The Elven Cultivator

Beneath the Eternal Tree, in a treehouse meditation chamber.

Anton sat cross-legged, his eyes shut tight.

Within his Dantian's Qi Sea, the Sword Pill floated silently, continuously absorbing and expelling True Essence.

A moment later, the Sword Pill suddenly trembled, transforming into a streak of light that leaped from his Qi Sea and shot out from his chest.

It circled the meditation chamber at high speed, moving so fast that it left behind dazzling afterimages. In an instant, it wove them into an impenetrable halo of light that enveloped Anton completely.

The wind from the sword cut through the air with a sharp screech, and even the Light Source Stones embedded in the walls trembled slightly from the force.

After a good while, the Sword Pill finally stopped. It returned to a spot before Anton, hovering in mid-air and bobbing gently.

Anton opened his eyes and looked at the Sword Pill before him, a flash of satisfaction in his gaze.

Over the past seven or eight years, he had destroyed a total of twenty-one military outposts and eliminated numerous pursuers sent by Kresol Dragon City. The number of Dragon Race members who had died by his hand had already surpassed a thousand.

And without exception, all these members of the Dragon Race had become nourishment for the Sword Pill's transformation.

The Sword Pill's speed and its sharp, cutting aura had both improved significantly.

Furthermore, intricate, ancient patterns had appeared on the Sword Pill's surface, faintly resembling dragon markings.

Not the dragon markings of this world, but those of the Cultivation Realm.

Anton had no idea how a Sword Pill refined from the sub-dragon species of the Dawn Continent could develop the dragon markings of the Cultivation Realm.

'Was it a matter of the refining method?'

'Or was there some fundamental connection between the dragon species of the two worlds?'

'Truly strange.'

The dragon markings on the Sword Pill's surface covered about one-fifth of it.

Anton estimated that when the markings completely covered the Sword Pill, it would be time for it to break through its shackles and ascend to a higher grade.

Beyond that, there was something else that made Anton even happier.

With a flicker of his will, a buzzing sound was heard. The Sword Pill hovering before him suddenly erupted in brilliant light. Its form flickered and split, transforming into two identical streaks of light.

The two nascent swords circled above Anton's head like twin stars, pulsing with a cold gleam. They resonated with each other, their auras linked.

As his understanding of the Star Sword Manual deepened and his cultivation broke through to the Third-Layer Foundation Establishment, he had finally mastered the Light Splitting and Reunification technique.

Although he could only split it in two for now, Anton was already quite satisfied.

Controlling two sword lights simultaneously was not as simple as just doubling his combat power.

Both sword lights were directly controlled by his spiritual will. Their coordination was even more seamless than his own two hands, allowing them to produce an effect where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Previously, Anton could only flee when faced with a Golden Peak opponent. But now, with Light Splitting and Reunification, he had the confidence to clash with an enemy of that level.

Whether he could win was another matter, but ensuring his own survival would not be a problem.

'In the future, once my mastery of the Light Splitting and Reunification technique deepens and I can turn two into four, and four into eight, I could even kill a Golden Peak expert.'

As for splitting into thousands or millions... that level of mastery was still a distant reality for him.

But as powerful as Light Splitting and Reunification was, it had its drawbacks.

Namely, the consumption was immense.

With his current True Essence at the Third-Layer Foundation Establishment, he could maintain Light Splitting and Reunification for four or five minutes at most before his power was exhausted.

However, it wasn't a major issue.

'Worst case, I can just refine more pills to restore True Essence, pop a few before a fight, and increase my combat endurance.'

'Alternatively, once my cultivation level increases and my True Essence grows, the drawback will no longer be a drawback.'

Recalling the sword lights to his Qi Sea, Anton stretched, got up, and walked out of the meditation chamber. He went to his study desk and looked at the map spread out on it.

Of the hundred-plus military outposts marked along the map's edges, twenty-one were already crossed out in red.

To prevent the enemy from discerning his patterns of movement, Anton had been choosing his targets randomly over the years, without any discernible logic.

It was for this very reason that Kresol Dragon City had found it so difficult to track him down.

Even with Kresol Dragon City's vast military power, it was impossible to heavily garrison and lay ambushes at every single outpost. They could only take a chance by focusing their defenses on a small number of them.

On the rare occasion they got lucky and encountered him, their lack of understanding of his true strength led to them being overturned in the gutter, suffering even greater losses.

The four high-blooded Golden Tier Dragon Race members who had recently died by his sword were the best example of this.

The Sword Pill had a hearty meal from them.

That being said, Anton had decided to lie low for a while and rest.

For years, he had been repeatedly grinding Kresol Dragon City's face into the dirt. They surely hated him to the bone by now.

Given Kresol Dragon City's typically tyrannical style, they were probably brewing up a massive operation in secret, intending to eliminate him—this thorn in their side—in one fell swoop and intimidate any other restless elements.

Anton wasn't about to get complacent and look down on Kresol Dragon City just because his recent hunts had been successful.

Even without its guardian Giant Dragon present, Kresol Dragon City was still the undisputed ruler of the Eldron Plain, its strength far surpassing all other factions.

Their massive Vassal Armies.

The Radiant Flame Legion, composed entirely of Dragon Race members, with combat power unmatched on the Eldron Plain.

These two forces formed the solid military foundation of Kresol Dragon City.

