinary formation lines. They are alive."

"They are half formation, half flesh," Lin Mu said. "They breathe with you. Even the veins and arteries are part of them."