The Elven Cultivator

”Still, they’re our kin.”

Alvin’s gaze swept over the six Elves. A glint appeared in his eyes before he strode forward.

”Let’s go. They’re fellow Elves. Now that we’ve found them, we can’t just stand by and do nothing.”

The Elves behind him followed without a word.

Most of the powerful Elves who came to fight at the fortress were connected to the Royal Court.

In fact, many were from Vassal Races and allied races that were nominally tied to the Royal Court.

Seeing their kin in danger, it was only natural for them to intervene.

This was the poise and magnanimity expected of a suzerain race.

Of course, what was most important was that with their squad’s strength, dealing with five Dragon Souls wouldn’t be difficult.

However, just as they quickened their pace and prepared to intervene, the situation on the battlefield changed abruptly.

An earthy-yellow light suddenly shot toward the sky, instantly transforming into a colossal hand that blotted out the heavens.

The entire hand was an earthy yellow, a luster as heavy as the earth itself flowing between its palm and fingers. Its five fingers, like five inverted mountain peaks, came crashing down on the nearest Dragon Soul.

BOOM!

The Dragon Soul didn’t even have time to dodge before the giant hand brutally slammed it from mid-air into the ground.

The earth trembled violently. Spiderweb-like cracks radiated wildly in all directions from the point of impact. Countless bits of shattered rock and bone were crushed to dust by the immense force.

The Dragon Soul’s massive body was embedded deep in the earth. The fragments of Scale Armor formed from Soul Power that covered its body burst into a sky full of ethereal blue flecks of light.

Before it could struggle to its feet, dozens of profound golden beams of sword light swept in like a torrential downpour, instantly engulfing it.

TSSSSSS!

The sound of sword light slicing through the Spirit Body was as dense as rain, and dark red motes of light scattered in all directions.

In the span of just two breaths, the Radiant Ash Dragon Soul completely disintegrated. It dissolved into countless tiny motes of light floating in the void, which were then swept clean away by the sword light.

Alvin stopped in his tracks, his expression shifting in amazement.

’Such incredible power...’

Before he could even finish the thought, he saw the young Elf who had just killed the Dragon Soul flick his finger. A wisp of six-colored flame shot from its tip, landing on another Dragon Soul.

The flame was small, no thicker than a thumb, but it swelled instantly upon contact with the Dragon Soul, becoming a monstrous wave of fire that engulfed the creature.

A grating hiss erupted, and a dark red mist rose from the flames, carrying the Dragon Soul’s piercing shriek.

Alvin could see it clearly: the Dragon Soul’s Spirit Body was visibly melting and thinning under the flame’s heat, like snow under a scorching sun.

’What Law is this?’

For the first time, unconcealable astonishment appeared in Alvin’s eyes.

’The giant hand had clearly borne the aura of earth Elemental Power, but the flame seemed to be of the Fire Element, and it was even faintly mixed with another type of spectral Yin Qi.’

’How can one person use so many different Laws at once?’

The other Elves were also staring, dumbfounded.

They stopped subconsciously, the thought of helping completely forgotten.

No, to be more precise, they felt there was no way for them to even get involved.

On the battlefield, the young Elf’s movements never paused.

After dispatching two Dragon Souls, he quickly and cleanly dealt with a third before turning back to support his companions.

Before long, the remaining two Dragon Souls met the same fate. They were torn apart by the sword light, collapsing into motes of light that were then devoured completely.

From the moment they discovered the battlefield to the annihilation of all five Dragon Souls, no more than ten-odd minutes had passed.

Silence returned to the plains.

Only the lingering energy fluctuations in the air silently testified to the brief, yet fierce, battle.

The group of Elves stood stunned, exchanging speechless glances.

’Such incredible strength...’

Alvin made a silent comparison.

Even he wouldn’t have been confident in killing all five Dragon Souls in such a short time, let alone winning with such casual ease.

This level of strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Legendary Tier.

Legendary Powerhouses of this caliber were a rare sight in the fortress, especially one from the Elf Race.

’How have I never heard of someone like this?’