Furthermore, in terms of top-tier combat strength, Kresol Dragon City also stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Not to mention the vast number of high-blooded, Golden Tier Dragon Race officers, above them were twelve Consuls.

That was a full twelve Golden Peak experts!

This force alone was enough to crush all other races on the Eldron Plain, aside from Dragon City itself.

Anton had a faint feeling that if he continued his hunt, he would likely draw out one of Kresol Dragon City's Consuls.

One would be manageable, but if he were besieged by two or three, even with Sword Escape, he couldn't guarantee he would escape unscathed.

To be safe, it was best to keep a low profile for a while.

Once this storm passed and Kresol Dragon City lowered its guard, it wouldn't be too late to resume the hunt.

The enemy was in the light while he was in the shadows; he wasn't the one who needed to be anxious.

Anton folded the map, stored it in his Dimensional Bag, and then headed to the alchemy room.

Since he had some free time, he planned to refine a batch of pills.

Ever since the Silver Moon Race began domesticating Dragon Beasts on a large scale—sending hunting parties deep into the Thousand Rock Hills to capture Scale Rock Lizards and Rift-Spine Dragon Beasts—the number of Dragon Beasts in the hills had been decreasing year by year.

As a result, the defensive pressure on the major mining areas dropped significantly, and the situation around the Silver Moon Forest grew increasingly stable.

The Elder Council seized this window of opportunity, decisively sending envoys to surrounding towns to establish long-term trade agreements with local merchant guilds.

These guilds would send regular caravans into the Silver Moon Forest each year, trading Gold Coins or materials for the clan's specialty goods.

The Silver Moon Race's specialties, such as Honeybell Flower nectar and Moonlight Moss, had always been popular in the surrounding towns.

It was just that in the past, with the Molten Spike Tribe raiding the trade routes and the Dragon Beasts of the Thousand Rock Hills running rampant, caravans had been forced to reduce their scale or even abandon trade altogether.

Now that the trade routes were safe again, the merchants were naturally flocking back.

The Silver Moon Race, in turn, used this opportunity to procure all sorts of materials for making potions, crafting Rune Equipment, domesticating Dragon Beasts, and setting up Spirit Gathering Arrays, greatly alleviating the clan's material shortages.

The only pity was the Frost Pattern Silver. Due to its limited production, the Silver Moon Race didn't even have enough for itself, so they certainly wouldn't trade it away. Otherwise, this item alone could have brought in a torrent of wealth.

However, even without selling Frost Pattern Silver, the Silver Moon Race—which held multiple metal mines in addition to its forest specialties—was never short of valuable goods to offer.

It was worth noting that the merchant guilds of Bishui Port were not among those cooperating with the Silver Moon Race.

Originally, Bishui Port and the Silver Moon Race had some degree of cooperation.

Even before the Molten Spike Tribe was annihilated, a small number of caravans from Bishui Port would still arrive in the Silver Moon Forest each year to trade.

But ever since Marcus arrived in Bishui Port, these merchant guilds had, without exception, unilaterally cut off their cooperation with the Silver Moon Race.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Marcus was the one applying pressure behind the scenes.

Fortunately, this trouble was of little consequence to the Silver Moon Race in its current state.

Although Bishui Port was the most prosperous commercial hub on the Eldron Plain, the plain was vast, and its merchants weren't the only ones who knew how to do business.

The Silver Moon Race had plenty of other potential partners.

'The clan now has to craft large batches of potions and Rune Equipment, domesticate Dragon Beasts, and increase the number of spirit gathering chambers every year. The resource consumption is staggering.'

'Most of the money earned from selling forest specialties and metal ores is poured into the bottomless pit of material procurement.'

'Right now, income and expenses are balanced, but as the clan's population grows and we expand the spirit gathering chambers, our expenditures will eventually overtake our revenue.'

Anton calculated silently.

The quickest solution, he knew, would be to cut off the massive annual tribute of resources to Kresol Dragon City.

Whether used by the clan or sold, the surplus resources would greatly alleviate their financial pressure.

But this was a thought that could only be entertained in his mind.

Until they had the strength to confront Kresol Dragon City head-on, this noose around the clan's neck could not be broken.

Also limited by resources, the Elder Council, despite witnessing the astonishing potential of the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture in Romance, had never promoted this cultivation technique throughout the clan.

The resource consumption of the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture was simply too terrifying.

Just supplying about a hundred Warriors to cultivate the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture would be enough to bankrupt the entire clan.

Across the entire clan, only two Elves were currently cultivating the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture.

One, of course, was Romance.

The other was someone Anton hadn't expected: Cedric.

The captain of the Forest Guard was only just over five hundred years old and had already reached the Middle Gold tier, making him a century younger than the Third Elder, who was also at the Middle Gold tier. His immense talent was self-evident.

It was highly probable he would awaken the Power of Law within his lifetime.

Yet this very expert, with such a boundless future, was willing to abandon the Magic Power he had painstakingly cultivated for centuries and switch to a completely unfamiliar cultivation technique.

Even with Romance as a pioneer, making such a decision still required immense courage.

Thinking of that calm, taciturn, and stern Elf Warrior, Anton couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.

'I'm looking forward to it. When Cedric finishes absorbing all the Magic Power in his body, integrating it into his very flesh and bone, I wonder just how much his body will be strengthened?'

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