The Elven Cultivator

Laine took a deep breath and walked to the long table. He looked at the jade disc in front of him, his heart pounding.

”Don’t be nervous.”

Eleanor noticed his anxiety and comforted him in a gentle voice.

”Place your hand on it, close your eyes, don’t think about anything, and just relax.”

Laine nodded emphatically and pressed his palm against the disc’s surface.

It was cool to the touch, the jade surface as smooth as a mirror.

He closed his eyes.

The sounds around him gradually faded away, as if everything had fallen silent in that moment.

The next instant, Laine felt a trace of warmth in his palm.

The warmth rose from the center of the disc, spread up through the lines of his palm, flowed along his arm into his body, and finally gathered in his chest.

It was very warm, like sunshine on a winter day.

Before he could savor the feeling, the disc beneath his palm suddenly trembled slightly.

He subconsciously opened his eyes and looked down at the disc.

The red stone lit up.

It glowed a fiery crimson, exceptionally dazzling in the morning light.

Seeing this, Laine let out a breath of relief. He felt joyful, but at the same time, a little disappointed.

He was joyful because he had a Spirit Root.

He was disappointed because he only had one.

But then, Laine shook his head, chiding himself internally. ’I’m being too greedy.’

’Having a Spirit Root is already great. I’m much luckier than the Elves who couldn’t pass the test. I shouldn’t ask for more.’

Laine looked up at Eleanor excitedly, only to find her expression was a little off.

She didn’t announce the result directly as she had before. Instead, she was staring at the disc with a slight frown, seemingly lost in thought.

Laine’s heart leaped into his throat again.

’What’s wrong?’

’Is there a problem?’

Just as he was about to ask, Eleanor picked up a thick tome from the side of the table and began flipping through it quickly.

Her gaze swept rapidly across the pages. After turning a few, she stopped and read intently.

Laine stood before the table, his heart in turmoil, not daring to make a sound and disturb her.

Sitting nearby, Romance noticed something was amiss and leaned over curiously.

”What’s wrong?”

Eleanor didn’t answer immediately, her eyes still fixed on the tome.

A moment later, she closed the book and looked up at Laine again, her eyes holding a hint of unconcealable surprise.

”Is... is there a problem, Lady Eleanor?” Laine finally couldn’t help but ask.

Eleanor smiled slightly. ”Don’t worry, there’s no problem with you. In fact, your constitution is rather special.”

’Special?’

Laine was stunned.

Romance’s interest was piqued as well. She leaned in and asked, ”How is it special?”

”Although he only has a Single Spirit Root, he possesses the rarely seen Haoyang True Body. He’s a natural-born seedling for cultivating the Dao.”

Eleanor looked at Laine and asked in a gentle tone, ”What is your name?”

”La-Laine Silver Moon.”

”You’ve passed. Congratulations,” Eleanor said with a slight smile. ”You can go to the treehouse over there and wait now.”

Laine nodded blankly.

He didn’t really understand what ”Haoyang True Body” meant, but from Eleanor’s expression, it seemed to be a good thing, right?

A guard came forward and led Laine toward the treehouse.

Romance watched Laine’s departing figure, then turned to Eleanor and asked curiously, ”What is a Haoyang True Body? Is it very powerful?”

Eleanor sighed with emotion and said in a low voice, ”In the system of cultivation, the Spirit Root is the foundation. It determines which attributes of worldly energy a Cultivator can better sense and absorb. The more Spirit Roots one has, the better their aptitude, and the more Cultivation Techniques they can practice.”

”A Spirit Body, on the other hand, is a special constitution built upon the Spirit Root, formed due to bloodline, fateful encounters, or mutation.”

She paused, her expression growing more complex.

”Those who possess a Spirit Body absorb Spiritual Qi at a fast rate and make divine progress when practicing certain types of Cultivation Techniques. Some Spirit Bodies can even drastically enhance the power of Techniques with a specific attribute.”

”You could say that all those with a Spirit Body are natural-born prodigies for cultivating the Dao.”

People with a Spirit Root are already rare; those with a Spirit Body are even more so.

Among ten thousand Cultivators with a Spirit Root, you might not even find one person with a Spirit Body.

Eleanor never expected that the Clan’s very first Spirit Root test would reveal a budding talent for the Dao who possessed a Spirit Body.

’Could it be as Anton said? That Elves, as the darlings of nature, are naturally better suited to cultivating the Dao?’

Romance nodded, only half-understanding. She then asked, ”So what grade of Spirit Body is the Haoyang True Body? Is it very rare?”

”The Haoyang True Body doesn’t belong to the Five Elements Spirit Bodies. It’s a type of the even rarer Yin-Yang Spirit Bodies, second only to the legendary Dao Body.”

Eleanor said in a low voice, her gaze falling upon the tome.

Extreme yang gives birth to light; light gathers into flame.

Those with the Haoyang True Body are born close to fire. Their very flesh and bones form a furnace, and to them, breathing Spiritual Qi is like drinking the scorching sun.

When practicing Fire Attribute and Yang Attribute Cultivation Techniques, their progress is a thousand miles a day.

For a cultivation genius like this, reaching Foundation Establishment is as easy as taking something out of one’s pocket.

Their chances of forming a Golden Core are also far greater than that of ordinary Cultivators.

Even she couldn’t help but feel a trace of envy for Laine at this moment.

”Who would have thought,” Romance said, turning to look toward the treehouse and clicking her tongue in amazement. ”That scrawny little kid has such incredible talent.”

Eleanor nodded, collected her thoughts, and continued with the testing.

