Lin Mu looked at the man who he had last seen more than a year ago. "Qiao De… I guess the others were right. You really do like to play some games." Crown Prince Feng Shun spoke.

The man was dressed in simple black robes that had no symbol or design on them. His hair was covered with a hat as well, and his beard was well groomed. The last time Lin Mu had seen him, the auction manager was dressed in rather luxurious clothes. As such, it was quite striking to see him in such a sober outfit.

"Haha, what's life without a little fun?" Qiao De replied. "Plus I wanted to see just what kind of people you've added to your repertoire." He added.

"And… what's the assessment?" Crown Prince Feng Shun questioned.

"Nothing less than excellent." Qiao De answered. "You've picked a decent formation master." He added

"Of course. He is after all someone you picked too." Feng Shun smirked at that moment.

Lin Mu who heard it was a bit confused though. 'Didn't the Crown Prince already inform him?' Lin Mu wondered.

And it was clear that he wasn't the only one that was confused. Qiao De showed the same reaction and looked at Lin Mu deeply.

"Show him the letter." Crown Prince Feng Shun spoke.

"Ah yeah!" Lin Mu recalled the letter that Qiao De had given him.

It had been lying in the ring for a long time and was supposed to have opened automatically when it was time for them to go on the expedition. But Lin Mu didn't know whether it was because it had been kept in the ring all this time, but it had never opened.

~shua~

Qiao De watched as a letter appeared in Lin Mu's hands.

~pop~

Then in the next second, the seal on the letter disappeared, and the letter opened up on its own. It was then that Qiao De figured it out.

"And here I thought you had decided not to come, Daoist Mu Lin." Qiao De said with a fake frown. "And Crown Prince kept it from me too… Even poaching my guest." He added.

"Haha, you aren't the only one who likes a little fun." The Crown Prince jested. "But yes, it seems like both of us ended up having the same choice in the candidates." He added. "Perhaps it is fate that brought us together." Qiao De said, his frown disappearing in an instant. "If I had known you had picked Daoist Mu Lin as your choice, I wouldn't have been so worried." "You? And worried?" Crown Prince Feng Shun chuckled. "If what I've heard is right, you probably had a few backup plans ready." He stated.

"I'm honored that Crown Prince takes such a deep interest in me." The auction manager expertly replied. "But yes, I did manage to get another suitable candidate." He agreed.

The Crown Prince and others looked at the second person that had come with Qiao De. It was a slender man with shoulder length hair. His skin was different from the natives of the Rust Sky World, being sun kissed brown. He was also dressed in different styled clothes than what were often seen in the Rust Sky world.

He was wearing a dark brown leather armor with an off-white shirt underneath it. His paths were similarly made from leather and had reinforced patches on his knees. A metal belt that had several pockets on it that looked to be made for utility was also on his waist.

Lin Mu who observed the man couldn't help but find him a bit strange.

'His aura is a bit… different.' Lin Mu couldn't exactly place his finger on it. is the owner.

And when the man's eyes met Lin Mu, he found them to be rather sharp as if they belonged to a hunter.

Lin Mu had met many people and experts, but the man in front of him stood out quite a lot. 'There are no immortal Qi fluctuations coming from him either… Either a tool or technique is masking it.' Lin Mu guessed.

He couldn't help but wonder just who this man was and waited for Qiao De to speak.

"This is Ziran." Qiao De introduced. "He's someone I found after quite an intensive search. I almost didn't think I'd be able to get him in time, but thankfully the spatial plane showed no signs of activating back then." He explained.

Hearing the name, the Crown Prince, Crown Princess Shang and Lin Mu found it unique.

"Ziran?" the Crown Prince repeated, furrowing his brows.

'That is definitely not a common name.' Lin Mu knew it didn't belong to the Rust Sky world.

Most of the names that Lin Mu had seen in the Xiao Fan world were similar to those in the Rust Sky World too. As such, he had thought that they followed the same nomenclature. But the slender man's name was definitely not something that was used by people of these worlds.

"Isn't that… An Elf name?" Crown Princess Shang suddenly spoke.

"Indeed." Qiao De confirmed. "A Half Elf to be precise." He added.

"Quarter Wood elf, Quarter Dark elf and half human… to be accurate." Ziran said himself this time.

Learning that the man was a part elf, Lin Mu was surprised. "It's my first time seeing a half elf… or any elf for that matter." Lin Mu said honestly before spotting the slightly pointed ears that were hiding behind his hair.

He had read about their race before, but it was merely mentioned in the passing. Even in the memoirs of the lost immortal, there were barely two mentions of elves. At least until the part that Lin Mu had unlocked.

All Lin Mu knew about them was the fact that they were an intelligent humanoid race that could be found on several worlds. They also followed many different systems of cultivation which often made it difficult to sense their cultivation base.

Unless one knew about their cultivation system, one might judge it inaccurately.