The Elven Cultivator

The morning mist, like a veil of gauze, drifted slowly along the edge of the Silver Moon Forest.

Darian stood before the perimeter line at the forest’s edge, his slate-blue robes billowing slightly in the morning wind.

He gazed out, and a line of figures appeared at the edge of his vision.

They were a dozen or so plainly dressed Elves.

Unlike the jade-white complexion of the Elves from the Silver Moon Race, the skin of these Elves, while still fair, had a faint, weathered tan from long-term exposure to the wind and sun.

It was clear that their daily living conditions were quite harsh.

Darian’s eyes swept over the group, a flicker of understanding in them.

Ever since the decision was made in the council meeting to expand the population, the Silver Moon Race had begun contacting and recruiting scattered Elf communities across the Eldron Plain.

In response to their recruitment efforts, most of the Elf groups had requested to visit the settlement, wanting to see the Silver Moon Race’s situation with their own eyes before deciding whether to join.

It was a reasonable request, one the Silver Moon Race could not refuse.

The group of Elves before him, hailing from south of the Silver Moon Forest, were today’s guests, and Darian was responsible for hosting them.

Darian had already visited their community and met their leaders—the dozen or so Elves now standing before him.

”Evans, welcome to the Silver Moon Forest.”

Darian stepped forward, greeting the lead Elf with a smile and a bow.

This Elf was the leader of their group.

”You are too kind, Darian.” Evans hurriedly returned the gesture.

Despite being the leader of his people, he had no right to put on airs in front of Darian, a high-ranking member of the Clan.

In terms of strength alone, he, a mere mid-tier Silver, was far inferior to Darian.

The Elf leaders behind him also bowed their heads in respect, their gazes lingering for a moment on Darian’s immaculate magic robes and the Rune Magic Staff in his hand, a hint of envy flashing in their eyes.

”You must be tired from your journey.” Darian smiled and made small talk. ”Was the road smooth?”

”Thanks to the Silver Moon Race, the journey was peaceful,” Evans said with feeling. ”Without the harassment of those cold-blooded reptiles, it was a smooth trip all the way.”

At the mention of this, Evans and his kinsmen couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

In this region, the ferocity and power of the Molten Spike Tribe were notorious.

Who could have imagined that such a mighty force would be wiped out by the Silver Moon Race?

They had been utterly shocked when they first heard the news.

Even hearing that the Silver Moon Race had allied with Gray Rock Castle to destroy the Molten Spike Tribe, it was still an incredible feat.

In fact, simply convincing Gray Rock Castle to cooperate was no easy task.

Those Dwarves were famous for their stubborn tempers and their greed.

Without sufficient benefits, they would never have gotten involved in the war between the Silver Moon Race and the Molten Spike Tribe.

”Please, follow me.”

Darian turned sideways and made an inviting gesture, leading Evans and his party into the Silver Moon Forest.

The moment they stepped into the forest, Evans and his kinsmen paused, their faces filled with undisguised emotion.

They could feel the dense elemental energy in the air.

Some of the Elves even closed their eyes and took deep breaths, as if trying to draw the rich energy into their lungs, to let it merge with their blood.

”Is this the protection of the Eternal Tree…” one Elf murmured, his eyes full of yearning.

Without the protection of an Eternal Tree, in an environment with scarce resources and surrounded by enemies, their community struggled just to maintain its current population, let alone grow and prosper.

The Elves living in the Silver Moon Forest could hardly imagine their longing and desire for an Eternal Tree.

At the thought that they could live and cultivate in such an environment just by joining the Silver Moon Race, many of the Elves showed tempted expressions.

Darian took in their reactions and nodded to himself.

The more downtrodden an Elf community, the more they craved the protection of the Eternal Tree and the Spring of Life.

This was the greatest asset the Silver Moon Race had in recruiting them.

The group proceeded along a winding arboreal corridor.

A few Songbirds perched on branches, their calls crisp and clear. They were not startled by the strangers, but instead tilted their heads and observed them with curiosity.

Tasked with introducing the settlement, Darian explained the surroundings to Evans and the others as they walked.

Evans and his party looked left and right, feeling as if they didn’t have enough eyes to take everything in. Everything seemed new and fascinating.

As they passed a sylvan infirmary, a few Dwarves with bandaged shoulders happened to walk out.

Seeing this, Evans asked curiously, ”Lord Darian, isn’t the war between your Clan and the Molten Spike Tribe over? Why are there still Dwarves in the Silver Moon Forest?”

Darian explained with a smile, ”The Silver Moon Race and Gray Rock Castle are currently cooperating to develop the Frost Pattern Silver mine in the Thousand Rock Hills. These Dwarves are guards stationed at the mining camp. They were probably injured while driving away Dragon Beasts and came here for treatment.”

In fact, it wasn’t just the Frost Pattern Silver mine; the Silver Moon Race and Gray Rock Castle had jointly developed several other metal mines in recent years.

Although they weren’t rare metals, they had expanded their sources of income in a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Evans nodded in understanding, a thoughtful look on his face.

The group continued onward.