...

Laine walked into the treehouse and found seven or eight other children already inside.

His eyes subconsciously swept around the room, and he soon spotted a familiar figure in a corner.

Furlo.

She was standing with a girl who looked a little younger, whispering about something and occasionally pursing her lips in a soft laugh.

Laine glanced at her for only a moment before quickly averting his gaze. He walked to the other side, pretending to be casually examining the treehouse’s furnishings.

But after just a few seconds, a gentle voice came from behind him.

”Laine?”

Laine’s body stiffened, and he turned around.

Furlo stood before him, a hint of surprise in her jade-green eyes.

”You passed the test, too?”

”Yeah,” Laine nodded, feigning composure.

”Congratulations,” Furlo said with a slight smile, revealing shallow dimples on her cheeks.

”Thanks.” The tips of Laine’s ears turned slightly red, and he quickly changed the subject. ”By the way, what kind of Spirit Root do you have?”

”I have a triple Spirit Root of water, wood, and earth,” Furlo replied with a gentle smile.

’A triple Spirit Root!’

Laine was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected Furlo’s aptitude to be so good.

”You’re amazing,” Laine said sincerely.

”It’s alright,” Furlo chuckled, stepping aside to reveal the girl behind her. ”Oh, this is Mia.”

”Hi there!”

Mia was about half a head shorter than Furlo, with an oval face and bright, sparkling amber eyes. She radiated a lively and cheerful aura.

”Hello,” Laine nodded.

”I have Dual Spirit Roots of fire and metal.”

Without waiting for Laine to ask, Mia announced her own test results, and didn’t forget to ask him at the end, ”What about you? What’s your Spirit Root?”

Laine hesitated for a moment before saying, ”A Fire Spirit Root.”

He didn’t mention that he had the Haoyang True Body.

’After all, he didn’t really understand what this so-called ’Haoyang True Body’ even was.’

”A Fire Spirit Root is pretty good, too.”

Mia nodded with a grin and then started chattering away about the details of her test.

Soon, other kids their age gathered around, introducing themselves to one another.

As the group chatted enthusiastically, Laine found it hard to get a word in. He glanced around and noticed a boy sitting silently in a corner.

He looked about Laine’s age. His silver-gray hair was a bit long, covering his eyebrows, and with his head lowered, it was impossible to see his expression. He was holding a wooden sword.

The wooden sword was crudely made, with carving knife marks still visible on the blade. It didn’t look like it was bought, but rather carved by himself.

His fingers were long and pale, the pads repeatedly stroking a faint grain on the spine of the sword. His movements were slow and deliberate, as if the simple wooden sword were some priceless treasure.

The surrounding noise seemed to have nothing to do with him. He was completely immersed in his own world, so quiet he was almost transparent.

Laine hesitated for a moment.

’He wasn’t really the type to initiate conversations.’

Back in the clan, he had always been the one shrinking at the edge of the crowd, waiting for others to approach him.

But for some reason, seeing Lucius sitting there all alone, he felt a strange sense of... kinship.

’Maybe it was because he himself often spent time alone.’

Laine took a deep breath and started walking over.

Successfully passing the test had brought about a certain change in his mindset.

He felt that he was about to become Lord Anton’s student, and it was time for him to change.

Laine sat down next to the boy, about an arm’s length away.

Not too close, not too far—just enough not to seem intrusive.

The boy lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, his face expressionless.

”Hi, I’m Laine,” Laine introduced himself, forcing what he hoped was a friendly smile.

The boy stared at him for a moment before saying calmly, ”Lucius.”

”Did you carve that wooden sword yourself?” Laine asked, pointing to the object in his hands.

Lucius glanced down at the wooden sword in his hands and nodded slightly. ”Yeah.”

”You did a great job,” Laine said. ”I tried to carve one before, but the wood cracked halfway through.”

Using the wooden sword as a conversation starter, Laine soon fell into a casual chat with Lucius.

He then discovered that Lucius wasn’t unwilling to talk to people; he was just a bit taciturn.

Although Lucius said very little—it was mostly Laine talking while he just occasionally grunted ”yeah” or nodded—Laine, strangely, didn’t find the conversation awkward.

Time passed as they waited.

One after another, more children walked excitedly into the treehouse, every single one of their faces filled with irrepressible joy.

By evening, the testing was finally over.

A total of twelve children had gathered in the treehouse.

Before long, the door to the treehouse was pushed open.

Eleanor and Romance walked in, one after the other.

The treehouse instantly fell silent as all the children turned to look at them in unison.

Eleanor’s gaze swept over the group as she said in a gentle tone, ”Congratulations on passing the test. Starting tomorrow, you will become Anton’s students and receive his teachings.”

Smiles appeared on the children’s faces.

A few even clenched their fists and let out a low cheer.

Eleanor then registered the twelve children’s names. When she was finished, she said, ”It’s getting late today. You should all go back and rest. Gather here again tomorrow morning, and I will take you to your classroom.”

The children all agreed in chorus, then left the treehouse in twos and threes.

Laine walked out of the treehouse with Furlo and Mia.

The twilight deepened as the last streak of golden red on the horizon was swallowed by indigo.

In the distance, the fluorescent lights of the Eternal Tree began to glow one after another, swaying gently in the night breeze.

”We get to see Lord Anton tomorrow!” Mia’s small face was flushed with excitement. ”I can’t wait!”

Laine nodded emphatically as well, clenching his fists in excitement.

’Tomorrow, he would finally get to meet the person he so admired.’