Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 388 - 376: The Old Man and the Sea

At the same time, over on Andrew’s side.

Andrew, after being knocked unconscious by Lady Li—who claimed to be a Nameless elder—was still in a deep slumber and unaware of the situation outside.

However, like water, the sixth sense in Andrew’s mind materialized into a little figure, forcefully slapping Andrew’s unconscious awareness while shouting, "Get up, get up, get up!! Something terrifying is coming this way, so hurry and wake up! Hey—"

Whoosh! Andrew suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

He felt the gentle breeze on his face, experiencing an indescribable comfort all over his body.

The wounds suffered in the fierce battles of the night had somehow healed!

"You’re awake?"

A voice came through.

Andrew’s heart skipped a beat as he turned his head to look.

He saw the old man sitting on a nearby shallow beach, looking relaxed, "Sorry for knocking you out, but I mean you no harm. When I knocked you out, I also dispersed some of the clotted blood in the fine details within your body. How do you feel now?"

Andrew’s face showed a hint of disbelief as he said, "You healed me?"

"What else?" The old man smiled, "Even though your self-healing ability is strong—after all, the self-healing capacity of the Magic Lord path far surpasses that of an ordinary Water Mage—but it has its limits. You should know this better than I do."

Andrew: "..."

Staring at the elder, his expression was peculiarly complex.

On one hand, Andrew had raised his guard to its maximum after hearing the man claim to be the culprit of the dire state in the Flame Realm.

Now, he was a bit confused: was this person a friend or a foe?

On the other hand, it was because the elder had mentioned the term "Magic Lord"!

"No need to be so surprised," the elder shrugged, "I told you, I know Li—the true Li. You are her successor and have learned her original ’Enlightenment Series,’ so it’s inevitable that you would embark on the path of the Magic Lord. It’s nothing extraordinary."

He said Andrew shouldn’t be too surprised, but how could Andrew not be?

After acquiring the Water God Mark, Andrew didn’t immediately become a Water Magic Lord but first became a traditional Water Mage before further evolving into a Water Magic Lord.

Hence, Andrew always thought that the Magic Lord path was something he had developed and explored himself, based on the Water God Mark.

But listening to the elder’s words, this path of cultivation actually originated from the "Enlightenment" within the Water God Mark?

Was this path, fundamentally set by the Water God—who was the true Li—well in advance?

He also thought: "This ’Lady Li,’ in the form of a warrior, using sheer physical strength, managed to take care of those hidden injuries that even my ’Water Priestess Series’ couldn’t quickly heal. Such power... it’s almost exaggerated?"

After pondering for a moment, Andrew suddenly withdrew his gaze from the elder.

Ever since the elder claimed to be the culprit and knocked him out, the control of the situation remained with the elder.

Andrew didn’t like this feeling.

Even if the other party was truly a friend instead of a foe, Andrew disliked being led around like a fool.

So Andrew stood up, brushed off the fine sand on his body, and decided to ignore the elder for now, turning instead to walk step by step toward the nearby seaside.

The place he awoke was an island surrounded by seawater.

The bright sunshine poured down, dyeing the waves washing onto the beach in brilliant gold and red hues.

The sky was blue like a mirror, with fluffy clouds resembling cotton candy, so clean it seemed almost unreal.

—It looked exactly like the scenery after dawn on the Outer Battlefield.

Yet, looking over the sea, no other islands were visible apart from the one underfoot.

In the sky, the gigantic presence of the Flame Realm, overlooking the entire Water God Realm, was nowhere to be seen.

It was known that standing anywhere in the Water God Realm, regardless of day or night, it was generally possible to see at least part of the Flame Realm. In those rare moments when the Flame God Realm completely turned to the backside of the Water God Realm, its immense presence could still be felt. This presence was a source of safety for the Flame Warriors of the Water God Realm, while for Water Mages, it was a source of immense oppression and shadow.

Now Andrew walked to the seaside, leaned down with his hand cupped to collect some seawater, and lowered his head to drink.

"Oh?"

The elder, who had been entirely in control of the situation and rhythm, was suddenly taken aback to see Andrew setting him aside and instead drinking the seawater. In the elder’s aged but clear eyes, a trace of surprise flashed.

However, the elder quickly regained his calm and composure, watching Andrew’s actions with interest.

Andrew took a sip of the seawater, smacking his lips lightly, savoring the taste.

The seawater, entering his mouth, was peculiarly devoid of any saltiness, but instead as sweet as a mountain spring!

This water, placed in the Flame Realm, was undoubtedly the highest-grade Special Level drinking water, comparable to the spring water produced in Andrew’s Wildfire Territory.

And the water of such quality in front of him was as vast as an entire ocean!

"This place... it’s not the Water God Realm, not the Outer Battlefield, right?" Andrew finally looked at the old man again, "What is this place? After knocking me out, you healed my wounds, and now where have you brought me?"