As they rounded a corner in the tree-lined path, a low roar suddenly echoed from ahead.

Evans stopped in his tracks, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his sword.

The other Elf leaders also tensed up, their gazes fixed warily on the direction of the sound.

Two Elves rounded the corner, each holding a thick iron chain.

At the other end of the chains were two massive creatures.

When he got a clear look at the two creatures, Evans’s pupils contracted.

”Scale Rock Lizards!”

’How could there be Scale Rock Lizards in the Silver Moon Forest?’

’Wait!’

Evans soon noticed that although the two Scale Rock Lizards were shaking their heads from side to side and letting out low growls from their throats, looking agitated, it was clear they were firmly under the control of the Elves holding the chains.

’Are they... tamed?’

A look of utter disbelief appeared on Evans’s face.

The Elf leaders behind him also stared wide-eyed, their expressions filled with astonishment.

Those were Dragon Beasts!

Apart from Kresol Dragon City, no one had ever heard of any other power being able to domesticate Dragon Beasts on a large scale!

”Your Clan has tamed Scale Rock Lizards?” Evans asked Darian, his voice filled with shock.

Darian smiled faintly and replied calmly, ”Not completely. We are still in the process of figuring it out.”

Taming Dragon Beasts was far more difficult than they had initially anticipated.

Scale Rock Lizards were wild and difficult to train, with volatile tempers. In the beginning, the Forest Guard had a hard enough time just controlling the beasts, let alone taming them.

Fortunately, Anton soon provided a solution.

He created two Secret Techniques himself.

One was called the Spirit Feeding Skill.

Its core was to brew a ”Spirit Feeding Ointment” from materials like Calming Grass, Spirit Honey, and Blood Essence Fruit in specific proportions. This was fed to the beasts daily, supplemented by special training methods.

Over time, the beasts would develop a sense of dependence and their spirituality would increase, making them easier to tame.

This method was all about gradual influence.

Although it took longer, it had the advantage of being a gentle process with low risk.

The other was called the Spirit Communication Skill.

Cultivating this skill allowed one to roughly understand the thoughts of beasts, which, when used to assist in taming, greatly increased efficiency.

With these two Secret Techniques, the work of taming the Scale Rock Lizards gradually got on track.

Now, the Silver Moon Race was able to manage the Scale Rock Lizards with some difficulty.

Although the beasts still occasionally became agitated and struggled, they no longer attacked Elves on their own and could obey simple commands.

As for the Rending-Spine Dragon Beasts, progress was much slower.

Those Silver Tier Dragon Beasts were even wilder and more intelligent, making them more than just a little bit harder to tame than the Scale Rock Lizards.

But no one in the Clan was in a hurry.

Taming Dragon Beasts was a task that required patience; it couldn’t be rushed.

Besides, the taming of the Scale Rock Lizards had already shown significant progress. At this rate, they would be able to completely tame them in a few more years.

As for the Rending-Spine Dragon Beasts, it was only a matter of time.

Receiving confirmation from Darian, the shock in Evans’s heart only grew.

If they could truly domesticate Scale Rock Lizards on a large scale and equip them as battle companions, the Silver Moon Race would instantly become one of the most powerful factions on the Eldron Plain, second only to Dragon City.

Evans took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. But when he looked around again, his gaze was now tinged with a new level of gravity.

The foundation of the Silver Moon Race was much deeper than he had imagined.

After walking a bit further, Darian suddenly stopped and pointed to an area enclosed by a vine fence. ”That is the training ground. The clan members usually train and spar there.”

Evans turned to look and saw many Elves training and sparring inside.

The dull thud of impacts was incessant, interspersed with the clang of metal on metal.

Evans’s gaze swept over the Elves, and his brow gradually furrowed.

It wasn’t because he thought their strength was too weak; on the contrary, it was because they were too strong.

With a single glance, he could see that almost every Elf on the training ground was at least Black Iron Tier in strength.

What was even more eye-catching were the combat techniques they were using.

Evans had lived for many years, traveled far and wide, and considered himself well-informed, yet he had never seen any of the combat techniques these Silver Moon Race Elves were demonstrating.

It was common knowledge that the combat techniques passed down by Elf communities and Clans in the same region would have some similarities, as they might have all been one Clan thousands of years ago.

But the techniques these Elves were using were completely different from the commonly seen styles.

For example, that Elf practicing Swordsmanship over there—with one swing of his sword, a dazzling burst of fire erupted from the blade, sending out waves of heat that distorted the very air.

How could that be a combat technique?

It would be no exaggeration to call it Magic.

”Lord Darian,” Evans couldn’t help but ask, ”These combat techniques... I’ve never seen them before. Might I ask what they are?”

Darian smiled faintly, a trace of imperceptible pride in his voice. ”They were created by a member of our Clan named Anton.”

Evans was taken aback for a moment, then it dawned on him.

’To create such exquisite and powerful combat techniques, he must be an experienced Golden Tier Warrior.’

’A person like that would command immense prestige and status among the Elf Race. He must be a highly respected elder of the Silver Moon Race.’