Just then, an older Elf beside him suddenly gasped and blurted out,

”I know who he is!”

The other Elves all turned to look at him.

”That sword light... it’s identical to the Swordsmanship of the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint I’ve heard tales of. It has to be him!”

The Fallen Dragon Sword Saint!

Anton Silver Moon!

Clan Leader of the Silver Moon Clan!

The Elves were stunned for a moment before understanding dawned.

’So it was him.’

As fellow Elves, they had, of course, heard the name.

But according to the rumors, it had only been a little over a decade since Anton became a Legend. How could he possibly be this powerful?

Even a Pillar Legend would probably be no match for him.

Alvin took a long look at the slender figure in the distance, then began walking forward.

”Come on, let’s go say hello.”

The Elves behind him snapped out of their stupor and hurried to follow.

In any case, they were all members of the Elf Race who had met by chance in Subspace. Now that they recognized him, it was only proper to go and pay their respects.

Besides…

The power of this Fallen Dragon Sword Saint had earned their utmost respect.

...

Anton recalled the Sword Pill, letting it rest in his palm.

The profound golden Pill hovered above his palm, bobbing gently.

The Profound Light on the Sword Pill’s surface was so dense it seemed corporeal, enveloping the Pill like a solidified drop of water.

Even under the crimson twilight of Subspace, the Profound Light was clearly visible, rippling like waves on water.

Anton focused his senses and found that the Sword Pill’s Spirituality was now significantly stronger than before.

’The Profound Light is overflowing and its Spirituality has deepened. It’s undoubtedly a mid-grade Profound Artifact.’

A smile touched Anton’s lips. With a mere thought,

the Sword Pill leaped from his palm, tracing a profound golden trajectory through the air, so fast it was nearly invisible.

Its trajectory twisted abruptly in mid-air, shifting from a straight line to an arc, then to a sharp angle. Each turn was perfectly fluid, without a hint of hesitation.

Anton could clearly feel that the Sword Pill responded faster than before, executing his commands with greater precision.

In the three days since entering Subspace, he had hunted and devoured nearly a hundred Dragon Souls, finally elevating the Sword Pill to the mid-grade Profound Artifact level.

At this rate, the Sword Pill might even break through to the Top-grade Profound Artifact level by the end of the war in Subspace.

By then, its Profound Light would be like a flame—fierce and solid—and its Spirituality would be highly mature.

The Sword Pill would begin to develop the first inklings of a ”self,” needing only one final catalyst to transform into an Artifact Spirit.

After a moment of delight, Anton recalled the Sword Pill and turned to look at the Elves behind him.

After that battle, the Elves were all a bit dusty, but none had any obvious injuries.

The Great Elder, needless to say, was perfectly fine. Even as a newly ascended Legend, he was more than capable of handling a Dragon Soul possessing only seventy or eighty percent of a new Legend’s power. He had been completely at ease throughout the fight.

The other two elders, along with Cedric and Romance, were all enhanced by their own Cultivation Techniques and equipment, their combat power far exceeding that of a typical Golden Peak.

The four of them working together had no trouble dealing with a single Dragon Soul; in fact, they seemed to hold a slight advantage.

Withdrawing his gaze, Anton turned to the east.

His Divine Sense had detected the other party’s approach long before the Elven squad drew near.

At the far end of the plains, seven slender figures were walking toward them.

The one in the lead was a male Elf with golden hair and golden eyes.

His long, pale-gold hair, like molten gold, was tied back with a simple, silver, leaf-shaped clasp, the length of it draping over his shoulder.

Most striking were his eyes. They were a pure gold, like molten Gold slowly swirling in their depths.

His skin, too, was unlike that of an ordinary Elf, as it shimmered with an extremely faint, platinum-gold luster.

This glow wasn’t the result of any Magic, but seemed to emanate from his very bones, like some kind of innate mark.

Understanding dawned on Anton. He immediately knew their origins.

Sun Elves.

Members of the Jade Royal Court’s royal family.