The old man countered, "Where do you think this is?"

Andrew thought for a moment and said, "Don’t tell me this is the Black Whale Headquarters."

The old man nodded, "Yes, this is the headquarters."

Andrew stared into the old man’s eyes, trying to discern if the other was just following along with his guess or truly speaking the truth.

After a moment, Andrew continued to ask, "So what you mean is, I’m inside your body now? The headquarters is within your body—the body of the Black Whale. And inside your body, there’s actually such an independent... small world?"

Yes, a small world.

This was the only explanation Andrew could think of.

A small world, also known as space-time, is a dimension independent of the Main World.

This was not Andrew’s first time entering a small world. Back in the Wildfire Territory, within the body of the Desolate Beast that the Ancient Flame Warrior Shanhai had transformed into, there was a small world that both Andrew and Ivan had entered. Strictly speaking, the ice coffin beneath the Royal Court Snow Mountain was also within a small world.

But Andrew really didn’t expect that the so-called "Black Whale Headquarters" was also a small world within the Black Whale’s body.

And what’s more, on such a scale!

"——Who are you?" Andrew took a deep breath, looking at the other, and seriously asked.

The old man still didn’t directly answer, seeming to take the opportunity to test Andrew, and instead asked again, "What do you think I am?"

At this point in the conversation, Andrew had basically determined: this old man in front of him was likely not an enemy, but a friend, a companion.

The reason he previously referred to himself as the "Nameless Culprit" and knocked Andrew out was likely not out of malice, but rather because he judged that the sea area where they fought earlier was no longer safe to linger in—the old man probably didn’t defeat the monstrous crab, but just temporarily got away. The sixth sense, like water, that awoke Andrew with a warning that "something is approaching" was probably the monstrous crab chasing them.

In any case, Andrew had basically determined that the old man before him was not a bad person.

So he switched to addressing him as "You".

It’s just that...

"This is a bit too different from the ’Lady Li’ I expected to be the Water Mage leader in this Water God Realm." Andrew thought, "Before I completely figure out what’s going on, the task President Beiru gave me will have to be put aside for now."

Andrew really couldn’t discuss his mission for coming to the Water God Realm with the old man in front of him without understanding what kind of existence he was.

The sixth sense continued to issue warnings: a powerful presence was still approaching.

Andrew, however, temporarily set aside all other concerns. After the old man asked, "What do you think I am?" he called upon his magic power, focusing it on his eyes, and then carefully observed the old man across from him and every detail of this small world around him.

This time, Andrew quickly noticed: this small world that seemed like the Water God Realm was indeed not the Water God Realm! The seemingly boundless freshwater ocean actually had boundaries.

And after fully exploring the boundaries, he sketched out a three-dimensional shape in his mind—

It was the shape of a whale!

"I see." Andrew nodded and started responding to the old man’s counter-question—or rather, began addressing the test by the old man, "Your true form is a whale, yet the essence of your soul—the image you have condensed in front of me now—exudes a completely human aura!"

Andrew paused and said, "Your situation is just like a human soul that has traversed and attached itself to a whale’s body, retaining its memories, and then continuing down the path of the Deep Blue Guard as a human with the body of a Black Whale!"

It must be said, Andrew’s speculation was so bizarre that it was almost preposterous.

But firstly, Andrew himself was one of those who had traversed worlds, so he harbored no prejudice against the idea of soul traveling.

Secondly, based on what he observed, the only possibility he could deduce was exactly what he had just described!

And thirdly, throughout their interaction, they’d been subtly competing for dominance in the conversation. This didn’t mean hostility, but Andrew indeed sensed the old man was testing him, and he couldn’t afford to back down! So while Andrew himself found his speculation a little absurd and likely incorrect, even if he was wrong, he had to boldly voice it!

Now that Andrew had finished expressing his guess, he looked at the other, waiting for a response.

He saw the old man slightly tilt his head, his gaze fixed on him, with complex and unreadable emotions in his eyes.

The old man was silent for a long moment before speaking again, sighing lightly, "I somewhat understand why Li chose you as her successor. Your talent is decent, but not exceptional compared to the most exceptional, especially compared to Li’s own talent, which is far superior.

But you are very... like him. You are very much like Xu."

Andrew noticed that when the old man mentioned the name "Xu," his facial muscles twitched slightly and his expression grew somber.

When the old man had mentioned the Water God Li earlier, his emotion was a mix of guilt and longing.

Upon mentioning Xu now, the emotion was still guilt-ridden but mixed with... jealousy?

"Xu..." Andrew savored the name carefully, as it seemed like the names of ancient figures, always consisting of these ancient single-character names.

After a moment, Andrew seemed to think of something and tentatively asked, "This Xu, could he be... the Fire God?"