During the nearly ten thousand years they were suppressed by the Dragon Race, the five major powers had never ceased their pursuit of strength.

They realized that the fundamental reason the Dragon Race had been able to rule the continent for almost ten millennia, apart from the protection of the Dragon God, was their powerful bloodline.

Every Giant Dragon was born with the power of the Golden Tier. Upon reaching adulthood, they would invariably touch upon the Laws, comprehending and manifesting their own unique Power of Law.

This ”bloodline is power” model allowed the Dragon Race to remain strong generation after generation. An endless stream of powerhouses emerged from their ranks, allowing them to maintain a crushing advantage over the other races.

To truly escape the shadow of the Dragon Race, they had to find their own path—a way to shorten their power-growth cycle and break this bloodline monopoly.

Thus, the five great powers began their own explorations.

The most radical among them was Blood Roar Fortress.

The Beastmen chose to actively merge with the bloodline of the Dragon Race.

They secretly obtained dragon bloodlines through various channels and performed fusions via a ”Blood-Melding Ritual.”

Participants had to be on the verge of death to receive the Dragon Blood infusion. The Dragon Blood and their own blood would then battle and merge within their bodies. Only those with sufficiently strong willpower could survive; otherwise, they would suffer a backlash from the Dragon Blood, their own bloodline would collapse, and they would die on the spot.

The survival rate of this ritual was less than thirty percent.

But those who did survive would experience an explosive surge in power.

During the Dragon Slaying War, Blood Roar Fortress went so far as to use the blood of Legendary Giant Dragons for these fusions.

A Beastman who successfully merged with Dragon Blood would have their own bloodline permanently altered. Their descendants would be born with draconic features like scales, vertical pupils, and horns. They possessed formidable strength and found it easier to awaken and master the Power of Law.

Thus, the branch race of the Dragon Beastman was gradually born.

By the era of the Ten Thousand Races’ struggle for supremacy, the Dragon Beastmen had already become the ruling class of Blood Roar Fortress, firmly holding the reins of power.

The Dwarves of the Heart of the Mountains chose a different path.

They would pulverize Fire Element crystals or cores, then use a complex system of rune conduits to infuse the essence into the bodies of chosen Dwarves under high temperature and pressure, layer by layer.

This process was akin to forging Divine Soldiers.

The elemental essence acted as a quenching agent, permanently and irreversibly fusing with the Dwarves’ flesh and bone.

Those who succeeded would find their strength soaring, but their bodies would gradually mutate.

Their beards and hair would become like incandescent copper wires, their eyes like burning coals, and patterns like flowing magma would become visible beneath their skin.

Thus, a new branch evolved within the Dwarf Race, known as the Furnace Dwarves.

The Tide Hall and the Freedom Alliance likewise explored their own methods.

The Jade Royal Court, of course, was no exception.

It was just that their methods were relatively less radical.

They didn’t seek external power, choosing instead to unearth the latent potential for Law hidden within their own bloodline.

The scholars of the Royal Court discovered that the bloodline of the Elf Race already contained the seeds of Law.

The ancient memories slumbering deep within their bloodline recorded the primeval origins of the Elf Race, chronicling their ancient ties to nature, the moonlight, and the sun.

So, the Jade Royal Court used the Eternal Tree as a medium to guide and anchor the Power of Law from moonlight, the sun, and plants, integrating them into the bloodline to be passed down through the generations.

This method was slow, requiring generations of inheritance to gradually unearth and eventually manifest the power of Law within the bloodline.

Although it required an incredibly long time, it was undoubtedly a suitable path for a long-lived species like the Elf Race.

And over the course of nearly ten thousand years, the initial wellsprings of this inheritance—the Laws of the moon, sun, and plants—had given rise to corresponding bloodline branches.

These became what later generations would call the Moon Elves, Sun Elves, and Wood Elves.

Among them, the Sun Elves had the most complete inheritance of the Power of Law, and their descendants were the most powerful. As a result, they gradually became the royal family of the Jade Royal Court.

The Elf before him clearly had the blood of Sun Elves flowing through his veins.